The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-09-16

A Professor Or tho Ara. and ths 'sn'e'
He lay Down.
rrom the .ondou PsIl-Mall Gasetie.I

A Professor Or tho Art. and ths ~
i He lay Down.
------
From the London Pail-Mail Gasette-I
\ There HIVES In Paris, and active yet'
though his are numbers almost the years
OF the century, an old professor. himself an
interesting stiidy, who has devoted the
middle and end OF his life TO study more
Interesting still. II Is In the students quar-
ter. not far from The Odeon, that he has
\ fixed his residence. and there, In the upper
story Of an ambitious house. he practices
his art and receives his clientele. TO
call him fortune-teller would be unfair
To the man, and perhaps TO the cen
mry. And yet he tells fortunes. has much
10 say about mystic Influences, about
chronology and handwriting, and, lastly,
about the hand Itself, lis shape, its supple
ness, the length OF the fingers, and the he
OF them. with the crosses and creases ana
the marks and the lines that are TO he found
more or less developed in the palm OF every
hand. From these he has constructed
science by which he processes 10 tell the
characters OF the persona who apply 10
him, and he has written hook NOW In its
fifteenth edtion) In which he has commu-
nicated his knowledge to his disciples.
In one respect the professor differs from
other tellers Of fortune and character. The
rules he lays down, the tests he adopts, are
clear and unambiguous. Most yaticlna-
tors, from the Delphic oracle down TO Lad-
kiePs Almanac, are wont to deliver kind
Of swivel prophecy to which any subse-
quent event may be easily attached In the
form OF fulfllment. Our French professor
does, indeed, say that one part OF the hand
may contradict or vary another-such COM
picatiOns are inevitable but In the main
he laws down his propositions with hud-
able clearness and decision, and any one
with fair memory and good powers OF OBJ
seryation may Judge for himself. Ii is pro-
posed ia this article TO state three or four OF
the leading principles in the science, 80
that the reader may come to his own con-
illusions as to its trustworthiness. There
may he general propositions which are
true, even though the too curious consider
alton OF minute details leads to error. Peo-
pie who reject as fmciful the distinctions
OF Spurzheim and Lavuter still believe that
a man with big brow Is likely TO be clev-
err, and a man with a strong chin to be de-
termined. Ordinary people do not get the
same suggestions from the hand; and yet
il NAV be capable OF affording them. The
|
what are the rules he lays down.
To begin with the fingers. The varia-
tions of these are not numerous, ant any
hand NAV be referred TO one OF some three
or four types. There are the pointed fin
gers, where the finger tips are small and
conca and the fingers themselves sleek
and soft. They are no uncommon posses
sion and admit OF no doubt when they are
| n. l. tl.,f laAx IN la a
dreamy disposition, tendency to
poetize and to speculate. Men with
such hands are enthusiasts and ora
tors, have the gift OF Imagination
very prodigaly bestowed 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 possessed by Vie
tor Hugo and George Sand. With the soft
fingers and the conicaI tips there is no ne
cessary alliance. The fingers may he sleek
and the tips may be square. And this
combination gives us another class OF cha
racter. Here we have the tendency to art
and poetry. but better under control. They
are instructive rather than imaginative.
'rhe fine frenzy gives place 10 an eye for
symmetry and an ear for rythm, and the
|
sin. Vauban, and Turenne. Ii is a pity
that we .have no living examples. Por-
trait.painters 4 century ago had fashion
Of taking the face from the sitter and the
hands from a favorite model. Vandyck's
warriors, diplomatistS, and colirtiers had
all precisely the same kind Of fingers. The
fingers may be even more than square.
They may he spaiulous, widened and
rounded at the end like IA chemists blender
or an artists palette knife. This is very
practical hand indeed, widely removed from
the dreamer and the yisionary-the hand
OF man fond OF movement and Of
action, the hand OF man fond OF horses
and dogs and hunting and warfare,
Off he is more peaceable-of com
merce and mechanism, a man Of order and
of contryance, a merchant. Il financier, or,
il may be only churchwarden. The
spaiulous hand is generally found supplied
with large fnger-knots; but where the
fingers have no predominant joints the ar
tistic character prevails. Men act from I'M
pulse rather than from knowledge or rea-
son. Ii is not laid down, however. that
the tendency Of rheumatism is To convert
poets into politicians, though it painfully
develops the knots OF the fingers. Lastly,
there is general rule that large hands
deal best with detail. and short ones with
general effect. ID would he interesting 10
test this by examining the hands OF the
Royal Acadcmicians.
But the art descends into minuter detail.
Each OF the fingers has its special charac-
teristic, and a system OF neurological no.
mencature has been adopted based on the
attributed distinctions. The fingers known
to us rs first, second, third. and little are
called respectively Jupiter, Saturn, Apollo,
and Mercury, and il il is though. that we
are getting into the region Of the fantastic,
it is only fair to the professor that his
statement be heard and he tested. There
is ranged across the palm of the hand a
series Of little cushions or hills, one ut the
base OF each finger but little way from the
thumb. Character lies in these, and the
character may be told by their eXamina-
ton. The first finger indicates ambition. II
the mound is large, it, owner will have 4
love of power coupled with desire to
shine, great gaety, some pride, tendency
to superstition, and fondness for nature.
IL the mound be wanting, the life Is one
without dignity, the tastes are common,
and the man Is narrow, selfish, and inter-
ested. The second finger Is said 10 control
his life, rs it shows the extent OF his pru-
} dence and the probability Of his success.
, But II the mound be preternatural we are
to look for silence and sOitariness-a
lIamlet-kind Of disposition, yerging on
, asceticism. The third finger, however,
supplies us with more cheerful re-
} ilection. it is the finger Of the
: arts. 1t shows the presence Of genius and
probability Of fame. The man with large
: mound near his third finger will be anna
bic and hopeful-a delightful companion
: and an excellent friend. But il the mound
/, be excessive the results are disastrous. A