Page:The Waning of the Middle Ages (1924).djvu/57

Rh —Vous ne le devriez souffrir.” Dist la voisine; “n’appartient A moy; offrez, qu’a vous ne tient Que li prestres ne se delivre.” When at last the person of highest rank has led the way, the same debate will be repeated in connection with the “pax,” a disc of wood, silver or ivory, that was kissed after the Agnus Dei. Amid polite refusals to kiss first, the “pax” went from hand to hand among the notabilities, with the result of a prolonged interruption of the service.

Even a holy man like François de Paule thought it his duty to take part in these childish observances; the witnesses in the process for his canonization considered this behaviour s mark of great humility and merit, which shows that satire can have hardly exaggerated and that the ethical idea of these forms had not completely disappeared.

With all this business of compliments, attending public worship became almost like dancing a minuet. For on leaving the church similar scenes are enacted, in getting a superior to walk on the right hand, or to be the first to cross a plank-bridge or enter a narrow lane. Arrived at home, the whole company has to be invited to enter and drink some wine