V* 
 
 K 
 
 o< 
 
 
 
 G* 
 
 w 
 
 w 
 
 <& 
 
 # 
 
 c* 
 
fes IB f"q a / 
 
 Book -L.3S" 
 
 GrpigM _ 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSBfc 
 
I The Hand 1 
 
 1 ^ 
 
 8 and Its Lines fk 
 
 ^' j 7r]% Jr^ fr\%- <7PT% <7Tp|. ^r\% frj^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 LaSEER 
 
 p 
 
 Hi 
 
 cs «-— '•* v is 
 
 £-C PUBLISHED BY THE £> 
 
 $] National Institute of Palmistry $] 
 
 |^g Houseman Building 
 
 <J2 
 
 GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN 
 ft 
 
 ,,u^. .,,,. JSSSE33SSSSK 
 
THE HAND 
 
 AND = 
 
 ITS LINES 
 
 7// 
 
 A Short Treatise 
 
 ON 
 
 PALMISTRY 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 BY 
 
 E. J. LaSEER, C. D. 
 
 SCIENTIFIC PALMIST 
 
 President of the National Institute of Palmistry, of 
 
 Grand Rapids, Mich., and author of 
 
 "Illustrated Palmistry." 
 
 Copyrighted 1Q02 
 
[THE LIBRARY ur 
 CONGRESS, 
 
 Two Copies Received 
 
 JUN. 14 1902 
 
 Copyright entry 
 
 ILASS «OCXa No. 
 
 COPY 8. 
 
 
 Some of the Book's 
 Contents 
 
 Early History of Palmistry. 
 
 Its Scientific Divisions. 
 
 Good and Bad Signs in the Hands. 
 
 Fingers and Thumbs Keys to Character. 
 
 Cause of the Lines. 
 
 Disease Shown by the Lines. 
 
 The Ciiminal Known by h ; s Hands. 
 
 Insanity Detected. 
 
 Revealing the Future. 
 
 Importance of Having one's Hand Read. 
 
 Indicating Trades and Professions. 
 
 Palmistry Contrasted with Other Sciences. 
 
 Referring to Marriage. 
 
 Value of Knowing Palmistry. 
 
THE HAND 
 
 AND = 
 
 ITS LINES 
 
 A Short Treatise 
 
 ON 
 
 Palmistry 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 BY 
 
 E. J. LaSEER, C. D. 
 
 SCIENTIFIC PALMIST 
 
 President of the National Institute of Palmistry, of 
 
 Grand Rapids, Mich., and author of 
 
 "Illustrated Palmistry." 
 
 Copyrighted iqoi 
 
Some of the Book's 
 Contents 
 
 Early History of Palmistry. 
 
 Its Scientific Divisions. 
 
 Good and Bad Signs in the Hands. 
 
 Fingers and Thumbs Keys to Character. 
 
 Cause of the Lines. 
 
 Disease Shown by the Lines. 
 
 The Criminal Known by his Hands. 
 
 Insanity Detected. 
 
 Revealing the Future. 
 
 Importance of Having one's Hand Read. 
 
 Indicating Trades and Professions. 
 
 Palmistry Contrasted with Other Sciences. 
 
 Referring to Marriage. 
 
 Value of Knowing Palmistry. 
 
Preface 
 
 If one would have a son and daughter well employed, 
 Of judicious mind and skilled in worldly worth refined, 
 See Jupiter's and Mercury's mounts are well defined, 
 The moon well rounded and with Venus' love alloyed. 
 
 np HIS bo ok let has been prepared to 
 
 interest the public in the science of 
 
 Vw^ Palmistry and convince its readers that 
 
 there is much more than is generally 
 
 supposed by the average person in the outline 
 of the hand and in the lines and markings of the 
 palm. The doubter has but to inform himself 
 slightly respecting this great science, and examine 
 the hands of his friends to be agreeably surprised 
 at what even he — with a little study — can see. 
 A casual examination of its pages will con- 
 vince the reader that there is a real basis for 
 Palmistry ; a careful reading will interest him 
 to learn more. 
 
 LASEER. 
 igo2. 
 
E. J. LaSEER. C. D, 
 
What is Palmistry? 
 
 PALMISTRY is the science of the physiog- 
 nomy of the hand and of the lines of the 
 TOM palm. It is also called Chirosophy and 
 fS^o Chirology. The two divisions of it, that 
 
 treating of the shape, or physiognomy 
 
 of the hand, and that relating to the lines of the 
 palm, are called Chirognomy and Chiromancy 
 respectively. 
 
