The Varangians were the Norse vikings, who in the ninth century laid the foundations of the Russian Empire. Many of them entered the service of the Byzantine emperors, and in the days of the Comneni the Varangians regularly formed the imperial bodyguard at Constantinople. The Varangians at Constantinople were largely recruited by Anglo-Saxons and Danes from England after the Norman Conquest.

The Hottentots are an African native race occupying the country north from the Cape Colony to Mossamedes, stretching westward to the Atlantic, and bounded on the East by the Kalahari desert. Formerly a numerous nation, the Hottentots have been greatly diminished by the oppression of the Boers, and the race is now nearly extinct. The Hottentots include the Griquas, Bushmen, Korannas, Namaquas, and Damaras.

The Pygmie, a fabled race of dwarfs, mentioned by Homer (II. iii. 3N and Pliny. They were said to have inhabited the shores of the Nile. A race of pygmies, the Wambutti, was discovered by Mr. H. M. Stanley during his recent expedition in "Darkest Africa." He tells us how the "dwarfs with poisoned arrows, securely hidden behind buttress or in some dark recess," disputed his march with relentless vigilance and vin-dictiveness.

The Sabines were an important tribe of ancient Italy, allied to the Latins, Samnites, etc. Famous in Roman history as the people whose daughters were treacherously seized by the Romans at the Consualia, or games in honor of the God Consus. A treaty of peace was concluded with the Sabines (750 b. c). After frequent wars, the Sabines were finally defeated (449 b. c.) by M. Horatius, and were incorporated with Rome in the third century b. c.

The Hivites were a Canaanitish people specially associated with the Amorites, dwelling in the time of Joshua (Josh, ix.) near the center of Palestine and near Mount Hermon and Mount Lebanon, the latter being regarded as the country of the Amorites in the Egyptian texts and Tel-el-Amarna tablets. The Hivites are first mentioned in Scripture in Gen. x, 17; they were subjected to tribute by Solomon, after whose reign then-name no longer appears.

Animism is a term which explains all natural phenomena by the medium of spiritual agency. The Greek, Roman, and other ancient nations of antiquity, worshipped natural phenomena in a concrete form as divinities. Compare Ra, the Egyptian sun-god, Sanskrit Dyu, Greek Zeus, the sky, etc. The term animism was first applied by Dr. E. B. Tylor, to express the general theory of spiritual beings.

Albinos, called also Leucoethiopes, or white negroes, and by the Dutch and Germans Kakerlaken, were at one time considered a distinct race, but closer observation has shown that the same phenomenon occurs in individuals of all races, and that the peculiar white appearance arises from an irregularity of the skin. The iris of the eye is red in the Albino. Albinoism occurs also in other mammalia, birds and insects.

The Teutones were a German tribe, mentioned by Roman writers as inhabiting the northwest part of Germany north of the Elbe. In conjunc tion with the Cimbri, they invaded Gaul (103 b. c), destroying three Roman armies, and then proceeded to invade Italy; but the Teutones were defeated and almost annihilated by Marius at Aquae Sextiae (102 B. C), and the Cimbri at Campus Raudius, near Verullae (101 b. a).

The Druids were ancient priests and legislators of the Britons, Germans and Gauls. They reverenced the oak and the mistletoe growing upon it. They believed in the immortality and transmigration of the soul, and were acquainted with astronomy, philosophy, and physic. They exercised great power over the people, and resisted the landing of Caesar in Britain. They were exterminated by Suetonius Paulinus, a. d. 61.

In the vicinity of Palenque, a Mexican village, are the grandest and most extensive ruins in the American continent, dating from before the Spanish conquest. The chief structure is a huge pile called the palace, two hundred and twenty eight feet long, one hundred and eighty feet wide, and twenty-five feet high, with numerous sculptures and hieroglyphics, raised on a grand basement, square on the plan, and rising by huge steps to the summit.

The Aztecs were the early inhabitants of Mexico, who became highly civilized and adopted a monarchical form of government in 1352. Then most celebrated king was Montezuma-Illumicamina, who erected several magnificent buildings, the remains of which are still to be seen. They believed in a Supreme Being, whom they never represented by sculpture or painting, as they believed him to be invisible. The Aztecs were conquered by the Spaniards under Cortez, 1521.

The Ethiopic type of man is a worshipper of nature and believes in fetichism and witchcraft. The Mongolic type believes in dreams and visions and is a spirit worshipper, while the Caucasic type has creeds based on revelation and a priesthood with the idea of mediation prominent. The Mongolian is sluggish, somewhat morose and taciturn - with little of the initiative but much endurance. The Caucasian has a high imagination, is active and enterprising, speculative yet practical.

T'he word Boers (Dutch, "agriculturists," "farmers") is the name ap-. plied to the Dutch Colonists of South Africa who are engaged in agriculture and the care of cattle. Their first settlement was at the Cape of Good Hope about the sixteenth century. The Boers are the republican land-holders of South Africa; by no means scrupulous and humane in their dealings with the natives, but remarkable for courage, love of freedom, sobriety and industry. They are good horsemen and splendid marksmen.

The Bedouins are that class of Arabs who lead a nomadic life. Living in the desert of Arabia they have evolved characteristics as robbers and herdsmen, intimately connected with their mode of life. Keen of physical sense, with active imagination, yet destitute of solid knowledge, the Bedouin unites independence and love of liberty, with a violent passion, an infamous love of plunder and an entire disregard of the rights of property. They are professedly Mahommedan. Bigamy is rare, polygamy scarcely known.