Chap. XIII. BLUSHING. 323 



speech, which he had evidently learnt by heart, in abso- 

 lute silence, and did not utter a single word; but he acted 

 as if he were speaking with much emphasis. His friends, 

 perceiving how the case stood, loudly applauded the 

 imaginary bursts of eloquence, whenever his gestures 

 indicated a pause, and the man never discovered that 

 he had remained the whole time completely silent. On 

 the contrary, he afterwards remarked to my friend, with 

 much satisfaction, that he thought he had succeeded 

 uncommonly well. 



When a person is much ashamed or very shy, and 

 blushes intensely, his heart beats rapidly and his breath- 

 ing is disturbed. This can hardly fail to affect the circu- 

 lation of the blood within the brain, and perhaps the 

 mental powers. It seems however doubtful, judging 

 from the still more powerful influence of anger and fear 

 on the circulation, whether we can thus satisfactorily 

 account for the confused state of mind in persons whilst 

 blushing intensely. 



The true explanation apparently lies in the intimate 

 sympathy which exists between the capillary circulation 

 of the surface of the head and face, and that of the brain. 

 On applying to Dr. J. Crichton Browne for information, 

 he has given me various facts bearing on this subject. 

 When the sympathetic nerve is divided on one side of 

 the head, the capillaries on this side are relaxed and 

 become filled with blood, causing the skin to redden and 

 to grow hot, and at the same time the temperature within 

 the cranium on the same side rises. Inflammation of the 

 membranes of the brain leads to the endorsement of the 

 face, ears, and eyes with blood. The first stage of an 

 epileptic fit appears to be the contraction of the vessels 

 of the brain, and the first outward manifestation is an ex- 

 treme pallor of countenance. Erysipelas of the head 

 commonly induces delirium. Even the relief given to 



