The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-09-19
THEANTIQUITY OF GLOVES
In the Middle Ages Gold, Silver and
Precious Stones We're Employed
in Making Them.

mOCe, may not run cOeVal WlIn tnaI u
the human hand. 1t IS claimed, how
ever, that distinct evidences are given
of their use by the cave jewellers. Mr..
S. w. Beck, whose researches upon
gloves are very full and minute, notes
the fact that where the drawing off of
the shoe is referred to in the book of
Ruth the word for ''shoe" should be
translated glove" The Hebrew
scholars who make this contention
say also that the shoe is never made a
token of faith, but is only associated
with acts of humility and o~beisance."
So In Psalm cviii., where it is said,
s'Over Edom will l cast my shoe" the
word ''shoen should be glove" For
ito throw a glove yer Edom would
accord with all precedent in convey
ing a challenge, or the utterance OF q
boastful promise of punishment. 10
throw a shoe would have no warlike
significance whatever.
Among the Israelites it is certain
gloves were a sign simply of rank, or
used for display, as with all early
peoples. Ancient paintings of a mural
kind exhibit them on the hands of
kings and persons high in authority.
For every day wear and among n
common people a more primitive de-
vice prevailed for purposes of protec-
ton, since 1.-The sleeves of both x
were long and ample, and readily
available for hand coverings when de-
fence against inclemency of the wea-
Their was needed" The cloak, too,
when it was of liberal size and
warmth, could be easily made to
the hands securely.
A certain Roman writer thought it
was a species of effeminacy to wear
gloves; but his invectives against
them had little effect. Among the
epicures-or, one might better say,
gluttons-of Rome gloves were worn
ct the table. As the knife and fork
were not then used. it being the Gus
tom to carve and handle the viands
with the fingers, those who had their
hands habited could hold the hottest
meats without trouble, and were
sure to get a larger share than the
persons who dined ungloved.
Whether the Romans introduced
the glove into England is not estab-
iished. 1t Was found there, however,
in Anglo-Saxon times. The poem of
sBeowulf," a seventh century ro-
nance, mentions the glove; and not
much later gloves figure in the Gus
toms laws as a part of the duty paid
by German merchants. Allowing &C.
clesiastics to wear gloves in church
while the laity were to remove theirs
was an old rule; white gloves were, in
fact, put on the bishop at mis- ordina-
ton to symbolic the purity OF his
office. A prayer in more than one of
AI.--Jl .,fcoolc 4fForoI nv n0nIacfocfiO
contains the petition that | may be
found with pure hands, Among the
church trappings of the Middle Ages
highly ornainented gloves are enumer-
ated. Gold, silver and precious stones
were employed in making them, and
there was also no lack of lavish dec
Grafton. Joel Benton IN Ha7pey's
BGzG9.
Du Maurier's Pretty Woman"
Writing upon THE Illustrating of
Books in the September number of
the Magazine Of Aqt, Mr.. Du Maurier,
in an interesting passage, gives us an
apology for his typical pretty
woman who is so familiar to readers
of Punch. II confess he says, that
in book illustration / think the pretty
woman a very important person, and
since WI are on the subject, although
it is hardly for me to speak of her, 1t
seems somewhat unfair to leave my
pretty woman quite out in the cold.
] do hope the reader does not dislike
her-that is if he knows her. / am SO
fond of her myself, or, rather, so fond
of what l want her to be. She is my
piece de resistance, and | have often
L1,r1 11~ 4, ,r,ap1 and fho np0icanf
her has sounded sweet in mine ears
and gone straight to my heart, for
she has become to me as a daughter.
She is rather tall, | admit, and a trifle
stiff, but English ome are tall and
stiff Just now; and she is rather too
serious, but that is only because / find
it so difficult, with a mere stroke in
black ink, to indicate the enchanting
little curved lines that go from the
nose to the mouth corners, causing
the cheeks to make q smile-and with
out them the smile is incomplete,
merely q grin. So / have had to give
up the smile when the author has not
absolutely insisted upon it. And as
for the height, l have often begun by
drawing the dear creature little, and
found that by n sweep OF the pen
adding a few inches to the bottom of
her skirt / have improved her SO
much that it has been impossible to
resist the temptation-the thing is SO
easy and the result SO satisfying and
immediate.
A Characteristic Chinese Incident.
There is q small family named
Chang, consisting of a mother and a
son of eleven summers. living in a
place north of Picking called 1.-THE
Old Tiger Cave,n says the Chinese
Times. The old lady was suddenly
struck down with some severe and in
durable malady one day last moon,
which grew worse from day to day.
They were too poor to call in doctors
to give her proper treatment. and her
faithful son, who had constantly at
tended on her, seeing his mothers
severe illness and their abject
poverty and helplessness, took a
knife and sliced off a big
| piece of flesh from his thigh, and
after invoking the blessing OF
Heaven, boiled and gave it to her, as
medicine and food. Heaven was so
much pleased with such a child full
of tilial piety, that it granted his earn
est prayers, and his mother from the
day when the human flesh medicine
was administered, rapidly recovered,
and was up in ten days. When that
fnadicina was Oivan tn her the bOv did