The fat man lets you make temporary dents in his plans just as you make them in a piece of fat meat. But the bony man is exactly the opposite, just as bone is difficult to twist, or turn, or alter in any way. It takes a long time and much effort--but once it is changed it is there for good.

The "Six-Footer"

- Because any individual's height is determined by his skeleton, extreme tallness is a sign of a larger than average bony structure. The extreme Osseous is therefore tall.

But you must remember that large joints are more significant than height. Even when found in short people they indicate a large osseous tendency.

Large Bones for His Body.

- So bear in mind that any person whose bones are large for his body is somewhat of the Osseous type, regardless of whether he is short or tall and regardless of how much fat or muscle he may have. The large-jointed person when fat is an Osseous-Alimentive. A large-jointed man of muscle would be an Osseous-Muscular.

The "Small Osseous"

- A very short person then may be predominantly Osseous if his bones are proportionately large for his body. Such an individual is called a "Small Osseous."

A head that is high for his body and inclines to be straight up and down goes with the extreme Osseous type. (See Chart 8) It does not resemble a sphere like the Alimentive, is not kite-shaped like the Thoracic, nor square like the Muscular. It is higher than any of the others, stands on a longer, more angular neck, and his "Adam's Apple" is usually in evidence.

The Pioneer Type.

- Like each of the other types, the Osseous is a result of a certain environment. Rigorous, remote regions require just such people, and these finally gave rise to this stoical nature. The outposts of civilization are responsible for his evolution.

[Ill.u.s.tration 8: A: Typical OSSEOUS face B: Typical OSSEOUS hand]

Pioneering, with its hardship, its menacing cold and dearth of comforts, in far countries at last produced a man who could stand them, who could "live through" almost anything and still dominate his surroundings.

Not a "Softie"

- The Osseous does not give way to his feelings. He keeps his griefs, sorrows, ambitions and most of his real opinions to himself. He is the farthest from a "softie" of any type.

If you desire to know at once what kind of person the Osseous is, put the Alimentive and Thoracic types together and mix them thoroughly. The Osseous is the opposite of that mixture.

Each and every trait he possesses is one whose exact opposite you will find in one or the other of these first two types.

Consistency in Types.

- As we go on in this chapter you will see why all kinds of people make up the world, for Nature has outdone herself in the distinctions between the five human types.

Each type is made up of certain groups of traits with which we have come in contact all our lives but which we have never cla.s.sified; and each "set" of traits comprising a type has a consistency which nothing less than Mother Nature could have produced. You will be interested to see how accurate are the statements concerning each type and how they are proven again and again in every type you a.s.sociate with.

Guesswork is no longer necessary in the sizing up of strangers. You can know them better than their mothers know them if you will get these nutsh.e.l.ls of facts clearly in your mind and then apply them.

His High Cheek Bones.

- Cheek bones standing higher than the average are always indicative either of a large Thoracic or a large Osseous element.

If the distance between the cheeks is so wide as to make this the widest section of the face, it is probable that the person is more Thoracic than Osseous. But if his face is narrow across the cheek bones, and especially if it runs perpendicularly down to the jaw-corners from that point instead of tapering, the person is large of the Osseous type.

Built on the Oblong.

- An oblong is what the Osseous brings to mind. His body outlines approximate the oblong--a squareness plus length. He is full of right angles and sharp corners. (See Chart 7) His face is built on the oblong (See Chart 8) and if you will notice the side-head of the next Osseous man you meet you will see that even a side view presents more nearly the appearance of the oblong than of any other geometrical figure.

The Oblong Hand.

- "The gnarled hand" well describes that of the Osseous. The hand outlines of this type also approximate the oblong. (See Chart 8) It runs straight down instead of tapering when the fingers are held close together.

The hand of the Osseous matches his body, head and face. It is bony, angular, large-jointed and as rigid as it looks. The inflexibility of his hand is always apparent in his handshake.

Knotty Fingers.

- Knotty fingers characterize the hands of this type. Their irregular appearance comes from the size of the joints which are large, in keeping with all the joints running throughout his organism.

Everything in one of Nature's creatures matches the other parts. Aga.s.siz, the great naturalist, when given the scale of a fish could reconstruct for you the complete organism of the type of fish from which it came. Give a tree-leaf to a botanist and he will reconstruct the size, shape, structure and color of the tree back of it. He will describe to you its native environment and its functions; what its bark, blossoms and branches look like and what to do to make it grow.

