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Show 166 EXPRESSION OF SUFFERING : CHAP. VI. haps, merely a part of that general action by ·which almost all the muscles of the body are at the same time rendered rigid. It is quite different from the gentle closure of the eyes which often accompanies, as Gratiolet remarks/9 the smelling a delicious odour, or the tasting n, delicious morsel, and which probably originates in the desire to shut out any disturbing impression through the eyes. Professor Donders writes to n1e to the following effect: " I have observed some eases of a very curious affection " when, after a slight rub (attou,chmnent), for example, " from the friction of a coat, which caused neither " a wound nor a contusion, spasms of the orbicular " muscles occurred, with a very profuse flow of tears, " lasting about an hour. Subsequently, someti1nes after " an interval of several weeks, violent spasms of the " same muscles re-occurred, accompanied by the secre" tion of tears, together with primary or secondary red" ness of the eye." Mr. Bowman informs 1ne that he has occasionally (9 bserved closely analogous cases, and that, in some of these, there was no redness or inflamma-tion of the eyes. I was anxious to ascertain whether there existed in any of the lower animals a similar relation between the contraction of the orbicular muscles during violent expiration and the secretion of tears ; but there aro very few animals which contract these muscles in a prolonged manner, or which shed tears. The Macam~s maurus, which formerly wept so copiously in the Zoological G·ardens, would have been a fine case for observation; but the two monkeys now there, and which arc believed to belong to the same species, do not weep. Nevertheless they were carefully observed by 1\fr. 111 ·De la Physionomie,' 1865, p. 217. CfJAP. VI. WEEPING. 1G7 Bartlett and myself whilst . seemed to contract th screamling loudly, and they b t I ese muse es. but th a ou t 1eir cao-es so ra · dl h : ey moved observe with c;rtainty pk y, ~hat Jt was difficult to I have been able to ~scert:ino er monk~y, as far as lnuscles whilst screamin ' contracts Its orbicular 'Ilh g. e Indian ele h t · S . p an Is known som t' u· E. Tennent, in describin o· ~ Imes to weep. tured and bound in Oeyl b those which he saw cap- " h on, says some "I t' on t e ground, with no otl ,'. d. . ay mo Ionloss " than the tears which .[!['_ led,I In ~cation of sufferino" . suuuse their e d .a b Incessantly." Speak· o- f yes an uowod " Wh In o o another eleph t h en overpowered and d .[' . an e says, " .et! • ma e 1ast h1s o-1• · f' auecting ; his violence sank ' b Ie was most " he lay on the around tt ~o utter prostration, and " tears trickling d~wn h'' uh erl·In?· choking cries, with G d IS c ee ~s '2o In tl z 1 ar ens the keeper of th I d. . le oo ogical asserts that he has seve let. n Ian elephants positively th ra liDOS seen te 11' e face of the old fern 1 . ars ro In g down ___ a_e_,_when distressed by the -"O 'c. e ylon,' 3rd edit. 1859 vol r :rhwa~tes, in Ceylon, for further i~fi l •. pp .. 364, .376. I applied to Mr. mg of the elephant. and i oimatwn With respect to tho wcop- I·~" ev. l\'[r . G lem.e , who' , with no thcoernss eqku'e nce re cm·v e d a letter from the recently capturecl elephants Th ' mdl~ o~servod for me a hei·d of hut it is remarkn.ble that th ese, when ll'l'Itated, screamed violently. t1 I oy never when th . , 10 muse es round the eyes. Nord. us screammg contmct<'cl Jmntcrs a sertecl that tho had ld they shed tears; and the nativC' Nevertheless, it appears t y . novo~· obsm·vod e1ophnnts woopinO' distinct details about th . o me. Imposslblo to doubt ~ir E Tonnenf~ n. ertion of the keeper e~r ~~ep~g, supported as they arc by tho positi v~ tho two elephants in th InG --~ oological Gardens. It is certain that m. vari. ably contracted tho . .a ruebn' s, when they b egan t o trumpet loudlr conflicting statements o~~r ~ lCnlar ~uscJes. I cn.n reconcile the~; rlophants in Ceylon f. yb . y supposmg that tho recently cn.ptur<'cl h serve t en· · persecuto' rs wmd emo- cm·nO'od or fr'o-] t d · b b lo l one ' dosrred to ob-ruuscles, so that their vis~: c~nshetquently did not contmct their orbicular 1) y s·t r E~ . ,T ennent were nr omsi g. not beimpede.d · Tho o seen weeping despair. 'rhe elephants '~hic~l~~e, nnd h~d given up the contest in the word of command . I nmpete~ m the Zoological Gnrd ns nt , we:re, of cour e, neither alarmed nor enraged. |