The Democratic advocate., 1889-12-21
wELL-KEPT HANDS.


A pretty hand is perhaps more frequently
seen without corresponding attractions than
with them, and it is probably for this reason
that the owner of small, white, well-shaped
hand is apt to be inordinately vain of 1t.
Il is certainly very charming object TO
contemplate. with its satiny surface, its
faint blue tracery of veins, and its delicate
shell-tinted nails; yet when tits prominently
and peFsistently thrust upon the sight, 1t Is
apt TO lose its charm
There is a fascination In discovery,
whether it be in the line of Columbus or
personal attractions, aud it enhances ones
appreciation of any endowment to have 1t
appear as though no other eye had hap
peped 10 see it before. But the white
hand that is constantly toying with bright
colored woods, or resting on dark back
ground, or lifted becomingiy to the cheek
on an occasions. is one that has been fully
discovered, at least by It's owner, and the
spectator grows weary Of admiring what Is
so evidently intended to challenge ms ad-
miraii0n.
The size of the person must be eonsid-
cred in chasing a hand as large or small,
as one of proportionate size for woman OF
Eve eeet would be little short of deformiiy
With a stature Of FIVE feet six. Unfortu-
pately one cannot regulate the size Of ones
hand to any great degree, and the next best
thing Is 20 make the least Of the size that
nature has furnished.
For a long hand it Is particularly advan-
tageous to wear gloves with short fingers,
as this reduces the apparent length, while
Just the opposite Is an Improvement to hands
that are short aud broad. All gloves look
better for being rather tight than loose,
but II 20 tight that the hand balges cut in
unexpected places, the effect Is anythirg
but pleasing. White gloves, or very hight
ones. make the hand appear much larser.
Large hands should Be shaded as much
as possible by falls Of lace OF rufsies, IN
spite Of fashion, and the long, medieval
sleeve, half covering the hand like mit,
Is especially suitable. Riags, or anything
likely to attract attention TO a large, III
shaped hand. should he carefully avoided.
Work Of all kinds enlsrges the hand, and
the prettiest one is, as = general thing, the
most useless. Piano practice Is especially
injurious, and short, tapering fingers are
not well calculated for stretching oeiaves-
One comfort, however, remains 10 sbe
large handed sisterhood; If not able 70 se-
complish the possession Of small, shaPely
hands, they can, with some little trouble,
provide themselves with white and we'll
kept ones. For some years past the man
ie1re business has aourished wonderfully,
and those who practise IL certainly do Inn
prove the appearance Of hands TO surpris-
ing extent. But it Is not every one who
can pay q weekly dollar, or even fifty cents,
for this luxury, and many women therefore
have to be their own mauicures, The
best-looking hands are not those on which
the most money IS spent, but they arc those
which receive a reasonable amount Of care
A red hand is never pretty one, and
to guard against this undesirable hue, AZ
well as TO remove il when present, great
care should be exercised in washing the
hands. Indeed, the best advice would be,
do not wash them at all A dry wash or
rubbing in Indian meal Is the best treat
ment, except that it does not remove the
dirt SO readily as soap and water; and a
pint Of soft water with two teaspoonfnls Of
glycerine in il CONS next on the list. Hard
water, which should never be used, can be
softened with borax, ammonia, or glycerinei
one teaspoonfal Of either Of the first two
being sufficient for a basin Of water.
Cold water Is ruinous TO the haEds; il
should be at least lukewarm, and a little
additional heat is sometimes desirable
Very few soaps are fit to use, but pure
white CASTLE is one Of the safest. The use
of any soap should be followed by rinsing
in pure water, and very thorough drying
with soft towel Rubbing the hands to-
gether afterwards produces a gentle friction
and removes all lingering dampness. In
cold weather pair Of old kid gloves should
be drawn on as a finishing touch, and close
intimacy with the fire avoided. 1t seems
a simple enough matter to wash the hands,
but few people do it properly.
Five or six grains of chlorinated lime
dissolved in pint of luke-warm water viii
whiten the hands more expeditiously than
any other application. Redness and warts
are also said to be cured BY this recipe, in
which the hands are to be soaked for ten
or fifteen minutes night and morning. A
lemon cut in two and the cut surface APP
piled to the hands like soap has wonderful
whitening powers. Gloves worn at night
are highly recommended by some authori-
ties, and objected to by others.
"The best preparation for the bends at
night, says a scientific authority, is white
of egg with grain Of alum dissovled in it.
Roman toilette paste is merely white of
egg, barley -four, and honey. They say it
was used by the Romans in the olden time
1t is sticky stuff, and does not do the work
any better than oatmeal The roughest
and hardest hands may be made soft and
white in months time by treating them
at bedtime; all the tools needed
are a nailbrush, a bottle Of ammonia, box
Of powdered borax, and little fine white
sand to rub the stains Of, or cut of lemon,
which viii be even better, for the acid of
the lemon will clean anything. Manieures
use acids in the shop, but the lemon is quite
as good and isn't poisonous, while the acids
are"
Cotton gloves are recommended for night |
wear in preference to kid A very good |
and economical cold cream for this and |
,ther toilette purposes is made BY beating
.he white Of an egg TO foam, and stirring |
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