St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-04-22
WHAT'S IN KISS?
Certainly Nothing But Bliss, Es-
pecialIy When the Girl Is Sweet.

Certainly Nothing But Bliss, Es-
pecially When the Girl Is Sweet.
Among the sage observations made
by Josh Billings is one which states
that the more man tries to analyZe
kiss the more he can't; and that the
only real way to define kiss is to take
one. The custom of Saluting with the
| lips can be traced back as far as history
reaches. The sacred writings speak of
1t frequently. Steele says Mature was
its author, and it began with the first
| cOurtShip." In all ages, and by nearly
all people, it has been considered the
natural expression of affection. In an
| cient times men saluted sun, moon and
stars with kiss, superstition of
which Job says he was never guilty.
The Greeks kissed the lips, hands,
knees or feet as they considered per-
sons of more or less respect. Under the
Roman emperors kissing hands became
an essential duty, even for the great
| themselves.
In Theophile Gautier's constantine
| pie of To-day" is an account of the GER
emory of kissing sultan'S toe, an honor
reserved for the viZier, ministers ana
certain privileged pashas. The act of
homage is performed with the utmost
solemnity, and is marked by every sign
| vi lCSpCCl NOlGllA VI OO pOl UtlllG OH W.
| casion.
Under variety of forms, kissing has
entered into the ceremonies of saluta-
ton. The kiss of ceremony" which
is the kissing of the Bible or Testament
upon taking an oath, is yet common
| practice, This act has in the past been
thought necessary in order to make an
oath really binding. 1t was believed
that no one would kiss the book" and
| Col -,l,- Il
that the kiss be imprinted fairly upon
the book. otherwise it was not binding.
Witnesses tried for perjury have sue
cessfully pleaded non-liaOility of action
| for false swearing because they kissed
the thumb of the hand holding the
book, and did not kiss the book at all.
In the days when John Bunyan was
expressing his opposition to evils OF all
| kinds he found much to cenSure in the
practice of sauting ladies with kiss,
which seems to have been very general
at that time. In his 'Grace Abounding''
he speaks of the evil as follows:
1.-The common saluting of women L
abhor: it is odious to me in whomSo-
ever | see it. When | have seen good
men salute those women they have Wis
tied or that have visited them. | have
made my objection to it: and when they
have answered that it was but a piece
Ol ClNlllIN L my OUJcCltOllS
it; | have told them it was not comtly
sight. Some, indeed, have argued the
holy kiss; but then have asked them
| why they made balkS-Why did they
salute the most handsome and let the
| ill-favOred gO?'
But the opposition that was hurled
against it the practice was not sufficient
to make kissing unpopular. For centu-
ries it was generally and indiscrimi-
nately engaged in in public manner.
Even the ministers of the church were
slow to condemn the practice, and to
this very day in some parts of our own
land kissing plays" are INDUCED at
| church parties, and the custom OF Civ
ing the brides first kiss to the minister
that ties the wedding knot is by no
means obsolete in the back counties.
The same custom used to be popular i'll
Scotland. An old song in which dis
pleased bridegroom addressed the MIN
| lister runs thus:
| It's no very decent for you to be kissing;
II does not look well in the black coat ava,
| 'Twould have set you far better tae haze glen
your blessing
Dear W attic, quo Robin, it's just an old Gus
tom,
An the thing that is common should neer
| be i'll ta'ep,
For where We are wrong, if We had ma wished
| him
You should ha' been first. It's yourself is
| to blame.
A Pennsylvania minister married
couple from the rural deeStrickS," the
bride whereof was one that by her
beauty would tempt a saint. The cere-
mOny was completed and the pair still
fingered,
"What are you waiting for?" asked
the minister.
1.-The thing amt done yet; you havn't
| kissed Sary," answered the bridegroom.
From histories OF social customs of
those times we learn that in the six
teenth century English balls were
opened with kissing dance called "a
brawl." The persons engaged in it
unite hands in circle. and then after
the leading couple had placed them
selves in the center of the ring the gen.
tlemen saluted all the ladies in turn and
his fair partner each gentleman. The
| figure continued until every couple had
followed the example set them. The
Puritans of the Elizabethan age strongly
condemned the dance, but it became
wonderfully popular and spread from
land to land. 1t was this dance that led
StubbeS to eXclaim: What clipping,
what calling, what kissing and bussing,
and munching of one anotherr'
CavendiSh, in his biography of Car
dinal Wolsey, dwells On the subject of
kissing as form of salutation when
describing a visit at NJ. Crequi's castle.
IL began in fair, great dining cham
Der. where the table was covered for
dinner, and there l attended my lady's
coming, and after she came thither out
of her own chamber she received me
most gently, like one of the noble es-
tate, having train of gentlewomen.
And when she with her train came all
out she said to me: For as Such,'
quoth she, 'as We be an Englishman,
whose custom 1t is in your country to
kiss all ladies and gentlewomen without
offense. and although it be not so in this
realm (France), yet will l be so bold to
kiss you, and SO shall all my maidens.'
BY means whereof kissed my lady and
all her maidens."
The Christmas gambol of kissing I'M
der the miStletoe is about the only an
cient kissing custom that time has left
unchanged. 1t is said to have originated
thus: Balder, the Apollo, of Scandi-
navian mythology, was killed by
mistletoe arrow given to the blind
Holder by Loki, the god of mis-
chief, Balder was. nevertheless,
restored to life, but hence
forth the mistletoe was placed
under the care of Frlga, and was never
again to be an instrument of evil till it
touched the earth. the empire of lokl,
On this account it is always suspended
from the ceilings, and so whenever per