166 PHYSICAL EXPRESSION. 



free or disengaged, and the posture assumed by the 

 hand is in most cases, I believe, the spontaneous 

 outcome of the action of the nerve-centres. 



From continued observation of spontaneous pos- 

 tures, and after frequently trying what spontaneous 

 posture would be assumed by the free hand in 

 various subjects, cases of weakness, strong men, 

 feeble women, nervous children, an empirical idea 

 was obtained as to the indication of each posture. 

 Then comparison, analysis, and analogy enabled me 

 to suggest some definite principles. In seeking a 

 rational explanation of this posture, I first tried to 

 find a solution by looking at it after the manner in 

 which Charles Darwin made most of his observa- 

 tions upon postures. Cases were looked for where 

 this posture of the hand was assumed or brought 

 about for some useful purpose, or its occurrence was 

 attended with some kind of amelioration of weak- 

 ness. Then this " nervous hand " was seen, in a 

 hand not free or disengaged, in people who, stand- 

 ing, lean a little forward with the outspread hands 

 resting on the table for support. This hand seeking 

 rest droops at the wrist, and then if the stimulus to 

 the muscles is weak, as the weight of the trunk 

 bears upon the resting hands, hyper-extension of 

 the metacarpo-phalangeal joints and of the thumb 

 is mechanically brought about. If this be accepted 

 as an explanation, the argument stands thus : 



1. Observation shows that when a man is tired 

 or weak he often rests his hands as described. 



2. The nerve-mechanism corresponding to the 

 hand is thrown into the special condition corre- 



