Finger

“ Invent.—With the "G" forefinger pointing upward, place the end against the middle of the forehead just above the nose so the finger almost rests on the length of the nose; push the finger upward till the length of it has crossed the forehead.
Learn.—Place the open palm of the left hand as if it were a book or printed page in front of self; with the other hand grasp imaginary knowledge from it with the fingers closing against the thumb and raise it to the forehead. ”

“ Each of them equally appears a finger, whether seen in the middle or at the extremity, whether white or black, or thick or thin—it makes no difference; a finger is a finger all the same. In these cases a man is not compelled to ask of thought the question, what is a finger? for the sight never intimates to the mind that a finger is other than a finger. ”

“ Generally, except in precise pointing, there is a graduated curving, not too nice, from the bent little finger to the straighter forefinger. As the gesture is concerned with thought more delicate, the action of the hand is lighter and tends more to the tips of the fingers; as it is more rugged and strong, the hand is held heavier. ”

“ To Be, to Exist.—Hold the forefinger of the right "G" hand pointing upward, against the mouth; move the whole hand, finger still held upright, forward straight out from the mouth; then bring the "A" hands together, the end of the right thumb resting on the nail of the left thumb, and move both hands this way forward. ”

“ When he has tried some time and failed to find it, you take your hands from your pockets, having got the false finger into position between the second and third fingers. Showing the hands back and front (the addition of the extra finger will not be noticed) , you pass them several times over the head of the gentleman, then, lowering them to his head, you detach the finger and draw out the handkerchief. The false finger is then laid down on the table under cover of the handkerchief.
Fig. 11
The finger is made of thin spun brass, painted flesh color. ”

“ We draw the finger more carefully, marking the wrinkles on the upper part, and the corresponding curves on the lower; then we notice the way in which the loose flesh folds in springy curves, joining thumb to forefinger in a useful hinge. ”

“ The finger nails are there and all the fine lines that can be traced on the inside of the hand and fingers. There are many lines on the surface of the human body that require the aid of a magnifying glass to discern ”

“ This defect of the little finger we have observed in old women, and in young girls of eight or nine years old; in young women who have had children, and in those who have not, and the finger has been seen perfect in individuals of all the above ages and descriptions ”

“ I do not know if cooks more especially used different fingers in mingling their sauces, according as they were employed on wedding banquets, martial feasts, senatorial entertainments, al-fresco déjeuners, or commercial suppers; but certain it is, that the fingers were sacred to diverse deities. The thumb was devoted to Venus, the index finger to Mars, the longest finger to Saturn, the next to the Sun, and the little finger to Mercury. ”

“ Several motions represent the likeness of the letter, as one finger on the back of the hand is L, two fingers are like N, three fingers are like M, the fore-finger to the middle joint of the other fore-finger is like T, two fingers across are like X; likewise B, C, D, are very easily remembered, as one finger upon the left thumb is B, two are C, three D, but you must always remember to give a snap with the fingers between every word, so that your friend may distinguish one word from another. ”

“ It may be well to note here that individuals who have what are called clubbed fingers, or as the Germans picturesquely put it, drumstick fingers, that is, fingers with bulbous ends, the finger beyond the last joint being larger than the preceding part, nearly always have some chronic affection within the thorax. ”

“ Man—With the fore finger of the right hand extended, and the hand shut, describe a line, beginning at the pit of the stomach, and passing down the middle of the body as far as the hand conveniently reaches, holding the hand a moment between the lower extremities.
Woman—The finger and thumb of the right hand partly open, and placed as if laying hold of the breast. ”

“ Hunting—The fore-finger is brought near the eye, and placed in the attitude of pointing; it is then wagged from side to side, the eye following its devious motion, and seeming to look in the direction indicated. Sometimes the hand is extended far before the eye, and the same motion is given to the finger.
12. Pretty—The fingers and thumb, so opposed as to form a curve, are passed over the face nearly touching it, from the forehead to the chin, then add the sign of Good, No. ”

