life. Louis XIV himself wrote a book concerning court ceremonial, and all courtiers were enjoined to obey the rules. Precedence was a matter of great importance. It found its way even into the streets, where it became a subject of frequent dispute. The narrowness of the Parisian streets made it impossible for large coaches to pass each other; when two met, therefore, that of the lesser dignitary was obliged to go back to the last crossroad. One can see how this occasioned arguments. Long pedigrees were recited, claims set forth, and strangers called in to settle the matter of precedence.

At Versailles the importance of etiquette reached such a point that it was carried to almost incredible extremes. The catch phrase of the time was "Toute la femme est dans la reverence," which meant that the manner in which a woman curtsied-in other words, the manner in which she followed the etiquette of the times-revealed her true qualities.

It is related of Louis XIII that, being on one occasion obliged to visit Richelieu, who was ill at Tarascon, he lay down on the bed beside him. He was, after all, the sovereign; Richelieu a subject. Therefore it was impossible that Richeieu lie in bed, though ill, while Louis stood or sat beside him. Therefore, he took his place on the bed beside the sick man, and so preserved the royal dignity! Louis XIV visited Maréchal de Villars in the same manner when the Maréchal was lying wounded at Malplaquet.

France of the Revolutionary period is a France in which we do not like long to dwell. We glimpse man's primitive personality coming, for a moment, to the surface of life after long years of civilization. We see the pent-up furies of the people finding savage expression in the mass, the mob. Castes were destroyed; petty precedences and ceremonials were wiped away. And the titles that but a moment before had been proudly flaunted, became handles of death.

Yet out of this madness, out of this savage chaos,

emerged France-the Republic. And now we come to the new régime with its newer code of etiquette.

The famous "Book of Ceremonial" originated by Napoleon still exists. It is a bulky collection of 819 articles concerning etiquette, and it was intended to anticipate every possible situation and supply directions for meeting every emergency. It is as elaborate as that of Louis XIV, on which it was based; it is even more elaborate than that of the Second Empire, for which it served as a model.

Concerning the compilation of the Book of Ceremonial, in which several people besides Napoleon had a share, Madame de Staël says:

Whoever could suggest an additional piece of etiquette from the olden time, propose an additional reverence, a new mode of knocking at the door of an antechamber, a more ceremonious way of presenting a petition, or folding a letter, was received as if he had been a benefactor of the human race.

Napoleon applied to many of the surviving members of the Bourbon court for information. It was partly with their aid that the "Book of Ceremonial" was compiled. But Napoleon, in the main, framed his own etiquette and always assigned to himself the first and most important place.

In matters of precedence Napoleon was stubborn. It is related that in 1808 the "Almanach de Gotha" for that year had just been printed with the regular alphabetical arrangement of the reigning houses, beginning with the Anhalt duchies. The Emperor indignantly suppressed the edition and required the whole to be reprinted with his name on the first page.

At St. Helena Napoleon gave his reasons for having compiled the bulky code of etiquette and ceremonial. He said:

I was rising above the level of the crowd, and it was indispensable to create myself an exterior, to compose a dignity and a gravity, in one word, to establish a ceremonial; otherwise I should have been

daily tapped upon the shoulder. In France we are naturally inclined to ill-timed familiarity; we are instinctively courtiers and obsequious at the outset; but if not repressed, this familiarity soon ripens into insolence. (Las Cases, "Memorial de Sainte Helene," vs. IV, p. 271.)

Here we have the reason for all ceremonial, for all form, for all rules of conduct. It is the "rising above the level of the crowd" and the desire to be apart from that crowd and protected from its crudities that results in the creation of codes.

France of the late 19th century is polished, cultured, leader of the world in fashion and in social matters. From this 19th-century France, as from the France of Louis XIV, we borrow many delightful customs which shall presently be discussed.

