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Show 2~0 ASTONISHMEN'l'. HA.P. Xll. ished, often swinging their heads to and fro, and beating their breasts. Mr. Scott informs me that the workmen in the Botanic Gardens at Calcutta are strictly ordered not to smoke; but they often disobey this order, an~l when suddenly surprised in the aet, they fir~t open the1r eyes and mouths widely. They then ofte~ slightly ~hr.ug their shoulders, as they perceive that discovery IS Inevitable or frown and stamp on the ground from vexation. Soon they recover from their surprise, and abject fear is exhibited by the relaxation of. all their muscle~; their heads seem to f3ink between their shoulders ; then fallen eyes wander to and fro; and they supplicate forgiveness. The well-known Australian explorer, Mr. Stuart, has given 2 a striking account of stupefied amazement together with terror in a native who hacl never before seen a man on horseback. Mr. Stuart approached unseen and called to hin1 from a little distance. "l-Ie "turned round and saw me. What he inulgined I " was I do not know; but a finer picture of fear and " astonislunent I never saw. He stood incapable of '' moving a limb, riveted to the spot, n1outh open and '' eyes staring .... He remained motionless untjl our " black got within a few yards of hin1, when suddenly " throwing down his waddies, he jumped into a n1ulga " bush as high as he · could get." He could not speak, and answered not a word to the inquiries 1nade by the black, but, trembling from head to foot, " waved " with his hand for us to be off." That the eyebrows are raised by an innate or instinc· tive impulse may be inferred fro1n the fact that Laura Bridgman invariably acts thus when astonished, as I have Leen assured by the lady who has lately huJ z ' Tlw rolyglot N cws Letter,' Melbourne, Dee. 1858, P· 2. CtlAl' •• / 11. A~'l'ONlSHlUENT. 2~1 ehLtrge of her. As urprise is excited by something unexp cted or unknown, we naturally desire, when startled, to p rccive the cause as quickly as po sible; and we con 'equently open onr eyes fully, so that the field of vision may be increased, and the yeballs moved easily in any dire tion. But this hardly ac aunts for the eyebrows being so gr atly raised as is the case and f?r the wii:l staring of the open eyes. ~rhe explan~tion l1. s, I b heve, _i~ the impossibility of opening the eyes with great rapidity by merely raisin()' tho upper lids. ~ro effect this the eyebrows must be lifted energetically. Any. oue who will try to open his eyes as quickly as po s1ule before a mirror will find that he acts thus; and the . nergetic lifting up of the eyebrows opens the eyes s w1lely t?~t they stare, the white being exposed all ~·ouncl the Ins. MoTeover, the elevation of the eyebrows 1s an ad vantage in looking upwards; for as long as they are lowered they impede our vision in this direction. Sir. C. Bell gives 3 a curious little proof of the part whiC? the eyebrows play in opening th eyelids. In a tup1dly drunken man all the rnuscles are relaxed, and the eyelids consequently droop, in the same manner as when we are falling asleep. To counteract this tendency the drunkard raises his eyebrows· and this o-ives h. ' b ~o un a puzzled, foolish look, as is well represented 1n one of Hog.arth's drawings. The habit of raising the yebrows ha v1ng once been o·ained in order to see as quickly as possible all around us, the movement would follow from the force of association whenever astonishJn nt was felt from any cause, even from a sudden sound or an idea. vVith adult per ons, when the eyebrows are rais c1 the whole forehead becon1es inuch wrinkled in trans~ 3 ''1'1 .c A t f · IJU. omy o Expre~owu,' p 106. |
