On the other hand, a man may be convinced that God witnesses all his actions,
and he may feel deeply conscious of some fault and pray for forgiveness;
but this will not, as a lady who is a great blusher believes, ever excite
a blush. The explanation of this difference between the knowledge
by God and man of our actions lies, I presume, in man's disapprobation
of immoral conduct being somewhat akin in nature to his depreciation of our
personal appearance, so that through association both lead to similar results;
whereas the disapprobation of God brings up no such association.
Many a person has blushed intensely when accused of some crime,
though completely innocent of it. Even the thought, as the lady before
referred to has observed to me, that others think that we have made
an unkind or stupid remark, is amply sufficient to cause a blush,
although we know all the time that we have been completely misunderstood.
An action may be meritorious or of an indifferent nature, but a sensitive
person, if he suspects that others take a different view of it, will blush.
For instance, a lady by herself may give money to a beggar without a trace
of a blush, but if others are present, and she doubts whether they approve,
or suspects that they think her influenced by display, she will blush.
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