a happy medium that is easily
discovered, because of its usefulness, its convenience, and its
artistic beauty. A too-highly polished surface is also a vulgarity
invented by the old-time manicure. A little powder rubbed briskly on
the nail with a heavily padded polisher is a great improvement, but
when the nails shine with door-knob brilliancy it's high time to call a
halt. As for jagged, uneven nails--there's no excuse for them.

RECIPES FOR THE HANDS.

Cosmetic Jelly: Take thirty grains of gum tragacanth, soak in seven
ounces of rose-water for two days, strain through muslin and add
one-half ounce each of glycerin and alcohol, previously mixed. This
dries in a moment after application.

Glycerin Balsam:

White wax, one-half ounce.
Spermaceti, one ounce.
Oil of sweet almonds, four and one-half ounces.
Glycerin, one and one-half ounces.
Oil of rose geranium, eight drops.

Melt the oils. Remove from fire and beat in the glycerin and
perfume. Stir briskly until cold and white.

Creme Duchesse:

Benzoinated mutton tallow, three ounces.
Oil of sweet almonds, one ounce.
Glycerin, two drams.
Rose-water, two drams.
Oil rose geranium, twenty drops.

Heat the tallow and oil of almonds in one vessel and the other
three ingredients in another. Mix the two and stir until cold. On
account of the mutton tallow, which might possibly cause a growth
of superfluous hair, this cream is not desirable as a face
cosmetic. The benzoinated mutton tallow can be made by taking
one-half pound of the tallow and one-half ounce of the benzoin, and
keeping at a high temperature until the alcohol has completely
evaporated. Strain through muslin.

Almond Meal:

Orris root in fine powder, four ounces.
Wheat flour, four ounces.
White castile soap, powdered, one ounce.
Powdered borax, one ounce.
Oil of bitter almonds, ten drops.
Oil of bergamot, one fluid dram.
Tincture of musk, one-half fluid dram.
Mix well and pass through a sieve.

To make the hands soft: Take one quart of warm water, and in it
soak one-half pound of oatmeal over night, then strain and add one
tablespoonful of lemon juice and one teaspoonful each of olive oil,
rose-water, cologne, glycerin and diluted ammonia. Rub into the
skin three times a day.

To plumpen the hands: One-fourth ounce tincture of benzoin,