Transcriber’s Notes:
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THE
HUMAN RACE.
[Illustration:
_P. Sellier, p.^{t}_
_Imp. Dupuy, 22, R. des Petits Hôtels_
_G. Regamey, lith._
NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN
SOUTH AMERICAN INDIAN
RED RACE]
THE
HUMAN RACE.
BY
LOUIS FIGUIER.
ILLUSTRATED BY
TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY-THREE ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD,
AND EIGHT CHROMOLITHOGRAPHS.
NEW YORK:
D. APPLETON AND CO., BROADWAY.
1872.
LONDON:
BRADBURY, EVANS, AND CO., PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.--Definition of Man--How he differs from other Animals--
Origin of Man--In what parts of the Earth did he first appear?--Unity
of Mankind, evidence in support--What is understood by species in
Natural History--Man forms but one species, with its varieties or
kinds--Classification of the Human Race 1
CHAPTER II.--General characteristics of the human race--Organic
characteristics--Senses and the nervous system--Height--Skeleton--
Cranium and face--Colour of the skin--Physiological functions--
Intellectual characteristics--Properties of human intelligence--
Languages and literature--Different states of society--Primitive
industry--The two ages of prehistoric humanity 21
THE WHITE RACE.
CHAPTER I.
EUROPEAN BRANCH 41
TEUTONIC FAMILY 41
LATIN FAMILY 66
SLAVONIAN FAMILY 113
GREEK FAMILY 149
CHAPTER II.
ARAMEAN BRANCH 163
LIBYAN FAMILY 163
SEMITIC FAMILY 183
PERSIAN FAMILY 190
GEORGIAN FAMILY 203
CIRCASSIAN FAMILY 203
THE YELLOW RACE.
CHAPTER I.
HYPERBOREAN BRANCH 206
LAPP FAMILY 206
SAMOIEDE FAMILY 209
KAMTSCHADALE FAMILY 209
ESQUIMAUX FAMILY 211
TEMISIAN FAMILY 217
JUKAGHIRITE AND KORIAK FAMILIES 217
CHAPTER II.
MONGOLIAN BRANCH 218
MONGOL FAMILY 218
TUNGUSIAN FAMILY 223
YAKUT FAMILY 223
TURKISH FAMILY 229
CHAPTER III.
SINAIC BRANCH 254
CHINESE FAMILY 256
JAPANESE FAMILY 302
INDO-CHINESE FAMILY 324
THE BROWN RACE.
CHAPTER I.
HINDOO BRANCH 336
HINDOO FAMILY 339
MALABAR FAMILY 354
CHAPTER II.
ETHIOPIAN BRANCH 355
ABYSSINIAN FAMILY 355
FELLAN FAMILY 363
CHAPTER III.
MALAY BRANCH 365
MALAY FAMILY 365
POLYNESIAN FAMILY 380
MICRONESIAN FAMILY 400
THE RED RACE.
CHAPTER I.
SOUTHERN BRANCH 407
ANDIAN FAMILY 407
PAMPEAN FAMILY 419
GUARANY FAMILY 433
CHAPTER II.
NORTHERN BRANCH 452
SOUTHERN FAMILY 452
NORTH-EASTERN FAMILY 460
NORTH-WESTERN FAMILY 492
THE BLACK RACE.
CHAPTER I.
WESTERN BRANCH 495
CAFFRE FAMILY 495
HOTTENTOT FAMILY 498
NEGRO FAMILY 500
CHAPTER II.
EASTERN BRANCH 518
PAPUAN FAMILY 518
ANDAMAN FAMILY 531
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
RED RACE: NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN, SOUTH AMERICAN INDIAN
THE WHITE RACE.
FIG. PAGE
1.--MEN AND WOMEN OF ANATOLIA 5
2.--SAMOIEDES OF THE NORTH CAPE 7
WHITE OR CAUCASIAN RACE: SCANDINAVIAN, GREEK
3.--WAKE OF ICELANDIC PEASANTS IN A BARN 42
4.--WOMEN OF STAVANGER, NORWAY 43
5.--CITIZEN OF STAVANGER 44
6.--COSTUMES OF THE TELEMARK (NORWAY) 45
7.--WOMEN OF CHRISTIANSUND (NORWAY) 46
8.--BOY AND GIRL OF THE LAWERGRAND (NORWAY) 47
9, 10.--SUABIANS (STUTTGARD) 48
11, 12.--SUABIANS (STUTTGARD) 50
13.--BAVARIANS 52
14.--BADENERS 53
15.--ENGLISHMAN 63
16.--DRUIDS, GAULS, AND FRANKS 70
17.--FRENCHMAN 75
18.--CATTLE-DEALER OF CORDOVA 81
19.--NATIVES OF TOLEDO 83
20.--SPANISH PEASANT 84
21.--A MADRID WINE-SHOP 85
22.--SPANISH LADY AND DUENNA 88
23.--THE FANDANGO 89
24.--THE BOLERO 91
25.--FISH VENDORS AT OPORTO 92
26.--ROMAN PEASANT GIRL 94
27.--ROMAN PEASANTS 95
28.--YOUNG GIRL OF THE TRANSTEVERA 96
29.--STREET AT TIVOLI 98
30.--A CARDINAL ENTERING THE VATICAN 99
31.--EXALTATION OF POPE PIUS IX. 100
32.--A MACARONI SHOP AT NAPLES 103
33.--NEAPOLITAN ICED-WATER SELLER 104
34.--NEAPOLITAN PEASANT WOMAN 104
35.--ITINERANT TRADER OF NAPLES 105
36.--AN ACQUAJOLO, AT NAPLES 106
37.--WALACHIAN 108
38.--LADY OF BUCHAREST 110
39.--WALACHIAN WOMAN 111
40.--NOBLE BOSNIAK MUSSULMAN 112
41.--RUSSIAN SENTINEL, RIGA 115
42.--RUSSIAN DEVOTEES, RIGA 117
43.--TRAFFIC IN ST. PETERSBURG 121
44.--A RUSSIAN TAVERN 122
45.--INTERIOR OF AN ISBA 123
46.--LIVONIAN PEASANTS 124
47.--TARTAR OF KASAK 125
48.--TARTAR OF THE CAUCASUS 126
49.--TARTAR OF THE CAUCASUS 127
50.--RUSSIAN NORTH-SEA PILOT 128
51.--OSTIAK HUT 130
52.--ISIGANE OF VOAKOVAR 131
53.--SLAVONIAN PEASANT 132
54.--A PEASANT OF ESSEK 133
55.--HERDSMEN OF THE MILITARY CONFINES 135
56.--WOMAN OF THE MILITARY CONFINES 136
57.--GRÄNZERS, AND THEIR GUARD-HOUSE 138
58.--TSIGANE PRISONER 139
59.--BOSNIAK PEASANT 142
60.--BOSNIAK PEASANT WOMAN 143
61.--BOSNIAK MERCHANT 144
62.--WOMEN OF PESTH 145
63.--HUNGARIANS 146
64.--A HUNGARIAN GENTLEMAN 147
65.--HUNGARIANS 148
66.--GREEKS OF ATHENS 151
67.--A GREEK HOUSEHOLD 153
68.--INTERIOR OF THE AGORA AT ATHENS 156
69.--FÊTE OF THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER, ATHENS 159
WHITE OR CAUCASIAN RACE: GEORGEAN, ARAB
70.--ALBANIAN WOMAN 161
PORTRAIT OF AN ARMENIAN
71.--MOORISH COFFEE-HOUSE AT SIDI-BOW-SAID, NEAR TUNIS 164
72.--GRINDING WHEAT IN THE KABYLIA 169
73.--KABYLE JEWELLERS 171
74.--KOPTS OF THE TEMPLE OF KRANAH 175
75.--A FELLAH WOMAN AND CHILDREN 177
76.--A FELLAH DONKEY BOY 178
77.--A LADY OF CAIRO 181
78.--ALMA OR DANCING GIRL 182
79.--WANDERING ARABS 185
80.--JEW OF BUCHAREST 186
81.--BEYROUT 187
82.--MARONITES OF LIBANUS 189
83.--HADY-MERZA-AGHAZZI 192
84.--PERSIAN TYPES 194
85.--PERSIAN NOBLEMEN 195
86.--PERSIAN WOMEN 196
87.--LOUTY AND BAKTYAN 197
88.--AN ARMENIAN DRAWING-ROOM 200
89.--GEORGIANS 202
THE YELLOW RACE.
90.--LAPLANDERS 207
91.--A LAPP CRADLE 209
92.--SAMOIEDES 210
93.--ESQUIMAUX SUMMER ENCAMPMENT 212
94.--ESQUIMAUX WINTER ENCAMPMENT 213
95.--ESQUIMAUX VILLAGE 214
96.--ESQUIMAUX CHIEF 215
97.--ESQUIMAUX BIRD-CATCHER 216
98.--YOUNG ESQUIMAUX 217
99.--A MONGOL TARTAR 219
100.--BURÏATS ESCORTING MISS CHRISTIANI 222
101.--MANCHÚS SOLDIERS 224
YELLOW OR MONGOLIAN RACE: MONGOLIAN, ESQUIMAUX
102.--YAKUTS 225
103.--A YAKUT WOMAN 227
104.--YAKUT VILLAGERS 230
105.--YAKUT PRIESTS 231
106.--TURCOMAN ENCAMPMENT 234
107.--KIRGHIS FUNERAL RITES 237
108.--A HAREM 241
109.--A HAREM SUPPER 243
110.--TURKISH LADIES VISITING 245
111.--A TURKISH BARBER 249
112.--TURKISH PORTER 251
113.--INDO-CHINESE OF STUNG TRENG 254
114.--INDO-CHINESE OF LAOS 255
115.--A YOUNG CHINESE 257
116.--CHINESE SHOPKEEPER 258
117.--CHINESE LADY 259
118.--CHINESE WOMAN 260
119.--MANDARIN’S DAUGHTER 261
120.--CHINESE BOUDOIR 264
121.--CHINESE SITTING-ROOM 269
122.--OPIUM-SMOKERS 271
123.--CHINESE AGRICULTURE 273
124.--CHINESE FISHING 275
125.--THE CUSTOM-HOUSE AT SHANGHAI 277
YELLOW OR MONGOLIAN RACE: JAPANESE, CHINESE
126.--CHINESE BONZE 281
127.--CHINESE SCHOOLMASTER 283
128.--CHINESE LOCOMOTION 285
129.--A CHINESE PLAY 289
130.--A CHINESE JUNK 291
131.--CHINESE BEGGARS 293
132.--CHINESE PUNISHMENTS 295
133.--CHINESE PUNISHMENTS 296
134.--A CHINESE COURT OF JUSTICE 297
135.--CHINESE SOLDIERS 299
136.--CHINESE TROOPER 300
137.--THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA 301
138.--JAPANESE 304
139.--A JAPANESE FATHER 305
140.--JAPANESE SOLDIER 306
141.--JAPANESE NOBLE 307
142.--JAPANESE PALANQUIN 311
143.--THE TAÏCOON’S GUARDS 315
144.--A LADY OF THE COURT 317
145.--A KAMIS TEMPLE, JAPAN 321
146.--JAPANESE PAGODA 323
147.--BURMESE NOBLES 325
148.--BURMESE LADY 326
149.--WOMEN OF BANKOK 327
150.--SIAMESE DOMESTIC 328
151.--SIAMESE LADIES DINING 329
152.--TOMB OF A BONZE, AT LAOS 330
153.--CAMBODIANS 331
154.--THE PRINCE-ROYAL OF SIAM 333
155.--CHINESE GIRL 334
THE BROWN RACE.
156.--NATIVES OF HYDERABAD 337
157.--A BANIAN OF SURAT 338
158.--AN AGED SIKH 339
159.--A PARSEE GENTLEMAN 341
160.--SIR SALAR JUNG, K.S.I. 343
161.--NAUTCH GIRL OF BARODA 345
162.--A COOLIE OF THE GHATS 347
163.--PAGODA AT SIRRHINGHAM 349
164.--PALANQUIN 352
165.--ABYSSINIAN 355
166.--NOUERS OF THE WHITE NILE 356
167.--A NOUER CHIEF 358
168.--CHIEF OF THE LIRA 359
169.--MALAY “RUNNING A MUCK” 367
170.--MALAY 369
171.--JAVANESE 369
172.--JAVANESE DANCING GIRLS 371
173.--JAVANESE WEDDING 372
174.--DYAKS 377
175.--A DYAK HUT 379
176.--NEW ZEALAND CHIEF 383
177.--NATIVE OF TAHITI 393
178.--NATIVE OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS 398
THE RED RACE.
179.--HUASCAR, THIRTEENTH EMPEROR OF THE INCAS 408
180.--COYA CAHUANA, EMPRESS OF THE INCAS 409
181.--AN ANTIS INDIAN 411
182.--AN ANTIS INDIAN 412
183.--SUMMER SHED OF THE ANTIS 413
184.--ANTIS INDIANS FISHING 414
185.--PERUVIAN INTERPRETER 415
186.--ARAUCANIAN 417
187.--PECHERAY HUTS 418
188.--PATAGONIAN 422
189.--A PATAGONIAN HORSE SACRIFICE 423
190.--A BOLIVIAN CHIEF 426
191.--A BOAT ON THE RIO NEGRO 429
192.--EXAMINADOR OF CHILI 432
193.--A PARAGUAYAN MESSENGER 437
194.--BRAZILIAN NEGRO 440
195.--INDIAN WOMAN OF BRAZIL 441
196.--NATIVE OF MANAOS, BRAZIL 443
197.--BRAZILIAN NEGRESSES 445
198.--BRAZILIAN DWELLING 446
199.--NEGROS OF BAHIA 447
200.--NATIVES OF FRENCH GUYANA 449
201.--BOTOCUDOS 451
202.--INDIAN OF THE MEXICAN COAST 453
203, 204.--INDIANS OF THE MEXICAN COAST 454
205.--MEXICAN INDIAN WOMAN 456
206.--MEXICAN PICADOR 457
207.--THE ROLDAU BRIDGE MARKET, MEXICO 458
208.--MEXICAN HATTER 459
209.--MEXICAN HAWKER 459
210.--CREEK INDIANS 463
211.--ENCAMPMENT OF SIOUX INDIANS 465
212.--SIOUX WARRIOR 466
213.--A SIOUX CHIEF 467
214.--CROW INDIANS IN COUNCIL 470
215.--PAWNEE INDIANS 473
216.--A CHAYENE (SHIENNES) CHIEF 475
217.--A YUTE CHIEF 477
218.--CHOCTAW INDIANS PLAYING BALL 479
219.--COMANCHE INDIANS 481
220.--A COMANCHE CAMP 482
221.--A BUFFALO HUNT 483
222.--MOHAWK INDIANS 485
223.--FLAT-HEAD INDIANS 487
224.--NAYA INDIANS 489
225.--A CROW CHIEF 491
THE BLACK RACE.
226.--A CAFFRE 496
227.--NATIVE OF THE MOZAMBIQUE COAST 497
228.--THE HOTTENTOT VENUS 499
229.--A ZANZIBAR NEGRO 503
230.--ZANZIBAR NEGRESSES 507
231.--A NEGRO VILLAGE 511
232.--FISHING ON THE UPPER SENEGAL 513
233.--A ZAMBESI NEGRESS 515
BLACK RACE: PAPOUAN, NEGRO OF NEW GUINEA
234.--THAKOMBAU, KING OF THE FIJI ISLANDS 520
235.--NATIVE OF FIJI 521
236.--NATIVE OF FIJI 522
237.--A TEMPLE OF CANNIBALISM 523
238.--A FIJIAN DANCE 525
239.--YOUNG NATIVE OF NEW CALEDONIA 527
240.--NATIVE OF NEW CALEDONIA 529
241.--ENCAMPMENT OF NATIVE AUSTRALIANS 533
242.--NATIVE AUSTRALIAN 535
243.--AN AUSTRALIAN GRAVE 536
THE HUMAN RACE.
INTRODUCTION.
CHAPTER I.
Definition of Man--How he differs from other Animals--Origin of
Man--In what parts of the Earth did he first appear?--Unity of
Mankind, evidence in support--What is understood by species in
Natural History--Man forms but one species, with its varieties or
kinds--Classification of the Human Race.
What is man? A profound thinker, Cardinal de Bonald, has said: “Man is
an intelligence assisted by organs.” We would fain adopt this
definition, which brings into relief the true attribute of man,
intelligence, were it not defective in drawing no sufficient distinction
between man and the brute. It is a fact that animals are intelligent and
that their intelligence is assisted by organs. But their intelligence is
infinitely inferior to that of man. It does not extend beyond the
necessities of attack and defence, the power of seeking food, and a
small number of affections or passions, whose very limited scope merely
extends to material wants. With man, on the other hand, intelligence is
of a high order, although its range is limited, and it is often
arrested, powerless and mute, before the problems itself proposes. In
bodily formation, man is an animal, he lives in a material envelope, of
which the structure is that of the Mammalia; but he far surpasses the
animal in the extent of his intellectual faculties. The definition of
man must therefore establish this relation which animals bear to
ourselves, and indicate, if possible, the degree which separates them.
For this reason we shall define man: _an organized, intelligent being,
endowed with the faculty of abstraction_.
To give beyond this a perfectly satisfactory definition of man is
impossible: first, because, a definition, being but the expression of a
theory, which rarely commands universal assent, is liable to be rejected
with the theory itself; and secondly, because a perfectly accurate
definition supposes an absolute knowledge of the subject, of which
absolute knowledge our understanding is incapable. It has been well said
that a correct definition can be furnished by none but divine power.
Nothing is more true than this, and were we able to give of our own
species a definition rigorously correct, we should indeed possess
absolute knowledge.
The trouble we have to define aright the being about to form the subject
of our investigation is but a forecast of the difficulties we shall meet
when we endeavour to reason upon and to classify man. He who ventures to
fathom the problems of human nature, physical, intellectual or moral, is
arrested at every step. Each moment he must confess his powerlessness to
solve the questions which arise, and at times is forced to content
himself with merely suggesting them. This can be explained. Man is the
last link of visible creation; with him closes the series of living
beings which we are permitted to contemplate. Beyond him there extends,
in a world hidden from our view, a train of beings of a new order,
endowed with faculties superior and inaccessible to our comprehension,
mysterious phalanxes, whose place of abode even is unknown to us, and
who, after us, form the next step in the infinite progression of living
creatures by whom the universe is peopled. Situate, as he is, on the
confines of this unknown world, on the very threshold of this domain,
which his eye, if not his thoughts may not penetrate, man shares to some
extent the attributes belonging to those beings who follow him in the
economy of nature. Doubtless, it is this which makes it so difficult for
us to comprehend the actual essence of man, his destiny, his origin and
his end.
These reflections have been called for in order to supply an explanation
of the frequent admissions of helplessness which we shall be obliged to
make in this cursory Introduction, when we investigate the origin of
man, the period of his first appearance on the globe, the unity or
division of our species, the classification of the human race, &c. If to
many of these questions we reply with doubt and uncertainty, the reader
must not lay the blame at the feet of science, but must search for the
cause in the impenetrable laws of nature.
And first, whence comes man? Wherefore does he exist? To this we can
make no reply, the problem is beyond the reach of human thought. But we
may at least enquire, since this question has been largely debated by
the learned, whether man was at once constituted such as he is, or
whether he originally existed in some other animal form, which has been
modified in its anatomical structure by time and circumstances. In other
words, is it true, as has been pretended by various of our
contemporaries, that man is the result of the organic improvement of a
particular race of apes, which race forms a link between the apes with
which we are familiar and the first man?
We have already treated and discussed this question more fully in the
volume which preceded this. We have shown, in “Primitive Man,” that man
is not derived, by a process of organic transformation, from any animal,
and that he includes the ape not more than the whale among his ancestry;
but that he is the product of a special creation.
Nevertheless, whether its creation be special or the result of
modification, the human species has not always existed. There is, then,
a first cause for its production. What is this? Here is again a problem
which surpasses our understanding. Let us say, my readers, that the
creation of the human species was an act of God, that man is one of the
children of the great arbiter of the universe, and we shall have given
to this question the only response which can content at once our
feelings and our reason.
But let us summon questions more accessible to our comprehension, with
which the mind is more at ease, and upon which science can exercise its
functions. To what period should we refer the first appearance of man
upon the globe? In “Primitive Man” we have answered this question as far
as it can be. We have considered the opinion of some writers who carry
the first appearance of man as far back as the tertiary period.
Rejecting this date on account of the insufficiency of the evidence
produced, we, in common with most naturalists, have admitted, that man
appeared for the first time upon our globe at the commencement of the
quaternary period, that is to say, before the geological phenomenon of
the deluge and previous to the glacial period which preceded this great
terrestrial cataclysm. To fix the birth of man in the tertiary period
would be to travel out of facts now within the ken of science, and to
substitute for observation, conjecture and hypothesis.
By saying that man appeared for the first time upon the globe at the
commencement of the quaternary period, we establish the fact, which is
agreeable to the cosmogony of Moses, that man was formed after the other
animals, and that by his advent he crowned the edifice of animal
creation.
At the quaternary period almost all the animals of our time had already
seen the light, and a certain number of animal species existed, which
were shortly to disappear. When man was created, the mammoth, the great
bear, the cave tiger, and the cervus megaceros, animals more bulky, more
robust and more agile than the corresponding species of our time, filled
the forests and peopled the plains. The first men were therefore
contemporary with the woolly elephant, the cave bear and tiger; they had
to contend with these savage phalanxes, as formidable in their number as
their strength. Nevertheless, in obedience to the laws of nature, these
animals were to disappear from the globe and give place to smaller or
different species, whilst man, persisting in the opposite direction,
increased and multiplied, as the Scripture has said, and gradually
spread into all inhabitable countries, taking possession of his empire
which daily increased with the progress of his intelligence.
In “Primitive Man” we have given the history of the first steps of
humanity.
We have traced the origin and progress of civilization, from the moment
when man was cast, feeble, wretched and naked, in the midst of a hostile
and savage brute population, to the day when his power, resting upon a
firm basis, changed little by little the face of the inhabited earth.
We shall not refer to this at greater length, since in “Primitive Man”
we have treated it fully, and in unison with the actual discoveries of
science. But there is a very different problem to the solution of
which we shall apply ourselves in the following pages. Did man see the
light at any one spot of the earth, and at that alone, and is it
possible to indicate the region which was, so to say, the cradle of
humanity? Or, are we to believe that, in the first instance, man
appeared in several places at the same time? That he was created and has
always remained in the very localities he now inhabits? That the Negro
was born in the burning regions of Central Africa, the Laplander or the
Mongolian in the cold regions to which he is now confined?
[Illustration: 1.--MEN AND WOMEN OF ANATOLIA.]
To this question a satisfactory reply can be given by reference to facts
furnished by natural history. But in seeking a triumph for our opinion
we shall have to combat the arguments of a hostile doctrine. As we said
in the early part of this Introduction, we must ever be prepared to
encounter difficulties, to dissipate uncertainties, and to vie with
other theories in each point of the history of humanity which we may
seek to fathom.
There is a school of philosophers who assert that man was manifold in
his creation, that each type of humanity originated in the region to
which it is now attached, and that it was not emigration followed by the
action of climate, circumstances, and customs which gave birth to the
different races of man.
This opinion has been upheld in a work by M. Georges Pouchet, son of the
well-known naturalist of Rouen. But, one has only to read his essay upon
_la pluralité des races humaines_, to be convinced that the author, like
others of his school, as ardent in demolition as powerless in
construction, having chosen to act the easy part of a critic, exhibits
unprecedented weakness when called upon to supply a system in the place
of that he contradicts.
If there existed several centres of human creation, they should be
indicated, and it should be shown that the men who dwell there
now-a-days have never been connected with other populations. M. Georges
Pouchet preserves prudent silence upon this question; he avoids defining
the locus of any one of these supposed multiple creations. Such a faulty
argument speaks volumes for the doctrine.
We, on our part, think that man had on the globe one centre of creation,
that, fixed in the first instance in a particular region, he has
radiated in every direction from that point, and by his wanderings
coupled with the rapid multiplication of his descendants, he has
ultimately peopled all the inhabitable regions of the earth.
In order to demonstrate the truth of this proposition, we will examine
what takes place in connection with other organized beings, that is to
say, with animals and plants, and then apply this class of facts to man:
this is observation and induction, the only logical process to which we
can here resort.
[Illustration: 2.--SAMOIEDES OF THE NORTH CAPE.]
And what do botanical and zoological geography teach? They show us that
plants and animals have each their native locality, from which they but
seldom depart, and that it would be impossible to cite any plant or
animal which lives indifferently in all countries of the globe, without
having been transported thither by human industry. The earth is, so to
speak, divided into a certain number of zones, which have their
particular vegetable and animal life. These are so many natural
provinces, all of small extent, which represent veritable centres of
creation. The cedar, peculiar to the mountains of Lebanon, existed in
this region alone before it was transported to other climates; and the
coffee-plant had grown only in Arabia, before it was acclimatized in
South America. We could quote the names of many vegetables whose natural
abode is very sharply defined, but these instances are sufficient to
exemplify the general rule of which we treat.
We need hardly say that animals, like plants, are attached to various
localities which they rarely quit with impunity, since they have not the
faculty of acclimatizing themselves at will. The elephant lives only in
India and in certain parts of Africa; the hippopotamus and giraffe in
other countries of the same continent; monkeys exist in very few
portions of the globe, and if we consider their different species, we
shall find that the place of abode of each species is very limited. For
instance, of the larger apes, the orang-outang is found only in Borneo
and Sumatra, and the gorilla in a small corner of Western Africa. Had
man originated in all those places where now his different races are
found, he would stand alone as an exception among organized beings.
Reasoning then by induction, that is, applying to man all that we
observe to obtain generally among beings living on the surface of the
globe, we come to the conclusion that the human species, in common with
every vegetable or animal species, had but one centre of creation.
Can we now extend our investigation and determine the particular spot of
the earth whence man first came? It is probable that man first saw the
day on the plains of Central Asia, and that it was from this point that
by degrees he spread over the whole earth. We shall proceed to state the
facts which support this opinion.
Around the central tableland of Asia, are found the three organic and
fundamental types of man, that is to say, the white, the yellow, and the
black. The black type has been somewhat scattered, although it is still
found in the south of Japan, in the Malay Peninsula, in the Andaman
Isles, and in the Philippines, at Formosa. The yellow type forms a large
portion of the actual population of Asia, and it is well-known whence
came those white hordes that invaded Europe at times prehistoric and in
more recent ages; those conquerors belonged to the Aryan or Persian
race, and they came from Central Asia. We shall see later on, that the
different languages of the globe resolve themselves into three
fundamental forms: _monosyllabic_ languages, in which each word contains
but one syllable; _agglutinative_ languages, in which the words are
connected; and _inflected_ languages, which are the same as those spoken
in Europe. Now, those three general forms of language are, at the
present day, to be met with around the central tableland of Asia. The
monosyllabic language is spoken throughout China and in the different
states connected with that empire. The agglutinative languages are
spoken to the north of this plain, and extend as far as Europe. And,
lastly, inflected languages are found in all that portion of Asia which
is occupied by the white race.
Around the central tableland of Asia, we thus find not only the three
fundamental types of the human species, but the three types of human
speech. Does not this, therefore, afford ground for presumption, if not
actual proof, that man first appeared in this very region which
Scripture assigns as the birthplace of the human race?
It is from this central tableland of Asia, radiating so to say, around
this point of origin, that Man has progressively occupied every part of
the earth.
Migration commenced at a very early period, the facility with which our
species becomes habituated to every climate and accommodates itself to
variations of temperature, taken in connection with the nomadic
character which distinguished primitive populations, explains to us the
displacement of the earlier inhabitants of the earth. Soon, means of
navigation, although rude, were added to the power of travelling by
land, and man passed from the continent to distant islands, and thus
peopled the archipelagos as well as the mainland. By means of transport,
effected in canoes formed from the trunks of trees barely hollowed out,
the archipelagos of the Indian Ocean, and finally Australia, were
gradually peopled.
The American continent formed no exception to this law of the invasion
of the globe by the emigration of human phalanxes. It is a matter of no
great difficulty to pass from Asia to America, across Behring’s Straits,
which are almost always covered with ice, thus permitting of almost a
dry passage from one continent to the other. Thus it is that the
inhabitants of Northern Asia have found their way into the north of the
New World.
This communication of one terrestrial hemisphere with the other is less
surprising when we consider what modern historical works have shown,
namely, that already about the tenth century, which would be nearly 400
years before Christopher Columbus, navigators from the coast of Norway
had penetrated to the other hemisphere. The inhabitants of Mexico and
Chili possess most authentic historical archives, which prove that a
most advanced civilization flourished there at an early period. Gigantic
monuments which still remain, bear witness to the great antiquity of the
civilization of the Incas (Peru) and of the Aztecs (Mexico). It is
reasonable to suppose that the inhabitants of America, who thus advanced
at a rapid pace in the path of civilization, descended from the hordes
of Northern Asia which reached the New World by traversing the ice of
Behring’s Straits.
To explain, therefore, the presence of man upon all parts of the
continent, and in the islands, it is not necessary to insist upon the
existence of several centres, where our species was created. If popular
traditions went to show that all the regions now inhabited have always
been occupied by the same people, and that those who are found there
have constantly lived in the same places, there might be reason to admit
the hypothesis of multiple creations of the human race; but, on the
contrary, traditions for the most part teach us that each country has
been peopled progressively by means of conquest or emigration.
Tradition shows that the nomadic state of existence has universally
preceded fixed settlements. It is, therefore, probable that the first
men were constantly on the move. A flood of barbarians, coming from
central Asia, overflowed the Roman Empire, and the Vandals penetrated
even into Africa. Modern migrations have been conducted on a still
vaster scale, for at the present day we find America almost wholly
occupied by Europeans; English, Spanish and other people of the Latin
race fill the vast American hemisphere, and the primitive populations of
the New World have almost entirely disappeared, annihilated by the iron
yoke of the conqueror.
The continent of Asia was peopled little by little by branches of the
Aryan race, who came down from the plains of Central Asia, directing
their course towards India. As to Africa: that continent received its
contingent of population through the Isthmus of Suez, the valley of the
Nile, and the coasts of Arabia, by the aid of navigation.
There is therefore nothing to show that humanity had several distinct
nuclei. It is clear that man started from one point alone, and that
through his power of adapting himself to the most different climates, he
has, little by little, covered the whole face of the inhabitable earth.
The Bible proclaimed, long before the studies of modern anthropologists
made it known, this principle of the unity of the human species. In like
manner as the Bible opposed its monotheistic cosmogony to the different
cosmogonies of oriental or pagan antiquity, in like manner it opposes to
the erroneous dogmas of the religions and philosophies of antiquity,
this doctrine sublime and simple in itself, that man, the last child of
creation, rules it as its appointed head and by his moral power. Holy
Writ, indeed, says to us: “God has created the whole human race of one
flesh.”[1]
[1] St. Paul at the Areopagus of Athens. Acts of the Apostles, chap.
xvii. v. 26.
There is another problem. Did the white, the yellow, and the black man
exist from the first moment of the appearance of our species upon the
globe, or have we to explain the formation of these three fundamental
races by the action of climate, by any special form of nourishment, the
result of local resources; in other words, by the action of the soil, if
we may use the expression of a conscientious author, M. Trémaux?[2]
[2] Origine et transformation de l’homme et des autres êtres. 1 vol.
in 18. Paris, 1865.
Innumerable dissertations have been written with a view of explaining
the origin of these three races, and of connecting them with the climate
or the soil. But it must be admitted that the problem is hardly capable
of solution. The influence which a warm climate exercises upon the
colour of the skin is a well known fact, and it is a matter of common
observation that the white European, if transported into the heart of
Africa, or carried to the coast of Guinea, transmits to his descendants
the brown colour which the skin of the Negro possesses, and that in
their turn the offspring of Negroes, who have been brought into northern
countries, become as they descend, paler and paler and end by being
white. But the colour of the skin is not the only characteristic of a
race; the Negro differs from the white, less by the colour of his skin,
than by the structure of the face and cranium, as also by the proportion
of his members to one another. Is it not, moreover, a fact that the
hottest countries are inhabited by people with white skins? Such for
instance are the Touaricks of the African Sahara, and the Fellahs of
Egypt. On the other hand, men with black faces are found in countries
enjoying a mean temperature, as for instance, the inhabitants of
California on the coast of the Pacific Ocean.
Let us conclude that science is unable to explain to us the difference
which exists between the different types of the human species, that
neither the temperature nor the action of the soil furnish an
explanation of this fact, and that we must limit ourselves to noting it,
without further comment, in spite of the mania which prompts the savants
of our day in a desire to explain everything.
We have now another question to consider. Should these white, yellow, or
black men, to whom we must add, as we shall see later on, those who are
brown and red, all of whom differ one from another in the colour of
their skin, in height, in their physiognomy, and in their outward
appearance, be grouped into different species, or are we to regard them
merely as varieties of species--that is to say, _races_? To fully
understand this question and to form a judgment of what will result from
it, we must ascertain what is understood in natural history by the word
_species_, and by the word _race_ or _variety of species_. We will
therefore commence by explaining the meaning of species in zoology.
The hare and the rabbit, the horse and the ass, the dog and the wolf,
the stag and the reindeer, &c., are not likely to be taken one for
another. Yet how greatly do dogs differ among themselves in size, in
colour, and in their proportions. What a difference there is between the
mastiff and the Pyrenean dog! The same observation applies to horses.
How different we find in size and outward appearance the large Normandy
horse, the London dray horse, or the omnibus horse of Paris, and the
small Corsican or Shetland horses which we can carry in our arms! And
yet no one is mistaken in them: whether he differ in size, or in the
colour of his hair, we always recognise a horse, and never mistake him
for an ass; in the mastiff as well as in the bulldog, we shall always
recognise a dog. However greatly a rabbit may vary in size and colour,
it will never be taken for a hare. The Breton cow, slight and frail, is
nevertheless as much a cow in the eyes of a farmer, and the rest of the
world, as a full-sized Durham. The same reflection applies with equal
force to birds. The turkey which exists in the wild state in America,
certainly differs very much from the black or white turkey acclimatized
in Europe; but there is no mistake that both of them are turkeys, and
nothing else.
The vegetable kingdom will furnish us with similar facts. Take, for
instance, the cotton plant on its native soil in America, and you will
find that it differs from the cotton plant cultivated in Africa and
Asia. The coffee plant of the South American plantations is not similar
to the same shrub which exists in Arabia, whence it came in the first
instance. Wheat varies with latitude to a most extraordinary extent, &c.
