The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1888-10-20

make the effort.
| Those who wish to try will be en-
! couraged to know that many men and
| women have undertaken and accom-
plished the task. They include SOL
diers who had their right hands shot
away in battle, men and women who
were similarly MANNED by accident or
| had lost the use of their right hands by
| disease and still others who from pref
| erence have taught their left hands to
| share the work of their right hands.
| In every case that | know of this edu-
| cation of the backward hand to take
| equal place with its mate or to take the
place OF the lost mate is acknowledged
| to be great assistance to the persons
| who had the patience to accomplish it.
There are telegraph operators who can
| handle the key or write with either
hand and who in sending or receiving
messages rest one hand while the other
is working. In that way they avoid
| the great and prOtractcd fatigue OF one
hand that sometimes results in paraly-
sis, and forces them into some other
kind of business. There are women
who can darn stockings, beat eggs, cut
with scissors, and do many other useful
| things with either hand, mechanics who
| are even-handed, and men who are am
bl deXtrous in numerous other ways.
Among my acquaintanccs in the coun-
try is man who, like Captain Cutie,
has an iron hook in the place of right
hand, but this does not prevent him
from padding up and down the lake
near which he lives, and catching more
fish in IA day than any other two fisher
men in the vicinity. Besides this, he is
a capital wing shot, and last fall brought
down seven woodcock in succession with
| his muZzle-loader, which weighs nearly
as much us an old-fashioned army mus
| ket.
When | was up in the Adiroudacks
several summers ago | found, after IL
little practice, that | could cast Il trout
fly almost as well with my left as with
my right hand, thus avoiding the in
convenience and danger Of shifting my
position in the narrow and cranky
canoe. Now am learning to write
with my left hand, as my right hand be-
comes very tired sometimes; but the
task is much harder, imagine, than it
would have been had begun when |
was n school bOy.
In the face OF these many instances
can any boy or girl say that uneven
hands can not become even hands ?
Each one must decide for himself or
herself whether it is worth while to try
to cure the bad habit while the muscles
and inclinatiOns are young and plant,
instead of waiting till some sad emerg-
ency forces a struggle with innexiblo
muscles and fixed ways. The boy who
plays baseball understands how valu-
able in the game it is to be able to bat,
catch, or throw with either hand, and
if he reads the baseball news in the
papers he has learned that leTt-handed
pitchers are sought for. If he fences
and boxes. he knows that the fencer
who is skillful with his left hand, or the
boxer who can strike a quick, strong
left-handed blow, has tremendous adj
vantage over the opponent who depends
only on his right hand. One of the
greatest difficulties a young oarsman
has to contend with after he has learned
the action of rowing is the tendency of
the stronger arm to pull the boat out Of
its course. In tennis, croquet, and
other sports in which they participate,
girls can discern the advantage Of being
able to play with either hand
First attempts to use thclclt hand are
always awkward and discouraging, but
in ordinary cases pcrsistency will grad
ually strengthen the lcast-used member
and teach it to act as ably and sturdidly
as the right, till finally there will be
two perfect hands instead of one to
answer promptly the call of the master
of all our powers-the will.-J r. Her.
rick, IN Harpcr'S Young People.