The Descent of Man

Erycina at San- Giuliano in Sicily, were selected
for their beauty out of the whole of Greece;
they were not vestal virgins, and Quatrefages
(3. 'Anthropologie,' 'Revue des Cours Scientifiques,'
Oct. 1868, p. 721.), who states the foregoing
fact, says that the women of San-Giuliano
are now famous as the most beautiful in the
island, and are sought by artists as models. But
it is obvious that the evidence in all the above
cases is doubtful.
The following case, though relating to savages,
is well worth giving for its curiosity. Mr. Winwood
Reade informs me that the Jollofs, a tribe
of negroes on the west coast of Africa, "are remarkable
for their uniformly fine appearance."
A friend of his asked one of these men, "How is
it that every one whom I meet is so fine looking,
not only your men but your women?" The
Jollof answered, "It is very easily explained: it
has always been our custom to pick out our
worst-looking slaves and to sell them." It need