Has the history of salutation ever been written? The European method is certainly of very great antiquity. Pythagoras in cautioning his pupils against hasty friendships told them not to shake hands with Mtaive and others have brought to light that recipitance of soul the researches of much of primitive Roman law was: pure pantomime, a gift in faith and confidence was manifested by "stretching forth the right hand." Modern science and research in contagion are now undermining our confidence in hand-shaking as a sound institution. I have always thought a Jovian would give the pee to the Chinese friendly salute. It is extremely likely that fastidious Orientals regard the shake as both insanitary and indecorous: they hold odd. views on personal magnetism, chiromantic influence, and other occult hocus-poons; this alone must render the Western Custom' of personal contact objectionable to them, As is so often the case, advancing science justifies their prejudices on purely physical grounds. ate Like most common-placers I don't like to think that prejudice blasees my judgment of now thing, though, of course, it does. This sage remark is a preamble to the opinion that the new-fashioned high shake is an utter abomination, both zsthetically and socially: When I am the helpless victim of it at the hands of a lady or a stranger, I am just as conscious of a loss of sympathy with the shaker a8 if he or she had dropped an H, or had used a fork as a toothpick. If an old friend imposes it on me, I indulge him, and then ask asa special favour that I may reshake in the old way.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.