This word is from _mandatum_, or commandment, and refers to
the "new commandment" given by Christ to his apostles at the Last
Supper. In Catholic countries it is still the custom for the sovereign
to wash the feet of twelve poor men (his wife performing the same
office for twelve poor and aged women) in public on the Thursday
before Easter, and to serve them at table afterward: in Vienna this is
done in a very solemn and public manner. The chosen ones are brought
to the palace in court-coaches, and after the ceremony is over are
carried home in the same way, loaded with presents of clothing, money,
and all the dishes, spoons, forks, etc., used at their dinner. In
England the same charity, or its equivalent, is dispensed, not by the
sovereign in person, but by her chaplains and almoners, in the midst
of beautiful formalities. The dignity with which the ceremony is
performed is a striking evidence of the national character, and a
contrast to the sometimes slovenly manner in which great public
religious functions are got through abroad. The charities are
distributed in the chapel of Whitehall, the palace made tragically
famous by the disgrace of Wolsey and the death of King Charles I.
Fifty-five old men, and as many women, the number corresponding to the
age of the sovereign, were thus relieved last year.
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