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Show 330 BLUSHING. CH.AP. XIII. 1nuch moral sensitiveness would have been highly sensitive about his personal appearance, at least in refer~ ence to the other sex, and he would consequently have felt distress at any depreciatory remarks about his appearance; and this is one form of shame. And as the face is the part of the body which is n1ost regarded, it is intelligible that any one ashamed of his personal appearance would desire to conceal this part of his body. The habit having been thus acquired, would naturally be carried on when shame from strictly moral causes was felt; and it is not easy otherwise to see why under these circumstances there should be a desire to hide the face more than any other part of the body. The ha~it, so general with every one who feels ashatned, of turning away, or lowering his eyes, or restlessly moving them from side to side, probably follows fron1 each glance directed towards those present, bringing ho1ne the conviction that he is intently regarded; and he endeavours, by not looking at those present, and especially not at their eyes, momentarily to escape fron1 this painful conviction. Shyness. -This odd state of n1ind, often called shamefacedness, or false shame, or 1nauvaise honte, ap· pears to be one of the most efficient of all the causes of blushing. Shyness is, indeed, chiefly recognized by the face reddening, by the eyes being averted or cast down, and by awkward, nervous n1ovements of the body. Many a woman blushes from this cause, a hundred, perhaps a thousand times, to once that she blushes from having done anything deserving blame, and of which she is truly ashamed. Shyness seems to depend on sensitiveness to the opinion, whether good or bad, of others, more especially with respect to external appear· ance. Strangers neither know nor care anything about CHAP. XIII. BLUSIIIN ~. 331 our conduct or character, but th y 1nay, and often do, criti ize onr appearance : hence hy persons are particularly apt to be shy and to Llu .. h in the pr s nc of strangers. The consciousness of anything peculiar, or even new, in the dress, or any slight blemish on the person, and1nore especially on th face-points which ar likely to attract tho attention f strangers-makes the ~hy intolerably shy. On the other hand, in tho cas R in whieh conduct and not per onal appearance is concerned, we are much more apt to be shy in the pres neo of acquaintances, whoso judg1nent wo in some degre value, than in that of strangers. A physician told 1no that a young man, a wealthy duke, with w hon1 ho had travelled as medical attendant, blushed like a girl, when he paid him his fee; yet thi young n1an probably would not have blushed and Leen shy, had he been paying a bill to a tradesn1an. Smne persons, however, are so sensitive, that the mere act of speaking to almost any one is sufficient to rouse their self-consciousness, and a slight blush is the result. Disapprobation or ridicule, from our sensitiveness on this head, causes shyness and blushing much more readily than does approbation; though the latter with some persons is highly efficient. The conceited are rarely shy; for they value themselves much too highly to expect depreciation. vVhy a proud Inan is often shy, as appears to be the case, is not so obvious, unless it be that, with all his self-reliance, he really thinks much about the opinion of others, although in a disdainful spirit. Persons who are exceedingly shy are rarely shy in the presence of those with whom they are quite familiar, and of whose good opinion and sympathy they are perfectly assured ;-for instance, a girl in the presence of her mother. I neglected to inquire in my printed paper whether shyness can be detected |
