MAIS. 



Here, as on the subject of colour, the 

 different characters run into each other 

 by the mo.st gentle gradations ; so that 

 although any two extremes, when con- 

 trasted, appear strikingly different, they 

 are connected by numerous intermediate, 

 and very slightly differing shades. And 

 no formation is exhibited so constantly in 

 all the individuals of one race, as not to 

 admit of numerous exceptions. Blumen- 

 bach states, that of the numerous African 

 individuals whom he has attentively ob- 

 served, of the portraits and profiles of 

 others, and of the various Negro crania 

 which have come under his inspection, 

 no two were exactly alike; but several 

 differences appeared, constituting an in- 

 sensible gradation towards the other va- 

 rieties, even in their most agreeable mo- 

 difications. Vaillant says of the Caffre 

 women, that setting aside the prejudice 

 which operates against their colour, many 

 might be accounted handsome even in an 

 European country ; Le Maire makes the 

 same observation concerning the Ne- 

 gresses of Senegal and Gambia ; and the 

 accurate Adanson confirms it of the Sene- 

 gambians, which possess, according to 

 him, beautiful eyes, small mouth and^lips, 

 and well proportioned features ; many, 

 he says, are perfect beauties. The testi- 

 mony of Mungo Park is to the same 

 effect concerning the JaloflTs, which have 

 not the protuberant lip, nor flat nose, of 

 the African countenance. The features of 

 the Friendly Islanders vary much, accord- 

 ing to Cook ; he saw many genuine Ro- 

 man noses, and hundreds of European 

 faces among them, 



It is obvious that the causes of national 

 variety in the features must be much the 

 same with those that influence the form of 

 the head, as much must depend on the 

 bones both of the cranium and face. It 

 is difficult, and perhaps impossible, to 

 assign any very satisfactory ones. Cli- 

 jnate has been considered a leading cir- 

 cumstance ; but we cannot readily under- 

 stand how that can operate; and some 

 facts militate particularly against its effi- 

 cacy, as the peculiar characters of the 

 Jew and Gipsy countenance preserved, 

 after such long residence in very different 

 climates from that of their original abode; 

 on the contrary, the common origin of 

 the Laplander and Hungarian, who differ 

 widely in features, seems to countenance 

 the opinion. 



Form of the cranium. It is sufficiently 

 obvious that there must be a close con- 

 nexion between the external parts of the 



face, or the features, and the bony cora- 

 pages which lies unJer and supports 

 these ; so that we might venture to affirm 

 that a blind man, if he knew the vast 

 difference which exists between the face 

 of a Calmurk and that of a Negro, would 

 be able to distinguish the crania of these 

 two races of mankind by the mere touch. 

 Nor could you persuade any person, 

 however Ignorant of the subject, that 

 either of these skulls belonged to ahead, 

 similar to those from which the divine 

 examples of ancient Grecian sculpture 

 were copied. Thus much is clear and 

 undeniable, as to the general habit and 

 appearance of the skull! A more careful 

 anatomical investigation of genuine spe- 

 cimens of the crania of different nations, 

 will throw still further light on the sub- 

 ject of the varieties of the human race. 

 Such a comparison will shew us that the 

 form of the cranium differs no less than 

 the colour of the skin, or other charac- 

 ters, in different individuals ; and that one 

 kind of structure runs by gentle and al- 

 most inobservable gradations into ano- 

 ther ; yet that there is on the whole an 

 undeniable, nay, a very remarkable con- 

 stancy of character, in the crania of differ- 

 ent nations, contributing very essentially 

 to national peculiarities of form, and cor- 

 responding exactly to the features, which 

 characterise such nations. Hence, anato- 

 mists have attempted to lay down some 

 scale of dimensions, to which the various 

 forms of the skull might be referred ; and 

 by means of which they might be reduc- 

 ed into certain classes/ Of these, the fa- 

 cial line of Camper claims the most atten- 

 tion ; its application is explained in the 

 article on COMPARATIVE AXATOMT. Con- 

 sidered in a general view, this is objec- 

 tionable, as it only indicates the differen- 

 ces in the projection of the jaws. Blu- 

 menbach states that the most important 

 points, those especially which contribute 

 to the comparison of national characteris- 

 tics, can be most completely observed by 

 placing the different crania, with the zy- 

 gomas in the same perpendicular line, on 

 a table in a row, and contemplating them 

 from behind. This method he calls the 

 norma verticals : and illustrates by 

 means of three heads. The middle of 

 the three, distinguished by the beauty 

 and symmetry of all its parts, is that of a 

 Georgian female ; the two outer ones are 

 examples of heads differing from this in 

 the opposite extremes. That which is 

 elongated in front is the head of a Ne- 

 gress, from the coast of Guinea: the 

 other, which is expanded laterally, an$ 