 The latter, Chiromancy, is the oldest palmistry, 
 treating as it does of the lines or markings in the 
 hands ; and its history is anterior to Abraham and 
 contemporary with the earliest history of the peo- 
 ple of India. Passing thus lightly over its grand 
 past and its wonderful struggle for preservation 
 through the interminable wars preceding the birth 
 of Jesus Christ and the annihilation wrought by the 
 book-destroying Vandals of the Middle ages, the 
 time is reached when Chirognomy had its birth. 
 
 Its founder was Captain D'Arpentigny, a retired 
 army officer under Napoleon, who published his first 
 book on the subject in 1843, after studying the 
 subject for many years. His attention was first 
 called to it by noticing the similarity in the shapes 
 of hands of people in the same profession, science, 
 or calling in life. He noticed artists had similar 
 shaped hands, soldiers a common type, and people 
 of about the same temperament hands resembling 
 one another. He classified hands into seven dif- 
 erent types, all of which have a distinct meaning. 
 So accurate was he in his interpretation that no 
 change has been made in the classification since, 
 and he discovered a division in palmistry almost as 
 important as the lines themselves. 
 
 TYPES<-HAI\D5 
 
 ELEMENTARY SQUARE or USEFUL 
 
 5 
 
TYPES OF HANDS 
 
 These types are known as the square, or useful; 
 the philosophic, knotty or analytical; the conic, or 
 artistic; the spatulate or argumentative; the psychic, 
 idealistic or pointed; the elementary, or primitive; 
 and the mixed, the latter having the qualities of 
 two or more of the others. 
 
 So much may be told from this division of 
 palmistry alone that a competent Chirognomist can 
 tell the temperament, character and substantial 
 qualities of a person, acquiring an insight into his 
 business qualifications, and even his future years, 
 that is almost marvelous to the uninitiated; and 
 
 TYPES OF HANDS— Continued. 
 
 SPATULATE 
 
 PHILOSOPHIC 
 
 CONIC o«ARISTIC PSYCHIC ^IDEALISTIC MIXED 
 
 how much more phenomenal the things he may 
 see by combining with it its brother science, Chi- 
 
 romancy 
 
 And 1 may as well say here, that the accuracy 
 and reliability of palmistic readings depends abso- 
 lutely on the knowledge and natural ability of the 
 interpreter. There is nothing the matter with the 
 science of Palmistry. Its reliability is long estab- 
 lished. Failure is with the reader, either through 
 ignorance, carelessness or misrepresentation ; and 
 he may err, even the very best — for it is a well 
 
 G 
 
known fact that in consultations five physicians 
 have many times been wrong and one right, and 
 sometimes all have failed to diagnose a case cor- 
 rectly. Palmistry is a deep study and requires 
 the keenest insight and analysis to interpret it 
 correctly. Then do not expect a scientific reading 
 from a Gypsy, who does not generally know the 
 name of one line in the hand, or from a lady mem- 
 ber of a traveling palmistry show, whose' whole 
 knowledge is confined to the Mount of Venus. 
 But when you do spend money in this way 
 consult an experienced reader who has made a 
 conscientious study of it. Experience counts for 
 more in Palmistry than perhaps in any other pro- 
 fession. There is no mystery connected with its 
 practice, and do not be deceived through euphon- 
 ious names, misapplied expressions and incantations, 
 and by fakirs wearing the toga and vestments of 
 East Indians. 
 
 MOUNTS OF THE HAND 
 
 A glance at the illustration entitled Mounts of 
 the Hand shows that special names are applied to 
 certain parts of the palm. Little hills or protu- 
 berances are found on the inside of the hands, par- 
 ticularly under the fingers and at the foot of the 
 thumb — only in the latter case the "hill" is not 
 "little" but quite large. These elevations have 
 a particular meaning in Palmistry, and as they are 
 large or small, high or depressed, so will certain 
 qualities in the individual be affected for good or 
 bad. Then they must all be considered in relation 
 to one another. For instance: Young men, in 
 selecting a wife, should observe that the mount or 
 elevation at the foot of the thumb, called the 
 Mount of Venus, is rounded neatly and not too 
 skinny if he desires an affectionate wife ; and the 
 maiden, in turn, should not select a husband too 
 much developed in this part of the hand if she 
 wants to be the only one in her partner's affec- 
 tions. If you desire your son to follow a profes- 
 sional life, look well to the Mount of Jupiter, and 
 get the opinion of a competent Chirognomist before 
 starting him out on life's voyage; also observe the 
 Mount of the Moon, for in certain phases of it the 
 lad will devote his time to "playing hookey," and 
 the young man to "avoiding examinations." 
 
