The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-09-12
HANDS AND FINGER NAILS.

Firenzuola. the old Italian author OF
novels and romances, who wrote ''Dia-
logue on the Beauty of Women" publish
ed in Florence in 154S. which describes
every point of female beauty, from the
color of the eyes and hair TO the lines Of
the neck and foot, gave in poetic language
his ideal of the SOFT white hand with its
rosy palm. The fingers are beautiful
he says. when they are long. fine and
slender. tapering somewhat toward the tip.
yet so little as to scarce be DereeDtible.
The nails transparent like rubies among
pink roses and leaves of the pomegranate
flower. not long. not round. not altogether
square but with a fair shape. and with a
very little boss. uncovered, clean and well
kept. SO that at the base the little white
crescent is visible Above. beyond the
flesh of the finger. an edge should be seen
as wide as a small knife is thick without
the smallest suspicion of a rim Of black
at the tip. And the whole hand must be
OF a tender, firm surface, as though 1t
were of fine silk or the sOftest cotton.
This ideal hand of the medieval Italian
lady is what every dainty lady OF the
present should take for her model To in
sure these Projections, time and patience
must he employed
When busting room or doing any kinS<'
of work that will soil the hands, always
wear gloves Sometimes ii is impossible
TO do this. and in such a case the only
thing to do is to wash the hands In warm.
not hot water. the moment the work IS
finished. and then rub them over with
some emOllient. glycerine and roSewater
being an excellent preparation. After a
day of housekeeping the following toilet
is\effectual: Pour some hot water into a
basin and add d little oatmeal Lather the
hands with soap and brush carefully with
the nailbrush. When the hands are thor
oughly cleansed. rinse them in some clean
water and dry on a smooth, soft towel.
While still moist. the skin around the
nails should he gently pushed down and
some emOllient cream or glycerine should
be rubbed well into the hands and around
the nails.
If the hands are stained with fruit juice
do not wash them in hot water and soap.
but only rinse them in cold water. and the
stains will disappear Stains can be easily
removed with lemon juice
Glyeerine and roSewater. mixed in equal o
proportions. is good remedy for chapped
hands. 1t must be used in small quanti-
ties. and well rubbed in Oatmeal rubbed
into the hands after washing and drying
will help to prevent he skin from cracking
and the following preparation, easy TO
make will be found useful for the same
purpose: Take equal quantities of white
wax and sweet oil, and a small stone jar,
and melt together till the ingredients are
thoroughly mixed. The preparations must
be kept closely covered, and applied to the
hands after washing. and before drying
them
Many people would resent the charge
that they do not keep their nails properly;
but the fact is. few people understand
what is necessary TO make the hand at
tractive. A good nailbrush and warm.
soapy water. should be used on them at
least once a day Once a day. also. on
wiping the hands, and while they are stiH
soft from the action of the hot water. the
free edge of the scarf skin should be gent
ly loosened and pushed back in a neatly
rounded form so that the graceful cres-
cent known as the half-moon, will be
visible
The skin, as rule should never be cut
or picked. The ends or points OF the nails,
should be pared once in every seven or ten
days, according to their growth. which
varies with the season of the year and
~, - fI0eAi r1lf
of the nails should correspond exactly
with the tips of the fingers. and they
should be polished nicely, but not too
highly. with a closely rolled pad of cha
mois or wash leather. Be sure never TO
bite the nails or cut them shorter than
the finger tips. and never scrape the nails
with scissors or knife, as this takes away
their natural enamel.
All that is needed for the proper care Of
the nails are pair of sharDly-pointed
scissors file, a cuticle knife. a chamoiS
polisher box of nail powder and pack
age of cream. When polishing the nails,
all the powder should be washed on. as II
IS apt to crack the skin around the nails
Great care should be taken in pushing
down the cuticle around the nails with
any metal instrument. as the slightest
bruise causes the white spots so often
seen on nails. They VIII pass away after
a time but there is nothing that will re-
move them
hand but every woman can have a beau
tifulIy kept hand. The perfect hand is
slender at the wrist ana DrOanenlnE pro-
portionately. has long fingers that taper to
the tips The nails should be thin. oval
and pink English women have large
hands. we'll shaped. white. and sort ana
firm in grasp: Americans have slender
hands as 4 rule; French women, We'll
formed and small hands. but dark IN color,
and Spanish and Italian women have the
most beautiful of all. unless the women Of
India are excepted. The hands OF the lat
ter are beautiful in form, exquisitely dim
pied. and possess every attribute OF beau
r. . of hnp CnrrpSnOn6-
ing with the dark faces of their owners.
ESTHER SINGLETON.