.. of course, John, my trusty fiere.

Many of the instances, for which many thanks, esp Night Visiting, which I should have remembered, are very like my opening quote, though. Kiss & shake hands - in that order, it appears, on parting, or once or twice on meeting. Was this as customary as these songs seem to suggest? Was such formal greeting or valediction usual between lovers? When? Anyone any precise info? Or analogies in literature - the Jane Austen instances I gave were between friends or fellow guests, &c, rather than between lovers: Emma shakes Mr Knightley's hand at one point, IIRC; but before they acknowledge their mutual love. And does any social historian know when such manifestations died out between lovers?

~M~