416 Notices respecting New Books. 



lous Atlantis, as a resting-place on the high ocean-road for adven- 

 turers from Europe and Africa. Neither need we fall hack on the 

 theory of a Scandinavian or Welsh colonization, although the North- 

 men are known to have visited Labrador, and probably the coast 

 more southward ; and Madoc, for aught we know, may with his 

 followers have taken the same direction. Everything favours the 

 probability that the migration took place from north-eastern Asia, 

 by Behring's Straits— which were narrower formerly than now — or 

 by the Aleutian chain of islands. Such is the geographical continuity 

 here, that Dr. Pickering asks, ' Where shall Asia end, and America 

 begin .'' ' If we look to the })hysical characters of the tribes inhabiting 

 these parts, we fmd the American variety passing by insensible gra- 

 dations through the Xoluschians and Esquimaux into the Mon- 

 golian. This view is further favoured by certain traits of resem- 

 blance in customs and religions observances, and by such comparison 

 of languages as has hitherto been instituted. 



Where physical and other characteristics fail in establishing affi- 

 nity, philology frequently comes to our aid, and vice versd. The 

 difference between the Hottentots, Kafirs, Negroes, Copts, and other 

 African races is very striking, but the labours of the philologist have 

 succeeded in establishing a complete chain of affinity. On the other 

 hand, if we regard the Chinese in reference to their peculiar mono- 

 syllabic language, they appear completely isolated from surrounding 

 races ; but then physical character allies them beyond a doubt to 

 other Mongolian families. We cannot accompany our author through 

 the various stages of the argument. It would appear, however, that 

 while the probable course of migration may be readily traced in re- 

 ference to America, Africa, Polynesia and Australia, when we come 

 to Europe difficulties multiply. The more we know of the ethnology 

 of this quarter, the more are we mystified. The eflfects of conquest, 

 displacement, intermixture, must be considered ; and the value of 

 names, ancient or recent, be determined. Isolated languages, too, 

 the Basque and Albanian, stare us in the face, and archtcological 

 research presents us with traces of a race anterior to the Celtic dis- 

 tribution. Our difficulties again would seem to increase tenfold 

 when we reach south-western Asia, — the suj)posed locality of the 

 cradle of the human race. But if Dr. Latham has brought us no 

 nearer to a satisfactory conclusion, he has at least stated fairly the 

 complicated questions involved in the inquiry, and cleared the road 

 for future progress. His researches, as far as they have gone, lead 

 him to believe that the human family originated somewhere in in- 

 tratropical Asia from a single pair, although he does not pretend to 

 have arrived at any proof of this. 



A knowledge of what we would term practical ethnology, of the 

 living characters of the races composing various nations, is indispen- 

 sable alike to the historian and the statesman. Through such know- 

 ledge only is the former in a position to reason philosophically onj 

 and trace to their true cause the movements that are ever convulsing 

 society ; and the government of a dependency will be enlightened 

 and liberal in proportion as it is based on an intimate acquaintance 