LINES OF THE HAND 
 
 The cut, Mounts of the Hand, also shows lines 
 taking various directions across the palm, the prin- 
 cipal of which are the life, head, heart, fate and 
 union lines. Every hand has these lines in a per- 
 fect or modified state, and according to their length, 
 
 MAP of the HAND 
 
 MAIN LINES of the HANDS 
 
 evenness and position will affect the sanity, health 
 and prosperity of the subject. Thus good life and 
 head lines are indicative of good healtn and even 
 disposition; a long, unbroken heart line of a calm, 
 constant and truthful nature, particularly in a 
 woman. Long' fate lines are excellent in many 
 ways, and promise much to the possessors. Besides 
 
 8 
 
>$ 
 
 #f# 
 
 A 
 
 <JA 
 
 V<A 
 
 these lines there are other lines found in most 
 persons' hands, making fourteen chief lines in all, 
 and still others, called influence lines. All of these 
 are taken into consideration when reading hands. 
 Signs like stars, crosses, dots, cir- 
 cles, squares, triangles, etc., play 
 an important part, some being 
 good, others evil, depending on 
 what part of the hand they are 
 found. A star found on the Mount 
 of Jupiter presages great honors 
 and (according to good authority) 
 the achievement of one's fondest 
 hopes. But even in this, other 
 parts of the hands and the lines 
 should verify it. 
 
 The number of lines of all 
 kinds, primary and influence lines, 
 in the hands depends upon the 
 impressionability of the person ; 
 upon the scale of his intelligence. 
 So in some hands there are more 
 lines than in others and more 
 events may be read from them. 
 Events are read chiefly from the 
 lines ; character from the type, 
 lines and mounts. As we progress 
 in the scale of humanity we find 
 more lines, indicating higher in- 
 telligence, and from this fact alone 
 we can form an idea of the descent 
 of the person and gain an insight 
 into his ancestry. Thus a gen- 
 ealogical tree is at once opened 
 before us. 
 
 The difference between the 
 elementary hand, or the person 
 of lower intelligence, and the hand 
 of the highest order is so great 
 that seeing the hand of a criminal 
 we at-pnce know whether he is of 
 the brutal type or one of the ad- 
 vanced school, employing craft 
 and the highest diplomacy. 
 
 The simple deflection of a line from its natural 
 or normal course is a matter of the greatest impor- 
 tance to the Chirosophist, and alters the reading 
 of the type of hand to a great extent. 
 
 9 
 
 4^ 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 x^^ 
 
 SOME 
 SIGNS 
 
 FOUNOINTHE 
 HAND 
 
THE, FINGERS 
 
 The fingers are an important factor in Palmistry, 
 and from them alone much insight into character 
 may be obtained. Their length, shape, pliability, 
 length of the joints in relation to one another, 
 special marks found on them, distance of one from 
 the other, and whether high or low in the hand, 
 all are of much moment. 
 
 Medium short fingered people, with smooth 
 joints, are the happiest, while people with long 
 fingers, especially with enlarged 
 ^^^ joints, are generally in trouble 
 
 from their dissatisfied and criti- 
 cal natures. Fingers that bend 
 back flippantly at the first joints 
 indicate much versatility, but 
 unless the rest of the hand 
 indicates firmness and general 
 merit, will invariably be disas- 
 trous to the owner. 
 
 Fingers in shape are spatu- 
 late, square, conic and pointed. 
 The conic type, modified, and 
 the square type, slightly spatu- 
 lated, are the best for the prac- 
 tical problems of life and are 
 found on the hands of most 
 successful people. 
 
 THE THUMB 
 
 The thumb is really the 
 key-note to the character and 
 brain power of the subject, and 
 as it is long or short, large or 
 small, to that degree it affects 
 the intelligence and tempera- 
 ment of the person ; or as it is 
 rigid or pliable, so are certain 
 characteristics in the individual. Even the situation, 
 place of the first joint — whether it is half way, one- 
 third or two-thirds the distance between the tip and 
 the third phalanges, is a very important matter. 
 
 Babies always have small thumbs, which de- 
 velop with the brain. Congenital idiots have very 
 small thumbs ; monkeys, the most intelligent of 
 animals, before arriving at man, have appendages 
 or stubs, taking the place of human thumbs, and 
 10 
 
 ^ TYPES 
 FINGERS 
 
they use them for holding objects and to cling 
 to trees. 
 
 A woman with a very large, short thumb will 
 be rough in her ways and indifferent to the delica- 
 cies that make the refined woman, and will mingle 
 with women of gossipy tendencies, hang on the 
 back fence and tell all about her second door 
 neighbor. With a hard hand she will be very 
 industrious, often rising at four in the morning. If 
 her husband is a saloon keeper she will have no 
 objection to going behind the bar. She will work 
 in the field like the Boer women, and can hold her 
 own in a fight. 
 
