The flexibility of a hand is shown by the ease with which it bend itself
backward, and to test this quality lay the hand of your client, with the palm
upward, in the palm of your left hand, and with your right hand exert
pressure down on it until you have benit it as far bacward as you can.
Notce whether the whole hand is flexible, or whether the bending occurs only
at the knuckle joints, for in the flexibility which means the nost, you will
find that the wholel hand bends fingers and all, and does not merely give way
at the knucles. In the examination for flexibility there will be great
degrees of variation, runninbg all the way from hands in which the fingers
bend back at an angle of nearly forty-five degrees to others where the finers
cannot be even straightened. The extreme degrees of flexibility you will find
in the hands of women, while pronounced flexibility in the hands of man is a
rarity. The flexibility of the hand shows the degree of flexibility of the
mind and nayture, and the readiness with jwhich this mind has power to unfold
itself, and "see around the corner" of things.

-Stiff and hard to open - where the fingers form a curve inward= Cautous
This hand indicates the mind that is cautious, immobile, close, inclined to
narrowness and stinginess, and which, in every way, lacks poiability or
adaptability. Such a person is afraid of new venture, afraid of new ideas;
the method of dress and mode of living of his ancestors satuidfy him; he has
the POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS faith of his fathers, and there is absolutely no
use in trying to argue him out of it . When he views the methods and manners
of the present generation, he long for the open firplace, the stage coach,
and, as he calls them the "good old days". He is one whose narrowness makes
him ungenerous. Appealed to for help, he replies, "I had to work for my
money: let then do the same". He thinks that failure comes because the
oldtime ways have been discarded, and the "new fangled notions" are ruining
everybody. He is the man who succeeds by hard work, deprivation, and saving,
and he cannot how success can be achieved in any other way.
He is in short, cramped and narrow in his ideas, stingy in his ways,
unprogressive in his views, and lacks flexibility, or elasticity, in mind and
manner, as well as flexibility of hands. He is, however, exceedingly
close-mouthed, and you can trust him with a secret, not from any desire on
his part of doing you a favor, but nothing that he can keep gets away from
him, so he holds your secret as variciously as he clings to his own dollars.
The hand is usally HARD.

You will find hands which when pressed backwards, open readily until the
fingers straighten themselves naturally, so that the hand opens with ease to
its full extent; there will be cases where it bends back fust a frifle. This
hand is the medium or normal develpment, and its owner is balances, even in
action, up to date, and has contal of himself. It is the hand of one who does
not go to extremes, is self contained, listens readily, and understands what
he hears. He is not held back by old fogyisn, nor impelled into rashness or
overenthusiasm. He can use money properly, will help those in need, but does
not throw away either sympathy or charity. To him life is a problem, it is
serious, and he thoughtfully uses his mind trying to understand it. he looks
over the world from a bird's eye point of view, can apprediate the
difficulties that surround humanity, and will not rry to find the remedy by
crying that we are depearting from old ways neither will he want to turn
everything upsed down with the advancement of new ideas. He is thoughtful,
broad, earnest, sympathetic, yet all within bounds. He is, in plain words,
well balanced, and not an extremist. This hand is generally elastic in
consistency, and impresses you as possessing vital force.

There is another hand that is flexible in the extreme. The finger band back,
without giving their owner any pain, until a graceful arch is formed. The
fingers seem moblie, and the bones cartilaginous. This hand, as you vand it
bac and forth, impresses you with its great pliability, and shows readily
what a fine machine it is, and how easily it can adapt and shape itself to
circumstances. This flexible hand shows an elastic mind, a brain susceptible
of reveiving keen impressions, and of understanding them quickly. It is the
hand of the person who radiliy adapts himself to his surroundings, is
versatile, and does not reuaire a diagram with every statemetn. Its
elasticity is its danger, for it is a brilliant hand, driected by abrilliant
mind. Its owner possesses in the highest degree versatility, and, being able
to do many things, is liable to diversity his talents and lack concentration
in any one direction, thus becoming a Jack of all trades the possessor of the
flexible hand is extremely sympathetic, generous, and money to him is only
the means of securing what he wants, not a thing to be hoarded for itself
along. The possession of riches gives pleasure to these persons only in that
it allows them luxury, and extravagance is a prevailing tendency of the type.
They are emotional, easily moved by a pitiful story, and readily give to any
one. Their minds work rapidly, they absorb ideas quickly, and their tendency
is to go too fast. These brilliant hands are capable of the most wonderful
ahcievements; they are not the hands of dreamers, but are full of life, and
action, though too versatile often for thier own good. They can do too many
tings turn their minds in too many directions, and unless restrained they
come to naught from too much talent. They are as ectreme in prodigality as
the stiff hand is in economy. and yet they have this wonderful factor in
their favor, viz; they are so sensible that they can see their own failing s
when properly pointed out, and with good head lines, and good thumbs, they
turn their brilliancy to fine account by applying determination and
self-contral to their natural versatility, which qualites give them the
hightest degree of usccess. Hnads where only the first phalanges of the
jfiners are flexible, the rst of the hands normal, give one third of the
drgree of flexibility shown when the hwole of the finers are flexible,
indicating flexibility in the mental qualites of the fienrs on jwhich this
condition is found. Where the finers bend back at the knuckles, you will
find, in a musical hand, fine abitliy in execution. It also hsows the
extrvagance of the extremely flexible type.
It will not behard to find good speciemtns of the hands dealt with in this
chapter: the first you will find oftenmost among middle-aged farmers;; the
latter types you will find everywhere.
Compare two hands to find whethere flexibility of mind is improving or
worsening.

end of chapter