Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-12-05
OF MANY KINDS.
COLD KISSES, WARM KISSES AND
THE KISS FICTITIOUS.
Lovers Who Kissed Under Cover of
Neptune's Cl0ak-BrOwninE on
the Summum BOnum in
Earthly Bliss.

st. Paurs. of London, devotes a page to
the somewhat sentimental subject of kiss
ing. A kiss, says the writer, used to be
the ordinary salutation amongst country
folk in England. and it is not unusual even
new in some districts for a rustic to say
Bus me- to an acquaintance. But as
tribute to rank it is unknown in England,
except in the case of the reigning SOW
ereign. To the queen alone is accorded the
baisemain, and on occasions of ceremony
only. Her hand is kissed by the minis
tiers, ambassadors and great officers Of
state on their appointment; by bishops on
their preferment; by peers and peeresses
on their succession: and by the general
company at drawing rooms. When the
throne is occupied by. a king, he is the
donor instead of the recipient In the case
of the presentation of ladies. The lord lieu
tenant of Ireland. in his capacity Of royal
representative. bestows a kiss on the brow
Of each lady presented to him.
But in some foreign countries, notably
in Austria and Russia, the rule of hand
kissing is very strictly and generally OBJ
serced. In Russia 1t is the custom for
servants to kiss their mistress hand in
the morning and at night; the right hand
Is. therefore, reserved for interiors and
the left for the salutes of friends and
equals. The reigning sovereigns of most
European countries, whether kings or
queens. receive the baisemain from all their
The Kiss Perfunctory.
The German fashion of s%aluting always
on the lips is to be deprecated, since it
reduces the whole art of kissing to one
dead level. In England we are colder man
ncred. and while we bow to the unwritten
law which ordainS that We should kiss,
for the sake of politeness. many people
10 whom NE arc indifferent ua rQCprvA
diferent degrees of warmth in our saluta-
lions to those for whom we cherish senti-
m men T Of regard re o anee lisa love and : deSS,
bestowed on new connections, our cousins
wives, or our aunts' husbands: our par
e enfs' old friends. who because they have
or known us when we were so high. claim
some more personal mark of attention
%lations. near and distant. of our husbands
or our wives, and on a host of other people
for whom we are absolutely devoid Of sen
timent.
The Kiss Social.
The kiss social, though a shade more
voluntary. is of the same order as this
last, and it consists of the slightest. short
est brushing of the lips against the cheek
or brow of the recipient. There is the
kiss polite. which We persistently offer to
some disagreeable relative whom. for rea-
sons. frequently mercenary ones. we wish
to propitiate. or to a friend with whom
We are not on good terms, and whom we
are anxious to conciliate.
Then there Is the kiss platonic: and this
is seldom mutual, nor are the results there
of measurable. It may be offered from
a kindly, or pitifui motive: given or taken
from a transient feeling of idle apprecia-
ton or admiration: it is but brief. and
survive in inc one ep heart MY. 'a and %e ike a may ray
of sunshine on a folded blossom, may ex-
pand the petals of affection into the full
and youths. matrons and maids. beware
of the danger lurking in the plausible guise
OF the kiss platonic!
KiplinR ON Kissins.
For kissing cynicism who can rival Mr..
Rudyard K~ipling-notably in his "Maxims
of Hafiz." when he says:
my son. If a maiden deny thee. and scuff-
ingly bid thee give DER.
Yet lip meets with lip at the EASTWARD
get out! she has been there before.
and am the nose, who are lacking in
The Kiss Fictitious.
But 1t remains for Mr.. George Meredith.
the Browning of our prose. "the greatest.
~elists.' to invent or describe an unique
kiss. when in Lord Ormont and his Aminta
he contrives that his heroine and her schol-
first mutual confession OF love by the con-
tact Of lip to lip under the sea- A momen-
tary simultaneous dive. when Aminta,
swimming toward the shore. has led him
irresistibly to follow her, and the Rubicon
is passed! As novel a situation as it is
difficult! It would need expert swimming
and diving to insure its speedy and sue
cessful accomplishment.
Finally.
Truly has kissing been called the key
to the heart of life! Robert Browning
c0ncaorofeS ono 0f hic toct and moot Nv
quisite of comets to its praise-and sure
" the wings of the brooding genius of
love must have fluttered and brushed the
poets hand as he wrote these words:
SUMMUM BONUM.
A the breath and bloom of the year in
the bag of one bee!
All the wonder and wealth of the mine in
the heart of one gem!
In the core of one pearl all the shade and
the shine of the sea!
Breath and bloom. shade and shine. won
der, wealth and how far above them,
Truth that's brighter than gem, trust
that's purer than pearl.