 Increase the length of her thumb considerably 
 and give her short nails, and you will have an 
 Amazon, whom it would not be safe 
 to meet when her anger is aroused. 
 
 Replace the short, thick nails 
 with long, polished ones, and take 
 a little of the roughness away from 
 the thumb, and you have a mascu- 
 line woman, a woman who advocates 
 woman's rights, like Susan B. An- 
 thony ; a person in whom there is 
 much tact and great diplomacy. Such 
 women will often make successful 
 lawyers and physicians, but poor 
 mothers. Reduce the size but keep 
 the length and you have logic, scheme 
 and purpose well developed. Such 
 women- will generally have long fin- 
 gers. Everything they do will be 
 well considered and done for an ob- 
 ject. It is unnecessary to say that 
 they will marry for money ; and if 
 other parts of the hand show a lack 
 of love and sympathy their husbands should be 
 pitied. The possessors of such thumbs are often 
 accomplished musicians and successful actresses. 
 
 If the first phalange is wide and heavy, with the 
 Mars features of the hand strongly developed, a 
 quarrelsome disposition is the result, Such a 
 woman when angered would throw a skillet at 
 you or strike you with a club. 
 
 HEALTH CONDITIONS 
 
 If a person is perfect in this respect the hand 
 will tell the tale. If the subject has inherited his 
 11 
 
 511 APES 
 THUMBS 
 
disabilities the cautious Chirosopist knows it at 
 once. Not only does he know that the functions 
 of life are irregular, but in most cases he can tell 
 the cause and the disease that afflicts the person, 
 and prescribe in the case as reliably as a physician. 
 If physicians knew the importance of Palmistry in 
 diagnosing ailments they would be deep students 
 of it. Without going into the interpretation of the 
 lines, which show so much in this respect, the gen- 
 eral state of the hand, such as dry or wet, hard or 
 soft, cold or hot, make known wonderful revela- 
 tions. Physicians feel the hand to ascertain if the 
 patient has fever, and the register of the flow of 
 blood or heart beats is always taken on the wrist, 
 the beginning of the hand. Physicians call it feel- 
 ing the pulse. On account of the myriads of 
 nerves and minute blood vessels that center here, 
 
 Hand of William 
 Gladstone — This is the hand 
 of the literateur, the man of let- 
 ters, the person of honor, the 
 observer of good morals, the 
 ideal parent; but not of the poli- 
 tician. A statesman, but hardly 
 a diplomat. It is hardly neces- 
 sary to add that he was conscien- 
 tious in what he advocated. He 
 could never have been an Ameri- 
 can politician. The shape of the 
 hand is almost identical with 
 that of Rev. Parkhursfs. The 
 hand is conspicuous from the 
 fact that it has two life lines, 
 both very long, which show dou- 
 ble capacity for labor and endu- 
 rance ; also on account of the 
 wonderful lines of honor running 
 from the life line towards the 
 fingers. 
 
 the hand becomes overheated in cases of fever on 
 account of the flow of blood being increased, and it 
 grows cold when the circulation is bad, caused by 
 slow action of the 'heart. Thus we are enabled to 
 tell much about the condition of the person's health 
 by this simple means alone. But to find out the 
 wonder of wonders and discover the source of the 
 trouble we decipher the labyrinth of lines in the 
 hand, which never err to the master Chirosopist. 
 
 CAUSE OF THE, LINES 
 
 What is the cause of the lines in the hand? 
 
 This is a question many ask. Some have solved 
 it to their own satisfaction by attributing it to work 
 and the folding of the hand. 
 
 12 
 
This is the answer of the easily satisfied person. 
 Work never caused a single line in the hand. The 
 hand of the person doing the severest manual labor 
 has the fewest lines, principally because it is a 
 kind of elementary hand. A line will often show 
 plainly through a callous spot ; if not, it reappears 
 with the disappearance of the callous. 
 
 Some of the lesser lines come and go as trifling 
 events affect the person's life. The main lines, 
 like the life, heart and head, are permanent through 
 life, and never change to any appreciable extent. 
 
 If skeptics in this direction will investigate they 
 will find more lines in the hands of the society 
 woman than in the hands of the factory girl ; more 
 lines in the hands of the politician than in the hands 
 of the iron-worker. 
 
