286 ASTONISHMENT. Chap. XII. 



as a European would." Mr. Wedgwood remarks that 

 such sounds are written down as ichew, and they serve 

 as interjections for surprise. 



According to three other observers, the Australians 

 often evince astonishment by a clucking noise. Euro- 

 peans also sometimes express gentle surprise by a little 

 clicking noise of nearly the same kind. We have seen 

 that when we are startled, the mouth is suddenly opened; 

 and if the tongue happens to be then pressed closely 

 against the palate, its sudden withdrawal will produce a 

 sound of this kind, which might thus come to express 

 surprise. 



Turning to gestures of the body. A surprised person 

 often raises his opened hands high above his head, or by 

 bending his arms only to the level of his face. The flat 

 palms are directed towards the person who causes this 

 feeling, and the straightened fingers are separated. This 

 gesture is represented by Mr. Eejlander in Plate VII. 

 fig. 1. In the i Last Supper/ by Leonardo da Vinci, two 

 of the Apostles have their hands half uplifted, clearly 

 expressive of their astonishment. A trustworthy ob- 

 server told me that he had lately met his wife under 

 most unexpected circumstances: "She started, opened her 

 mouth and eyes very widely, and threw up both her arms 

 above her head." Several years ago I was surprised by 

 seeing several of my young children earnestly doing 

 something together on the ground; but the distance was 

 too great for me to ask what they were about. Therefore 

 I threw up my open hands with extended fingers above 

 my head; and as soon as I had done this, I became con- 

 scious of the action. I then waited, without saying a 

 word, to see if my children had understood this gesture; 

 and as they came running to me they cried out, " We 

 saw that you were astonished at us." I do not know 

 whether this gesture is common to the various races of 



