ETHNOLOGY OF THE PRESENT DAY. Id 



the head is somcwluit flattened at the sides, but the upper part is well 

 developed ; the Scotch have the skull broad, and partially flattened at 

 the back. The latter are also distinjiuished by hif]^h cheek bones and 

 strongly marked features. The head of the Irish is narrower than tliat 

 of either the English or Scotch, and tlie region immediately above the 

 forehead is frequently much depressed. The forms of the English and 

 Irish are more rounded than those of the Scotch, and the features are less 

 prominent. 



The differences of race are equally well defined in the mental charac- 

 teristics as in the ph^'sical conformation of the natives of these islands. 

 The Englishman possesses an energetic spirit ; is industrious and fond 

 of the useful sciences, and passionatel}'' addicted to the sports of the held. 

 In private, he is a hospitable and agreeable companion ; but in public he 

 is reserved and unsociable. The English nobility are the only individuals 

 in the nation who enjoy rank and privileges dilfering from those of the 

 other subjects. They are mostly landed proprietors, and are mainly occu- 

 pied with their legislative duties, the care of their estates, and the promotion 

 of the arts and sciences by their patronage and example. The mercantile 

 and manufacturing classes are those on whose industry'' the welfare of the 

 community mainly depends, and the recent repeal and relaxation of many 

 stringent laws affecting the operations of commerce are a striking proof of 

 their growing power and ascendency in political aifairs. The mechanics and 

 cultivators of the soil are, generall}^ speaking, in a better condition than those 

 of the same class in other European countries ; but much distress has of late 

 prevailed, especially among the agriculturists, into the causes of which it is 

 not our province to enter. The Protestant Episcopal is the prevailing form of 

 w^orship. 



The Welsh, who, from the mountainous character of their country, have 

 succeeded in preserving their primitive usages almost unimpaired to the 

 present day, are the descendants of the original Britons. They are choleric, 

 honest, brave, and hospitable. Proud of their nationality, they cling to their 

 language as its most conspicuous symbol. This latter characteristic has been 

 a great obstacle to the educational advancement of the people ; hence, espe- 

 cially in the rural districts, much ignorance prevails. Several circumstances 

 have occurred of late years wdiich have drawn the attention of Parliament to 

 the condition of Wales ; and we believe a strenuous effort has been made to 

 introduce the English language, as a preliminary step to the general improve- 

 ment of the people. 



The inhabitants of the southern part of Scotland have, by long and 

 intimate association with the English, been divested of most of their 

 distinctive traits ; and in language, habits, and dress, a general similarity 

 prevails between them and their southern neighbors. But the natives of the 

 Highlands and the neighboring islands have not entirely lost their individu- 

 ality ; and though their picturesque attire, their habits of roving, and their 

 continual feuds with each other and their Lowland neighbors, are now 

 matters of tradition, and the ruthless Ilio-hland cateran has been converted 

 into the peaceful drover, the primitive habits of former times may still bo 



333 



