The New York herald., 1878-10-14

pointed hand Z. the mixed hand Al tnc smootn
fingers by inspiration and the double knotted
apgers BY calculation, reason. deduction ana prooa-
bitiss the hand with smooth fingers will especially
excel in the locomotive arts and the applied
sciences In which spontaneous dexteriy and
genius prevail over combination. In war. says
this author, the square finger 10 ever con-
spicuous. In the Crimea the appointments
OF tue French commissarst were the envy oi
the poor British soldiers Every man seemed 10
carry his kit in . coeoanut shell, and everything
seemed 10 thsre. All their military arrangements
rest upon model ideas, and wnen these are all APP
Piled no DOUBT great advantage Is derived But
greater benefit often from the application OF
some more practical considerations In war as well az
In peace The English ought to have been beaten a.
Waterloo according TO Napoleon's ideas Of battle;
but the Duke had other Vows. spaue-hngered ones,
and tho squares obliged TO give way. D'Arpen-
tigny, who French soldier and pariot as well as
pamlst. does not seem TO have much sympathy
with English tendencies or N. GuizoI Ho says;-
rhe hand OF NJ Guizot s long, with thick Euots and
large, square pbslanges. He Is one Of those retro
speclive minds, whose lamp only throws It's rays DO
mind, who ask from the dead tho secrets OF the lv-
Ing, and from whom tho past conceals the present.
8 A rigid attention 10 being the necessary
condition Of musical rhythm It IS among tho square
nngers that are found most correct and skilled
InuSlClanS. INSTRUMENTATION ooiohkS osPccA"hy W
the spatuod fingers, aud song TO the pointed. The
hand OF tho eminent pianist, Lisz being very large,
1t by finish; his Angers very knoty, It Is by pro-
cison; his phalanges very spatuled It 10 BY power,
that he raises the admiration OF his audience. His
hand not only that OF an instrumcntalis II s also
that OF m mathematician, OF a mechanician, and oy
extension that OF metaphysican-that Is 10 say OF
q man moro reflective than impulsive, mora skifu
than impassioned. more head than heart The hands
lyric poets and sentimental novelists, George
Sand, Lecomte. de l'lslo Chateaubriand, Hugo, Do
vigny, Lamaratine havo tho pnalanges moro or less
conicaL Grammarians. critics, physicians, law
.yers, geometric,ans have phalanges square and
also spatuled. the thumb is pronounced the test
BET ween the wise man and the fool The root Of The
thumb the sign Of the reasoning will the intensity
OF which you will by the length and thickness
OF that root. In general, says this palmst, small
thumb announces rresolute disposition vaciating
in such matters result from reason and not from
sentiment or from instinct People with small
thumbs governed by the heart People with largo
thumbs governed by the head. They breathe
freely In atmss phere Of thought than IN that
OF sentiment They better with the eye OF renec-
stion than that OF the moment The following are
few rules adopted from the ancient palmists:-
..The persons whose fingers tend TO bend backward
through supplsness and elasticity are endowed with
sagacty curiosity and address. Those whose fingers,
badly placed, all differ IN form toward the exterior
phalange, are wanting mental stamina. The chiro-
mants devote them 70 misery and frlvolity. Your
hand, raised before light, shows neither light nor
transparency, feshy nngsrs Keep in their exact
paralelisms-it s . sign OF avarce. The fngers
very short and thick indicate cruelty. Fingers
long and Struggling are those OF the in
trlguing and imposters. cheats and sharpers.
An inclination to steal Is Indicated BY the exterior
are tho properties Of persons with smooth, trans
parent fingers II ID q sign Of talkatveDess and
levy OF mind when the fingers are smooth and conf
cal. II Is mark OF prudence aud capacity to have
strong and knoNeo fingers. While walking, TO move
tho arms and hold the hands firm, Is mark OF
promtitude aud mpetuosity. The habit OF holding
tne thumb concealed in the other nngcrs indicates
covstous and sordid disposition" Now look at your
hands they bear the tests of these rules
yHR THE CERAMIC ART.
Harper & Brothers have Issued in elaborate style
now volume on .rhe Ceramic Art" by JENNIE J.
Young Tho study Of the ceramic art is just now ex-
ceedrgly fashionable and ones education 10 not
sidered finished unless he she talk iearnedy
OF Spode, old Bow and Capo di Monte. The author
says preface that her object has been to
tersely and !uodiy AZ possible the more important
questions In connecsion with tho history and manu-
iacturs of pottery and porcelain, and to bring
the results OF recent research to bear
upon some OF tho unsoivso problems OF the
science OF ceramics. She has not attempted
to make original work; but has borrowed largely
the best suthorltiss. Perhaps the most valuable
part OF tho book IL that when treats Of American
pottery. "rhat there brilliant future in for
the ceramic art or America" saws this writer, may
Inferred from the rapidty with which It has bsen
pushed forward tho stage It has already reached.
With limiticss wealth OF material at his com mand,
and gifted with enterprise. lberaty and taste, tho
American artist can look confidently forward to
taxing his place beside the best the world has
produced" Mrs. Young mentions the tarif
OF the difficulties In the way OF rearing up something
worthy OF being called American ART There is no
complaint mado against the American market.
Foreign artists their works It and Of
q welcome. s.Competition by native SUPERIOR" says
this writer, sis thereby made difficult by equal
almost Impossible; by an inferior, an absurdity. The
foreign competitor comes branded as genius, and
homo CRITICS hesitate about issuing verdict In favor
OF country man. They appear TO have lack OF con-
ndence in their judgment, and would rather in
dorso modify another's opinion than tnko the
sponsibhiy OF issuing an Independents ono OF their
own. Under such conditions IL 10 di1cult Tor art
to struggle into existence. French art is TO French
man the nnest best the world ever saw. English
men support English art because II Is their own.
Anne rican art may be good, even equal TO the best
but unfortunately II is American" II Is necessary
for American potlers put the royals of England
their wares II thoy the dealers TO buy thom. II
is the same with porcelain. Specimens are given OF
different American makers which tsetiiy TO the truth
OF Mrs. Young's statements. t