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fancied , but a marked resemblance to those on the bas-reliefs amid the ruins of Central America , which give such conclusive evidences of the grandeur of a past civilization . Were it not for the startling nature of the admission that a race so peculiar and diminutive could have hitherto existed unknown to us , there is nothing in the appearance of these two little creatures leading us to conclude them other
diminutive size of these children ? Were the ancient Aztecs , of whom these are considered the type , a diminutive race of men ? -Q-a-the other hand , are we warranted in concluding that these children are either a sport of nature or the last specimen of a degenerate race ? Surely not ; because , though possessing a very peculiar configuration of face and structure of body , they are not disproportionately nor even inelegantly formed , making allowances for our prejudices in favour of the human races to which we are most accustomed . In spite of the conical shape of the head , the amount of brain seems duly proportionate to the stature of the body , and as has been before stated , the convexity of the features bears no
than the offspring of beings similar to themselves . Until more light be thrown on the subject than we already possess , we are baffled , in whatever direction we turn , in our attempt to solve the mystery ; and strange and improbable as the story of Velasquez appears , it is the only one we have have yet seen which offers an approach to a satisfactory solution of the origin of these wonderful little beings .
Though possessing a secondary interest to that excited by the Aztecs , the Erdmanniges , boy and girl , are individually more intelligent and advanced . They sing , dance , play , and converse , and there seems no occasion to fix any arbitrary limit to their capability of learning . Their heads present a great contrast to those of the
Aztecs , being well developed and large , though not so much so as to be disproportionate . Their bodies are more robust , the limbs exquisitely shaped , and the hands and feet particularly small . They tread with that elastic springing step , and move with a grace , which seems inherent in the children of tho desert . In the hair , likewise , there is a strong contrast between the Erdmanniges and the Aztecs , that of the former growing in little spiral tufts clinging close to the head ,
with this striking distinction from the wool of the negro , that it does not equally cover the scalp , but leaves open bare spaces between the
curls . It is perhaps worthy of being noted , that while the Aztec and Erdmannige females have the usual complement of teeth , the canine are wanting in the lower jaw of the Aztec boy , and in the Erdmannige boy are absent altogether . Independently of curiosity to learn the history and origin of these little people , it is impossible to behold them without benefit and improvement in the reflections which so novel a spectacle must inspire .
Who can look upon them , and not feel that man is indeed fearfully and wonderfully made , " and that the laws which regulate the existence of the various races which compose the great human family are indeed " inscrutable and past finding out ? " Wo are astonished at finding such perfect human beings little more than half the usual
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
fancied , but a marked resemblance to those on the bas-reliefs amid the ruins of Central America , which give such conclusive evidences of the grandeur of a past civilization . Were it not for the startling nature of the admission that a race so peculiar and diminutive could have hitherto existed unknown to us , there is nothing in the appearance of these two little creatures leading us to conclude them other
diminutive size of these children ? Were the ancient Aztecs , of whom these are considered the type , a diminutive race of men ? -Q-a-the other hand , are we warranted in concluding that these children are either a sport of nature or the last specimen of a degenerate race ? Surely not ; because , though possessing a very peculiar configuration of face and structure of body , they are not disproportionately nor even inelegantly formed , making allowances for our prejudices in favour of the human races to which we are most accustomed . In spite of the conical shape of the head , the amount of brain seems duly proportionate to the stature of the body , and as has been before stated , the convexity of the features bears no
than the offspring of beings similar to themselves . Until more light be thrown on the subject than we already possess , we are baffled , in whatever direction we turn , in our attempt to solve the mystery ; and strange and improbable as the story of Velasquez appears , it is the only one we have have yet seen which offers an approach to a satisfactory solution of the origin of these wonderful little beings .
Though possessing a secondary interest to that excited by the Aztecs , the Erdmanniges , boy and girl , are individually more intelligent and advanced . They sing , dance , play , and converse , and there seems no occasion to fix any arbitrary limit to their capability of learning . Their heads present a great contrast to those of the
Aztecs , being well developed and large , though not so much so as to be disproportionate . Their bodies are more robust , the limbs exquisitely shaped , and the hands and feet particularly small . They tread with that elastic springing step , and move with a grace , which seems inherent in the children of tho desert . In the hair , likewise , there is a strong contrast between the Erdmanniges and the Aztecs , that of the former growing in little spiral tufts clinging close to the head ,
with this striking distinction from the wool of the negro , that it does not equally cover the scalp , but leaves open bare spaces between the
curls . It is perhaps worthy of being noted , that while the Aztec and Erdmannige females have the usual complement of teeth , the canine are wanting in the lower jaw of the Aztec boy , and in the Erdmannige boy are absent altogether . Independently of curiosity to learn the history and origin of these little people , it is impossible to behold them without benefit and improvement in the reflections which so novel a spectacle must inspire .
Who can look upon them , and not feel that man is indeed fearfully and wonderfully made , " and that the laws which regulate the existence of the various races which compose the great human family are indeed " inscrutable and past finding out ? " Wo are astonished at finding such perfect human beings little more than half the usual