The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-01-05

and pink. To give them an extremely
| high polish is in very bad taste, ana 10
| make them extremely pointed is 10 Suggest
that they are on incapable hands. Amer
! 1ean women, as rule, have small nallus,
/ but they do not have beautiful HANDS.
English women have large hands, pus
usually they are well shaped, white ana
! soft, though firm in grasp. French women
have small hands, well-formed hands, but
dark hands; but it is among the Spanish
and Italian women that the most beaut1fuI
hands are found. In India the hands OF
/ the women are beautifully formed, ex-
| quisitely dlmpled, indeed, have every at
| tribute of beauty; but they correspond in
| color with the slightly dark faces that
belong to their owners.
American men seldom care enough for
their hands to make them anything more
than cleanly. Undoubtedly the climate
here, first hot and then cold, has much to
do with making the skin OF the hand dry
and the nails brittle, but if only little
care is given to the hands they respond
quickly, and certainly a beautiful hand is
Joy not only to its possessor, but to all
those who either look at 1t or touch it.
Haven't you shivered with horror as you
hand? Haven't you distrusted her whose
hands were as soft and fat as plncush-
ion? Ard haven't you felt almost fearful
as you touched the hand that was dry, hot
and bit leathery in its feeHpgF When
the ideal hand is touched, 1T Is cool, not
cold; it is delicate, not rough, ana II one
is conscious of the nails at all, IL IS as II
one felt the inside of a shell.
Some time ago there was fad, very silly
one, for wearing ring on the thumb. Inc
women who prefer to be conspicuous IN
their get-up adopted this fashion, ana
few actors were also adorned, doubt1uliy
adorned, by the thumb ring. A little
search has proven that the thumb ring at
one time was dedicated to the slaves alone,
consequently, in wearing it now, oneis SIM
ply marking oneself as slave to some booy
or som ething. First of all, as slave 10
folly.
The wedding ring is always the same
whether it is worn by the Queen OF Eng
land or she who yesterday stood behind
the shop counter, and it is in very bad
taste to have any other for the wedding
but the plain gold circle. In this country
plain gold ring is occasionally worn by
women who are not married, and this Is
questionable taste. In every other coun-
try glance at the left hand of woman
tells whether she has a right to be adj
dressed Madame" or "Mademoiselle." A
ieweler here says that in New York alone
there are enough plain gold rings made in
one year to encircle the entire island of
Manhattan. And somebody else has
started the question of the pins in connec-
ton with them. e., What becomes of all
the plain gold rings? Among the Ger
mans the husband wears a wedding ring,
and I believe that this custom also OBJ
tains among some OF the Hebrews but
general1zing it is the wife only who wears
the gold symbol of marriage.
Speaking OF marriage, l see that some
woman has been giving as a reason for the
existence Of the new woman the fact that,
by being new woman and earning money,
she does not have to ask a man for it. And
then she went on to say: The horror of
asking ones husband or father for money
is evident to all feminine minds, even
though all men are not like him who ex-
claimed: What can woman possibly
want with SIS Bother! The average
mother and daughter must be getting
dreadfully below the average if she nnds it
difficult to ask her mankind for money.
There are no women in the world who
handle as much money as the American
women-I mean those women who have to
ask their mankind for it. And this is a
constant surprise to the English or the
French women, who get what they wish
and have it charged, but really handle
very little money in absolute cash. |
never go to the theater on Saturday after
noon that | don't, feel like getting up and
cheering for the American man, since
through his generosity the American
woman is having good time. He makes
it possible for her to invite her dearest
woman friend to go out with her, to pre-
sent her with box of candy, to give her
treat after the performance, and he is sat
isfied if his special womankind has had
good time. English and French husbands
are not so generous. They take the women
out themselves and they get all the credit
for spending the money. I tell you our
men are fine, but we don't half appreciate
them.
Frenchmen make better sons, but Ameri-
cans make better husbands. The French
mans first thought is of his mother. He
expects his wife to be subservient to her,
while the wife finds her greatest happiness
in her sons. But once an American is
married all his family are secondary to his
wife, and his mother is not of very much
account until she becomes Grand