The cotton plant, however, is always the cotton plant, whatever be the
soil upon which it grows; the coffee plant and wheat are always the same
vegetables, and one is not liable to be deceived in them. The action of
climate and soil upon vegetables, these same causes taken in connection
with nutrition upon animals, and finally the mixture which has taken
place between different individuals, explain all these differences,
which affect the external appearance, but not the type itself.
We mean by _species_, when applied either to animals or vegetables, the
fundamental type, and by _variety_ or _race_ the different beings which
result from the influence of climate, of nutriment, and of mixture with
individuals of the same species. The _species dog_ gives birth to the
_varieties_ or _races_ known under the names of bull-dog, spaniel,
mastiff, &c. The _species horse_ gives birth to the _races_ or
_varieties_ known under the names of the Arabian, English, Normandy,
Corsican, &c. The _species turkey_ produces the varieties known as the
wild turkey, the black and the white turkey. In the vegetable kingdom,
the _cotton plant species_ produces the American and the Indian cotton;
the _bramble_ produces the innumerable varieties which are known to us
as rose-trees.
But, the reader will say, how are we to distinguish race from species,
and does there exist any practical means of deciding whether the animal
under consideration belongs to a species or a race? We reply that such a
means does exist, which enables us to speak with certainty in every
case. It is of importance that this should be made known in order that
every one may test it for himself.
Take the two animals in question, unite them, and if that connexion of
the sexes results in the production of another individual, capable of
reproduction, this will indicate race or variety. If, however, the union
of the two individuals is unproductive, or the offspring is itself
barren, this will indicate two individuals of different species.
In spite of observations and experiments made in the course of many
thousand years, reproduction has never been procured by mixture of a
rabbit with a hare, a wolf with a dog, a sheep with a goat. It is true
that hybrids are obtained between the horse and she-ass, and between the
ass and the mare, but it is well known that the individuals produced by
this mixture, namely, the quadrupeds termed _mules_, are barren animals,
incapable of reproduction with one another.
This rule is not confined to the animal kingdom, but it obtains also
among vegetables. You can obtain artificial production from a pear tree
by applying, with suitable precautions, the pollen of the flowers of one
pear tree to the stamens of those of another. Fruit will be formed, and
the seed which that produces will in its turn be productive. But if you
attempt to perform the same operation between a pear tree and an apple
tree, you will obtain no result whatever. This, again, is the practical
method which enables botanists to distinguish varieties from species.
The test of artificial fecundation between one plant and another, which
it is desired to distinguish as regards their species, serves to solve
the difficulties which are met in attempting to determine the position
of a plant in botanical classification.
The word _species_ therefore is not a fictitious term, a conventional
expression invented by the learned to designate the classifications of
living beings. A species is a group arranged by Nature herself.
Fruitfulness or barrenness in the products of the mixture are the
characteristics which Nature attaches to variety or to species; those
groups therefore appear to us as though they had a substantial
foundation in the laws which govern living beings, and we do but render
in speech what we observe in Nature.
When, moreover, we reflect, we easily understand that if Nature had not
instituted species the most complete disorder would have reigned
throughout living creation. By intermixture the animal kingdom would
have been overrun by _mongrels_ who would have confused every type, thus
permitting of no discernment in this crowd of incoherent products. The
whole animal kingdom would have been given over to inextricable
confusion. In like manner, if plants had been capable of infinite
variety through the mixture of different species, brought about by the
industry of man, or by the effect of the wind bearing through the air
the fertilizing pollen, there would be nought but trouble and disorder
among the vegetable population of the globe.
Species therefore has a necessary, providential, and fixed existence.
Impossibility of union is the distinctive qualification which nature
assigns to this group of living beings. Reproduction is possible only
between members of the same species, and the differences produced in
their offspring by the soil, nutriment and surrounding circumstances,
determine what we call race, or variety.
The principle which we have just enunciated, will in its application to
man enable us to decide whether the individuals that people the globe,
belong to different species of men, or simply to _races_ or _varieties_;
in other words, whether the human species is unique, and whether the
different human types known to us, the white, black, yellow, brown and
red-man, belong or not to _races_ of the human species.
The reply to this question will doubtless have been anticipated. If we
apply the rule stated above, all men that inhabit the globe belong to
one and the same species, since it is a fact that men and women,
whatever be their colour, can marry, and their offspring is always
reproductive. The Negro and white female by their union produce
mulattoes; mulattoes and mulattresses are reproductive, as are also
their descendants--marriages between members of the red or brown races
are fruitful, and, what is more, the fecundity of the descendants of
mongrels is superior to that of men and women of the same colour.
Unless, therefore, we regard men as a solitary exception among all
living beings, unless we withdraw them from the operation of the
universal laws of nature, we must come to the conclusion that they do
but form a certain number of races of one and the same species, and all
descend from one primitive unique species.
Men are brothers in blood: this principle of universal fraternity
imposed by nature, may be placed side by side with the corresponding
maxim suggested by the moral sense.
Those who deny the unity of the human species, _polygenists_, or
supporters of the plurality of human kind, base their arguments in
favour of there being more than one species, upon the assertion that the
distinction between the Negro and the white man is too great to permit
of their possibly being classed together. But, between the lap-dog and
the mastiff, the wild and tame rabbit, the spaniel and the greyhound, or
the Shetland and Russian horse, there is a much greater difference than
exists between the Negro and the white man. We are unable to state
exactly, or to explain with any degree of accuracy, how it is that man,
as he was first created, has given birth to races so widely different as
the white, black, yellow, brown, and red which people the earth at the
present day. We can but furnish a general explanation of what we see in
the widely varying conditions of existence, and in the opposite
character of the media through which man, for ages past, has dragged his
existence, frequently with much difficulty and uncertainty. If the dog,
the horse, the rabbit, and the turkey, through the agency of human
industry applied to them during a period of scarcely two thousand years,
have given birth to so many varieties, how much more would man, whose
appearance upon the globe is of such antiquity that we cannot assign to
it even approximatively a date--man, whose fate it has been to pass
through so many different climates, such various physical and social
positions, expect to see his own type become modified and transformed?
We should, with more reason, feel surprised at finding that the
differences between one variety and another are not much wider than they
appear to be.
In order to avoid this argument, there remains to the supporters of the
plurality of human kind no alternative but to regard man as an exception
in nature; to assert that he has laws peculiar to himself, and that the
principles which pervade the life of plants and animals can in no way
apply to him. But man, who is an organized and living being, and is
furnished with a body that differs but little from that of any
mammiferous animal, is, so far as concerns his organization, subject to
the universal laws of nature, and that of intermixture among the rest.
It is therefore impossible to admit the question of exception raised by
those who deny the unity of the human species.
The principle that the human species is one, and what follows as a
natural conclusion, namely, that all men who inhabit the earth are but
races or varieties of this one species, will, therefore, appear to the
reader to be satisfactorily established.
* * * * *
These different races which originate in one species, the primitive type
having been modified by the operation of climate, food, soil,
intermixture and local customs, differ, it must be admitted, to a
marvellous extent, in their outward appearance, colour and physiognomy.
The differences are so great, the extremes so marked and the transitions
so gradual, that it is well-nigh impossible to distribute the human
species into really natural groups from a scientific point of view, that
is to say, groups founded upon organic characteristics. The
classification of the human races has always been the stumbling block of
anthropology, and up to the present time the difficulty remains almost
undiminished.
A cursory examination of the various classifications which have been
brought forward by the most important of those who have essayed the task
will make this truth apparent to all.
Buffon, in his chapter upon _man_; a work which we can always read again
with admiration and advantage, contents himself with bringing forward
the three fundamental types of the human species which have been known
from the first under the names of the white, black and yellow race. But
these three types in themselves do not exemplify every human
physiognomy. The ancient inhabitants of America, commonly known as the
_Red-Skins_, are entirely overlooked in this classification, and the
distinction between the Negro and the white man cannot always be easily
pointed out, for in Africa the Abyssinians, the Egyptians, and many
others, in America the Californians, and in Asia the Hindoos, Malays and
Javanese are neither white nor black.
Blumenbach, the most profound anthropologist of the last century, and
author of the first actual treatise upon the natural history of man,
distinguished in his Latin work, _De Homine_, five races of men, the
Caucasian, Mongolian, Ethiopian, Malay and American. Another
anthropologist, Prochaska, adopted the divisions pointed out by
Blumenbach, but united under the name of the _white race_, Blumenbach’s
Caucasian and Mongolian groups, and added the _Hindoo race_.
The eloquent naturalist Lacépède, in his _Histoire naturelle de
l’Homme_, added to the races admitted by Blumenbach the _hyperborean
race_, comprising the inhabitants of the northern portion of the globe
in either continent.
Cuvier fell back upon Buffon’s division, admitting only the white, black
and yellow races, from which he simply derived the _Malay_ and
_American_ races.
A naturalist of renown, Virey, author of _l’Histoire naturelle du Genre
humain_, _l’Histoire naturelle de la Femme_, and of many other clever
productions upon natural history and particularly anthropology, gave
much attention to the classification of the human races. But he was not
favourable to the unity of our species, being led to entertain the
opinion that the human species was twofold. This was the starting point
of an erroneous deviation in the ideas of naturalists who wrote after
Virey. We find Bory de Saint Vincent admitting as many as fifteen
species of men, and another naturalist, Desmoulins, doubtless influenced
by a feeling of emulation, distinguished sixteen human species, which,
moreover, were not the same as those admitted by Bory de Saint Vincent.
This course of classification might have been followed to a much greater
extent, for the differences among men are so great, that if strict rule
is not adhered to, it is impossible to fix any limit to species. Unless
therefore the principle of unity has been fully conceded at starting,
the investigation may result in the admission of a truly indefinite
quantity.
This is the principle which pervades the writings of the most learned of
all the anthropologists of our age, Dr. Pritchard, author of a _Natural
History of Man_, which in the original text formed ten volumes, but of
which the French language possesses but a very incomplete translation.
Dr. Pritchard holds that all people of the earth belong to the same
species; he is a partisan of the unity of the human species, but is not
satisfied with any of the classifications already proposed, and which
were founded upon organic characteristics. He, in fact, entirely alters
the aspect of the ordinary classifications which are to be met with in
natural history. He commences by pointing out three families, which, he
asserts, were in history the first human occupants of the earth: namely
the _Aryan_, _Semitic_, and _Egyptian_. Having described these three
families, Pritchard passes to the people who, as he says, radiated in
various directions from the regions inhabited by them, and proceeded to
occupy the entire globe.
This mode of classification, as we have pointed out, leaves the beaten
track trodden by other natural historians. For this reason it has not
found favour among modern anthropologists, and this disfavour has
reacted upon the work itself, which, notwithstanding, is the most
complete and exact of all that we possess upon man. Although it has been
adopted by no other author, Pritchard’s classification of the human race
appears to us to be the most sound in principle.
M. de Quatrefages, in his course of anthropology at the Museum of
Natural History, Paris, makes a classification of the human race based
upon the three types, white, yellow and black; but he appends to each of
these three groups, under the head of _mixed races attached to each
stem_, a number of races more or less considerable and arbitrary which
were excluded from the three chief divisions.
The classification of M. de Quatrefages will be found in his _Rapport
sur les progrès de l’Anthropologie_, published in 1867.[3] It is
extremely learned and well worked out, but a classification which
entirely passes by the simple mode of reasoning we shall adopt in the
following pages.
[3] In 4º forming part of the _Rapports sur les progrès des Sciences
et des Lettres en France_, published under the auspices of the
Minister of Public Instruction.
The classification of the human race which we propose to follow,
modifying it where in our opinion it may appear to be necessary, is due
to a Belgian naturalist, M. d’Omalius d’Halloy. It acknowledges five
races of men: the white, black, yellow, brown and red.
This classification is based upon the colour of the skin, a
characteristic very secondary in importance to that of organization, but
which yet furnishes a convenient framework for an exact and methodical
enumeration of the inhabitants of the globe, permitting a clear
consideration of a most confused subject. In the groups, therefore,
which we shall propose, the reader will fail to find a truly scientific
classification, but will meet with merely such a simple distribution of
materials, as shall permit us to review methodically the various races
spread over every portion of the Earth’s surface.
CHAPTER II.
General characteristics of the human race--Organic characteristics--
Senses and the nervous system--Height--Skeleton--Cranium and face--
Colour of the skin--Physiological functions--Intellectual
characteristics--Properties of human intelligence--Languages and
literature--Different states of society--Primitive industry--The two
ages of prehistoric humanity.
Before entering upon a minute description of each of the human races, we
shall find it well to lay before the reader a generalization of the
characteristics which are common to all.
Since man is an intelligent being, living in an organized frame, our
attention has to be directed to the consideration of his organs and
intellect, that is, in the first place, we must investigate the
physical, in the second, the intellectual and moral elements of his
constitution.
The physical characteristics bear but secondary importance among those
of the human race. Man is a spirit which shines within the body of an
animal, and the only difficulty is to ascertain in what manner the
organism of the mammalia is modified in order to become that of man; to
compare the harmony of this organism with the object in view, namely the
exercise of human intellect and thought. We shall see that the organs of
the mammalia are greatly modified in the human subject, becoming, either
on account of their individual excellence or the harmony of their
combination, greatly superior to the associations of the same organs
among animals.
Let us first consider the brain and organs of sense. When we examine the
form and relative size of the brain in ascending the series of
mammiferous animals, we find that this organ increases in volume, and
progresses, so to say, toward the superior characteristics which it is
to display in the human species. Disregarding certain exceptions, for
the existence of which we cannot account, but which in no way alter the
general rule, the brain increases in importance from the zoophyte to the
ape. But, in comparing the brain of the ape with that of man, an
important difference becomes at once apparent. The brain of the gorilla,
orang-outang, or chimpanzee, which are the apes that bear the greatest
resemblance to man, and which for that reason are designated
_anthropomorphous_ apes, is very much smaller than that of man. The
cerebral lobes in man are much longer than in the anthropomorphous apes,
and their vertical measure is out of all proportion with the height of
the cerebral lobes in apes; this is what produces the noble frontal
curve, one of the characteristic features of the human physiognomy. The
cerebral lobes are connected behind with a third nervous mass called the
_cerebellum_. The large volume of these three lobes, the depth and
number of convolutions of the encephalic mass, and other anatomical
details of the brain, upon which we are unable here to treat at greater
length, place the brain of man very far above that of the animal nearest
to him in the zoological scale. These differences bear witness in favour
of man to an unparalleled intellectual development, and we should be
better able to measure these differences, were we able to show in what
the cerebral action consists, but this we are utterly unable to do.
The senses, taken individually, are not more developed in man than they
are in certain animals; but in man they are characterised by their
harmony, their perfect equilibrium, and their admirable appropriation to
a common end. Man, it will at once be admitted, is not so keen of sight
as the eagle, nor so subtle of hearing as the hare, nor does he possess
the wonderful scent of the dog. His skin is far from being as fine and
impressionable as that which covers the wing of a bat. But, while among
animals, one sense always predominates to the disadvantage of the rest,
and the individual is thus forced to adopt a mode of existence which
works hand in hand with the development of this sense, with man, all the
senses possess almost equal delicacy, and the harmony of their
association makes up for what may be wanting in individual power. Again,
the senses of animals are employed only in satisfying material
necessities, while in man, they assist in the exercise of eminent
faculties whose development they further.
Let us consider shortly in detail our senses.
Man is certainly better off, as regards the sense of sight, than a large
majority of animals. Instead of being placed upon different sides of his
head, looking in opposite directions, and receiving two images which
cannot possibly be alike, his eyes are directed forwards, and regard
similar objects, by which means the impression is doubled. The sense of
sight thus brings to his conceptions a complete image and solid idea of
what surrounds him; it is his most useful sense, the more so when it is
guided in its application by a clear intellect.
The sense of touch in man reaches a degree of perfection which it does
not attain in animals. How marvellous is the sense of touch when
exercised by applying the extremities of the fingers, the part of the
body the best suited to this function, and how much more wonderful is
the organ called the hand, which applies itself in so admirable a manner
to the most different surfaces whose extent, form, or qualities, we wish
to ascertain!
A modern philosopher has attributed to the hand alone our intellectual
superiority. This was going too far. We find enthusiasm allied with
justice in the views expressed in the excellent pages which Galen has
consecrated to a description of the hand, in his immortal work _De usu
partium_.
“Man alone,” says Galen, “is furnished with hands, as he alone is a
participator in wisdom. The hand is a most marvellous instrument, and
one most admirably adapted to his nature. Remove his hand, and man can
no longer exist. By its means he is prepared for defence or attack, for
peace or war. What need has he of horns or talons? With his hand, he
grasps the sword and lance, he fashions iron and steel. Whilst with
horns, teeth and talons, animals can only attack or defend at close
quarters, man is able to project from afar the instruments with which he
is armed. Shot from his hand, the feathered arrow reaches at a great
distance the heart of an enemy, or stops the flight of a passing bird.
Although man is less agile than the horse and the deer, yet he mounts
the horse, guides him, and thus successfully hunts the deer. He is
naked and feeble, yet his hand procures him a covering of iron and
steel. His body is unprotected against the inclemencies of climate, yet
his hand finds him a convenient abode, and furnishes him with clothing.
By the use of his hand, he gains dominion and mastery over all that
lives upon the earth, in the air, or in the depths of the sea. From the
flute and lyre with which he amuses his leisure, to the terrible
instruments by means of which he deals death around him, and to the
vessel which bears him, a daring seaman, upon the bosom of the deep--all
is the work of his hand.
“Would man without hands have been able to write out the laws which
govern him, or raise to the gods statues and altars? Without hands could
he bequeath to posterity the fruit of his labours, and the memory of his
deeds? Could he (had man been created handless) converse with Socrates,
Plato, Aristotle, and the different great men, children of bygone ages?
The hand is then the physical characteristic of man, in like manner as
intelligence is his moral characteristic.”
Galen, having shown in this chapter the general formation of the hand
and the special disposition of the organs which compose it; having
described the articulations and bones, the muscles and tendons of the
fingers; and having analyzed the mechanism of the different movements of
the hand, cries, full of admiration for this marvellous structure:
“In presence of the hand, this marvellous instrument, cannot we well
treat with contempt the opinion of those philosophers who saw in the
human body merely the result of a fortuitous concourse of atoms! Does
not everything in our organization most clearly give the lie to this
false doctrine? Who will dare to invoke chance in explanation of this
admirable disposition? No, it is no blind power that has given birth to
all these marvels. Do you know among men a genius capable of conceiving
and executing so perfect a work? There exists not such a workman. This
sublime organization is the creation of a superior intelligence, of
which the intellect of man is but a poor terrestrial reflection. Let
others offer to the Deity reeking hecatombs, let them sing hymns in
honour of the gods; my hymn of praise shall be the study and the
exposition of the marvels of the human frame!”
The sense of hearing, without attaining in man the perfection which it
reaches in certain animals, is nevertheless of great delicacy, and
becomes an infinite resource of instruction and pure enjoyment. Not only
are differences of intonation, intensity, and timbre, recognised by our
ear, but the most delicate shades of rhythm and tone, the relations of
simultaneous and successive sounds which give the sentiment of melody
and harmony, are appreciated, and furnish us with the first and most
natural of the arts--music. Thus the perfection and delicacy of our
senses, which permit of our grasping faint and slightly varying
impressions, the harmony of these senses themselves, their perfect
equilibrium, their capability of improvement by exercise, place us at a
considerable distance above the animal.
Let us now pass to the bony portion of the human body, and consider
first of all the head. The head is shared by two regions, the cranium
and the face. The predominance of either of these regions over the
other, depends upon the development of the organs which belong to each.
The cranium contains the cerebral mass, that is, the seat of the
intellect; the face is occupied by the organs appertaining to the
principal senses. In animals, the face greatly exceeds the cranium in
extent; the reverse is, however, the case with man. It is but rarely
that with him the face assumes importance at the expense of the
cranium--in other words, that the jaws become elongated, and give to the
human face the aspect of a brute.
We find in works upon anthropology some expressions which call for an
explanation here; they are frequently employed, since they enable us to
express by a single term the relation which exists between the
dimensions of any particular skull. The term _dolichocephalous_ (from
the Greek δολιχος, long, κεφαλη, head,) is applied to a cranium which is
elongated from front to rear, or, to express the idea numerically, the
cranium whose longitudinal diameter bears to its vertical diameter the
proportion of 100 to 68. A short cranium is styled _brachycephalous_
(from βραχυς, short, κεφαλη, head,) which term is applied when the
relation between the longitudinal and vertical diameters is 100 to 80.
The attribute of length or shortness of the cranium is of less
importance than is generally believed. All Negroes, it is true, are
_dolichocephalous_; but it must not be supposed from this that the
production backwards of the cranium is an indication of inferiority;
since in the white race, heads are sometimes very long and sometimes
very short. The North Germans are _dolichocephalous_; those inhabiting
Central Germany being _brachycephalous_. This characteristic cannot
therefore be regarded as a criterion of intellectual excellence.
There is in the human face an anatomical characteristic of greater
importance than any taken from the elongation of the cranium; that is,
the projection forwards, or the uprightness of the jaws. The term
_prognathism_ (from προ, forward, and γναθος, jaw,) is applied to this
jutting forward of the teeth and jaws, and _orthognathism_ (from ορθος,
straight, γναθος, jaw,) to the latter arrangement.
It was long admitted that prognathism, or projection of the jaws, was
peculiar to the Negro race. But this opinion has been forced to yield to
the discovery, that projecting jaws exist among people in no way
connected with the Negro. In the midst of white populations this
characteristic is frequently met with; it is occasionally found among
the English, and is by no means rare at Paris, especially among women.
Prognathism would appear to be characteristic of a small European race
dwelling to the south of the Baltic Sea, the Esthonians, and which
itself is but the residue of the _primitive Mongolian_ race to which we
have alluded in our work, “Primitive Man,” as being the first race
which, according to M. Pruner-Bey, peopled the globe. It is probably the
mixture of Esthonian blood with that of the inhabitants of Central
Europe, which causes the appearance in our large cities of individuals
whose faces are prognathous.
We cannot close our remarks upon the face without speaking of a curious
relation between it and the cranium, which has been much abused; we
allude to the _facial angle_. By _facial angle_ is meant the angle which
results from the union of two lines, one of which touches the forehead,
the other of which, drawn from the orifice of the ear, meets the former
line at the extremity of the front teeth.
The Dutch anatomist Camper, after having compared Greek and Roman
statues, or medals of either nationality, assumed that the cause of the
intellectual superiority which distinguished Greek from Roman
physiognomies was to be found in the fact, that, with the Greeks, the
facial angle is larger than in Roman heads. Starting with this
observation, Camper pursued his enquiries until it occurred to him to
advance the theory that the increase of the facial angle may be taken in
the human race as a sign of superior intelligence.
This observation was correct, insomuch as it separated men from apes,
and carrion birds from other birds. But its application to different
varieties of men, as a measure of their various degrees of intelligence,
was a pretension doomed to be sacrificed to future investigations. Dr.
Jacquart, assistant-naturalist in the Museum of Natural History at
Paris, calling to his aid an instrument he invented, by which the facial
angle is rapidly measured, has, in our day, made numerous studies of the
facial angle of human beings. M. Jacquart found that this angle cannot
be taken as a measure of intelligence, for he observed it to be a right
angle in individuals, who, with respect to intelligence, were in no way
superior to others whose facial angle was much smaller. M. Jacquart went
so far as to show, that, in the population of Paris alone, the facial
angle varies between much wider proportions than those imposed by Camper
as characteristic limits of human varieties.
The measure of the facial angle, therefore, is far from bearing the
importance which has long been ascribed to it; but this does not go to
prevent its application, with advantage, in ordinary cases, when races
of men are required to be distinguished from one another.
Erect carriage is another of the characteristics which distinguish the
human species from all other animals, including the ape, by whom this
position is but rarely assumed, and then accidentally and unnaturally.
Everything in the human skeleton is calculated to ensure a vertical
posture. In the first place, the head articulates with the vertebral
column at a point so situated that, when this vertebral column is erect,
the head, by means of its own weight, remains supported in equilibrium.
Besides this, the shape of the head, the direction of the face, the
position of the eyes, and the form of the nostrils, all require that man
should walk erect on two feet.
If our body were intended to assume a horizontal position, everything
connected with it would be out of place: the crown of the head would be
the most advanced part, and this would operate most detrimentally to the
exercise of sight; the eyes would be directed toward the earth; the
nostrils would open backward; the forehead and the face would be
beneath the head. Moreover, the whole muscular system and all the
tendons are, in man, auxiliary to erect posture, without mentioning the
curves which occur in the vertebral column, and the exceptional
formation of the limbs, &c.
J. J. Rousseau was, therefore, very far from right, when he contended
that man was born to go on all fours.
The height of men, as well as the colour of their skin, are
characteristics which must not be overlooked, since they are of
importance as distinctive attributes of different races.
And first, with regard to height, the differences which this incident
may present in the human species have been greatly exaggerated. Much
allowance must be made in admitting what has been written with respect
to dwarfs, and what has been alleged concerning giants. The Greeks
believed in the existence of a people they called _Pygmies_, but whose
place of abode they always omitted to point out. These were very small
people, who were entirely hidden from view when they entered a field of
standing wheat, and who passed much of their time in resisting the
attacks of Cranes. The same fable was revived in more modern times, with
reference to a people supposed to live in the island of Madagascar, who
were styled _Kymes_. But Pygmies and Kymes are equally fabulous.
Antiquity tells us of giants, but without forming them into a separate
race. It is rather in modern times that the existence of races of human
giants has been put forward. In the sixteenth century, when Magellan had
doubled Cape Horn and discovered the Pacific Ocean, a companion of this
navigator, Pigafetta, gave an altogether extraordinary description of
the Patagonians, or inhabitants of the Tierra del Fuego. He made giants
of them. One of his successors, Leaya, adding yet more to the height of
the Patagonians, assigned to these men a stature of from three to four
metres.
Modern travellers have reduced to accurate proportions the exaggerated
statements of ancient navigators. The French naturalist Alcide d’Orbigny
actually measured a large number of Patagonians, and found that their
height, on an average, was about 1^{m.}73.
This, then, is about the limit of the height which is reached by the
human species.
With reference to the extreme of smallness we are able to arrive at
this by referring to the Bushmen who inhabit Southern Africa. An English
traveller, Barrow, measured all the members of a tribe of Bushmen, and
found that their average height was 1^{m.}31.
The human species, therefore, varies in height to the extent of about
0^{m.}42, that is to say, the difference between the height of the
Patagonians and that of the Bushmen. It is well to make this observation
whilst we are upon this subject, since the supporters of the theory of a
plurality of human races have invoked these differences in height in
support of the multiplicity of the races of humanity. It is clear that,
among animals, races vary in height to a much greater extent than they
do with man; there is, by comparison, a much greater difference in size
between a mastiff and a dog of the Pyrenees, than there is between a
Bushman and a Patagonian.
As regards the colour of the skin of the human race, we find it
necessary to say a few words, since we propose to take this as the basis
of our classification.
The colour of the skin is a very convenient characteristic to fix upon
in order to identify the various races, since this quality is peculiarly
adapted to suggest itself through the eye. Its scientific importance
must, however, by no means be exaggerated. Certain individuals, though
they be members of the White or Caucasian Race, may yet be very darkly
tinted. Arabs are often of a brown colour, which nearly approaches
black, and yet they possess the finest marks of the White or Caucasian
Race. The Abyssinians, although very brown, are not black. The American
Indians, whom we rank as members of the Red Race, often have dark brown
or almost black skins. Among members of the White Race in northern
latitudes, especially women, the skin has often a yellowish tint. We
must add that the colour of the skin is often difficult to fix, since
the shades of colour merge into one another. All this must be said in
order to show how difficult it is to form natural groups of the
innumerable types of our species.
It would be for us now to speak of the physiological characteristics of
the human race; but our consideration of this subject will be limited to
a few words, since the condition of physiological functions is almost
identical among all men, whatever be their race.
There is, nevertheless, an important difference, well worthy of note,
presented by the nervous system when we compare the two extremes of
humanity, namely, the Negro and the white European. In the white man,
the nervous centres, that is the brain and spinal cord, are of much
greater volume than they are in the Negro. In the latter the expansions
from these nervous centres, that is, the nerves properly so called, have
relatively a greater volume.
A similar difference, quite on a par with this, exists in the
circulatory system. In the white man, the arterial system is more
developed than the venous; the reverse is the case with the Negro.
Lastly, the blood of the Negro is more viscous, and of a deeper red than
that of the white man.
With the exception of these general differences, the great physiological
functions proceed in the same manner among all races of men. The
differences are not remarked except when secondary functions are
compared, but these differences then assume proportions of some
consideration.
Climate, customs, and habits are the causes of these variations in the
secondary functions, which at times become so similar as to permit of
confusion in the most opposite races. Let a member of the white race be
thrown into the midst of wild Indians, become a prisoner of the
red-skins, and share their warlike existence in the midst of forests, we
shall see that the sense of sight, as also that of hearing, will attain
in this individual the same perfection which they enjoy in his new
companions. It is by virtue of the prodigious flexibility of our
organism, and of our powers of imitation and assimilation, that the
physiological functions of secondary importance become capable of such
modification.
The intellectual and moral characteristics are those which take the lead
in man. Not only are we unable to pass them over in silence in the
general study of the human race, but much more importance must be
assigned to them than to mere corporeal characteristics. If the
naturalist, when he studies an animal, makes a point, when he has
described his structure and organism, of considering his habits and
manner of life, how much more should he, when treating of man, dwell
upon his intellectual faculties, the stamp which so truly identifies our
species.
Man makes use of language as the means of expressing his intelligence.
If man is provided with the power of speech, which he has in common with
no other animal, it is owing to the fact that in him intelligence is
infinitely more developed than in the animal. It is through the
simultaneous concurrence of all his senses that the faculty of speech is
manifested in man; and the proof of this is, that through the absence of
one of his senses, he loses this faculty. What is meant by a person born
dumb? It is an individual similar in all respects to speaking man, but
differing from him in this, that he came into the world perfectly deaf.
The primary absence of the power of hearing has paralysed the child’s
intelligence with special reference to his imitative faculty, and in
fact, the person called _deaf and dumb_ is originally simply a person
_born deaf_.
Language, then, is but the expression of the highest intelligence.
“Animals have a voice,” says Aristotle, “but man alone speaks.” Nothing
can be truer than this statement of the immortal Greek philosopher.
It is well known how the languages and dialects spoken in the world have
multiplied; and, indeed, nothing is more difficult than to classify all
the languages and dialects that exist. This difficulty becomes more
insurmountable when we consider that languages vary in course of time to
a very considerable extent. The French of Rabelais and Montaigne, who
wrote at the time of the Renaissance, is not very intelligible to us,
and that of French chroniclers at the time of St. Louis can only be
understood by studying it specially and with a dictionary. Modern
Italians read Dante with great difficulty, and the same may be said for
the English as regards their great writer Shakespeare. Languages then
alter very rapidly, even though the people themselves remain stationary.
The alterations are much more serious and rapid when two peoples
amalgamate.
These considerations are sufficient to convey an idea of the problem
which scholars have propounded in wishing to ascertain the language of
primitive humanity. It may be said that such a problem is incapable of
solution. We must therefore despair of finding the mother tongue, and
limit ourselves to those which are her offspring.
Upon a comparison of these last, it has been decided to assign to three
fundamental groups all the languages which have been, and are still,
spoken on the earth; these are, as we have already said, _monosyllabic_,
_agglutinative_ and _inflected languages_.
Chinese is the most decided example of a _monosyllabic_ language. Each
word comprises but one syllable, and has an absolute meaning in itself.
Recourse must be had to the complicated combination of a quantity of
utterances in order to impress all modifications of thought, all
distinctions of time, place, person, condition, &c. One marvels to hear
that the Chinese language comprehends such an immense number of words,
that the life of a single man of letters is not sufficiently long to
allow of his learning all. This apparent wealth is but the most utter
poverty. This language, whose vocabulary is infinite, is simply
detestable. To its imperfection must be attributed the smallness of the
progress which the people of Asia have made in the direction of
intelligence and commerce.
_Agglutinative_ languages, which are spoken by Negroes, as also by many
people of the yellow race, are the first degree of perfection in human
speech. In these the word is no longer unique; variable terminations
attached to each word modify the primitive expression. They contain
_roots_ and words whose function it is to modify these roots.
The third and last degree of perfection in human speech is found in
_inflected languages_. Those languages are so called, in which the same
word is capable of modification a great number of times, in order to
express the different shades of thought, and to translate changes of
time, person, or place. Inflected languages are made up of a series of
different terms, the number of which is by no means large, but the
modification of which, by means of adjuncts, or through the position
they occupy, are indeed innumerable. All European languages, and those
spoken in Asia by people of the white race, are inflected.
If spoken language is the first element which served to constitute human
societies, fixed, that is _written_ language, has been the fundamental
cause of their progress. By means of writing, one generation has been
enabled to hand down to the other the fruits of their experience and
investigation, and thus to lay the foundation of primitive science and
history.
The first forms of writing were mere mnemonic signs. Stones cut to a
certain fashion, pieces of wood to which a conventional form had been
imparted, and such like, were the first signs of written language. One
of the most curious forms of mnemonic writing has been met with both in
the Old and New Worlds; it consisted in joining little bundles of cord
of different colours, in which were tied knots of various kinds. Whoever
ties a knot in his handkerchief in order to recall to mind some fact or
intention, makes use, without knowing it, of the primitive form of
writing.
An advance in writing consisted in representing pictorially objects
which it was wished to designate. The wild Indians of North America
still make use of these rough representations of objects, as a means of
imparting certain information.
This very system is rendered more complete, when the design is
supplemented by a conventional idea. If prudence is indicated by a
serpent, strength by a lion, and lightness by a bird, we here at once
recognize writing properly so called. This last form of writing is known
as the _symbolical_ or _ideographic_.
Symbolical writing existed among the ancients. The hieroglyphics which
are engraved upon the monuments of ancient Egypt, and those which have
been found upon Mexican remains, belong to symbolical writing.
And yet this is not writing in the true sense of the word, which does
not exist until the conventional signs, of which use is made, correspond
with the words or signs of the language spoken, and can actually replace
the language itself.
