The allowance of Joseph Locksley on kissing a woman's hand in the translation into Russian of Becard Minsky.

Kissing a hand is a wonderful way to greet a lady. It is used quite often, and, unfortunately, it is often abused. Hope this short article helps you do it right.
  First of all, you can kiss the lady’s hand only in two situations:
  1.If you are already familiar with the lady, and she offers a hand for a kiss, or
  2.If you get acquainted with the lady, and she offers a hand for a kiss.

EVEN DO NOT ATTEMPT yourself to grab the hand of any lady and kiss her. She can put you very hard on the spot, and any witness of this will have every moral right to laugh out loud at your mistake. Or even help a lady by giving her one or two dull knives: If a lady offers a hand for a kiss, kiss her. If not - DO NOT KISS.
  (You, in turn, can<намекнуть>  offer her hand, stretching her. But be sure to be ready to turn the arm you have extended into a curl of your curtsy in order to avoid an uncomfortable situation when you stand with your hand outstretched like a beggar on the porch: 1)

There are several options for kissing the lady’s hand.
  Kiss<сухими губами>when you gracefully lean towards the offered hand and make a movement as if you are kissing the back of your hand. DON'T TOUCH hands with your lips! This option is applicable when you first represent the lady, and indeed applicable in any situation.
  Kiss<сухими губами>when you gracefully lean towards the offered hand and gently kiss the back of the hand of the lady. This option is applicable if you have known a lady for a long time. This option is absolutely NOT APPLICABLE if you have not been presented to the lady before.
  Here you have the opportunity to express the lady thought<Я ошеломлен вашей красотой>. To do this, you should not just bend down to the offered hand, but stand on your knee before kissing your hand. This option gives you the opportunity to look into a thirsty look in her eyes. But make sure you reach the ladies hand when you are kneeling. If you manage to pull her while she is leaning over you, you will have to move to another planet and change your name. Remember the axiom:<Общество никогда не забывает!>  Or, if you are very lucky, move your grand blunder stoically.

Mentioned above are common and<общественные>  options for kissing hands. The following are the more intimate ones that should be applied NOT to the FIRST lady that came across, but only to the one who will definitely be satisfied with it. And be prepared to beg for forgiveness, if she suddenly offended. If you are not sure about the ladies reaction, do not make such a kiss. And you can not be sure of the reaction of the ladies, if you are not absolutely sure in her response chuvtsvah. (And do not let your mind even try to analyze the possible reaction of the ladies). You can also add that the following three options are completely inapplicable to underage ladies!
  Gracefully lean towards the offered hand, gently turn it over and,<сухими губами>kiss your palm. This is a hint of great admiration for the beauty of the ladies and<благоговение на расстоянии>. Then close the palm of the ladies on a kiss and purr something nice, like<Молю вас, сохраните это как память обо мне:>.
Gracefully lean towards the offered hand, gently turn it over and, as dry as you can, lick it. This is an allusion to the strongest admiration for the beauty of the lady and the desire for more: uh-uh: close contact. :: Do not do this if you are not sure of your ability to fulfill this promise: and that the lady will not kill you in the eyes of society. Do not use this method if you can not<играть кавалера>  for everything else, since you can still be considered a bushman.
  The latter is considered by many to be disgusting and vulgar. For God's sake, do not use it if you are not in a very close relationship (not necessarily sexual) with a lady. When I kissed the hand of one Duchess, her knees buckled.
  Gracefully lean towards the offered hand, but a little to see the lady's eyes (for this you have to slightly raise her hand), gently spread her fingers to the sides and, with a dry tongue, just a tip, gently lick her between two fingers, into the membrane. This is an obvious promise. Do not do this if you are not sure of your desire and ability to fulfill it.

Notice how I always add<сухим языком>. Slimy, sticky kisses are not appreciated at all.
  Practicing finger sucking is awkward. And to continue to kiss the forearm after the hand and up is simply stupid, although it is applicable as a comedic move. Clicking heels while kissing a hand is unhistorical.
  When parting, it is also appropriate to kiss the hand - if it is offered for a kiss. If the lady offers a cheek for a kiss - kiss her, as in case 2, described above: gently and dry lips.

