SALE OF A KISS BY AUCTION.

Temuka Leader, Issue 380, 28 April 1881, Page 2

SALE OF A KISS BY AUCTION.

It is rarely that a kiss, is put up for auction and publicly bestowed upon the highest bidder. This, however, was done recently, says an Austrian newspaper, at a charity fete got up in the little town of Torantal on behalf of the poor at Agraro.. The well meant endeavors of, the benevolent ladies and gentlemen who acted the part of salesmen, and women to induce visitors to purchase trifles, exposed for. sale at twenty times their value did not succeed. Business wa« not very brisk, the public who filled the salle was not in, a generous mood, and the organisers of the fete were disheartened. ' At this June- , ture one of the lady patronesses, a re?»rkr ably beautiful woman, had what shftfß«Br sidered to be be * happy inspiration. Sho ; took her husband aside, conferred with him for a few minutes, and shortly after, with his 1 consent, offered a kiss to the highest bidder, the sum paid for the, favour to be added to the receipts of thd

fete. The result of the lady's rather novel idea hardly came up to what was anticipated.- Very low Bums were at once offered by the young men present (for, of .course, the feminine portion of the visitors were not tempted by the opporportunity), and ultimately the kise was knocked down at the relatively paltry figure of fifteen florins and eleven kreutezers. The husband of the lady, seeing, "store set by the favor, expressed a desire to pay the amount him)»elt }nd take the kiss, but the gentleman claimant had already handed over the money, and as he refused to permit the bargain to be cancelled, the kiss was ex r changed before the assembled company.