the root of the thumb, measures, say the
chiromantists (who have named it the Mount ol
Venus), the tendency to amorous passions. lt
is the material world. The importance of the
thumb will also be understood, by observing how
it is placed before the other fingers, like an
officer in front of the soldiers who obey him. In
the thumb, we have at once combined the will,
the reasoning powers, and sensual love, the
three prime movers of human life.

The nailed portion of the thumb, the first
phalange, is in direct communication with the
astral light, and is necessarily, from that very
circumstance, divine. Consequently, every one
who has the first joint of the thumb long and
strong, will have a powerful and energetic will,
great self-confidence, and an ardent desire to
attain perfection in everything he does. If this
joint be too long, the force of the will will
amount to domineering and tyranny. If it be
of medium length, there will be no domineering,
but passive resistance, force of inertiæ. If it
be short, there will be a feeble will, fickleness,
uncertainty, distrust of one's self, and a
disposition to adopt the opinion of others. If very
short indeed, there will be an incapacity of
resistance, a powerlessness to say " No," complete
indifference, recklessness in the concerns of life,
discouragements, enthusiasms, unaccountable
fits of high or low spirits, brought on, perhaps,
by a gloomy or a brilliant sky, religious or
military music, and especially by surrounding
circumstances, which communicate the pitch of
their own proper key-note.

The second phalange represents logic, reason,
and the faculty of seeing things clearly at a
glance. If it be long and strong, the logic and
the reason will be powerful accordingly; if it
be short, the logic and the reason will be weak.

The third phalange (which in reality is rather
the root of the thumb, and occupies an important
place in the palm of the hand) shows the
greater or less power of the senses, but
particularly of sensual, material love. If it be very
thick and very broad, the man will be the slave
of brutal passion. If it be moderate, and in
harmony with the rest of the hand, the man will
be amorous, but not in excess. If it be weak,
flat, and but slightly apparent, he will have but
few and feeble sensual appetites.

To draw a few consequences from the above:
The possessor of great force of will (indicated
by a long and thick first joint of the thumb)
and of small logic (betrayed by a short second
joint) will domineer under any circumstances.
He will form strong resolutions, but without
rhyme or reason. His life will be a storm in
which he will be constantly shipwrecked. He
will be like a fearless blind man, walking without
staff or guide along a rugged path bordered
by precipices. He must fall down them some
day or other. If he have will and logic united,
he cannot help succeeding in his undertakings,
for he will be gifted with reason and resolution
in equal doses. When the will and the logic
are of equal length, and the thumb is long in
proportion to the other fingers, it is the sign of
a powerful will, since it is based on logical
foundations. Such a will may even make itself
dominant, but will never tyrannise. When such
a thumb is of ordinary dimensions, it means
passive resistance.

A person who has the second joint (logic)
long and strong, and the first (the will) short,
will manifest more reason than resolution. He
will see clearly enough, but will incessantly
hesitate; he will lay out magnificent plans
which he will fear to execute. His reason will
tell him to march boldly forward, but he will
be kept back by indecision and prudential
doubts. He will attempt, and then stop short.
He may give excellent advice to others, but he
will never do any good to himself.

The dissolute have the two first joints of their
thumbs short and slender, and the third, or
root, very fully developed.

In the fingers also, the phalanges which carry
the nails belong to the divine world; they are
the eyes of the hand. [Which calls the eyes of
the star-fish to mind.] The second phalanges
belong to the world of reason; the third to the
material world, as we saw in the thumb. The
third phalanges vary but slightly in different
individuals, because they represent the material
portion of our nature. In general terms, it may
be stated that fingers swollen or very thick at
the base, invariably indicate a taste for sensual
pleasures. Nevertheless, such tastes may be
modified by the influence of the mounts and the
lines. Short nails, broader than they are long,
and on which the skin of the fingers encroaches
far, always announce a quarrelsome temper. If
the person is naturally good-natured at bottom,
such nails cause him to indulge in habits of
mockery, jeering, criticising, and contradiction.

These details, and others too numerous to
particularise, make one curious to know what
it was exactly that our chiromantist saw when
vouchsafed an inspection of the imperial hand,
which warmed his admiration and closed all his
doubts. " When we were permitted," he
enthusiastically exclaims, "to see the hand of the
most extraordinary man of our age, the hand
which guides the epoch, did we not behold it
so well balanced that it is destined by the necessity
of the laws of harmony to restore equilibrium
to the world? Did we not discover in
it the signs of a superhuman sagacity and
intelligence which, in spite of our innumerable
experiences, we have never beheld elsewhere?"
The seer, it is rumoured, also saw the empress's
hand, but was not allowed to examine the
Prince Imperial's.

There are Lines to be studied, weighed,
and accounted for. The Line of the Heart
runs across the hand, nearest to the base of
the fingers. It should be clear, decided,
well-coloured, reaching the mount of Jupiter. It
then signifies a good heart, strong and happy
affection. If broken up into several
fragments, it is inconstancy in love and friendship,
contempt of women, even going so far as
to insult them. Tiie line running parallel to it,