on their minds; and the impression thus gained would greatly strengthen
the tendency to blush, by increasing the habit of self-attention.
The tendency to blush is inherited. Dr. Burgess gives the case[1305] of
a family consisting of a father, mother, and ten children, all of whom,
without exception, were prone to blush to a most painful degree. The
children were grown up; and some of them were sent to travel in order
to wear away this diseased sensibility, but nothing was of the
slightest avail. Even peculiarities in blushing seem to be inherited.
Sir James Paget, whilst examining the spine of a girl, was struck at
her singular manner of blushing; a big splash of red appeared first on
one cheek, and then other splashes, variously scattered over the face
and neck. He subsequently asked the mother whether her daughter always
blushed in this peculiar manner; and was answered, Yes, she takes
after me. Sir J. Paget then perceived that by asking this question he
had caused the mother to blush; and she exhibited the same peculiarity
as her daughter.
In most cases the face, ears and neck are the sole parts which redden;
but many persons, whilst blushing intensely, feel that their whole
bodies grow hot and tingle; and this shows that the entire surface must
be in some manner affected. Blushes are said sometimes to commence on
the forehead, but more commonly on the cheeks, afterwards spreading to
the ears and neck.[1306] In two Albinos examined by Dr. Burgess, the
blushes commenced by a small circumscribed spot on the cheeks, over the
parotidean plexus of nerves, and then increased into a circle; between
this blushing circle and the blush on the neck there was an evident
line of demarcation; although both arose simultaneously. The retina,
which is naturally red in the Albino, invariably increased at the same
time in redness.[1307] Every one must have noticed how easily after one
blush fresh blushes chase each other over the face. Blushing is
preceded by a peculiar sensation in the skin. According to Dr. Burgess
the reddening of the skin is generally succeeded by a slight pallor,
which shows that the capillary vessels contract after dilating. In some
rare cases paleness instead of redness is caused under conditions which
would naturally induce a blush. For instance, a young lady told me that
in a large and crowded party she caught her hair so firmly on the
button of a passing servant, that it took some time before she could be
extricated; from her sensations she imagined that she had blushed
crimson; but was assured by a friend that she had turned extremely
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