 The real cause of the lines is attributed to the 
 astral fluid, as it is termed, that subtle, inexplic- 
 able force that gives life to the human anatomy. 
 It is no easier explained than electricity. We 
 simply know it exists. What electricity is no man 
 so far has been able to explain. The theory is that 
 the astral fluid proceeds from the planets, stars and 
 other stellar bodies and is projected through 
 the fingers, which act as points, as it were, to 
 absorb this force, and entering the myriad of 
 nerves centered in the inside of the hands, digs the 
 furrows found in the palm, the least adverse the 
 resistance the straighter or more perfect the lines. 
 
 All lines have regular destinations. Any devia- 
 tion from this course is caused by adverse cir- 
 cumstances. Thus successful people have lines 
 distinguished for their perfectness; the unsuccessful 
 or strugglers for existence, lines broken, retarded 
 and diverted from their true position. 
 
 The vigor and health of the individual has much 
 to do with the clearness of the lines. In cases of 
 paralysis lines often disappear from the hands. In 
 the case of one arm or side paralyzed the lines be- 
 come very faint in the affected member, sometimes 
 disappearing altogether, and at the same time the 
 lines in the other hand become more distinct, doubt- 
 less caused by the fact that the healthy one has to 
 absorb more of the astral or vital fluid, and has 
 double duty to perform, clearly showing there is 
 relation between the lines and the brain. Lines will 
 grow through a scar or burned spot. This is more 
 argument that they do not arise from mere chance. 
 
 13 
 
Because some people are wonderfully success- 
 ful they are entitled to no particular credit. It is 
 easier for some to achieve the greatest renown and 
 success than for others to make a bare living. They 
 are endowed by nature with superiority of intellect, 
 or some especial fitness in a given direction. Had 
 Sarah Bernhardt's hand been examined when she 
 was a child the extraordinary dramatic ability she 
 has since shown would have been noticed. All 
 great actors and actresses' hands are of the same 
 type, and the plan of the main lines is the same. 
 So can this similarity be traced in all the different 
 professions and vocations. 
 
 CRIMINAL TE,NDE,NCIE,S DETECTED 
 
 Criminal tendencies in the hind may be de- 
 tected. 1 have discovered them a score of times, 
 and in the case of children have seen the downward 
 
 Hand of Levi Steward 
 
 — Hanged at Windsor, (Canada, 
 Feb. 6, 1900, for the murder of 
 old John Ross in order to secure 
 $2.00. Reproduction from plas- 
 ter cast of hand made by LaSeer. 
 The hand of an indifferent, reck- 
 less, immoral character, entirely 
 without affection or sympathy. 
 Lack of caution caused him to 
 poorly plan the crime. Hand 
 noted for its deficiency in mounts 
 of Jupiter, Mercury, Sun and 
 Mars; also for short first finger 
 and low-set thumb. LaSeer pre- 
 dicted he would face the scaffold 
 courageously, which he did with- 
 out the sign of fear. 
 
 career lead to the reform school and finally to the 
 penitentiary. For it is an indisputable fact that 
 persons having the germs of degeneration and crimi- 
 nality in them seldom reform, and it is a question 
 even then whether they could ever be trusted. If 
 a person has signs of murder in the hand he will 
 commit murder some day if he is not restrained. 
 It is only a question of incentive and the time being 
 propitious. If it is to be caused through passion, 
 he but needs to be angered sufficiently ; if for 
 money, simply the opportunity need arrive. If he 
 is a coward, a moonless night, a hidden alley and a 
 belated wayfarer, are all that is necessary. 
 
 14 
 
INSANITY SHOWN 
 
 Does insanity show in the hand? 
 
 Just as criminal tendencies may be detected, so 
 is weakness or deficiency in sanity apparent in the 
 hand. The examination may simply show an ex- 
 cess of imagination. This, with deficiencies in other 
 ways, notifies the Chirosopist that the subject is 
 likely to become insane through sudden excitement 
 or through too much enthusiasm in any direction ; 
 that the nervous, hysterical woman will lose her 
 mind over unrequited love; And as we run over 
 the scale of the different kinds and degrees of 
 insanity, we must apply much of the same reason- 
 ing we do to the criminal hand. 
 
 REVE.ALING THE. FUTURE 
 
 Can past events, accidents, marriages, etc., be 
 read in the hand? I say yes. 
 
 Does Palmistry reveal the future? I say yes 
 with equal candor. I have myself proved these 
 things time and again. 
 
