The Lines of the Hand.

As the steady drop hollows the stone and the currents carry away meadows and mountains, carving into the solid rock their passage, so the currents of thought and nerve force from the brain as well as the opening and shutting of the hand, the movements of the muscles all combine to cover the inside of the hand with lines more or less decided, prominent of which are the lines of action, thought and affection. The child, too, shows definite lines, and therefore life’s energies and possibilities are written there. Who is there to-day to declare scientifically the extent of parental influence in shaping a life’s destiny? The true scientist limits possibilities to the facts established, yet the constant adding to his fund of positive knowledge leaves the investigator wonderful scope. The acorn holds the great oak in its silent chamber, and our dreams often reveal future results. We educate the young with a view of possibilities. Is there then a record somewhere where these possibilities are recorded? The hand contains lines that only nerve currents extraordinary can produce and they have a meaning as much so as the delicate tendril that peeps above the ground and holds the possibilities of the oak or a century plant, with its blossoms and fruit in its tender fold.

Therefore we deem it more than probable that the human soul’s desires are written there as well. Let us learn to read nature’s language, for thus truthfully does she write each creature’s destiny; and every seed, however small, will somehow burst into noonday with blossoms and fruit, for good or evil, to its possessor.