proportion to the distance, till in the Arctic regions, and at the three extreme southern points of land, the most deformed and degenerate people are found; as the Esquimaux in North America, the Samoiedes in Northern Asia, the Bosjesmen of South Africa, the aborigines of Australia, and the inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego. The Circassian head is a good example of the central region. The shape is oval; the facial angle ninety degrees; the line of the eyes is straight, and at right angles to that of the nose. The stature is tall; and measures the same as the length across when the arms are stretched out. The European is not often so symmetrical; but in the best specimen there is some compensation in greater animation and intelligence. Proceeding westward from the centre on the south side of the Mediterranean, we find the forehead of the Arab Moor somewhat retreating, and the head too long. The Berber of North Africa has not only the lengthened head, but a pouting mouth and a darker skin. When we reach Central Africa, we find the prominent mouth, slanting forehead, black skin, and woolly hair, which mark the true negro. Further still to the south, the Hottentots have long been a proverb of ugliness; but the Bosjesmen are a still lower type. Turning from the centre eastward, we perceive the same decrease of beauty. The skin of the Tartar and Chinese is olive-yellow; the face broad and flat, with the features running together; the head square; the nose small and wide; the eyes slanting down towards the nose; the hair thin, coarse, and straight, with little or no beard; the figure squat. In Malaya the complexion is darker, and the extreme in this direction. is found among the natives of South Australia and Van Diemen's Land, who are said to show the greatest degree of degeneracy in the human form. In the direction of America the same law prevails. The face of the North American Indian has some good points, but the inferiority appears in the coppercoloured skin, scanty beard, prominent cheek bones, large jaws, and slanting eyes. All these defects are more strongly marked in the South American natives, and in those of Tierra del Fuego. CLASSIFICATION OF RACES.-The numerous races or varieties of men have been thus classified in a very general way, the form of skull being taken as the standard, and the colour of the skin added as the most obvious distinction. 1. The Caucasian, or white variety, occupying most of Europe, and dispersed in Asia, through Turkey, Arabia, and thence to Hindostan; in Africa, over Egypt, Abyssinia, and the Mediterranean sea-board; also as recent colonies over large areas of America, South Africa, and Australia. 2. The Ethiopian, or black variety, occupying the middle and south of Africa, parts of Australia, and many islands of the ocean. 3. The Mongolian, or yellow variety, occupying the extreme north of both continents, the centre and east of Asia, and many of the islands. Some include under this head all the races that peopled America before its discovery in 1492; while the inhabitants of the Malay peninsula and adjoining islands they hold to be a subvariety of the Mongolian and negro; but others reckon the American a fourth variety, and the Malayan a fifth. These families have been frequently blended together by colonisation and conquest, so that geographical denominations are very uncertain. Similar processes have been going on in America for three centuries, intermingling Europeans with negroes, and both with Mongols and Malays. SUMMARY.-The human race can sustain the greatest extremes of heat and cold. The temperate climate is, however, most favourable to its development. The most perfect forms of humanity belong to the centre of the great continent of Europe and Asia. Receding from this point towards the remote parts of the world, we find ill-shaped and stunted tribes, such as the Esquimaux and the Australian aborigines. The Circassians, with their tall forms and oval faces, are found in the central region just mentioned, most of Europe, the north of Africa, and west of Asia. The Ethiopians have a lengthened head, with the lower part of the face projecting, a dark skin, and woolly hair. They inhabit the middle and south of Africa. The Mongols are short in stature, with flattened features and yellow skins. They inhabit the centre and east of Asia, and many of the Asiatic islands. The natives of America are tall, with high cheek-bones and red skins. The most degraded races are the Hottentots and Bosjesmen of Africa, and the natives of South Australia and Van Diemen's Land. QUESTIONS. Why can men sustain greater extremes of climate than the lower animals? Where is man found best developed? Trace the characteristics of the tribes that live westward from the central region to Africa. Describe the Circassians, and say where they are found. To what race do the Tartars belong, and describe them. What races inhabit Africa; and in which parts? Name all the great races, and mention the colour of each. Which are the most degraded races in the Old World; and which in the New? Explain the presence of Circassians in Australia. To which race belongs an Englishman, a Hindoo, an Egyptian? N THE NATIVES OF AUSTRALIA. Aborigines, Extermination, Civilize, Nomadic, Pantomime, DERIVATION. Gr., nomadikos, from no- Lat., inter, among; A.-S., MEANING. The original inhabitants of To reclaim from a savage Expressing meaning by ac- The aborigines are fast disappearing before the advance of the white man in Australia, as was the case in America. In some parts the tribes are entirely extinct; ardent spirits and gunpowder having performed the work of extermination. In Queensland they are found in the neighbourhood of all the towns, although in some places not permitted to enter within their boundaries. They are a race of savages, vindictive and treacherous, against whom, in the unsettled districts, it is needful for the settler to go well armed. Some of the tribes are cannibals, while others only eat their deceased friends as an expression of esteem and affection. Some small efforts have been made to reclaim and civilize them, but with scarcely any appreciable effect. One of the greatest difficulties in the way of their civilization is their nomadic habits; they cannot be persuaded to remain long in any one place. Young blackfellows have been brought to England and educated; but after a time the wild nature has asserted itself, and they have thrown off their civilized habits to return to the bush. Another difficulty in the way of doing much for the aborigines is the smallness and hostility of the various tribes. They are constantly at war, and the dialects of their language differ so much that one tribe cannot understand the speech of another. They have no written language; and although an effort was made some years ago by the Rev. Mr Ridley to reduce it to writing, his plans were not supported, and fell to the ground. The blacks are very quick at catching up English words, and communication between them and the whites is carried on principally by pantomime, with the assistance of a jargon composed of some of their own words intermingled with English. The aborigines have many well-understood rules among themselves. For instance, if a blackfellow receives a loaf of bread, he is bound to share it with any other black that asks him; and I have known a loaf earned by one man broken up into many small pieces and divided among a crowd. That this is a rule, and not merely good nature, I had a decisive proof one day. A blackfellow, named Billy, had been working for me during the afternoon, and at sundown I prepared to give him his supper before he went away to his camp. Some half dozen blacks had squatted down outside the house, apparently waiting for Billy; and as I was measuring out some flour he came to me and whispered, "Baal (no) supper yet; |