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Show 212 EXPRESSION OF HIGH SPIRITS. CHAP. VIII. to me at the time to be connected with the greater lateral extension of the mouth as the smiles became broader. In a second infant the first real sn1ile was observed at about the same nge, viz. forty-five days; and in a third, at a somewhat earlier age. The second infant, when sixty-five days old, smiled much more broadly and plainly than did the one first mentioned at the same age; and even at this early age uttered noises very like langhter. In this gradual acquirement, by infants, of the habit of laughing, we have a case in some degree analogous to that of weeping. As practice is requisite with the ordinary movements of the b~dy, such as walking, so it seems to be with laughing and weeping. The art of screaming, on the other hand, from being of service to infants, bas become finely developed from the earliest days. "·, High spirits, cheerfulness.-A man in high spirits, though he may not actually smile, commonly exhibits some tendency to the retraction of the corners of his mouth. From the· excitement of pleasure, the circulation becomes more rapid; the eyes are bright, and the colour of the face rises. The brain, being stimulated by the increased flow of blood, reacts on the mental powers; lively ideas pass still more rapidly through the mind, and the affections are warmed. I heard a child, a little under four years old, when asked what was meant by being in good spirits, answer, " It is laughing, talking, and kissing." It would be difficult to give a truer and more practical definition. A man in this state hqlds his body erect, his head upright, and his eyes open. 'l,here is no ,drooping of the features, and no contraction of the eyebrows. On the contrary, the frontal muscle, as Moreau CHJ.P. Vtti. . E.2 PRESSION OF HIGH SPI1U~S. observes, 17 tends to contract lightly ; and this smooths the brow, re~noves every trace of a frown, arches the eyebrows a little, and rajses the eyelids. Hence the Latin phrase, exporr1'gere frontmn-to unwrinkle the browmeans, to be cheerful or merry. The whole expression of a man in good spirits is exactly the opposite of that of one f::luffering from sorrow. According to Sir C. Bell, " In " all the exhilarating emotions the eyebrows, eyelids, " the nostrils, and the angles of the mouth are raised. " In the depressing passions it is the reverse." Under the influence of the latter the brow is heavy, the eyelids, cheeks, mouth, and whole head droop ; the eyes are dull; the countenance pallid, and the respiration slow. In joy the face expands, in grief it lengthens. 'Vhether the principle of antithesis has here come into play in producing these opposite expressions, in aid of the direct cause::s which have been specified and which are sufficiently plain, I will not pretend to say. vVith all the races of man the expression of good spirits appears to be the same, and is easily recognised. 1\Iy informants, from various parts of the Old and New '\Vorlds, answer in the affirmative to my queries on this head, and they give some particulars with respect to I-Iindoos, Malays, and New Zealanders. The brightness of the eyes of the Australians has struck four observers, and the same fact has been noticed with Hindoos, New Zealanders, and the Dyaks of Borneo. Savages sometimes express their satisfaction not only by smiljng, but by gestures derived from the pleasure of eating. Thus 1\ir. W edgwood 18 quotes Petherick 17 'La Physionomie,' pat· G. Lavater, edit. of 1820, vol. iv. p. 224. See, nlso, ir C. Dell, 'Anatomy of Expression,' p. 172, for the quotfttion given below. 111 A 'Dictionary of English Etymology,' 2nd edit. 1872, IntroJuc .. tion, p. xliv. |