Chap. XIII. BLUSHING. 345 



blushes. It becomes obvious why personal remarks 

 should be particularly liable to cause blushing, and why 

 the most powerful of all the causes is shyness; for shy- 

 ness relates to the presence and opinion of others, and 

 the shv are always more or less self-conscious. With 

 respect to real shame from moral delinquencies, we can 

 perceive why it is not guilt, but the thought that others 

 think us guilty, which raises a blush. A man reflecting 

 on a crime committed in solitude, and stung by his con- 

 science, does not blush; vet he will blush under the 



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vivid recollection of a detected fault, or of one com- 

 mitted in the presence of others, the degree of blush- 

 ing being closely related to the feeling of regard for those 

 who have detected, witnessed, or suspected his fault. 

 Breaches of conventional rules of conduct, if they are 

 rigidly insisted on by our equals or superiors, often cause 

 more intense blushes even than a detected crime; and 

 an act which is really criminal, if not blamed by our 

 equals, hardly raises a tinge of colour on our cheeks. 

 Modesty from humility, or from an indelicacy, excites a 

 vivid blush, as both relate to the judgment or fixed cus- 

 toms of others. 



From the intimate sympathy which exists between 

 the capillary circulation of the surface of the head and 

 of the brain, whenever there is intense blushing, there 

 will be some, and often great, confusion of mind. This 

 is frequently accompanied by awkward movements, and 

 sometimes by the involuntary twitching of certain 

 muscles. 



As blushing, according to this hypothesis, is an in- 

 direct result of attention, originally directed to our per- 

 sonal appearance, that is to the surface of the body, and 

 more especially to the face, we can understand the mean- 

 ing of the gestures which accompany blushing through- 

 out the world. These consist in hiding the face, or turn- 

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