A physician told me that a young man, a wealthy duke, with whom
he had travelled as medical attendant, blushed like a girl,
when he paid him his fee; yet this young man probably would not have
blushed and been shy, had he been paying a bill to a tradesman.
Some persons, however, are so sensitive, that the mere act of speaking
to almost any one is sufficient to rouse their self-consciousness,
and a slight blush is the result.
Disapprobation or ridicule, from our sensitiveness on this head,
causes shyness and blushing much more readily than does approbation;
though the latter with some persons is highly efficient.
The conceited are rarely shy; for they value themselves much
too highly to expect depreciation. Why a proud man is often shy,
as appears to be the case, is not so obvious, unless it
be that, with all his self-reliance, he really thinks much
about the opinion of others although in a disdainful spirit.
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 perfectly assured;--
for instance, a girl in the presence of her mother.
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