The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-01-02
PALMIsTRY IN CHINA.
Branch of an Ancient Art Which h. cludes Phrenology.

SItaSo | 1AASiOt0e7ss With the Chinese palmistry is a
 branch of an ancient art which includes
 physiognomy, phrenology and general inspection of the human body. Its ori-
 gin has been assigned to prehistoric times-the thi-.i millennium before
 Christ,
 The object of this art is twofold; O
 to ascertain the mental and moral char acteristics of persons, and @ to foretell happiness or misfortune, success or fail ure, disease and death, An instance Is given of a young lady of the tenth cen tury A. D., who had no brothers and was obliged to perform some of the mourning ceremonies before the image of her death father While thus occupied she was observed by a visitor who had come to condole. T did not see her face" he said, .but when she grasped the incense burner noticed that her hands gave promise of high position. :"
 Later on this visitor married the young lady, and rose to be 3 minister of state. One writer says:
 The presence of lines in the hand
 may be compared with the grain Of wood. If the grain of wood is beautiful that wood becomes known as excellent material, and if the lines in the and are
 beautiful tat hand is obviously well constituted. Therefore a hand cannot but have lines on 1t, those which have none. Fine and deep lines mean sue
 cess: coarse and shallow lines mean failure. or the three lines on the palm the uppermost answers to heaven; 1t connotes sovereign or father and de terinii,es station in life. The middle 1 line answers to man; it connotes wis dom or folly and determines poverty or. wealth. The lowest line answers to earth; it connotes subject or mother and determines length of days. If these three lines are well defined and unbroken they are an augury of happi- | mss and wealth. Vertical lines in ex- cess mean rebellious nature and ca llamity. horizontal lines in excess mean la foolish nature and i'll success. A yer | tical line running up the finger means
 that all plans will turn out well; ran | dom iines, which cross the creases of
 the fingers, mean that they will fail. Lines which are fine and resemble tam gled silk mean wit and beauty; coarse I lines, like the grain of the scrub oak, mean stupidity and a low estate. Lines liwke scattered filings mean q bitter life. Lines like sprinkled rice husks
 mean a life Of joy, etc" Says the author of the Divine Art" Fx,, 4o1r 1,,IJ5 and this causes lines to appear on it.
 If these lines are long the nature will be kindly and generous; if short, mean and grasginp. A man whose hand heaches below his knes will top his generation; but one whose hand reach es only to his waist will ever be poor and lowly. A small body and a large hand portend happiness and enlolu-
 ment; a large body and a small hand,
 purity and poverty" The fingers, with their several joints, are each separately mapped out--the
 commanding finger (thumb), the tast.
 ing finger, the middle finger, the name
 less finger and the little finger That
 part of the hand under the influence of
 SUTlIlk UO UL SiSCiion hG1t
 summer should be red, autumn white
 and winter dark. If autumn is red,
 winter yellow, spring white or summer
 dark, sorrow and disaster will inevita-
 bly, ensue. F& g-.-.+ -.
 The Chinese examine carefully the
 lines on the back of the hand, thus
 making ''cheiromancy" a better term than palmistry. Nor do they omit the nails, each variety of which has it's own
 signiffcation. Tapering nails mean brains; hard and thick nails mean old age; coarse, stumpy nails mean dull ness of wit; broken and sloughing nails mean, disease and i'll halth; bright yell low nails mean high rank to come;
 dark thin nails mean obscurity; bright
 greenish nails mean loyalty and good ness of heart; fresh white nails mean
 love of ease; nails like sheet copper mean pomp and glory; nails of a half moon shape mean health and fappi- ness; nails like copper tiles mean skill in arts and crafts; nails like the end of a plank mean stanch sincerity; nails with sharp-pointed tips mean cleverness ana WliiSiA ehi rough like stone mean profound stuptd- ity.
 The Chinese, again, who are nothing if not through, push every investiga- tion of this kind with German minute
 ness to it's logical conclusion. Conse-
 quently, when they have exhausted palfr1istry they proceed to ''solistry," and extract indications from the lines on the feet .f.-.,..,...',..
 Those combinations which ,augur best are the tortoise" and the ''bird' lines (on the sole of the foot), d, s.,,.s s..
 In conclusion it may DC pointed out in simple justice to. the Chinese, that the wonderful system of Identification by finger-prints, which Is forcing the modern burglar to carry on his trade in gloves, was in force in China many