Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1893-10-28
HOW ADlAI SHAKES HANDS.
The e-President an Artist in This
Line of Work

The Nice-President an Artist in This
Line of Work
Tho Nicc-President may properly he
described rs the CoQuelin of hand
shaking. There is 50 much refinement.
finish and delicacy in his work that
the art of it as an art seems like ma
ture. He has good hand, has the
tail man who carried Illinois for the
Democracy, and he has the right
height and pose. A man with very
slender fingers leaves a snaky feeling
after the ceremony, while stumpy
fingered man with a very broad palm
gives the impression of coarsenesS, says
the San Francisco Examiner.
ViccPresident Stevensons palm is
slender the fingers are firm and we'll
developed, all the joints seem to be III
working order, and this is the way in
which he shakes hands:
Standing erect, with his head thrown
back, till his visitor Is close to him, he
has the proper pose to make the best
impression. 1t gives him the advantage
of letting you see that he is the man
who is doing the hand-shalking, and
that it is your hand and not his that
is to be shaken.
AS you approach the head is lowered
with courteous bow till you can see
that he Is not so bald as his pictures
and does not have to wear laurc!
wreath as julius Caesar did to keep
the flies off. The gray hair is fuzzy
and thin, to be sure, but still there are
enough spears of it to make walking
as difficult as waltzing in a field OF
ripe corn. The well-set, deep blue eyes
search out your eyes till they have
your gaze firmly fixed on them, and
then they soften down into a kindly.
gentle glance that makes you feel thai
you are the object of a Vice-President'S
special solicitude. They are not hyp-
motto like Henry Markham's eyes, but
receptive, as though anxious to well
come confidence.
BY this time you are close to the
Vice President, and your hand is out,
but not so far that the elbow has left
the side. He does not want any hand
shaking of his to look like a boy grab
bing at the rings of a merry-go round.
When he has your undivided attention
and gets you within the proper range
for effective work. the smile broadens
and your name is repeated with just
the swiftness needed to convince you
that he has heard it before. and will
remember it as long as he lives. And
right there is Il feature of the art of
hand-shaking that most statesmen
overlook.
1t does not cost much of an effort to
say Mr. Jones or Mr. Walker as you
would say Mr. Cleveland or Mr.. Edi-
son, to say it rs though you had been
yearning for years to shake the hand
of the man who bore that honored
name, but that emphasis is too often
neglected. 1t is half the battle to let
the man know that you recognize him
as the man and not as a man.
AS the name is spoken and you see
that you are clearly and ineffaceably
photographed on the Nice-Prcsidential
mind Stevcnson's right hand is raised
from his side by Il shoulder movement
and you find the little finger sides of
your hand resting on his palm. Smul-
taneously his thumb is thrown over
your forefngcr and his fingers envelop
yours till he has got your hand settled
in the place where he can best hold 1t.
The grip gradually tightens. At this
moment you realize fully that he is in
charge of the whole job and do not try
to make It q tw0-handed affair. The
pressure Is firm, but evenly distributed.
There is none of that attempt to reduce
your hand to the size that rural states
men often mistake for an expression of
hearty warmth.
You feel that the Eice-PrcSident is
accustomed to the manners of people
who appreciate French cooking and
grand opera. When the grip is settled
to his satisfaction your hand Is raised
about six inches, lowered, and then
raised about eight inches. Then it is
brought down to the level from which
it started, the VicePresidential fingers
are loosened, your hand lies loose in his
for second, is then released and his
goes back to his side Again his head
is thrown back and his eyes are taken
off yours. You feel that the ceremony
is at an end, the words of welcome are
spoken and there Is no particular rea-
son why you should linger In the neigh
borhood.
In dismissing caller Mr.. Stevenson
has no superiors. His manner is such
that 1t does not occur to you that you
could or would remain moment
longer, and yet you feel no sense of
being shut out. To stay around after
that would be like sitting in theatre
when the last curtain has fallen, as
though you expected the leading man
and leading lady to come out do a
song and dance.