Chap. XIX. BEAUTY. 345 



is exaggerated in their pictures for the purpose, as it 

 " it seems, of exhibiting its beauty, as contrasted with 

 " the eye of the red-haired barbarians." It is well 

 known, as Hue repeatedly remarks, that the Cliinese of 

 the interior think Euroj^eans hideous vv^ith their white 

 skins and prominent noses. The nose is far from being 

 too prominent, according to our ideas, in the natives of 

 Ceylon ; yet " the Chinese in the seventh century, ac- 

 *•' customed to the flat features of the Mogul races, were 

 *' surprised at the prominent noses of the Cingalese ; and 

 ^' Thsaiig described them as having ' the beak of a bird, 

 " with the body of a man/ " 



Finlayson, after minutely describing the people of 

 Cochin China, says tliat their rounded heads and faces 

 are their chief characteristics ; and. he adds, " the 

 '• roundness of the whole countenance is more strikini]: 

 *•' in the women, who are reckoned beautiful in propor- 

 '' tion as they display this form of face." The Siamese 

 have small noses with divergent nostrils, a wide mouth, 

 rather thick lips, a remarkably large face, with very 

 high and broad cheek-bones. It is, therefore, not won- 

 derful that " beauty, according to our notion is a stranger 

 *' to them. Yet they consider their own females to be 

 " much more beautiful than those of Europe." ^^ 



It is well known that with many Hottentot women 

 the posterior part of the body projects in a wonderful 

 manner ; they are steatopygous ; and Sir Andrew Smith 

 is certain that this peculiarity is greatly admired by the 

 men.^^ He once saw a w^oman ^ho was considered a 



" Prichard, as taken from Crawfurd and Finlayson, 'Phys.Hist. of 

 Mankind,' vol. iv. p. 584, 535. 



^3 Idem illusti issimns viator dixit mihi prsecinctorinm vel tabulam 

 faeminse, quod nobis teterrimnm est, quondam permagno sestimari ab 

 hominibus in hac gente. Nunc res mutata est, et consent talem con- 

 formationein miuime optandam esse. 



