Before leaving the subject of the kiss reverential I will mention two different ways in which it has been used. Formerly it was the custom, at least at the French Court, for pages to first kiss the articles they were to hand to distinguished personages. Henri Estienne tells an anecdote about a page who had to carry a letter to the Princess of Naples. It was expressly enjoined on him to kiss it (_baisez-la_), but the page pretended he had misunderstood the words, so when he had to leave the letter he first kissed the unsuspecting princess. We find another peculiar form of the kiss reverential in the cases when a person kisses his own hand before offering it to the guest he would especially honour, or before accepting a present for which he wishes to show his gratitude in an extraordinarily polite manner.[A] In an old comedy of Marivaux, “_Harlequin poli par l’Amour_,” a fairy falls in love with a rustic lout. She carries him off, entertains him in her castle, and tries in every possible way to gain his love; but he remains utterly callous to all her blandishments, and behaves all the time in a most foolish manner. He takes a fancy to a valuable ring the fairy is wearing; she removes it from her finger and gives it to him, but when he scarcely says “Thank you” for it, she says to chide him: _Mon cher Arlequin, un beau garçon comme vous, quand une dame lui présente quelque chose, doit baiser la main en la reçevant_.[20] Arlequin takes hold of the fairy’s hand and kisses it; but she corrects him again, and says: “He does not understand me once, but I like his mistake. It is your own hand, you know, that you should kiss.”[21] This usage still prevails amongst old peasants in Jutland, and is termed receiving something with “kissed hand,” or “kiss hand.” The expression _Kusshand_ is also employed in German, and is explained thus: “Gruss, wobei man die eigne Hand küsst und dann nach der zu grüssenden Person hin bewegt oder sie reicht.” The same sort of greeting is found both in England and France. Voltaire tells us that children in certain countries are taught to kiss their right hand when anybody gives them something good. Even at the present day, in certain places on the Alps, peasants express their thanks by kissing their hand before taking what is given to them. VI THE KISS OF FRIENDSHIP Par amistiet l’en baisat en la buche. _Chanson de Roland._ For friendship pressed a kiss upon his mouth. W. F. H. CHAPTER VI THE KISS OF FRIENDSHIP