NOTEC.
The influence of long continued impression, constituting instinct or habit of breed, is a curious phenomenon in the animal economy. Our population in the eastern maritime districts of Britain, descended principally from the Scandinavian rover, though devoted for a time to agricultural or mechanical occupation, betake themselves, when opportunity offers, to their old element, the ocean68,{370}and launch out upon the “wintry wave” with much of the same home-felt composure as does the white polar bear. They roam over every sea and every shore, from Behring’s Straits to Magellan’s, with as little solicitude as the Kelt over his own misty hill, overcoming, in endurance, the native of the torrid zone under his vertical sun, and the native of the frigid among his polar snows.
To what may we ascribe the superiority of this portion of the Caucasian breed,—may it arise in part from its repeated change of place under favourable circumstances? Other races have migrated, but not like this, always as conqueror. The Jew has been a stroller in his time; but he has improved more in mental acumen and cunning—not so much in heroism and personal qualities: his proscribed condition will account for this. The Caucasian in its progress, will also have mingled slightly, and, judging from analogy, perhaps advantageously, with the finer portion of those whom it has overwhelmed. This breed, by its wide move across the Atlantic, does not seem at all to have lost vigour, and retains the nautical and roving instinct unimpaired, although the American climate is certainly inferior to the European. It is there rapidly moving west, and may soon have described one of the earth’s circles. A change of seed, that is, a change of place, within certain limits of latitude, is well known{371}to be indispensable to the more sturdy growth and health of many cultivated vegetables; it is probable that this also holds true of the human race. There are few countries where the old breed has not again and again sunk before the vigour of new immigration; we even see the worn out breed, chased from their homes to new location, return, after a time, superior to their former vanquishers, or gradually work their way back in peace, by superior subsisting power: this is visible in France, where the aboriginal sallow Kelt, distinguished by high satyr-like feature, deep-placed sparkling brown or grey eye, narrowed lower part of the face, short erect vertebral column, great mental acuteness, and restless vivacity, has emerged from the holes of the earth, the recesses of the forests and wastes, into which it had been swept before the more powerful blue-eyed Caucasian; and being a smaller, more easily subsisting animal, has, by starving and eating out, been gradually undermining the breed of its former conquerors. The changes which have been taking place in France, and which, in many places, leave now scarcely a trace of the fine race which existed twenty centuries ago, may, however, in part, be accounted for by the admixture of the Caucasian and Keltic tending more to the character of the latter, from the latter being a purer and more fixed variety, and nearer the original type or medium standard of man; and from the warm dry plains of France (much drier from cultivation and the reduction of the forests), having considerable influence to increase this bias: In some of the south-eastern departments,{372}more immediately in the tide of the ingress of the Caucasian, where the purest current has latest flowed, and the climate is more suitable, and also in some of the maritime districts, where the air is moister, and to which they have been seaborn at a later period, the Caucasian character is still prominent. Something of this, yet not so general, is occurring in Britain, where the fair bright-blooded race is again giving place to the darker and more sallow. This may, however, be partly occasioned by more of artificial heat and shelter and other consequences of higher civilization. There seems to be something connected with confinement and sedentary life, with morbid action of the liver, or respiratory or transpiratory organs, which tends to this change under dry and hot, and especially confined atmosphere. Perhaps imagination is also a worker here; and the colour most regarded, as snow in cold countries, black among colliers, white among bleachers, or even the dark colour of dress, may produce its peculiar impression, and our much looked-up-to Calvinistic priesthood, from the pulpit, disseminate darkness as well as light.
Our own Kelt has indubitably improved much since,par necessité, he took to the mountain; but, though steadily enduring, when there is mental excitement, he has acquired a distaste to dull hopeless unceasing labour, and would fare scantily and lie hard, rather than submit to the monotonous industry of the city operative, or the toil of the agricultural drudge. Though once a fugitive, the Kelt is now, in moral courage and hardihood, equal{373}perhaps to any other, yet he still trembles to put foot on ocean.
Notwithstanding that change of place, simply, may have impression to improve the species, yet is it more to circumstances connected with this change, to which the chief part of the improvement must be referred. In the agitation which accompanies emigration, the ablest in mind and body—the most powerful varieties of the race will be thrown into their natural position as leaders, impressing the stamp of their character on the people at large, and constituting the more reproductive part; while the feebler or more improvident varieties will generally sink under the incidental hardships. When a swarm emigrates from a prosperous hive, it also will generally consist of the more adventurous stirring spirits, who, with the right of conquerors, will appropriate the finest of the indigenæ which they overrun; their choice of these being regulated by personal qualities, not by the adventitious circumstances of wealth or high birth—a regard to which certainly tends to deteriorate the species, and is one of the causes which renders the noblesse of Europe comparatively inferior to the Asiatic, or rather the Christian noblesse to the Mahometan.
It has been remarked, that our finest, most acute population, exist in the neutral ground, where the Caucasian and Keltic have mixed, but this may arise from other causes than admixture. Our healthiest and poorest country borders the Highlands, and the population enjoy more of the open air. Our eastern population, north of the{374}natural division of Flamboroughead, are also harder and sharper featured, and keener witted, than those southward, who may be styled our fen-bred. There is no doubt more of Keltic blood mingled with the north division; but the sea-born breeds have also been different, those more northerly being Scandinavian, and the more southerly consisting of the native of Lower Germany and the heavy Fleming. The placid-looking Englishman, more under the control of animal enjoyment, though perhaps not so readily acute, excels in the no less valuable qualities of constancy and bodily powers of exertion; and when properly taught under high division of labour, becomes a better operative in his particular employment, and even will sometimes extend scientific discovery further, than his more mercurial northern neighbour, who, from his quick wits being generally in advance of his manual practice, seldom attains to the dexterity which results from the combination of continued bodily action and restricted mental application. There exists, however, very considerable intellectual capacity in this English breed, but it too frequently is crushed under the preponderance of the animal part, affording that purest specimen of vulgarity, the English clown. But, independently of climate and breed, a great part of the low Englander’s obtuseness is referable to his being entailed lord of the soil, under poor-rate law, contravening a natural law (see note B), so that, when unsuccessful or out of employment, he, without effort to obtain some new means of independent subsistence, sinks into the parish{375}or work-house labourer. On the contrary, the Scotsman, with no resource but in himself, with famine always in the vista, as much in his view as a principle of action in material affairs as his strong perception of the right in moral, and also under the stimulus of a high pride, leaves no means untried at home; and, when fairly starved out of his native country, among various resources, often invades the territory of his more easy-minded southern neighbour, where his acuteness seldom fails to find out a convenient occupation, in which manual dexterity is second to economy and forethought—his success exciting the wonder and envy of the dull-witted native.
It would appear, that the finest portion, at least apparently so, of the north temperate zone, between the parallels of 30° and 48° latitude, when nearly of the level of the ocean, is not so favourable for human existence as the more northern part between 50° and 60°, or even the torrid zone. The native of the north of Europe has a superior development of person, and a much longer reproductory life than the native of the south, which more than counterbalances the earlier maturity of the latter in power of increase. Independent of the great current of population setting south in the northern part of the temperate zone, there seems even to be some tendency to a flux northward, from the confines of the torrid; but this arises rather from the unsteadiness of the seasons, and consequent deficit of food, at particular times, than from a steady increase of population.{376}