Los Angeles herald., 1906-12-09

The recent statement of Sir William
Ireloar, that he hoped his predecessor
or the lord mayoralty of London would
not allow himself to be kissed by the
ladies' Of France during his state visit
to Paris, reminds one Of an amusing
story which illustrates the different at
titudes of French and English women
to the amiable practice Of osculation.
During the reception of queen Vic
toria at Boulogne in June, 1856, a num-
Der of English ladies' I'm their anxiety
to get a good view of their young
sovereign, pressed so energetically
against the French soldiers who were
Keeping the line that, at some points,
the latter were compelled to give way.
The officer In command, seeing the con-
dition of things, shouted out: zone roll
of the drum-and IL they don't fall
back kiss them ALL" At the threatened
signal the ladies beat precipitate re-
treat amid the laughter of the on
lockers, one of whom remarked "If
they had been French they would have
remained"
And So no doubt, they would; for at
this period the art of kissing was so
familiar to the ladies of France as that
of handshaking; and their kisses
were charmingly promiscuous. Elderly
ladies'" said French writer recently,
"can remember the time when, on re-
turning to favorite hotels, Monsieur lie
Patron would welcome them with
chaste salute. Among old-fashioned
folks the kiss still does duty for the
more prosaic English handshake. Not
only are relations and friends, but ac-
Quaintances, clients and dependents
thus greeted. l knew an old chatelaine
who used to kiss all her humber neigh
bors-day laborers or peasant farmers
ON her name day or special occa-
sions." But, as history teaches us, in
early times kissing was a matter of
etiquette. During the reign of Louis
XIII every gentleman was expected to
kiss every high born dame to whom he
was formally introduced.
We shall probably never know who
was the first to introduce into England
the kiss, which has been variously and
| iradequately defined as the nectar of
Venus" 1.-The balm of love" and, surely
by a dyspeptic and disappointed man,
as IAN insipid and tasteless morsel,
which only becomes delicious and de-
| lectable as it is favored with love-"
There are others who think differently.
| Cynics declare that the pioneer among
csculators was some ancient British
savage, who devised it as means of
discovering whether his wife or daugh-
ters had been indulglng in liquids
stronger than water, just as Macheath,
in THE Beggar's OPERA" after salut-
ing Jenny Diver with kiss, exclaims:
zone may know by your kiss that your
gin is excellent
Sweeter 1t is to accept the legend
which attributes its first inspiration
to the beautiful Rowena, who, after
touching with her dainty lips the low
ing cup, transferred them to the as
tonished and no doubt delighted Vor-
tigern. AS an ancient chronicler says:
1.-THE pleasant practice of kissing was
utterly Impractical in England till the
fair Princess Rowena, the daughter of
King Hengius of Friesland, pressed
the beaker with her lipkins and saluted
Vortigern with a buskin." At any
rate, this practice once initiated grew
rapidly in favor until it attained the
gratifying proportions described so en-
Enthusiastically by Erasmus.
So popular was it even in remote
country districts in the eighteenth CEN
tury that, in the Spectator, we find
Rustic Sprightly complaining bitterly
that since the arrival of young cour-
tier who was content with bowling no
young gentlewoman had been kissed
although he had always been in the
habit on entering a room of kissing the
ladies all round.
In these days, too, the kiss had a
wide range of activity quite apart from
social or amorous uses. We all remem-
Der how the beautiful Georgiana,
duchess of Devonshire, wooed the cleo
tors for Charles James Fox in the
famous contest for Westminster in 1884
by the witchery of her pretty lips; and
low she purchased the vote of an 'im-
practicable butcher by a kiss-an ex"
ample which is said to have been sue
cessfully followed by Lady Salisbury
for Foxs opponent, Sir Cecil Wray.
And do we not recall the duchess of
Gordon's kisses, each of which secured
gallant Highland recruit?
The innocent practice, by the way,
once got William w, when duke of