CHARACTER-READING IN NEW GUISE.

Northland Age, Volume IV, Issue 42, 22 June 1908, Page 8

CHARACTER-READING IN NEW GUISE.

TRAITS BETRAYED BY THE POSITION OF THE FEET. To obtain a correct result the viotim must be caught unawares, when sitting or standing at ease, and when the mind is so occupied with the thoughts and emotions of the moment that the feet and ankles are apt’ to adopt a natural pose. An unmistakable sign of a fractious and irritable nature is shown by the habit of stretching out one foot, whilst the leg, a little above the ankle,* is rubbed slowly with the instep and toe of the other. In a momentary fit of annoyance the same person will keep up a continual movement of the toes of the stretched-out foot, which may be plainly visible through the shoe. In the case of those who are the victims of extreme shyness, their habitual position when resting is with the toes turned well in, the heels out, and the whole foot slightly extended outwards from tho ankle to the toe, whilst another sure sign of acute bashfulness when allied to an intensely nervous temperament is at once evinced by the frequency with which the "back-fisch" can be seen to catch the legs of her chair when faced with an embarrassing social ordeal. The girl, likewise, whose aplomb has failed her for the nonce is sure to draw up the sole of on© foot over its fellow from the toe to the top of the ankle over the instep, repeating this with one foot after the other.

Every little movement has its interpretation, and if the vacillating and hesitating person, sitting with knees crossed, is confronted with a question requiring an immediate and decisive answer, before her face is able to betray any perturbation she will probably raise the toe upright of the crossect-over foot, catching its heel with the tip of the toe of the other shoe, or, with feet stretched out, will balance one heel on the instep of the other. Those, however, who belong to the category of happy mortals who are not overcharged with sensitiveness, and who take life as comfortably and serenely as they find it, demonstrate this particular trait no less in their lower limbs than in their facial expression. Whether at dinner, when the length of the cloth and the table legs conceal the feet from all beholders, or reclining in a soft or armchair, the feet will instinctively adopt a graceful position, the right being laid over the left, and both toes meeting perfectly symmetrically.