50 VARIETIES OF THE HUMAN SPECIES. 



They are said to be the gayest of the oriental nations; good-natured and 

 polite, but extravagantly fond of etiquette. So versatile are their feelings and 

 actions, that they have been compared to the monkey race, whose attention is 

 perpetually changing from one object to another. Hence w^hile they are more 

 active and warlike than the Chinese, they want the industry and perseverance of 

 that nation.* Their language is a dialect of the Chinese, though considerably 

 altered, and their written characters are the same. 



The Laos^ or Chaus, to the north of Siam, are wretchedly poor, dirty in 

 their habits, sportful in their temper, careless in their actions, and great lovers of 

 music and dancing. Their language is soft and melodious, and very similar to 

 that of the Siamese. 



The Kamehs^ or inhabitants of Cambogia, to the southeast of Siam, are of 

 higher antiquity and more literary character than any of the surrounding states. 

 They must be a very imaginative people ; for Mr. GutzlafF states that nearly all 

 their books, with the exception of their national laws and history, are in poetry. 

 They are, nevertheless, a coarse people, cringing or insolent according to circum- 

 stances,! 



The natives of the Nicobar islands appear to be of Indo-Chinese extraction. 

 Their color is a deep copper, and they have thick lips and wide mouths. It is 

 asserted that they compress the heads of newly born infants in such manner as 

 to flatten the occiput and cause the teeth to project outwards. They live in a 

 very uncivilised state, compel their women to cultivate the ground, and have 

 hitherto resisted all measures for the melioration of their condition. f 



12. THE POLAR FAMILY. 



This singular race is exclusively seen on the northern skirts of the continents 

 of Europe, Asia, and America. They are of short stature, of clumsy proportions, 

 with large heads and short necks. They have the flat faces and small noses of 

 the Mongol-Tartars, with some obliquity in the position of the eyes. Their color 

 is brown, lighter or darker, but often disguised by accumulated filth. 



The concurrent testimony of all voyagers shows these people to be, both in 



*FiNLAYsoN, Siam and Cochin-China, p. 299.--Ruschenbergeii, Voy. p. 354.— Barrow, 

 Cochin-China, p. 308. 



t GuTZLAFr, Three Yoy. to the Coasts of China, p. 47. 

 X TucKEY, Mar. Geog. Ill, p. 328. 



