The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-11-17
sIaNs rN THE THUMB.

SIGNS IN TIE THUMB.
The gypsies have always recognized
that the thumb is the most important
factor in delineating special tenden-
cles. These nomadic people are the
most intuitive on earth, and the fact
that in their fortune telling they Of
ten con6ne their representations to
the thumb alone is worth more than
passing notice.
The fact that there is what is
known as the "thumb center" in the
brain, recognized by all surgeons, de-
monstrates the immense importance
attached to it by medical science. If
there is tendency toward paralysis
the physician notes it in the thumbs
long before the malady shows itself
in other directions. An operation to
avert the calamity if possible is fre-
Quently performed on the thumb cen
teF Of the brain, and the thumb it.
self is watched for results favorable
or otherwise. It is matter of record
that tue thumbs of idiots aud those
mentally weak are undersized, char
acterleS and usually cling closely to
the side of the hand. There have
been books written on signs in the
thumbs a denoting criminal instincts,
and detectives have been often moved
to consider seriously this phase of the
hand in making their deductions in
puzzling cases.
The position of the thumb with ref
erence to the rest of the hand makes
either for oragainst favorable tenden-
cies. If it is bound to the first finger
at close angle, lying nearly parallel,
it indicates weak and cowardly ma
ture. People with such thumbs are
not open and frank in character, pre-
ferring to creep along in the shadow
and profit by another's enterprise.
If in connection with this position it
should be very small, with vacillating
almost invisible joints, it indicates
mental weakness. If, on the con-
trary, it flies out at right angles or
even farther it shows want of balance
in another direction. The person
will rush to extremes and is indepen-
dent and aggressive almost to fool
hardness.
Such people are disagreeable to
associate with in any enterprise, as
they always want their own way and
are not subservient to authority.
The well balanced thumb lies at
an angle Of about forty-6ve degrees
from the first finger. The joints of
the thumb also tell their story. The
timber jointed thumb which turns
back from the hand is misfortune
to its owner. He will never be rich
by saving his earnings, and if for
tune should be left him it is likely to
be soon dissipated. He is spend
thrift by nature, not only in money,
but in thought. If he gets hobby
he rides it to death, and his policy in
all the affairs of life will be, eff a
little is good, more is better" And
if he does not actually live out all his
impulses he will always fret in the
spirit and grow rebellious in resisting
his natural tendencies.
The stable jointed thumb is every
thing that is the opposite to the first
type. And while the people with
these thumbs are not so companiona-
BILE or so helpful to others they sue
ceed by concentration and a certain
amount of sel6shness. They have
the directness of purpose and the te-
nacity to carry to successful issue
great enterprises. They are stub
born, material, stolid, resistless.
The chimpanzee, which has the hand
most nearly resembling the human,
shows the greatest weakness and
want of intelligence in its undersized
short thumb. And in the human
race the long thumb may be taken as
indicating the more intellectual ma
ture. The shorter the thumbs the
more brutal and passion governed the
nature.
The relative length of the joints
also plays an important part. The
first indicates the will power, the Sc
cond denotes judgment, reason and
logic, and the third, which controls
the mount of Venus, indicates the
affections and love of fellow beings.
In a we'll balanced nature the first
and second joints are about of equal
length. This indicates wholesome
adjustment between the judgment
and the will. If, however, the first
Joint is longer than the second the
will exceeds the Judgment, and the
person is likely to be stubborn, and
often acts without reason. When
the second joint is the longer per-
son plans better than he executes.
In this way he often gets the reputa-
ton of being visionary and is fire.
quently full of schemes which he
lacks the will to carry out.
The third joint, or cham" of the
hand when too thick indicates ungov-
ernable passions and an inordinate
love of the opposite sex. Such a
person will be ''hail fellow we'll met, "
a boon companion, but is likely to
neglect the intellectual demands
both of his home and his other self.
When the second joint is thin and
small in circumference as compared
with the first it is said to indicate
great tact and niceties in Judgment,
even to the splitting of a hair.
Whether the hand is firm or habby il
has modifying influence in all cases
FRIEND $50 you have been re-
visiting Somerville after all these
years. "How is it getting along g
| Returned Native enthusiastically