pronounced the blacks taken from
Madame Z.'s eyelids to consist essentially of
carbon in a state of liberty. To confirm his
opinion, he compared the substance obtained
from the chromidrosiac lady with carbon
prepared artificially. Profound differences
distinguish it from ordinary charcoal as well as
from carbonised cork; but he declares that he
is unable to distinguish it from the black of
smoke (lamp-black) prepared by himself, by
receiving the flame of a waxlight on a square of
glass, especially when he took care to select the
lamp-black from the middle of the spot. The
colour obtained from the cutaneous surface of
the eyelids in the present case of chromidrosis,
differs considerably from animal or vegetable
blues, and even from the black pigments of the
human economy: it only approaches the
carbonaceous matter of the lungs.

At half-past four, the eyelid was clean, and
Madame Z. became the object of the strictest
surveillance. Surrounded by the members of
the committee, with whom she never ceased to
converse in the most amiable manner, she was
never lost sight of for a single instant. If one
gentleman left the saloon, he gave previous
notice to the others, but upon the whole all
were present. At a quarter to six, no black
had reappeared, and an appointment was made
with the patient for Monday, the 1st of July,
at three o'clock, begging her to remove the
colouring herself before coming, in order to
allow a longer time for the reproduction of
the stain. Messieurs Roger and Béhier,
however, remained to keep the lady company,
as her husband had not yet returned from a
walk which he took while the examination
lasted.

But although the committee retired from the
scene of action, the patient was not left an
instant alone; their reporter never ceased to
watch her attentively whilst M. Roger was
accompanying his colleagues to the door. As
soon as they had left the room, the patient took
from her pocket a handkerchief different to the
embroidered one which she held in her hand.
Immediately suspecting that she might attempt
some deception, now that she was left alone
with a solitary companion, the observer strained
his attention to the utmost, noticing how she
blew her nose, and whether the forefinger of the
hand employed were not passed over the lower
eyelid, smearing it with some colouring matter;
but no, she was innocent of the apprehended
legerdemain. She blew her nose twice very
naturally, never eclipsing the totality of her
face behind her handkerchief, nor ever concealing
her interesting left lower eyelid.

These observations were made in a spirit of
scrupulous distrust. M. Roger returned;
Madame Z. began to appear ill at ease; she had
two or three little fits of dry coughing.
Spasmodic movements were observed in the face,
which reddened sensibly, with similar motions
in the arms, and winkings of the eyes, or rather
very energetic veritable orbicular contractions,
repeated very frequently. Perspiration became
abundant, especially on the hands; which afforded
a pretext for examining the fingers, to see if
they did not betray the presence of colouring
matter. There was nothing, nor on the supplemental
handkerchief, which the lady let drop
and the gentlemen picked up with a show of
politeness and with intense curiosity. At the
same time with the perspiration and the flushed
face, another phenomenon manifested itself,
namely, an abundant secretion of oily appearance,
and not at all coloured, which took place
at the edge of the eyelids while the violent
contractions were going on. At twenty minutes
to six no return of coloration.

On Monday, the 1st of July, a second meeting
was held, the eyes having been cleaned two
hours previously. Madame Z. and her husband
stated that, during the evening of Saturday, the
black colouring, which had been removed, had
returned with great intensity; so much so that
Madame Z. had been subjected to unpolite
remarks, which gave her husband great pain. It
continued very dark the whole of the 30th, and
was very black indeed on the first of July. The
committee separated at half-past six, after waiting
three hours for nothing; Madame Z.
announced, besides, that she felt there would
probably be no return of colouring; nor was
anything apparent at half-past ten at night, nor
on the following Tuesday up to five in the afternoon.
The results remained absolutely negative.
The lady and her spouse took leave of the
committee, saying that they were obliged to
return to Brest next morning; they remained,
nevertheless, in Paris until the evening of
the 8th.

The committee felt themselves sufficiently
enlightened. Their reporter had the wickedness
to make inquiries respecting cosmetics likely to
produce analogous effects. He found three
articles of fashionable perfumery employed to
blacken points which coquetry wishes to bring
out into relief. A paste retailed in boxes, with
the addition of a little brush and a little stump,
sometimes as Indian Pigment, sometimes as
Henné of Sennaar, intended to blacken the hair,
the eyebrows, the whiskers, the moustaches, the
edge of the eyelids, and differing sensibly from
oily cosmetics. Then there is a preparation in
the form of pencils, contained in an ivory case,
and known by the name of Mysterious Pencils.
This is more tenacious, and the pencil must be
heated for application. It probably contains
wax; its application is more difficult. Thirdly,
there is a very fine black powdery substance,
sold in little ivory cases accompanied by a stick
terminating at one end in a little stump, which
is sold as Koheuil or Pyrommée; its destination
is to blacken the eyelashes and the edge of the
eyelids, in order to render "the glances more
provoking," as the wrapper emphatically says.
The reporter, M. Béhier, irreverently applied
all these substances to his own lower eyelids,
whistling all the while the air "What a beauty
I do grow!" and he succeeded in producing a
capital imitation of chromidrosis. He also
sophisticated the eyes of a young man, his