Part 99

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How to Read Character.

HOW TO TELL DISPOSITION AND CHARACTER BY THE NOSE.

1. LARGE NOSES.--Bonaparte chose large-nosed men for his generals, and the opinion prevails that large noses indicate long heads and strong minds. Not that great noses cause great minds, but that the motive or powerful temperament cause both.

2. FLAT NOSES.--Flat noses indicate flatness of mind and character, by indicating a poor, low organic structure.

3. BROAD NOSES.--Broad noses indicate large passageways to the lungs, and this, large lungs and vital organs, and this, great strength of constitution, and hearty animal {474} passions along with selfishness; for broad noses, broad shoulders, broad heads, and large animal organs go together. But when the nose is narrow at the base, the nostrils are small, because the lungs are small and need but small avenues for air; and this indicates a predisposition to consumptive complaints, along with an active brain and nervous system, and a passionate fondness for literary pursuits.

4. SHARP NOSES.--Sharp noses indicate a quick, clear, penetrating, searching, knowing, sagacious mind, and also a scold; indicate warmth of love, hate, generosity, moral sentiment--indeed, positiveness in everything.

5. BLUNT NOSES.--Blunt noses indicate and accompany obtuse intellects and perceptions, sluggish feelings, and a soulless character.

6. ROMAN NOSES.--The Roman nose indicates a martial spirit, love of debate, resistance, and strong passions, while hollow, pug noses indicate a tame, easy, inert, sly character, and straight, finely-formed Grecian noses harmonious characters. Seek their acquaintance.

DISPOSITION AND CHARACTER BY STATURE.

1. TALL PERSONS.--Tall persons have high heads, and are aspiring, aim high, and seek conspicuousness, while short ones have flat heads, and seek the lower forms of worldly pleasures. Tall persons are rarely mean, though often grasping; but very penurious persons are often broad-built.

2. SMALL PERSONS.--Small persons generally have exquisite mentalities, yet less power--the more precious the article, the smaller the package in which it is done up,--while great men are rarely dwarfs, though great size often co-exists with sluggishness.

DISPOSITION AND CHARACTER BY THE WALK.

1. AWKWARD.--Those whose motions are awkward yet easy, possess much efficiency and positiveness of character, yet lack polish; and just in proportion as they become refined in mind will their movements be correspondingly improved. A short and quick step indicates a brisk and active but rather contracted mind, whereas those who take long steps generally have long heads; yet if the step is slow, they will make comparatively little progress, while those whose step is long and quick will accomplish proportionately much, and pass most of their competitors on the highway of life. {475}

2. A DRAGGING STEP.--Those who sluff or drag their heels, drag and drawl in everything; while those who walk with a springing, bouncing step, abound in mental snap and spring. Those whose walk is mincing, affected, and artificial, rarely, if ever, accomplish much; whereas those who walk carelessly, that is, naturally, are just what they appear to be, and put on nothing for outside show.

3. THE DIFFERENT MODES OF WALKING.--In short, every individual has his own peculiar mode of moving, which exactly accords with his mental character; so that, as far as you can see such modes, you can decipher such outlines of character.

THE DISPOSITION AND CHARACTER BY LAUGHING.

1. LAUGHTER EXPRESSIVE OF CHARACTER.--Laughter is very expressive of character. Those who laugh very heartily have much cordiality and whole-souledness of character, except that those who laugh heartily at trifles have much feeling, yet little sense. Those whose giggles are rapid but light, have much intensity of feeling, yet lack power; whereas those who combine rapidity with force in laughing, combine them in character.

2. VULGAR LAUGH.--Vulgar persons always laugh vulgarly, and refined persons show refinement in their laugh. Those who ha, ha right out, unreservedly, have no cunning, and are open-hearted in everything; while those who suppress laughter, and try to control their countenances in it, are more or less secretive. Those who laugh with their mouths closed are non-committal; while those who throw it wide open are unguarded and unequivocal in character.

3. SUPPRESSED LAUGHTER.--Those who, suppressing laughter for a while, burst forth volcano-like, have strong characteristics, but are well-governed, yet violent when they give way to their feelings. Then there is the intellectual laugh, the love laugh, the horse laugh, the philoprogenitive laugh, the friendly laugh, and many other kinds of laugh, each indicative of corresponding mental developments.

DISPOSITION AND CHARACTER BY THE MODE OF SHAKING HANDS.

THEIR EXPRESSION OF CHARACTER.--Thus, those who give a tame and loose hand, and shake lightly, have a cold, if not heartless and selfish disposition, rarely sacrificing much for others, are probably conservatives, and lack warmth and {476} soul. But those who grasp firmly, and shake heartily, have a corresponding whole-souledness of character, are hospitable, and will sacrifice business to friends; while those who bow low when they shake hands, add deference to friendship, and are easily led, for good or bad, by friends.

THE DISPOSITION AND CHARACTER BY THE MOUTH AND EYES.

1. DIFFERENT FORMS OF MOUTHS.--Every mouth differs from every other, and indicates a coincident character. Large mouths express a corresponding quantity of mentality, while small ones indicate a lesser amount. A coarsely-formed mouth indicates power, while one finely-formed indicates exquisite susceptibilities. Hence small, delicately formed mouths indicate only common minds, with very fine feelings and much perfection of character.

2. CHARACTERISTICS.--Whenever the muscles about the mouth are distinct, the character is correspondingly positive, and the reverse. Those who open their mouths wide and frequently, thereby evince an open soul, while closed {477} mouths, unless to hide deformed teeth, are proportionately secretive.

3. EYES.--Those who keep their eyes half shut are peek-a-boos and eaves-droppers.

4. EXPRESSIONS OF THE EYE.--The mere expression of the eye conveys precise ideas of the existing and predominant states of the mentality and physiology. As long as the constitution remains unimpaired, the eye is clear and bright, but becomes languid and soulless in proportion as the brain has been enfeebled. Wild, erratic persons have a half-crazed expression of eye, while calmness, benignancy, intelligence, purity, sweetness, love, lasciviousness, anger, and all the other mental affections, express themselves quite as distinctly by the eye as voice, or any other mode.