The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1873-11-29
How to Judge of Character by the
Shape of the Hand and Fingers.

| How to Judge of Character by the
| Shape of the Hand and Fingers.
| A writer. in Frank Lestse's Illustrated
| Newspaper discourses thus learnedly on
| the subject: Chirognomony helps us to
| Judge of the character by the form of the
| hand and the shape of the fingers. Pal
| rnistry also takes account of the shape OF
| the hand and the fingers, but relies chiefly
upon the indications supplied by the lines
and the mounts of the palm. nj. d'Arpenf-
| ikny's attention was directed to the subject
| in curious manner. He lived near the
| owners of a handsome country house,
| where there was constant succession OF
| visitors. The hostess delighted in the so
| city of artists, and gathered painters and
musicians round her. The host was de
voted to the exact sciences, and he sought
| his friends and acquaintance among those
| who shared his tastes. Mechanics, mathe-
| rhaticians, and practical people, We're his
chosen guests. Nj. d'Arpentigny, though
! neither a Raphael or Stephenson, was a
! friend of both the lady and the gentleman,
and he had facilities for observing all their
1 visitors. He was struck by the dissiml-
| laritY between the hands of ssmonsieur's''
| friends and those of the friends of ''mad-
1 ame.'' The artists had generally short
| fingers that tapered to point. The men
| laroely-developed fnger.joints. nj. OAR
| pentigny resolved to investigate.
| He went in search of hands, and found
various moral and intellectual characters
tics always associated with certain forms
/ Of finger. He divides hands into three
sorts The first sort have fingers with
| pointed tops; the second, square tops the
third, spade-shaped tops. (By s'spade-
| shapedn is meant fingers that are thick at
the end, having little pad of flesh at each
side of the nail The first type of
| fingers belong to characters possessed
Of rapid insight into things; to ex-
fra sensitive people, to pious people
| whose piety is of the contemplatiye kind !;
| TO the impulsive; and to all poets and art
lists in whom ideality is prominent trait.
The second type belongs to scientific PEG
| pie; to sensible selfcontained characters !:
| TO most of our professional men, who
steer between the wholly practical course
| that they of the spade-shaped fingers take,
and too-visionary bent of the people with
pointed fingers. The third type pertains
| to those whose instincts are material; to
| people who have genius for commerce,
| and high appreciation of everything that
| tends to bodily ease and comfort; also to
people of great activity. Each finger, no
| matter what the kind of hand, has one
| Joint representing each of these types.
Thus, the division of the finger which is
nearest the palm stands for the body land
with the spade-shaped type),
| the middle division represents mind 1.-THE
| square-toppe the top, soul 1.-THE pointed.
| If the top joint of the finger be long, it
denotes character with much magma
Z aI1d 10
Theoretical rather than the practical. The
Iimiddle part of the finger being large
lIpromises a logical calculating mind-a
llcomlnon-sense person. The remaining
ILjoint long and thick denotes nature that
Ilclings more to the luXurieS than to the re-
/ fnement of life. Things will present them
lIselves to such nature under a lower as
I5pect, and utility will be accounted before
Iibeauty. The above descriptions of the
TYPES of hands is far from exhaustive, for
each type affords indications of many
qualities not even mentioned here. This
sketch aims merely at giving rough idea
| of this part of ehirognomony. 1t Is well
| to remember that there are ssgood hands,
| to be found in each type--hands that are
equal to aletter of recommendation to their
owners (only. unfortunately, few can read
themi D; hands-spade-sha square, or.
pointed-that denote splendid qualities of
head and heart but the highest and best
hand of the pointed type will be something
better than the best that the other kinds
can boast. 1t must not be supposed that
M. d'Arpentigny found no artists with any
but pointed fingers, and no man of science
with pointed fingers; but it is observable
that those with pointed fingers who take
to science invest their chosen subjects with
certain poetical charm and, in the same
way, an artist with spade-shaped fingers
will be found to yulgarize art, or at least,
to treat his subjects in realistic manner,
and to see things from somewhat COM
monplace standpoint. Some time and ex-
perience will be needed by beginner to
construct the idea of the average proper
tons of hand. Only departures from this
average hand are really Characteristic and
significant. A hand conforming itself ex-
actly to the representative hand would por-
tend a being without any individuality
nonenity. The size of the hand should be
in proportion to the rest of the person.
The length of the fingers should equal the
length Of the palm. The palm longer than
the fingers would indicate preponderance
of matter over mind; the fingers much
longer than the palm, a want of ballast-of
common sense-the palm and fingers equal.
or nearly equal, shows "a proper balance
between the spiritual and the material
A New Board Fence.
II