Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1894-01-12
READING THE HANDS.
INDICATIONS oFcHARAcTERIN THEIR
SHAPE AND FORMATION.

INDICATIONS OF cHARAcTERiN THEIR
SHAPE AND FORMATION.
What the Palm Reveals h Shape Of the
Fingers, Their Joints and Tips h
Large Handed and the Small Handed
Mantle Liar Keeps Els Hand Closed,
For centuries fortune tellers have based
their predictions of future happenings and
accounts of past events upon the lines of
the hands of those who asked counsel from
them. But their predictions nave usually
been met with scorn from the more en- i
lightened classes, and the hand has only
within the past few years been recognized
by scientific men as an accurate index of
character. Science has reduced the old and
inaccurate methods of reading the hands to
something nearly akin to an exact system,
and while few pretend to say that the
creases and lines within the palm afford a
means of foretelling the future, there is lit
tie doubt that the shape and formation of
the hand as a whole indexes the character
of its owner with a considerable degree of
truth. The uses of all members of the
body are indicated by their aspects, and it
ID nv az Il NuiGdSOudUlC W dSSuulC UudU III
is possible to deduce the mental character
istics which have prompted these uses.
In reading character from the shape of
the hands there are certain general rules to
be observed. Much character is outlined
by the palm. If it be unusually heavy and
thick, the possessor may safely be consid-
cred q person of a low grade of intelligence,
there being even a tendency to brutality at
times. The opposite sort of palm-narrow.
thin, skinny and flabby, denotes a feeble
mind, lacking intellectual and moral force,
and inclined to timidity and lack of self re-
lance. 1t may also be noted hat a deep,
hollow palm is invariably found in persons
who are ever complaining of their bad
iuck," and who make a failure of life.
There are two broad subdivisions of
hands with respect to fingers-those with
smooth, regular fingers, and those with
knotty, gnarled ones, the latter being again
divided into those with one joint 'promi-
nent and those with both.
Knotty, irregular fingers are to be pre-
ferred to the smooth variety. He who has
them is a man of good taste, able to give
his reasons for his beliefs and ideas. He is
perhaps not so endowed with tact as the
smooth fingered a but he is more evenly
balanced. If the upper %joint-that nearest
the nail-be alone fully developed, the
mind is we'll ordered and the owner is pos
sessed of executive capacity: and given to
philosophy n science rather than to theol-
ogy and ready acceptance of the views of
others. If the lowerjoint is the more prom
inent, the owner applies himself and his
faculties rather to things temporal than
things mental, and he is far the more
worldly minded. But if the fingers be
smooth, with no joint prominent above an
other, the owner has a tendency to act upon
impulse and intuition, not stopping to in
quire the reasons of every action, and he
has far more natural grace and tact than
the other. -t
The hand with both joints developed is
indicative of the most thorough instincts of
philosophy and order. Such is the hand of
the scientist, the analytic person, the lover
of truth for its,own sake. The smooth hand
is that of the artist, the man of finer feel
ings and subtler instincts. Often it be-
comes knotty matter life, but the change
takes place at the same time that the mind
of the owner changes and becomes more
skeptical-when life becomes more real and
less ~roseate, and when the owner learns
that reason is a better guide than intuition.
The length of ~the;fngers is an important
element of the hand. The short fingered
hand indicates that the owner is naturally
quick, even to the verge of impulsiveness,
and is prone to act Upon the spur of the
moment. Hescorns details, preferring gen
eralities, and grasps a-subject at once, the
mind acting rapidly and the action being
prompt. Such q person does not require a
full explanation of a scheme or subject, but
is able to decide upon it's merits at once.
Shorten the fingers to a n excessive degree
and you have a person who is cruel and
lacking in tact. On the other hand, the
long fingered man is a lover of detail, a per-
son of microscopic mind, so punctilious
that he may even descend to, frivolity. He
is neat about his person, dignified, easily
worried by triAes and likely to be distrust-
full. He is the exact opposite of the quick,
impulsive man of the shorter digits, and
fears hidden motivesin the conduct of even
those whom he should most trust.
The longest fingers almost always indi-
cate affectation and even cowardice and de-
!, ceit unless these evil tendencies be overbal-
anced by other faculties. The gambler, car
. ing nothing who falls into his net, as a
rule has long fingers, and the avaricious
man, full of schemes, ever planning the
ruin of others for his personal gain, is SINH
larry marked. 55s
~ Is d CuIlOuS pAEduOA GudC CQe large
handed man loves small things, details, ex-
quisitely finished objects, and is micro
scopic in his tendencies, while he whose
hands are small delights in colossi of every
sort, loving ostentation and display. i'm
mense houses, majestic estates and all else
that is upon a great scale. His handwrit-
ing is large and perhaps full of fourishes,
while that of the large handed mar is
small and precise. Only the medium hand,
neither large nor small, with fingers nei-
Their short nor long, can grasp at the same
time the mass and the details of a subject.
Fingers which are broad and thick ut
their bases, are badges of a luxurious tenn
! permanent. and when the thickness is car
ried to an extreme the righteousness be-
m sensuality. Twisted and crooked
fingers are to be dreaded. as they denote a
cruel disposition, prone to tyranny, teasing
and worrying. The stiff. harsh hand, open
ing with difficulty, is an invariable index
of st~ubbornness and avarice. while the sup
pie, free opening hand, tending to bend
I backward, indicates generosity, frankness,
susceptibility to conviction. and sometimes
inquisitiveness and extravaganza. Be on
your guard against the person who habitu-
ally keeps his hand! closed wholly or in
part. Such a person will deceive you if he