Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1855-08-22
What's a Kiss worth?

district, was taken before Recorder Genois
yesterday, on the charge Of having kissed a
man about midnight on Monday. She de-
clared that the man had drank som coffee,
and refused to pay unless she gave him a
kiss for Ia gniappe. The police officer, who
arrested her deposed, however, that she vol
UNFAIRLY bestowed the additional endearments
Of throwing her arms about the neck of the
said man, and the recorder fined her FIVE
doilars."-N. O. Pic.
When Mungo Park fell among the Afri-
cans, he turned the stomachs of many Of the
dark skinned bellies Of that land Of sunshine,
potatoes and crocodiles. lie one day over
heard a council of black matrons debating
whether any woman could be found brave
enough to kiss his dreadful white brow and
thin lips. This no doubt always seemed
strange to our American girls when they read
it. 1t will surprise other people, away from
New Orleans, to learn that "a young girl
who serves at a coffee stand in the vegetable
market" would condescend to bestow a kiss
upon the two penny lips of the ungallant
informer, as he must have been in the present
case. If she had made the advance step,
and had he s~olemuly protested against such
a demonstration in the language of the Poet,
Take, 0 take those lips away"
it would have materially changed the point
in law. But the scoundrel 1--WE can use no
mildor term courted -drank her coffee, then
refused to pay for it mlesS a kiss was thrown
in by way of " boot" as the boys used to
say when they snapped "~barlows," this
being the evidence the case stands in inverse
ratio.
Flee dollars for kissing q man! Treason
and violence! Despotism and fllibust-all-
creation The Recorder was an old Bache-
lor who never had a kiss. There is a case
recorded OF a reverse case having been tried
in the Middlesex Court, England, where a
man kissed a woman against her will, (pe1-
hopS) and the judgement was ute different
from that of the New Orleans Recorder. 1t
was on this wise Caroline Newton and her
sister were at Il public house, from Birming-
ham, in company with several others. The
sister SAID loosely, that she had promised
her sweetheart that no man should kiss her
while absent from home. Tommy Sayerland
considered this a challenge, and suiting the
action to the thought, took hold of her, and
'kist her lips
With such q clamorous smack, that at the parting
All the tap room echoed.
The young woman took it in good part
but Caroline said that she would like as little
Of that kind of fun as possible. Tommy con
sidered this a challenge number two, and at
tempted to kiss her also. A scufie ensued,
in the course of which Caroline bit off Tom
my's nose, and threw it on the floor. Tommy
appealed to the law, and brought an action
to recover damages for the loss of his nose.
The judges sat-the trial came on-the un-
fortunate Tommy was exhibited sans q nose
the nose itself was produced, carefully put
away in a phial Of spirits-and the manner
Of its loss was explained. Caroline was
called upon for her defence, and it amounted
to tEis-that the plaintiff had no right to kiss
her that if she wanted kissing she. had
: husband at home to do it for her, and o bette,
looking man than ever the prosecutor was
1t overwhelmed the jury, and they acquitteC
her. The foreman added-that if any mai
attempted to kiss a woman against her will
she had a right to bite off his nose if she ha
: a fancy for it.
: In view of the dangers on both sides, GU
advice to all is to beware of kissing in publ
places. Young mer, if you would realiz
the bliss Of a kiss, (bliss rhymes with kis
in fact as we'll as in verse select some fai
calico divinity and in the shady garden walk
or in the silent corner by the hearthsidc, ell
; Joy the luxury without the fear of law an
fine before your eyes. Young ladies, if 20
aciH be kissed, let it be according to old e
: tablished customs. Jacob kissed Rachel
. the well, but no one was near, and then j
cob "wept" about and what made JacC
cry has always been a Biblical puzzle to u