By the _alphabet_, is meant the collection of conventional signs
corresponding to the sounds which form words. The _alphabet_ is one of
those inventions which have called for the greatest efforts of the human
mind, and it is not without good reason that Greek mythology deified
Cadmus, the inventor of letters. The same admiration for the inventors
of alphabets is, moreover, exhibited among all ancient nations.
* * * * *
It is not only through its immense superiority as regards extent and
power, that the intelligence of man is distinguished from that of the
brute; there is an attribute of intelligence which is strictly peculiar
to our species. This is the faculty of abstraction, which permits of our
collecting and placing together the perceptions of the mind, by that
means arriving at general results. It is through this power of
abstraction, that our intellect has created the wonders which are
familiar to all; that the arts and sciences have been brought to light
and fostered by society.
In connection with the faculty of abstraction, we must allude to the
moral sense, which is a deduction from that same property. The moral
sense is a special attribute of human intelligence, and it may be said
that through this attribute, man’s intellect is distinguished from that
of animals; for this characteristic is most truly peculiar to the mind
of man, and is nowhere found among animals.
Among all people, and at all times, the difference between good and
evil, truth and falsehood, has been recognized. The abstract idea of
moral good and moral evil may certainly differ in different people: one
may admire, what the other detests; in one nation, that, may be held in
good repute, which, in another, is a criminal offence; yet, after all,
the abstract notion of evil and good, does not cease to exist.
Observance of the right of property, self-respect, and regard for human
life, are to be found among all nationalities. If man, in his savage
state, occasionally casts aside these moral notions, it is in
consequence of the social condition of the tribe to which he belongs,
and must be regarded in connexion with the customs of war and the
feeling of revenge. But, in a state of tranquillity and peace, which
condition the philosopher and student must presuppose in framing their
arguments, the notion of evil and good is always to be found. The forms
which the feeling of honour dictates, vary for example in the white man
and the savage, but the feeling itself is never eradicated from the
heart of any.
The religious feeling, the notion of divinity, is another characteristic
which has its origin in the faculty of abstraction. This sentiment is
indissolubly allied to human intelligence. Without wishing, with an
eminent French anthropologist, M. de Quatrefages, to make of
_religiosity_ a fundamental attribute of humanity, and a natural
characteristic of our species, we may say that all men are religious,
that they acknowledge and adore a Creator, a Supreme God. Whether the
statement that certain people, such as the Australians, Bushmen, and
Polynesians, are atheists, as we are assured by some travellers, and
whether the reproaches bestowed upon them in consequence of this, are
well-founded, or whether it is the fact that the travellers who bore
this testimony understood but little of the language and signs of these
different people, as has been suggested by M. de Quatrefages, are
matters of relatively slight importance. The state of brutality of
certain tribes, buried in the midst of inaccessible and savage
countries, and the intellectual imperfection which follows, concealing
from them the notion of God, are nothing when compared with the
universality of religious belief which stirs in the hearts of the
innumerable populations spread over the face of the earth.
Language and writing gave birth to human associations, and later on, to
civilization, by which they were transformed. It is curious to follow
out the progressive forms of human association, and point out the stages
which civilization has passed through in its forward march.
Primitive societies assumed three successive forms. Men were in the
first instance, _hunters_ and _fishers_, then _herdsmen_, and lastly
_husbandmen_. We say, populations were first of all _hunters_ and
_fishers_. The human race then inhabiting the earth, was but small in
number, and this explains it. A group of men gaining their livelihood
simply by hunting and fishing, cannot be composed of a very large number
of individuals. A vast extent of territory is required to nourish a
population, which finds in game and fish its sole means of subsistence.
Moreover, this manner of living is always precarious, for there never is
any certainty that food will be found for the morrow. This continual
preoccupation in seeking the means of subsistence, brings man nearer to
the brute, and hinders him from exercising his intellect upon ennobling
and more useful subjects. Hunting is, moreover, the image of warfare,
and war may very easily arise between neighbouring populations who get
their living in the same manner. If in these eventual collisions,
prisoners are taken, they are sacrificed in order that there may be no
additional mouths to feed.
So long, therefore, as human societies were composed only of hunters and
fishers, they were unable to make any intellectual progress, and their
customs, of necessity remained barbarous. The death of prisoners was the
order of battle.
Societies of _herdsmen_ succeeded those of hunters and fishers. Man
having domesticated first the dog, then the ox, the horse, the sheep or
the llama, by that means ensured his livelihood for the morrow, and was
enabled to turn his attention to other matters besides the quest of
food. We therefore see pastoral societies advancing in the way of
progress, by the improvement of their dress, their weapons, and their
habitations.
But pastoral communities have also need of large tracts of country, for
their herds rapidly exhaust the herbage in one region, and they must
therefore seek farther for pastures, in order that they may be sure of
their food, when that is confined to flesh and milk. Pastoral
populations were therefore of necessity nomadic.
In their reciprocal migrations, pastoral tribes frequently came into
collision, and found it necessary to dispute by armed force the
possession of the soil. War ensued. Since the prisoners taken could be
maintained with comparative ease by the conqueror on condition of their
lending assistance, they were forced to become slaves, and it is thus
that the sad condition of slavery, which was later on to extend in so
aggravated a degree as to develop into a social grievance, had its
origin.
The third form of society was realized as soon as man turned his
attention to agriculture, that is, when he began to make plants and
herbage, artificially produced, an abundant and certain source of
nourishment.
Agriculture affords man certain leisure time and tends to soften his
manners and customs. If war breaks out, its episodes are less cruel in
themselves. The captive can, without actually being reduced to slavery,
be added to the number of those who labour in the fields, and in return
for a consideration contribute to the wellbeing of the tribe. The Serf
here takes the place of the slave; a form of society, composed of
masters and different degrees of servants, becomes definitely organized.
Agricultural people, being relieved from the preoccupations of material
existence, are enabled to foster their intelligence, which becomes
rapidly more abundant. It is thus that civilization first took root in
human society.
These then are the three stages, which, in all countries, mankind have
of necessity passed through before becoming civilized. The progress from
one stage to the next has varied in rapidity in proportion to
circumstances of time and place, and of the country or hemisphere.
Nations, whom we find at the present day but little advanced in
civilization, were on the other hand originally superior to other
nations we may point to. The Chinese were civilized long before the
inhabitants of Europe. They were building superb monuments, were engaged
in the cultivation of the mulberry, were rearing silkworms,
manufacturing porcelain, &c., at the very time when our ancestors, the
Celts and Aryans, clothed in the skins of wild beasts, and tattooed,
were living in the woods in the condition of hunters. The Babylonians
were occupied with the study of astronomy, and were calculating the
orbits of the stars two thousand years before Christ; for the
astronomical registers brought by Alexander the Great from Babylon,
refer back to celestial observations extending over more than ten
centuries. Egyptian civilization dates back to at least four thousand
years before Christ, as is proved by the magnificent statue of Gheffrel,
which belongs to that period, and which, since it is composed of
granite, can only have been cut by the aid of iron and steel tools, in
themselves indicators of an advanced form of industry.
This last consideration should make us feel modest. It shows that
nations whom we now crush by our intellectual superiority, the Chinese
and Egyptians, perhaps also the old inhabitants of Mexico and Peru, were
once far before us in the path of civilization.
* * * * *
It is quite clear that manufactures have tended to hasten the progress
of civilization. It is well worthy of remark that, according as the
matter composing the material of these manufactures has undergone
transformation, so the condition of society has progressed. Two mineral
substances were the objects of primitive manufactures: stone and metal.
Civilization was rough-hewn by instruments made of stone, and has been
finished by those composed of metal. Modern naturalists and
archæologists are therefore perfectly right in dividing the history of
primitive man into two ages: the stone age, and the metal age.
In our work “Primitive Man,” we have followed step by step the course
and oscillations of the primitive manufactures of different peoples. We
have first seen that man being without any other instrument of attack or
defence save his nails and teeth, or a stick, made use of stones, and
formed them into arms and tools. We then saw that he made himself master
of fire, of which he alone understands the use. We then saw him, with
the aid of fire, supply the heat which in cold climates the sun denied,
create during the night artificial light, and add to the insufficiency
of his form of diet, not to speak of the numerous advantages which his
industry enabled him to gain by the application of heat.
As man progressed, the instrument formed merely of stone trimmed to
shape no longer sufficed him; he polished it, and even commenced to
adorn it with drawings and symbols. Thus the arts found their origin.
Metals succeeded stone, and by their use a complete revolution was
effected in human societies. The tool composed of bronze enabled work to
be done, which was out of the question when the agent was stone. Later
on iron made its appearance, and from that time industry progressed with
giant strides.
We have no occasion here to revert to the history of the development of
the industry of man in prehistoric times. We shall confine ourselves to
pointing out that this part of our subject is treated at full length in
our work on “Primitive Man.”
* * * * *
To summarize what we have said: if man, in his bodily formation, is an
animal, in the exalted range of his intellect, he is Nature’s lord.
Although we show that in him phenomena present themselves similar to
those which we encounter in vegetables and plants, yet we see him by his
superior faculties, extend afar his empire, and reign supreme over all
that is around him, the mineral as well as the organized world. The
faculties which properly belong to human intelligence and distinguish
man from the brute, namely, the abstractive faculties, make him the
privileged being of creation, and justify him in his pride, for, besides
the physical power which he is able to exert on matter, he alone has the
notion of duty and the knowledge of the existence of a God.
After these general considerations we proceed to the description of the
different races of men.
We have said that we shall adopt in this work the classification
proposed by M. d’Omalius d’Halloy, modifying it to meet our own views.
We shall therefore describe in their order:
1. _The White Race._
2. _The Yellow Race._
3. _The Brown Race._
4. _The Red Race._
5. _The Black Race._
We would call special observation to the fact that these epithets must
not always be taken in an absolute sense. The meaning they intend to
convey is that each of the groups we establish is composed of men, who
considered as a whole, are more white, yellow, brown, red, or black,
than those of other races. The reader must therefore not be surprised to
find in any given race men whose colour does not agree with the epithet
which we here employ in order to characterize them. In addition to that,
these groups are not founded solely upon the colour of the skin; they
are derived from the consideration of other characteristics, and, above
all, from the languages spoken by the people in question.
THE WHITE RACE.
This race was called by Cuvier the _Caucasian_, since that writer
assigned to the mountains of the Caucasus the first origin of man. It is
now frequently known as the _Aryan_ race, from the name formerly
bestowed upon the inhabitants of Persia. The _Caucasian_ or _Aryan_ race
is admittedly the original stock of our species, and it would seem that
from the region of the Caucasus, or the Persian shores of the Caspian
Sea, this race has spread into different parts of the earth, peopling
progressively the entire globe.
The beautiful oval form of the head is a mark which distinguishes the
_Caucasian_ or _Aryan_ race of men from all others. The nose is large
and straight: the aperture of the mouth moderate in size, enclosed by
delicate lips; the teeth are arranged vertically: the eyes are large,
wide open, and surmounted by curved brows. The forehead is advanced, and
the face well proportioned: the hair is glossy, long, and abundant. This
race it is from which have proceeded the most civilized nations, those
who have most usually become rulers of others.
We shall divide the White Race into three branches, corresponding to
peoples who at the first successively developed themselves in the
north-west, the south-east, and north-east of the Caucasus. These
branches are the _European_, _Aramean_, and _Persian_. This
classification is based upon geographical and linguistic considerations.
M. d’Omalius d’Halloy admits a fourth branch, the _Scythian_, which we
reject, since the people which it comprises belong more properly to
the Yellow Race or to the Aramean branch of the White Race.
[Illustration: SCANDINAVIAN
GREEK
WHITE OR CAUCASIAN RACE]
CHAPTER I.
EUROPEAN BRANCH.
What we have just said with regard to the civilization and power of the
white race applies with most force to the peoples who form the European
branch.
Proceeding upon considerations grounded chiefly upon language, we
distinguish among the peoples forming the European branch, three great
families: the _Teutonic_, _Latin_ and _Slavonic_, to which must be added
a smaller family, the _Greek_.
Although great differences exist between the languages spoken by the
peoples composing these four families, these languages are all in some
manner connected with Sanskrit, that is the language used in the ancient
sacred books of the Hindus. The analogy of European languages with
Sanskrit, added to the antiquity evidenced by the historical records of
many Asiatic nations, and notably of the Hindus, brings us to the
admission that Europeans first came from Asia.
TEUTONIC FAMILY.
The people comprised in the Teutonic family are those who possess in the
highest degree the attributes of the white race. Their complexion, which
is clearer than that of any other people, does not appear susceptible of
becoming brown, even after a long residence in warm climates. Their
eyes are generally blue, their hair is blond; they are of a good height
and possess well proportioned limbs.
From the very earliest times recorded in history, these people have
occupied Scandinavia, Denmark, Germany and a portion of France. They
have also developed themselves in the British Isles, in Italy, Spain,
and the north of Africa: but in these last named countries they have
eventually become mixed with people belonging to other families. What is
more, these same people form at the present day the most important part
of the white population of America and Oceanica, and have reduced into
subjection a large portion of Southern Asia.
We shall divide the Teutonic family into three leading groups: the
_Scandinavians_, _Germans_, and _English_.
[Illustration: 3.--WAKE OF ICELANDIC PEASANTS IN A BARN.]
_Scandinavians._--The Scandinavians have preserved almost unaltered the
typical characteristics of the Teutonic family. Their intelligence is
far advanced, and instruction has been spread among them to such an
extent, that they have given a strong impulse to scientific progress.
The ancient poems of the Scandinavians, which go back as far as the
eighth century, are celebrated in the history of European literature.
The Scandinavians comprise three very distinct populations: the Swedes,
Norwegians, and Danes. To this group must be added the small population
of Iceland, since the language spoken by them is most similar of all to
the ancient Scandinavian.
The Feroë Isles are also inhabited by Scandinavians, and many Swedes are
also met with on the coasts of Finland. But in other countries, to which
in former times the Scandinavians extended their conquests, they have,
in general, mingled with the peoples they subjected.
[Illustration: 4.--WOMEN OF STAVANGER, NORWAY.]
The _Icelanders_ are of middle height and only of moderate physical
power. They are honest, faithful, and hospitable, and extremely fond of
their native country. Their productions are small in extent, as they
understand little more than the manufacture of coarse stuff and the
preparation of leather.
We give here some types of these people.
Fig. 3 is a wake of the peasants.
The Norwegians are robust, active, of great endurance, simple,
hospitable, and benevolent.
In Norway few differences are found in the manners and customs of the
different classes of society. Customs here are truly democratic, the
peasant plays the chief part in the affairs of the country. The popular
diet dictates its will to the government.
[Illustration: 5.--CITIZEN OF STAVANGER.]
M. de Saint Blaise in his work, _Voyage dans les Etats Scandinaves_,
describes the Norwegian as a rough and moody but reliable character. One
thing which struck him was the absence of sociability between the two
sexes. They marry usually before attaining twenty-five years of age,
when the woman devotes herself entirely to her husband and household
affairs.
When the two sexes meet at meals, they separate immediately the repast
is at an end. The result of this is a too familiar manner, an absence
of constraint among the men, and a neglect in the dress of the women
which contrasts strongly with their natural grace.
[Illustration: 6.--COSTUMES OF THE TELEMARK (NORWAY).]
In figures 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, we give types of the inhabitants of Norway.
The _Danes_ (the old _Jutes_ or _Goths_) are a people proud of their
race, and full of valour and stubbornness. The men are tall and strong;
the women slender and active. Their hair is blond, their eyes are blue,
and their complexion ruddy. The children are fresh and rosy, the old men
lithesome and erect in their walk. Their voices are good and vigorous,
they speak in an energetic manner. We encounter in Denmark a strange
mixture of democratic and feudal customs: perpetual entails are
contrasted with laws whose object is equality. The working classes have
an ardent desire to possess land in their own right.
[Illustration: 7.--WOMEN OF CHRISTIANSUND (NORWAY).]
There are in Denmark three classes of peasantry: those who possess both
house and garden, those who possess merely a house, and those who only
rent apartments. The first of these furnish their board with rich plate
and utensils; their wives and children go to work in the fields
decorated with rings and bracelets.
The people therefore enjoy a considerable amount of comfort. Add to this
a general degree of instruction, which extends even to the peasant’s
cottage, and which embraces notions of agriculture, geography, history
and arithmetic. The civilization of Denmark is, therefore, very
considerable, and certainly greater than that of France, England, Spain,
and Italy.
Drunkenness is rarely met with in Denmark, and marriage is considered
sacred.
The marriages of the Fionian peasants last seven days. They dance and
make merry three days before and three days after that on which the
marriage takes place. The ceremony is performed amid a flourish of
trumpets. The bridegroom is elegantly dressed, the bride still more so;
she wears, moreover, a kind of diadem in which flowers are seen mingling
with gold.
[Illustration: 8.--BOY AND GIRL OF THE LAWERGRAND (NORWAY).]
_Germans._--When wandering as nomadic tribes in the woods, that is, at
the time of the Roman Empire, the ancient inhabitants of Germany much
resembled their neighbours, the Gauls. They were men of large stature
and vigorous frame, with white skins. Their hair, however, was usually
red, while among the Gauls the ruling colour was blond. Their head was
large, with a broad forehead and blue eyes. But the modern descendants
of the old inhabitants of Germany have undergone many modifications,
which would render it difficult at the present day, to find, in the
greater portion of that country, general characteristics based upon the
structure of the head, and the colour of the eyes or hair.
The modern inhabitants of Germany, the Germans, occupy a very large
portion of Germany proper and of Eastern Prussia, as well as a broad
band of country to the right of the Rhine. They are found also in
different parts of Hungary, Poland, Russia, and North America. The
Germans of the East and South having mixed much with the peoples of
Southern Europe, do not represent exclusively the Teutonic type; some of
them are met with who have brown hair and black eyes.
[Illustration: 9, 10.--SUABIANS (STUTTGARD).]
We give in the accompanying illustrations (figs. 9 to 14) some types and
costumes of the inhabitants of Germany proper (Baden, Würtemberg, Suabia
and Bavaria). The national costumes of Alsace are also shown.
We shall borrow from a work, published in 1860 under the title “_Les
Races Humaines et leur Part dans la Civilisation_,” by Dr. Clavel, an
interesting description of the customs of modern Germany:--
“Impinging, at its south-western frontier, upon the Latin world, at its
south-eastern frontier, upon the Slavonian world, and at its northern
frontier, upon Scandinavia, Germany,” says Dr. Clavel, “does not admit
of any very distinct definition. Throughout the whole periphery of this
country there exists no identity either of customs, language, or
religion. Its provinces on the frontiers of Denmark are half
Scandinavian; those bordering on Russia or Turkey are half Slavonic;
those which are neighbours of Italy or France are half Latin: the
provinces which together represent the frontiers of Germany, form a zone
more mixed and various than is possessed by the frontiers of any other
nationality.
“It is only toward the centre of the country that we find in all its
purity the blond Germanic type, the feudal organization and the numerous
principalities which are its consequences. It is here that we find the
conditions of climate which appear to produce this race with blue eyes,
red and white complexion, tall figures, and full, powerful frames.
“Whilst the Latin, glorying in the light of heaven, enlarges his
windows, builds open terraces, and clears his forests that he may plant
vineyards in their stead; the German loves above all things shade and
mystic retreats. He hides his house in the midst of trees, limits his
windows in size, and lines his streets with leafy elms; he reveres, nay,
almost worships his old oak trees, endows them with soul and language,
and makes of them the abode of a Divinity.
“In order thoroughly to enter into the German genius, we must wander
among the paths of their old forests, observe and analyze carefully the
effects of light and shade, springing up in ubiquitous confusion,
intersecting confined and narrow perspectives, lending isolated objects
a brightness vividly contrasting with the neighbouring obscurity,
changing even the appearance of the face in their alternations, and
forming dark backgrounds, illuminated by prismatic tints and glowing
sunbeams. Pausing beneath the venerable trees, we must listen to sounds,
re-echoed a thousand times, then dying away among the thickets, to give
place to the rustling of aspen leaves, to the sighing of the firs, or to
the harmonious murmurs of rivulets which force their way amid the flags
and water-lilies. We must inhale the air scented with the pungent odour
of fallen leaves, or the exhilarating scent of the wild cherry blossom.
It is only then that we come to appreciate the love of nature and the
druidical tone which pervade German literature; we understand Goethe’s
passion for natural history; the poem of Faust becomes full of meaning;
a feeling of melancholy creeps over the mind and leads us to the
contemplation of things that are soft, sad, mysterious, fantastic,
irregular, and original.
[Illustration: 11, 12.--SUABIANS (STUTTGARD).]
“Being brought thus in contact with nature, the German is natural and
primitive; he sympathizes with the world’s infancy. He easily goes back
to the past and the consideration of olden times; but it is not in him
to anticipate the future, and he regards progress with distaste. If he
advances towards equality and unity, it is the ideal of the Latins which
impels him. There is in him a resistance which forms part of his patient
and cold nature. His movements are sluggish. His language is hardly
formed. His literature, overflowing with imagination, is wanting in
elegance and purity, it is not ripe enough for prose and unfit to form a
book.
“The plastic arts of Germany also possess the simplicity and variety
which are produced by imagination; but they are wanting in proportion,
in purity of style and elegance; they are capable of arranging neither
lines nor colours; their productions often verge on the grotesque, or
are marked by heaviness or pedantry, and they clearly are not the work
of children of the sun.
“The Germans possess an ear which appreciates sound in a wonderful
manner, and reduces with ease to melody the fleeting impressions of the
Soul.
“. . . . He who possesses a strong and enduring constitution brings to
his means of action energy of will. His projects are neither frivolously
conceived, nor abandoned without good reason, and they are often
followed out in spite of a thousand obstacles. This patient and
continuous activity on the part of the Germans enables them to succeed
in all forms of industry, in spite of their subdivision and other
hindrances resulting from their political constitution.
“When men are laborious, patient, and frugal, we may expect to see
family life become strongly organized, and exercise a decisive influence
upon national customs.
“Love, whose duty it is to bring together the sexes into a united
existence, is in Germany, neither very positive, nor very romantic; it
is dreamy in its character. It seeks its _object_ in youth and speedily
finds it; faithfulness is then observed until the time for marriage
arrives.
“Early engagements being admitted by custom, betrothed couples are seen
together, arm in arm, among the crowd at public or private festivals, or
in lonely woods, or in twilight seclusion. Pleasure and pain they share
with one another, happy in the conviction that their hearts beat in
unison, and in the repetition, over and over again, of tender
assurances. The calmness of their temperament and the certainty of
belonging to one another some day, diminish the danger of these long
interviews. The young man respects the girl who is to bear his name and
rule his home with her virtuous example; she, on her part, shrinks from
a seduction which would dishonour her and compromise her future life.
“Such customs cannot but meet with approbation. They assure the future
of a woman, and save her from coquetry. They form a man for the
performance of his duties as head of a family, make him thoughtful for
the future, save him from licentiousness, which wears out the heart as
well as the constitution, and lastly, render his love permanent by
reducing it to habit.
“When the wedding-day, looked forward to for so many years, arrives, the
characters of man and woman have taken their respective stamp. The young
people know each other; they have no ground for suspecting deceit, for
the singleness of their heart admits of only one affection.
[Illustration: 13.--BAVARIANS.]
“Everything here contributes to heighten the dignity of woman. From her
girlhood, and during the years in which her beauty is blossoming, she
feels herself an object of devotion--she is _mistress_. Whatever she
grants, however slight the favour may be, acquires a high value. The
offering sanctified by her kiss is far more costly than gold; the riband
she has worn becomes equal to a decoration.”
This picture of German customs has special reference to the inhabitants
of Central Germany, the Austrians.
[Illustration: 14.--BADENERS.]
It is in the central portion of Germany that we meet with this patient
activity, and the gentle manners described by Dr. Clavel. But these
qualities are far from being the attributes of the inhabitants of the
North and West. The Germans of the North and West appeared in their true
character during the war of 1870, when a series of deplorable fatalities
and mournful inconsistencies had delivered up unhappy France to the
mercy of the invader. We then learnt how to appreciate this reputation
for good-nature, simplicity, and gentleness, which was commonly attached
to the inhabitants of the Ultra-Rhenic countries. The good-nature
developed itself into an undisguised ferocity, the simplicity into dark
duplicity, and the gentleness into haughty and brutal violence. The
hated and jealous fury of the Prussians, who rushed upon France with the
avowed intention of reducing her to impotence, and erasing her, if
possible, from the rôle of nations; their cold-blooded cruelties and
shameless rapine, are so impressed upon the minds of all Frenchmen, that
we need not recall them. Prussian barbarity attained the level of that
practised by the Vandals in the second century.
Our scholars have found some difficulty in explaining the anomaly which
existed between the ferocious conduct of the German armies, and the very
opposite reputation enjoyed by our neighbours beyond the Rhine.
Accustomed to regard the Germans as peaceful and gentle, sentimental and
dreamy, we, in France, were painfully surprised to find facts contrast
so cruelly with an opinion so generally entertained. An ethnological
work, published in 1871 by M. de Quatrefages in the “_Revue des Deux
Mondes_,”[4] has afforded a scientific explanation of this anomaly.
[4] Issue of Feb. 15th.
M. de Quatrefages has shown, by considerations at once linguistic,
geological, ethnological, and historical, that the Prussians, properly
so called, that is, the inhabitants of Pomerania, Mecklenburg,
Brandenburg, and Silesia, have but little in common with the German
race--that they are not, in fact, Germans, but result from a mixture of
Slavonians and Finns with the primitive inhabitants of those countries.
The Finns overran, at a very early period, Pomerania and
Eastern-Prussia; later on, the Slavonians conquered the same territory,
as well as Brandenburg and Silesia. Certain Germanic tribes--to which
add the results of a French immigration into Prussia, which took place
under Louis XIV., after the revocation of the edict of Nantes--must be
joined to the stock of Slavonians and Finns, in order to make up the
Prussian race as it at present exists. The northern Slavonians possessed
a well-known coarseness of manner, and were of large stature and
powerful constitution. The Finns, or primitive inhabitants of the shores
of the Baltic, were characterized by cunning and violence, united to an
extraordinary tenacity. The modern Prussians revive all these ancestral
defects.
M. Godron, a naturalist of Nancy, who has very successfully studied the
German race, says, “The Prussians are neither Germans nor Slavonians:
they are Prussians!” This fact is now clearly shown by the
investigations of M. de Quatrefages. From an ethnological point of view,
the Prussians are very different from the German populations, who are
now subjected to the rule of the Emperor William under the pretext of
German unity.
Two different written languages exist among the German people; that of
the Netherlands and German.
The Netherland language has given birth to three dialects--_Dutch_,
_Flemish_, and _Frieslandic_.
The Dutch, in the seventeenth century, were the greatest maritime
commercial people in the world, and founded at that period a certain
number of colonies.
The Dutchman is by nature reserved and silent. Simplicity is the marked
feature of his character. He possesses patriotic feeling in a high
degree, and is capable of enthusiasm and devotion in the defence of his
strange and curious territory, preserved from the sea by dykes and
formidable constructions, and irrigated by innumerable canals, which
form the ordinary means of communication, and which link together the
seas and the rivers, as well as the towns.
* * * * *
_English._--The English may be considered as resulting from a mixture of
the _Saxons_ and _Angles_ with the people who inhabited the British
Isles before the Saxon invasion.
Whence came and who were the _Angles_ and _Saxons_?
According to Tacitus, the Angles were a small nation inhabiting the
regions next the ocean. The Saxons, according to Ptolemy, dwelt between
the mouths of the Elbe and Schleswig. About the fifth century after
Christ, the Angles and Saxons invaded the British Isles, and mingled
with the inhabitants, who then comprised Celts, Latins, and Arameans.
During the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries, fresh invasions of
Great Britain, by the Normans and Danes, added to this blood, already so
mixed, another foreign infusion.
From this medley of different peoples has sprung the English nation, in
whom are found at the same time, the patient and persevering character,
the serious disposition, and the love of family life, introduced by the
Saxons, and which is the peculiarity of the German nature, combined with
the lightness and impressionability of the Celt.
The physical type which is the result of this mixture, that is, the
English type, corresponds with the combination of races we have
specified. The head is in shape long and high, and is in this respect to
be distinguished from the square heads of the Germans, particularly
those of Suabia and Thuringia. The English generally possess a clear and
transparent skin, chestnut hair, tall and slender figures, a stiff gait,
and a cold physiognomy. Their women do not offer the noble appearance
and luxurious figure of the Greek and Roman women; but their skins
surpass in transparency and brilliancy those of the female inhabitants
of all other European countries.
We borrow a few pages from the work of Dr. Clavel upon “_Les Races
Humaines et leur Part dans la Civilisation_,” in order to convey an
exact knowledge of the nature and customs of our neighbours across the
Channel:--
“When he examines,” says Dr. Clavel, “the geographical position of
England, a land possessing a humid rather than a cold climate, the
observer pictures to himself beforehand that he is about to meet a
people of imperious appetite, of a vigorous circulation, of a powerfully
organized locomotive system, and a sanguineo-lymphatic temperament. The
power of the digestive functions shows that the nervous system is unable
to obtain dominion, and that there is a lack of sensibility: the
frequent fogs, which destroy the perfumes of the earth, the stormy
winds of the ocean, and the absence of wine, announce a poverty of
sentiment and inspiration, and of the arts founded upon them.
“The level plains, which are as a rule met with in England, are not
favourable to the development of the lower extremities, and it is a fact
that the power of the English lies, not so much in the legs, as in the
arms, shoulders, and loins. The fist is an Englishman’s natural weapon,
either for attack or defence; his popular form of duel is boxing, while
the foot plays an important part in the form of duel which, in France,
bears the characteristic name of _Savate_.
“This power in the upper regions of the body gives to an Englishman a
peculiar appearance. In view of his brawny shoulders, his thick and
muscular neck, and broad chest, we rightly divine the ready workman, the
daring seaman, the indefatigable mechanic, the soldier who is ready to
die at his post but who bears up with difficulty against forced marches
and hunger. His blond or reddish hair, his white skin and grey eyes,
bespeak the mists of his country; the barely marked nape of his neck,
and the oval form of his cranium, indicate that Finn blood flows in his
veins; his maxillary power, and the size of his teeth, evidence a
preference for an animal diet. He has the high forehead of the thinker,
but not the long eyes of the artist.
“The insular position of England, its excellent situation upon the
Atlantic, its numerous and magnificent seaport towns, its watercourses
and the facilities for conducting its internal navigation, all suggest a
large maritime commerce and the habits which accompany it. But neither
the soil, the climate, nor the geographical position, can account for
the aptitudes imported by different races.
“The Englishman is two-fold--Celt and German--and it is only a
superficial examination which can confound them.
“The Celt, whom in the absence of precise notions of an earlier
population we have come to consider as indigenous, resembles the
Neo-Latin races, and, above all, the French. He rarely exists
collectively, except in Ireland, and some mountainous districts of Wales
and Scotland. His cranium and features indicate artistic aptitudes. He
prefers Christianity in the Anglican Catholic form. Like the old Gauls,
he delights in wine, laughter, gaming, dancing, conversation, raillery,
and fighting. He is spirited and fond of joking, frank and hospitable;
but his versatility renders him incapable of steadily pursuing an
enterprise to the end, of careful reflection, or of thought for the
future. Through his powerlessness to combine his powers and act
collectively, he has become a prey to enemies, who were superior to him
neither in number, courage, nor even in intelligence. Old and joyous
England and Ireland became subject to the Dane, the Saxon, and the
Norman: they lost their proverbial gaiety, their bards, their democratic
tendency, and their civilization.
“The physical and moral differences between the modern conquerors of
England were but slight. They all came from the coasts of the Baltic
Sea, and all possessed the elementary characteristics of the German and
Scandinavian, and the aptitudes which they inherited from the old Sea
Kings. They had, moreover, strength, which bade them regard conquest as
a right, and take what they desired; pride, which bade them hold up
their head even against the storm; individual initiative, which
demanded, above all things, personal liberty; a tenacity, that nothing
discouraged; an intelligence, capable of every subtlety; a general
sensuality, which converted the bodily necessities into a means of
enjoyment; a lack of sentiment, which pre-supposed a want of aptitude
for art; and, lastly, a temperament which was calm and robust under all
circumstances.
“This type, which is still found among all branches of society, not
excepting the aristocracy, has been modified by its combination with the
Celtic element, but it still remains predominant. The Saxon, as a rule,
absorbs or destroys the other races; we may say, he drinks in their
vitality, but is unable to assimilate himself to their temperament.
“We must, therefore, expect to find the customs of England proper, more
Scandinavian than Celtic. The pleasures of olden time have fallen off;
the merry gossips of those days find no place but in literature;
raillery, when it comes from Saxon lips, is armed with sharp teeth, and
tears away the morsel it attacks.
“When intelligence is averted from the ideal, and constantly directed
towards the positive matters of life, it acquires the habit of
considering in all things the question of profit and loss; it becomes
averse to waste, which destroys property unprofitably, and loves order,
without which, material prosperity is impossible; it guides the organic
forces to productive industry, agriculture, and commerce, where they
are fostered and matured; and last of all, to speculation, which
anticipates the greater part of the fruits of commerce, agriculture, and
manufacture. The Saxon finds everywhere the means of speculating, aided
in his manœuvres by the intricacy of his commercial laws. As a
consequence of his phlegmatic temperament, he gives way neither to the
snares of enthusiasm, nor to the deceptions of discouragement. He
reasons aright, both for the present and the future. In dealing craftily
with his antagonist, he is well able to guard himself against the
weaknesses of feeling. His face rarely betrays his convictions, and his
features are devoid of the mobility which would prove disadvantageous.
“Thus it is that the Englishman joins subtlety to will; hence his
practical power. Being strong and able, he acquires a confidence in
himself which easily degenerates into pride, and saves him from
smallness of character. He is neither obsequious, nor prone to flattery;
he casts on one side the refinements of politeness, which he regards as
humiliating in one who employs them; he keeps his word, and considers
that he would be dishonoured in breaking it; but he makes the best of
all his advantages. For him, life is a struggle for triumph, without
regard for those who are unable to contend, and who succumb in the
attempt. He asks no pity, and gives but little; he cannot be called
cruel, for cruelty is a form of weakness; but he does not hesitate to
oppress an enemy, when to do so would be productive of material
advantage. In attaching to an Englishman the characteristic of
individual initiative, which is met with among all the branches of the
Germanic tree, we rightly expect to find him fond of liberty, without
which his powers would have no vent.
“But this liberty would soon lead him to destruction, did he not join to
it the spirit of propriety, and temper it with the love of order, which
he acquires in his industrial and commercial pursuits.
