The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-04-17
BEAUTIFUL HANDS.
Points of Beauty in the Hand De.
noting Gentle Birth.
Ancient and Modern Methods of Beautifying
the Hands.
Gun FAITH, IT'S A FAIR HAND !"

Merchant Of Venice.
1t was Lord Byron who declared nothing more
distinctive of gentle birth than the hand, and
that 1t is almost the only sign OF blood which ar
istocracy can generate; although the poets pre-
judices may have been strengthened by the 8.
sertion that Ali Paeha would have known him
anywhere for great parsonage by the smallness
Of his hands.
But II is not small size alone that gives the
hand beauty Shape, color and texture are
points OF even greater moment, and. despite the
poet, care can generate these points equally with
arlst0cracy. Antony'S friend tells of the silken
touches OF The flower soft hands OF Cleopatra's
gentewOmen. 81 take thy hand-this hand-as
soft as doves down. and as white" says the lover
OF PerGlta. And leunyson paints Aphrodite
with rosy, slender fingers" The Greeks had
formulas reducing the hands outlines TO rule,
but We recognize loneliness without formula
where tile wrist Is slender, the shape long ana
narrow, the skin white and soft and the finger
tip rosy and taper. Cover sums ii all in singing
when she weaved the sleided silk.
With fingers long, small, white as milk"
Most of this loneliness can be cultivated by
daily use of mt toilet appliances, especially o
any ointment or delicate soap that quickenS the
pores and the oil glands, thus securing whiteness
and elasticity and destroying diseolOrations.
The shape OF the hand IS always character
1stlc. LaYater told Goethe that passing the vel
vet bag, during the oilertOry IN church, lQoka1Ir
only at The hands, he became conv iDesII of The
IN adyiaua az Of each gyer n Iaqs portrait
no other than 9~is-rasDlng old man. And from
the nanu~(1aC Nandyke loved TO paint, a dreamer
I might reconstruct the whole nature of the Idle
| court OF the StuartS, as Cuyier or AgassZ could
give US the creature from the bone, the fish from
the scale. From this Idea has risen The science
| OF pamstry, which prOnOunces the taper finger
end TO be the ideaiSrs, and inseparable from
high development.
The Roman woman, who never wore a glove,
| knew well the value of the hand as an adjunct OF
beauty whether displayed on harp or lutte or in
| that gesticulatIon of which Cicero spoke as the
subtle devices oil the fingers, which Ovid forbade
| TO thick fingers, and which was carried to the
| extent of making pantomime language taught
| by masters. Great actresses use It as a vehicle
| OF expression. Mrs. SiddOns studying the
! carved Egyptian gods, learned that The arms
! hung by the side and the hands clnched told
| intense feeling, and Rachel in Phedre portrayed
! passionate seif-contsOl with the same gesture,
II, then, such capacity slnmber in the hand 1t is
lifting the hand should be Kept IN its highest ex-
| celleuce.
| The women in history famous for beautiful
| hands, are few; idleness and luxury alone Will
| not produce this beauty and the medicinal soap
that VIII produce II, by freeing and opening the
! vessels OF the skin, is a modern invention. Yet
| Anne OF Austria, who ruled France for her mag
| nihcent son, Louis QuatOrZe, aud led great min
listers captive, did IL with hand white that
men were proud TO kiss 1t; and POppaa held the
| heart Of Nero through The enchantment of her
| hand, as Vivian, with spell OF waving hands,
| bound Merlin in his forest sleep. But in poetry
| the lovely hand is always reckoning. How ex-
| qulste is the charm Of Iseult of the White Hand
| III the ArthuTian legends; and how fondiy Romeo
signs over The white wonder OF JulIeUs hand!
| What jewels send their glitter down the ares
| from these beautiful nandsl Who looking at
| Darnley's still treasured trOth ring with Mary,
| Queen OF Scots, does not see The ghOstly fingers
| that interchanGed II, or al sight of the blue
enamel and onyx, which the dying Essex sent
Elizabeth does not shape from its ashes again
| that long hand OF The Virgin Queen, who when
| Raleigh wrote with his ring on The window pane,
rain would climb, ye- fear l TO fall" an-
! SweTed with her diamond sgnet, at thy heart
fall thee, climb not al all'
Ii Is ungracious TO speak OF beautiful hands 10
| those whose hands QsiinuFel hV
and vulgar redness, chaps and assures thick
ened aud scaly ska. slapeless nails, painful
hngerends and unsightly stains, unless pre-
pared TO suggest relief or prevention. But in
days when everything resolves Itself into adVer-
tlsement, one fears the charge OF undue prefer
ence or gratultous notice in making such sug-
gestlons. Yet among the various nostrums
used, none have yet been found satisfactory; :
Tor glycerine has proved positive injury, since
with Its affinity for moisture, IL dries rather
than mOlihes. Palm oil, which enters into most
French cosmetic soaps, Is so easily decomsosed
as 10 be dangerous tar is sufficiently Irritating
to create cutaneouS diseases; the various brans
are trivial, cucumber juice Is nonsensical as
June dew. and almond emulsion has proved A
delusl0n; most, II not all, known mixtures are
either inert or owe tbeIr act4tY 10 the disguised
pGesenceyei mercury or other mineral poisons
In fact, the only trustworthy purifier and beau
tl6er Of The s in, tested by every resource Of
science and practice, has proved 10 be the Cutl-
eura Medicated Toilet Soap. This marvellous
skin beautlher and toilet. bath and nursery
sanstye contains. in modified form, the medlci-
nal properties of Cutlcura, combined with fasci
mating noWer-scents, and Is absolutely free from
any corrosive or dangerous substance whatso-
ever. II sOOthes, wlIens ana sOftens, absorbs
ali poisonous or Irritating clements destroys
scales, redness and tan, and with its own
delicious ocor impartS velyety surface and
shellke transparency. Purifying the pores
and invigoraiing the glands and their tubes,
this exquisite agent furnishes outlets for the
ehete matter which otherwise creates eczema
rashes and lnfammatlons, and Is thus a proven.
tive OF all eruptions, bIotches and sores while
It's continuous action on the natural lubrIcators
OF the skin, aided by occasional use of Cuteura
Itself, keeps the surface soft, flexible and In the
pure and perfect tint OF health. Under its effect
the working girls hands, or those accustomed
to rougheDing acids, to the handling of arsenic
stained paper, may become and remain smooth
and fair, and while its use is luxury il Is still
so potent that one maryels II Lady Macbeth
would have cried out % Not all the perfumes Of
Arabia VIII sweeten this little hand" had she
known In her day OF the virtue and strength and
sMeetnaSs Of CuLlcura Medicaien ,rnllat Snan