Kissing hands - a form of art. And it should be used together with secular bows, hat salutes, and all the rest.<фичами и багами>  courtly behavior.
  But: be careful! When you kiss the lady’s hand, you go where even the angels are afraid to walk!
  And never direct your attention to the manners of a lady. Such an action is characteristic of a rude cattle and puts you in the category<отходов пищеварения и вони в переполненном спортзале>.

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The answer to the question of whether any words should be added to the gestures described above depends primarily on local customs, then on the circumstances in which the meeting takes place. However, there are people who know you only by sight. When you meet with them for decades you just take off your hat without saying a word.

If you meet a relative, friend or close friend, you should exchange verbal greetings even if you are not going to start a conversation.   Usually saying: "Hello!", "Good afternoon! (Evening, morning)". In no case do not call with the name of the person you met. Your interlocutor himself knows his name, and maybe he doesn’t want the whole street to know about it! Even when you meet a close friend, do not call him by name at the top of his voice, as many do without any malicious intent. It is accepted only that the big chief calls by the name of the subordinate, and the officer - called the soldier. In this case, it can be considered as a compliment.

Of course, the person with whom you are on “you” will not be offended if you are a friendly person to say to him: “Hello!”, Adding or not adding to this “dear”, “old” or something like that (but also in In this case, not naming the name!). But you need to be extremely ill-mannered, so that instead of a clearly pronounced greeting, you can mutter something inarticulate: the articulation does not depend on your friendship feelings!

And it will be absolutely disgusting to look if you mutter something unintelligible instead of greeting.   If you meet a man and a woman, you greet the lady first, and then greet her companion. You can get into a somewhat delicate situation by meeting, say, a man you know is unfamiliar with a woman. In this case, you should immediately greet the lady, and then, without giving her time to be surprised that a stranger greets her, greet a man - this will immediately put everything in its place.

Avoid like the plague, the American "hello", the Italian "chao" and similar greetings, although they are often used throughout the world.

Doctor or lawyer, you should say: "Hello, doctor!" or "Good day, meter!" (but never - "hello, MR. Doctor"). To say “hello doctor” in French-speaking countries to the doctor of philology or social sciences is to seem a little ridiculous.

When people break up, they usually say goodbye to each other. In France, you can wish good evening or good night (but it is not customary to say good afternoon). As for the word “farewell,” it is used only in cases where there is no hope for the next meeting or when you want to emphasize that the relationship ends there. If this word is pronounced seriously and coldly, it means for the person who caused your discontent that you are no longer familiar with him and no longer wish to hear his name. That is why it can be pronounced in a similar way only after mature reflection and clearly knowing the reason for such an act.

Two said hello. They stop, they are going to walk a few steps together. This is the moment for a handshake, which, however, people exchange in many other cases. This form of greeting, dating back to ancient times, has a symbolic meaning and long traditions. A handshake should always be a sign of respect and never an inevitable duty.

The rules prescribe to do in this case the opposite of what is described above: the first hand is extended by the lady, the eldest, the chief . This means that the more important person, accepting the sign of respect, takes the initiative to decide whether the next stage of greeting is appropriate here. It often happens that some overly impulsive people forget this basic rule.

Here we come to a very significant point: refuse to shake the outstretched hand - a very serious insult . We have this right only as a last resort. If the lady in white gloves does not want to shake the janitor’s hand, or even hesitates before accepting her, she does not deserve to be called a lady. And the busiest of statesmen has no right to refuse to handshake the most tedious of visitors.

It can be argued that refusal to shake hands is an exceptional punishment that a normal person should neither use nor experience for himself throughout his life. .

Before you shake hands, you should take off your hat, bow and look at the other person’s face. in any case, the man must stand up. A lady will only get up when she has to shake the hand of a person much older than herself or wanting to be given a special honor.

Not without reason, it is believed that a handshake betrays a person. Therefore, do not crush other people's fingers or give in to a limp, limp palm. Shaking your fingertips is not good either. A hand is a hand, and a handshake is a handshake: it is not the right moment to look into the distance, wry or twirl in all directions.

