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Show IIELPLERSNES. : CnAr. xr. Rhuko of Jds head, Raid ho could not. lV[r. Scott knowing that tho 1nan was lazy, thought ho could, and inRistod on his trying. J-Iis face now became pale, hiR arms dropped to his sides, his mouth and eyes were widely opened, and again surveying the tree, ho lookoc1 askant at Mr. Scott, shrugged his shoulders, inverted his elbows, extended his open hands, and with a few quick lateral shakes of the head declared his inability. Mr. H. Erskine has likewise seen the natives of India Hhrugging their shoulders ; but he. has never seen tho elbows turned so much inwards as with us; and whilst shrugging their shoulders they sometilnes lay their uncrossed hands on their breasts. With the wild l\ialays of the interior of Malacca, anc1 with the Bugis (true Malays, though spealdng a different language), Mr. Geach has often seen this gesture. I presume that it is cmnplete, as, jn answer to my query descriptive of the 1novements of the shoulders, arms, hands, and face, Mr. Geach re1narks, " it is performed " in a beautiful style." I have lost an extract from n scientific voyage, in which shrugging the shoulders by some natives (Micronesians) of the Caroline Archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, was well described. Capt. Speedy informs me that the Abyssinians shrug their shoulders, but enters into no details. Mrs. Asa Gray saw an Arab drago1nan in Alexandria acting exactly as described in n1y query, when an old gentleman, on wh01n h attended, would not go in the proper direction which had been pointed out to him. Mr. Washington Matthews says, in reference to tho wild Indian tribes of the western parts of the United States, "I have on a few occasions detected n1en using '' a slight apologetic shrug, but the rest of the demon" stration which you describe I have not witnessed." Fritz Muller inforn1s me that he has seen the nogrors CllAl'. XL 'llH 'Ul.NG 'l'ltE 'llO LDER ', 20U in ~razil shrugging their shoulders; hut it is f cour ·o po "I~l that they nuty have learnt to do o by imitating the 1 ~rtugue . l\1r ·. Barber has nev r s en thi g sture w1th the I afir f uth Africa· and Gaika J'ndO"I·n(r f ]' ' ' b b rom ns answer, did not ven und r tand what wa ll)eant Ly my d -cdption. l\1r. Swinhoe is al o doubtful a~out th Chin ; but h ltas n th n1, unc1 r tho e1rcumstan es whi h would make u hruo· ur sh uld r th . . h I:' ' pro ' Ir r1g t lLow again ·t th ir siu , raise th ir ey brow ·, lift up tbeir hand with th palm directed toward th per on a ldr · ed, and ·halye it fro1n ri(Yht to left. Lastly, with r sp ct to tho Au tralinn four of my informants answer by a ·in11le n gative: nnd ne by a itnplo affirmati vo. l\1r. 13unn tt, who has had excoll nt 01 portuniti s for h rvation on the borders of the 0 lony of Victoria, ul o an w rs by a "ye ," addi1lg that the gesture is perform d "in a m ro "subdued and less dmnon trative manner than i tho "ca1:1e with c.ivilized na~ions." This cir umstanc may ~tccount for Its not havu1g been noticed by four of n1y 1nforman t . . ~rh .se statements, relating to Euror eans, Ilindoo , tho hill-tribes of India, 1\Ialays, Micronesians, Aby inians, Arabs, N groes, Indians of North Am rica, and appatently to the Australians-many of th se natives havinO' h.ad scarcely any intercourse with Europeans--arc ufli~ ?lent to show that shrugging the shoulders, acco1npanieu 111 some cases by tho other proper mov ments, is a ges· ture natural to 1nankind. This gesture implies an unintentional or unavoidable action on ?ur own part, or ono that we cannot perform ; or an act1 n performed by another p r on which we annot prevent. It accompanies such speeches as, "It ' was not my fault;" "It is impossible for me to grant " this favour;" "lie must follow his own course; I can· |