PHYSICAL APPEARANCE. 445 



nent nose, thick at its base, and wide at the nostrils ; 

 strong, well-developed jaws, and long, lank, straight, black 

 hair ; but like some tribes of northern Asia, their beard 

 is tolerably thick, and their eye-brows bushy. Their 

 physiognomy is less effeminate than that of southern 

 races, their average stature being greater, their bearing 

 bolder, their Tartar-like features more prominent and 

 striking, and their beards and moustaches being frequently 

 long and flowing. One of the most striking peculiarities 

 which all who have seen them have noticed, is the method 

 of confining the hair of the head in a delicate network, 

 beautifully formed of a fine material resembling Coir, and 

 of a glossy black colour. The hair being all drawn up- 

 wards towards the crown of the head, is tied at the 

 summit in a neat and rather graceful topknot, without 

 the help however of pins, as at Loo-Choo and the 

 Mei'a-co-shimahs. The young unmarried men and boys, 

 however, have the hair parted in the middle, gathered 

 behind, and descending in two long plaited tails, that hang 

 down the back somewhat in the fashion of those of the 

 sons of Han. Frequently a white band of bark or leaf 

 is worn across the forehead, to restrain the loose and 

 straggling hairs. 



Their costume, though formed of a uniform peculiar 

 to China, Japan, and all this part of the world, varies 

 considerably from all other nations in unessential details. 

 The Mandarins, or chiefs of the better class, wear long 

 gowns or mantles, with loose hanging sleeves, having red 

 or green cuffs. These robes are often of silk stuff, and 

 have a very pleasing and picturesque appearance. Their 

 pantaloons hang in a rather loose bag below the knee, 