“. . . . His arts are wanting neither in talent, observation, delicacy,
nor humour; they represent men and things with the most scrupulous
accuracy; but they lack feeling, warmth, and ideality; they know not how
to bring the passions into play, and are unable to soar above the
descriptive. His stage is a failure, as is his music, both in themselves
pure creations of feeling; and his architecture is governed by the
nature of materials, and the application of his buildings to the needs
of life. This rage for practical convenience, which makes the London
houses so unsightly, has also been instrumental in simplifying his
language to amphibology, and curtailing the accent to such an extent as
to create discord. When harmony in the means of expressing thought is
wanting, the art of talking well is no longer exercised in conversation,
but becomes concentrated in discourse. There is scarcely an intermediate
between the latter form of speech, and incorrect conversation among
individuals. The result of this is, that the Englishman, on almost every
occasion, expresses himself in speeches, which are listened to and
commented upon with an imperturbable patience, but which have the grave
fault of imparting to social relations a tone of pedantry and stiffness.
As soon as that exists, there is no longer any room for fun and humour.
Following out the spirit of formality, many things become no longer
permissible, or cannot be dealt with except by reference to strict
rules. Propriety, therefore, includes, over and above pure politeness, a
number of conventionalities which in themselves constitute nothing less
than a social tyranny. An act, which, everywhere else, would be regarded
as perfectly natural, easily becomes food for scandal; and in society,
by far the greater number of those one meets abstain from action,
speech, or gesticulation. An icy reserve is the tone generally assumed.
“In such society as this, indiscretion and flippancy are almost out of
the question. But, although the English scorn a lie, they cannot speak
the whole truth: they find it necessary to reserve a portion, and
frequently the most important part. The result is a peculiar form of
hypocrisy which bears the name of cant, and which is really the bane of
English society. Owing to this, social life is enclosed in a circle of
intolerance which imparts to it a painful uniformity. Each person is
obliged to do as every one else, to such an extent, that in the land of
liberty, the spirit is oppressed and dejected to a degree suggestive of
suicide. Hence it is that so many English, in order to escape spleen,
are forced to leave their country.
“The Englishwoman is tall, fair, and strongly built. Her skin is of
dazzling freshness; her features are small and elegantly formed; the
oval of her face is marked, but it is somewhat heavy toward the lower
portion; her hair is fine, silky, and charming; and her long and
graceful neck imparts to the movements of her head a character of grace
and pride.
“So far, all about her is essentially feminine; but upon analyzing her
bust and limbs, we find that the large bones, peculiar to her race,
interfere with the delicacy of her form, enlarge her extremities, and
lessen the elegance of her postures and the harmony of her movements.
“Woman moves about two centres, which are the head and the heart. The
latter deals with bodily grace, roundness and delicacy of form,
inspiration in feeling, devotion in love, sympathy, a manifold and
undefinable seductiveness, a sort of divine radiance, which is grace,
tenderness, and all that is charming. The former supplies intelligence,
spirit, animation, and consistency of action.
“If all we see in an Italian or Spanish woman tells of the supremacy of
heart, which Lord Byron loved so much, all in the Englishwoman reveals
mental superiority. Her physical and mental powers are well balanced.
“There are few mental occupations in which a daughter of Great Britain
cannot engage. She acquires knowledge with facility; she writes with
elegance, and would be capable at a stretch of improvising a speech; she
is witty and even brilliant; capable of dealing with abstract sciences;
she can contend with the other sex in sagacity and depth; yet her
conversation does not captivate. She lacks a thousand feminine
instincts, and this lack is revealed in her toilette, the posture she
assumes, and in her actions and movements. She rarely possesses musical
taste. Her language and song do not captivate the ear; her appreciation
of colour, form, and perfume, are at fault. She loves what is striking,
and instead of attaining harmony, revels in discord.
“No aristocracy, can, with reference to ability, be compared with that
of England. Having ensured the influence of wealth by seizing the land,
and substituting in its possession the son for the father, by virtue of
the right of primogeniture, it has given the legislative power to the
proprietors of the soil, through the medium of a House of Peers, whose
prerogatives and domains pass to the eldest son, and of a House of
Commons, the right to elect whose members is centred chiefly in the
tenants of large proprietors. Where the nobility enjoy such privileges,
royalty necessarily assumes a dependent position, and becomes merely an
instrument. Positions of influence in the administration, the army, the
magistracy, and the church, fall of right to families of distinction,
who dispose of all the strength of the country, and apply it for the
benefit of their own caste. Taxation is organized in such a manner as to
weigh chiefly upon the lower classes, while the produce falls to the
advantage of the privileged class as emoluments.
“. . . Before the British aristocracy could attain the importance it now
possesses, many conquests were necessary, to which the substance of
Spain, Portugal, Holland, and of a hundred and thirty millions of
Indians, has fallen a prey. The attainment of this object, has,
moreover, forced fifteen millions of English people to exist upon a
daily stipend, when there is any stipend at all; and, to aid it, the
cannon has opened the frontiers of China to the opium trade, and to the
products of manufactures which must either sell or succumb. The only
material compensation for all these evils, is, that immense power is
given to wealth. The cultivation of luxury, in every form, has increased
tenfold the number of objects to be provided. The houses are crowded
with a number of articles of furniture, the use of which is a science in
itself; the tables are loaded with an infinite variety of dishes,
fruits, plate, and glass; stuffs of a thousand different shades are
offered to the caprice of fashion, to be used either in adorning the
person, or in the decoration of apartments; but for all that, the house
is neither more beautiful nor more wholesome as an abode, the table is
not more hospitable or more joyous, nor is the dress more elegant or
warm; comfort stifles what is merely beautiful, which wealthy men always
associate with a large outlay.
“Among the English aristocracy we must expect, neither the exquisite
elegance of the Latin aristocracy, nor the appreciation of art, which,
in Italy, and even in France, gives birth to so many marvels.
“Wealth has been able to accumulate in the galleries of private persons,
pictures and statues, the work of other nations, but has been quite
unable to raise up a school of architecture, of painting, or of
sculpture; or even to assign a single division to music. Workers and
statesmen abound in England; but the condition of artists is bad in the
extreme. A great poet emerges from the ranks of the nobility, and
employs his talent in scourging the aristocracy, and laying bare the
customs of his country. Eminent writers assign a philosophic value to
the romance of gentle blood, and paint in the blackest colours the
mercantile and feudal genius.
[Illustration: 15.--ENGLISHMAN.]
“The men of iron, who have transformed England into a sort of freehold,
seem to think themselves altogether different from the rest of humanity;
they pass through the midst of other populations without being
influenced by the contact, or modifying the etiquette which rules their
excesses at table and in drinking, and which governs field sports and
courtship. A word or gesture is sufficient to mark its author as of low
breeding, and to jar upon the nerves of the nobility, which are
susceptible of still greater irritation, when writers of ability venture
to speak of lords as of simple mortals; but this scandal has been
obviated in the _fashionable_ novel, in which, amid a halo of ennui,
aristocratic decorum shines forth.
“All this is productive of a meditated coldness and repulsive pride,
which renders expansion and joviality impossible. Moral oppression and
ennui permeate their whole life, and in the end render existence
insupportable. These rich and powerful men become the victims of
_spleen_.
“Those who find no relief in political struggles, seek in foreign
countries change and diversion; the more robust share their time between
the table, their horses, and their dogs; they drink to a frightful
extent; they unearth the fox, and follow him on horseback, clearing
every object although at the risk of their neck, or else they travel a
hundred leagues to see a thorough-bred horse run, and to risk upon him
what would make the fortune of ten plebeians.
“Such a life as this can be led only in the country. It must therefore
be noticed that the English nobility pass nine months out of the year at
their country seats, in the exercise of the gorgeous hospitality which
is met with in all large oligarchies, and cultivating there the comforts
of ease to a degree bordering on fanaticism.
“Beneath the shade of feudality, exists a class of farmers,
manufacturers, merchants, capitalists, and speculators, which consoles
itself for the humiliations it experiences by those which, in its turn,
it imposes on the lower classes. This middle class, oppressed by that
above, and menaced by that below it, presents a singular mixture of
timidity and resolution. Its existence, ever precarious, makes it easily
susceptible of alarm, ready to yield to the terms of the powerful, or to
assume any character. Its enthusiasm and admiration are inexhaustible,
when it foresees, in the conduct of its superiors, some gain to itself;
but the resistance it offers is most powerfully adroit when public
affairs tend to do it harm. Danger hardly ever takes it by surprise, as
its signs are seen from afar and anticipated.
“One would almost expect to find Israelitish traits of character in
people who make the Bible their book of books; who, while undergoing
extortion, still retain the feeling of dignity, who are passionately
fond of money and whatever conduces to its possession; who risk that
they may gain, and compensate one chance of loss by three chances of
profit; who respect the letter of the law more than its intention, and
who employ commercial uprightness as a clever means of making a fortune.
“In the middle class, the British aristocracy finds a means of keeping
under the proletarian class, true representatives of the old Celts.
These unfortunate men are reproached, with drunkenness, to which they
fly as a means of forgetting their misfortunes; with brutality, which
exhibits itself in blows, injuries, prize fights, and cock-fighting;
with coarse sensuality, which feeds upon meat and beer; with
selfishness, which extends even to the glasses of drinkers; and lastly,
with stronger criminal desires than are met with among other civilized
nations.
“But in spite of these vices, the sad fruit of misery, wretchedness, and
ignorance, they possess substantial virtues. The English workman has in
his heart an innate feeling of generosity. He is gentle to the weak, and
rude to the strong. Goodness charms him, and whatever is generous is
sure to meet with his support. Although blinded by self-interest to the
point of being altogether without a notion of justice, he can hardly be
accused of avarice, since he gives cheerfully. His friendship is firm,
although by no means demonstrative; he keeps his word, and despises an
untruth. Reverses redouble instead of causing him to abate his efforts;
he never despairs of what he undertakes, since he is ready to sacrifice
all for success, even his life. He has none of the sordid vanities which
stain the intermediate classes. For his country, which is to him less a
mother than a step-mother, he entertains an inexhaustible affection. To
her he devotes his whole existence; he is rewarded by his own admiration
of her, and deludes himself so far as to call her ‘Jolly Old England.’”
* * * * *
Transplanted into the New World, the Englishman has already assumed a
type varying somewhat from that we have described--the _Yankees_, as the
Indians call them, that is to say, the _silent men_ (Ya-no-ki), have
lost in North America the general character and physiognomy which they
possessed in the mother-country. A new type, moral and physical,
approaching more to that of the Southern Red Indians, has been formed
among the inhabitants of North America, which type is exaggerated
towards the West, where men are rougher and coarser than in the North.
LATIN FAMILY.
The _Latin family_ originated in Italy, whence it extended its conquests
over a large portion of Europe, Asia, and Africa, thus forming the Roman
empire. At the present time the Latin languages are spoken only in
certain portions of this vast empire, namely, in Italy, Spain, France,
and some other countries in the south-east of Europe.
The people who belong to the Latin family are, in general, of a middle
stature, with black hair and eyes, and a complexion susceptible of
turning brown under the sun’s action; but they present many variations.
They speak numerous dialects, which frequently become confounded one
with another.
Among the people who form the Latin family are separately classed: the
_French_, the _Spaniards_, the _Italians_, and the _Moldo-Walachians_.
_French._--The Franks proceeded from the mixture of the Gauls with the
ancient inhabitants of the land, that is, the people who in olden times
were indifferently called _Aquitanians_ or _Iberians_, and of whom a few
are still to be found in the Basque inhabitants of the lower regions of
the Pyrenees, recognized at once by their language, which is that of the
old Iberians.
But who were these Gauls, who, by combination with the national blood of
the Iberians, formed the Franks?
The Gauls were a branch of the _Celts_ (or _Gaels_), an ancient race of
men, who coming from Asia, at an early period overran and occupied a
portion of Western Europe, more particularly that portion which now
forms Belgium, France as far as the Garonne, and a part of Switzerland.
Later on, the Celts or _Gaels_ extended their conquests as far even as
the British Isles. It was in the twelfth or tenth century before Christ
that they invaded Gaul, and subdued the indigenous Iberian population.
Of their Asiatic origin the Celts preserved no more than a few dogmas of
Eastern worship, the organization of a priestly sect, and a language,
which, through its close connection with the sacred language of the
Indian Brahmins, reveals the kinship which united these people with
those of Asia.
The Celts were a nomadic people, and lived essentially by hunting and
pasturage. The men were very tall: their height being, it has been
asserted, from six to seven feet. Many tribes dyed their skin with a
colour extracted from the leaf of the woad. Others tattooed themselves.
Many adorned their arms or breasts with heavy chains of gold, or clothed
themselves in tissues of bright colours, analogous to the Scotch tartan.
Later on they gave themselves up to greater luxury. Above their tunic
they wore the _saya_, a short cloak, striped with purple bands and
embroidered with gold or silver. Among the poorer classes this _saya_
was replaced by the skin of some animal, or by a cloak of coarse and
dark-coloured wool. Others wore the _simar_, which is analogous to the
modern blouse or the _caraco_ of the Normandy peasants. The second
article of dress worn by the Gaelic men, was a tight and narrow form of
trouser, the _braya_. The women wore an ample puckered tunic with an
apron. Some restricted their dress to a leathern bag.
Their weapons consisted of stone knives, axes furnished with sharp flint
or shell points, clubs, and spears hardened in the fire. Celtic stone
hatchets are common in the West of France.
The Celts were warlike and bold. They marched against the enemy to the
sound of the _karnux_, a sort of trumpet, the top of which represented a
wild beast crowned with flowers. As soon as the signal was given, the
front rank threw itself stark naked and impetuously into the struggle.
Leading a wandering form of life, the Celts constructed no fixed
habitations. They moved from one pasturage to another in covered
waggons, erecting simple cabins, which they abandoned after a few days.
They sometimes took shelter in caves, sleeping upon a little straw, or
the skins of animals spread upon the earth. More frequently, however,
they ate and slept under the open sky. Fond of tales and recitations,
they appear to have been inquisitive and garrulous. Their habits were
peaceful.
A branch of the Celtic family, the _Cymris_, who, like their
predecessors, originally came from Asia, overran the fertile plains
which extend from the moorlands at Bordeaux to the mouth of the Rhine,
their course being arrested toward the west only by the ocean, toward
the east by the Vosges, and toward the south-east by the mountains of
Auvergne and the last ridges of the Pyrenees and the Cevennes. The
_Cymris_, or Belgians, brought with them the simplicity of the north,
and having built towns, called upon the Gaels to join them.
These two groups, distinct in themselves although of the same race,
lived apart in some countries, while in others they held supremacy. The
Irish and the Highlanders of Scotland were _Gaels_. The _Gaelic_ element
also predominated in Eastern France. The inhabitants of Wales, Belgium,
and Brittany belonged to the Cymrian branch; but the Romans confounded
these two races under the general name of _Britons_ in Great Britain,
and _Gauls_ in Gaul.
We will briefly review the physical types, manners, and customs of the
Gauls.
At the time when Julius Cæsar invaded and conquered the Gauls, they were
distinguished as the northern, north-eastern, western, and southern
Gauls. The first were remarkable for the abundance and length of their
hair; hence their name of _long-haired Gauls_. Those of the south and
south-east were known as the _braya-wearing Gauls_.
The Gauls used artificial means of giving to their hair a bright red
colour. Some allowed it to fall around their shoulders; others tied it
in a tuft above the head. Some wore only thick mustachios, others
retained the whole beard.
When arming for battle, the Gauls donned the _saya_. They used arrows,
slings, one-edged swords in iron or copper, and a sort of halberd, which
inflicted terrible wounds. A metal casque, ornamented with the horns of
the elk, buffalo, or stag, covered the head of the common soldier, that
of the rich warrior being adorned with flowing plumes, while figures of
birds or wild beasts were wrought upon the crest. The buckler was
covered with hideous figures. Beneath a breast-plate of wrought-iron the
warrior wore a coat of mail, the produce of Gallic industry. He further
adorned himself with necklaces; and the scarves of the chiefs glittered
with gold, silver, or coral. The standard consisted of a wild boar,
formed of metal or bronze, and fixed at the end of a staff.
The Gauls dwelt in spacious circular habitations, built of rough stones,
cemented together with clay, or composed of stakes and hurdles, filled
up with earth within and without. The roof, which was ample and solid,
was composed of strong planks cut into the form of tiles, and of stubble
or chopped straw kneaded with clay.
The wealthy Gaul, besides his town residence, possessed a country house.
His wooden tables were very low, and in them excavations were made which
answered the purpose of plates and dishes. The guests sat upon trusses
of hay or straw, upon hassocks formed of rushes, or forms with wooden
backs. They slept in a kind of press, formed of planks, similar to those
which are met with in some cottages of Brittany and Savoy. They had
earthen vessels, of delicate grey or black pottery, more or less
ornamented, and brazen vases. They used horns as drinking-vessels.
The Gauls ate little bread, but a great deal of roast or boiled meat. As
a rule, they tore with the teeth pieces which they held in their hands.
The poor drank beer, or other less costly beverages; the rich, aromatic
wines.
The beauty of the Gallic women was proverbial. The elegance of their
figure, the purity of their features, and the whiteness of their skins,
were universally admired. To captivate these fierce men they made
abundant use of coquetry. In order to heighten the freshness of their
complexions, they bathed themselves with the foam of beer, or chalk
dissolved in vinegar. They dyed their eyebrows with soot, or a liquid
extracted from a fish called _orphi_. Their cheeks they coloured with
vermilion, and dressed their hair with lime in order to make it blond,
and covering it with network, let it fall behind, or else turned it up
crestwise. They wore as many as four tunics, one above the other, veiled
their head with part of their cloak, and wore a mitre or Phrygian
head-dress.
Any ordinary person who died was interred in a manner suitable to their
sex and condition, with arrow-heads, hatchets, flint knives, necklaces,
rings, bracelets, articles of pottery, &c. The grave was marked by an
unhewn stone, which was surrounded with herbs, moss, or flowers. These
tombstones were raised up in the plains, by the way-side, and amid the
deep shade of the forests. They were guarded by a statue of Tentates,
one of whose cheeks was painted white, the other black.
When a chief died, his body was burnt. In order to do this, the body was
placed upon a pile of resinous wood, with his weapons of war and of the
chase, his charger and dogs, and sometimes even, his slaves. While the
flames devoured the body, the bystanders uttered loud cries, and the
warriors clashed their shields. The half-calcined bones were enclosed in
an urn of coarse earth, rudely ornamented with a few engravings or
figures in bas relief. This urn was then deposited beneath a tumulus
covered with turf. In southern Gaul it was placed beneath a funeral
column.
In order to render complete the idea which we should wish to convey of
the outward appearance of the Gauls, we must say a few words about the
Druids.
The Druids were the priests of the Gauls, a clergy powerful by reason of
their political duties and judicial functions. The Druids led a solitary
life in the depth of oak forests and in secluded caves. They wore a
distinctive dress, their robes reaching down to the ground. During
religious ceremonies they covered their shoulders with a species of
white surplice, and upon their pontifical dress was displayed a crescent
which had reference to the last phase of the moon. Their feet were
furnished with pentagonal wooden sandals; they allowed their hair to
grow long, and shaved off their beards. In their hand they carried a
sort of white wand, and suspended from their neck an amulet of oval
shape set in gold.
We said the Franks proceeded from the mixture of the Gauls with the
Iberian natives of the country, joined later on to the Romans, the
Greeks, and more recently still to the Alanians, the Goths, the
Burgundians, and the Suevians. Having spoken of the Gauls, we shall now
proceed to describe the Franks.
The Frank was tall in height, with a very white skin, blue sparkling
eyes, and a powerful voice. His face was shaven, save upon the upper
lip, which earned a heavy mustachio. His hair, of a beautiful blond
colour, was cut behind, and long in front. His dress was so short as not
to cover his knees, and fitted tightly, showing plainly the form of the
body. He wore a shoulder-belt, ornamented with nails, and plates of
silver or inlaid metal. From his girdle hung an iron knife, an axe with
short handle and heavy keen iron head (battle-axe), a very sharp
ponderous sword, and a pike of medium length, the stout point of which
was armed with several barbs or sharp teeth, turned back as in a
fish-hook. Before going to battle, the Frank dyed his hair red. The hair
itself was frequently held together by a golden net, or a copper
circlet; at other times he dressed himself with the spoils of wild
beasts.
[Illustration: 16.--DRUIDS, GAULS, AND FRANKS.]
We are able to extract from historical recitals an exact idea of the
Frankish woman. She was powerful, and wore a long robe of dark colour,
or bordered with purple. Her arms were left uncovered, and her head was
wreathed with flowering broom. Her looks, sometimes fierce, bespoke
masculine vigour and a character which did not shrink from sanguinary
conflict.
The Celtic and Iberian languages gradually disappeared among the Franks,
being replaced by Latin dialects.
The Gauls and Franks, who were subdued by the Romans, received into
their blood the Latin element, which rapidly increased. Restrained for a
while by the invasions of tribes from the north and east, by Asiatic
hordes of Mongolian race, among which we may name the Huns; the Latin
element again assumed the ascendant at the commencement of the sixteenth
century; men and manners, language and art, bore witness more and more
to Latin influence: the fair hair and white skin of the Frank
alternating with the black locks and brown skin of the Latin people.
Thus it is that the French lost the athletic frame and vigorous limbs of
the Gaul, gaining in their stead the suppleness and agility of southern
nations. Thus also the French language became gradually formed, modified
from Latin dialects.
The existence of a single written language renders it difficult to mark
the characteristic distinctions among the French of the present day. We
may however, distinguish the _French properly so called_, who inhabit
the lower district of the Loire, and whose dialects are most akin to the
written language; the _Walloons_, in the north, whose pronunciation
somewhat approaches that of Teutonic nations; and the _Romanians_, in
the south, where the dialects become confused with those of the
Spaniards and Italians. The French of the interior are those who most
resemble the Celts; those of the south possess the vivacity of the
ancient Iberians or Basques; and those of the north have suffered still
more from Teutonic influence, the effect of which is more especially
appreciable in Normandy.
Owing to the diversity of his origin, and the different races of men
which have been moulded into his type, not omitting also the effect
attributed to the great geological variety of the soil of France, where
samples of all parts of the earth are to be found, the Frenchman,
considered organically, possesses no peculiar physiognomy, which
nevertheless does not prevent the complete identification of his French
nationality.
From a physical point of view, and setting aside certain extremes, it
may be said that the Frenchman is characterised, not so much by special
features, as by the mobility and expression of these features. He is
neither large nor small, yet his body is in all respects well
proportioned; and although he may not be capable of developing great
muscular action, he is fully qualified to contend successfully against
fatigue and long journeys. Agile and nervous, as prompt in attack as in
parrying a blow, full of expedient, supple, and cheerful, skilful both
physically and morally, this is the character we shall easily recognise
in our typical soldier of the next page.
Considered intellectually, the Frenchman is distinguished by a readiness
and activity of conception which is truly unsurpassed. His comprehension
is quick and sound. A halo of feeling surrounds this intellectual
activity. Add to this a very fair amount of reason, solid judgment, and
a veritable passion for order and method, and you have the French
character.
To this combination of various qualities must be referred the respect
which the French nation entertain for science and art, the admirable
order which is found in their museums, and the excellent preservation of
their historical monuments. This also goes to explain their excellent
organization for public instruction, both in art and science, the
forbearing and kindly tone of their philosophy, which above all things
seeks the practical rules which govern human action, their excellent
judicial system and admirable civil code, which has been copied more or
less by all the nations of the New or Old Worlds.
Although the Frenchman respects science, loves the arts, and takes an
interest in the productions of thought, it must be admitted that he is
loth to take any personal part in them. He is glad to make use of the
practical applications of science, and gratefully acknowledges the
service they render him; but he shuns the idea of studying the sciences
as such, and the very name of _savant_ conveys to his mind a tiresome
person. The sciences, which at the end of the last century brought so
much honour to France, now languish. Scientific careers are avoided, and
in the country of Lavoisier, Laplace, and Cuvier, science is visibly on
the decline.
To make science palatable to French readers, the edge of the cup must be
coated with honey, and the preceptor must clearly comprehend what dose
of the sweetened beverage he may administer, so as not to overtax the
powers or present humour of his patient.
We may say the same of the liberal arts. The Frenchman takes delight in
artistic works, in fine monuments and buildings, costly statuary,
magnificent pictures, engravings, and all the productions of high art;
but he does nothing whatever to encourage them. France is at the present
day at the head of the fine arts, and her school of painting is without
a rival; and yet her artists, whether they be painters or sculptors,
must seek elsewhere an outlet for their talents.
In France, the people are content with rendering a formal homage to the
merit of their works of art, and leave to the government the task of
encouraging and propagating them.
This encouragement consists in an annual exhibition of their paintings
and sculptures, entry to this exhibition being obtained only by payment.
When it is over, the various works are returned to their authors, and
medals of different value assist the public to appreciate the excellence
of their productions.
In France, then, the people are, properly speaking, neither studious nor
artistic: they merely profess great esteem for the arts and sciences,
and render them homage without the least wish to know more of them or an
attempt to further their cultivation.
A very excellent quality of the French nation is its sociability. Whilst
the English and Germans shut themselves up in their houses with
misanthropical concern, the Frenchman prefers to share his dwelling, to
inhabit a sort of hive, in which the same roof shelters a large number
of individuals of all ages and conditions. He can thus perform and
exchange many services, and, while living his own form of existence,
enjoy that of others. See how, in French villages, the houses are
grouped together or placed back to back, or, in the large towns, those
houses where fifty lodgers hardly separated from one another by a scanty
partition, have one common domestic, the porter, and you will at one
recognize the instinct of sociability, and external affability, which is
peculiar to the French nation. The readiness which each manifests to
render the little services of life, to aid a wounded person, or assist
in extricating his neighbour from embarrassment, are all signs of the
same praiseworthy spirit of sociability.
[Illustration: 17.--FRENCHMAN.]
The delicacy of feeling and thought, the extraordinary taste for order
and method, and the love of art, which characterize the French nation,
are all to be encountered in their various industrial products. A
feeling for art is essentially characteristic of French industry, and
gives it that well-known good taste, distinction, and elegance, which
are so justly appreciated.
Although he is neither student nor artist, the Frenchman knows therefore
perfectly how to call science and art to his aid, demand their
co-operation and inspiration, and transfer them with advantage into
practice. Thanks to his instinct for order and method, he succeeds in
drawing material profit from studious or sentimental subjects.
Having considered the bright side of the French nation, we will now see
where they are deficient.
It is a recognized fact, that, among the French, one-third of the men
and more than half the women can neither read nor write: this is
equivalent to saying, that of the thirty-eight millions of individuals
composing the population of France, fifteen millions can neither read
nor write.
The French peasant does not read, and for a very good reason. On Sunday
he has read to him extracts from the Almanack of Pierre Larrivay, of
Matthieu Laensberg, or some other prophet of the same cloth, who
foretells what is about to happen on each day of the year; and this is
as much as he wants. La Bruyère drew of the French peasant in the time
of Louis XIV. a forcible and sinister picture, which in many cases is
true even at the present day: in the course of two centuries, the
subject has altered but little.[5]
[5] “We meet with certain wild animals, male and female, scattered
over the country, black, livid, and dried up by the sun, attached
to the soil which they turn and rummage about with an insuperable
obstinacy; they seem to utter articulate sounds, and when they get
upon their legs, show a human face. And in fact, these, it seems,
are men.”
The French artisan reads very little. Works of popular science, which
for some years past have happily been edited in France, are not read, as
is imagined, by the working classes: those who seek works of this class
are persons who have already received a certain amount of instruction,
which they desire to increase by extending it to other branches of
knowledge; these, for the greater part, include school-children, and
persons, belonging to the different liberal professions, or engaged in
commerce.
The bourgeois, who has some spare time, devotes a portion of it to
reading, but he does not read books. In France, books are objects of
luxury, used only by persons of refinement. The crowd, when they see a
man go by with a book under his arm, regard him with respectful
curiosity. Enter the houses, even those of the most wealthy, and you
will meet with everything which is necessary for the comforts of life,
every article of furniture which may be called for, but you will seldom
or never find a library. Whilst in Germany, England, and Russia, it is
thought indispensable, in France a library is almost unknown.
The French bourgeois reads only the papers. Unfortunately, French
journals have always been devoted to politics. Literature and art,
science and philosophy, nay, even commercial and current affairs, that
is, all which go to make up the life and interests of a nation, are
excluded with most jealous care from the greater part of the French
journals, to make way for political subjects. Thus it is that politics,
the most superfluous and barren of subjects, have become among the
French the great and only object of consideration.
The press which indulges in _light_ literature is much worse. Its
articles are founded on old compilations. The bons-mots of the Marquis
of Bièvre are borrowed from _Bièvriana_, and laid at the door of M. de
Tillancourt; then Mlle. X. des Variétés is made the heroine of an
anecdote borrowed from the _Encyclopediana_, and the trick is complete.
The paper is sold at a sou, and is not worth a liard.
The papers are the chief means by which the French bourgeois stuff their
heads with emptiness.
The weakness of instruction in France becomes still more apparent by
comparison with that of other nations. Traverse all Switzerland, and in
every house you will find a small library. In Prussia it is a most rare
matter to find a person who cannot read; in that country instruction is
obligatory. In Austria every one can read. In Norway and Denmark, the
lowest of the peasantry can read and write their language with accuracy;
while in the extreme north, in Iceland, that country given up to the
rigours of eternal cold, which is, as it were, a dead spot in nature,
prints are numerous. We need not say that the English and Americans are
far in advance of the French as regards instruction. Nay, more, all the
Japanese can read and write, as also all the inhabitants of China
proper.
Let us hope that this sad condition of things will change, when, in
France, gratuitous and obligatory instruction has become the law.
Uninstructed and unambitious of learning, timid artisan and plodding
husbandman though he be, the Frenchman has yet one ruling virtue. He is
a soldier; he possesses all the qualities necessary for war--bravery,
intelligence, quickness of conception, the sentiment of discipline, and
even patience when it is called for. If in 1870 a combination of
deplorable fatalities forced the French to yield to the dictates of a
people, who even yet wonder at their victory, the reputation of the
French soldier for bravery and intelligence has in no way suffered by
this unforeseen check. The day for revenge upon the barbarians of the
north will come sooner or later.
Another peculiarity of the French nation is their spirit of criticism
and satire. If, in the days of Beaumarchais, everything in France closed
with a song, nothing at the present day is complete without a joke.
There is nothing which the French spirit of satire has not turned to
ridicule. In the art of the pencil it has created _la charge_, namely,
the caricature of what is beautiful, and the hideous exaggeration of
every physical imperfection; on the stage it has introduced _la
cascade_, a public parody bringing before the audience in an absurd
manner, history, literature, and men of distinction; in the dance, it
has given birth to the obscene and nameless thing which is composed of
the contortions of fools, and which with strangers passes as a national
dance.
The French woman is perfectly gifted in what concerns intelligence; she
possesses a ready conception, a lively imagination, and a cheerful
disposition. Unfortunately, the burthen of ignorance presses sorely
upon her. It is a rare thing for a woman of the people to read, as only
those of the higher classes have leisure, during their girlhood, to
cultivate their minds. And yet even they must not give themselves up too
much to study, nor aspire to honour or distinction. The epithet _bas
bleu_ (blue stocking) would soon bring them back to the common crowd--an
ignorant and frivolous feminine mass. Molière’s lines in _Les Femmes
Savantes_, which for two centuries have operated so sadly in
disseminating ignorance throughout one half of French society, would be
with one voice applied to them.
With this ill-advised tirade, persons who think themselves perfectly
right, stifle the early inclinations of young girls and women, which
would induce them to open their minds to notions of literature, science,
and art.
A question was once put forward whether we should permit our young women
to share the education which the University affords to young men. We are
speaking of the courses which were to have been held by the college of
professors, according to the plans proposed by M. Duruy. But this
attempt at the intellectual emancipation of young girls was very soon
suppressed. Being barely tolerated at Paris, these courses were soon
interdicted in the departmental towns, and woman soon returned to the
knee of the church, or, in other words, was brought back to ignorance
and superstition.
This want of instruction in the French woman is the more to be
regretted, since, to an excellent intellectual disposition, she adds the
irresistible gifts of grace and physical charms. There is in her face a
seduction which cannot be equalled, although we can assign her
physiognomy to no determinate type. Her features, frequently irregular,
seem to be borrowed from different races; they do not possess that unity
which springs from calm and majesty, but are in the highest degree
expressive, and marvellously contrived for conveying every shade of
feeling. In them we see a smile, though it be shaded by tears; a caress,
though they threaten us; and an appeal when yet they command. Amid the
irregularity of this physiognomy the soul displays its workings.
As a rule, the French woman is short of stature, but in every proportion
of her form combines grace and delicacy. Her extremities and joints are
fine and elegant, of perfect model and distinct form, without a
suspicion of coarseness. With her, moreover, art is brought wonderfully
to assist nature.
There is no place in the world where the secret of dress is so well
understood as in France, or where means are so admirably applied to the
rectification of natural defects of form or colour. Add to this a
continual desire to charm and please, an anxious care to attract and
attach the hearts of others through simplicity or coquetry, good will or
malice, the wish to radiate everywhere pleasure and life, the noble
craving to awake grand or touching thoughts, and you will understand the
universal and charming rule which woman has always held in France, and a
great portion of the influence which she perforce retains over men and
things.
All these qualities, which distinguish the women of the higher classes
in France, are met with also among those of the working classes. Their
industrious hands excel in needlework. They make their own clothing, and
that of their children; look to the household linen, make their own
bonnets, and most effectually cause elegance and taste to thrive in the
heart of poverty. The correctness of their judgment, their tact and
delicacy, and their rare penetration, are of valuable assistance in
commercial matters, where their just appreciation affords most useful
aid to their husbands and children. In retail trade especially, do these
qualities shine forth--order, sagacity, and patience. Their politeness
and presence of mind charm the purchaser, who always finds what he
wants, and is always in good humour with himself and the articles he
obtains.
The French women excel in household duties and in bringing up their
children. These graceful and sweet young girls become mothers whose
patience is inexhaustible, and make of their home the most perfect
resting-place, and the best refuge from the sufferings and hardships of
life.
* * * * *
_Hispanians._--Under this name we include the Spaniards and Portuguese.
The Hispanians result from the mixture of the Latins, with the Celts,
whom they succeeded in Spain, and with the Teutons, who drove out the
Romans.