 As regards prophecy, suppose we examine but 
 the type of the hand and leave the examination of 
 the lines alone for the time being, and see how 
 logically we can apply it to the future. Suppose 
 we have a badly balanced hand before us, showing 
 evil tendencies, such as laziness, bad temper, shift- 
 lessness and lack of self respect ; and we find no 
 redeeming qualities, such as love, sympathy, pur- 
 pose and a fair amount of mentality, we can at 
 once safely predict a life of failure. The subject 
 will be one who will work for others, regularly 
 losing his situation for want of earnestness and 
 fairness, and who will shift about the world as a 
 good-for-nothing, perhaps ending up as a drunkard. 
 Let us examine the lines in this subject's hand and 
 we find the fate line missing and the line of the 
 sun entirely wanting. Thus our observations are 
 doubly confirmed. We have arrived at our con- 
 clusion from two directions, by observing the type 
 of hand and the lines in the palm. 
 
 Another example. It is the hand of a young 
 woman, showing great intelligence, strong origi- 
 nality, ambition, love and versatility. Industry, 
 perseverance and sincerity still increase the attri- 
 butes just mentioned. An examination of the lines 
 confirm what Chirognomy has just taught, and we 
 
 13 
 
at once decide, here is the material for success. 
 We now have to conclude in what line it shall be. 
 A study of the mounts and lines will settle the 
 question. Shall she be a musician, a society 
 woman, a physician or an actress? 
 
 I could recite numerous cases that have come 
 within my own observation, such as predicted sick- 
 nesses, marriages, separations, crimes, insanity, 
 deaths and inheritances which have come true. 
 
 READING CHILDREN'S HANDS 
 
 It is of the utmost importance to have the hands 
 of children and young people read. Their weak- 
 nesses and special fitness for professions and avo- 
 cations may be known years before they manifest 
 themselves. It is useless to make a lawyer of a 
 mechanic; a physician or a butcher a a person too 
 
 Hand of Lewis Mor= 
 rison — When a person thinks 
 of the drama "Faust" his mind 
 naturally runs to Lewis Morrison, 
 who almost for a lifetime has in- 
 terpreted the lines of the villain 
 of Goethe. .His hand is as reliable 
 as its possessor. It is of the 
 strong mechanical type, showing 
 that he likes order, system and 
 regularity. Is this the reason 
 that he has chosen the "Prince 
 of Darkness" for his champion? 
 Much earnestness, great sincerity 
 and enthusiasm are salient fea- 
 tures. 
 
 timid to kill a chicken ; folly to make a boy, who 
 cannot manage himself, proprietor of a business. 
 Better to bring him up in^a trade or calling in which 
 he is an employe. Then there is the great impor- 
 tance to be derived by discovering the deficiencies 
 in the boy and girl and rectifying them; for in many 
 cases the defects shown may be entirely eradicated 
 by pursuing the proper course, and the method of 
 discipline best adapted to the subject will be dis- 
 closed through the hand reading. 
 
 PALMISTRY AND OTHER SCIENCES 
 
 Phrenology is but the threshold of the Temple 
 of Palmistry, within whose golden doors real facts, 
 data and truth begin. We examine the head as 
 we do the type of hand for the foundation of 
 character and temperament, but we trace the lines 
 
 16 
 
in the hand for the actual ebb and flow of the con- 
 flicting tides of life. I do not want to say by this 
 that Palmistry does not agree with Physiognomy 
 and Phrenology. It is in perfect accord with them 
 as far as they go. In fact, Palmistry agrees with 
 the practically established psychologic sciences. 
 The shape of the hand alone will teach as much 
 as Phrenology does. 
 
 It is in harmony with physiology ; for it may 
 be said the more artistic the hand the more aesthetic 
 the individual. The finer the curve of the horse's 
 neck and his outline of figure, the higher the 
 breeding — and so on in other grades of comparison. 
 
 It agrees with graphology ; for as the instru- 
 ment, so must be the handiwork. A person with 
 a philosophic hand will write a coarse, cramped, 
 angular hanr 1 while the writing of the conical hand 
 will be even and exquisite in its harmony. 
 
 AS APPLIED TO MARRIAGE, 
 
 One of the most important features in Palmistry 
 is its applicability to the marriage relation. Owing 
 to the frequent occurrence of mesalliances Palm- 
 istry can here serve a very useful function. 
 Probably less than one married couple in ten live 
 happy, harmonious lives, the agreement thus pro- 
 duced conducing to proper conditions of health and 
 to longevity; for conflict, quarreling, infidelity and 
 unadaptability of the sexual temperament can but 
 result in irritability, nervousness, sickness, often 
 business failure, and puny, ill-conditioned children. 
 
