332 BLUSHING. Chap. XIII. 



Moral causes : guilt. — With respect to blushing from 

 strictly moral causes, we meet with the same fundamental 

 principle as before, namely, regard for the opinion of 

 others. It is not the conscience which raises a blush, 

 for a man may sincerely regret some slight fault com- 

 mitted in solitude, or he may suffer the deepest remorse 

 for an undetected crime, but he will not blush. " I 

 blush," says Dr. Burgess, 30 " in the presence of my ac- 

 cusers." It is not the sense of guilt, but the thought 

 that others think or know us to be guilty which crim- 

 sons the face. A man may feel thoroughly ashamed at 

 having told a small falsehood, without blushing; but if 

 he even suspects that he is detected he will instantly 

 blush, especially if detected by one whom he reveres. 



On the other hand, a man may be convinced that 

 God witnesses all his actions, and he may feel deeply 

 conscious of some fault and pray for forgiveness; but 

 this will not, as a lady who is a great blusher believes, 

 ever excite a blush. The explanation of this difference 

 between the knowledge by God and man of our actions 

 lies, I presume, in man's disapprobation of immoral 

 conduct being somewhat akin in nature to his deprecia- 

 tion of our personal appearance, so that through associa- 

 tion both lead to similar results; whereas the disappro- 

 bation of God brings up no such association. 



Many a person has blushed intensely when accused 

 of some crime, though completely innocent of it. Even 

 the thought, as the lady before referred to has observed 

 to me, that others think that we have made an unkind or 

 stupid remark, is amply sufficient to cause a blush, al- 

 though we know all the time that we have been com- 

 pletely misunderstood. i\.n action may be meritorious 

 or of an indifferent nature, but a sensitive person, if he 



29 ' Essays on Practical Education,' by Maria and R. L. 

 Edgeworth, new edit. vol. ii. 1822, p. 50. 



