The times., 1898-09-11
you SHOULD KNOW.
How to Care for the Hands and
Fingernnfls.


FingernnfIs.
Firenzuola, the old Italian author OF
novels and romances. who wrote ..Dia-
iogue on the Beauty OF Women" publish
ed in Florence in I54s which describes e,
cry point of female beauty, from the col
or of the eyes and hair to the lines OF
the neck and foot, gave IN poetic lam
guage his iedal of the soft white hand
with its rosy PALM 1.-The fingers are
beautiful he says, when they are long,
fine. and slender, tapering somewhat to-
ward the tip, yet so little to scarce
De perceptible- The nails transparent ike
pale rubies among pink roses and leaves
OF the pomegranate flower, not long, not
round. nor altogether square. but of a
1air shape, and with very littfe boss
uncovered, clean and well kept, so that at
tne base the little white crescent is visi-
| Die Above, beyond the flesh of the I'm
| ger, an edge should be seen as wide a.
| small knife is thick. without the small
est suspicion of a rim OF black at the tip.
| And the whole hanG must be of a tender
| firm surface, as though IL were of tIne
/ silk or of the softest cotton"
This ideal hand of the medieval ItaI-
ian lady is what every dainty lady Of
the present should take for her model
! To insure these perfections. time and
patience must be employed.
NhSh uuSuhS room or doing any kind
| OF work that will soil the hands always
wear gloves. Sometimes 1t is impossible
to do this, and in such case the only
thing to do is 10 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 housecleaning the following toilet
is effectuai: Pour some hot water into
I fE1 hnG Gfr7l lr4I oil 1f~eIe
er the hands with soap and brush care
fully with the nailbrush. When the hands
are thoroughly cleansed, rinse them in
some clean water and dry on a smooth.
soft towel. While still moist the skin
round the nails should be gently pushed
down and some emollient cream or glye-
crime should be rubbed well into the
hands and round the nails.
II the hands are stained with fruit
Juice, do not wash them in hot water
and soap, but only rinse in cold water,
and the stains will disappear. Stains can
be easily removed with lemon juice.
Glycerine and rosewater. mixed in equal
proportions, is a good remedy for chapped
hands. 1t must be used in small quansi-
/ ties, and well rubbed in. Oatmeal rubbed
\ into the hands after washing and drying
! VIII help TO prevent the skin from crack
/ ing, 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 small
/ piece of camphor; put all in small stone
/ jar, and melt together till the ingredients
/ are thoroughly mixed. The preparation
4 must be kept closely covered, and applied
/ to the hands after washing, and hHfors
| drying them.
\ Many people would resent the charge
/ that they do not keep their nails proper
| ly, but the fact is few people understand
/ what is necessary TO make the hands at
/ tractive. A good naiIbrush and warm,
soapy water. should be used on them once
/ day at least Once a day, also, on wip-
1 ing the hands. and while they are stiI
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. win be vis-
/ ibIe.
| The skin as rule should never be cut.
/ pared or picked. The ends or points Of
/ the nails should be pared once in seven
or ten days. according TO their growth,
which varies with the season of the year
! and the health of the individual The
I length of the nails should correspond ex-
actly with the tips or 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 70
/ bite the nails, OF 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 a pair of sharply pointed
/ scissors, q file, cuticle knife, chamcis
/ polisher box of nail powder and pack
| age of cream When polishing the nails
/ all the powder should be washed of, as
/ 1t is apt 10 crack the skin around the
nails Great care should be taken in push
1 ing down the cuIicle around the nails with
any metal instrument, as the slightest
/ bruise causes the white spots so often
/ seen on nails They will pass away after
! a time. but there is nothing that will re-
move them.
/ Not every woman can have a perfect
! hand, but every woman can have beau
| tifully kept hand. The perfect hand is
slender at the wrist and broadening pro-
portionately, has long fingers that taper
10 the tips. The nails should be thin. oval
and pink. English women have large
hands, well shaped, white, and soft and
| firm in grasp; Americans have slender
| hands as a rule; French women we'll
formed and small hands, but dark in color,
and Spanish and Italian women have the
most beautiful of all. The hands of the
| latter are beautiful in form, exquisitely
| dimpled, and possess every attribute OF
beauty. but they are dusky of hue. eOrre-
| spending with the dark faces of theis
| owners