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Show ASTONISIIl\IENT. CHAP. Xli. ver~:;e line~:;· but with children this occurs only to a slight deo-ree. Tho wrinkles run in lines concentric with each ey~brow, and are partially confluent in the .middle. Th_ey are highly characteristic of the express1o.n of surpr1se or astonishment. Each eyebrow, when ra1sed, be?omes also, as Duchenne remarks, 4 more arched than 1t was before. The cause of the mouth being opened when astonish-ment is felt is a Inuch more complex affair; and several causes appa~·ently concur in leading to this movem~nt. It has often been supposed 5 that the sense of heanng is thus rendered more acute; but I have watched persons listening intently to a slight noise, the nature and source of which they knew perfectly, and they did not open their mouths. Therefore I at one time imagined that the open mouth might aiel in distinguiRhing the direction whence a sound proceeded, by givin~ another channel for its entrance into the ear throuo-h the eustachian tube. But Dr. W. Ogle 6 has been ~o kind as to search the best recent authorities on the functions of the eustachian tube ; and he inforn1s n1e that it is almost conclusively proved that it remains closed except during the act of deglutition; and that in persons in whom the tube remains abnormally open, the sense of hearing, as far as external sounds are concerned, is by no means improved; on the contrary, it is impaired by the respiratory sounds being rendered 1nore distinct. If a watch be placed within the mouth, but not allowed to touch the sides, the ticking is heard much less plainly than ·when held outside. In persons " 'Mecanisme de ht Physionomie,' Album, p. 6. s See, for instance, Dr. Piderit (' Mimik und Physiognomik,' s. 88), who has a good discussion on the expression of surprise. G Dr. Murie has also given me information leading to the s::tme con· elusion, derived in part from comparative anatomy. , CHAP. xu. AS'l'ONISHlUENT. 283 in wh01n from disoa e r a cold tho eustaehian tube is !ler.m~nently or temporarily closed, the sense of hearing 1s InJured; but this may be accounted for by mucus accumulating within the tube, and the consequent exclusion of air. We may therefore infer that the Inouth is not kept open under the sense of astonishmen~ for the sake of hearing sounds more distinctly; notwithstanding that most deaf people k ep their mouths open. ~very sudden emotion, including astonishment, quic.k en.s the action of the heart' and with it the respuat1on. Now we can breathe, as Gratiolet remarks 7 and as appears to me to be the case, much more quietly through the open mouth than throu()'h the no tril . Therefore, when we wish to listen inte~tly to any sound, we either stop breathing, or breathe as quietly as possible, by openino- our mouths at the same . k 0 ' time ~eeping our bodies motionless. One of my sons was awakened in the night by a noise under circumBtances which naturally led to great care, and after a few minutes he perceived that his mouth wa.s widely ?pen. He then became conscious that he had opened It ~or ~he sake of breathing as quietly as possible. Th~s VIew receives support from tho reversed case wh1cl: occurs with dogs. A dog when panting after exerCI~e, or on a hot day, breathes loudly; but if his attent1o~ be suddenly aroused, he instantly pricks his ear~ to hsten, shuts his mouth, and breathes quietly, as he IS nablecl to do, through his nostrils. . Whe~ the attention is concentrated for a length of time With fixed earnestness on any object or subject all the organs of the body are forgotten and neglected;~ 1 ' De ln. 11hyt!ionomie,' 1 65, p. 234. 11 :-:;c ·, on this subject, Gratiolet, iJJi<.l. p. 254. |