COPTISH FEATURES. 193 (unless, as Very often is the case, there is none), black, intelligent eyes, but in almost all with a suspicious glance, and often these are diseased and specked, and not seldom one of them is sightless. Projecting or prominent eyes, one seldom meets with among them ; oftener, they are rather sunken, the socket cut sharp, and the inner corners little defined. Tlie eyelashes are long and thick, the brows bent, and meeting close on the nose, and, in the women, only a fine black stripe. The nose is regularly formed, at times arched, but almost always more or less blunted off at the point, as in all the races above Assuan, but never pressed down from above, or flattened, as in the negro. Tlie mouth is generally large, and with thicker lips than the European, although never so thick, l>lubbery, and ugly as the negro. The chin is round. The outline of the face is regular, as in Europeans, and the teeth are good, and not projecting.

In viewing and comparing such countenances, and considering for how many centuries a constant admixture of human x-aces has been taking place (llyksos with yl'tliiopians, under Sabacon, 800 B.C., with Jews and Macedonians, 332 u. c, with Romans, Turks, Arabs, &c.), and how from this, and a total cliange of man-, ner of life, every thing is altered, still, perhaps, the fundamental type of tlie Ethiopian race will Ije found more distinct among them than that of any other known nation ; and it may be held that nothing has ever proved sufiieient to tiioroughly eflace the j)eculiarity of origin ; as may be seen in the numerous classes of Jews in Cairo, who, like the Copts, dwell in their own peculiar quarter, and by misery, oppression, unhealthy dwellings and I'ood, are so degraded, dwarfed, and crippled, that in them the distinctly marked descendants of Abraham, in spite of their characteristic features, can hardly be recognised ; but yet all traces of descent are not effaced.

The features of the Coptish women are sharjK'r than those of the men, and one may with truth say, that they recal to niin 1 those of the Greek antl Honian females. Their skin is often so fair, it may almost be caUed white, and their eyes are jxculiarly beautiful, large, open, and full of fire. They all have l)laek liair good teeth, and well-sized, well-forme<l body and limbs. I'ity, that at times, the {)iece of iron Avhich hangs down in the shape of 1- 2