Washed on three sides by the sea, divided from France on the north by
the Pyrenees, and from Africa on the south by a narrow stretch of sea,
Spain is crossed by ranges of mountains, which, by their various
intersections, form valleys permitting only of difficult communication
with each other. The mountains of Spain are one of the principal causes
of the richness of this country. They contain a variety of precious
metals, and the streamlets which flow from their summits fertilize the
valleys and develop into large rivers.
[Illustration: 18.--CATTLE-DEALER OF CORDOVA.]
The climate of Spain indicates the vicinity of Africa. The air during
winter, is cold, dry, and sharp: during the summer it is scorching. The
leaves of the trees are stiff and shining, the branches knotty and
contorted, the bark dry and rugged. The fruits mingle with their perfume
a sharp and acid flavour: the animals are lean and wild.
Nature therefore in Spain is somewhat violent and rude, and this
characteristic is peculiar to the people of the country.
The Spaniard, like the African, is in general of moderate height. His
skin is brown, and his limbs are muscular, compact, and supple. In a
moral sense, passion with him obtains the mastery; indeed it is quite
impossible for him to master or dissemble his feelings. He is not afraid
to allow their workings to become evident, but, in their display, if
they meet with curiosity or admiration, he passes all bounds and becomes
a perfect spectacle. A Spaniard always allows his feelings to be plainly
perceptible.
This habitual weakness for scenic display which in a people possessing
evil instincts would be excessively inconvenient, produces in the
Spaniard the best results, since at heart he is full of generosity and
nobleness. It endows him with pride, from which spring exalted feelings
and good actions; emulation, which prompts him to outdo himself; a moral
tone, generosity, dignity, and discretion. Nowhere are better understood
than in Spain the regard due to age or sex, and the respect called for
by rank or position.
The love of distinction, place, and grade is an inevitable consequence
of this state of feeling.
The pride of the Spaniard renders him very tenacious as regards his
honour. He brooks not insult, and seeks to requite it with bloodshed.
His hand flies to the sword which is to avenge his honour, or the knife
which is to settle his disputes (fig. 19).
In Spain arms are carried by all, and their habitual contact--too much
neglected in other countries--imparts to each the desire for glory or
the hope of playing a leading part in the world.
Such being his disposition, the Spaniard cannot fail to make an
excellent soldier. Besides having taste and aptitude for the use of
arms, he is vigorous, agile, and patient; and therefore worthy to be
named honorably in comparison with the French soldier. It is, however,
difficult to preserve discipline among these fiery and independent men.
They are not always easy to command in time of regular warfare, and when
times become troublesome, they become rapidly converted into guerillas,
a term which is almost synonymous with brigand.
[Illustration: 19.--NATIVES OF TOLEDO.]
The use of arms being familiar to every Spaniard, there is a great
temptation to use them, and passion frequently creates an opportunity.
Therefore it is that Spain is essentially a land of civil war.
[Illustration: 20.--SPANISH PEASANT.]
On the most simple question arising, the peasant seizes his gun and
rushes to an ambuscade, or joins a band of insurgents.
[Illustration: 21.--A MADRID WINE-SHOP.]
Political insurrections are an amusement to this impressionable and
hasty people. In the twinkling of an eye bands of armed men overrun the
country. The great want of discipline among the soldiers and
non-commissioned officers, conduces to desertion to these irregular
bodies, and the result is that unhappy Spain is continually in a state
of local insurrection, the suppression of which invariably leads to
bloodshed without producing any permanent settlement.
The passion which a Spaniard evinces in all he does, is not wanting in
his religion. His piety is exalted, and the violence to which this piety
frequently leads him, has had mournful results. It is this religious
fury which accounts for the cruelty of the Spaniards to the Saracens and
Jews; and which, later on, lit the faggots of the Inquisition, and
produced the most savage intolerance. Spain has burnt, in the name of a
God of peace and love, thousands of innocent creatures; and for the
honour and good of the Catholic faith, has proscribed, strangled, and
tortured.
This passionate exaggeration of Catholicism has proved the ruin of Spain
in modern times. It is marvellous to see how this nation, so powerful in
the sixteenth century, and which, under Charles V., dictated laws to all
Europe, has fallen; until at the present day, it ranks among the states
of the lowest class in this part of the world. But it will be seen that
the multiplication of convents, both for men and women, has had the
effect of rapidly depopulating the country; that the proscription of the
Moors, the Jews, and lastly, of the Protestants, has proved destructive
of productive industry; that the courts of the Inquisition, and the
auto-da-fé, have led to a feeling of sadness and mistrust among the
people; that the abuse of religion and its symbols, has produced a
bigotry which can be likened only to idolatry; and that the fear of
offending an intolerant and self-asserting religion, has arrested all
moral progress, and effectually set aside all development of science,
which of necessity presupposes free investigation.
This is how progress, activity, and thought, have met with their end,
and how material prosperity has become extinguished in that portion of
Europe, most marvellously endowed with natural gifts. Thus it is that
commerce has become a bye-word in a land, whose geographical position is
unrivalled, and which possessed in the New World the most flourishing
and powerful colonies; and that literature and science, the two great
words which indicate liberty and progress, have fallen away in the home
of Michael Cervantes.
How is Spain to recover her former splendour? What remedies must be
applied to these crying evils? We reply, religious toleration, and
political liberty.
The type of the Spanish woman is so well known, that we need hardly
recall it. She is generally brunette, although the blond type occurs
much more frequently than is usually supposed. The Spanish woman is
almost always small of stature. Who has not observed her large eyes,
veiled by thick lashes, her delicate nose, and well-formed nostrils. Her
form is always undulating and graceful; her limbs are round and
beautifully moulded, and her extremities of incomparable delicacy. She
is a charming mixture of vigour, languor, and grace.
Love is the great object of the Spanish woman. She loves with passion
but with constancy, and the jealousy she feels is but the legitimate
compensation for the attachment she bestows.
The Spanish woman, faithful as a wife, is an excellent mother. Few women
can equal her as a nurse, or in the attention and patience which are
called for by the care of children. The mother lavishes upon her young
family her whole life, and if she fails to instruct them, it is, alas!
that she lacks the power to do so; for she is no better educated than
the French woman, and, as regards ignorance, is a meet companion for her
in every respect.
We have said that, in France, women exercise a very manifest influence
upon the course of events. The Spanish woman is not, however, in
possession of this useful influence. She commands the attention of those
around her only during the short period of her beauty. When, arrived at
maturity, her judgment formed by experience, and her views enlarged by
observation or practice, she might soothe the passion of her friends,
assist them with her counsel, or unite them around her hearth, the
Spanish woman retires into obscurity, and the knowledge she has gained
is lost to society.
Having thus given a general view of Spanish manners, we will say
something with respect to the most characteristic physiognomies of this
country.
[Illustration: 22.--SPANISH LADY AND DUENNA.]
The Moorish type is met with in a marked degree in the province of
Valencia. The peasants have swarthy complexions. Their head-dress
consists of a handkerchief in bright colours, rolled around the head and
rising to a point: strongly reminding the observer of the turban worn by
Eastern nations. They sometimes wear, in addition to this, a hat formed
of felt and black velvet, with the edges turned up. On fête-days they
don a waistcoat of green or blue velvet, with numerous buttons formed of
silver or plated copper. In lieu of trowsers, they wear full drawers of
white cloth, which reach as far as the knees, and are kept up by a broad
belt of silk or brightly striped wool. The hose consist of gaiters, kept
in place by means of a broad blue riband wound round the leg. A long
piece of woollen material, striped with bright colours, is thrown over
the shoulders or wound round the body: this is the cloak.
[Illustration: 23.--THE FANDANGO.]
The peasants are to be seen to best advantage in the market-place,
whither they bring their oranges, grapes, and dates.
The women of Valencia are sometimes of remarkable beauty. Their black
hair is rolled into bunches above the temples, and carried to the back
of the head, where it forms an enormous chignon, through which passes a
long needle of silver-gilt.
In some of the preceding cuts we have given the costumes of the
inhabitants of Valencia, Xeres, Cordova, Toledo, and Madrid, as also
types of Spanish physiognomy.
In Spain, dancing is a national feature. The dance scarcely varies in
different provinces, but generally reflects the character of the people,
who accompany it with songs and national melodies. They can hardly have
enough of singing and dancing the Fandango (fig. 23), and the Bolero
(fig. 24).
Portugal abuts on Spain, and its people merit some portion of our
consideration.
The Portuguese women are frequently pretty, and sometimes actually
beautiful. They have abundant hair, their eyes are earnest, soft, and
penetrating, and their teeth excellent. Their feet are rather large, but
their hands are very delicate. Their forms are well set, and strongly,
though somewhat sturdily built; their joints are small, their complexion
sallow, their movements are confident. Their well shaped heads are well
placed, and the modest ease with which they wear the short jupon and
broad felt hat, imparts to these articles of dress a certain elegance.
The inhabitants of Ponte de Lima are of small stature, and possess fine
vigorous forms. The country people are worthy of special notice, they
make brave and steady soldiers, who are easily amenable to discipline,
and robust and intelligent workmen.
[Illustration: 24.--THE BOLERO.]
There is nothing very noteworthy about the dress of the peasantry,
except as regards that of the women. The petticoat is plaited, short,
and sometimes rolled up, so as to expose to view their legs, which are
usually bare. The bodice, which is furnished with two or three silver
buttons, displays the form. Being separated from the petticoat, it
permits the chemise to puff out around the body, while the sleeves of
that garment are wide and usually worn turned up. The head-dress
consists of a large black felt hat, frequently adorned with bows of
ribbon, and almost always furnished with a white kerchief, the folds of
which fall down over the neck and shoulders. Long earrings, and even
necklaces and chains of gold, complete the picturesque costume in which
yellow, red, and bright green, predominate.
[Illustration: 25.--FISH-VENDORS AT OPORTO.]
The streets of Oporto are much enlivened by the appearance of the
peasants in their various brilliant dresses, who there vend oranges,
vegetables, cheese, or flowers.
Fig. 25 represents the costume of fishmongers at Oporto.
* * * * *
_Italians._ No part of Europe can be compared with Italy, for softness
of climate, clearness of the sky, fertility of the soil, and pureness of
the atmosphere. The soil, which is very undulating, is watered by
numerous streams, and permits largely of cultivation; while the
mountains conceal precious metals, and beautiful marbles. No country is
better protected by nature.
On the north arises a broad barrier of stupendous mountains, while the
remaining sides are protected by the sea. Along the coast are vast
ports, with good harbours; and lastly, this portion of Europe alone has
the advantage of offering ready access to both Asia and Africa.
The fertility of the soil, the mild temperature, and the large variety
of natural productions which furnish good food, all indicate that Italy
should possess a fine, vigorous, and intelligent population. And,
indeed, the Italians possess these qualities.
We shall first examine rather more closely, the origin of this people,
and the differences they present in various parts of the peninsula.
The Latin family which gave its name to the human group with which we
are now concerned, had Italy for its home. In Italy, therefore, we
should expect to meet with it. But we should be deceived were we to
expect to find the pure Latin type among the modern Italians. The
barbarian invasions in the north, and the contact with Greeks and
Africans in the south, have wrought much alteration in the primitive
type of the inhabitants of Italy. Except in Rome, and the Roman
Campagna, the true type of the primitive Latin population is hardly to
be found. The Grecian type exists in the south, and upon the Eastern
slope of the Apennines, while in the north, the great majority of faces
are Gallic. In Tuscany and the neighbouring regions are found the
descendants of the ancient Etruscans.
What most interests us is the primitive Latin population. This is met
with, as we have said, in and around Rome, and in order to find it we
must go there.
The features of the early Latin people can be imagined without
difficulty, by reference to busts of the first Roman emperors. We may
thence arrive at the following characteristic features, as probably
those of the ancient Italian races. The head is large, the forehead of
no great height, the vertex (summit of the cranium) flattened, the
temporal region protruding, and the face proportionally short. The
nose, which is divided from the forehead by a marked depression, is
aquiline; the lower jaw is broad, and the chin prominent.
[Illustration: 26.--ROMAN PEASANT GIRL.]
The modern population of Rome, without absolutely reproducing these
features, still retain their beautifully pure characteristic lines.
[Illustration: 27.--ROMAN PEASANTS.]
In fig. 27, which represents a group of peasant men and women of Rome,
we easily recognize these celebrated types of countenance, so familiar
to every artist. The distinguishing marks will be easily seen in the
Roman peasants, who, quitting their native country, seek their
livelihood in France as models.
[Illustration: 28.--YOUNG GIRL OF THE TRANSTEVERA.]
As one of these types taken from nature, we would call the reader’s
attention to fig. 28, which represents a young Roman girl from the
quarter on the banks of the Tiber called Transtevera, and also to fig.
29, which is a faithful portrait of peasants from around Rome.
It would be a fruitless task, were we, in studying the modern Romans, to
seek among them traces, more or less eradicated, of the old Roman blood.
In a population which has been so degraded, oppressed, and polluted as
this, by ages of slavery and obscurity, we should find nought but
disturbance and chaos. We can make no reference to family life in this
land of convents and celibacy, nor speak of intellectual faculties in a
country where we see a jealous tyranny narrowing the minds of the
inhabitants, and an authority that is seated in the blackest darkness,
moulding body and mind in ignorance of morality and education. We should
need the greatest power of penetration to find, in the effeminate and
degenerate population of Modern Rome, the genius of the ancient
conquerors of the world.
There are, however, reasons for hoping, that Rome, being now released
from Papal authority, and having, since the year 1871, become the
Capital of Italy and the residence of King Victor-Emmanuel, will
gradually cease to feel the preponderance of the sacerdotal element.
Young Romans playing the favorite Italian game, _la mora_, with its
usual accompaniment of gesticulations and shouts, is a very common
street scene. The two persons playing this game raise their closed fists
in the air, and then, in letting them fall, open as many fingers as they
may think proper. At the same time they call out some number. The winner
is he, who, by chance, calls out the number represented by the sum of
all the fingers exhibited by the two players. If, for example, I call
out _five_, and at the same time open two fingers, whilst my adversary
displays three, which added to mine make _five_, the number called by
me, I am winner. The arms of the two players are raised and lowered at
the same time, and the numbers are called simultaneously, with great
rapidity and regularity, producing a very singular result and one
incomprehensible to a stranger.
_La mora_ is played all over Italy.
But it is not alone in the city of Rome that the characteristic features
of the ancient Latin race are to be found; the traveller passing through
the suburbs of the capital of the Christian World, Frascati or Tivoli,
will still encounter vestiges of the old Latins hidden beneath the sad
garments of misery. (Fig. 29.)
[Illustration: 29.--STREET AT TIVOLI.]
It may be said that Rome at the present day is a vast convent. In it the
ecclesiastical population holds an important position and plays an
important part. This, it is, which imparts to the Eternal City its austerity, not to say,
its public sadness and moral languor. We shall therefore close our
series of picturesque views of the inhabitants of Modern Rome, by
glancing at the costumes of the principal dignitaries of the
ecclesiastical order, their representation in fig. 30 being followed by
the reproduction of a well-known picture, representing the _Exaltation
of Pio IX._ (fig. 31).
[Illustration: 30.--A CARDINAL ENTERING THE VATICAN.]
The Latin type, which physically if not morally is met with in a state
of purity at Rome, and in the Roman Campagna, has, on the other hand,
undergone great modification in the provinces of the North, as well as
in those of Southern Italy. Let us first consider the Northern
provinces.
Northern Italy, endowed to perfection with natural advantages, washed by
two seas, watered by the tributaries of a large river, possessing land
of extraordinary fertility, nourishes a race in which the Latin blood
has mingled with that of the German and Gaul. In Tuscany and the
neighbourhood are, as we have said, the descendants of the old
Etruscans, and further north are the offspring of Germanic and Gallic
races.
The designs which adorn the Etruscan sarcophagi, originally brought, it
is said, from Northern Greece, have preserved the physical form and
appearance of these people. They are bulky, and of heavy make.
The men wear no beard, and are clothed with a tunic which in some cases
is thrown over the back of the head. Some hold in the left hand a small
goblet, and in the right, a bowl. They repose in an easy posture,
resting the body on the left side, as do also the women. The women wear
a tunic, sometimes fastened below the breast by a broad girdle, which is
furnished with a circular clasp, and a peplum which in many cases covers
the back of the head. They hold in one hand an apple, or some fruit of
the same appearance, and in the other a fan. This is the portrait of the
Etruscan which has been handed down to us.
Tuscany, of all Italy, is that portion which most strongly represents
the mildness, the order, and the industrious activity of modern Italy.
The natural richness of the soil is there enhanced by a capable system
of cultivation. The arts peacefully flourish in this land of great
painters, sculptors, and architects. The habits of the people, both of
the upper and lower classes, are gentle and peaceful. There is here a
state of general prosperity added to a fair amount of education. The
poor man here, does not, as in other countries, foster a complaining and
hostile feeling against the rich; all entertain a consciousness of their
own dignity; all are affable and polite. The general good feeling is
manifested in word and deed, and the religious tone is moderate and
tolerant. Women are loved and respected, and this respect corresponds in
religion with the worship of the Virgin.
[Illustration: 31.--EXALTATION OF POPE PIUS IX.]
At Florence and in Tuscany we meet that Italian urbanity, which, by the
French, who are unable to understand it, is improperly termed
obsequiousness. This attribute of the Italian is very far from servile;
it comes from the heart. A universal kindly feeling welcomes the
stranger, who experiences much pleasure among this conciliatory and
friendly people, and with difficulty tears himself away from this happy
country, where all seem bathed in an atmosphere of art, sentiment, and
goodness.
Southern Italy will show us a very different picture from that we have
just described. The proximity to Africa has here much altered the
physical type of the inhabitants, while the yoke of a long despotism has
much lowered the social condition, through the misery and ignorance it
has produced. The mixture of African blood has changed the organic type
of the Southern Italian to such an extent, as to render him entirely
distinct from his northern compatriots; the exciting influence, which
the mate has over the senses, imparting to his whole conduct a peculiar
exuberance. Hence there is much frivolity and little consistency in his
character.
In the town and neighbourhood of Naples we meet a combination of the
features we have just considered. Let us betake ourselves for a moment
thither, and take a rapid view of the strange population, which from
early dawn is to be met in the streets, singing, begging, or going about
their day’s work.
Fig. 32 shows us a shop of dealers in macaroni in the market-place
(_mercatello_), and fig. 33 the indispensable water-carrier.
The most favourable time for examining the great variety of types which
unite in the population of Southern Italy, is on the occasion of the
public festivals which are so numerous at Naples. This curious mixture
may be investigated in the crowds of people who frequent the festival of
Piedigrotta, where are to be found examples of every Greek and Latin
race.
[Illustration: 32.--A MACARONI SHOP AT NAPLES.]
Here are to be seen the Procidan women (isle of Procida, near Naples),
who still retain the ancient simar, the kerchief which falls loosely
around the head, and the classic profiles with straight noses (fig. 34).
In Southern Italy, these daughters of ancient Greece still wear the
golden diadem and silver girdle of Homer’s matrons. The Capuan woman
throws around her head a veil similar to that of the sibyls and vestals.
The Abruzzan women wear their hair in knots in the manner shown in Greek
statues. The men of these parts, moreover, clothe themselves in
sheepskins during the winter, and wear sandals, fastened with leathern
thongs. The Etruscans, the Greeks, the Romans, and even the Normans,
have left their traces in this country, whose population forms such a
curious mixture.
[Illustration: 33.--NEAPOLITAN ICED-WATER SELLER.]
[Illustration: 34.--NEAPOLITAN PEASANT WOMAN.]
Not less remarkable are, in this beautiful country, the peasantry of the
mountains and the sea-coast. The most varying forms and the richest
colours are to be met with, from the coarse cloth drawers and shirt of
the fisherman, to the brilliant costume of certain of the Abruzzi, from
the Phrygian cap of the Neapolitans to the peaked hat of the
Calabrians--a slender, tall, and sunburnt people.
In the midst of this motley assemblage of every variety of dress and
colour, the graceful _acquajolo_ (fig. 36), that is, the stall of the
dealer in oranges and iced water, forms a most picturesque object.
[Illustration: 35.--ITINERANT TRADER OF NAPLES.]
* * * * *
_Walachians._--From the consideration of the types of mankind in Italy,
we naturally pass to those of their neighbours, the inhabitants of
Walachia and Moldavia.
Under the title, _Walachians_ or _Moldo-Walachians_, are comprehended
the people of Walachia, Moldavia, and some of the neighbouring
provinces.
The Walachians proceed from the fusion of the Roman colonies,
established by Trajan, and of some Greek settlements, with the ancient
Slavonic inhabitants of these countries. The language of this people
corresponds with their triple origin, for it possesses the
characteristics of Latin, Greek, and Slavonic.
[Illustration: 36.--AN ACQUAJOLO, AT NAPLES.]
Walachia and Moldavia form the ancient _Dacia_. The Walachians,
originally subject to the kingdom of Bulgaria and to that of Hungary,
formed, in 1290, an independent state, the first prince of which was
called _Rodolph the Black_. About 1350 one of their colonies occupied
Moldavia under the leadership of a prince named Dragosch. But the
Walachian state was never very firmly constituted, and in 1525 the
battle of Mohacz reduced it finally under Turkish rule. The Turks did
not disturb the internal government of the Walachians, but obliged their
prince (_hospodar_) to pay an annual tribute to the Porte, and to
maintain Turkish garrisons in all their strongholds. But Walachia, being
situated between the Ottoman empire on one side, and Hungary, Poland,
and Russia, on the other, became the scene of most of the struggles
between its formidable neighbours. It was trampled over by both
Christian and Mussulman, and this terrible situation resulted in ruin
and exile to its unfortunate inhabitants. The hospodars who occupied the
thrones of Walachia and Moldavia were appointed by the court of
Constantinople, who sold this dignity to the highest bidder. The
hospodars were then only a species of pacha; their court was formed
after the pattern of those of the Byzantine emperors, but they did not
possess the military power of the Turkish pachas.
This situation has changed since 1849, when a treaty was concluded
between the Porte and Russia. By the terms of this treaty, the dignity
of hospodar was maintained during the lifetime of its possessor. New
events have happened, and, since the year 1860, the political protection
of the Danubian Principalities is shared between Russia, the Porte,
Prussia, and Austria. The Prince of Hohenzollern, who now occupies the
throne of Moldo-Walachia, is of Prussian birth.
The two principalities of Moldavia and Walachia enjoy their nationality
and independence on condition of paying a yearly tribute to the Porte.
None of their forts are now to receive a Turkish garrison.
The prince is assisted by a council formed of the leading boyards, and
this council forms a high court of appeal for judicial affairs. In
modern times, Couza was the best known prince of Walachia, although
political events or popular discontent led to his early fall.
The public safety is attended to by a sort of indigenous police,
commanded by the head _spathar_.
[Illustration: 37.--WALACHIAN.]
The inhabitants of Walachia are remarkable for patience and resignation;
without these qualities, it would have fared hard with them during the
calamities which have at all times befallen their country. They are men
of a mild, religious, and sober temperament. But, since they are unable
to enjoy the result of their labour, they do as little work as possible.
The milk of their kine, pork, a little maize, and beer of an inferior
quality, with a woollen dress, is all they require. On fête days,
however, the peasants appear in brilliant costumes, which we represent
here (figs. 37, 38, 39).
“The Walachians,” says M. Vaillant, “are generally of considerable
height, well-made, and robust; they have oblong faces, black hair, thick
and well-arched eyebrows, bright eyes, small lips, and white teeth. They
are merry, hospitable, sober, active, brave, and fitted to make good
soldiers. They profess Christianity according to the rites of the Greek
church. This people, which has so long inhabited countries devastated by
warfare, shows at the present time a strong disposition to develop
itself.”
Towns are rare in Walachia, the country being still far in arrear of the
surrounding civilization, in consequence of its political subordination
to Turkey, and its bad internal organization. The country of the Danube,
indeed, has practically but one large town, that is, Bucharest. There
are thus, in this land, no centres from whence light could emanate; it
is in an incomplete state of civilization, which can be improved only by
an internal revolution, or by the collision which, sooner or later, must
come, of its powerful adjacent empires.
[Illustration: 38.--LADY OF BUCHAREST.]
[Illustration: 39.--WALACHIAN WOMAN.]
“However,” says Malte-Brun, “nature seems to await human industry with
open arms; there are few regions upon which she has lavished her gifts
as she has here. The finest river in Europe bathes the southern frontier
of these provinces, and opens a way into fertile Hungary, and the whole
Austrian empire, offering, moreover, a communication between Europe and
Asia, by the Black Sea; but this is all in vain, for hardly a single
vessel glides over its waves. Its rocks, its shoals, the Turkish
garrisons on its banks, and above all, the plague, inspire fear. Other
fine rivers flow from the summit of the Carpathian mountains, and fall
into the Danube; but they serve only to supply fish during Lent, and,
being left to themselves, menace the surrounding country, which, if
better regulated, they would fertilize. The Aluta, Jalovitza, and
Ardschis, are navigated only by flat-bottomed boats. Immense marshes
encumber the low parts of Walachia, and their exhalations produce a
continuance of bilious fevers. The most superb forests, in which
splendid oaks grow side by side with beeches, pines, and firs, cover not
only the mountains, but many of the large islands in the Danube. These,
instead of being used in the construction of fleets, merely furnish the
wood used in paving the streets or roads; for idleness and ignorance
find no means of raising the blocks of granite and marble, of which the
Carpathians offer such abundance. The summit of Mount Boutchez attains a
height of more than six thousand feet, and all the mineral wealth of
Transylvania seems to take its origin in Upper Walachia. Copper mines
have been opened at Baya di Roma, and iron mines in the district of
Gersy, one especially in the neighbourhood of Zigarescht, where a bed
of rocks presents the phenomenon of an almost continual igneous
fermentation.
[Illustration: 40.--NOBLE BOSNIAK MUSSULMAN.]
“The Aluta and other rivers bring down nuggets of gold, which are
collected by the Bohemians, or Ziguans, and which indicate the presence
of mines as rich as those of Transylvania; but no one thinks of looking
for them. Only the salt quarries are worked, among which that of _Okna
Teleago_ furnishes 150,000 cwt. per annum. The climate, notwithstanding
two months of hard winter and two months of excessive heat, is more
favourable to health and agriculture than that of any of the adjacent
countries. The pastures, filled with aromatic plants, supply nourishment
even to the herds of neighbouring provinces, and could support even more
than these. The wool of their sheep has already attained considerable
value. It is estimated that Walachia contains two and a half millions of
sheep, which are of three-fold variety--the _zigay_, with short and fine
wool; the _zaskam_, with long coarse wool; the _tatare_, which forms a
mean between the two foregoing varieties. Horses and oxen are exported.
Fields of maize, wheat, and barley; forests of apple, plum, and cherry
trees; melons and cabbages, excellent, although enormous, bear witness
to the productive nature of the soil. Many of its wines sparkle with a
generous fire, and with care might be brought to equal the well-known
Hungarian vintages. A thousand other natural advantages are found there,
but they are of little avail to a people without energy or
enlightenment.”
SLAVONIAN FAMILY.
This family comprehends the _Russians_, _Finns_, _Bulgarians_,
_Servians_, and _Bosniaks_, that is to say, the inhabitants of Slavonia;
and the _Magyars_, or _Hungarians_, the _Croats_, the _Tchecks_, the
_Poles_, and the _Lithuanians_, that is, the people who inhabit the
countries intervening between the Baltic and Black Seas.
Before describing these people individually, we shall give in a general
manner the characteristics of the family to which they all belong.
The Slavonian family includes the European peoples who have preserved in
the greatest perfection the type of the primitive Aryan race. They are
tall, vigorous, and well made, and while in this respect they recall the
Caucasian type, they yet possess the most distinct marks of the
Mongolian type. The cheek bones are high, the nose is depressed at the
root, and turned up towards the extremity, which is almost invariably
thick. The oval form of the cranium is very marked; the chest is of
considerable capacity, and the shoulders and arms are large, but the
lower extremities are in proportion much smaller.
Mr. William Edwards has thus described the organic type of the
Slavonians:--
“The form of the head, viewed from the front, represents pretty nearly a
square, since the height is about equal to the breadth, while the top is
perceptibly flattened, and the direction of the jaw is horizontal. The
nose is less long than the space between its basis and the chin: from
the nostrils to the root, it is almost straight, that is, there is no
decided curve; but if such curve were appreciable, it would be slightly
concave, so as to give the tip a tendency to rise; the lower portion is
rather broad, and the extremity rounded. The eyes, which are slightly
hollow, are exactly in the same line, and if they present any marked
characteristic, it is that they are rather small in proportion to the
head. The eyebrows, which are scanty, are nearly contiguous at the inner
angle, whence they are directed obliquely outwards. The mouth, which is
small with thin lips, is much nearer the nose than the chin. A singular
characteristic which must be taken in connection with the above, and
which is very general, consists in the absence of beard except upon the
upper lip.”
It has been said that the Slavonians of the present day are the old
Scythians mixed with the Sarmatians, but their origin is not so simple
as this. These people originally bore the name of _Venedians_ or
_Servians_. They occupied, at the commencement of the Christian era, the
banks of the Danube and Hungary proper, whence they extended as far as
the Dnieper and the Baltic. Their name of _Servians_ is derived from a
people mentioned by Ptolemy, under the name of Σερϐοι, who dwelt in the
regions around the Baltic (_Palus-Meotis_), and belonged to the
Sarmatian nation. The Sarmatians advanced by degrees from the banks of
the lower Don, which was their country, to the centre of Poland, where
they mixed with the Venedians. The Sarmatians were allied to the
Scythians of Europe, who were an Indo-European nation, considered by
Diodorus of Sicily, and Pliny, to have come originally from Media.
[Illustration: 41.--RUSSIAN SENTINEL, RIGA.]
It will be seen that the rather complicated pedigree of the Slavonians,
is connected with gradual displacements of Asiatic populations. This
then explains the fact that they possess the Caucasian type in a
remarkable degree of purity, but altered by the admixture of Mongolian
blood.
A certain love of separatism, and a tendency to rebel under the yoke of
authority, have been the misfortune of these people. At an early period
they separated into rival nationalities, possessing but little capacity
for self-government. Anarchy was their political condition, and to this
must be attributed the misfortunes of Poland and Hungary, nations which,
at the present day, are almost effaced from the Map of Europe.
The Slavonians occupy a large portion of Eastern Europe; formerly they
had advanced as far as the centre of Germany. The descendants of the
German Slavonians are found in the Venedians of Lusatia, the Tchecks or
inhabitants of Bohemia, and the inhabitants of Carinthia and Carniola.
The purest type of the Slavonian race is to be found in the Servians,
inhabitants of Servia, Herzegovina and Hungarian Slavonia. The Bosniaks
and Montenegriners are also Slavonians. They formerly sent to Croatia
colonists under the name of Uscoks (emigrants.)
The Croats are Slavonians who descended, about the ninth century, from
the region of the Carpathians in Illyria, and who absorbed the previous
original Pannonian and Dalmatian population.
A branch quite distinct from this great race, and which might be
considered as forming a separate stock, is represented by the
Lithuanians, a people whose mild and indolent nature would seem to imply
a mixture at some remote period, with Finn, or, perhaps also, with
Gothic blood.
Russia is occupied at the present day by a Slavonian race mixed with the
Scandinavians and the primitive inhabitants of the soil. The Slavonians
who occupied Poland spread from the banks of the Dnieper to the foot of
the Oural mountains, while the immigration of the Varegians, a
Scandinavian people, brought a northern influence into this country.
These Varegians absorbed the Slavonians whom they found in this
country, and the Tchoudans who had summoned them. Under this twofold
action arose the Russian nation, which is mentioned by Greek writers for
the first time in 839, and the elements of which were subsequently
modified in various respects by the infusion of Turkish and Mongolian
blood. Russia took its name from the country situate around Upsal, which
was the native district of the Scandinavian emigrants (Rios-Lagen, the
Ruotsimaa of the Finns).
[Illustration: 42.--RUSSIAN DEVOTEES, RIGA.]
The population of Russia Major appears to be chiefly composed of a
Finnish-Slavonic race. Among the inhabitants of Russia Minor (Cossacks
of the Ukraine), the Polish element predominates. Among these Russians
we shall find the stock of those who established themselves farther
north in Russia Major, the population of which eventually absorbed them.
The Bielo-Russians, or inhabitants of White Russia, who occupy the
greater portion of the provinces of Mohilew, Minsk, Witepsk, Grodno, and
Wilna, constitute a race intermediate between the Russians and the
Poles.
The latter first appear in history with the dynasty of the Piasts, about
860. The Slovachians, who extend to the north-west of Hungary as far as
Austrian Galicia, belong, as well as the Tchecks, to this same Polish
branch. The Ruthenians, settled to the north of Transylvania, proceeded
from the mixture of the first Slavonians established in this country
with the Poles who emigrated in the twelfth century from Galicia or Red
Russia.
Such is the vast collection of populations united under the name of the
Slavonian family.
* * * * *
It is difficult to analyze the habits of a race, which, for centuries,
has been divided between oppression and slavery. We will, however,
endeavour to do so, and shall commence with the Northern Slavonians.
The Northern Slavonian is, in general, gentle and patient. His sweet
toned language caresses the ear and the mind with expressions full of
tenderness. He treats his wife and children with the greatest kindness.
Like the Arab, he loves a life of wandering and adventure beneath the
open sky, and, like the Arab, he can bear the greatest fatigue. On
horseback he crosses plains covered with snow, as the Arab crosses the
burning sands of the desert. Music has a very moving effect on the
Slavonian. It forms a means of translating his tenderness and his
melancholy; it responds to the vague and cloudy impressions, to the
yearnings, of his swelling heart. The Slavonian peasants cultivate the
voice, and men, rough and coarse in many other respects, compose
melodies full of sentiment. The auditors press around the singer, like
the shepherds of ancient Arcadia, and tears of emotion and pleasure are
seen rolling down the unkempt beards of these poor Danubians.
The Slavonians are less sensible to linear than to musical harmony. Thus
it is that Russian architecture can do no more than imitate the
monuments of France and Italy. On the other hand, the taste for colour
attains with them a considerable development, a fact which is evidenced
by the colours of their materials and furniture, and the decoration of
their apartments. The sense of ornament is to be met with in the lowest
villages of Russia, and the peasant who constructs his house with the
rough-hewn trunks of trees, does not omit to paint and carve his door,
window, and roof.
