Loudon free press. (Loudon, Tenn.) 1852-1855, 1854-09-06
CHAPTER ON KISSES.


Kisses cannot be Je6ned;too much of the sub
tile essence of the highest poetry,-too much Of
the choice dew of Heaven-too much of ths
foretaste of immortal happiness, is born, and
dwels in their roseate being to render their de-
fnition possible.
Gentle, enchanting, etherealizing, soul inspir-
ing kisses, We are neither of Heaven nor Of
Earth, of reason nor of fancy wholly. Ye are
rosy bands falling upon our spirit, with a dulcet
violence, and restraining it amid the sombrs
sceEes Of life with power of greatfnl resigna
ton
Divine Ksses,ye came from among the stars,
and when your balm distiIs itself upon the arid
lids of humanity, those stars seem not far dis
taut, nor does their music appear to hush.
The true and sweetest flowers of existence tho
liquid poesy ofthe heart, aud the glorious pie
turing Of some bright hope, are in Kisses. They
associate all blissful memories, es,--feek the heavy
Future with golden clouds and violet skies, and
gather together the brief pleasures of the known
Past and seal them, and make them longlast
ing with their Hyblean breath.
All kisses have honey in them, though moro
or less,-a drop or unmeasured quantity, accord.
ing as they: are received, and from whom. A
mothers kiss is holy and Heaven beftting:it re-
sembles voiceless prayer, and the soul grows
purer, better, loftier beneath its giving.
The pressure of sisters lips is calm and sa-
cred, and glowing with goodness and affection,
and bennevoenre, that give them much life in
the mind after they have died upon the place oF
their falling.
Then the kiss of friendship too; this receives
its chiefest charm from an inward thought; it is
but sign ofthe internal appreciation; it may be
cold, for the Kiss citizenship is but symbol on
ly.
Such Kisses-are not truly kisses,-not the
children of Love-the violet-strewn pathways to
the delicious labyriths of passion where Cythe-
rea and host of shapes ofspiendid beauty well
come him who entereth with bruised heart,
though willing and a generous purpose.
Myterious and delicious kisses, who has nos
felt them with thrill, a pulse bounding with
hope against the fetter of his earthiness? Kiss
es seem to hasten the destiny of men, and to
send his soul to Heaven ere its appointed time.
Glorious Kisses, what were the world withous
ye,-wherc would the certainty Of an undying
bliss in the great ToCome awken within US, un-
less at your delicious shrine?
Lips were made for kissing. It is strange if
the heart rebel against cid custom, when heav-
en-made mouths, moist with unkssed beauty
and heavy with sweetness pass before the vision:
Those mouths are like dreams of unattalnabls
things; and when they are touched, they are
dreams still, because not to be wholly realized.
Danger, and power, and fascination, and ir.
resistibleness lin er in kiss, which can almost
make or unmake soul. A kiss has destroyed
and established empires-has changed the fate
of thousauds-has poisoned and given new lie
with its sweetness.
No stoicism can withstand kiss; no philoso-
pher hath power against it. Adamant melts,
and resolution fails, and oceans dry beneath the
heaven Of kissl-the touchStone of our com.
mon nature, revealing the eternity of lose.
But kisses must be gently dealt with-tiey
are delicate-there is the strangest of refine
ment in them. and the soul mdst regulate their
conduct and bestowment. They cannot bs
Taught, for they are felt and their power Of hap
piness in inuate.
Beware of kisses!-they may bring harm or
Heaven; they are the weapons of the gods, and
the plundered bliss Of Pa-adise