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Literary
September 5, 1853
Alexandria Gazette
Alexandria, Alexandria County, District Of Columbia
What is this article about?
In 1853, a marchioness buys sentimental music in a shop and asks the shopman for 'one kiss before parting,' causing him to kiss her, leading to a slap and police involvement. It's revealed as a song title, and the incident becomes a family joke.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
THE GAZETTE:
MONDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 5, 1853.
ONE KISS AT PARTING.
A lady of fashion (the well-known Marchioness of Finsbury) had been loitering for nearly an hour in a fashionable music shop.
She had purchased a copy of nearly every piece of music that had a sentimental title.
She had sent into her carriage a whole Canterbury full of "love," going through every mood of the feeling, past, present, or future, and was following their example, when she paused upon the step, as if meditating whether she should take it, or some other step that was evidently turning itself over in her mind. The shopman who had been somewhat moved by the tender tone of voice in which she had asked him,
"Wilt thou love me then as now?" watched over her with an anxiety that betrayed itself too plainly in the adjustment of his shirt-collar and the arrangement of his hair. Suddenly the marchioness seemed resolved. As with one bound she cleared the pavement, and with breathless pale, her auburn ringlets fluttering in the wind, stood once more before the admiring shopman:
"I had nearly forgotten," she said, in a voice that seemed to veil her blushing words-
"Dear, dear! I cannot tell where my heart is to-day. I have come back to ask you if by chance
"here she paused as if to take new courage, whilst the trembling shopman poised his two thumbs elegantly on the mahogany counter, and leant his body inquiringly forward, "to ask you to be kind enough to give me one kiss before parting."
"Ma-a-a-a-d-a-m!" exclaimed the astonished shopman.
"I want you," repeated the marchioness "to let me have one kiss before parting-one will do, if you please."
She raised her beautiful blue eyes full upon his, and met them boldly, blushingly. She then, without betraying any emotion, repeated her question, adding as calmly as possible:
"If you cannot give it me now, I will call some other time."
He could doubt no longer! Springing over the counter, he seized hold of the marchioness's fair form, and, then and there, gave the kiss she so earnestly begged for previous to departure. To his great astonishment, the only return the marchioness made was to give him a tremendous box on the ears. This was followed by a volley of blows dealt by her parasol over his head which were accompanied with an equal number of shrieks that never terminated till the police came into the shop. This affair was carried to Bow-street, but was soon dismissed, upon its being explained that "One Kiss Before Parting" was the title of a song, which the unsophisticated shopman, blissfully green from his native fields, had never heard of before.
It was a favorite joke with the old duke to ask the marchioness, whenever she was at the piano if she would mind giving him just, "One Kiss Before Parting."
MONDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 5, 1853.
ONE KISS AT PARTING.
A lady of fashion (the well-known Marchioness of Finsbury) had been loitering for nearly an hour in a fashionable music shop.
She had purchased a copy of nearly every piece of music that had a sentimental title.
She had sent into her carriage a whole Canterbury full of "love," going through every mood of the feeling, past, present, or future, and was following their example, when she paused upon the step, as if meditating whether she should take it, or some other step that was evidently turning itself over in her mind. The shopman who had been somewhat moved by the tender tone of voice in which she had asked him,
"Wilt thou love me then as now?" watched over her with an anxiety that betrayed itself too plainly in the adjustment of his shirt-collar and the arrangement of his hair. Suddenly the marchioness seemed resolved. As with one bound she cleared the pavement, and with breathless pale, her auburn ringlets fluttering in the wind, stood once more before the admiring shopman:
"I had nearly forgotten," she said, in a voice that seemed to veil her blushing words-
"Dear, dear! I cannot tell where my heart is to-day. I have come back to ask you if by chance
"here she paused as if to take new courage, whilst the trembling shopman poised his two thumbs elegantly on the mahogany counter, and leant his body inquiringly forward, "to ask you to be kind enough to give me one kiss before parting."
"Ma-a-a-a-d-a-m!" exclaimed the astonished shopman.
"I want you," repeated the marchioness "to let me have one kiss before parting-one will do, if you please."
She raised her beautiful blue eyes full upon his, and met them boldly, blushingly. She then, without betraying any emotion, repeated her question, adding as calmly as possible:
"If you cannot give it me now, I will call some other time."
He could doubt no longer! Springing over the counter, he seized hold of the marchioness's fair form, and, then and there, gave the kiss she so earnestly begged for previous to departure. To his great astonishment, the only return the marchioness made was to give him a tremendous box on the ears. This was followed by a volley of blows dealt by her parasol over his head which were accompanied with an equal number of shrieks that never terminated till the police came into the shop. This affair was carried to Bow-street, but was soon dismissed, upon its being explained that "One Kiss Before Parting" was the title of a song, which the unsophisticated shopman, blissfully green from his native fields, had never heard of before.
It was a favorite joke with the old duke to ask the marchioness, whenever she was at the piano if she would mind giving him just, "One Kiss Before Parting."
What sub-type of article is it?
Prose Fiction
Satire
What themes does it cover?
Social Manners
Love Romance
What keywords are associated?
Marchioness
Shopman
Kiss
Misunderstanding
Song Title
Satirical Anecdote
Fashionable Lady
Literary Details
Title
One Kiss At Parting.
Key Lines
"To Ask You To Be Kind Enough To Give Me One Kiss Before Parting."
"One Kiss Before Parting" Was The Title Of A Song
It Was A Favorite Joke With The Old Duke To Ask The Marchioness, Whenever She Was At The Piano If She Would Mind Giving Him Just, "One Kiss Before Parting."