Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-08-24
HAND SHAKING AND HARD SHAKERS.
London Truth.

London truth.
lam not unsociable, but had rather moi
shake hands with everybody and / am
quite sure good many people would rsth.
er not shake hands with me. Then WHY
do we do it? 1t is just one of those un.
written laHs which might with advantage
often be more hopored In the breach than
In the observance ; just matter in which
people trust their instincts, and in which
their instincts are really not to be trusted.
am dead against the current frequency of
hand shaking in society. Jones drops in
for an afternoon call he does not really
want to see Jones when be comes shake
hands with him, more or less when he
leaves, IN five minutes, he shakes hands
with me, less or more. l hate Jones hand
because 1t is always damp; Jones knows
that as well as | do, and sometimes offers
me his hand gloved-5ut l detest a gloved
hand. had rather not shake hands at all.
II must do so, will do it once, and no
more no one but lover wants to shake
hands more than once in five minutes.
But Jones has detestable habit of lin.
gering on his way out. He gets up to 90.
give him my hand. It's over No, it's
not. A picture catches his eye. He turns
and says with a shipper, "Capital portrait,
pom my word !" Yeas" l saw, half
accompanying him to the door. "Who's
it by?" "O-by-Smearum, R. A"
"Dear me !! he painted-a-who did he
paint?" Don't know paints everybody
paints himself Really-a-good-
bye!" Shakes hands again but, before
he has got through the door, he remembers
message from his wife. I'll see him out !;
he shan't get into the room again. l 90
into the passage with him. / accompany
him to the door. He shakes hands again
at the door ! There ought to be some rule
about this. 1t should be understood that
once Is enough in one visit. OF course /
know we often shake hands with m an to
finish an interview and bow him out. We'll,
that is for our own convenience altt ough
it does not always act-just as mans
after dinner speech is sometimes appla nded
rapturously in the middle to make him sit
down-but he does not always sit down.
Those people who shake hands should
consider their ways. | hate man, for in
stance, who can't leave off shaking hands.
He begins SO heartily, you think h. will
soon be done. He relaxes his grip. you
attempt to withdraw but he tighte ns'it
again he holds you in wise. You begin
to shake him up and down, when you aud.
denly find he has dropped your hand like
hot potato, and you are left sbakinf; the
air This is bad enough, but the wooden
shake is almost worse. A hand is stretched
ont, and you get nothing but the SEM alton
of bone-augular bone there is no flesh
and blood, no grip-the hand might belong
to lay figure. | don't want to shake
hands with lay figure. Then l object to
the crusher. Ladies suffer more than gen.
tlemen from this festive "bore," because
they wear more rings he seizes you i'm
pulsively, and manages to crunch your
fingers vertically one on the top OF the
other. You don't like to scream if you are
girl, or to show displessure if you are
man, but you are dreadfully hurt, and you
suffer what Mrs. Camp called al the
pressor's ELUSIVE, but iron grip. Thou
there is the fabby pulseless shake, which
means nothing, or means "you are lees
than nothing to me, and / hope / am the
same to you.
am not so absurd as to suppose that
We can always regulate our Misunderstanding
by rule, SO that our acts will always be in.
dicative of our moods but l notice in
good society growing tendency to reduce
hand shaking. TO a minimum, and then
make 1T genuire as far as it goes, but as
formal as possible, and ] think this is
step In the hight direction and worthy of
imitation. Deep feeling will never fail to
find fitting oct asions, but the less importa.
ton there is OF spurious feeling or offensive
familiarity into what ia usually merely
polite formally, the batter.
The dampA anded man should remember
that his hand is damp; the tiabby, irreso-
Lutte creature should try and improve
his style Of grip; the impulsive and
muscuiar Christian should recollect the
agony or Sc ru nched rings and most peo-
pie might Or less frequent and more brief
with advantss,Lg England we shake
haads oitene tSsl we in france,
they boy oftsner than they share % :;
| believe the two methods might be ju.
diciously worked. l think / should like a
little more heartiness and less politeness
abroad, ard perhaps > Iittle more polite.
ness, with a little legI anxiety to appear
hearty, at he me.