314 BLUSHING. Chap. XIII. 



Moreau also 8 relates, on the authority of a celebrated 

 painter, that the chest, shoulders, arms, and whole body 

 of a girl, who unwillingly consented to serve as a model, 

 reddened when she was first divested of her clothes. 



It is a rather curious question why, in most cases the 

 face, ears, and neck alone redden, inasmuch as the whole 

 surface of the body often tingles and grows hot. This 

 seems to depend, chiefly, on the face and adjoining parts 

 of the skin having been habitually exposed to the air, 

 light, and alternations of temperature, by which the 

 small arteries not only have acquired the habit of readily 

 dilating and contracting, but appear to have become 

 unusually developed in comparison with other parts of 

 the surface. 9 It is probably owing to this same cause, 

 as M. Moreau and Dr. Burgess have remarked, that the 

 face is so liable to redden under various circumstances, 

 such as a fever-fit, ordinary heat, violent exertion, anger, 

 a slight blow, &c; and on the other hand that it is liable 

 to grow pale from cold and fear, and to be discoloured 

 during pregnancy. The face is also particularly liable 

 to be affected by cutaneous complaints, by small-pox, 

 erysipelas, &c. This view is likewise supported by the 

 fact that the men of certain races, who habitually go 

 nearly naked, often blush over their arms and chests and 

 even down to their waists. A lady, who is a great blusher, 

 informs Dr. Crichton Browne, that when she feels 

 ashamed or is agitated, she blushes over her face, neck, 

 wrists, and hands, — that is, over all the exposed portions 

 of her skin. Nevertheless it may be doubted whether 

 the habitual exposure of the skin of the face and neck, 

 and its consequent power of reaction under stimulants 

 of all kinds, is by itself sufficient to account for the much 



8 See Lavater, edit, of 1820, vol. iv. p. 303. 

 Burg-ess, ibid. pp. 114, 122. Moreau in Lavater, ibid. vol. 

 iv. p. 293. 