“ I should guess also that this person’s feet had some marked peculiarity, since such pains had been taken to conceal the footprints. Then the cast of the hand here encourages speculation. Fingers long, slim, and delicate, save at the nails, where, with the exception of the little finger, are to be found unmistakable signs of the habit of biting the nails,—see, here are the hang-nails,—but, strange to say, the nail of the little finger has been spared, and suffered to grow to an unusual length. ”

“ Knotty fingers, when not the result of gout, indicate originality; the smooth taper finger means love of art and a predominance of sentiment over reason. Square fingers denote method, and the spatulate show ability, tact, and action. Very rare is the psychic hand with its slim tapering fingers, its snowy texture and wonderful softness. Well for the world that it is uncommon, lacking as it does usefulness and industry. ”

“ An easy way to verify the last phenomenon is to beg some one to hold the forefinger of the right hand pointed to your left palm, at a quarter of an inch distance, and afterwards his left forefinger to your right palm, when the two sensations, and their difference, are appreciable by the majority of persons.
Persons entranced by mesmeric procedures are often keenly alive to the above impressions. They see light emanating from the finger-tips of the mesmeriser, and feel an agreeable afflatus from his manipulations. ”

“ Each finger has three bones, while the thumb has only two. The first bone of the thumb, standing apart from the rest, enjoys a special freedom of motion, and adds greatly to the usefulness of the hand. ”

“ They use the fingers of each hand, beginning with the little finger of the left hand, which is held in an upright position, the back of the hand facing the person counting, the palm turned outwards. Thus, when they wish to signify one, they raise one finger ”

“ They say that the forefinger is venomous, and that the superiority of the third is to be ascribed to its being possessed of a nerve; and as they appear to pay a most superstitious reverence to a nerve, whether in the finger, the tooth, or the ear, they do not fail to impress upon their daughters the importance of tasting anything of consequence with the third finger. ”

“ The reason why the ordinary stays are so injurious may be demon­strated by tying a piece of thread tightly round the finger. Immedi­ately that this is done, the circulation of the blood is impeded, and the finger becomes blue and painful, and this simply because an unyielding substance is pressing upon it. ”

“ The finger of Apollo is lined. The Marriage line is straight and clear.
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OVERBEARING PERSON.—The fingers are square-tipped and the first phalange of the thumb is long and thick. The hand itself is rough and coarse. A short Heart line.
PASSIONATE PERSON.—The Heart line is long and the Mount of Mercury over-pronounced.
PHILOSOPHIC PERSON.—The finger-tips are square; the phalanges are all more or less fleshy and full; the thumb is large and long; the palm is comparatively small.
PROFLIGATE PERSON.—The Head line takes a wavering course, and there is a star on the thumb, close up to the nail. ”

“ Block all the fingers together and draw an imaginary line from the tip of the thumb to the fingers to check your proportions. Close up your own thumb and note that it reaches to the first joint of your forefinger. Thumbs, because of the deceptive nature of a curve, are often deprived of strength, length, and muscle. Note the large surfaces of muscle, the almost square shape of the palm. Once you have the larger proportions of fingers and thumbs well fixed in your mind it will not be difficult to observe each finger each knuckle each finger-tip separately. ”

“ Elevate the index-finger and turn the hand hither and thither.—The "turning of the hand hither and thither" probably signifies more than the simple idea of man, and is used for "only one man" or "a man who is alone." The finger represents the male organ of generation, and among some tribes the finger is held erect or crooked downward, to indicate mature or declining age. ”

“ The index finger naturally occurs as the most convenient for this employment; but the opening through the skin is sometimes too contracted to admit its entrance, and in this case the substitution of the little finger will usually answer all the purposes intended. ”

“ Callosities of the same nature, although not so extensive, are not rare on the second finger joints. The palm of the hand is covered with a hard, horny skin, generally beset with warts, especially at the roots of the fingers. ”