This explains how the serf, when taken from his plough, is able, after a
very short apprenticeship, to reproduce the delicate and artistic work
of the Parisian jeweller.
We see, therefore, that the artistic aptitudes of the Slavonian are well
developed, and that this race, in order to arrive at excellence in art,
only requires the conditions of political liberty and individual
independence.
From a moral aspect, the Northern Slavonian obeys, above all, the
inclination of his heart, rather than of his reason. Nor must the
Russian be looked to for personal initiative, or philosophical or social
innovations. He does not possess the instinct of liberty, but he has, in
a high degree, sympathy, collective action, and the equalizing
tendencies which are its consequences.
This sentimental supremacy is manifested in the Orthodox religion which
prevails in Russia, which imposes with authority its decisions, and the
precepts of which are addressed less to the reason than to blind faith.
By referring to this feeling of sympathy, we are enabled to furnish an
explanation of the facility with which an immense population, with bad
police arrangements, bad administration, and without good means of
communication, acts collectively, accepting the same faith, and obeying
the same law. The minds of all in Russia seem to obey one single will
and inspiration.
The Slavonian republics flourished from the sixth to the seventh
century, during which time these people were happy, wealthy, and
tranquil. Art and science flourished there under the shelter of
municipal liberty. But, although well formed for peace, they did not
possess the element of centralization which was necessary to enable them
to withstand foreign aggression. They at last became a prey to the
Mongolians and Germans, who brought with them a feudal form of
government, and banished all prosperity by destroying the democratic
element of equality. The inhabitants of Novgorod were reduced to an
actual state of slavery, and Poland, devoted to deplorable political
institutions, became, from that moment, a prey to the anarchy which was
to bring about its fall.
Russia took its origin from the submission of the Slavonian populations
of the north, to the despotic centralization so powerfully organized by
Peter the Great and his successors.
The Slavonians of the South, that is, the inhabitants of Slavonia,
Servia, Bulgaria, Carniola, &c., differ sensibly from those of the
North. A dry and mountainous country, filled, nevertheless, with sweet
odours, a burning sun, a clear sky, and the various products of the
soil, have rendered the race of Southern Slavonians dark, wiry, active,
warlike, and chivalrous. Few men are stronger, physically or morally,
than the Slavonians of the Ottoman Empire.
The deplorable Turkish administration has been unable to change the
precious qualifications of this people. Though continually beaten down
with the sword, they always rise again; the least hope of independence
nerves their hearts. The hospitality of the Southern Slavonians, their
language brimming with poetry, and their national songs, all impart to
them a fine and beautiful character. It may be safely affirmed that a
brilliant civilization will arise among these people as soon as they are
released from the Turkish yoke.
We will now shortly consider the principal populations whom we have
classed under the Slavonian family.
* * * * *
_Russians._--The Russians form the most important branch of this
family. They may be subdivided into _Russians properly so called_,
_Rousniaks_, and _Cossacks_.
The Russians, properly so called, inhabit, almost exclusively, the
central portion of Russia, and are, moreover, disseminated throughout
all the rest of the Russian Empire, the immense extent of which is well
known. In the Asiatic and American portions of this vast empire, they
form, not the majority, but the ruling section of the population.
Figs. 43 and 44 will convey an idea of the Russian physiognomy in the
capital of the empire, St. Petersburg; fig. 43 represents the dress of
the townspeople, and the sledge which takes the place of the carriage
during the long winters of this latitude; fig. 44 represents the
interior of an inn.
[Illustration: 43.--TRAFFIC IN ST. PETERSBURG.]
In Russian, the term _isba_ is applied to the dwellings of the
peasantry, which are almost always constructed of wood. A Russian
village usually consists of only one street, lined with isbas, more or
less ornamented, according to the taste or fortune of the proprietor.
The houses are almost always similar. Figure 45 shows the interior of
this house.
[Illustration: 44.--A RUSSIAN TAVERN.]
In these houses everything is made of wood, except that portion which
surrounds a gigantic stove kept alight during the whole winter. The
furniture consists of forms placed along the walls, and which serve as
beds for the whole family, who in winter however sleep upon the stove.
To the ceiling are suspended the provisions and candles. In the corner
of every room is an image of the Virgin Mary. Instruments of labour,
cooking utensils, and domestic animals mingle, within the isba, in
picturesque disorder.
[Illustration: 45.--INTERIOR OF AN ISBA.]
The Russian peasant is intelligent, brave, hospitable, affable, and
benevolent; but he is wanting in cleanliness, and indulges to excess in
malt spirit. He wears a shirt of cotton-stuff, usually red, falling over
capacious trousers, which are tucked into heavy boots.
His outer clothing consists of the _touloupa_, formed of a sheep’s skin
with the wool on, and worn with this next the body. His low crowned hat
has a broad turned up rim. The hat worn by peasants in the neighbourhood
of Moscow is pointed and almost without a rim.
The women wear boots like the men: they also wear the touloupa, with a
shawl and kerchief over the head and shoulders. It is only on fête days
that this wretched costume gives place to aprons and shawls, of bright
colour, and even embroidered in gold and silver. The head-dresses are
elegant, and vary in the different provinces.
[Illustration: 46.--LIVONIAN PEASANTS.]
The pleasures of a Russian peasant are always of a serious character.
The quick and sparkling expansion and gaiety of Southern populations are
unknown to the inhabitants of these frozen regions.
M. d’Hearyet, who has travelled in the Russian provinces of the Baltic,
informs us, that at Riga the houses are comfortable and well appointed;
that immense stoves preserve a temperature of 68° or more in vast
apartments, guarded from without by double windows and double doors:
that persons leaving the house envelop themselves in a fur robe, which
leaves no form distinguishable, so that it is difficult to say whether
the individual in question is a man or woman: that at night, the bed is
small, low, furnished with one or two leathern mattresses and some
sheets a little larger than napkins. They live in a hot-house
atmosphere, the air of which is not often enough renewed.
[Illustration: 47.--TARTAR OF KASAK.]
The Cossacks form in Russia rather a military caste than a distinct
people. They seem to be descended from the Rousniaks mixed with other
people, chiefly Circassians. They frequently have longer faces, more
prominent noses, and are of greater height, than the Russians properly
so called. Their principal settlement is upon the banks of the lower
portion of the Don. They, however, rarely possess a fixed residence,
since the Cossacks, spread throughout the entire Russian Empire, act as
light cavalry and border troops.
[Illustration: 48.--TARTAR OF THE CAUCASUS.]
Figures 48 and 49 represent different types, taken from Nature, of
Cossacks who live in the Caucasus, along the frontiers which bound the
Southern portion of the Russian possessions.
* * * * *
_Finns._--The Finns form small scattered populations which extend from
the Baltic sea to the east of the Obi. The Finns are regarded as the
remains of people once far more numerous, who have been conquered,
repressed, carried off, or driven back by Slavonians, Turks, and
Mongolians. They lead the life of hunters and husbandmen, rather than
that of warriors and nomads. Reddish, or, frequently red hair, a scanty
beard, a complexion marked with red patches, bluish or grey eyes, sunken
cheeks, prominent cheek-bones, a large occiput, and an angular frame
possessing less beauty than that of the Europeans and Arameans, have
been regarded as the original characteristics of the Finns: but in a
large number of these people these characteristics are more or less
modified. Among them are distinguished the _Ostiaks_, the _Vogouls_, the
_Finns of Siberia_, the _Finns of Eastern Russia_, and the _Finns of the
Baltic_.
The Finns of Siberia form two groups; one in the South, the other in the
North.
[Illustration: 49.--TARTAR OF THE CAUCASUS.]
The former is composed of certain people known under the names of the
Teleouts, Sagaïs, and Kachintz, whose language bears some general
affinity to Turkish dialects; these give themselves up to hunting,
fishing, and agriculture, and are subject to the Russian Empire.
The Northern group is formed of two people: the _Ostiaks_ and the
_Vogouls_ who have retained Finnish dialects.
[Illustration: 50.--RUSSIAN NORTH-SEA PILOT.]
The Vogouls form only a very insignificant population dwelling east of
the Oural, and have undergone such mixture with the Turks and Mongolians
as to have adopted to a great extent their characteristics.
The Ostiaks who dwell upon the banks of the Obi appear to have preserved
in much greater perfection the characteristics of the Finns. They are a
people devoted to hunting and fishing, with red hair, very uncivilized,
and partly idolatrous.
Madame Eva Felinska, during an exile in Siberia, inspected, as far as
possible, the Ostiak huts. These habitations were so foul, and gave
forth such putrid miasmas, that, notwithstanding her curiosity, this
lady was unable to remain in them more than a minute.
The Ostiaks cover their skins with a layer of rancid fat, over which
they wear a reindeer skin. They eat uncooked fish or game, this being
their ordinary food. But from time to time they go with large buckets of
bark to Berezer, where they collect, and devour as delicacies, the
refuse of the kitchens. Fig. 51 represents an Ostiak hut.
The Finns of Eastern Russia comprise the _Baskirs_, the _Teptiars_, and
the _Metscheriaks_ of the Southern Oural: three small peoples who speak
Turkish dialects mingled with Finnish words, and who exist in very much
the same way. The Baskirs are the most numerous; they are engaged in
rearing horses and bees. Like the Cossacks they furnish bodies of
cavalry to the Russian army.
The Finns of the Volga comprise the _Tchouvachians_, _Tcheremissians_
and _Moadueinites_, who likewise speak dialects interspersed with
Turkish words: a short time since they turned their attention to
husbandry.
Certain populations scattered through the governments of Perm, Vologda,
Orenburg, and Viatka, are the remains of a people of some consideration,
formerly independent, civilized, and commercial, whom the Russians
subdued, and to a large extent absorbed: these are the _Permians_.
The Finns of the Baltic, or Finns properly so called, have been long
under the rule of Teutonic nations, and have generally preserved the
characteristics of the family we have described above. Among them are
distinguished the _Livonians_, _Esthonians_, _Ischorians_, _Kyrials_,
_Ymes_ or _Finlanders_, and _Quaines_, who are respectively the remains
of the ancient inhabitants of Livonia, Esthonia, Ingria, Finland, and
Carelia, where they are now mixed with the Slavonians and Teutons.
During the last century the Quaines pushed forward to the extremity of
Norwegian Lapland, of which they at present form the principal
population.
[Illustration: 51.--OSTIAK HUT.]
_Bulgarians_, _Servians_, and _Bosniaks_ or inhabitants of
_Flavinia_.--In order to describe these, we need do no more than refer
to the general facts which have been stated above with reference to the
Southern Slavonians. We will merely borrow a few descriptions and
illustrations from the work of M. George Perrot, a French writer,
“_Voyage chez les Slaves du Sud_,” published in 1870, and well known on
account of the excellent history it contains of his travels in Asia
Minor.
[Illustration: 52.--ISIGANE OF VOAKOVAR.]
M. George Perrot travelled through Slavonia, Croatia, Bosnia, and the
strip of territory recently cleared to serve as a frontier to the
Mussulman possessions, and which bears the name of _Military Confines_.
[Illustration: 53.--SLAVONIAN PEASANT.]
M. George Perrot first of all gives us some types of the inhabitants of
Slavonia, which we shall reproduce here. Figure 54 represents a peasant
from the neighbourhood of Essek, a town of Slavonia.
[Illustration: 54.--A PEASANT OF ESSEK.]
While halting at the borough of Vouka, situated a few leagues from
Essek, M. George Perrot thus describes the peasants of these parts.
“The majority of the men around us have hair which is blond or of
different shades of chestnut. Although much burnt by the sun, they are
not generally so dark as the Magyars. Many of the women, who are tall
and slender, are really beautiful. Their eyes especially, which are
bright and sparkling, and sometimes blue, though more frequently of a
dark grey, are charming. The lower portion of their face is less
agreeable; the chin is usually prominent, and the lips are rather thick.
“Their costume recalls that met with in the East. The men wear a slouch
hat of black felt with the edges turned up, a linen shirt, and full
trousers down to the ankle; this in hot weather, when they are in
working order, forms the whole dress. One or two loungers, who joined
us, were more completely dressed than this.
“They wore large boots of thick leather, and over the shirt a waistcoat
of blue cloth, adorned in front, with white metal buttons, and behind,
with embroidery in yellow or white. On another occasion, when we were on
the boat, we saw some men who, in addition to this, wore, over the
waistcoat, a short cape or half-cloak, which did not fall lower than the
waist, and of which, as a rule, the sleeves were allowed to hang loose.
In winter, they add to these, warm robes of sheepskin or large mantles,
which put me in mind of the rough overcoats worn by our waggoners.
“As to the women, they make me think of the Albanians of Attica. This
fine September afternoon, they are wearing a long chemise, embroidered
with eyelet holes and coloured patterns; this chemise, which leaves the
neck very open, would reach to the ground, but in order to permit of
freer movement in the fields or at home, it is hitched up, and supported
by a coloured girdle, wound two or three times round the body; being
thus held up, the chemise forms elegant and symmetrical folds, falling
in front as low as the ankle, while behind, it extends to about half way
down the calf of the leg. Over the head is thrown, in various fashions,
a kerchief, which is usually white, but which on festive occasions is
embroidered with silver and gold; the ends of this fall down the back,
or over the bosom, as may suit the taste of the wearer. When the best
dress is donned, a cloth apron, the colour and pattern of which bear a
resemblance to the carpets which I have met with in Servia and Bosnia,
hangs down to the knees; over the chemise is worn a species of waistcoat
without sleeves, and ornamented with gold or silver embroidery. In
winter, they guard against the cold by wearing over all a thick overcoat
of sheepskin. All the garments worn by the women are worked by their own
hands and busy fingers, during the long winter evenings.”
[Illustration: 55.--HERDSMEN OF THE MILITARY CONFINES.]
M. George Perrot remained for rather a long period in the provinces now
called the _Military Confines_ or _Frontiers_, and he describes the
miserable state in which the Slavonian peasantry exist there, where
they are obliged to live side by side with wild hordes of Mussulman
soldiers or pandours.
Figure 55 shows peasants of these districts returning from pasture.
[Illustration: 56.--WOMAN OF THE MILITARY CONFINES.]
Figure 56 is given by the author as a type of the Slavonian women who
inhabit the Military frontiers.
Let us quote a few more of this traveller’s impressions.
“What struck me in all the villages of the Confines through which I
passed, were the guard stations, before which loitered, or slept beside
their guns, suspended on the wall, five or six _Gränzer_. In summer,
they wear merely their trousers and shirt of coarse white cloth, and
sometimes a sort of brown jacket with red facings, which they also wear
for field work. In winter they are seen enveloped in their large hooded
cloaks of red cloth; and, thus equipped and armed, guard their flocks on
the moors. The state furnishes them, for exercise and service, with guns
similar to those used by regiments of the line; but when not on duty,
many of them prefer long guns of Albanian manufacture or shape, with
swallow-tailed stocks. These guns are transmitted from father to son for
several generations. Besides these, they wear in their girdles, one or
two pistols, and a kind of dagger with a bone handle inlaid with coral
or glass. In this guise they have rather the appearance of Bosniak
_bachibozouks_, than of civilized subjects of His Majesty Francis
Joseph, constitutional Emperor of Austria, and King of Hungary. Their
uniform, consisting of a blue trouser fitting close to the leg, and a
vest of black or white wool, is only produced on field days, or in war.
“But what is it that these sentinels are guarding? This is just what I
have never been able to understand. No enemy, from Belgrade to Sissek,
was threatening; and these villages are exposed to no more disorder than
those of the neighbouring provinces, where they dispense with all this
armed exhibition. This, therefore, is another of the useless and
erroneous consequences of the military régime: here are hands taken day
after day from their labour in the fields, and with no greater advantage
than that of acquiring the habits of idleness and drunkenness, usually
contracted during the period of barrack-room inactivity.”
In Fig. 57 we represent one of the military stations of the Confines,
with the guards belonging to it, called Gränzers.
[Illustration: 57.--GRÄNZERS AND THEIR GUARD-HOUSE.]
“All those who have lived for some time among the Gränzers, have been
struck with their indolent apathy, their careless and continued
idleness. For whose sake should they exhaust themselves with work? Under
the rules of their community, their wives and children are almost beyond
want. As regards themselves, to-morrow they may be torn from their
orchards and fields, to encounter death in Italy, or on some other
frontier; would it not be madness to expose themselves to privation
and fatigue in view of a future upon which they have no means of
reckoning? Besides this, does their property, which they can neither
render as valuable as they wish, nor sell or bequeath as they may think
proper, belong to them sufficiently to give them any pleasure or profit
in its improvement? They have maxims which accurately indicate their
character; ‘Go late to the field and return early, so as to avoid the
dew;--if God does not aid, what is the use of working?’ Being accustomed
to rely only, as they say, ‘Upon God and the Emperor,’ they refuse to
recognize the advantages to be gained from any modern invention, better
tools, or more advanced methods of cultivation. ‘Thus I found it, and
thus I will leave it,’ is a saying of which they often make use in
speaking of their patrimonial domain.
[Illustration: 58.--TSIGANE PRISONER.]
“The only thing which, in spite of all the shackles which enchain and
benumb their limbs, would have been able to arouse their minds and
impart to them some desire for progress, is instruction. But ignorance
is profound in the Military Confines; the regimental schools that exist
are very insufficient both in number and quality; in certain districts,
especially in Southern Croatia, the villages are so distant from one
another, that the children, who do not dwell in the borough where the
school is, are unable, without difficulty, to go there at any time.
Besides, why should the government do much as regards instruction? It is
clear, that, if the people of the Confines were better taught, they
would be less resigned to their hard lot. If it rested entirely with the
government, the schoolmaster would be entirely banished from these
parts.
“Upon the banks of the Danube and of the Save, where the Confines abut
upon the river, which is continually traversed by packet-boats,
travellers, and merchandize, the people of the frontiers have
nevertheless daily communication with the inhabitants of the
neighbouring provinces, and even with strangers. This contact somewhat
opens their minds and suggests new ideas; but it is chiefly in Southern
Croatia, in the districts called Banal and Karlstadt, that the
characteristic features of the _Gränzer_ are most frequent and striking.
There commences, south-east of Karlstadt, what is termed the
_dry-frontier_; this is no longer a water-course such as the Danube or
Save, but a line purely conventional, forming the boundary between
Austria and Turkey.
“Surprises and hand to hand combats were recently matters of frequent
occurrence upon this frontier, which is more difficult to define and to
preserve; at the commencement of this century, certain forts, and other
places, such as Zettin, which the Turks assaulted in 1809 and 1813, were
still the subject of dispute. Here, moreover, the Frontier territory is
no longer from fifteen to twenty kilometres, but from five to six
myriametres broad; the people subject to the military régime, here,
therefore, form a more homogeneous and compact mass. Cases of armed
brigandage, and assassinations, which were very common in the whole of
this country, are now becoming rarer; but theft is the crime which
requires most frequent punishment. The ancestors of the _Gränzers_ lived
chiefly by plunder, and such habits are not removed in a day.”
M. Perrot made a journey in Bosnia, down the course of the river Save.
He stopped in a borough of this province, of which he speaks thus:--
“After a visit to the Bosniak priest, we wandered about the town, where
we made several small purchases with a view to smuggling. I replenished
my pouch with a Bosnian tobacco which is by no means so good as that of
Macedonia. I purchased a rug such as are worked also by the women of
Slavonia and the Military Confines: this is not, like the tissues of
Persia and Anatolia, thick and soft, but a rather thin and dry quality
of cloth.”
Here, also, in designs and in combination of colour, are found the same
innate taste, and the same boldness which is met with usually in
oriental workmanship. The Slavonian women, in Austria as in Turkey,
would be no unworthy rivals of the Turcoman women, who, in the
neighbourhood of Smyrna, and from the high meadow-lands of the Taurus
down to the low deserts of Persia, execute, beneath their black tents of
goat or camel hair, those marvellous pieces of needlework, for which, at
the present time, we pay so high a price.
The inferiority of the products of this domestic industry in Turkey in
Europe, is attributable to the fact, that, here the women being within
comparatively easy distance of large markets, filled with European
wares, are enabled to procure there wools suited to their wants, already
dyed by industrial processes: but it will be understood that the colours
thus obtained, which are produced with a view to cheapness and variety,
are far from possessing the fresh and durable tints of those colours,
few in number, always the same, and almost all obtained from the animal
and vegetable worlds, the secret of which has been handed down in the
bazaars of the East, and under the tents of the nomadic tribes, from the
time when Nineveh, Babylon, Susa, Tyre, and Sidon, were at the height of
their prosperity.
“Our purchases at an end, we returned along the banks of the Save, and,
while the ferry was attempting to pass a herd of bullocks, which had
just been purchased in Bosnia, I amused myself by noting the picturesque
mixture of costumes and types which the bank, on which were most of the
market people, offered.
[Illustration: 59.--BOSNIAK PEASANT.]
“Here was a jobbing blacksmith, who had set up his shop in the open air,
hammering and putting in order the pots which were brought to him; or
sharpening with his hammer, the points of long iron clamps, used to
connect the rafters of houses. His arrangements were most primitive. Two
vertical posts supported a horizontal piece, upon which worked the
lever, by means of which the bellows were set in motion. In front of the
orifice by which the air escaped, a small anvil was fixed in the ground.
Around the proprietor, seated on the ground, a number of tools were
scattered. The long shirt and puffed out trousers of the blacksmith
appeared white by comparison with his skin, although he had probably
worn them for some weeks; his chest and arms were bronze coloured.
[Illustration: 60.--BOSNIAK PEASANT WOMAN.]
[Illustration: 61.--BOSNIAK MERCHANT.]
“A little further on, the most motley groups attracted and retained my
notice. Here were Mussulmans, Bosniaks, Pandours guarding the market,
their attitudes and costumes carrying me right away to the East, and
recalling very old recollections. One of them wore a white turban, which
displayed a mass of plaited hair falling down his neck; he stood erect,
his hand supporting the butt end of his gun, which rested on his
shoulder. A tapestried mantle, adorned with long flocks of wool, which
is peculiar to the frontiers of the two countries, was thrown over his
shoulders. At his side was another Bosniak, who leant against a wall,
clad in a long cloak of red wool; his feet were shod with sandals of
tanned leather. Here a rich landowner of the neighbourhood, whose name I
really forget, was causing his servants to remove the cattle he had not
succeeded in selling: there peasants were remounting their horses, whose
gay and picturesque harness I much admired.”
[Illustration: 62.--WOMEN OF PESTH.]
Figures 59 and 60 represent, according to M. Perrot, a Bosniak peasant
man and woman, and figure 61, a Bosniak merchant.
The Magyars are the natives of Hungary. The chief population of this
country is composed of a people who came from Asia under the name of
Magyars, and who were, it would seem, a tribe of the Huns. Hungary is
believed to have been populated by some of the savage companions of
Attila, the terrible king of the Huns, known as the “Scourge of God.”
[Illustration: 63.--HUNGARIANS.]
The Magyars are distinct from other people in their language and
costumes.
They are of medium height, with black hair. Their character is warlike,
and their state of civilization is superior to that of the other
branches of the Slavonian family.
In his “Causeries Géographiques,” (from Paris to Bucharest,) M. Duruy
has imparted to us his impressions on a journey to Pesth in 1861. The
population appeared to him superb.
[Illustration: 64.--A HUNGARIAN GENTLEMAN.]
The women were remarkable through their brightness and decided
attractions. In dress, they do not differ much from the men. A chemise
gathered in at the neck, with full sleeves richly embroidered, and
slightly tightened at the wrists, which are covered with lace ruffles; a
jacket body, either red, black, or green, embroidered at the back with
fringes and silver buttons, sets off a slender and supple form. A light,
very ample, but often rather short petticoat; a silken or velvet scarf
thrown over one shoulder à la hussarde; the national high brimmed hat
surmounted by a plume of feathers as head-dress; well turned feet and
ankles, in embroidered shoes, or sometimes in little spurred boots of
red morocco, form the Hungarian costume, represented in figs. 63, 64 and
65.
[Illustration: 65.--HUNGARIANS.]
The markets which are held on the quays, have also peculiar features.
You see there, says M. Duruy, groups which call to mind the savage
hordes of Attila. M. Duruy almost believed he saw one of the companions
of the “Scourge of God.” This was apparently a kind of peasant,
flat-nosed, round-eyed, with large projecting cheekbones, and hanging
mustachios. He was dark, and dressed in a vest of sheepskin, and
breeches of coarse cloth, supported at the waist by a scarf falling over
his heavily-shod and spurred boots. A large hat, with the edges turned
up, covered his head, and beneath it hung two long plaits of hair. The
Magyar language is energetic, full of similes, and filled with guttural
aspirations which seem derived from the Arabic, while certain soft and
caressing intonations remind us of the Italian idiom. National feeling
is brisk in the towns and throughout the country. In the latter, it is
kept alive by Bohemian songs, and by stories told by the heads of
families during the long winter evenings.
About the other races composing the Slavonian family, namely, the
Croats, the Tchecks, the Lithuanians, and the Poles, we have nothing
particular to remark.
In general, what we have said at the commencement of this chapter,
applies to them with but little modification.
THE GREEK FAMILY.
The Greek family comprises the Greeks and the Albanians. These races
derive their origin from the ancient tribes known under the name of
Pelasgians. The ancient Greeks founded many colonies on the shores of
the Mediterranean.
In the fourth century before Christ, led by Alexander, they subdued part
of Asia, and carried their victorious arms into Egypt. But these
conquests were ephemeral. The Greek empire was in its turn subjugated by
other races, of whom the principal were the Romans, the Slavonians, and
the Scythians.
In the present day the Greeks compose but a scanty population,
concentrated in the Morea, or scattered in the neighbouring districts.
The majority of the people of this race who inhabit the Asiatic
continent have adopted even the language of their neighbours, and are
merely reputed Greeks because they profess the Greek form of the
Christian religion.
The ancient Greeks, civilized by intercourse with Egyptian colonists,
already afforded an example of advanced culture, at a time when the
other European and Asiatic nations were still immersed in barbarism.
In spite of the misfortunes of a social decay destined to terminate in
many centuries of subjection, the Greeks have preserved up to our own
day the physical characteristics of their ancestors. Everyone knows that
the most beautiful development of the brow, the finest shape of the
human head, is that we find traced in the sculpture of ancient Greece.
It had been supposed that the magnificent heads with the noble outlines,
admired in the statues of the Greeks, were not the exact reproduction of
nature, and that some features had been exaggerated in the direction of
ideal beauty. But, in our own day, the skulls of ancient Greeks have
been found whose proportions and whose general outlines demonstrate,
that, among the artists of ancient Greece, sculpture did not surpass
nature, but restricted its inspiration to types who actually lived.
The Apollo Belvidere can therefore be considered as a model, but
slightly idealized by art, of the general physiognomy of the ancient
Greeks. In his “Travels in the Morea,” M. Pouqueville gives a
description of the physiognomy of the present Greeks, which enables us
to judge of the surprising persistence of the most beautiful types, even
in the midst of a social condition so deeply modified.
“The inhabitants of the Morea,” says M. Pouqueville, “are generally tall
and well made. Their eyes are full of fire, their mouth is admirably
well formed and full of the most beautiful teeth. The women of Sparta
are fair, slender, and dignified in carriage. The women of Taygetus have
the gait of Pallas . . . . The Messenian girl is conspicuous for her
plumpness; she has regular features, large eyes, and long black hair;
the damsel of Arcadia, hidden under her coarse woollen garments,
scarcely allows the regularity of her figure to be perceived . . . .”
Here, besides, are the characteristics displayed in their sculpture, and
which, according to what we have said, may really be considered those of
the Greek type.
A high forehead, rather a wide distance between the eyes, with the
slightest possible depression at the top of the nose; this last
straight or slightly aquiline; large eyes, opening widely and surmounted
by a scarcely arched eyebrow; a short upper lip, a small or medium sized
mouth delicately cut; and a prominent and well rounded chin.
Fig. 66 represents the Greeks of Athens; fig. 67 a Greek family and the
interior of a house at Athens.
[Illustration: 66.--GREEKS OF ATHENS.]
To give an idea of modern Greek manners and types, we will borrow a few
lines from an interesting work by M. Prout, “Journey to Athens,”
published in “Le Tour du Monde” in 1862. Let us first listen to this
traveller speaking to us of the inhabitants of Greece:--
“If Fallmeseyer is to be believed, there are no more Greeks in Greece,
only Slavonians; it is beyond doubt that the inhabitants of Thrace and
of Macedonia cannot boast so immaculate an origin as the mountaineers of
Olympus or of Magnus; but it is equally certain that from Cape Malea to
the Black Sea, and from Smyrna to Corfu, there are ten million
individuals who speak Greek, mixed up with a population speaking
Slavonic, and that in the plains of Athens, we easily distinguish the
Albanian with the narrow temples and the prominent nose, from the Greek
with the wide forehead and the high cheek-bones, although their dress is
exactly the same. To converse for an hour with the latter is sufficient
to satisfy all doubt as to the authenticity of his origin.
“His qualities of mind have remained the same as in the days of Homer:
he has still the same aptitude for thorough and rapid comprehension, the
same facility of graceful and metaphorical expression. These qualities
give to the Greeks so great a superiority over the other races of the
East, that they are liked by none of them. The Turks reproach them with
being suspicious and dissimulating, because they have opposed craft to
force; the Levantines accuse them of dishonesty in commercial
transactions, because they themselves have taken lessons of them, and
have often surpassed their instructors.
“There is no greater bond of sympathy between them and the other nations
on the shores of the Mediterranean. Serious and deliberate in
disposition, the tone of their mind is foreign alike to raillery and to
the rapidity of dramatic intensity. Their grief pursues a peaceful and
elegiac course; it is with them a latent sorrow, and not a sharp crisis
leading to the ecstasies of madness. Whilst Cupid’s weapons, in Naples
or in Venice for instance, inflict terrible wounds, the arrows of the
Athenian god neither keep his victims from repose nor from the pursuit
of business. The Greeks have preserved their tragic intonation, and are
the true children of that wild Orestes who died at more than eighty
years of age from the effects of an accident. In their minds, action
always takes its course with deliberation and gravity, not without a
certain amount of colouring, but never widely straying from reality;
interrogating and holding council with itself, and taking time for
reflection before making its decision.
[Illustration: 67.--A GREEK HOUSEHOLD.]
“It is astonishing to meet with these analytical and foreseeing
tendencies, even among the most ignorant. Above all nations they best
understand the art of listening, and whilst saying a great deal are the
smallest talkers in the world.
“Everybody is familiar with the Greek dress: the short pelisse, the
skirt, which goes by the name of fystan, the small fez with its tufted
tassel falling on the nape of the neck of the wearer, and the
embroidered gaiter fitting tight to the leg. The sailors, instead of the
fystan, wear a very wide pair of trousers, and stockings instead of
gaiters. In winter the talagani, a long close-fitting cloak of lambskin,
is added to the rest of the dress. The Greeks, generally speaking, tall
slender men of regular features, wear this national costume in a very
dashing manner. Young Greece carries its dandyism a little to extremes
by over pinching its waist, and exaggerating the width of its skirts.
During the winter of 1858 it was the fashion to wear the entire beard. I
trust that this fancy, which gave them the appearance of sappers in
petticoats, has disappeared; the finely trimmed mustachios, revealing
the lips, are better suited to their delicately chiselled features as
well as to their refined and fanciful style of dress. But alas! Athens
every day sees the pure gold of its ancient costume bartered for the
dross of modern broadcloth fresh from the shelves of the tailor’s shop.
Athens now boasts seventy tailors and fifty shoemakers who make in the
French style, whilst only six of the former, and three of the latter
still work in the spirit of their national traditions. There are
sixty-two shops for the sale of female attire, but only three or four
ladies are to be seen still faithful to their national dress (I except
the maids of honour to the Queen, who wear it by order), and even in
their case one half has disappeared. The corsage cut down upon the neck
and the taktikios (cap) of Smyrna still remain; but the long narrow
skirt has allowed itself to become swollen by the insinuating arts of
conspiring crinoline. The style of dress in the islands is more
commonplace, but the great quantity of garments worn one over the other
remind one of the childish simplicity of the outlines of our own peasant
women. I much prefer, in spite of its stiffness, the long Albanian robe
worn by the women of the interior.
“It is particularly at Agora that specimens of all the peasantry of the
neighbourhood may be seen walking about in their picturesque costumes.
“This Agora is not the ancient Agora of Ceramica; it is a market-place,
composed of worm-eaten sheds roofed in with ragged cloths, in which are
exhibited produce of all sorts, from the bursting figs of Asia Minor to
the patent preparations of Parisian perfumers.
“On each side of this market-place stands a spectre of antiquity, the
tower of the Winds, or clepsydrum of Andronicus, an octagonal monument
engraved with passably mediocre figures, and the portico of Minerva
Archigetis. Archæologists after noticing the first, hasten across the
spacious vestibule to visit the second, but those, who are indifferent
alike to the criticisms of Martius and of Leake, prefer to pause on the
threshold of the market, particularly in the early morning when the
peasantry,
‘Seated in their chariots of Homeric pattern,
Like the ancient Isis on the basso-relievos of Egina,’
pour in from the highways from Thebes and Marathon. I have said that the
men were distinguished for regular symmetry of countenance; but the
peasant women are simply ugly. Of middle height, robust, and sunburnt,
they have no feminine attributes, in the meaning we give to the word. In
commercial circles and among the Phanariots, who come principally from
Asia, where the race has remained pure, there are, on the contrary, many
really beautiful women to be seen. Oriental languor gives them a charm
unknown in our country; but they walk badly, and are wanting in that
elegance of style which French women possess in such a high degree.
“They are rarely to be seen walking out, they seldom leave their houses
where they busy themselves with domestic occupations, and employ their
leisure in reading romances, principally translated from the French.
“Although class distinctions are gradually disappearing, there are still
in Athens two distinct sets of society; the Phanariot, and the Greek,
properly so called; the first already quite Europeanized, the second on
the high road to become so. The Phanariot ladies are well educated and
speak French admirably. The others, whose information is extremely
limited, have an instinctive good sense and a tact never at fault, by no
means one of the least subjects of surprise to foreigners.
[Illustration: 68.--INTERIOR OF THE AGORA AT ATHENS.]
“. . . I have heard it said that the price of the honesty of an English
trader was a hundred pounds sterling, and that that of his Greek brother
was less. Both are absurd statements. It is impossible to draw a hard
and fast line in such matters; opportunity makes the thief. Strangers
are everywhere the natural prey of the sharper, but not more so at
Athens than in any other part of the world. The only difference is that
in that city they are more easily taken in, on account of the
complication of the currency, this complication being another instance
of Bavarian error. Rothschild made an offer to the council of regency to
effect a loan payable in coin similar to that struck at the French mint.
