Christening fees originated at a very early date. At first, bishops and those who had aided in the ceremony of baptism were entertained at a feast. This was afterwards commuted to an actual payment of money. Both were afterwards forbidden. The 48th canon of the Council of Elvira, held in 303, prohibits the leaving of money in the fonts, ‘that the ministers of the Church may not appear to sell that which it is their duty to give gratuitously.’ This rule was, however, as little observed in the Middle Ages as it has been since. Strype says, that in 1560 it was enjoined by the heads of the Church that, ‘to avoid contention, let the curate have the value of the “Chrisome,” not under 4_d._, and above as they can agree, and as the state of the parents may require.’ The Chrisome was the white cloth placed by the minister upon the head of a child, which had been newly anointed with chrism, or hallowed ointment composed of oil and balm, always used after baptism. The gift of this cloth was usually made by the mother at the time of Churching. To show how enduring such customs are, even after the occasion for them has passed away, we need only quote a passage from Morant’s ‘Essex.’ ‘In Denton Church there has been a custom, time out of mind, at the churching of a woman, for her to give a white cambric handkerchief to the minister as an offering.’ The same custom is kept up in Kent, as may be seen in Lewis’s History of the Isle of Thanet. The number of sponsors for each child was prescribed by the 4th Canon of the Council of York, in 1196, to be _no more_ than three persons;—two males and one female for a boy, and two females and one male for a girl;—a rule which is still preserved. A custom sprung up afterwards, which reversed the old state of things. By little and little, large presents were looked for from sponsors, not only to the child but to its mother; the result was that there grew to be a great difficulty in procuring persons to undertake so expensive an office. Indeed, it sometimes happened that fraudulent parents had a child baptised thrice, for the sake of the godfather’s gifts. To remedy these evils, a Council held at l’Isle, in Provence, in 1288, ordered that thenceforth nothing was to be given to the baptised but a white robe. This prescription appears to have been kept for ages; Stow, in his Chronicle of King James’s Reign, says, ‘At this time, and for many ages, it was not the use and custom (as now it is) for godfathers and godmothers to give plate at the baptism of children, but only to give _christening shirts_, with little bands and cuffs, wrought either with silk or blue thread, the best of them edged with a small lace of silk and gold.’ Cups and spoons have, however, stood their ground as favourite presents to babies on such occasions, ever since. ‘Apostle spoons’—so called because a figure of one of the apostles was chased on the handle of each—were anciently given: opulent sponsors presenting the whole twelve. Those in