"[29]
[28] Mr. Bain (`The Emotions and the Will,' p. 64) has discussed
the "abashed" feelings experienced on these occasions,
as well as the _stage-fright_ of actors unused to the stage.
Mr. Bain apparently attributes these feelings to simple
apprehension or dread.
[29] `Essays on Practical Education,' by Maria and R. L. Edgeworth,
new edit. vol. ii. 1822, p. 38. Dr. Burgess (ibid. p.
187) insists strongly to the same effect.
_Moral causes: guilt_.--With respect to blushing from strictly
moral causes, we meet with the same fundamental principle
as before, namely, regard for the opinion of others.
It is not the conscience which raises a blush, for a man may sincerely
regret some slight fault committed in solitude, or he may suffer
the deepest remorse for an undetected crime, but he will not blush.
"I blush," says Dr. Burgess,[30] "in the presence of my accusers."
It is not the sense of guilt, but the thought that others think
or know us to be guilty which crimsons the face. A man may feel
thoroughly ashamed at having told a small falsehood, without blushing;
but if he even suspects that he is detected he will instantly blush,
especially if detected by one whom he reveres.
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