The council decided that it was more ingenious, and above all more
archaic, to shut their eyes to all known standards, and to reintroduce
the drachma with its ancient weight. These badly executed coins were
exported in ingots, and hopeless calculations about the smallest
transaction are the result; calculations in which the Austrian coins,
ugly and disagreeable to the touch, play the principal part, to be
finally parted with, with a sense of relief, to the trader, to whatever
nation he may happen to belong.
“To have done with the subject of Greek probity, which has been so much
called into question; in the country the inhabitants are avaricious
because they are poor, but they are honest. Travellers who jump to a
conclusion from their experience of inn-keepers, porters, cabmen, &c.,
come to a wrong decision. These classes are everywhere the same. In
Athens alone a remarkable self-possession, with a dignified manner, is
found, instead of the familiar impudence of Italian facchini, or the
deceitful suavity of German attendants. It is worthy of remark that one
is never assailed in the streets with the importunity of beggars. These
are few in number, for with the Greeks it is a sacred family duty to
assist its impoverished members, and the few that do beg, shrink from
publicity. The streets of Athens have a peculiar physiognomy. The
stranger notices there neither the noisy disturbance of the highways of
Naples, nor the methodical activity of those of London. They are rather
to be compared with those of some of the provincial towns of France,
where the leisured citizens stroll about, and retail to one another the
gossip of the hour, remaining apparently permanent fixtures of the
pavement. Athens has, on the whole, the appearance of a city where time
dies hard; the male population encamp themselves during the day in the
sunshine of the streets; the shopkeepers while away the hours, one foot
within, and the other without their doorsill; and their customers
intermingle the tedious arithmetic of barter with familiar conversation,
or buttonhole the passer to gossip about the mutual acquaintance that
has just passed. Alexander’s establishment, amongst others, is one of
the principal head-quarters of news.
“Linger for an hour in front of the café of _Beautiful Greece_, where
Hermes Street and Eolus Street intersect one another, you will see the
whole Athenian world pass before you; the nearest lounger will tell you
their names. Here comes the politician who is still in the market, there
goes the statesman who has already obtained his price. That is Canaris,
whose reputation is European, although his person is so puny: there are
Chriesis, Métaxas, Mavrocordato, Rangabé, Miaouli, the celebrities of
yesterday and to-day. This man, treading as gingerly as if he stepped
upon eggs, and throwing uneasy glances around him, is a Chiotian. As he
passes, your cicerone scowls, for the Chiotians are not exactly beloved.
Popular tradition declares that the Island of Scios was formerly settled
by Jews, but this is erroneous, although the Chiotians have a Jewish
appearance, and, like the children of Israel, are very successful in
banking and commerce. Commercial aptitude has always been, in ancient
times as well as to-day, the basis of the national character of the
Chiotian. ‘Two reasons,’ says M. Lacroix, ‘explain this tendency. The
position of Scios, situated in the midst of the sea, between Europe and
Asia, upon the great maritime highway of ancient commerce, naturally
disposed its inhabitants to become traders; while the nature of their
island, whose stony soil is little suited to agriculture, rendered such
a means of livelihood in part a necessity to them.’
“As the trader of Scios can be recognised by his appearance, so the
Ionian islander can be distinguished by his speech. The torrent of his
eloquence is heard towering above the voices of every group. I have a
great admiration for the Ionians. I do not say that human perfection is
to be found in these numerous islands, but wonderful natural qualities,
in unison with the healthy civilization bequeathed to them by the
Italian republics, are to be seen there. It is but the other day that
the ingenious combination of Mr. Gladstone gave Europe an idea of the
dignity of their character, the extent of their patriotism, and the
wisdom of their mind. To this Greek good sense they add the fire of the
Italian. Active, intelligent, good hearted and honest in their dealings,
they attract at once the sympathies of all.
[Illustration: 69.--FÊTE OF THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER, ATHENS.]
“This admixture of which the Athenian population is composed is a
curious study.
“On the Sunday, everybody leaves the cross roads in front of the
_Beautiful Greece_ to frequent the esplanade of Patissia (a corruption
from Pachiscliah); the men stroll about talking together, and the women,
abandoning their household gods for this day only, follow a few paces
behind them. The crowd walks round and round a kiosk till a military
band placed there has finished playing, and then goes home; not into the
house, however, but into the streets, for during the warm summer nights
nearly everybody sleeps _al fresco_. These sleepers advertise their
presence by a continual hum, which is a kind of internal monologue, an
echo of the day’s conversation, for the Greeks still remain the wittiest
and the most eloquent chatterers in the world.”
We place side by side with the Greeks the Albanians, whose language has
some relation to Greek. Concentrated in the mountains of their country,
they appear to be the lineal representatives of the ancient inhabitants
of these districts. They are the descendants of the ancient Illyrians,
mixed up with the Greeks and the Slavonians. Restricting themselves
almost exclusively to the profession of arms, the Albanians constitute
the best soldiers of the Ottoman army. Their numbers scarcely reach two
millions, although Albania is of great extent and contains several
rather important towns.
Albania, part of Turkey in Europe, bounded on the north by Montenegro,
Bosnia, and Servia, on the east by Macedon and Thessaly, on the south by
the kingdom of Greece, on the west by the Adriatic and Ionian seas,
constitutes the pachaliks of Janina, Ilbessan and Scutari. It possesses
three seaports, Durazzo, Avlona, and Parga. The most important towns are
Scutari, Akhissar, Berat, and Arta.
Semi-barbarians, partaking more of the pirate and the brigand than of
the cultivator and the labourer, the Albanians pass their lives in a
state of petty warfare among themselves.
[Illustration:
_P. Sellier, p.^{t}_
_Imp. Dupuy, 22, R. des Petits Hôtels_
_G. Regamey, lith._
GEORGEAN
ARAB
WHITE OR CAUCASIAN RACE]
They professed Christianity up to the fifteenth century, but after
having under Scanderbeg gloriously resisted the Turkish invasion, they
were forced to submit to the victorious Ottomans, who compelled the
Albanians to embrace the religion of Mahomet. In some parts of Albania
the Greek church still survives. In the north, between the sea and the
black Drin, the courageous tribe of the Mirdites practise the Roman
Catholic religion and enjoy liberty.
[Illustration: 70.--ALBANIAN WOMAN.]
Fig. 70 represents the Albanian costume.
[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF AN ARMENIAN.]
CHAPTER II.
ARAMEAN BRANCH.
Cuvier has thought fit to give the name of Aramean (derived from the
ancient appellation of Syria) to the race of people who inhabit the
south-west of Asia and the north of Africa. Since primeval historic
times, the Aramaic race developed itself in the south-west of Asia and
the north of Africa, and it has remained there up to our own day. It
also extended its settlements to the south of Europe, where it became
assimilated to the inhabitants of that part of the world.
At a period when Europeans were immersed in the depths of ignorance, the
Arameans successfully cultivated science and art. But later, whilst
progress was making rapid strides amongst the Westerns, the Arameans on
the contrary came to a halt; so that the civilization of these Asiatic
races is still pretty much the same as it was two thousand years ago.
Christianity sprang up amidst the Arameans, but it made few converts.
Mahometanism and Buddhism attracted nearly the whole of this numerous
race.
Four leading divisions are recognised among the Arameans: the Libyans,
the Semitics, the Persians, and the Georgians and Circassians.
THE LIBYAN FAMILY.
The _Libyan Family_ is composed of the _Berbers_ and the _Egyptians_.
[Illustration: 71.--MOORISH COFFEE-HOUSE AT SIDI-BOW-SAID, NEAR TUNIS.]
The _Berbers_.--The Berbers are the race which from very ancient times
inhabited the mountains of the Atlas chain, or wandered amidst the
deserts of the Sahara. The Berbers are split up into a great number of
tribes, of whom the four principal are, the Kabyles, the Shellas, the
Touariks and the Tibbous.
The traveller in Kabylia is struck with admiration, for its lofty
mountains, the gentle and pleasing undulations of its plains, and its
valleys interlaced with the windings of countless streams. Its
inhabitants are pastoral, agricultural, and laborious. The headdress of
their women is fashioned to suit their habit of carrying on their head
jars of great weight. They balance these by rigidly straightening their
waists, round which they wind, some score of times, a girdle of coarse
woollen cords. Their garment is simply a piece of woollen cloth fastened
together by a couple of pins over the bosom.
The Kaybles are not, like the real Arabs, nomadic. They remain, on the
contrary, faithful to one spot. Whilst the Arab inhabits a tent,
removable at will, and in accordance with the requirements of his
family, the Kabyle lives in a stone dwelling, and his homestead is a
regular village. In truth, the Kabyle is not an Arab; he is of African
origin, a Berber, somewhat modified by the different races that have in
turn settled on the African shores of the Mediterranean, but whose
customs and physical characteristics have always remained the same.
The Roman armies subdued the Kabyles dwelling on the Mediterranean
coasts, and drove them into the mountains. The principal aim of the
successive Roman governors in Africa, was to drain the country of its
resources to supply the insatiable requirements of Rome, and the
extravagant liberality continually lavished on its citizens by the
Emperors of this capital of the world. Rome thus accepted from Africa
but slaves and labourers. Those of the conquered, who were unwilling to
pass under the heavy yoke of the Roman governors, abandoned the plains
and retired to the mountains, inaccessible retreats, whose ravines and
forests offered innumerable obstacles to the cruelty of centurions, and
the rapacity of prætors. At a future period, led by enterprising
chieftains, they sallied forth from these natural fortresses to assail
and ultimately to definitively repulse the Roman power.
To give an idea of the Kabylia of to-day, and of its organization, we
will quote a few details from “An Excursion to great Kabylia,” published
in 1867, in “Le Tour du Monde,” from the pen of Commandant Duhousset, an
officer in the French army.
“In Kabylia,” he says, “the household composed of the members of one
family is termed _kharouba_; each kharouba forming part of the village
or _déhera_, elects one of its members as a _dhaman_ to represent it at
the municipal council, and to defend its interests: in a word, to be
responsible for it.
“The different déheras are further united together under the name of
_arch_.
“In each village authority is administered by an _amin_, elected by
turns from each kharouba. It is the duty of this official to watch over
the execution of the written laws, drawn up under the name of _khanoun_,
and which are merely the recital of the customs handed down from time
immemorial in Kabylia.
“The amin can pronounce no judgment, inflict no fine, without consulting
the assembly (_djemaa_) of his assistants or dhamans, always chosen from
the notabilities of the village. This tribunal chooses a secretary
(_khodja_) intrusted with the duty of keeping a public register of its
deliberations, and of carrying on all correspondence with the French
authorities. The labours of the khodja are remunerated with perquisites
of figs, olives, &c.
“The supreme command of the tribe is delegated by the French to an
_amin-el-oumena_, whose principal duty is the superintendence of his
tribe in all matters concerning public order. He is not allowed to
interfere in the internal policy of the villages, which govern
themselves, each according to its own interpretation of the khanoun.
“The djemaa possesses a municipal fund, kept in the hands of an _ouhil_
(manager). This fund is supplied by the fines inflicted by the municipal
council and the native officials, and by the rates levied on marriages,
births, and deaths.
“Each village is divided into two factions, or _soff_, generally
hereditary foes. It is easy to imagine the serious nature of the
outrages on public tranquillity, committed by these irreconcilable
neighbours, when their mutual interests are at stake.”
The elections are a constant source of disturbance in the Kabyle
villages.
The way in which these villages are laid out, their dwellings
overlooking one another, makes these struggles very sanguinary ones.
Some of the more lofty houses have crenelated parapets, the remainder
are loopholed, and the _djama_ (mosque) becomes, on account of the
military importance of its upper storey, a regular fortress, assuring
the victory to its fortunate possessors.
Everybody knows that the French conquered Kabylia in 1857. What most
contributed to the submission of the Kabyles, was the promise made to
them to respect their customs and their communal elections. This promise
was kept, and the respect shown to their local usages not a little
contributed to consolidate the French conquest.
The Kabyle villages, seen from a distance, look picturesque, but on
mixing with their inhabitants and entering their houses, the charm
vanishes. The question immediately suggests itself how it is possible
for any human beings to dwell in the midst of such universal neglect,
and of such hideous filth.
“Every Kabyle,” says M. Duhousset, “is revoltingly dirty: there are no
baths to be found in the whole of Kabylia of the Djujina. The children
receive no care. The result of this neglect is frequent ophthalmia,
sometimes complete blindness; they are also often subject to cutaneous
diseases, or worse hereditary affections, which these mountaineers hand
down from generation to generation, continuing to exist in spite of them
. . . . . the women, good mothers who suckle their children up to three
or four years of age . . . . the men, industrious workmen and good
agriculturists.”
The Kabyles are independent in disposition, observant by nature, and
fond of labour: but they are inclined to be avaricious, revengeful, and
quarrelsome. Some of their villages, as we have shown, are divided into
two hostile camps, and in many cases, part of the communal land is set
apart for warlike encounters, where all differences are settled by the
yataghan and the matchlock. Divorce is one of the sores of Kabyle
society.
It is well known that Kabylia is a rich, tranquil country, addicted to
industry, and possessing a numerous population. But a few statistics
will here have a peculiar interest.
There are in France eight departments with a smaller population than
Kabylia; these are, according to M. Duhousset, the Basses-Alpes, the
Hautes-Alpes, the Cantal, Corsica, Lozére, the Basses-Pyreneés, the
Hautes-Pyreneés, and Tarn-et-Garonne. Three departments are smaller in
extent; the Rhône, the Seine, and Vaucluse.
The average population of France is 67-963/1000 inhabitants to every
square kilometre; that of Kabylia is 67-723/1000. Looking, however, at
the average population to every kilometre in each separate department,
it appears that twenty-eight have a larger average than Kabylia, one an
equal, and fifty-seven a smaller one. The agricultural productions of
Kabylia are the ordinary fruits of African culture, especially the fig
and the olive, to which must be added large crops of wheat. Figs are the
principal article of food of the inhabitants, and olives the staple of
their agricultural industry.
During harvest-time the Kabyles cover their heads with an immense straw
hat of a pointed shape, with a huge brim, fourteen inches in width,
shading their face. A shirt, leaving the arms and legs bare, and a
leather apron, similar to that worn by our blacksmiths, constitute their
dress. They reap their corn and barley in small handfuls at a time, and
very close to the ground, with a sickle. The thrashing and winnowing is
roughly done by oxen. M. Duhousset, who witnessed the harvest and the
grinding of the corn, gives the accompanying sketch (fig. 72) of the
Kabyle flour-mills. Their olive-mill is very similar to that used in the
south of France, only their grindstones are turned by women, who fill
the part assigned by us to horses or to a steam-engine.
In Kabylia particular care is bestowed on the cultivation of the fig,
the principal article of food of the whole country. M. Duhousset took
particular notice of the artificial fecundation of the fig-tree, a
curious operation totally unknown in France.
The fig-tree, as well as the date-tree, is artificially fecundated in
Kabylia; in the case of the latter the male flower is merely
superimposed on the female blossoms to impregnate them; but with the
former it is insects that carry the fertilizing dust. This process is
termed _caprification_.
“Caprification,” says M. Duhousset, “has been practised from time
immemorial by all the inhabitants on the Mediterranean coast. This
curious and important process seemed to me to deserve a special
investigation. I have, therefore, collected a quantity of more or less
plausible details and explanations of the manner in which it is carried
out, and the advantages derived from this mode of cultivation.
“The _dokhar_ is the fruit of the wild fig-tree. It is small,
flavourless, and bitter. It is not a very eatable species, and is not
cultivated for the sake of food. It is precocious, and becomes ripe when
the other figs, still green, have not yet attained their maturity. The
tree which produces them--the caper fig-tree--yields two or three crops
in the year; but it is only the first that is generally made use of.
[Illustration: 72.--GRINDING WHEAT IN THE KABYLIA.]
“When quite ripe, the dokhar is gathered, and arranged in small bunches
(_moulak_) on a string. These strings are suspended to the boughs of the
female fig-tree, towards the end of June in the plains, towards the end
of July on the mountains. From the stem of each dokhar, when dry, issue
a quantity of small winged insects, which introduce themselves into the
fruit on the tree, instil a new life into it, and prevent it from
falling.
“These insects, agents of this fecundation, are produced and developed
in the fruit of the wild fig-tree, and leave it, as soon as arrived at
maturity, to attach themselves to the female fig-tree. Their body is
hairy, like that of the bee, which is known to fulfil an analogous
mission towards certain flowers.
“These insects are of two kinds, black and red. The first, smaller than
the second, do not carry like the latter a sting in their abdomen. The
natives assert that the black insect alone plays a useful part in the
caprification of the fig--the part played by the wind, the bird, or the
hand of man in the instance of the date. A long experience attributes to
it the privilege of preserving the figs from perishing and falling
before they have become ripe. This custom has given rise to the
well-known Kabyle proverb, ‘He who is without dokhar is without figs.’
The abundance of figs in every locality and under every difference of
climate depends upon that of the dokhar. Sometimes, however, the latter,
although plentiful, gives birth to but a small number of these
preserving insects, as in 1863, when the crop was poor, the dokhar
having produced but few insects.
“The Kabyles are convinced that one of these insects can preserve
ninety-nine figs, but that the hundredth becomes its tomb. This is
possibly only a popular prejudice; but it is as well to cite it. Truth
among primitive people becomes sometimes crystallized in the shape of a
superstition, and the inexplicable pervades everything.
“Caprification takes place at least once a year. When the dokhar is
abundant it is prudent to repeat the process several times at short
intervals, and it is most important that it should be performed at the
proper moment, either in the autumn or in the spring, or the crop may
become seriously endangered and partly lost.
“A rule generally observed in the villages where the dokhar flourishes,
is, that no one may sell it, under a penalty of a fine of two pounds, to
a stranger, or even to an ally, before the gardens of his own locality
have been copiously provided with the precious preservative.
“Previous to our rule the Kabyle tribes were continually at enmity with
one another, and the sale of the dokhar was then suspended and forbidden
between them. As the fig is the principal and indispensable food of the
inhabitants, this prohibitory measure was the surest means of starving
the enemy, or at least of occasioning him serious inconvenience. It is,
therefore, probable that the different tribes frequently came to open
blows in order to procure by bloodshed what they were unable to obtain
by purchase.”
Copper and iron are rather abundantly found in Kabylia, and its
inhabitants are expert in extracting these metals from their ores.
However, they are beginning to import metal goods from Europe.
[Illustration: 73.--KABYLE JEWELLERS.]
With tools of their own manufacture, or with those of foreign
importation, the Kabyles make a great many useful and important
articles. Jewellers and armourers are frequently found in their
villages.
Fig. 73, from a sketch by M. Duhousset, represents the workshop of a
Kabyle jeweller. The lathe of the Kabyle workman is used to make the
wooden vases and the numerous utensils sold by the Kabyles all along the
African coast. It is sufficiently noteworthy that the Kabyle turner only
uses the vertical lathe, and seems ignorant of the horizontal one so
convenient and so generally used in Europe.
* * * * *
The _Shellas_ dwell to the west of the Atlas, while the Kabyles are
found to the east of these mountains. The former are tillers of the
soil, laborious and poor. They are generally independent.
* * * * *
The _Touariks_ are a people distinct from the two preceding ones. They
are nomadic. They wander in the desert of Sahara, and make continual
raids into Egypt to carry off slaves. M. Henri Duveyrier, who has
published a detailed account of the Touariks of the North, declares that
they are hospitable and humane. They are generally considered to consist
of rather formidable tribes, accustomed to scour the desert, stop
caravans and plunder the laggards. At any rate, it is a known fact that
an ill-starred traveller, Miss Tinné, who had courageously explored
parts of Asia and Africa, was assassinated in the desert in 1869 by some
Touariks.
* * * * *
In French Africa the generic name of Moor is given to the Mussulman
population (the Turks excepted) inhabiting Barbary and Sahara; but in
reality this name is only rightly applicable to two particular classes.
The first of these is partly composed of the inhabitants of the towns,
often supposed to be the descendants of the ancient natives of the
country, that is to say of the Libyan family, but seeming on the
contrary to be principally of Arab origin. The second comprises the
tribes, most of them nomadic, who dwell in the south-west of Sahara, and
who belong to either the Berber or the Arab race.
* * * * *
The _Egyptians_. We now proceed to speak of the Egyptians, that
unchanging race which seems to slumber on, embalmed on a conservative
soil, a vast hypogeum, where, for thirty centuries, generations, both of
human beings and of domestic animals, have succeeded generations without
any perceptible alteration. The work of Herodotus, the dialogues of
Lucian, and the writings of Ammianus Marcellinus, teach us that the
ancient Egyptians, similar in all respects to those of our own day, had
a brown coloured skin. Two contracts of sale, dating back from the time
of Ptolemy, give us particulars of the parties to it. The vendor is
called μελαγχρως (dark brown), and the buyer μελιχρως (honey coloured).
From all the documents and evidence we possess, it appears that several
varieties in the colour of the skin existed among the ancient Egyptians,
but that there was always one predominant hue. Paintings are found in
the temples and the tombs, where the persons represented have a copper
coloured, reddish, or light chocolate complexion. The faces of the women
are sometimes of a yellower tint, merging into fawn colour.
Another faithful representation of the features of the ancient Egyptians
is found in those of their paintings and sculptures that have descended
to our own time. Their physiognomy shows a peculiar and remarkable type,
as does also the shape of their bodies. According to Denon (Travels in
Egypt), the ancient inhabitants of the kingdom of the Pharaohs had full
but refined and voluptuous figures, calm and serene faces, soft and
rounded features, long almond shaped eyes, half closed, languishing, and
raised at the outer corner, as if the glare and heat of the sun
habitually fatigued them. Round cheeks, thick and prominent lips, a
large but smiling mouth, and a dark reddish copper tinted complexion,
completed the peculiar expression of their countenance.
Blumenbach, after examining a large number of mummies, and comparing
them with the productions of ancient art, established three leading
types of ancient Egyptians, including, with more or less deviation, all
individual casts of face; the Ethiopian, the Indian, and the Berber
type. The first is distinguished by a prominent jaw and a thick lip, by
a broad flat nose, and by protruding eyes. This type coincides with the
description given by Herodotus and other Greek writers, who assign to
the Egyptian a black complexion and woolly hair. The second type is
widely different. The nose is long and narrow, the eyelids are thin,
long, and slanting obliquely from the top of the nose towards the
temples; the ears are set high in the head, the body is short and
slight, and the legs are very long. This picture resembles the Hindoos
from beyond the Ganges.
Such were the ancient people of Egypt. Its inhabitants of to-day are
difficult to class from an ethnographic point of view. They must not be
confounded, as is often done, with the Arab race. The present Egyptians
are the old indigenous or Berber race, modified by its fusion with new
elements. This old indigenous race is still to be met with in the
country, sparsely strewn, but quite recognizable. It is this small part
of the population which bears the name of Kopts.
The Kopts, a race preserved by their religion from miscegenation, but
feebly represent the primitive Egyptians; for ancient Egypt was
conquered and subjugated, first by the Arabs, then by the Persians, then
by the Greeks and Romans, and lastly by the Mussulmans.
The Kopts (fig. 74) are generally above the middle height; they are
robust in stature, and the colour of their skin is a dull red. They have
a broad forehead, a rounded chin, full cheeks, a straight nose with
strongly curved nostrils, large brown eyes, a narrow mouth with thick
lips and white teeth, high projecting ears, and extremely black beards
and eyebrows. The striking resemblance of the Kopts to ancient Egyptian
sculpture is a sufficient proof that this group of mankind is really the
remnant of the ancient stock of Egypt, slightly altered by mixture with
the other races that have successively occupied their country.
The Kopts became Christians in the second century. In the seventh
century, at the time of the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs, the Kopts
numbered 600,000. To-day they only amount to 150,000, of whom 10,000
reside in Cairo. They venerate St. Mark as their principal patron. They
go to communion regularly every Friday, lead a very austere life, and
allow their priests to marry.
The Kopts have black eyes, and, in general, curly hair. Morose,
taciturn, and dissimulating, they cringe to their superiors, hate their
equals, and are arrogant to their inferiors. They excel as accountants
in all kinds of business. They carry on exclusively certain industries,
such as the manufacture of mills, of apparatus for irrigation, and of
jewellery.
The Koptic language is the ancient language of the Pharaohs, mixed with
words from the Greek and other tongues. It is written in the Greek
character. It is no longer grammatically taught, and is but little
spoken. It is, however, still used in their form of worship.
[Illustration: 74.--KOPTS OF THE TEMPLE OF KRANAH.]
The Kopts enjoy rather a bad reputation in Egypt. Accomplices in the
Arab invasion, and therefore tolerated by the followers of Mahomet, they
were employed by the Mamelukes to collect the taxes. Thieves and
mendicant monks abound amongst them. Fig. 74 represents Koptic priests
before the temple of Kranah.
The most unfortunate portion of the Egyptian population, the peasants
and the labourers, the same workmen who have been so useful in
constructing the Suez Canal, are called Fellahs.
From an ethnographic point of view, the Fellahs are descended from the
primitive indigenous inhabitants, modified by admixture with the Arabs.
Although they speak the Arab tongue, the coarseness of their features
keeps them distinct from the Arabs. The soil of Egypt thus supports a
singular admixture of races, and it is impossible now-a-days to point
out one single pure type. This is a result of the miserable political
state of the country. From the very first, Egypt has always been the
prey of alien conquerors, who have succeeded one another in one long
roll, each in their turn adding some new feature to those of the
original inhabitants of the country. In “Travels in Egypt,” by Messrs.
Cammas and Lefèvre, published in the “Tour du Monde,” we read the
following observations on the Fellahs:--
[Illustration: 75.--A FELLAH WOMAN AND CHILDREN.]
“The Fellahs have but a feeble conception of the dignity of man and of
their own value; the only answer they give to blows is a complaint.
Sometimes, indeed, they rebel like a flock of sheep, but with a
conviction that their effort will be of no avail. It is thus, at the
times of conscription, they resist the soldiery; but after a few have
been killed, the rest allow themselves to be huddled on board the
man-of-war, in which they are taken down the Nile to Cairo, the women
and the young girls following them for some miles along the banks with
cries and lamentations. A Fellah’s existence is not essentially more
unhappy than that of our peasant hinds. His disposition is rather
cheerful than melancholy; and every circumcision, every marriage, is the
excuse for a holiday, shared by the whole village. Their songs and
their dances are redolent of the spontaneous mirth instinctive in
negroes. But with everything to render life agreeable, the consciousness
of rights and obligations, that something that constitutes the freeman
and the citizen, is wanting in them. The Fellah is fond of his home and
of his hamlet; but Egypt is for him neither a nation nor a fatherland.
It is astonishing at first sight to notice this degradation of the human
species, so sad to behold; however, if the oppressive tyranny of the
Mamelukes, the deep degradation of Egypt under the Greek and Roman
dynasties, and the old caste law, condemning the mass of the population
to the slavery of the soil, are remembered, it is easy to understand why
the Fellah, ground down under the sway of the Pharaohs, stupefied under
that of the Romans, and crushed by Mussulman fatalism, is slow to
respond to the efforts and to the intellectual tendencies of the
government of Saïd Pacha. Since the Arab conquest, the soil has been
legally the property of the sultans, the emirs, and the beys. The feudal
system that once theoretically existed amongst us was rigorously carried
into practice in Egypt. The whole of the crop harvested by the Fellahs
passed, with the exception of a modicum necessary for their absolute
existence, into the granaries of the land-owners. Now-a-days the Viceroy
has abandoned the practice of monopoly; he is anxious to change
arbitrary rights into regular taxes; he has yielded his just claims to
the labourer, and assured to the peasant his right of succession to the
fields he has watered with the sweat of his toil. But it takes a long
interval to blot out the horrible stamp of their past slavery.
[Illustration: 76.--A FELLAH DONKEY BOY.]
“The sailors of the Nile, sons and relations of the Fellahs, resemble
them in their ignorance, in their humility, in their contempt for life,
and in their natural disposition to laughter, to song, and to the dance.
But their wits are becoming sharpened by perpetual contact with
strangers; and their minds are busy on many things undreamt of by the
Fellah.”
The same travellers tell us, in speaking of Egyptian marriages:--
“Marriage in Egypt is not a public act strictly registered by the law.
When the bridegroom and the bride’s parents have come to an
understanding, when the sum to be paid by the husband has been agreed
upon (the wife brings no dower), the celebration of the union takes
place before two witnesses. Sometimes the cadi is apprized; but this is
a formality that is often neglected. In such a union, without any
ulterior guarantee, the wife is but a purchased slave. When the husband
tires of her he sends her back; she can only claim a divorce on one
single ground, for a reason considered by us also as a serious injury.
No legal notice is taken of the birth of children, who are consequently
placed in a precarious position until they are old enough to look after
themselves. Their death is easily concealed; and they occasionally
perish by the hand of one of the other wives, rivals of their mother. A
common custom allows the Nile sailors to have two wives, one at Girgeh,
for instance, and another at Assouan. The husband passes a month with
each of them in turns, as his business allows him. He brings with him a
few piastres, a piece or two of blue cotton stuff, often some little
seaman’s venture, that the wife proceeds to dispose of on his departure.
He receives in exchange the products of the place, that in turn go to
swell the trade of the other wife. We had on board a cargo of
earthenware, salt, and pipes. The sailors disembarked them here and
there as they went up the river, expecting to find on their return
stores of tobacco, dates, and horse-trappings. Polygamy looked at in
this light is productive; but it loses ground notwithstanding every day,
not amongst the poor only, but amongst the rich, who have in most cases
but one legitimate wife at a time. Besides, there is but one real cause
for polygamy--the premature old age of the women. When the men give up
the practice of marrying mere children, who become rapidly worn out by
the fatigues of precocious maternity, polygamy will cease to exist.”
Fig. 77 represents the dress of a Cairo lady.
[Illustration: 77.--A LADY OF CAIRO.]
Almas, or Egyptian dancing-girls, are now-a-days scarcely more than a
name in the country. It is difficult to find even one or two in Cairo.
The last specimens are restricted to the town of Esneh.
The travellers from whom we have taken the above details, visited the
town of Esneh, and there saw the dancing-girls. They give the following
sketch of them.
“We were conducted into a building of forbidding aspect. The
dancing-girls were grouped together in the midst of the apartment. They
were all plain enough in the face, but young and well made. The hope of
large gains had induced them to take extra pains with their dress. I
still see their low-necked vests, their wide silk pantaloons, fastened
above the hips with dazzling waistbands; their inner tunic of gauze or
flesh-coloured muslin; some with naked feet, others with long red or
yellow Turkish slippers. Most of them wore necklaces and bracelets, and
small coins hanging over their foreheads; whilst at the back of their
heads hung a small silk handkerchief, carelessly thrown on. The dance
began with a series of attitudes, beseeching and graceful, then rapidly
grew animated, till it expressed a pitch of deep passion. Their bosoms
remained immovable, while they moved the rest of their bodies as if in a
frenzy. A distribution of olives, of liqueurs, and a shower of small
coins, won us a thousand blessings, and brought our evening to a
dignified close. The almas do not meet every day with such a windfall;
and if they dance during the winter, they do not sing in the summer. The
population amidst which they live cannot afford to remunerate their
talents. Well versed in poses plastiques, but incapable of all work,
they are reduced to all sorts of expedients, and to loans, which make
them the slaves of the usurers. Their time is spent in smoking, in
drinking aquavitæ, and in consuming the omnipresent coffee. The miseries
of such an existence daily decrease the number of almas, who, in the
time of the Mamelukes, were to be found everywhere in Egypt. Esneh is
their last refuge, and was, no doubt, their birthplace.”
[Illustration: 78.--ALMA OR DANCING-GIRL.]
THE SEMITIC FAMILY.
We have already said that the races who composed the Aramean branch
kindled in Asia, at an early period in history, the torch of
civilization. This observation is more particularly applicable to the
nations of the Semitic family, of whom we are now going to speak. It is
from this family, in fact, that sprang the nations so well known in
ancient history, under the name of Assyrians, Hebrews, Phœnicians and
Carthaginians. Conquered by other races, the Assyrians, the Hebrews, the
Phœnicians, and the Carthaginians have successively disappeared and are
now almost entirely replaced by the Arabs.
We unite to the Semitic family the Arabs, the Jews, and the Syrians.
* * * * *
_The Arabs._--The Arabs constitute the principal population of modern
Arabia; they also form a great part of the inhabitants of Egypt, Nubia,
Barbary, and Sahara. They extend into Persia, and even into Hindostan.
Some of the Arabs are shepherds (Bedouins), others cultivate the soil;
the former are nomadic, the latter sedentary. The Bedouins, children of
the desert, perpetual wanderers, active and very temperate, are smaller
and of a more slender appearance than the others, and support with ease
the fatigues and privations of their mode of life. The agricultural
Arabs, or _fehles_, are taller and more robust. The former have a wild
and suspicious cast of countenance. The characteristics of the Arab race
are, a long face, with a high-shaped head; an aquiline nose, nearly in a
line with the forehead; a retreating and small mouth; even teeth; the
eye not at all deep set, in spite of the want of prominence of the brow;
graceful figures, formed by the small volume of fatty matter and
cellular tissue, and by the presence of powerful but not largely
developed muscle; a keen wit; a lively intelligence; and a deep and
persevering mould of character. These characteristics show that they
possess a remarkable superiority over other races, and Baron Larrey has
found fresh evidence of this superiority in the shape of their head, in
the convolutions of their brain, in the consistency of their nervous
tissue, in the appearance of their muscular fibre and their bony
structure, and in the regularity and perfect development of their heart
and arterial system.
We see therefore that the Arab type is really an admirable one. This
type, consistent and well defined as a whole, has, however, undergone
considerable modifications under the influence of divers causes. The
colour of their skin varies a good deal: their complexion is sometimes
as white as that of Europeans of the most northern countries. In Yemen,
Arab women have been noticed whose complexion was a deep yellow. In that
portion of the valley of the Nile contiguous to Nubia, the Arabs are
black. In this same valley of the Nile, above Dengola, the _Shegya_
Arabs are jet black, a bright clear black, a colour which the English
traveller Waddington thought the most beautiful that could be chosen for
a human creature.
“These men,” says Waddington, “entirely differ from negroes in the
brilliancy of their colour, in the quality of their hair, in the
regularity of their features, in the gentle expression of their limpid
eyes, and by the softness of their skin, which in this respect is not at
all inferior to that of Europeans.”
