Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/551

Rh Master had set the example. As soon, therefore, as the soup was removed, his eminence called for wine, and rising, cup in hand, bowed and drank to the health of those who sat at table with him. The guests thereupon also rose and removed their caps, remaining in that position until he had finished his draught, when he once more bowed around and reseated himself. The guests then in their turn drank to their host, rising as they did so and bowing to him. The second toast given by the Grand-Master was that of the officers of the household, and the guests took this opportunity of pledging one another. At the conclusion of the repast the Grand- Master gave the health of the Pope, which was the signal for the close of the banquet.

The public levées, which were frequently held at the palace, resembled in their etiquette that usually adopted in the courts of Europe, and need no special description. The religious ceremonials in which the Grand-Master took part were very numerous, and the rules laid down for their conduct minute in the extreme. This was probably owing to the bickerings and jealousies which had gradually sprung up between the principal functionaries and the ecclesiastics, the latter considering themselves exempted from the authority of the Grand- Master, and under the control of the Pope alone. Most of these solemnities were in honour of the ordinary anniversaries of the church, and had no particular connection with the Order itself. There were, however, two functions held in peculiar veneration, a description of which is interesting as a type of the religious ceremonials adopted in the island. One of these was the festival of the Virgin Mary, on the 8th of September, being also the anniversary of the raising of the siege of Malta by the Turks. The other was St. John the Baptist’s day, the 24th June. This, as being the feast of the patron saint of the Order, was held in high esteem.

On the 8th September, all the grand-crosses then in Malta assembled in the palace at eight o’clock in the morning in full dress, with their mantles a bee, and accompanied the Grand-Master in solemn procession to St. John’s church. The street between the palace and the church, a distance of about 200 yards, was lined by a double file of militia dressed in the