152 EXPRESSION OF SUFFERING: Chap. VI. 



eyes is chiefly due to the copious effusion of tears. The 

 various muscles of the face which have been strongly- 

 contracted, still twitch a little, and the upper lip is still 

 slightly drawn up or everted/ with the corners of the 

 mouth still a little drawn downwards. I have myself 

 felt, and have observed in other grown-up persons, that 

 when tears are restrained with difficulty, as in reading 

 a pathetic story, it is almost impossible to prevent the 

 various muscles, which with young children are brought 

 into strong action during their screaming-fits, from 

 slightly twitching or trembling. 



Infants whilst young do not shed tears or weep, as is 

 well known to nurses and medical men. This circum- 

 stance is not exclusively due to the lacrymal glands 

 being as yet incapable of secreting tears. I first noticed 

 this fact from having accidentally brushed with the cuff 

 of my coat the open eye of one of my infants, when 

 seventy-seven days old, causing this eye to water freely; 

 and though the child screamed violently, the other eye 

 remained dry, or was only slightly suffused with tears. 

 A similar slight effusion occurred ten days previously 

 in both eyes during a screaming-fit. The tears did not 

 run over the eyelids and roll down the cheeks of this 

 child, whilst screaming badly, when 122 days old. This 

 first happened 17 days later, at the age of 139 days. A 

 few other children have been observed for me, and the 

 period of free weeping appears to be very variable. In 

 one case, the eyes became slightly suffused at the age 

 of only 20 days; in another, at 62 days. With two other 

 children, the tears did not run down the face at the ages 

 of 84 and 110 days; but in a third child they did run 

 down at the age of 104 days. In one instance, as I was 

 positively assured, tears ran down at the unusually early 



7 Dr. Duchenne makes this remark, ibid. p. 39. 