Amongst the Arabs who dwell in more temperate climates, hair more or
less fair, and blue or grey eyes have been observed. As a contrast, in
the Libyan desert, tribes have been met with whose hair was woolly and
nearly analogous to that of negroes. Taken altogether, the nomadic
Arabs, who have faithfully adhered for many centuries to the same mode
of life, exhibit, in spite of varying climates, the original mould of an
exceptional beauty.
Fig. 79 shows a tent of nomadic Arabs.
* * * * *
_The Jews._--Among the lesser nations with an affinity to the Semitic
family, there is one remarkable by its historical importance, and by the
manner in which it has managed to preserve its original type during the
eighteen centuries in which it has been scattered all over the whole
world: we mean the Jews or Israelites.[6]
[6] French politeness has made between these two words a distinction
which is too odd to allow us to pass it over. In France, a rich
Jew is called an _Israelite_, a poor Israelite is called a _Jew_.
The Messrs. Rothschild are _Israelitish_ bankers; but if by some
impossibility they lost their millions and went to live at
Frankfort, in the Jew’s quarter, in the old family house, which is
still there, and which we have seen, they would become, like their
ancestors, _Jewish_ traders.
[Illustration: 79.--WANDERING ARABS.]
The Jews have preserved much of their own peculiar physiognomy. They are
distinguished from the nations among whom they are dispersed, by
peculiar features easily recognized in many paintings of the great
masters. Still they have ended by adopting more or less the
characteristics of the nations with whom they have long resided. Under
the sole influence of external circumstances and mode of life, the
medley of races amongst which they have existed has little by little
altered their national type. In the northern parts of Europe the Jews
have a white skin, blue eyes, and fair hair. In some portions of Germany
many are to be seen with red beards; in Portugal they are
tawny-coloured. In those districts of India where they have been long
settled, in Cochin for instance, on the Malabar coast, they are black,
and resemble the natives so exactly in complexion that it is often
difficult to distinguish them from the Hindoos.
[Illustration: 80.--JEW OF BUCHAREST.]
Fig. 80 represents a Jew of Bucharest.
* * * * *
_Syrians._--The ancient Syrians have, as a rule, become absorbed in the
races who have conquered them; their language, however, is still spoken
by the Christian population of Mesopotamia and Chaldea, the Sourianis
and the Yakoubis or Chaldeans.
Beyrout, at the foot of the mountains of Libanus (fig. 81), is a town
and port which is the commercial centre of all Syria. Thither Libanus
sends its wine and its silks; Yemen, its coffee; Haman, its corn;
Djebaïl and Lattakiah, their pale-coloured tobaccos; Palmyra, its
horses; Damascus, its arms; Bagdad, its costly stuffs; and all Europe,
the countless productions of its industry.
[Illustration: 81.--BEYROUT.]
The very first glance at Beyrout shows how commerce prospers in that
town. The Maronite in his gloomy and coarse garments, the Druze in his
white or parti-coloured turban, armed with the most costly weapons, the
Arab displaying his picturesque rags, the Turk, the Greek, the Jew, and
the Armenian, all hurry to and fro, jostling one another in the crowd.
It is a regular Babel of language and costume: in which, however, the
Christian element predominates.
But the streets of Beyrout, like all those of Eastern towns, are not in
unison with such a brilliant panorama.
The houses are massive shells of stone; the streets are narrow and
steep, communicating sometimes by tunnelled passages; some of the
broader ones are occupied by _cafedjis_, inside which squatting Arabs
tranquilly smoke their chibouks, sheltered from the rays of the sun by
awnings of coarse rush-matting hung above their heads. In the middle of
the street the children roll about in the dust.
* * * * *
The _Maronites_ and the _Druzes_ are two lesser nations of Libanus,
speaking, however, like most modern Syrians, the Arabic tongue.
The Maronites are an influential but ignorant people. They derive their
origin from a Christian monk of the name of Maroun, who lived towards
the close of the sixth century, and died in the odour of sanctity. A
convent was founded to honour his memory. A century later, one of his
disciples, John the Maronite, espoused the quarrel of the Latin
Christians against those of Greek descent, at that time making much
headway in Libanus. The latter drew their inspiration from
Constantinople; the Maronites, on the contrary, imbibed theirs from
Rome. A religious pretext was made use of to hide political differences.
John the Maronite armed his mountaineers, led them against the enemy,
and seized the whole of Libanus right up to the walls of Jerusalem.
Keeping within their mountains, although comparatively few in number,
the Maronites preserved for a long time their independence. It was not
until 1588 that they were conquered by Ibrahim, Pacha of Cairo, and
forced to pay a yearly tribute, which they still continue to do.
[Illustration: 82.--MARONITES OF LIBANUS.]
In spite of this the Maronites, like all mountaineers, have kept their
desire for independence. Persecuted by their masters, the Mussulmans;
and by the Druzes, rivals raised up against them by the English,
jealous, according to the French, of the latter’s influence in Libanus;
on bad terms with the Ansarieh or Mutualis; they still manage, the spade
in one hand and the sword in the other, to cultivate and defend the
inheritance of their fathers.
Ignorant as they are, the Maronites are the only educated race in the
country. The magnificent convents which exist in the districts of the
Maronites, are full of ancient manuscripts and modern Arab writings.
Fig. 82 represents a Maronite convent in Libanus.
The Druzes are schismatic Mussulmans, as the Maronites are sectarian
Christians. They are inclined to cultivate the soil, but are naturally
warlike. Every Druze is a ready-made soldier, hospitable, if you will,
but quite as capable of fighting, when the opportunity offers, as the
best guérilléros in Europe.
THE PERSIAN FAMILY.
The white races who come from the south-east of the Caucasus are
generally classed in the European branch, because the languages of both
are somewhat similar, and have both some affinity with Sanscrit. But
these races have a much greater resemblance to the Arameans than to the
Europeans. Like the Arameans, the nations of the Persian family early
acquired a certain degree of civilization, to which they have since
added.
The races belonging to the Persian family have a white skin, black eyes
and hair, and are of middle height. They inhabit not only Persia, but
Armenia, Turkistan, and some portions of Hindostan.
Five well-defined divisions can be made in the races that constitute
this family: 1st, the Persians, properly so called, or the _Tadjiks_;
2nd, the Afghans; 3rd, the Kurds; 4th, the Armenians; 5th, the small
tribe of the Ossetines.
* * * * *
_The Persians._--A great part of Persia is still occupied by tribes who
wander about the country, living in tents, and forcing their slaves and
servants to till the soil. But many of these tribes are aliens to the
Persian race. The pure race of Persians only inhabits towns and their
immediate neighbourhood. These Tadjiks or thoroughbred Persians were
formerly much more numerous than they are now. The north-east of the
kingdom of Iran is the land of their ancestors. All ancient writers have
spoken of the primitive Persians (Medes and Persians) as a singularly
fine and well made race. Ammianus Marcellinus speaks of Persia as a
country renowned for the beauty of its women (ubi feminarum pulchritudo
excellit), and all the old authors describe the Persians as men of a
tall stature and a handsome countenance.
The figures we find in the numerous ancient sculptures on Persian
monuments, at Istakhar, at Persepolis, at Ekbatana, and in many other
places, confirm in every respect this evidence. In the basso-relievos
from Nineveh in the Palace of the Louvre, in Paris, the refined features
and the good looks which distinguished the men of that ancient city are
at once recognizable. The type is a noble and dignified one, and shows
traces of much reflection and intelligence.
The Tadjiks, or modern Persians, are likewise extremely handsome. They
possess a great regularity of feature, an oval countenance, luxuriant
hair, large and well defined black eyebrows, and that soft dark eye held
in such high estimation by Easterns.
The Tadjiks are cheerful, witty, active, frivolous, idle, and vicious;
fond of luxury, dress, and display. They possess a literature, and their
language, remarkable for its flowery and ornamental diction, is spoken
not only in Persia, but by the upper classes in a large portion of
Hindostan.
Persia (the kingdom of Iran) is governed by a king (shah) who exercises
almost absolute authority and who resides at Teheran. The heir to the
throne is the eldest son of the king’s eldest son, according to an
ancient Russian custom.
The twelve provinces of which the kingdom is composed are administered
by a governor (beglebeig), who delegates his authority to a lieutenant
(kakim). The towns are ruled over by a special governor, by a police
inspector, and by a first magistrate. Every village elects a ruler
(ketlkhoda). The legislation of Persia, differing in little from that of
Turkey, is based on the Koran.
The kingdom of Persia can send into the field 150,000 soldiers; but its
permanent army does not exceed 10,000 men, among whom exist as a
special corps, the shah’s guards (gholaums). Persia has a small merchant
navy.
[Illustration: 83.--HADY-MERZA-AGHAZZI.]
Manufactures do not seem to succeed in Persia. This country, formerly
the centre of a large commerce, now imports almost everything, and only
manufactures articles of primary necessity.
India, Russia, and Afghanistan supply the Persians with most of their
manufactured goods.
Persia, having been often invaded and occupied by foreigners, has
necessarily a very mixed population. This consists of four classes:
1. The nobility, who fill all public posts.
2. The citizens of the towns, comprising the clergy, and the scholastic
profession, who are a mixture of Persians, Turks, Tartars, Georgians,
Armenians, and Arabs.
3. The peasants, belonging to the old Persian stock.
4. The nomadic or pastoral tribes, composed of Persians, to whom must be
added the remnant of the ancient conquering classes of this country. It
is from this last class that spring the soldiers and all the military
clique who constitute in Persia a real hereditary autocracy.
The religion of the ancient Persians was that of Zoroath, that is to
say, necromancy. In the third and fourth centuries of the Christian era,
Christianity made many converts in this land, although at that time it
was occupied by the Arabs. But from the commencement of the fifth
century the kings of Persia devoted their energies to crushing it out of
their country, and Mahometanism is now the predominant religion. A new
sect, the _sosists_, taking rise in a province in Persia (Kerman), has
made many converts throughout the kingdom. The votaries of this new
creed are deists, who only accept the Koran as a book of moral precepts,
and who repudiate the religious dogma that Mahomet drew from it.
Fig. 84 represents several Persian types; fig. 85 gives an idea of the
costly dress of the Persian nobility.
[Illustration: 84.--PERSIAN TYPES.]
The author of a “Journey in Persia,” Count de Gobineau, has well
described the internal life of the Persians. We will make a few
extracts from his interesting book. Let us read, for instance, the
chapter in which is described _A dinner in Ispahan_. “The table,” M. de
Gobineau tells us, “laid for twenty guests, was almost lost in the
immense size of the place. The front of the theatre was open, supported
by ten lofty columns painted in light colours; the large curtain in use,
white, with black designs embroidered on it, was stretched like an
awning over the nearest part of the gardens. The guests overlooked a
large fountain of running water and vast beds of plane trees. Numerous
servants in motley dresses, and armed each according to his own fancy
(some of them carried a complete arsenal), stood in groups at the end
of the terrace, or handed round the dishes, helping the guests. The
table had been laid out with the help of the European servants, a little
in the European manner, and a good deal according to Persian customs.
Its centre was occupied by a perfect forest of vases and cups, made of
wood, or of blue, white, or yellow and red glass, and filled with
flowers. The novelty of the thing to our hosts, lay in the spoons and
forks: when by good fortune, they managed to impale a piece upon their
fork and carry it to their mouths without pricking themselves, it was
the signal for a burst of compliments. Their appetites were a little
eccentric. One of them filled his plate with mustard, and declared he
had never tasted anything half so good. As their parade was greater than
the results, we begged them to help themselves in their own way. After
much hesitation, they consented to hold on to the fork with the left
hand while they picked up their food with the right.
[Illustration: 85.--PERSIAN NOBLEMEN.]
“In the midst of the meal we heard a jingle of silvery bells, and saw
four young boys, dressed as women, in pink and blue dresses spangled
with tinsel, enter. They were dancers. They wore little gilt caps, from
beneath which their long hair fell over their shoulders. The musicians
were seated on the ground: one played on a kind of mandolin, another on
a hand drum, and a third performed on an instrument with a quantity of
strings stretched across a table, from which he drew, with some little
sticks, sounds similar to those of the harp.”
M. de Gobineau tells us that Ispahan contains many men learned in
various branches, rich and prosperous merchants, and men of property who
live on their incomes. The town may be compared in size and tranquillity
to Versailles.
Another chapter of M. de Gobineau’s book is worth reading, that headed
“Betrothal, Divorce, and a Persian Lady’s Day.”
The betrothed are usually very young. The youth is from fifteen to
sixteen years of age, and the girl from ten to eleven. It is unusual to
find a woman of three-and-twenty who has not had at least a couple of
husbands, and often many more, so easily are divorces obtained. The
women are kept strictly secluded in one of the inner apartments or
_enderoun_, that is to say, no outsider, no stranger to the family, is
allowed to enter it. But they are quite at liberty to go out from
morning till night, and often indeed from night to morning. In the first
place they go to bathe. They go to the bath with an attendant who
carries a box full of toilet necessaries and the requisite articles of
dress, and it is at least four or five hours before they return from it.
After that they pay visits which they make to one another, and which
occupy a similar interval. Their last method of killing time is the
pilgrimage they make to the graves of their kindred, which are at no
great distance in the midst of pretty scenery.
All Persian women are so carefully veiled, and dressed so similarly, as
to their out-door garments, that it is impossible for the most practised
eye to distinguish one from the other. Besides paying visits, the
excursion to the bath, the shopping in the bazaar, and their
pilgrimages, the women go out of doors when it pleases them, and the
streets are full of them. Unfortunately Persian women are rather in the
habit of looking upon themselves as inferior irresponsible beings.
Absolute mistresses at home, they are extremely passionate and violent,
and their tiny slipper, furnished with a sharp iron point half an inch
long, often leaves very disagreeable marks on their husbands’ faces.
[Illustration: 86.--PERSIAN WOMEN.]
The Persian in his turn spends half his time in the bazaar, and the
remainder in paying and receiving visits. This is how they take place.
[Illustration: 87.--LOUTY AND BAKTYAN.]
The intending visitor sets out on horseback accompanied by as many of
his servants as he can collect, the _djelodar_, with the embroidered
saddle-cloth across his shoulders, at his horse’s head; and behind him
the _kalyaudjy_ (musician) with his instrument. When he reaches the door
he wishes to stop at, he dismounts. He then, with his servants in front
of him, traverses one or two passages, invariably low and dark, and
sometimes one or two courts, before reaching the apartments of the
master of the house. If his visitor is of higher rank than himself, the
host comes to the door to receive him. If they are equals, he sends his
son or one of his young relations to do so. The opening courtesies are
extremely flowery, such as “How came your lordship to conceive the
compassionate idea of visiting this lowly roof?” &c.
When they reach the drawing-room, they find all the men of the family
standing in a row against the wall bowing to the new-comer. As soon as
every one is seated, the visitor inquires of the master of the house,
“If, by the will of God, his nose is fat.” The latter replies: “Glory be
to God! it is so, by means of your goodness.” This same question is
sometimes repeated three or four times running. After a few moments of
conversation, tea, coffee, and sherbet are handed round. The great charm
of this rather frivolous gossip is its exaggeration, and the witty and
amusing turn given to it.
The Persians have a peculiar taste for calligraphy. Painting is an
almost unknown art amongst them. They possess, however, a certain amount
of artistic instinct, as is shown by the richness and elegance of some
of their monuments.
Fig. 87 shows the reader other types of Persian costume worn by
different classes. The Louty and the Baktyan represented in this sketch
are members of a nomadic tribe, enjoying rather a bad reputation.
* * * * *
The _Afghans_ inhabit the mountainous region lying to the north of the
lowlands of the Punjaub, that is to say, the basin of the Indus. Their
climate is a charming one. The Afghans are fine muscular men with a long
face, high cheek-bones and a prominent nose. Their hair is generally
black. Their skin, according to the part of the country they inhabit, is
dark, tawny, or white. They are an unpolished, warlike race, differing
in customs and in language both from the Persians and the natives of
India. They are subdivided into many tribes or clans.
* * * * *
The _Beloochees_, addicted to pastoral life, and primitive in their
habits, move about from place to place, dwelling in tents which are
constructed of felt on a slight framework of willow. They wander, with
their flocks, about the table lands surrounding Kelat. They are to be
found in nearly the whole of that part of eastern Persia, which, lying
between Afghanistan to the north and the Indian Ocean to the south,
stretches westwards from the Indus to the great Salt Desert. They speak
a dialect derived from the Persian.
[Illustration: 88.--AN ARMENIAN DRAWING-ROOM.]
* * * * *
The _Brahnis_ are nomadic tribes found in the colder and more elevated
parts of the high grounds comprised within the above geographical
limits. They are short and thickset, with round faces and flat features,
and brown hair and beards. The Beloochees, who live in lower and warmer
regions, are, on the contrary, fine tall men, with regular features and
an expressive physiognomy. But those who dwell in the lowlands, close to
the Indus, have a darker and almost black skin. The Brahnis bear the
same relation to the Hindoos of the Punjaub that the Beloochees do to
the Persians.
* * * * *
The _Kurds_, who occupy the lofty mountainous region, intersected by
deep valleys, which is situated between the immense table land of Persia
and the plains of Mesopotamia, are a semi-barbarous people, very
different from the descendants of the Medo-Persians, though also sprung
from an Aryan root. They are tall, with coarse features. Their
complexion is brown, their hair is black, their eyes small, their mouth
large, and their countenances wild looking.
* * * * *
The _Armenians_ of both sexes are remarkable for their physical beauty.
Their language is nearly allied to the oldest dialects of the Aryan
race, and their history is connected with that of the Medes and Persians
by very ancient traditions. They have a white skin, black eyes and hair,
and their features are rounder than those of the Persians. The luxuriant
growth of the hair on their faces distinguishes them from the Hindoos.
Fig. 88 represents a drawing-room in an Armenian’s house at Soucha.
The climate of Armenia is generally a cold one; but in the valleys and
in the plains the atmosphere is less keen and the soil very fertile.
Crops of wheat, wine, fruit, tobacco, and cotton are very plentiful
there. Mines of gold, silver, copper, iron, and lead are found there,
but these are but little worked. Armenian horses have the reputation of
being the best bred in western Asia. Cochineal, an important production
of this country, is very plentiful at the foot of Ararat. Excellent
manna is found in the same districts. Armenian floreals are very
abundant.
Armenia nowadays constitutes the pachaliks of Erzeroum, Kars, and
Dijar-Bekr in Asiatic Turkey. Besides its indigenous population, it is
inhabited by Turks, Kurds, Turcomans, and the remnants of other nations
who formerly made raids into their country. The Armenian is
distinguished by his serious, laborious, intelligent, and hospitable
disposition. He is very successful in business. Fond of the traditions
of his forefathers, and attached to his government, he has a good deal
of sympathy with Europeans. He becomes easily accustomed to European
customs, and learns our languages with little difficulty.
The Christian religion has always been followed in Armenia, and
Armenians are much attached to their church. But this is divided into
several sects. The Gregorian (the creed founded by Saint Gregory), the
Roman Catholic, and the Protestant religions are all to be found in
Armenia. The head of the first, which is the most numerous (it musters
about four million worshippers), resides at Etchmiadzia, in Russian
Armenia. There is another patriarch, who is nearly independent, at Cis,
the ancient capital of the kingdom of Cilicia. The patriarch of the
Catholics, who are fifty thousand in number, resides at Constantinople;
but a second patriarch (_in partibus_), whose jurisdiction extends over
Syria, Cilicia, and a part of Asia Minor, dwells on Mount Libanus. The
Roman Catholics of Russian Armenia belong to the see of the Metropolitan
residing in St. Petersburg. The head of the Protestant church, which
contains from four to five thousand souls, dwells at Constantinople.
* * * * *
The _Ossetines_, who are the last branch of the Aryan race in Asia,
inhabit a small portion of the chain of the Caucasian mountains,
populated for the most part by races distinct from the Indo-Europeans.
They resemble the peasants of the north of Russia; but their customs are
barbarous, and they are given to pillage.
M. Vereschaguine met with the Ossetines in his travels in the Caucasian
provinces. A Cossack, with whom he had some trouble, belonged to this
race. The villages of the Ossetines lie on the slopes of the mountains.
On each side of the Darial Pass lofty walls, flanked by towers, are to
be seen, reminding the spectator of the days of brigandage.
The Ossetine, contrary to the customs of all the other tribes of the
Caucasus and of the Trans-Caucasus, uses beds, tables, and chairs. He
seats himself, like most Europeans, without crossing his legs.
THE GEORGIAN FAMILY.
The _Georgian_ Family is gathered together on the southern slope of the
Caucasus. The beauty of the Georgian women is proverbial. M. Moynet, in
his “Journey to the Caspian and the Black Seas,” tells us that they
deserve all their reputation. Their physiognomy is as calm and regular
as that of the immortal type handed down to us in the ancient statuary
of Greece. A head-band of bright colours in the shape of a crown, and
from which hangs a veil passing under the chin, forms their head-dress.
Two long plaits of hair fall behind, reaching nearly to their feet.
Nothing can be imagined more graceful or more dignified than this
head-dress. A long ribbon of the gayest hues serves them for a sash, and
falls down the front of their dress to the ground. Out of doors they
wrap themselves up in a flowing white cloth, which shields them from the
sun, and which they wear with much grace.
[Illustration: 89.--GEORGIANS.]
The men are also generally handsome. They have preserved the Caucasian
type untouched and unaltered. They wear rich dresses, embroidered with
gold and silver, and carry costly, sparkling arms. They are brave and
chivalrous, and are passionately fond of horses.
THE CIRCASSIAN FAMILY.
The _Circassian_ Family, collected in the Caucasian mountains, is
composed of a population distinguished for their bravery, but very
feebly civilized. The Circassian type has in the whole of the East a
great reputation for beauty, and it deserves it. Most Circassians have a
long oval face, a thin straight nose, a small mouth, large dark eyes, a
well-defined figure, a small foot, brown hair, a very white skin, and a
martial appearance.
In affinity with the Circassians are the _Abases_, who speak a dialect
akin to Circassian. They are semi-barbarous, and live on the produce of
their herds and from the spoil of their brigandage. Their features show
no sign of Circassian grace. They have a narrow head, a prominent nose,
and the lower half of their face is extremely short.
* * * * *
The _Mingrelians_, inhabitants of Mingrelia, a little kingdom on the
shores of the Caspian Sea, resemble the Georgians in physical
appearance, in manners, and in customs.
THE YELLOW RACE.
The Yellow Race has also been called the _Mongol Race_, from the
well-defined features of one of the families it comprises.
The principal characteristics which distinguish the individuals and the
families belonging to the Yellow race, are, high cheekbones, a
lozenge-shaped head, a small flat nose, a flat countenance, narrow
obliquely-set eyes, straight coarse black hair, a scanty beard, and a
complexion of a greenish hue.
However, all the members of the yellow race do not exhibit these
distinct features. Sometimes they show but a few of them, whilst others
of their characteristics would seem to identify them with the Caucasian
group. It is thus very difficult to make the proper divisions in this
race.
We will separate it into three branches--the Hyperborean, the Mongolian,
and the Sinaic branches.
CHAPTER I.
HYPERBOREAN BRANCH.
The Hyperborean branch is composed of the various races inhabiting the
districts in the vicinity of the North Pole, small in stature and
possessing the principal characteristics of the Yellow Race.
The people belonging to the Hyperborean branch are nomadic, and their
only domestic animals are the dog and the reindeer. They are spread over
a vast surface, but are few in number. They support themselves by
hunting and fishing. They are passionately fond of strong drinks, and
their civilization is of a very rudimentary character.
Some of these people might perhaps be more properly classed under the
Mongolian branch. Possibly some even should be classified in the White
Race, for they have lost, under the influences of climate and of their
mode of life, the distinguishing characteristics of the Yellow Race. As
it is very difficult to make a natural classification of these people,
we will retain that set up by M. D’Omalius d’Halloy.
This naturalist distinguishes, amid the people who compose the
Hyperborean branch, seven families, taking the affinities of language as
a basis. These are the _Lapp_, the _Samoiede_, the _Kamtschadale_, the
_Esquimaux_, the _Ienissian_, the _Jukaghirite_, and the _Koriak_
families.
THE LAPP FAMILY.
The Laplanders are thin and short, but pretty strong and active. Their
head is disproportionately large. They have a round skull, wide
cheek-bones, the broad flat Mongol nose, a protruding forehead, and
goggle eyes. Their complexion is a yellowish brown, and their hair is
usually black. This curious race of men is divided into two distinct
classes, the nomadic Laplander and the sedentary Laplander.
[Illustration: 90.--LAPLANDERS.]
The sole property of the former is his herd of reindeer. He takes these
to the high grounds, and after spending the months of June, July, and
August there, returns in September to his winter quarters. In his
journeys to and fro, he uses the reindeer as beasts of burden. When the
ground is covered with snow, he harnesses these useful quadrupeds to his
sledge. (Fig. 90.)
Dogs are also used as draft animals in Lapland. On the borders of the
scanty forests of Lapland and Siberia, the inhabitants of these
barbarous countries may often be seen gliding rapidly by on a sledge
drawn by dogs.
The usual life of the nomadic Laplander is about as wretched as can well
be imagined. A tent stretched on four uprights is his abode summer and
winter. The fire-place is in the middle of the tent, and the smoke
escapes through an opening in the top. Five or six reindeer skins
stretched round the fire form the beds of the whole family, to which the
surrounding smoke serves as the only curtain. Their furniture consists
of an iron pot and a few wooden pails. The Laplander carries in his
pocket a horn spoon and a knife. He often, instead of wooden pails,
makes use of the bladders of the reindeer. In them he carries the milk
mixed with water which is his daily beverage. Whenever he sets out on a
journey, he harnesses a pair of reindeer to his sledge.
This nomadic race, which formerly occupied a part of Sweden, is now much
diminished in numbers. Thirty years ago their number, counting all that
could be found in Russian, Norwegian, and Swedish Lapland, only came to
twelve thousand.
The sedentary Laplander is usually some poor reindeer proprietor, who
having ruined himself, and being unable to continue the life of a
wandering herdsman, becomes a beggar or a servant. If he has still a
little money left, he settles down on the sea coast, and turns
fisherman, while his wife spins wool. His existence in the midst of men
of a different race is then a solitary one. He is a regular pariah,
despised by both Swede and Norwegian. His hut, his dress, his customs,
are all different to those of the people amongst whom he has taken
shelter. His children are not allowed to marry into any of the
neighbouring families, and he is utterly and entirely alone amid
strangers.
In his “Travels in the Scandinavian States,” M. de Saint-Blaize tells us
how he suddenly fell in with an encampment of Laplanders in the night
time. A hundred deer, whose immense antlers, interlaced the one with the
other, produced the effect of a little forest, were grouped around the
camp fires. Two young Laplanders and some dogs watched over the safety
of the whole. Hard by were the tents. An old Laplander and his wife
offered the traveller some reindeer milk. It was very oily, and reminded
him of goat’s milk.
The same traveller tells us that when on a journey a Laplander’s wife
gives birth to a child, she places it in a piece of hollow wood with the
opening fenced in with wire to give play to the baby’s head. This log
with its precious contents is then placed on the mother’s back and she
rejoins the rest. When they halt, she hangs this kind of wooden
chrysalis to the bough of a tree, the wire protecting the child from the
teeth of wild animals (fig. 91).
[Illustration: 91.--A LAPP CRADLE.]
THE SAMOIEDE FAMILY.
The Samoiedes are a wandering race, spread over both sides of the great
Siberian promontory ending in Cape North. Some of their tribes are also
to be met with pretty far to the west, to the east, and to the south of
this region. They support themselves by hunting and fishing on the
borders of the Frozen Ocean. They bear much resemblance to the Tunguses
of whom we shall speak later. Their face is flat, round and broad, their
lips are thick and turned up, and their nose is wide and open at the
nostrils. Their hair is black and coarse, and they have but little on
their face. Most of them are rather under the middle size, well
proportioned and rather thick set. (Fig. 92.) They are wild and restless
in disposition.
THE KAMTSCHADALE FAMILY.
We can only just make a note of the Kamtschadales, with whom the
navigators of the Arctic seas have been for a long time acquainted. They
inhabit the southern portion of the peninsula that bears their name.
They are short men with a tawny skin, black hair, a meagre beard, a
broad face, a short flat nose, small deep-set eyes, scanty eyebrows,
immense stomachs, and thin legs.
[Illustration: 92.--SAMOIEDES.]
More to the South, in the Kourile Islands, and on the adjacent
continent, we meet with a race differing widely from the preceding one.
They are the inhabitants of these islands, and are called _Aïnos_. They
are of short stature, but their features are regular. The most
remarkable of their physical characteristics is the extraordinary
development of their hair. They are the hairiest of men, and it is this
peculiarity that makes us allude to them. Their beards cover their
breasts, and their arms, neck, and back are covered with hair. This is
an exceptional peculiarity, particularly with men of the Mongol type.
The language spoken by the Aïnos, is strikingly like that spoken by the
Samoiedes and by some of the inhabitants of the Caucasus. Their bodies
are well formed and their disposition is gentle and hospitable. They
live by hunting and fishing.
THE ESQUIMAUX FAMILY.
Greenland and most of the islands adjacent to this portion of the
American continent are inhabited by a people that have received the
common name of Esquimaux and who constitute a very numerous family.
The principal and the most numerous tribes of the Esquimaux family
belong to the American continent. But as they are quite distinct from
the other inhabitants of this continent, and as they have a much greater
resemblance to the people of Northern Asia, and to the Mongols, it is
here that we mention them.
The head of the Esquimaux has a more pyramidal shape than that of the
Mongols of Upper Asia. This is owing to the narrowing of the skull. Such
an outward sign of degradation reveals at once the moral and social
inferiority of these poor people. Their eyes are black, small and wild,
but show no vivacity. Their nose is very flat, and they have a small
mouth, with the lower lip much thicker than the upper one. Some have
been seen with plenty of hair on their face. Their hair is usually
black, but occasionally fair, and always long, coarse, and unkempt.
Their complexion is clear. They are thick-set, have a decided tendency
to obesity, and are seldom more than five feet in height.
During a journey undertaken by Dr. Kane of New York to the 82nd degree
of northern latitude, this bold explorer spent more than a year amongst
the Esquimaux who live at Etah, the nearest human abode to the North
Pole. Men, women, and children, covered only by their filth, laid in
heaps in a hut, huddled together in a kind of basket. A lamp, with a
flame sixteen inches long produced by burning seal oil, warmed and
lighted the place. Bits of seal’s flesh, from whence issued a most
horrible ammoniacal odour, lay upon the floor of this den.
Fig. 93 represents the summer encampment of a tribe of Esquimaux, and
fig. 94 a winter one. Fig. 95 represents a village, that is to say, a
collection of huts made of blocks of snow which shelter from the
excessive cold these disinherited children of Nature.
[Illustration: 93.--ESQUIMAUX SUMMER ENCAMPMENT.]
The seals from the bay of Reusselaer provide the Esquimaux with food
during the greater part of the year. More to the south, as far as
Murchison’s channel, the whale penetrates in due season. The winter
famine begins to cease when the sun reappears. January and February are
the months of hardship; during the latter part of March the spring
fisheries recommence, and with them movement and life begin anew. The
poor wretched dens covered with snow are then the scenes of great
activity. The masses of accumulated provisions are then brought out and
piled up on the frozen ground: the women prepare the skins to make shoes
of, and the men make a reserve store of harpoons for the winter. The
Esquimaux are not lazy. They hunt with a good deal of pluck, and are
often forced to hide their game in excavations that the wild beasts may
not get at it. Their consumption of food is very great. They are large
eaters, not from greediness, but of necessity, on account of the extreme
cold of these high latitudes.
[Illustration: 94.--ESQUIMAUX WINTER ENCAMPMENT.]
Fig. 96 represents, according to Doctor Kane, the chief of an Esquimaux
tribe.
Doctor Hayes, in his “Journey to the Open Sea of the North Pole,”
published in 1866, has described the Esquimaux type. A broad face, heavy
jaws, prominent cheek bones, a narrow forehead, small eyes of a deep
black, thin long lips, with two narrow rows of sound teeth, jet-black
hair, a little of it on the upper lip and on the chin; small in stature
but stoutly built, and a robust constitution of a vigorous kind; such
are the distinguishing characteristics of the people of the far north.
The Esquimaux style of dress seemed, to the learned traveller, pretty
much the same for both sexes; a pair of boots, stockings, mittens,
trousers, a waistcoat, and an overcoat. The father-in-law of one of his
travelling companions wore boots of bearskin coming up to the knee,
whilst those of his wife reached much higher, and were made of seal
leather. Their trousers were made of sealskin, their stockings of
dogskin, their mittens of sealskin, and their waistcoat of kidskin with
the fur inside.
[Illustration: 95.--ESQUIMAUX VILLAGE.]
The overcoat, made of the skin of the blue fox, does not open in front,
but is put on like a shirt. It ends in a hood covering the head like the
cowl of a monk. The women cut their coat to a point, in order to confine
their hair, which they gather together on the top of the head, and tie
up in a knot as close and as hard as a stone, by means of untanned
straps of sealskin. This is shown in fig. 93.
[Illustration: 96.--ESQUIMAUX CHIEF.]
Seal-hunting is the chief occupation of the Esquimaux. The seal is a
providential animal to the wild inhabitants of the shores of the Frozen
Ocean of America, as the reindeer is the godsend of the Laplanders,
inhabitants of the shores of the same seas in the north of Europe.
[Illustration: 97.--ESQUIMAUX BIRD-CATCHER.]
The eggs of the seabirds, particularly of the penguin, are a second
source of food to these people. The Esquimaux run all sorts of risks to
gather the eggs of these birds on the steep and giddy cliffs where their
nests are found (fig. 97).
The Esquimaux can only count up to ten, the number of their fingers.
They have no system of notation, and can assign no date to past events.
They have no annals of any kind or sort, and do not even know their own
age.
TEMISIAN FAMILY.
A people more generally known under the name of _Ostiaks_ of _Temisia_.
They speak a very different language from that of the Ostiaks of the Obi
whom we have already mentioned as belonging to the White Race.
JUKAGHIRITE AND KORIAK FAMILIES.
These are wandering people, becoming more and more absorbed in the
Russian population. They live on the shores of Behring’s Straits, or in
the interior, and much resemble the Samoiedes in their customs and in
their language.
[Illustration: 98.--YOUNG ESQUIMAUX.]