HAND 



3821 



HANDEL. 



Hand. Prehensile extremity of 

 the arm. It consists of three 

 divisions the carpus or wrist, the 

 metacarpus, and the phalanges of 

 the fingers. The carpus consists of 

 eight small bones arranged in two 

 rows. From the radial to the ulnar 

 side, the bones of the first row are 

 the scaphoid, lunar, pyramidal, 

 and pisiform. Those in the second 

 row are the trapezium, trapezoid, os 

 magnum, and unciform. The 

 metacarpus consists of five Jong 

 bones, which articulate at the upper 

 end with the wrist, and at the lower 

 end with the first phalanges of the 

 fingers. The phalanges are four- 

 teen in number, three for each finger 

 and two for the thumb. 



Handbells. Set of bells in diatonic scale 



practising the changes (q.v.) for 

 ringing on church bells. One 

 player can easily control four hand- 

 bells, two with each hand, if their 

 handles are leather loops, and the 



composers, and 

 whilst there pro- 

 d u c e d several 

 operas with great 

 success. 



In 1710 Handel 

 returned to Germany, and was ap- 

 pointed " chapel-master " to the 

 elector of Hanover, . afterwards 

 George I of England. The same 

 year he came to England, where, 



clappers only act when swung in apart from a few short visits to 



Hand. Leit, of a negro irom the Blue Nile ; right, of 



a very aged gorilla, showing the shorter thumb 



typical of the apes 



The hand is supplied with blood- 

 vessels derived from the radial and 

 ulnar arteries of the forearm. The 

 palm of the hand is protected by a 

 strong and dense layer of tissue 

 lying beneath the skin, known as 

 the palmar fascia. In middle-aged 

 persons, particularly those who 

 suffer from gout, this fascia may 

 become contracted, causing some 

 of the fingers, most often the ring 

 and little fingers, to be drawn in 

 towards the palm, thus seriously 

 crippling the hand. This condition, 

 known as Dupuytren's contrac- 

 tion, as a rule requires operative 

 treatment. There is no fundamen- 

 tal difference between the hands of 

 the higher apes and those of man. 

 The chief difference is in the thumb, 

 always shorter in the ape. It is 

 most human in proportions in the 

 chimpanzee, and in some of the 

 Anthropoidea is practically absent. 

 See Anatomy. 



Hand. English measure of length. 

 Like foot, it originated from a 

 human limb, being the breadth of 

 a man's palm. After a time a 

 fixed length was given to it and it 

 is now 4 ins. It is only used for 

 measuring horses. 



Handbells. Small bells of sweet 

 tone, used both for the sake of 

 their own music, and also for 



one direction. Parties of five or six 

 players can thus operate a large 

 number of bells, and perform 

 elaborate music in harmony. See 

 Campanology. 



Handcuffs. Devices for fasten- 

 ing the wrists of prisoners. Modern 

 handcuffs consist 

 of two metal rings 

 adjustable to vari- 

 ous sizes by means 

 of a ratchet, and 

 fastened together 

 by a short length 

 of chain. Formerly 

 handcuffs were 

 rigid, and a police 

 officer was .com- 

 pelled to carry 

 two or three sets 

 when he went to 

 arrest a prisoner. 

 Handcuffs with no 

 connecting chain, 

 shaped like a figure 

 eight, fixed the 

 wrists in one 

 position, and often caused great 

 pain. Some handcuffs fit only on 

 one wrist, the other part being held 

 by the officer in charge of the 

 prisoner. Snap-handcuffs enable a 

 detective to imprison one wrist of 

 an offender with a single move- 

 ment. Nippers are a variety of those 

 handcuffs which are used only on 

 one wrist, the other part of the 

 handcuff forming a handle. Twisters 

 are a similar arrangement, the 

 metal ring being replaced by a short 

 length of chain that can be twisted 

 round the prisoner' s wrist. The 

 latter are not used in Great Britain. 

 Handel, GEORGE FREDERIC 

 (1685-1759). Musician. He was 

 born at Halle, in Saxony, the son 

 of a surgeon-barber, Feb. 23, 

 1685. At a very early age 

 he revealed the possession of great 

 musical gifts, but received no en- 

 couragement from his father to 

 develop them. Eventually he be- 

 came a pupil of Zachau, organist of 

 the cathedral at Halle, and spent 

 some time in Berlin, afterwards be- 

 coming organist at Halle. In 1703 

 he went to Hamburg and played 

 the violin in the orchestra of the 

 Opera House ; then his first opera, 

 Almira, was produced in 1705. He 

 went to Italy for three years to 



Study the methods of Italian opera 



Germany, he spent the remainder 

 of his life. He introduced himself 

 to English audiences by his opera 

 Rinaldo, which aroused great en- 

 thusiasm. Other operas followed ; 

 also a Te Deum to celebrate the 

 peace of Utrecht in 1713. For 

 some time he was organist to the | 

 duke of Chandos at Canons, Edg- 

 ware. In 1719 the Royal Academy 

 of Music was established for the 

 performance of opera, and Handel 

 specially composed many operas 



Handcuffs. Pair of handcuffs in 

 common use by the British police 



for this society, which came to an 

 end in 1728, He then became in- 

 terested in other operatic schemes, 

 which, however, were unsuccessful 

 owing to financial difficulties, the 

 quarrels of singers, and the opposi 

 tion of rival composers. 



He next turned to oratorio, and 

 began that series of sacred works 

 upon which bis fame rests. Saul and 

 Israel in Egypt were composed in 

 1739, the Messiah and Samson in 

 1741, Judas Maccabeus in 1746, 

 and his last oratorio, Jephtha, in 

 1751. Shortly after this he became 



