The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-10-30

same manner as their shoes. Thus, the
Prince of Wales has all his gloves-and he
uses many hundreds of pairs in the year
made by q house in Brussels, where the
models of his right and left hand are pre-
served in just the same manner as q
bootmaker preserves the last.
Ready-made gloves never fit, and if there
are a few exceptions, they merely suffice
to make the rule. In the first place the
right hand glove and the left hand glove
of a ready-made pair are always made of
identically the same size. Now if any of
my readers will take the trouble to investi!
gate, they will find that there is invari-
ably a marked difference in size between a
mans right hand and his left. There is
always one that is a half size, q whole
size, and sometimes even two entire
sizes larger than the other. This is due
to the fact that one hand is more
frequently used, and therefore more pow
erfully developed, both as regards muscle
and bone, than the other. The maniac
turers and vendors of ready-made gloves
do not take this into consideration, and
the result is that when man buys q pair
of gloves of the size suited to his right
hand he will find the left-hand glove too
large, whereas if he goes by the size of his
left hand in making the purchase he will
discover that the right-hand glove is too
tight to be comfortable.
Another reason why ready-made gloves
never tit is to be found In the fact that
there are few if any of US who have fingers
and especially thumbs of the same length.
Consequently the thumbs of ready-made
gloves are all either too short or too long,
and in the former event they either split
the glove or prevent the free and unham-
pered use of the thumb.
Even those who have their gloves
specially made for them experience great
difficulty in securing perfect fit, and the
cutters in the great glove houses at Brus-
sells and in France earn even higher wages
than the cutters OF the most fashionable
tailors in London and New York.
So difficult is this art of cutting gloves
that most of the principal cutters are
known to the trade by name and by fame
and the peculiar knives which they use in
the business are so highly priced that they
are handed down from generation to gen.
Grafton like heirlooms.
With regard to the wearing of gloves
many different fashions prevail. indeed
they vary with almost every country.
Thus, for instance. the king of the Belgians
never, not even when in full uniform, or
in the coolest weather, will consent to don
glove. Strict on the subject of etiquette
he, however, insists that his gentlemen-in
waiting and his aide-de-camps should be ir-
reproacnapiy SloNeu IN England, on the
other hand, the Prince of Wales is in
variably gloved. and extremely we'll gante
at that. He wears gloves whenever he
stirs ont of the house, and in the evening
at the theater or at private entertainments
his hands are always enveloped in we'll
cut, single-button, peari-gray kids. He re-
tains his glove when shaking hands, but
the person whom he thus greets is ex-
pected to bare his hand before extending
il. Thus, at the levees held by the prince
on behalf of the queen at ST. James palace.
the ushers and other functionaries of the
lord chamberlain department who are on
duty are careful TO see that each man be-
fore entering the royal presence has his
light hand barred and his left carefully
cloved.
A general rule. however. which holds
good in all countries. and which deserves
TO be observed everywhere, Is to take care
never TO shake hands without barring the
right hand. To omit doing so, especially
when greeting or bidding adeu to a
woman, is just as bad form as retaining
ones cigar on these occasions | am
perfectly aware that il is hard to
have To throw away q good cigar
when stopped and addressed in the street
or III the park by ladies with whom
one is acquainted, and it Is likewise