Secondly, a western family, which comprises the Poles and C.-,rchs, together with the Slovaks and the Sorbs or IVends. Among the Poles must be included the Kassubs and Polabs, whose language is now extinct, and who formerly extended along both sides of the Elbe and had some settle ments as far as the Main and the Rednitz. To this branch also belonged the now Germanized (Lechish) nations on both banks of the Oder, in Silesia and Western Pomerania. The Wends also formerly extended from the Elbe to the Saal; now they are confined to the region between LObau and Liibhen, through which .the lower Spree flows.
The Slays are smaller than the Germans, of a darker complexion, with black, straighter hair and rounder faces: a tendency toward the Mongolian type has often been asserted, and cannot be denied. The skull is brachy cephalic and approaches the Mongolian form.
6. The Romance peoples, who have originated from the intermixture of the Romans with various other European nations.
Language.—First must be mentioned the Italian language, which was developed from the national idioms of Italy by the influence of German languages which inundated Italy at the beginning of the Middle Ages.
It is spoken in Italy, Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia, in Southern Switzer land and Tyrol, and on the coast of Dalmatia, and is divided into numer ous dialects.
Secondly, the PorInswese, Sfianish (Castilian), and Catalonian lan guages, the latter of which is spoken in the east of Spain (Valencia and Catalonia), on Pityusa (Formentera) and the other Balearic Islands, in a small coast-tract iu Sardinia, and in Roussillon in Southern France. Each of these is divided into various dialects.
Thirdly, the Provencal (Langue d'oc) and the French with its dialects (Langue d'o'il); in the Grisons the (Ladinish); and in Friuli -(I_Tdine) the Frizilian language; the latter two are closely related, and nated from a mixture of Roman with Celtic and Germanic elements. In the east of Europe we also find Romance peoples: these are the northern Wallachians or Roumanians, the Daci-Romnanians, who dwell in Walla chia (the ancient Dacia) and Moldavia as far as Bessarabia. They sur round the Transylvanian Germans and several Magyar districts. The southern or dwell in Macedonia, one branch to the south of Lake Ochrida and another to the west of the Pindus Mountains.
The Romance languages are all filial languages of the Latin, but the peoples themselves have retained their old inherited character in spite of the various interminglings which they have undergone. The northern
French, for instance, although so much mixed with Roman and Germanic elements, still exhibit the characteristic traits of the old Celts who laid the foundation of the nation; they differ remarkably from the southern French. The Spaniards, originating from an Iberian source by intermix ture with Roman, Germanic, Celtic, and Arabic elements, still retain mach of the old Iberian character. Quite a different character is exhibited by the Italians, who reflect rather faithfully the nature of the old Italian tribes. Still, these Romance nations form a unit in comparison with the Germanic nations, and the mutual reactions of those great opposites, the Romance and Germanic characters, have played a most important part in the mod ern history of Europe. The Romance division is based partly on the always powerful influence of Rome, and still more on the influences of a southern climate, which is so different from a northern.
Germanic and Romance nations have spread over the greater part of the globe: the Germanic race is in North America, South Africa, India, East Asia, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand, without naming the colonies of Western and Southern South America, Polynesia, and else where. The Romance nations, though less aggressive, have taken the principal possession of America: Spanish is spoken in Mexico and through out Central America, and, with the exception of Brazil, where the Portu guese prevails, it is the language of all civilized South America. The districts in which the French prevails (Cayenne and sonic islands) are proportionately small. The islands of the middle Atlantic Ocean are almost all Spanish (Canary Islands) or Portuguese. Spanish prevails also in Malaysia (Philippine Islands, Marianne Islands), while the Portuguese is almost extinct there, but has been retained in some places in Hither India. France governs Algeria, some islands east of Africa, New Cale donia, and Tahiti.
The third great race of the modern Europeans, the Slavic, is also spreading extensively. Almost the whole of Northern Asia from the Caucasus to the mouth of the Amoor belongs to it. Although, yielding to modern principles, this race leaves almost untouched the peculiarities of the peoples whom it has subjugated, there can be no doubt that this spread of European characteristics is of the utmost importance in univer sal history.