 I examine hand after hand, and find in the 
 majority of cases unhappiness in marriage. Many 
 of these show the sign of separation. I dislike to 
 believe these unfavorable prophesies, and try to 
 cast them aside. Nevertheless, I know they are 
 true. The history of domestic life at the present 
 time confirms it. I see these things happening 
 about me daily. Why should the hand show a lie? 
 It does not. The average young man and young 
 woman does not look at the marriage union 
 seriously enough. 
 
 Much misery could be saved by having the 
 hands of the man and woman contemplating mar- 
 riage read by a competent palmist, and then pay- 
 ing attention to what had been told. This is where 
 Palmistry can do a signal service. 
 
 17 
 
Incompatability of temper is responsible for 
 most unhappy marriages. It is impossible to mix 
 oil with water, gum with alcohol, mucilage with 
 acids. Just so are some temperaments inhar- 
 monious, and association will but bring out the 
 opposing elements the stronger. Many people 
 marry to find out these appalling incompatabilities 
 later. 
 
 Pre-nuptial association is attended with the 
 stage lights at full strength, the paint of dissimula- 
 tion wrought to the highest t^uch, and the sound 
 of the orchestra and glamor of the scenery and 
 chorus entirely blinding the realities of the moment. 
 
 The honeymoon over, the echo of the chorus 
 dies away in the distance, the scene changes, 
 and the couple find themselves viewing the spec- 
 
 
 Leon Herrmann, the 
 magician's, hand, is 
 
 particularly adapted to the pro- 
 fession its owner has chosen, 
 indicating a wonderful imagina- 
 tion and love of the mysterious- 
 This imagination is shown by a 
 strong, sloping head line from 
 . the mount of the moon. Great 
 sensitiveness, love of art and 
 poetry, strong intuitive powers 
 and great love and enthusiasm 
 are the qualities that contribute 
 to make him successful. The 
 hand is strikingly feminine. The 
 desire for pleasure, frivolty and 
 the good and tempting things of 
 this life are so strong that if he 
 is not careful they will over- 
 balance the other qualities and 
 cause his failure. 
 
 tacle from the wings of the stage, as it were. The 
 colors are more sombre, the heat of the furnace 
 has cooled and the cold wind of life whistles 
 through the interstices of the walls. They are 
 face to face with reality. 
 
 It has been my experience, and 1 am consulted 
 repeatedly by persons having trouble in marriage, 
 that nearly every child-marriage, as 1 call them, 
 contracted between the ages of fourteen and seven- 
 teen, is a failure. In fact, I only know of one 
 instance among those coming personally to my 
 attention which was completely satisfactory until 
 death ensued. Divorce divided the others either 
 soon after marriage or some years later; in one 
 case 1 remember as late as the wife's twenty-sixth 
 
 18 
 
year, she having been married between her thir- 
 teenth and fourteenth years to a man much older. 
 Yet all these years she had been unhappy. Her 
 parents compelled the marriage in the first place, 
 and after a few days she began to dislike her hus- 
 band. Even in this case there were children who 
 had to suffer for the sins of their parents. 
 
 More than once I have seen the line of separa- 
 tion in the hand at the time of marriage, and a few 
 years later seen the couple part, and, in legal time, 
 secure a divorce. 
 
 1 have seen the signs of an unhappy marriage 
 in the hand of the bride and a sign threatening her 
 with a violent danger and almost a fatality. Several 
 years after she was struck with the butt end of a 
 gun by her husband and nearly killed. In this 
 
 Hand of Congressman 
 Henry C. Smith (Adrian, , 
 
 Mich.) — The most striking cha- 
 racteristic of this hand is the 
 wonderful amount of self-confi- j \ \ 
 dence shown, almost approaching / 
 recklessness. Strong intuitive 
 powers, great tact and a wealth m-\\ 
 
 of enthusiasm are other strong I t*. ) 
 attributes. When a person pos- \ ■ U 
 sessing this hand is not hypo- 
 critical, he is strikingly original 
 and almost irresistably firm. Ac- 
 cording to his public record, the 
 latter applies to Congressman 
 Smith. The hand is well mount- 
 ed and supplied with one of the 
 best thumbs possible. Taken in 
 its entirety, it is a type of hand 
 that always means success to its 
 owner. 
 
 '«*"- '■ 
 
 case the couple began to quarrel six months after 
 marriage, the police being called in several times 
 to cool the husband's madness. This affair resulted 
 in separation. 
 
 STUDYING PALMISTRY 
 
 If it is of any value to know the character of 
 the person you are dealing with in business, if it 
 is advantageous to know the disposition of the per- 
 son you are about to marry, then knowledge of 
 the hand is really of great importance. As unsuc- 
 cessful marriages are mostly caused by incompati- 
 bility of disposition and misunderstanding each 
 other, it would be very acceptable here in prevent- 
 ing such misery. Hundreds of people live to middle 
 
 19 
 
life, and by not understanding human nature are 
 cheated, taken advantage of and swindled out of 
 what would have been a competence and perhaps 
 made them independent the rest of their lives. 
 
