The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1882-09-23
THE HAMMER AND ITS SUBS-
TUTES.


TUTES.
There exists a curious lack of SYM
thy between woman and the hamm,
The nature and functions of Hamm
have never been grasped by the sex.
casionally woman is found who e
make shift to drive simple and easy tac
with common tack hammer; but suel
woman is even rarer than a man "
knows what gusset is and car in~a
one into the neck of a narrow shirt ri
uniformity with which the woman vi
uses hammer pounds her fingers is ne
due, as superficial observers imagine. {
her inability to guide the hammer by h.
eye. it would De strange indeed. ii
were, for the eye of woman is so cm
stantly and thoroughly cultivated wit
the help of the looking lass that it
far more accurate than the masculine eye
This can be demonstrated by simpl
and pleasing experiment. Let man tr.
to insert pin in his collar while looking
in mirror, which of course reverses til,
apparent position Of both pin and hand
He will find that the pin refuses to enteI
anything except his finger, and that h.
can not place the point of it within half
an inch of the position in which he lie
sires to place it. Now let a woman seat
herself before the same mirror with a
handful of hairpins. She will place every
one Of them in her back hair where they
will do the most good without an instants
hesitation. Nothing could prove more !
clearly than does this experiment the
superior accuracy of the feminine eye.
Woman pounds her fingers because o:
her entire lack of confidence in and SYM
pathy with the hammer. She is afraid
to strike heavy blow that would force
the nail or tack firmly into its place. So
she strikes timorously and tentatively.
The result is that the nail requires to be
held upright between her thumb and lin
ger, and in that position is exposed to the
greatest danger. 1t is estimated that Of
every five blows struck by a women two
fall on the nail and three on her fingers.
From these facts it has been ably argued
by an eminent philosopher and friend of
woman that were she to aim her blows
directly at her fingers, the latter would
be hit only twice out Of five blows. and
| the nail would be hit three times. Mere
is much force in this argument, but it is
| impossible to induce women to boldly
aim at their fingers, and those to whom
| the suggestion has been made have invar-
iably rejected it with scOrnful and ire
levant reference to fiddlesticks.
AS there exists this want Of mutual
understanding between woman and the
hammer, it is not strange that she should
prefer almost anything to the hammer as
an instrument for driving nails. Perhaps
the most popular nail driver is the stove
lid litter. 1t is true that nothing could
be more unsuited to the purpose. The
| stove-lid litter is made of cast iron, Il
material painfully brittle, and almost sure
when broken to wound the nearest avail.
able female foot with its fragments. More
over its shape is peculiar, and it is nearly
always curved. This makes it an extreme
ly difficult tool with which to hit any
thing. The woman who tries to drive a
nail with stove-lid litter sometimes hits
her fingers, and more frequently her
wrists, but never hits the nail except by
accident. There is no instance on record
in which a nail has been driven in with Il
stove lid litter; but, nevertheless, it is
the favorite substitute among women for
the hammer, and there is scarcely
household in which some woman does
not pound her fingers with it at least
twice in every three months.
There prevails curious female delu-
sion to the effect that nails can be driven
with Il hair-brush. If tack is to he
driven into the wall of a bed room. or
hook is to be mailed to the wall Of closet
woman will invariably try to do the
work with her-Or preferably her hux-
nd's-hair. brush. 1t must be :oufess-
ed that the hair brush when thus used is
a safe tool. 1t seldom if ever bruises The
fingers; but it is utterly Inefficient.
Either it breaks at the third blow. or it
flattens the nail sideways into the plaster.
In either case the work is failure, and
the woman finds no refuge from disap-
pointment, marred walls, and broken
brushes except in tears.
There have been women who have tried
to drive nails with articles of glass or
china, such as hand mirrors or heavy
coffee cups. The futility of such efforts
is, however, SO quickly demonstrated that
even before the fragrants Of glass and
china have been picked the fair nail driv-
er makes up her mind that hammers
must be made of sterner stuff. Brass
candlesticks have become of late years
comparatively scarce, but wherever they
exist they are uniformly regarded by
women as admirable substitutes for the
hammer 1t is undeniable that tacks and
even small nails of the species popularity
known as " shingle nails" have been
uIlNch successfully WIN tho hCip VI
brass candlestick, but, OH tn, other hand
the carnage inflicted upon fingers by the
sharp edge of the fiat bottom of the can
dlestick is, in most cases, simply fright
full, SO that it must be classed as one of
the most dangerous as well as seductive
substitutes for the hammer that can be
found.
Razor strops, mucilage bottles, books,
knives, legs of broken chairs, and heels
of shoes are among the miscellaneous
hammer substitutes in common use
among women; but they give little salts
faction. There is no doubt that the gen
uine hammer is more efficient and less
dangerous than any substitute for it yet
discovered by female ingenuity, and could
the mind of woman be brought into smy-
pathy with the hammer, she could doubt
less drive nails with eminent success. and
with only an infrequent and purely arc,.
dental MASKING of fingers.
Fell Into Yellowstone Geyser.