No Guesswork in Nature.

- Nature has no accidents. With her everything is organized, everything has a purpose, and every part of a thing, inside and out, matches the whole. So the hand of the Osseous and the face of the Osseous match the body and head.

This is also true of every other type. The Alimentive has small, fat, dimpled hands and feet like his body; the Thoracic has tapering hands and feet to match his face and body; the Muscular's body, hands and feet are all square; but the Osseous has a bony body, so his hands and feet are equally bony.

The Man of Slow Movements.

- "He is too slow for me," you have heard some one say of another. Perhaps you heard it said today. Review the outward appearance of all the people you know who have this reputation, from those of your earliest childhood down to that person of whom it was spoken today--and you will find that every one of them resembled the bony type we have just been describing.

Look back and call to mind the appearance of all the "rapid" ones and you will find that in every case they possessed high color, high chests or high-bridged noses. Take another look for the easy-going amenable ones, and see how plump they all were!

The Straight-Laced.

- None of these things "just happened." They are the result of the law of cause and effect. The connection between external and internal traits is becoming clearer every day and reveals some very unexpected things.

One that has been discovered very recently is that the straight-faced are the straight-laced. Notice for yourself and you will find that every person who is really "straight-laced" is a person with a straight face--that is, a face with straighter up-and-down lines than the average.

Think back over those you have known who come under this heading and you will find no actually round-faced people amongst them.

No matter how sanctimonious, religious or correct a person may act when his position or the occasion demands it, if he has a round, "moon" face he is not really straight-laced at heart. Any one who knows him well enough to know his real nature will tell you so.

The Naturally Conventional.

- The "born Puritan," the ascetic, and the naturally conventional person is, on the other hand, invariably an individual of more severe facial outlines.

This person may be in an unconventional position; your straight-faced, severe-lined person may be a gambler, a boot-legger, or follow any other line defying the conventions; but he is at heart a conservative after all. For instance, you will always find, when you know him, that he does things in a way that is very conventional to him. That is, he has decided standards, rules, habits and requirements, and he clings rigidly to them in the transaction of his business, regardless of how lax the business itself may be.

"A certain way of doing things" means as much to him, at heart, as it means little to the circular-faced people.

Systematic and Methodical.

- "A place for everything and everything in its place" is a rule preached and practised by people of this type.

The Osseous person does not mislay his things. He knows so well where they are that he can "go straight to them in the dark." Such a man is careful of his tools and keeps his work-bench or desk "shipshape." A woman of this type is an excellent housekeeper. Her sewing basket, dresser drawers and pantry shelves are all systematically arranged in apple-pie order.

The typical New England housewife, who washes on Mondays, irons on Tuesdays and bakes on Sat.u.r.days for forty years, is a direct descendant of the Puritans, most of whom belong to this bony, pioneering type.

The Stiff Sitter.

- Extremely Osseous people are inclined to be somewhat formal in their movements. They make fewer motions than any other type. They do not wave their hands or arms about when talking and are almost devoid of gesticulation of any kind. They sit upright instead of slumping down in their chairs, except when tall and lanky, and usually prefer "straight-backs" to rockers.

The Osseous Walk.

- The extremely raw-boned person has also a formal gait. His walk, like all his other movements, is inclined to be deliberate and somewhat mechanical.

- Nothing about the five types is more interesting than the walk which distinguishes each. The Alimentive undulates or rolls along; the Thoracic is an impulsive walker, and the Muscular is forceful in his walk. But the Osseous walks mechanically, deliberately, and refuses to hurry or speed up.

The Naturally Poised.

- The Osseous has more natural poise than any other type.

He is not impressionable, excitable or arousable. Things do not "stir him up" as they do other people. He is more self-contained, self-controlled and self-sufficient than any other. He is not easily carried off his feet and seldom yields to impulse. It is difficult to get him to do anything on the spur of the moment. He usually has his evenings, Sundays and vacations all planned in advance and won't change his schedule.

Not Given to "Nerves"

- Literally as well as figuratively the Osseous is not a man of "nerves." Every fiber of his being is less susceptible to outside stimuli than that of other types. In this he is the exact opposite of the Thoracic whose nerves, as we have pointed out, are so finely organized that he is hypersensitive.

Resists Change.

- Osseous people do not change anything, from their hair dress to their minds, any oftener than necessary. When they do, it is for what they consider overpoweringly good reasons.

