The daily gazette., 1883-10-27
rArE IN rnE FINGERS.
Variations Of the Fingers aud the signifi-
canoe OF Each Type.


People who reject as faneitul the distine-
tions of Spurzhem aud Lavater still believe
that a man with big brow is likely to be
clever, and man with strong chin to be
determined. Ordinary people DO not get
the same suggestions from the hand, and
vet II may be capable OF affording them.
The French professor says it is. We shall
see what are the rules he lays down.
To begin with the fingers. The variations
OF these are not numerous, and any hand |
may be referred to one of some three or four
types. These are the pointed fingers, where
the finger tips are small aud conical and the
fingers themselves sleek and soft. Thty are
no uncommon possession, and admit OF no
doubt when they are found. II Is said thar
they indicate dreamy disposition, ten
depey to poe tie and speculate. Men with /
ouch hauds are enth slasts and Orators, have
the 9it of Imagination very prodigally be
slowed upon them, but at the expense OF
common sense and knowledge Of the world.
Such hands are claimed for Shakespeare,
Schiller, and Goethe, and certainly BY Vic
tor Hugo and George Sand.
With the soft fingers and the conical tips
there Is L necessary alliance. The fingers
may be tleek and the tips may be square.
Aud this combination gives Us another class
of character. Here we have the tendency
to art and poetry, but better under contru'.
These are instructive rather than imagina-
tive. The fine frenzy gives place to An eye
for symmetry and an ear for rhythm, and
the types are to be found In Moliere, POussin,
Vauban. and Turenne. II is pity that We
have no living examples Portrait painters
century ago had a fashion of taking the lace
from the sitter and the hands from fayorte
model. Nandyck's warriors, diplomatists,
aud courtiers had all precisely the same
kind of fingers.
| The fingers may be even moro than square.
| They may be spatulOus, widencd and
rounded at the end like a chemists blendeT
| or an artists palette knife This Is a very
pralt'cal hand indeed, widely removed from
| the dreamer ant and the visionary, the
hand OF a man fond OF movement and of a.
tion, the hand Of a man iond OF horses and
dogs, and hunting and warfare, or, II he is
more peaceable, Of commerce aud mechan-
ism, q man Of order and contrivance, mcr-
chant, a fnancier, or, 1t may be, only
church warden. The spatulous hand In
generally found supplied with large finger
knots; but where the fingers have no pre-
dominant joints the artistic character pre-
walls. Men act from impulse rather than
from know ledge or reason. II Is not laid
down, however, than the tendency Of rheu-
matism is to convert poets into politicians,
thought it painfully develops the knots OF
the iiugers. Lastly, there is general rule
that large hands deal best with details and
short ones with general effect 1t would be
interesting to test this by examining the
hands of the royal acPdemicians.
But the art descends into minuter detail.
Each of the fingers has it's special character
istic, and a system of NEUROLOGICAL nomeL-
clature has been adopted, based on the at
tributed distinctions. The fingers known to
us as first, second, third and little, are called
respectively Jupiter, Saturn, Apollo and
Mercury, and II It is thought that we are
now getting into the region Of the fantastic
it is only fair to the professor that his state
ment be heard and be tested. There Il
ranged across the palm Of the hand a series
of little cushions or hills, one at the base o
each finger, but little way from the thumb
5 Character lies IN these, and the characte
may be told by their examidation.
The first finger indicates ambition. If tht
mound is large, its owner will have love ni
power coupled wi h a desire to shine, grea
gayety, some pride, tendency to supersti
tion, and a fondncss for nature. II tn,
mound be wanting, the life is ouc without
dignity, the tastes are common, and the mar
is narrow, selfish and interested. The secout
finger is said to coutrol his life, as II showt
the extent of his prudence and the proba
, bilty OF his success But II the mound b.
s preternatural, we are to LOOK Tor silence au,
,t eoM Mariness-a Hamlet kind of disposition
verging on asceticism. The third finger
c however, supplies us with more cheerful re
Il Elections. II is the finger of the arts.
l., shows the presence Of genius and the proha
n bility OF fame. he man with a large noun
= near his third finger will be amiable ant
= hopelul-a delightful companion aud an ex
e cellent friend. But If the mound be exces
4 sive, the results are disastrous. A love o
notority converts the life into vaingloriou
existence, wish a tendency to avarice aud
certain direction toward envy.
Lastly we come TO the little finger. l. ]
: The finger Of Invention, o. Industry, OF quirl,
o n ss of ingenuity the finger, probably, tha
I makes us a nation OF sbop-kcepers, II IS th
finance finger, and an excessive noun
might even be found among the less attrae
Q live types OF the British bankrupt, as Il IN
dcatcs sharp praclic, disastrous acutenes,
dshonorable trickcrT, and a love OF evasion