their division into castes with vsnch accuracy that we have
no difficulty in recognising* * in his description the modern
Hindoos. He takes little notice of their physical* character,-
hut they are admirably described in a passage of Dionysius
the Geographer, of which th%.following is a translation by
Mr. Bryant :—
“ To the east a lovely country wide extends,—
_ India, whose borders the wide, ocean: bounds.
On this, the sun, new-rising frqrn the main,-
Smiles pleased, and sheds his early orient beams.
_ The inhabitants are swart, and in their locks
l Betray the tint of the dark hÿàcinth.
| Various their fonetions,4—some the rock explore, S
; ■ ; And from the mine extract the latent gold?*!,
Sqme labour at the woof with^rgiping skill _
And manufactureJmenothers shape
And polish ivory with'the nicest care; Sl
Many retire to rivet’s%ho|l, âftd
To seek the beryl flaming in its bed,
Or glittering^ diamond.
The rich soil,
Washed by a thousand riyers from, allfiidf^ . :.
Pours on the natives wealth without control.”.
X Bir W. Jones, who has cited the. preceding -description,
bas added the following graphic passage from an old English
writer
“ A people,” says Mr. Lord, “ presented ;3themseIyes\fto
mine eyes, clothed in, linen garments somewhat low.{$$-
scending, of a gesture and garb, as I may s^jmaide&ly,
and yvell nigh effeminate, of a cou-ntçnancensly .nnd,ra.pipe-
what estranged, yet smiling out a glazed and bashful familiarity,”
As the physical history of, the Hindoos furnishes- some
facts strongly favourable to the Opinions whieh I have
already expressed as to the origin of variation in complexion,
any summary description which I could draw from a collection
of the accounts given by travellers would be; liable to
suspicion of a misstatement of their evidence* I shall for
this reason cite verbatim the descriptions given of the
people of India from various modern travellers.
Le Gentil.says, “ Les Indiens en général sont beaux et
bienfaits; l’oeil noir, vif et spirituel ; leur couleur est
ôbnnue ; on'ÿ’ÿoit’ de très belles femmes,-bienfaites, ayant
des traits-ad’Européenne.” “ La caste des Bramines surtout
est une très belle caste, un très beau sang ; dans cette
tribu on-voit4*lës plus belles femmes, les plié? jolis enfans,
et tout ce moridfe; a l’air le plus propre.”*
The Brahmans are of a lighter hue: a dark coloured
Brahman and a whitish Parriah are looked upon as odd
occurrences, which has-given birth fd a ^proverb, common
j | many parts of India, “ rieVef trust a black Brahmah or a
white Parriah.” 1 The tint.Of:the Brahman approaches to
the^fMour of-copper, or pêrhaps more nearly to a bright
infusion of'* coffee;” “ Their women; who are still more
sedentry and less exposed’ to- thé rays of thé sun, are still
lighter in complexion than tKè:malést^ “ In all castes,
without exception, the Hindoos havfc.the sdle pf the foot
and the palm of the hand much whiter than the rest of the
body.”t
66 In general th.6 Hindôoâ hïtVG tlie foreliGad- smàll, tlié
face “thinner âffif môr$^€à|f$é than the Europeans ; and
thefh¥ë^al-sb very nMch méerior to "them in' strength and
Other physical dualities ; They are: lean; ; feeble;* and mea-
■pabft^of supporting the labours and fâtigùè'ê5 to which the
other races are habituated The Brahmans in particular
scarcely hvér attempt any laborious* effort of the body.”
This*"feebleness :lf; hd doubt Occasioned by' the nature of
the climate, as well as by the ^uàlitÿ'of the food to which
the greater number of Hindob^afeibstrictfedv In general
they eat nothing but ICMs^ o r such insipid matters. The
mass of the people cannot obtain rice for their ^ordinary
fare; but are obliged to sell what they ra ise d
“ The features of the HinÀlos,” says Mr. Ward, “ are
moré regular than thos'e1 of :thè Chinësé, Burmans, or
Malays:” v‘ “ Many d0f the higher orders of the Hindoos,
especially; in the northern provmèeé,'* are handsome in
their features, haviiig an oval face and a nose nearly
* Le Gentil,Voyage aux Indes.’
t Abbé Dubois.