in Finland, but it is frowned upon as something tending upon the immoral. Iceland—thus does a frigid climate affect current standards of morality!—has elaborate penalties for most forms of kissing, including exclusion from the country for kissing another's man's wife, and a heavy fine for even a permitted kiss from an unmarried woman. Far to the south, in Paraguay, the custom requires you to kiss every lady you are introduced to. Since, at one time, all the females above thirteen chewed tobacco, this is a mixed blessing, even with maidens as attractive as South America produces.
In England, the story is that the kiss was introduced by Rowena, the beautiful daughter of Hengist the Saxon marauder. At a banquet given by King Vortigern to his Saxon allies, the princess is said to have kissed the delighted monarch upon the lips. By the time of Edward IV, a guest was expected, upon arrival and departure, to kiss his hostess and all the ladies of the household. In 1497, when Erasmus was in England, the practice was at its height; the good reformer approved:
If you go to any place, you are received with a kiss by all; if you depart on a journey you are dismissed with a kiss; you return, kisses are exchanged; people come to visit you—a kiss the first thing; they leave you—you kiss them all around. Do they meet you anywhere?—kisses in abundance. Lastly, wherever you move, there is nothing but kisses—and if you had once tasted them! how soft they are! how fragrant! on my honor you would not wish to reside here for ten years only, but for life!
John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress,
