Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-09-18
HAND-sHAKEaS.

am not unsociahle, but Ihad rather rot
shake hands with everybody; and ! ann
quite sure good many people would rather
not shake hands with me. Then wbv al
they do it? It is Just one of those nm.
written laws which might with advantage
often be more honered in the breach thar,
IN the observance Just a matter in which
people trust their instincts, and in which
their instincts are really not to be trusted.
l am dead against the current frequency Of
hand-shaking in society. Jones drops IN
Tor an afternoon call he does not really
want to see me don't really want to see
Jones; when he 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 IL "a
always damp Jones knows that as we'll al
| do, and sometimes offers me HIS hand
gloved-but detest gloved hand. Ihad
rather not shake hands at all. IL must
do so, will do it once, and no more M
one but lover wishes to shake hands more
than once In five minutes. But Jones has
a aetes5aole habit of lingering on his way
hand. It's over. No, it's not. nictnrs
catches his eye. He turns and saws with
shipper: Capital portrait, unon NM
word !" Yeas" / saw. half pO aooor
panying him to the door. "Who's it bv =,
HO-by-Smearem, R. A." "Dear me
He painted-a-who did he na;nt ~
Don't know paints everybodyrpainta
himself. T" "Really-a-good.by p Shakes
hands again ; but before he has cot tbrouSb
the door he remembers message from his
wife. I'll see him out; he shan't get into
the room again. go into the passage with
him. l 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 il euoupb
in one visit. OF course know we often
shake hands with man to finish an inter.
view and bow him out. Well, that is for
our own convenience, although it does not
act-lust as a mans after.dinner speech is
sometimes applauded rapturously in the
middle to make him sit down. Those peo-
pie who shake hands should consider their
ways. L hate man, for instance, who
can leave OH shaking hands. He begins
so heartily you think he will soon be done.
de relaxes his grip, you attempt to with.
draw, but be tlghtens it again he holds
you IN wise. You begin to shake him up
and down, when you suddenly fud he has
dropped your hand like hot potato, and
you are left shaking the air. This is bad
enough, but the wooden shake is almost
worse. A hand is stretched out, and you
get nothing but the sensation of bone-an-
guar bone there is no flesh and blood, no
gnp-the hand might belong to Law
hgure. l don't want to shake hands with
a lay figure. Then l object to the crusher.
Ladles suffer more than gentlemen from
TINS festive " bore" because they wear
more ilngs; he seizes You impulsively,
ana manages to crush your fingers
yertlcaliy one on top of the other.
You don't want to scream if you are girl,
or to show displeasure if you are man,
but you are dreadfully hurt, and you suf.
Ter what Mrs. Camp called "all the tor.
lures OF the imposition from the CD.
Pressor's Elusive, but iron grip.
Then there is the fabby, pulseless shake
whicn means nothing, or means "you are
less than nothing to me, and hope am
tine same to you" am not so absurd as
to suppose that we can always regulate our
hand. shaking by rule, or that our acts will
always be Indicative of our moods but /
notice in good society a growing tendency
10 reduce hand shaking TO minimum, and
then make 1t genuine as far as it goes, but
as formal as possible and l think this
is step in the right direction and worthy
OF Imitation. Deep feeling will never fail
to tind fitting occasions, but the less i'm.
portation there is OF serious feelings or
offensive familiarity into what is usually a
merely polite formality, the better. The
damp'handed man should remember that
his hand ia damp; the fabby, irresolute
creature should try and improve his style
of grip; the impulsive and muscular Chris.
tian should recollect the agony of scruuch.
ing rings; and most people might be less
frequent and more brief with advantage.
In England We shake hands oftener than
we bow; in France they bow oftener than
they shake hands. believe the two
methods might be more judiciously worked.
L think | should like little more hearth.
ness and little less politeness abroad, and
perhaps little more politeness, with lit.
tie less anxiety to appear hearty, at home.
i London Truth.