The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1875-03-27

Win gus anu "ifteuds anu the Ike I
that is, without beauties aud with positive
blemishes--are yet pleasant to look at for
the care bestowed on them, their dainty
perfection OF cleanliness being charm 10 |
itself Nothing, indeed, is more DISCUS
tug than dirty hands and neglected nails,
as nothing gives one such a sense Of fresh
pess and care as the same members well
kept. But one Of the uglest things in |
nails is when they are bitten; which, to
judge By what one sees, is a habit having
irresistible faseinations for those given
over to it, 1t is an action, by the way,
that has more than one Significance. 1t
may mean consideration, doubt, hcsitancy;
or it may mean anger or annoyance; or, as
a halit, it may point to the not remote
possibility Of madness, In any case it is
ugly to look at, and worse than ugly in
its results; bare finger-tips, with the pro-
tecling cover gnawed to the bleeding flesh,
belonging to the list of things mutilated
aud wifully spoiled-therefore taken out
of the category Of things ugly by nature,
hence misfortunes for which the sufferer
is in no wise accountable.
There is the animol-oving hand, large,
broad and firm; the beauty-loving hand,
with the palm noiiceably pine in hue, and
warm and slightly moist in feeling There
is the artists hand, which is all this aud
something more; and the poets hand which
has less practical capacity than the artists
There is the surgeons hand, which is for
the most part the perfection Of hand,
seeming to unite every distinctive quality
of all other well-fashioned hands In Itself,
and to be made expressly for the delicate,
firm, perceptiye work il has to do; and yet
/ there have been before now eminent sur.
/ geons with immense hands, who have
achieved as much success as those Of their
brethren whose hands were seemingly more
directly fitted for their task. There are
hands with those crooked little fingers
which seem as if they had been broken,
and hands with "Ay" thumbs, bending
back as u doublejointedi hands whence
the cold, clammy damps eau never be
dricd-and these hands are the apologies
for gloyes--aS arc their congeners, the
hands which are warm and moist, as If
they had been newly plunged in hot water,
and neither washed nor wiped after. Less
disagreeable to the touch than these, but
more disastrous to the possessor, are those
dry and burning hands which leave on
yours the impression Of fire, and are in-
deed signs OF the fever, whether Of mind
or body, sure to be consuming those who
possess them. And then there are hands
neither wet nor burning, neither cold nor
hot, but just what healthy living flesh
should be-warm, elastic, fresh, and which
give you real pleasure to touch, as anything
perfect of its kind always does.
Extremes meeting, the North American
Indian brave and our modern fine ladies'
stand side by side in their desire to posses
small, white unworked hands. The brave,
reserviug all his strength for hunting buff
falo and taking scalps, disdains to harden
his hands with other work. If wood is to
be hewed, tents pitched, skins dressed,
what not, the squaw, whose hands are only
useful, not refined must run the risk of
abrasions and callosities, while her warrior
husband lounges idly by, keeping his
hands white and soft as gentleman should.
SO in our drawing-rooms. Our pretty
women, those useless marvels of creation,
would hold serviceable hands as stain on
their gentlehood. They, and the Indian
braves, and the pickpockets, all have to
keep their fingers fine and their hands
unused to work, else the sign of their con
dition would be gone with the first two,
with the third the possibilities of his pro-
fession. 1t is and it il not the Only odd
connection brought about by false refine
ment and an affected repudiation Of natural
uses. No hand can be really beautiful
which carries with it the hook of incapaci-
ty. Those very small hands in which
some women rejoice, aud which all of the
silier sort desire-those undeveloped, abor-
overlooking hands, too small for the Just
proportions Of the body, and too weak and
frail for any useful purpose whatsoever
are in reality deformities They are like
short legs and withered arms, chin that
runs up into the under lip, and eyes that
have got contracted to the size Of mere
beads. But, because these disproportioncd
hands are supposed to show incapacity for
work and immunity for usefulness, they
are priced as signs of true ladyhood; and
when woman can wear s'six" gloves, she
is sure Of at least one persons appreciation.
For ourselves, we prefer something more
capable and more nobly formed than these
useless little extremities; hands that can
work at need, that can grasp and hold what
is put into them; hands that have the pow.
er always belonging to perfect development
and that can be tender to the touch, and
strong in the grasp, after the pattern sci
by that old Roman adage, sHapitsr IN naodo;
fortiter IN re. The perfect hand is the
useful hand; and imbecility and incapacity
are no claims to admiration.
Two ounces Of common tobacco boiled
in gallon Of water is used by the Chat.
ham Street New York dealers for renova.
- = na4a