Wichita daily eagle., 1886-04-17
EMOTIONAL GREETINGS.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS SEEN AND
HEARD At THE STEAMER PIERS.

ssSNftS - St6NWk>o fessSs
Watching Other People Kiss-The First
Exch.nee-A Pretty Girl with Golden
Hair-A Proud. Lansuid Beauty and a
Disconcerted Lover.
There is no denying that people are
fond Of watching other people kiss Young
and old, male and female, alike take an in
terest in it In the young man it perhaps
stirs exuberant expectations Of what he
hopes is in store for him some day; in the old
man it perchance awakens deliciousy sad
memories Of days that are fed forever.
But, so far as analysis can determine it ap-
pears that most men are fond Of looking on
while osculatory salutations are being dis
pensed out OF pure cussedness" The young
woman may peep at the kissing behind fan
and giggle affecteily, and the old woman
may protest that she is much shocked, but
somehow they all seem to enjoy being on
hand when kissing ID going on Observe
with what breathless emotion the theatrical
audience, composed Of all manner of people,
watches the receipt and delivery Of stage
kisses
The best place to see kissing is on a pier
when some big ocean steamer arrives or de-
parts A big Cunarder is being slowly
warped into her dock The pier is black
with pesple who have come to meet their
friends and others still dearer to them than
friends. There are husbands on the lookout
for wives, wives expecting their husbands,
parents seeking their children, and lovers
prepared to greet their sweetheartS The
big ship on the side nearest the pier is also
crowded with human freight Tokens of
hax-a I<a, rI.al ls,~-
of several young men and women tremble
and pucke- The excitement and breezy
air lend a fine glow to the cheeks of many
Of the girls, and their eyes flash and dance
like sunbeams. A man can hardly help
wishing that he was brother or cousin or
sweetheart or something to half dozen of
them
THE FIRST EXCHANGE OF KISSES.
At length the ship is alongside, and the
gang plank is stretched Previously there
has been short but sharp struggle to get
vantage ground at either end, which will
secure the first exchange of kisses On the
steamer a buxom matron fair ana forty has
crowded herself to the front, pushing aside
some half dozen younger women She
rushes down the plank as though she had re-
ceived sudden impetus from the hind leg
Of a mule. But affection is great incentive |
to agility. She is met at the end of the
plank by her faithful spouse. .Ieewhack. |
what hug. Smack -smack-pop pop again |
and again. She sails into half dozen small |
fry, boys and girls, gives each a hug and |
kiss, and then begins over again.
All this is wholesome and sweet, but it is
not what the admirer Of the art Of kissing
comes out to see. There is nothing in it to |
tickle his fancy. But close on the heeIs of 4
the buxom woman follows a stalwart, /
bronze checked young fellow who has |
rather rudely pushed ahead Of a bunch of /
girls He dives into the crowd until he |
reaches pretty girl who is accompanied by
an elderly woman perhaps a maiden aunt.
He takes her in his arms-not the aunt but |
the pretty girl-and gets in half a dozen
before she can gasp, "Oh. George" Then she /
RECEIVERS and gives him three or four. He
gets rid Of some little more exhuberant af-
fection by bestowing three or four kisses on
the maiden aunt
PRETTY GIRL WITH GOLDEN HAIR.
Now a pretty girl, with golden hair fly
ing in the wind, flies rather than runs
down the gang plank vision of exquisite
beauty. A do en- pair of eyes are focused
upon her Shs gives ma and pa" six of
seven kisses each, and some buriy brothers
three or four apiece Then a young man
who has been hanging in the background
comes forward and gets only two inaudibls
kisses OF the 'touch-and go" sort, accom-
panied by bushes. but there is a good dea
OF condensed sentiment in them The Ok
servers with singular unanimity concluie
that he is the girls sweetheart, and cast en-
vious glances at him and wonder if b. ap-
preciates his good luck
Here a superbly dressed young lady walks
leisurely down the gang-plank who fur
nishes an exception to this rule She won't
display any haste. That would be bad
form. She is a proud, languid, unemo-
tional sort of beauty. She merely pre-
rents her cheek to a handsome young fellow
who rushes forward to meet her He LOOKS
decidedly Disconnected, as though he would
have preferred a salutation of the sort which
rueful loos doesn't escape notice, and in
stantly speculation Is set at work to account
for him. The general supposition is that
he is engaged TO the girl, that she doesn't
care much for him, but has resolved TO try
matrimony as Offering a possible escape
from ennui. He doesn't get much sym
plthy. When the woods are full Of genuine
warm-hearted girls he ought to have made
a wiser choice.
One notices that a great deal of kissing
and embracing between women goes on, and
il is done with degree of warmth and
vigor which allows no show for the cynics
suggestion that they do it merely because it
is customary, though on other occasions
it does often look that way.-New York
Tribuna