Many writers, ancient and modern, have noticed the foregoing movements;
and it has already been shown that the aborigines in various parts of
the world often exhibit their shame by looking downwards or askant, or
by restless movements of their eyes. Ezra cries out (ch. ix. 6), “O, my
God! I am ashamed, and blush to lift up my head to thee, my God.” In
Isaiah (ch. I. 6) we meet with the words, “I hid not my face from
shame.” Seneca remarks (Epist. xi. 5) “that the Roman players hang down
their heads, fix their eyes on the ground and keep them lowered, but
are unable to blush in acting shame.” According to Macrobius, who lived
in the filth century (‘Saturnalia,’ B. vii. C. 11), “Natural
philosophers assert that nature being moved by shame spreads the blood
before herself as a veil, as we see any one blushing often puts his
hands before his face.” Shakspeare makes Marcus (‘Titus Andronicus,’
act ii, sc. 5) say to his niece, “Ah! now thou turn’st away thy face
for shame.” A lady informs me that she found in the Lock Hospital a
girl whom she had formerly known, and who had become a wretched
castaway, and the poor creature, when approached, hid her face under
the bed-clothes, and could not be persuaded to uncover it. We often see
little children, when shy or ashamed, turn away, and still standing up,
bury their faces in their mother’s gown; or they throw themselves face
downwards on her lap.
_Confusion of mind_.—Most persons, whilst blushing intensely, have
their mental powers confused. This is recognized in such common
expressions as “she was covered with confusion.” Persons in this
condition lose their presence of mind, and utter singularly
inappropriate remarks. They are often much distressed, stammer, and
make awkward movements or strange grimaces. In certain cases
involuntary twitchings of some of the facial muscles may be observed. I
have been informed by a young lady, who blushes excessively, that at
such times she does not even know what she is saying. When it was
suggested to her that this might be due to her distress from the
consciousness that her blushing was noticed, she answered that this
could not be the case, “as she had sometimes felt quite as stupid when
blushing at a thought in her own room.”
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