Part 6 (1/2)
”Beneath the shade of feudality, exists a cla.s.s of farmers, manufacturers, merchants, capitalists, and speculators, which consoles itself for the humiliations it experiences by those which, in its turn, it imposes on the lower cla.s.ses. This middle cla.s.s, oppressed by that above, and menaced by that below it, presents a singular mixture of timidity and resolution. Its existence, ever precarious, makes it easily susceptible of alarm, ready to yield to the terms of the powerful, or to a.s.sume any character. Its enthusiasm and admiration are inexhaustible, when it foresees, in the conduct of its superiors, some gain to itself; but the resistance it offers is most powerfully adroit when public affairs tend to do it harm. Danger hardly ever takes it by surprise, as its signs are seen from afar and antic.i.p.ated.
”One would almost expect to find Israelitish traits of character in people who make the Bible their book of books; who, while undergoing extortion, still retain the feeling of dignity, who are pa.s.sionately fond of money and whatever conduces to its possession; who risk that they may gain, and compensate one chance of loss by three chances of profit; who respect the letter of the law more than its intention, and who employ commercial uprightness as a clever means of making a fortune.
”In the middle cla.s.s, the British aristocracy finds a means of keeping under the proletarian cla.s.s, true representatives of the old Celts.
These unfortunate men are reproached, with drunkenness, to which they fly as a means of forgetting their misfortunes; with brutality, which exhibits itself in blows, injuries, prize fights, and c.o.c.k-fighting; with coa.r.s.e sensuality, which feeds upon meat and beer; with selfishness, which extends even to the gla.s.ses of drinkers; and lastly, with stronger criminal desires than are met with among other civilized nations.
”But in spite of these vices, the sad fruit of misery, wretchedness, and ignorance, they possess substantial virtues. The English workman has in his heart an innate feeling of generosity. He is gentle to the weak, and rude to the strong. Goodness charms him, and whatever is generous is sure to meet with his support. Although blinded by self-interest to the point of being altogether without a notion of justice, he can hardly be accused of avarice, since he gives cheerfully. His friends.h.i.+p is firm, although by no means demonstrative; he keeps his word, and despises an untruth. Reverses redouble instead of causing him to abate his efforts; he never despairs of what he undertakes, since he is ready to sacrifice all for success, even his life. He has none of the sordid vanities which stain the intermediate cla.s.ses. For his country, which is to him less a mother than a step-mother, he entertains an inexhaustible affection. To her he devotes his whole existence; he is rewarded by his own admiration of her, and deludes himself so far as to call her 'Jolly Old England.'”
Transplanted into the New World, the Englishman has already a.s.sumed a type varying somewhat from that we have described--the _Yankees_, as the Indians call them, that is to say, the _silent men_ (Ya-no-ki), have lost in North America the general character and physiognomy which they possessed in the mother-country. A new type, moral and physical, approaching more to that of the Southern Red Indians, has been formed among the inhabitants of North America, which type is exaggerated towards the West, where men are rougher and coa.r.s.er than in the North.
LATIN FAMILY.
The _Latin family_ originated in Italy, whence it extended its conquests over a large portion of Europe, Asia, and Africa, thus forming the Roman empire. At the present time the Latin languages are spoken only in certain portions of this vast empire, namely, in Italy, Spain, France, and some other countries in the south-east of Europe.
The people who belong to the Latin family are, in general, of a middle stature, with black hair and eyes, and a complexion susceptible of turning brown under the sun's action; but they present many variations.
They speak numerous dialects, which frequently become confounded one with another.
Among the people who form the Latin family are separately cla.s.sed: the _French_, the _Spaniards_, the _Italians_, and the _Moldo-Walachians_.
_French._--The Franks proceeded from the mixture of the Gauls with the ancient inhabitants of the land, that is, the people who in olden times were indifferently called _Aquitanians_ or _Iberians_, and of whom a few are still to be found in the Basque inhabitants of the lower regions of the Pyrenees, recognized at once by their language, which is that of the old Iberians.
