of Guy l’an neuf at Anjou.  Also of the fetes of May, of the sheaf, of the spring, of the roses, of the fires of St. John, &c.  Then there were the historical or commemorative fetes, such as those of the Geant Reuss at Dunkerque, of the Gayant at Douai, &c.; also of Guet de Saint-Maxime at Riez in Provence, the processions of Jeanne d’Arc at Orleans, of Jeanne Hachette at Beauvais; and lastly, the numerous fetes of public corporations, such as the Ecoliers, the Nations, the Universites; also the Lendit, the Saint-Charlemagne, the Baillee des roses au Parlement; the literary fetes of the Pays et Chambres de rhetorique of Picardy and Flanders, of the Clemence Isaure at Toulouse, and of the Capitole at Rome, &c.; the fetes of the Serments, Metiers, and Devoirs of the working men’s corporation; and lastly, the Fetes Patronales, called also Assemblees, Ducasses, Folies, Foires, Kermesses, Pardons, &c.

From this simple enumeration, it can easily be understood what a useless task we should impose upon ourselves were we merely to enter upon so wide and difficult a subject.  Apart from the infinite variety of details resulting from the local circumstances under which these ceremonies had been instituted, which were everywhere celebrated at fixed periods, a kind of general principle regulated and directed their arrangement.  Nearly all these fetes and public rejoicings, which to a certain extent constituted the common basis of popular ceremonial, bore much analogy to one another.  There are, however, certain peculiarities less known and more striking than the rest, which deserve to be mentioned, and we shall then conclude this part of our subject.

[Illustration:  Fig. 398.—­Representation of a Ballet before Henri III. and his Court, in the Gallery of the Louvre.—­Fac-simile of an Engraving on Copper of the “Ballet de la Royne,” by Balthazar de Beaujoyeulx (folio, Paris, Mamert Patisson, 1582.)]

Those rites, ceremonies, and customs, which are the most commonly observed, and which most persistently keep their place amongst us, are far from being of modern origin.  Thus, the custom of jovially celebrating the commencement of the new year, or of devoting certain particular days to festivity, is still universally followed in every country in the world.  The practice of sending presents on New Year’s Day is to be found among civilised nations in the East as well as in our own country.  In the Middle Ages the intimate friends of princes, and especially of the kings of France, received Christmas gifts, for which they considered themselves bound to make an ample return.  In England these interchanges of generosity also take place on Christmas Day.  In Russia, on Easter Day, the people, on meeting in the street, salute one another by saying “Christ is risen.”  These practices, as well as