e guided by
ideals. He is a worshiper of the sublime and beautiful. He disdains
small achievements, embarks enthusiastically upon forlorn hopes, and is
spurred to victory by the fervor of his desires.

"See this thumb! How finely it is pointed. The first phalanx is short,
and indicates that above all other things he is a man of heart and will
be dominated by his affections. He will yield to temptations, perhaps;
but the second phalanx is long and reveals a power of reason and logic
which will probably triumph at last."

Not a single word of all this had David heard. Her voice sounded to him
like the low droning of bees in a meadow, and he had been watching the
movements of her fingers, as he used to watch the dartings of the
minnows in the pools of the brook which ran through his farm.

"How smooth the fingers are! And how they taper to the cone," continued
Pepeeta. "Here is this one of Jupiter, for example. How plainly it tells
of religiousness and perhaps of fanaticism! The Sun finger is not long.
Nay, it is not long enough. There is too little love of glory here. And
the Saturnian finger is too long. The life is too much under the
dominion of Fate or Destiny. The Mercurial finger is short. He will be
firm in his friendships. The moons all correspond. They, also, are too
large. The Mount of Venus, here at the base of the thumb, is excessively
developed, and indicates capacity for gentleness, for chivalry, for
tenderness and love. The Mount of the Moon is small. That is good. There
will be no disturbance of the brain, no propensity towards lunacy. Mars
is not excessive, but it is strong, and he will be bold and courageous,
but not quarrelsome."

The pleasant murmur of the voice, the gentle pressure of her hand, her
nearness and her beauty, had rendered the Quaker absolutely oblivious to
her words.

"Let me now examine the lines," she continued. "Here is the line of the
heart. It passes clear across the palm. It is well marked at every point
and is most pronounced upon the upper side. The love will not be a
sensual passion, but look! it is joined to the head below the finger of
Saturn. It is the sign of a violent death! Heavens!"

As she uttered this exclamation, she pressed the hand convulsively
between her own, and looked up into his face.

The involuntary and sudden action recalled him to his consciousness.
"What did you say?" he asked.

"Have you not been listening?" she replied, repressing both her anxiety