Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-10-14
ABOUT PAlMISTRY.
A Famous Artist Tells Some OF the Secrets
Of Her Art.

read n palm / always begin by shaking
hands with my victim. This is my own
idea, as far as l know. though l have
recently. heard That Desbarolles. the past
master In the art Of chiromancy. often
began his readings with hand-shake.
II is not. however. SO set down In his
book on the subject or in any other work
i have ever seen.
The mere touch OF the hand gives you
a certain intimate acquaintance with II
that all the lines and bumps. and even the
general form Of the palm and fingers.
cannot tell one. For example. the palnd,
slender, thln-sklnned. loosey-knit. moist,
cool hand OF the woman who lives on her
nerves indicates lack OF health and lack
OF vitality. Such "A hand belongs to senti-
mental. morbid temperament, and Is an
invaluable key to the reading Of the lines.
1t is easy also 10 detect from the feeling
OF the fingers the uses to which they are
put. The vioIinist with his calloused nm
ger-tips. the elastic spread Of the fingers,
and the development OF the muscles
across the hand OF the practlced pianist
ten the tale of such occupations al once.
If the left hand is larger than the rignt
Il Is a strong presumption IN itself that
TIC UNlitI - IfAA-Ildil4N'A. Ia ti4Io W. 60
TO shake both hands. You can at once de-
tect the left-handed man by this means
and that in spite OF the fact that he IS
in the habit OF giving the right hand Tor
the purpose The stronger muscular de-
velOpment and work-a-day feel Of the
left hand leaves you in no doubt.
A finn. strong. warm clasp. bespeaking
health and heartiness tells you OF the
unsuspicious. generous normal man or
woman, and such a nature is free nom
certain petty faults. Even If you should
gee these very traits written IN the palm
lines yOI realize that they are balanced
or oyerDalancel by virtue vi what the
hand-shake implies. and you Interpret the
opposing lines and marks as inherited
qualities For. 10 the eye OF the Keen
observer. each hand is a record not only
Of itself. but Of its forbears.
sKIN SIGNS.
4 careful examination Of the general
form, tho consistency Of the flesh. ana
skin. gives yOu an idea Of the admixture
of nationality In a person. II there mas
been Latin blood, by which ] mean
French, Italian. Spanish. any OF the
southern races, with Anglo-SaXOn, II be-
trays itself in IA certain difference IN
texture hard to explain. but easy OF de-
lection TO one who knows it, There Is 4
sickness OF the skin, and tho resh lies
under IT like the inside OF Il ripe peach.
1t is more sensuOus hand TO hoid or
to look at. OF such type Is the soit
but firm womans hand that slides slowly
out of your clasp. like a white kitten;
hand suggestive Of Romeos words:
"For palm to palm is holy palmer's KISS
The Turk, the Egyptian the Greek have
these qualities TO stll more marked
degree and a deeper shade OF color that
helps the novice to recognize the trace of
such blood more easily. 1t Is eXtlaOrdl-
nary how one drop or foreign blood ~
herited from an antagonistic race VIII
endure and show itself after generations
Of pure breeding. AS an example OF ms
let me tell you the story OF an artist
very wel-known American artist, whose
hand | read last winter, before / kne"
his name
You have Oriental blood in your veins;
southern at least" l said. lie gave me
u quick glance. and asked:
How do you know thatY'
| smiled. l was not ct the moment IN
ravelling the mysteries OF the art, as l am
now doing!
II hav. been American born and bred
ever since the battle Of Bunker Hiil,'
he said ION both sides, but my ancestor
who fought there-a mere bOy-had
Spanish Moorish name, inherited from
Spanish Moorish father lie. the father
came over to New Orleans as refu-
gee about the time when poor Manon
Lescant made her tragic journey TO the
same place This ancestor found his
way Bostonwards. There he met and mar
ried a Puritan maiden, and their boy
at the age OF -. fought at the great
battle-the Yankee boy with the Moorish
name, In each generation ever since
there has been a Yankee boy with the
same name, and l am the last OF them.
So here was the strange Oriental blood
showing itself IN this mans hand after
five generations. as it showed itself In
his name and fame, too, perhaps. Tor he
sees and depicts things "a the descerd-
ant of a dweller on the Mediterranean
shores does.
INDICATIONS OF TASTES AND
HABITS.
The general critical survey Of the hand
following the hand-shake will tell You,
too. much about tn tastes, the habits
Of the individual. The hand Of the ath-
lete is known II once; the hand OF the
sportsman. of the surgeon are most easy
OF detection, and every trade sets its
seal upon the hand that practices It,
only that 1t requires experience and OBJ
seryation. for experience and OBJ
servation. in this art as in every other.
are worth al the learning Of The
schools There IS a certain precision
nrDness. vet delicacy OF touch that
makes it almost impossible for one TO
be deceived about n hand that is in the
habit of working with the eye or mini.
| have never seen Buffalo BilIs hand,
but l should not guess at 1t, II hity
hands were put through a hole IN the
walls at me. and | knew that one Of them
was Mr. Codys. His hand should be
long. brown. firm, prehensiie almost, with
eyes in the hnger-tips Ike blind mans
and the clasp of it should b. like iron
behind velvet
The typical surgeons hand-and ii IS
very generally typical, | iind-suggests
the scalpel at once to the keen, prac-
ticed eye: the turn Of the wrist; its deN-
trous play end freedom, the develop
ment of muscle at the base OF the
thumb; the machine-like precision OF
movement, make IT, Of all hands. the
most capable the most human, the fur-
Their removed from the elementary type
with its short thick fingers and inAeXl-
bic hard palm.
Look al your friends hands and try
if after a little feeling and gazing, you
are not able to tell which girl is the girl
who embroiders. who draws, which one
is musical. which one goes in for tennis
and padding The easiest hand to de-
tect is the natural hOrsewomans hand
a hand like Mrs. Beachs-the teacher
at one OF our fashionable rldlng-schools
ia New York, and who has ridden many
a stubborn, frightened green hunter TO
a safe victory in the annual horse-show.
such a hand is light light as elderdown,
but with whipcOrd nerves below.
The sweetest type Of woman's hand Is
the born" nurses hand. the palm and
fingers that soothe with a touch. that
brush away with their magic aches ana
pains and sgriefs. Ipppy indeed the
woman who has the blessed gift or the
laying on of hands.
All this is prologue and preface to
your study Of palmistry proper. TO the
lines and fingers. he Joints, the stars
crosses, the Mount OF Venus, the
Plain Of Mars. ali the pretty secrets OF
chlromancy, with their hidden and sig
nincant meanings II. NJ. NJ.
The Title Monseigneur."
Q1ondon Daily News)
The French Royalists, our Paris CORE
spondent tells Us, are greatly exercised
on a point OF etiquette. How Is the Duo
d'Orleans to be styled? Snoboish Jour