“ When a ring happens to get so tight on a finger that it cannot be removed, a piece of string, well soaped, may be wound tightly round the finger, commencing at the end of the finger and continued until the ring is reached. ”

“ The thumb is in a different plane from the fingers; when the hand is laid flat on any surface—as this window-pane, for instance—the palmar surfaces of the fingers touch it, whereas it is the side of the thumb which comes in contact and not the palmar surface. But in this"—he tapped the framed glass with his finger—"the prints show the palmar surfaces of all the five digits in contact at once, which is an impossibility. ”

“ And now let us return to the hand with the reel of cotton.
Having roughly sketched the forefinger, the thumb, and the general proportions of the wrist and hand, we should then pay a little more attention to the hand itself, the back of which lies like a flat upright line breaking into small indications of the second or third knuckle.The first knuckle is slightly indented, and the root of the first finger descends in a firm swelling curve to the folded muscle of the thumb. ”

“ The nails should be neither longer nor shorter than the points of the fingers; and the surgeon should practice with the extremities of the fingers, the index-finger being usually turned to the thumb; when using the entire hand, it should be prone; when both hands, they should be opposed to one another. ”

“ In matters of less consequence they reckon with their fingers, by bending the little finger of the right hand close to the palm, and the other fingers in succession, proceeding to the left hand, concluding the calculation by clapping both the hands together ”

“ Standing in front of the subject, place your hands so that the first fingers of each hand shall be separated about three quarters of an inch, and that the end of your longest finger shall reach a line drawn through Veneration and Spirituality—that is, through the middle of the head from side to side—and the balls of your fingers will be on Imitation. It will be found large, or very large, in almost all children; so that the ridge usually found in their heads at this point, may be taken as the location of this organ. It runs from Benevolence downward toward Constructiveness. ”

“ Look, how this ring encompasseth thy finger,
Even so thy breast encloseth my poor heart;
Wear both of them, for both of them are thine. ”

“ The bones of the arm were strong, with strong projections for the attachment of muscles; those of the wrist were few in number and closely united. The rudimentary first finger, or thumb, consisting of a single slender bone, was turned backward toward the shoulder for the support of the membrane in front of the elbow. ”

“ The eye-lid should be over-turned with the thumb and the index finger and should be very carefully fomented with a piece of linen soaked in lukewarm water and squeezed. The eye-lid should be covered with a piece of linen and over-turned with the thumb and the index finger at the time to guard against its movement and enclosing. ”

“ In like manner, if we keep the compass-points one or two centimetres apart, and draw them down the forearm over the wrist and palm, finally drawing one along one finger, the other along its neighbor, the appearance will be that of a single line, soon breaking into two, which become more widely separated below the wrist, to contract again in the palm, and finally diverge rapidly again towards the finger-tips. ”

“ In the highest and most perfect form of hand, thin, delicate, conical fingers are combined with a moderate-sized palm and a well-developed thumb,—both the sensitive and motive parts are in nice and accurate adaptation ”

“ You should place your fingers and thumb on five consecutive white keys, and, keeping the thumb, first, second, and fourth finger down, repeatedly strike the note that is under the third finger. If this monotonous exercise is persevered in, the third finger will gain strength. ”

“ The mode of taking her food requires careful attention, in consequence of the very rapid movement of the hand during the process. The fourth finger, which is the longest and largest, is thrust forwards into the food, the slender third finger is raised upwards and backwards above the rest, while the first finger or thumb is lowered so as to be seen below and behind the chin. ”

“ The bandages concealing them from view then fell off, and to my agonized sight were disclosed objects that struck me as strangely familiar. There is something about fingers, a marked individuality, I never forget. No two persons’ hands are alike. And in these fingers, in their excessive whiteness, round knuckles, and blue veins, I read a likeness whose prototype, struggle how I would, I could not recall. Gradually the hand moved upwards, and, reaching the throat, the fingers set to work at once to remove the wrappings. ”