Since there are many superstitious people (even if you yourself are not), do not shake hands with someone over the joined hands of other members of your company - crosswise. In addition, such a gesture is devoid of elegance. It is much better to follow the accepted rules of priority:

• lady with lady;
• a man with a lady;
• man with man

By tradition, shake the right hand.   The custom goes back to the times when they held weapons in it, and the fact that you stretch your “empty” hand meant that you want peace. But there are times when you have to shake your left hand: a disabled person, for example, a person who has a crippled right arm. If your right hand is very dirty as a result of dirty work and there is no way to wash it, you can also stretch your left hand. All over the world, scouts shake their left hands, members of some other associations or communities do the same. In such cases, we must also extend the left arm to them: it would be impolite and inconvenient from the anatomical point of view.

The symbolism of a handshake is manifested under different circumstances than in the case of a greeting or farewell.   People shake hands when concluding a deal or agreement, confirming the given word to express condolences, underline the request, congratulate, thank or apologize. This is a sign of partnership, friendship, love.

The issue of gloves is closely related to the question of a handshake.   The problem of gloves (to wear them or not?) Was solved differently in different eras. There was a time when a well-educated person did not leave the house without wearing gloves, but now the requirements have softened somewhat.

On the street, a man, greeting him, takes off his glove from his right hand, regardless of whether he is wearing a glove on the hand extended to him. There will be no gloves on it if it is a man’s hand, but a woman’s hand may remain “dressed”, because custom requires a woman to take off the glove only in case of an appointment. But when the meeting happened by chance, you can stay in the glove. There is an exception dictated by common sense. It applies to summer or elegant long gloves, which are so difficult to remove. No one will be offended at you if you stay in gloves and do not, tearing them off, do more or less graceful exercises, even if they are waiting for you.

But when it comes to closed spaces, conditions change. No one should wear gloves on his right hand when he enters the room and is about to say hello.   To avoid a public battle with a tight-fitting pigskin or chevro, we advise you to break free from the glove before ringing the doorbell. Similarly, it is necessary to remove the gloves in the restaurant and (for a man!) In the dance hall, a woman can remain in ballroom gloves at the dance. You can not take off the gloves in the Protestant church, but in no case - in the Catholic, where their presence does not fit in with the fact that you should cross at the entrance, wetting your fingertips in the holy water. You can stay in gloves on the train and, of course, while playing sports and driving a car. In the theater, a man takes off his gloves, as during all public performances that take place indoors, and a woman is given the right to choose. As for the table, then, as Alfred de Musset said long ago: "Do not wear gloves, eat with your bare hands!". This rule is still valid: a gross mistake would be to appear at the table in gloves.

Is this custom, according to some, an obsolete, outdated legacy of the old regime or, on the contrary, a manifestation of the highest courtesy that remains the property of men and women of high origin? People ask this question to themselves from ancient times, and this custom has its supporters and its opponents. However, it seems that lately there have been more supporters. Anyway, here it's about high school good tone: because if all the rules are not followed, such a kiss can make the characters funny in the eyes of others. Hand kiss women, worthy of respect, and only to them alone! In many countries, it is customary for only married women to kiss their hands, and this rule has not been canceled.

Kiss hand only indoors, never - in the open air.   On the street, this will be more an error against good manners than a manifestation of gallantry. To kiss a gloved hand, to kiss a hand stretched over a table or a chair, to kiss automatically or unnecessarily fervently, to kiss the hands of only a few of the ladies present, leaving the rest unattended is to be guilty of more or less slip that many make, considering their behavior impeccable.

By the way, how to kiss your hand?   A lady extends a hand to a man who greets her, he takes an outstretched hand, leans slightly over her and lightly touches his lips or just pretends to be concerned, because between his lips and the ladies hand most often remains a few millimeters. Kissing hand should be reserved. A person who kisses a lady’s hand should in no case be like a footman, bowing almost to the ground. This, however, does not mean that you have to keep straight, as if swallowing a stick, since such a posture will indicate arrogance towards a lady rather than respect for her.