The Press., 1893-09-21

The Cold, Metallic Grasp of the Avarice
 and the Jerk of Simulated Delight, and
 Then There's the Grip of a Friend, Nevcr
 te Be Mistaken.
 The study of character as indicated by handwriting is largely pursued both for pleasure and for profit, experts claiming that the hidden nature of the most re- served man or woman will infallibly creep out through the finger ends and proclaim itself truly to the practiced eye; that the twist of an ''s" or the cross of a '.t" may indicate the soul of saint or the instincts of sinner, while in the lilliputian dotlet of an ''i" may Turk a whole history of hypocrisy or honesty, hndliness or cruelty.
 It may be so. It may be that, while the subject matter is absorbing the mind, well trained by worldly wisdom to lie, the unsophisticated soul slips out in the unguarded formation of the in- finite variety of curve and dash which is called handwriting.
 It seems, then, that, though the eye is the window of the soul, the hand is cer- tainly the door from which it issues forth into the world, for none need to be experts to recognize at once the char acter of man or woman when engaged in the grand old greeting called handshak- ing.
 Variety in handwriting may be infinite, but is it not so in handshaking? And, as means to unveil hidden thoughts or feelings the latter test must surely be the better, for people write in truth or falsehood and their writing remains the same, but if people greet hypocritically, though their words follow their wit, their hands grasp those they greet as their hearts alone command.
 Handshaking, therefore, while in gen. eral style it may serve to indicate the character, may also, by individual appli- cation, mark the true relation in which the factors stand. --..
 Who has not felt the cold, metallic, avaricious grasp, devoid of warmth or feeling, with which man of business welcomes you? Does not something creep out of his finger tips, telling you that while his voice says, ''How do you dor" his heart feels, "How much shall make out of you?'
 Have not all experienced the jerk of the man who stimulates intense delight in the meeting, but involuntarily drops your paw as if he were afraid it would burn him? He probably owes you money, and his handshaking tells you that his joy in the encounter is all sham.
 On the other hand, many are aware, though the experience is more rare, how the grip of friend whose heart is sim cere sends a thrill through their own, and in that moment they know that he reads them as clearly and truly as they understand him. Then it is their turn to drop or retain their warm grasp, as their instincts dictate. But their in- stincts alone are their rulers.
 Again every one knows, or will know sooner or later, that handshaking and lovemaking are inseparable. When love is in the soul, does it not creep out at the finger tips and tell it's tale of gladness or woe quicker and more surely than by any other channel? Come, all you noble army of experts in handwriting, can you tell ''Does my Phyllis love me truly" though you are shown gross of her let ters? And can you mistake that tiInid yet trustful pressure of her dainty digits as they meet yours and finger awhile like kiss, then drop gently away like tear?
 Exare- 'cs such as these prove that in the shaAll<s or hands individual relations are revealed and thoughts may undoubt- edly be read. By a more general appli- cation this process may typify character and broad outline of soul.
 Old wise women say that "a cold hand and warm heart" are always asso- ciated. Some venture to think that ex- perience proves this to be fallacy, at least as concerns the method of shaking hands. A warm, steady pressure, which reveals the pulsation of life, is surely the habit of those whose hearts overflow with the milk of human kindness, whereas a cold, inanimate touch is the natural style of those international machines called heartless humanity.
 This is generally recognized, and as all virtues are aped and exaggerated so a certain class, in their anxiety to impress their friendships, torture their victims to the extent of the thumbscrew. But the. boarding school miss, who will istlessly lay her hand in yours, must not be too
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