Jasper County Democrat, Volume 6, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 October 1903 — THE PROSE OF BLUSHING. [ARTICLE]

THE PROSE OF BLUSHING.

Showing How Little Doctors Know About the Ancient "Art." Blushing Is not an art, neither is it a sign of ill-breeding, as some unkind people maintain. The fact lx, It la just as natural for some persons to turn pale. The same laws of nature which govern the one rule govern the other. The capillaries, or small blood vessels, which connect the arteries and veins of the body, form, particularly over the cheeks, a network so fine that It is necessary to employ a microscope to distinguish them. Ordinarily the blood passes through these vessels in normal quantities, leaving only the natural complexion. But when some sudden emotion takes possession of the heart its action Increases and an electric thrill instantly leaps to the cheeks. The thrill is nothing more than the rush of blood through the invisible capillaries just beneath the delicate transparent surface of the skin, says the St. James Gazette. The causes that bring about this condition in the circulating system ate called mental stimuli. They consist of joy, anger, shame and many other emotions. Sudden horror, remorse or fear, on the contrary, influence the nerves which control the blood vessels, and the face becomes white. Blushing and pallor result from the sudden action of the mind on the nervous system. So If the mind be forewarned and prepared for emotions, both habits can at least be partially overcome. But when the nervous system is highly strung it would be s life-long it not a futile task to endeavor to effect s perfect cure. It is the nervous girl who blushes easily, while the girl stolid by nature, or who by conventional education has her nerves under perfect control, seldom blushes.