COUNTENANCE AND STATURE. 81 
linear or aquiline, often accompanied with a ful¬ 
ness about the nostrils; it is seldom flat, not¬ 
withstanding it was formerly the practice of the 
mothers and nurses to press the nostrils of the 
female children, a flat and broad nose being by 
many regarded as more handsome than otherwise. 
The mouth in general is well formed, though the 
lips are sometimes large, yet never so much so as 
to resemble those of the African. The teeth are 
always entire, excepting in extreme old age, and, 
though rather large in some, are remarkably white, 
and seldom either discoloured or decayed. The 
ears are large, and the chin retreating or project¬ 
ing, most generally inclining to the latter. The 
form of the face is either round or oval, and but 
very seldom exhibits any resemblance to the angu¬ 
lar form of the Tartar visage, while their profile fre¬ 
quently bears a most striking resemblance to that 
of the European. Their hair is a shining black or 
dark brown colour; straight, but not lank and wiry 
like that of the American Indian, nor, excepting 
in a few solitary instances, woolly like the New 
Guinea or New Holland negroes. Frequently it is 
soft and curly, though seldom so fine as that of the 
civilized nations inhabiting the temperate zones. 
There is a considerable difference between the 
stature of the male and female sex here, as well as 
in other parts of the world, yet not so great as that 
which often prevails in Europe. The females, 
though generally more delicate in form and smaller 
in size than the men, are, taken altogether, stronger 
and larger than the females of England, and some¬ 
times remarkably tall and stout. A roundness and 
fulness of figure, without extending to corpulency, 
distinguishes the people in general, particularly 
the females. 
G 
