The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-07-23
AN EPIDEMIC OF KISSES.
LombrOsO Treats Lieut.. HObsOn's
kissing Tour PathOIOgfcaIIy.


kissing Tour PathOIOgfcaIIy
The epidemic of kisses which attended
Lieut.. Hobson's tour after his sinking
of the "Merrimac" was the subject of
worldwide comment and not a little I'M
kind criticism. In the August number
of the Pail Mall Magazine Prof. Caesar
Lcmbroso, the eminent Italian GRIM
inologist and psychologist, comes to the
rescue of the brave lieutenant and his
admirers In a remarkable and extremely
interesting article, in which he treats the
phenomenon from a pathological stand
point under five headings, as follows:
l, AnglO-Saxon Reserve; 2, Maternal
Origin of the Kiss; 8, Suggestibility of
the Crowd; 4, The Kiss, an Emblem of
Veneration; 5, Hobson Worthy of En-
thusiasm.
Prof. Lombroso thinks that 'the i'm.
perialistico-military ardor kindled in the
United States by the infamies of Spain,
SO contrary to American feeling and
tradition was a subsidiary cause of the
manifestation which, he goes on to say,
loses much Of it's indelicacy when we
remember that the kiss may bear many
interpretations besides that of love. It
has been said that the kiss is the symbol
of love and respect, of friendship and
gratitude; that 1t is a token of peace
and charity, that it has somewhat the
.
that above and beyond the maternal and
the amorous the kiss is a symbol of re-
spect and veneration, and we may add
of fellowship. st. Paul exhorted his fol-
lowers to kiss in token of fellowship:
Greet ye one another with an holy
kiss
AS a mark of reverence it is yet more
common. "The Persians," writes Keno
phon, kissed all whom they held in
veneration. The Syrians and Phoenicians
directed kisses towards the statues Of
the GODS towards the sun and moon !"
Job, too, reaches out towards the sun
and kisses his hand. Amongst Chris
tians, or rather amongst Catholics, the
kiss was a symbol not only of fellowship
but of alteration; they kissed relics and
pictures of the saints.
Inasmuch as woman is less strong and
more eXcitable than man, whilst her pas
sions are more demonstrative than his,
the more prone to express her ad-
miration; and her readiest outlet is a
kiss. Man gives vent to his admiration
by applause and shouting.
Margaret of Scotland, daughter of
Louis XII, passing through room where
the eloquent French preacher Alain Char
tier lay sleeping, kissed him on the
mouth. TT IS not the man that I kiss
she said, "but the mouth whence issues
such sublime DISCOURSE When Carl
Dald1 RODE through Italy after the S1c1lian
victories, women were trampled under
the horses feet in the attempt to kiss
him, and they had at last to content
themselves by kissing his garments. The
Italian populace has ever been known
to beg the favor of kissing the clothes
nay, the very handkeTchief-of Don
BoscO, who was only q half-eanonized
saint of our own times!
A year ago, when Zolas famous letter
J'accuse appeared, I myself heard a
young and beautiful Italian lady, throb-
bling with enthusiasm and admiration for
his fearless conduct. eXclaim in large
assembly: eff he were here I would kiss
him. and 1 have no doubt that the other
ladies present would have followed her
example.
Few men are so worthy of admiration
and enthusiasm as Hobson, whose Merri-
mac exploit is one of the bravest deeds
of our own times; and the account of it.
given by the hero himself, was bound
to foment the enthusiasm of his hearers
who must have felt as though they had
been actually present. Under these cir
cumstances the kissing phenomenon loses
much of its pathological aspect, more
especially as women are always warm
admirers of military valor. The very
prosaism which permeates our times, es-
pecially in America, makes these excep-
tional deeds the more provocative of ad-
miration and enthusiasm"