The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-02-03
Fashionable FINGERS ana Toes.

The idle, fashionable woman has taken
| to u new diversion. She poishcs her nails.
| She extends her hand to you with great
frequency nowadays, and always with the
| back upward and the fingers straightened
| out. That is because she wishes you to
| observe the nails, which shine like glass
and are Of delicate pink hue. Who
| knows what started this mana2 Nobody
can ever discover the origin of such things.
The distempcr breaks out somehow, and
| then extends from person to person. The
New York woman of leisure, whether she
be lcfs in the city or Is to be found at some
near scashore resort, now spends about four
hours day at work on her nails. Her
tool Is an article some what like the wooden
handles or holders for blotting.paper.-a
narrow strip Of ebony, ivory or lndia-rub.
Der, with knob on ono side and surface
OF chamols skin on tho other. Some of
these polishers are fancifully made, and
$40 is not al unusual price but cheap
ones do tho work as well, and home
made article answers the purpose. The
best OF them have a duvice for hanClly
fastening In fresh strips Of chamois skin
but tacks will do. The essentials arc
polishing substance and plenty Of industry.
a mixture is sold i'll the stores at pretty
high price, and it has beautifuname and
label, but Is simple compound of rotten.
stone, oil and rouge. Anybody can mix
1t for herself. The stuff is daubed on the
rubber, and assiduous friction does the
rest Tho rottcn-stone and oil smooth and
polish the nails, just as metal, bone and
ivory are made to shine by tho workmen,
and the rouge imparts pinklsh color. The
enthusiastic industry displayed by the
women in this amusement is wnnG,7 ',saf-
They rub, rub. by the holT. H4sa'EaKe the
place Of needlework. There was once an
old woman who scrubbed her kitchen floor
until she fell through into the cellar, break
ing her back. Something like that will
happen to these nail polishcrs, for nails
cannot thicken as fast rs they are now be-
ing secured away. The polishing is not
all done on finger nails. Oh, no. The
loe-nails of the bellies are beautiflcd, too.
What>is the use Of spending time and labor
in making their toe-nails pink and glossy 2
Well, some of them have husbands, bear in
mind. Time was when the female bather
hid the corns, bunions and little unshapli-
ness of her teet in slippers, or stuck them
out OF sight into the sand when not In the
water. The attractiveness of the Furnished
nails are deemed by her to more than COM
ponsu,e for any blemishcs, and so she takes
pains 70 show her feet. The change is a
marked feature in the surf scenes, where
thousands of women are in the water every
afternoon. Many of them have been seen
sitting on the sand with their toe-nails
proudly glistening in the sun.
The increased attention to nails has ma
turally extended TO their shape, and the
greatest care is bestowed upon tho matter
of cutting them. Long and narrow nails
are considered prcttiest, and to give them
the desired proportion they are trimmed
somewhat TO a point, while ut the roots the
skin is pushed and cut back as much as
possible. Gloves arc not worn ut all, even
ut the full dress balls. Alitts of all colors,
from white through tho whitcst hues to
plain black, extended from The elbows to
the knuckles, leaving the fingers exposed.
There Is all the more reason, then, for rem
derlng those fingers slightly. Really beau
tiful fingers, if you will take the trouble tu
convince yourself by observation, are scarce
indccd-nuch more 50 than handsome
faces. The plump beauty usually has fin.
gers as blunt at the ends as drumsticks,
while the fingers of her etherially slender
sister are about as bony as skeleton =.
Thus it is good year for pretty fingers
that do not need Il tight glove to pqueczt
them into shape. Rings arc more than
ever in vogue. Bangle rings with jinglett
to them are about The only novelties IN that
line.