then — and then—  the Alpine air reminded everybody
that meal-time was approaching. The little
hotel, crouching in a hollow not far from the
opened its hospitable doors. We dined.
Whiie dining, a cloud enveloped the mountain.
So the evening had to be beguiled with talk,
in the course of which Mr. Greenwood referred
to my studies in palmistry.

It was only natural that so obsolete an art
should be disdainfully regarded by Mr. Howard
and his friend.

"Will you look at my hand, by way of
experiment?" asked the fine young gentleman,
with a mixture of curiosity and
contemptuous defiance. " Tell us, if you can, what
it indicates."

"I need not look at it; I have only to
take it," I replied, passing his hand between
my own. " Its character is apparent to the
touch. Its objects, tendencies, and occupations
may be summed up in one word, Pleasure."
The fine young gentleman withdrew his hand
from mine, and turned as red as a fresh-boiled
lobster.

One minute longer," I said, resuming it.
"There are also good points about it which only
require exercise and development. There is no
want of intellect. There is also right-mindedness
and sense of duty which may one day get the
upper hand of vanity and self-indulgence." The
fine young gentleman, abashed and thoughtful,
resumed his seat without a word.

"What do you read on this?" inquired Maria,
blushing slightly as she offered her hand.

"I read a good deal," I gravely replied, after
carefully examining first one hand and then the
other. " You dearly love all those about you;
and, when you marry, you will dearly love your
husband. But I see a wilfulness which might
compromise your happiness. You would risk a
good deal, and might even sacrifice your real
welfare, to have your own way in everything.
That is your great danger—-  the spirit of domination.
But I see correcting influences. You will
direct ably, but you will also consult. You will
consider other people's wishes as well as your
own, when you find them reasonable."

During this horoscopic speech, Mr. Greenwood
grew more and more attentive.

"You have hit off Maria neatly enough,"
he said. "Let us now see what you will
make of me." So saying, he frankly held
out his band, turning back his coat-cuff, to
display wrist and all. It was an honest, pre-
possessing-looking hand, independent of any rules
of palmistry.

"This hand," I said, " is one in ten thousand.
In the first place, sir, you are a lucky man. If
you were not born with a silver spoon in your
mouth, it very soon found its way thither. Ill-
luck never strikes you; when it threatens to hit
you, it glances aside. Your very losses have
turned out gains in the end. Your life will be
long; your health good, as it ever has been.
Intriguers have never succeeded in taking you
in. You loved your wife tenderly; and you
have never married again, only because you love
your daughter witli equal tenderness."

"Anybody can prophesy in that style," said
Mr. Howard, impatiently, "without knowing
much of the secrets of nature. There is little
risk of making a blunder by supposing a young
man in brilliant health and of ample means to be
fond of pleasure; that a pretty girl should love
her husband, after being loved by him; that an
only daughter, with no mother to consult,
should like to have her own way, as I am sure
she ought; that a gentleman with a fortune
should be fortunate, which is equivalent to saying
that prosperity is prosperous. Chiromancy
like that is a farce. A gipsy at a fair would
tell you as much or more. As to long life,
continued health, permanent welfare, and success—
they are too pleasant not to be put into a
prediction when there is any wish to ingratiate one-
self with the parties practised upon."

"If I had seen in those hands the reverse of
what I did, I should not have hesitated to say
so. Still, your criticism is not without apparent
foundation. I may seem to be making plausible
guesses. That I have not spoken by guess, is
easily proved; for here is the book I go by. I
can quote you the rules it gives."

"Mere quackery; you will never convince
me there is anything in it."

"I am not myself convinced that there is.
The responsibility rests with Desbarrolles. He
tells me that there is a hand which is essentially
voluptuous, giving itself up to indolent indulgence,
and yet ardent after pleasure. It is a
plump hand, almost swollen; its fingers are
smooth and tapering, thick at their base, and
with no knots or irregularities of form. Its skin
is white and glossy, looking as if dirt would not
adhere to it, sunshine tan it, nor frost redden it.
It is dimpled; the palm is fleshy, the root of the
thumb very largely developed. It is generally
regarded as a beautiful hand. I think your
friend's hand answers to this."

"And so does every lady's and gentleman's."

"Then," said Mr. Greenwood, "let us now
see what your horoscope reveals."

"No, indeed, the thing is too childish; it is
too palpable a piece of foolery," Mr. Howard
replied.

"At least by way of pastime," Maria pleaded.

"We ought all to take our turns," urged the
plump-handed friend.

"Be it, then, as you please," said Howard,
offering his hand with a very bad grace.

I looked at it for some time aghast; then
took the other and examined it; and then let
both drop without uttering a syllable,

"You give no opinion," said Mr. Greenwood.

"1 would rather not."

"I thought how it would be," said Howard. "
He has got to the end of his palmistry."

"I do not wish to give unnecessary pain," I
explained, " and on those hands I see things not
pleasant to read."