SOME HUMAN INSTINCTS. 673 



fear may be assuaged by the presence of a little child, or even of a 

 baby. In a case of hydrophobia known to the writer, the patient in- 

 sisted on keeping his room croicded with neighbors all the while, so 

 intense was his fear of solitude. In a gregarious animal, the percep- 

 tion that he is alone excites him to vigorous activity. Mr. Galton 

 thus describes the behavior of the South African cattle whom he had 

 such good opportunities for observing : " Although the ox has little 

 affection for, or interest in, his fellows, he can not endure even a 

 momentary separation from his herd. If he be separated from it by 

 stratagem or force, he exhibits every sign of mental agony ; he strives 

 with all his might to get back again, and when he succeeds he plunges 

 into its middle to bathe his whole body with the comfort of closest 

 companionship." * 



Man is also excited by the presence of his kind. The bizarre ac- 

 tions of dogs meeting strange dogs are not altogether without a parallel 

 in our own constitution. "We can not meet strangers without a certain 

 tension, or talk to them exactly as to our familiars. This is particu- 

 larly the case if the stranger be an important personage. It may then 

 happen that we not only shrink from meeting his eye, but actually 

 can not collect our wits or do ourselves any sort of justice in his pres- 

 ence. " This odd state of mind," says Darwin, f " is chiefly recognized 

 by the face reddening, by the eyes being averted or cast down, and 

 by awkward, nervous movements of the body. . . . Shyness seems to 

 depend on sensitiveness to the opinion, whether good or bad, of others, 

 more especially with respect to external appearance. Strangers nei- 

 ther know nor care anything about our conduct or character, but they 

 may, and often do, criticise our appearance. . . . The consciousness 

 of anything peculiar, or even new, in the dress, or any slight blemish 

 on the person, and more especially on the face points which are likely 

 to attract the attention of strangers makes the shy intolerably shy.J 

 On the other hand, in those cases in which conduct, and not personal 

 appearance, is concerned, we are much more apt to be shy, in the 

 presence of acquaintances whose judgment we in some degree value, 

 than in that of strangers. . . . Some 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. Disapproba- 

 tion . . . causes shyness and blushing much more readily than does 

 approbation. . . . 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 quite assured ; for instance, a 

 girl in presence of her mother. . . . Shyness ... is closely related to 

 fear ; yet it is distinct from fear in the ordinary sense. A shy man 



* " Inquiries into Human Faculty," p. 72. 

 f "Expression of the Emotions," New York, 1873, p. 330. 



% " The certainty that we are well.dressed," some lady has said, "gives us a peace of 

 heart to which that yielded by the consolations of religion is as nothing." 

 vol.. xxxi. 43 