But who were these Gauls, who, by combination with the national blood of the Iberians, formed the Franks?
The Gauls were a branch of the _Celts_ (or _Gaels_), an ancient race of men, who coming from Asia, at an early period overran and occupied a portion of Western Europe, more particularly that portion which now forms Belgium, France as far as the Garonne, and a part of Switzerland.
Later on, the Celts or _Gaels_ extended their conquests as far even as the British Isles. It was in the twelfth or tenth century before Christ that they invaded Gaul, and subdued the indigenous Iberian population.
Of their Asiatic origin the Celts preserved no more than a few dogmas of Eastern wors.h.i.+p, the organization of a priestly sect, and a language, which, through its close connection with the sacred language of the Indian Brahmins, reveals the kins.h.i.+p which united these people with those of Asia.
The Celts were a nomadic people, and lived essentially by hunting and pasturage. The men were very tall: their height being, it has been a.s.serted, from six to seven feet. Many tribes dyed their skin with a colour extracted from the leaf of the woad. Others tattooed themselves.
Many adorned their arms or b.r.e.a.s.t.s with heavy chains of gold, or clothed themselves in tissues of bright colours, a.n.a.logous to the Scotch tartan.
Later on they gave themselves up to greater luxury. Above their tunic they wore the _saya_, a short cloak, striped with purple bands and embroidered with gold or silver. Among the poorer cla.s.ses this _saya_ was replaced by the skin of some animal, or by a cloak of coa.r.s.e and dark-coloured wool. Others wore the _simar_, which is a.n.a.logous to the modern blouse or the _caraco_ of the Normandy peasants. The second article of dress worn by the Gaelic men, was a tight and narrow form of trouser, the _braya_. The women wore an ample puckered tunic with an ap.r.o.n. Some restricted their dress to a leathern bag.
Their weapons consisted of stone knives, axes furnished with sharp flint or sh.e.l.l points, clubs, and spears hardened in the fire. Celtic stone hatchets are common in the West of France.
The Celts were warlike and bold. They marched against the enemy to the sound of the _karnux_, a sort of trumpet, the top of which represented a wild beast crowned with flowers. As soon as the signal was given, the front rank threw itself stark naked and impetuously into the struggle.
Leading a wandering form of life, the Celts constructed no fixed habitations. They moved from one pasturage to another in covered waggons, erecting simple cabins, which they abandoned after a few days.
They sometimes took shelter in caves, sleeping upon a little straw, or the skins of animals spread upon the earth. More frequently, however, they ate and slept under the open sky. Fond of tales and recitations, they appear to have been inquisitive and garrulous. Their habits were peaceful.
A branch of the Celtic family, the _Cymris_, who, like their predecessors, originally came from Asia, overran the fertile plains which extend from the moorlands at Bordeaux to the mouth of the Rhine, their course being arrested toward the west only by the ocean, toward the east by the Vosges, and toward the south-east by the mountains of Auvergne and the last ridges of the Pyrenees and the Cevennes. The _Cymris_, or Belgians, brought with them the simplicity of the north, and having built towns, called upon the Gaels to join them.
These two groups, distinct in themselves although of the same race, lived apart in some countries, while in others they held supremacy. The Irish and the Highlanders of Scotland were _Gaels_. The _Gaelic_ element also predominated in Eastern France. The inhabitants of Wales, Belgium, and Brittany belonged to the Cymrian branch; but the Romans confounded these two races under the general name of _Britons_ in Great Britain, and _Gauls_ in Gaul.
We will briefly review the physical types, manners, and customs of the Gauls.
At the time when Julius Caesar invaded and conquered the Gauls, they were distinguished as the northern, north-eastern, western, and southern Gauls. The first were remarkable for the abundance and length of their hair; hence their name of _long-haired Gauls_. Those of the south and south-east were known as the _braya-wearing Gauls_.