Ah-h-h! Two-Hour "Soul" Kiss

1915

"Her Lips Met Mine and I Couldn't Get Away," Says Rich Lawyer

NEW YORK, Dec. 16. — "Soul kisses" that lasted for more than two hours were described by Everett P. Ketchum before Supreme Court Justice Blanchard in testifying in the suit for separation brought against him by Mrs. Ada Brown Ketchum on the ground of cruelty.

Ketchum told how, when he was first introduced to his wife, she was described to him as "a girl who had never been kissed before in her life."

"She said," he testified, "that a kiss was such a sacred thing that she had saved it all her life for the man whom she was going to marry. I thought it a very beautiful idea."

Ketchum said he proposed exactly five days after they had been first introduced.

"Tell us about that first kiss she gave you, Mr. Ketchum," said Mr. Levy of Mr. Ketchum's counsel.

"Well," said the witness, "it was like this. We were seated on the sofa in the parlor. She put her arms around my neck and drew me to her and said: 'Everett, darling, this is what they call a soul kiss. This is because of my extraordinary love for you. I never knew before that a kiss lasted so long. I don't know how the ability to kiss came to me, but—'

"She leaned into my arms. Her lips met mine. She grabbed me. I tried to take my head away because I could not breathe, but—"

"How long did that kiss last?" asked Mr. Levy.

"Two hours," was the reply. "I could not get away."