These people are not flighty. They have their work, their time and their lives laid out systematically and do not allow trivialities to upset them. They take a longer time to deliberate on a proposed line of action, but once they have made a decision, adhere to it with much greater tenacity than any other type.

The Constant.

- People of this type are not fickle nor flirtatious. They love few; but once having become enamored are not easily turned aside. It is this type that remains true to one love through many years, sometimes for life.

The Implacable.

- The Osseous are not p.r.o.ne to sudden outbursts of temper. But they have the unbending kind when it is aroused.

Never forgiving and never forgetting is a trait of these people as contrasted with the Thoracic.

The Alimentive avoids those he does not like and forgets them because it is too much bother to hate; the Thoracic flames up one moment and forgives the next; the Muscular takes it out in a fight then and there, or argues with you about it.

But the Osseous despises, hates and loathes--and keeps on for years after every one else has forgotten all about it. The "rock-bound Puritan" type, as stony as the New England land from which it gets its living, is always bony. The implacable father who turns his child away from home, with orders "never to darken his door again," always has a lot of bone in his structure. Those who refuse to be softened into forgiveness by the years are always of this type.

Not Adaptable.

- It is difficult for the Osseous to "fit in." He is not adaptable and in this is once again the opposite of the Thoracic. It is impossible for him to adjust himself quickly to people or places.

Because he is unyielding, unbending and unadjustable he is called "sot in his ways."

He should not be misjudged for this inadaptability, however, for it is as natural to him as smoothness is to the Alimentive and impulsiveness to the Thoracic. He is made that way and is no more to blame for it than you are for having brown eyes instead of blue.

The One-Track Man.

- "Single-track minds" are characteristic of this type. They get an idea or an att.i.tude and it is there to stay. They think the same things for many years and follow a few definite lines of action most of their lives.

But it is to be remembered in this connection that this type often accomplishes more through his intensive concentration than more versatile types. While they follow many by-paths in search of their goal the Osseous sticks to the main track.

The Born Specialist.

- "This one thing I do," is a motto of the Osseous. They are the least versatile of any type and do not like to jump from one kind of work to another.

They prefer to do one thing at a time, do it well and finish it before starting anything else. Because of this the Osseous stars in specialities.

Dislikes Many Irons in the Fire.

- The man who likes many irons in the fire is never an Osseous. To have more than one problem before him at one time makes him irritable, upset and exasperated.

The Most Dependable Type.

- The unchangingness which handicaps the Osseous in so many ways is responsible for one very admirable trait. That trait is dependability.

The Osseous is reliable. He can be taken at his word more often than any other type, for he lives up to it with greater care.

Always on Time.

- When an Osseous person says, "I will meet you at four o'clock at the corner of Main and Market," he will arrive at Main and Market at four o'clock. He will not come straggling along, nor plead interruptions, nor give excuses. He will be on the exact spot at the exact hour.

In this he is again a contrast to the first two types. An Alimentive man will roll into the offing at a quarter, or more likely, a half hour past the time, smilingly apologize and be so naive you forgive and let it go at that.

The Thoracic will arrive anywhere from five after four to six o'clock, drown you in a thrilling narrative of just how it all happened, and never give you a chance to voice your anger till he has smoothed it all out of you.

An Exacting Man.

- But the Osseous is disdainful of such tactics and you had better beware of using them on him. He is dependable himself and demands it of others--a little trait all of us have regarding our own particular virtues.

Likes Responsibility.

- Responsibility, if it does not entail too many different kinds of thought and work, is enjoyed by the Osseous.

He can be given a task, a job, a position and he will attend to it. Entrust him with a commission of any kind, from getting you a certain kind of thread to discovering the North Pole, and he will come pretty near carrying it out, if he undertakes it.

Finishes What He Starts.

If an Osseous decides to do a piece of work for you you can go ahead and forget all about it. No need to advise, urge, watch, inspire, coax and cajole him to keep him at it. He prefers to keep at a thing if he starts it himself. You may have to hurry him but you will not have to watch him in order to know he is sticking to his task. This type starts few things but he brings those few to a pretty successful conclusion.

The Martyr of the Ages.

- "Died for a cause" has been said of many people, but those people have in every known instance been possessed of a larger-than-average bony structure.

- The pure Alimentive seldom troubles his head about causes. The Thoracic is the type that lives chiefly for the pleasure of the moment and the adventures of life. The Muscular fights hard and works hard for various movements.