In England and America.-England with its knights and ladies, with its vassals and lords, its peasants and royalty, was from the very first a country of forms, observances, and ceremonials. As a maritime nation it was very naturally one of the greatest promoters of maritime ceremonial, such as the firing of guns, the dropping of sword points, the presenting of arms, the lowering of sails, etc.

In early times, salutes given in the open sea consisted in a certain number of cannon shots between ships of equal rank. In cases of inequality, the inferior side was expected to add some sign of respect and homage-strike or hoist its flag, furl its upper sails, change its tack. But in the time of James I, England, in her pretension to possess the high seas, insisted that her maritime supremacy be recognized by the instant disappearance of the flags and sails of all other ships. The English vessels were to offer no greeting in return. This attitude led to many wars. To-day salutes are obligatory to no one, having become pure acts of courtesy.

In manners, customs, and fashions France has always been the "feminine" country-England the "masculine." Early England was crude, though courtly, borrowing some of its customs from Spain, France, and Italy, but

being largely sufficient unto itself and deigning to ignore the customs of the countries around it.

Courtliness and chivalry began in England at about the same time that the great system of chivalry made itself felt in France. In the time of Richard Coeur-de-Lion (1189-1199), England's most generous, impulsive and lovable king, there were gay tournaments, rich banquets, elaborate court functions. Romance lurked in Sherwood Forest. And "knighthood was in flower." The courtly manners and customs of the time reflected the spirit of the people at court and in the cities.

Mediæval England was an England of castes and caste restrictions. The Barons and the Lords wore silks and velvets: the peasants who dared to ape them were punished. We read, for instance, of a needlewoman of the 13th century who was compelled to sweep the streets for a week because she had the audacity to make herself a cap like the one worn by her lady!

As mediævalism decayed, the Renaissance was born, nurtured, and developed in Italy. Its influence upon the manners, customs, morals, and arts of the whole world cannot even be estimated. In England, the Renaissance appears to have inspired a period of luxury, grandeur, and magnificence which vied with that at the French court of the same period.

During the reign of King Henry VIII etiquette received an impetus but was still extremely crude. Table manners were nearer those of the savage than the civilized level. Yet remnants of barbarism were gradually disappearing from the customs and the manners of the English people.

At the beginning of the 17th century there appears to have been a great aping of the customs and fashions of France. With the ascension of Charles I to the throne, court manners became stately and dignified and throughout the kingdom there was a careful regard for the niceties of dress, for little politenesses, for courtesy and consideration toward others.

Toward the close of this century Lord Chesterfield makes his appearance. He gives us a clearer insight into the manners and customs of his period than any other writer. He teaches us not only of the customs of England, but of France, Germany, Italy, and other European countries.

A few excerpts from Lord Chesterfield's famous letters to his son will reveal to you a great deal concerning the manners and customs of the late 17th and the early 18th centuries. This son to whom Lord Chesterfield wrote was illegitimate. It was the Lord's mission in life so to educate and cultivate this young man that his inferior birth would not be held against him. Despite his letters, so devoted, so persistent, and so enlightening, the boy turned out to be a great disappointment.

Lord Chesterfield in one of his letters to his son asks:

By the way, do you mind your person and your dress sufficiently? Are you be-laced, be-powdered, and be-feathered as young fellows are, and should be?

As his son visited many different courts and was educated in several countries, Lord Chesterfield had occasion to write him several times concerning the customs of these countries. He wrote at one time:

A man of the world must, like the chameleon, be able to take every different hue.

And at another:

Take care to inform yourself if there be any particular customs or forms to be observed, that you may not commit any mistake. At Vienna men always make courtesies, instead of bows, to the Emperor; in France nobody bows at all to the King, nor kisses his hand; but in Spain and England bows are made and hands are kissed. Thus every court has some peculiarity or other, of which those who go to them ought previously to inform themselves, to avoid blunders and awkwardness.

During the 18th century we find practically all of Europe suffering from "Anglomania." All countries and peoples attempted to copy the English mode of life, the