206 RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 



origin*, and this opinion appears to us to be the 

 least improbable. Nevertheless, in the presence of 

 such an absolute deficiency of precise information, 

 we must admit that modern science is totally incom- 

 petent to solve this problem. While we regard the 

 question as an open one, we concur with Prichard in 

 regarding the Euskarians as a remnant of the 

 ancient Iberian race, and consequently as an abori- 

 ginal people ; that is to say, a nation who before our 

 historic times occupied the districts in which we can 

 still trace their former presence. 



However this may be, the Iberians appear to have 

 experienced the first loss of territory when the 

 Ligurians, issuing from the borders of the river 

 Ligys, which is supposed to be the Loire, took pos- 

 session of the coasts included between the Rhone and 

 Italy. At a later period, occurred the great invasion 



from this race that the Magyars, amongst others, are descended ; 

 although their origin has long been a matter of dispute, and they 

 themselves lay claim to a descent in a direct line from the first 

 patriarchs, pretending that their original language was that of 

 Adam. The traditions of the North represent that the first Finns 

 were men of pallid complexion, with red hair, grey or bluish eyes, 

 and a hideous expression of countenance. More or less deep traces 

 of the same physical characteristics are still to be met with amongst 

 the different tribes who have descended from this stock, and, as we 

 shall presently see, these characters are extremely remote from the 

 Basque type. 



* Itecherches sur lorigine des peitples du Nord. M. Vivien de 

 Saint- Martin, who was good enough to communicate to me his notes 

 on the works of Arndt, Rask, and Dartey, regards the opinion of 

 the latter as historically untenable, but as probable, if we have 

 reference merely to physical characteristics ; and in this opinion we 

 are ourselves disposed to concur. 



