The San Francisco call., 1904-02-28

as Of the horseman's conduct of the
reins?
They are alike in all essentials-the
little hand whose dainty fingers guide
the needle through some gossamer web
OF finest lace, and the massive fist, in
whose gigantic grasp a bar of iron
seems toy. Down there by the
Rhine which I see flow past as / write
one pair Of busy hands is twining the
rope, with which later on other hands
no less industrious will reef the sails Of
one Of the many little boats floating
upon the stream. Everywhere upon
the face Of the earth mems hands are
employed, with the pen or with the
spade, at the easel or the ploW, SOW
ing, reaping, building incessantly, for
ever engaged in the inexorable struggle
Tor life, or collectively tOiling in the
carrying out Of some great scheme the
raising Of some mighty monument.
ana just this common action it is
which forms an unconscious tie Of uni
verssl brotherhood, stronger and fur
ther reaching than the narrower arti-
ncial conventions founded on reciproc-
ity Of interest.
The hand is the link between man
and man; it signs the pledge Of every
social bond, its symbolism plays an i'm
portant part in all the functions of
public life-whether il be as the priest
ly hand, uplifted in solemn benedic-
ton, or as the silent witness to spoken
words, when raised on high to testify
10 the sanctity of an oath. Clasped
hands are the emblem Of the alliance
Of nations as of individuals; the frank
grasp Of the hand is the token of loyal
friendship; the outstretched hand the
sign Of welcome; the reconciliation
which puts an end to a bitter lifelong
feud is attested by the simple action Of
joining hands. Mans instructive hom-
age 70 woman is never better expressed
than by the touch of his lips upon her
hands-the chivalrous difference to the
whole sex is most nttingly sym bolized
in this simple action. The recognition
Of its high import has caused numer-
Gus prOVerblal expressions relating to
the hand to pass into our daily speech;
10 go through life hand in hand" has
become synonymous of the most entire
union in thought and deed: we speak of
those who are unduly Influenced by
others as having fallen into their
hands" and the expression Ito lend a
hand" is equivalent to giving help in
any fOrm-not necessarily of a material
nature. Above all, the supreme beauty
Of the hand-its instructive adherence
Of the touch that contaminates, of all
base, unworthy action, its shrinking
from aught that might sully its native
purity-is not all this admirably
summed up in the popular acceptation
Of clean hands" as the symbol Of un-
stained honor2
This supreme significance of the hand
in social intercourse has its counterpart
in its Importance to the individual or
ganism, where it serves as a swift and
sure medium of correspondence be-
tween consciousness and the outer
world. The physical evolution of the
human race scarce records an acquis-
ton so valuable as that of this sensi-
tive and highly elaborated member
which has becOme-lilxe speech itself-a
vehicle for the rendering in concrete
form of mental conceptions, the dictates
Of the VIII and the impressions of the
senses. In the written characters ii
traces, thereby lending enduring form
10 the thought of passing general tfons
in the figures it models in clay or
carves in imperishable marble. as in the
pictures wherein by means of line and
color it fixes on the canvas heeting
scenes Of the outer world or still fairer
glmpses Of the interior vision-in all
these processes We perceive the hand
at work as the trained instrument
almost we might say as the conscious
agent-and the services it renders in
giving objective life to the creations of
the latter are indeed of incalculable
worth. Nor are these services con-
fined TO the plastic arts alone-thoueh
their action there is paramount and
indispensable ble-but music also, that
most ethereal language Of the human
soul. Music itself would lose at least
half Of its significance and be shut out
from the sphere of its most complex
development had there not been be-
slowed upon US, in addition to the sing
ing voice, the fingers, whose touch upon
keys or strings has power 10 draw from
their depths the hidden sweetness slunn-
bering within. Mans noblest ideas
must in course Of time have perished.
sterile and forgotten, had there been
no means of recording them; the high
est firhfc q The ir,nn -I--r-I