Elegance is the first of the qualities at which every woman aims, and our ladies show endless ingenuity in devising the newest fashions, just as they vie with one another in dressing their hair and beautifying their faces. But do you know, Madam, what a deep effect your dainty, soft fingertips have on your appearance and your elegance alike?

"Polish" lends a luster to your nails, besides protecting them and keeping them sound. To give them their due of care, you must use the special implements suited to the work of cleaning the nails, trimming them, and then polishing them. The kit does not cost much and will serve you for several years. It contains a small pair of scissors, a buffer, and tweezers; in some kits there is an instrument for removing the cuticle from the nails, a fine stick for cleaning under the nails, and a fine file. You should have ready balls and squares of cotton and soft paper, and put hot water and soap in a basin. There is a cream for the nails — do not forget it — or perhaps you may substitute a special nail oil for it; the nail brush has its work to do, and you will also need a towel. And to be sure the polish stays on longer, put on a first coat of it, follow it with another, then cover both coats with a third layer.

Do your nails at the dressing table, or on any comfortable surface, and remember that resting your forearms and elbows will help you while you work. Now gather your implements — you are about to begin — and make certain you have plenty of time, for you need half an hour to do this operation properly. If time does not allow it, divide the work into two sittings: one for treating the nails and cleaning them, and the second for polishing them.

1 — Dip a piece of cotton in polish remover, hold it on the nail a moment, then wipe off the old polish with a single stroke.

2 and 3 — Use an instrument for removing the cuticle covering the base of the nail, and pass it slowly and carefully over the skin. You may need nippers to remove any protruding remnants when the instrument cannot take them off; the tweezers will also come to your aid.

4 — Wipe the nail with a piece of cotton wound around the tip of a fine stick and dipped in the oil or the spe-cial cream, so that the remnants of skin clinging around it come away.

5 — If your nails are uneven, cut their tips with the scissors, and be careful in your use of the file, which you should draw in one direction only — the nail may be damaged by working it back and forth.