INSTINCT. 431 



be separated from it by stratagem or force, he exhibits every sign of 

 mental agony; he strives with all his might to get back again, and when 

 he succeeds he plunges into its middle to bathe his whole body with the 

 comfort of closest companionship." * 



Man is also excited by the jiresence of his kind. The 

 bizarre actions of dogs meeting strange dogs are not alto- 

 gether without a parallel in our own constitution. We 

 cannot meet strangers without a certain tension, or talk to 

 them exactly as to our familiars. This is particularly the 

 case if the stranger be an important personage. It may then 

 hapj^en that we not only shrink from meeting his eye, but 

 actually cannot collect our wits or do ourselves any sort 

 of justice in his presence. 



"This odd state of mind," says Darwin, t " is chiefly recognized by 

 the face reddening, by the eyes being averted or cast down, and by 

 awkward, nervous movements of the body. . . . Shyness seems to de- 

 pend on sensitiveness to the opinion, whether good or bad, of others, 

 more especially with respect to external appearance. Strangers neither 

 know nor care anything about our conduct or character, but tliey may, 

 and often do, criticise our appearance. . . . The consciousness of any- 

 thing peculiar, or even new, in the dress, or any slight blemisli on the 

 person, and more especially on the face — points which are likely to 

 attract the attention of strangers — makes the sliy intolerably shy. J On 

 the other hand, in those cases in which conduct, and not personal ap- 

 pearance, is concerned, we are much more apt to be shy in the jn-es- 

 ence of acquaintances whose judgment we in some degree value than 

 in that of strangers. . . . Some persons, however, are so sensitive that 

 the mere act of speaking to almost any one is sufficient to rouses their 

 self-consciousness, and a slight blush is the result. Disapprobation . , , 

 causes shyness and blushing much more readily than does ai)probation. 

 . . . Persons who are exceedingly shy are rarely shy in the presence of 

 those with whom they are quite familiar, and of whose good opinion 

 and sympathy they are quite assured ; for instance, a girl in presence 

 of her mother. . . . Shyness ... is closely related to fear ; yet it is 

 distinct from fear in the oi-dinary sense. A shy man dreads the notice 

 of strangers, but can hardly be s;\id to be afraid of them ; he may be as 

 bold as a hero in battle, and yet have no self-confidence about trifles in 

 tlie presence of strangers. Almost every one is extremely nervous 



* Inquiries into Human Faculty, p. 72. 



t Expression of the Emotions (New York, 1873), p. 330. 



J "The certainty that we are well dressed," a charming woman has 

 said, ''gives us a peace of Iieart compared to which that yielded by the 

 consolations of religion is as notliing." 



