Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-12-14

Its instrumentality.
What is inf1rm from your sound parts
shall fly.
Health shall live free. and sickness as
/ frccl.' die.
Ais Well, act ii. scene i.
"sNc find from scriptural references and
otherwise that the origin of the kiss must
have hecl, Very early. We are not very
familiar with the Bible. but we can point
you away back in that excellent work
which says: When Laban heard the TIC
ings of Jacob, his sisters son, he ran to
meet him and em'1ra ced him. and kissed
him and brought him to his house ano
to eight other kinds of kisses mentioned
in Holy Writ-name!y, the kiss of saul
tation Samuel Xxx, 4l). the kiss Of afreL-
ton Genesis xiv. 80. the kiss Of valedlc-
ton Ruti, xi. 81: the kiss of subsection
CPsain1s yi. y. the kiss OF alteration e.
Kings xix. 15}. the kiss of approhat.o,,,
proverbs ri. a. the kiss of reconciliation
OIL Samuel xiv. 33) the kiss Of treachery
Matthew. NXiv).
The kiss has been justly celebrated =
the song and story OF every age. Among
our race the meeting OF the lips has been
the universal natural. ami spontaneous
expression of the most tender sentiment.
Down the long course of ages. whether
the lips that speak it be Green or Egvp-
tan. Gaul or Saxon. Jew or Gentle.
bond or free. the old, old. cver-youn,;
story tells itself in the same way. and
the kiss punctuates the sweet language
of love. Race. habit. mental or material
custom may separate us Us far as tn
north is from the south, but we all love.
love. and lovers and kisses. Sneiiey cor.
mclits upon the fact that we find the
counterpart OF the kiss among ali the
operations OF nature:
" The fountains ningle With the river,
And the river with the ocean.
The winds Of heaven mix forever
With sweet emotion.
Nothing in the word is single,
All things by a law divine
In another being min@le.
Why rot l with thine?
. See the mountain kiss high heaven
Ard the waves clasp one another;
No sister Tower should be forgiven
# it disTai0ed its brother:
And the sunlight Clasps the earth.
Ard the mconbeams Kiss the sea;
What are all these Kisses worth
II thou kiss not ne?'
Saws Steele: Nature was its author
Il began with the first courts.ip.'
"Clydc SAYS: Eve learned it in Para
disc and was taught its beauties and viz
lures By an angel
"Co~iolanrs speaks Of a kiss. AS long
as exile as sweet as revenge
The relationship between kisses and
nist}etoe also dates back many centuries
It's origin is not very clear. but it seems
that mistlc-on has always been sacred 20
love and kisses. and was in high far".
among the ScandiraviaI7s and D-1ri5S
The association of kisses. With lnistletoe
in Christian lands is also centuries o>o.
There have been many curiosities il
the way OF kissing. According to Piiny
the great boom in kissing came about
when tho wives of tho cd Romans took
to drinking and their husbands wanted to
fnd out the brand of the jog The Ro-
ma rs also had a very reprenensible cus
tom of kissing the dying to receive the
departed soul.
IN We olden times. the kiss must have
had some specific qualities, for Byron
says in The Bride Of Abydos, canto
/, scene ,:
Come. lay thy head upon my breast,
And I will kiss thee unto rest
.At one time it was the fashion to
take hold OF ladies ears. to kiss them.
One OF the most remarkable kisses on re,
cord was that which Shakespeare speaks
Of having been given by Petrucio to
Katherine upon their marriage, which he
describes as follows:
This zone. he took the bride about the
neck.
And kissed har lips with such clamor-
Gus smack,
That at the parting all the church did
echo
"Te,rvsor mentions an exceedingly eff F!
cacous kiss in Fatima. scene 4, when he
says:
q .Orce he drew
With one lorg kiss, my whole soul
ttlrouGh my lips.
AS sunlight drinketh dew
There was a time in England when
every ball was opened with kissing