sciences ; he therefore calls it the philosophical knot. Full middle 

 joints mark an appreciation of physical order. Knowledge is quite 

 differently acquired by the possessors of smooth and of knotted 

 hands. Impulse and intuition characterise the smooth, as may be 

 observed in poets and artists ; analysis and induction, the knotty, 

 as in mathematicians and men of mechanical genius. 



But if the development of the fingers is important, still more is the 

 appearance of the thumb in the doctrines of chirognomy." "A 

 small thumb is generally the sign of weakness, irresolution, and vacil- 

 lation ; combined with a soft palm it shows an accommodating and 

 affectionate spirit." The large thumb, on the other hand, is m- 

 dicative of " a strong will and little general sympathy." " The 

 heart is in subjection to the head." Idiots and people of weak 

 intellect have invariably small thumbs, while in the monkev the 

 thumb extends no farther than the root of the first finger. The 

 development of the thumb modifies, or is modified, by the appear- 

 ance of the rest of the hand ; thus if the palm be soft and the first 

 joint of the thumb long, the individual will labour, not from love 

 of work, but from a sense of duty, the inert tendency shown by the 

 soft palm being negatived by the force shown by the long thumb. 

 The first phalange of the thumb is the index of the will. Beware 

 of a man with a long strong first joint ! for it is indicative of " a 

 powerful energetic will, great self confidence, and a desire for 

 domination sometimes amounting to tyranny ! " If the second joint 

 be long and strong, " logic and reason prevail over impulse and 

 will ; " if equal in length, there will be some comfort, for then 

 reason will guide and modify the domineering influence of the first 

 phalange. The root of the mound is called the " mound of Venus," 

 and is supposed by chiromancers to preside over the domestic 

 affections. If the section of the fingers be square, as it generally 

 is in men, it is indicative of " openness and candour," if circular, 

 " of a certain reticence and unwillingness boldly to express the 

 thoughts." In the female hand, says Mr. Beamish, the circular 

 form prevails. Short fingers, we are told, " are apt to form hasty 

 and unsound judgments." As artists their possessors are incapable 

 of working out the details, the result must be broadly obtained. 

 Long fingers, on the contrary, are irresistibly drawn towards 

 minutiae and detail, they prefer the minute to the grand, and are 

 invariably great sticklers for correctness in dress and costume. 

 Nor is the hardness or softness of the hand without its significance 

 in hands having other characteristics in common. Thus a soft 

 hand conjoined with square or spatulous fingers may enjoy 

 " moderate exercise or exertion, but prefers to witness energetic 

 action in others, wliile the hard palm delights in personal displays 

 and strength. The hard hand cannot be idle ; it must always be 



