126 THE NATFEAL niSTORT ItEVIEW. 



exquisite water-colour sketches, and finished paintings in oil, of 

 various personages representative of races to be met with in Upper 

 Egypt. One portrait of a modern Copt excited great attention, 

 Mr. Phillips having painted the mask of an ancient Egyptian head- 

 dress, with a vacant sj)ace for the face to cover the picture. The 

 resemblance of the modern Coptic face to the features presented by 

 the ancient Egyptian statues, was thus rendered strikingly apparent. 



November 22nd, 1864. 

 The first paper read was " On the Present State of Dahome," by 

 Capt. E.. Burton. — The second paper read was " On the Principles 

 of Ethnology," by Mr. J. S. Prideaux. As a provisional arrange- 

 ment till our knowledge enables us to adopt one founded on a more 

 philosophical basis, the author arranges the types of the British Isles 

 and "Western Europe according to their noses — first, convex ; second, 

 concave; third, straight, or intermediate. Each group capable of 

 being sub-divided into three, according as the features are, first, 

 dejined and shsiYi^ly cut ; second, Heshy and faintli/ outlined; third, 

 inter?nediate in definition. And again susceptible of being sub- 

 divided into three, as the complexion is, first, li^Jit; second, dark; 

 third, intermediate. 



December IWiy 1864, 



A very interesting collection of human remains, stone imple- 

 ments, and other articles was exhibited, which have recently been 

 obtained by Mr. S. Laing in some extensive excavations which he 

 has been carrying on in Caithness, and which are believed to date 

 from a very remote period in the history of man. Mr. Laing gave 

 an account of his operations, and described the various articles which 

 had been found, and a lively discussion followed. Mr. Laing said he 

 had long been of opinion that important evidence in respect to the 

 antiquity of man might be discovered in this country by searches 

 something resembling those which had been carried on in Denmark, 

 by opening what were called the " Kitchen-middens" there, and last 

 summer he had caused several large mounds to be opened near Kiess, 

 in Caithness, about eight miles north of Wick. On removing the 

 green turf at the top these mounds were discovered to consist 

 chiefly of large masses of periwinkle and limpet shells, mixed with 

 bones, flint splinters, and bone instruments of the rudest kind. In 

 two there were remains of ancient buildings, and in one they came 