 The study of music is considered of great im- 
 portance. Taking dancing lessons is a part of 
 every young lady's and young gentleman's educa- 
 tion if they expect to appear to advantage in social 
 affairs. At least thousands of dollars are spent 
 for these ends yearly. And all for what? For 
 pleasure. To appease the god of vanity. Not to 
 add to their advantage in a business or commercial 
 way, but for an apparent opposite effect — to assist 
 in spending money. Would it not be just as con- 
 sistent to invest a little money in Palmistry? The 
 social part could at the same time be catered to, so 
 that they could not only use it as an accomplish- 
 ment, but employ it as well in knowing others, in 
 ascertaining their vulnerable points and their unas- 
 sailable phases of character. 
 
 Leave out the beneficial part altogether, if one 
 wishes, and consider it from the social standpoint, 
 for it is a fact that "Palmistry is again resuming 
 its sway and is receiving marked encouragement 
 in fashionable circles. Society belles are learning 
 to take their admirers by the hand and read them 
 like a book ; thus with Venus in the ascendancy, 
 Apollo smilingly listens to his fate, and the torch 
 of Hymen is not always kindled in vain." 
 
 In these pages 1 have given you just a glimpse 
 of Palmistry. I have taken you through a palm 
 forest of beautiful angles, lines and curves. You 
 have seen the fingers of these palms take different 
 shapes, according to their kind; some were tapering, 
 white and gentle, and belonged to the vivacious 
 maid; some slightly rough and distorted, and be- 
 longed to the person of uncertain mien; and others 
 rugged, healthy and confident, possessed by the 
 man of the world. If you have been observant 
 and scanned this forest well, you are doubtless 
 convinced that the great network of lines in the 
 palms have a special significance, were placed there 
 for a specific purpose, and the solution of their 
 intricacies is but a question of human knowledge. 
 
 20 
 
jut* 
 
 \* 
 
 ^% 
 
14 1 COPY DEL TO CAT. DIV.,,.^ ] 
 
 A Few things that may 
 be discovered by having 
 the hand read 
 
 sw 
 
 s 
 
 >te 
 
 <5W 
 
 If a person has musical, artistic or dramatic 
 ability. 
 
 If a person is cautious and prudent. 
 
 If a person will make a success by his own 
 personal efforts or through the assistance 
 of other people. 
 
 If a person will have changes or losses in 
 life. 
 
 10 
 
 & 
 
 ii 
 
 r^ 
 
 12 
 
 #) 
 
 13 
 
 v§ 
 
 14 
 
 ^i 
 
 15 
 
 (rl 
 
 16 
 
 ?$ 
 
 17 
 
 /5l 
 
 18 
 
 f$ 
 
 19 
 
 TO 
 
 20 
 
 §s 
 
 21 
 
 ?H 
 
 22 
 
 (v 
 
 2} 
 
 ?2 
 
 24 
 
 ^3 
 
 25 
 
 
 26 
 
 27 
 
 28 
 29 
 
 If a person has an artistic or a material 
 nature. 
 
 If a person has a meddling, fault-finding 
 disposition. 
 
 If a person worries over little things or 
 only over large affairs. 
 
 If a man lets his wife rule him or if he 
 rules his wife. 
 
 If a person is extravagant, in money or in 
 talk. 
 
 If a person is independent in thought and 
 action. 
 
 If a person is practical or theoretical, 
 
 If a person has a weak or strong character. 
 
 If a person is deceitful or not? 
 
 If a person is inquisitive or not. 
 
 If a person has good or bad judgment. 
 
 If a person has continuity and perseverance. 
 
 If a person has a love of the intellectual 
 or of the material in life. 
 
 If a person is egotistical or not, 
 
 If a person is domineering or not. 
 
 If a person is orderly or disorderly. 
 
 If a person likes quantity or quality in food, 
 
 If a person has inventive ability, 
 
 If a person is liable to accident. 
 
 If a person has occult powers. 
 
 If a person will have good or bad luck. 
 
 If a person has traveled or will travel much 
 by land or by water. 
 
 If a person will have many opportunities 
 to marry, and if married life will be happy 
 or otherwise, 
 
 If you will marry for love or for money, 
 
 If you will be ruled by others or if you 
 will rule others. 
 
 Co 
 
 s< 
 
 
 <JO 
 
 2< 
 
 Sfesssssassssassssf