THE ART OF KISSING.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XXXVII, Issue 1983, 9 April 1906, Page 2

THE ART OF KISSING.

Is kissing an art? Is there any science in osculation ? There certainly is. There is just as much art in administering a kiss as there is in dressing with taste, or writing an essay. It is not every kiss that is acceptable, nor every attempt that merits commendation. There are grades of kissers, just as there are grades of preachers or painters. There was a time when kisses were administered upon the back of the fair lady's hand. The hand was chosen because the face was so painted and powdered that a kiss would sadly impair the beauty of the facial ensemble. But the hands then were probably kept whiter than they are now. A hand kiss at best is a barren ideality, and the hand would have to be attractive in its cleanliness in order to be kissable. Finally the hand took a back seat, and the lips, which nature fashioned to be kissed, came to the front. There was an art in bestowing a kiss ou a lady's hand. It had to be done daintily, delicately, considerately, and solemnly in order that the full effect should be realised. If there was art in this, how much more necessity is there for artistic performance where the lips are concerned ! Look at two women kissing. There is plenty of innocent impetuosity in the act but not much art. They rush together like two approaching locomotives, and if there is not a percussion equal in noise to the explosion of boilers, there is enough to let the bystanders know that there has been some unusual performance. The genuine art ol kissing is realised in its full perfection where members of the opposite sexes are concerned. But there are fewer men than women who know how to kiss properly. Most men want delicacy, or if you please, idyllic tenderness in securing the delectable prize. They rush at the goal of their desires in a blundering way, likea tiger which gathers itself together and strains all its muscles in one jump in order to overpower its prey. There is no finish in a cai>e so administered. It is apt to be offensive, because it Ls so clumsy. A kiss to be perfect should be bestowed deliberately and carefully and reverently, with somewhat of the same caution that a man would show if he were to walk among a lot of eggs without injuring any of them. There is nothing in the world that is capable of such nice finish and sentiment as an artistic kiss. But heaven preserve the fail sex from the man who kisses them as if he were a sand bagger and she the object to be sandbagged.