On hand, in present possession; as, she has six marriageable daughters on hand

- Right hand, the place of honor, power, and strength. "Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace." - Shaks. Slack hand, idlene ; want of thrift; carele ne . Strict hand , rigorous government or discipline; severe supervision or control. -High hand , loftine of manner or pretension; self-a umption of power or authority; as, he carries it with a high hand. To bear a hand, ( Naut .) to a ist promptly; to hasten up at the moment: as, bear a hand here with the rope. To be hand and glove, to be on close terms of friendship and familiarity; to be adapted one to another; (said of persons.) - To change hands, to change sides, or owners; as, the busine has changed hands. To clap hands, to pat the hands together loudly, as an expre ion of applause, joy, or satisfaction. To come to hand , to be arrived; to have received po e ion of; as, your esteemed letter came to hand on the 10th. - To have a hand in, to be implicated or concerned in; to take a share in; to be engaged in; as, they all have a hand in the mischief. To have in hand, to be engaged upon; to undertake; to have in course of prosecution. - To have one's hands full , to have more than enough to do at one time; to be overburdened with busine ; to be under a pre ure of difficulties. To his or my hand , ., already prepared or available; in readine . "Many, whose greatne and fortune were not made to their hands." (Add is on.) -To lend a hand, to a ist; to render help; as, lend me a hand to lift this. To lift the hand against , to a ault; to use violence against.- To live from hand to mouth , to obtain a precarious sustenance; to live without provision for the future; to subsist on the bare requirements of want, or from day to day. To make one's hand, to derive advantage; to gain superiority; to obtain profit. "The French king, supposing to make his hand by those rude ravages in England,. proclaimed hostility." - Hayward. To put one's hand to, lay hands on, or upon , to seize; to take forcible po e ion of. "Time has laid his hand upon my heart." - Long fellow. To put the finishing hand to , to complete; to perfect; to give the last or final touches or corrections to. To set the hand to , to undertake; to set about the doing of anything. "He was a very idle fellow, that would never set his hand to any busine ."-Add is on. To strike hands, to become security or guarantee for another's solvency or good conduct. To take in hand , to attempt; to enter upon an undertaking or busine ; also, to take po e ion of, and deal with; as, he was a restive horse until I took him in hand. To wash the hands, to make a profe ion of innocence; to decline to take part in or meddle with; as, he washed his hands of any complicity in the transaction. - Under the hand of , authorized, sanctioned, or authenticated by the handwriting or sign-manual of; as, under the hand and seal of the Secretary of State. ( Anat . and Physiol.) The hand is the lower portion of the superior extremity, the great organ of touch and prehension. "In many respects," says Dr. George Wilson, "the organ of touch, as embodied in the hand, is the most wonderful of the senses. The organs of the other senses are pa ive; the organ of touch alone is active..... The hand selects what it shall touch, and touches what it pleases. It puts away from it the things which it hates, and beckons towards it the things which it desires. Moreover, the hand cares not only for its own wants, but when the other organs of the senses are rendered usele , takes their duties upon it... The blind man reads with his hand, the dumb man speaks with it; it plucks the flow IMG:content-0512.png:[ocr errors] ۱۷ IMG:content-0513.png:[ocr errors] er for the nostril, and supplies the tongue with objects of taste. Not le amply does it give expre ion to the wit, the genius, the will, the power of man. Put a sword into it and it will fight, a plough and it will till, a harp and it will play, a pencil and it will paint, a pen and it will speak. What, moreover, is a ship, a railway, a light-house, or a palace, what, indeed, is a whole city, a whole continent of cities, all the cities of the globe, nay, the very globe itself, so far as man has changed it, but the work of that giant hand with which the hu- 1, end of radius; 2, end of ulna; IMG:content-0514.png:[ocr errors]