Cosmetic paste
Take a quarter of a pound of Castile soap, and cut it into small pieces. Then, put it into a tin or porcelain sauce-pan, with just water enough to moisten it well, and set it on hot coals. Let it simmer till it is entirely dissolved; stirring it till it becomes a smooth paste, and thickening it with Indian meal, (which even in a raw state is excellent for the hands.) Then take it from the fire, and when cool scent it with rose-water, or with any fragrant essence you please. Beat and stir it hard with a silver spoon, and when it is thoroughly mixed put it into little pots with covers.