EDITOR'S TABLE. 



263 



further exhibition of brotherly love had not 

 survived with the foot-washing into this 

 century, through such regions as Pennsyl- 

 vania, to which the Dunkers had very early 

 brought the Old World rites. Anciently in the 

 Koman Catholic Church, when foot-washing 

 was regularly performed on Maunday or 

 Holy Thursday, the officiating priest kissed 

 the feet that he had washed. Though in 

 the Catholic countries where foot-washing is 

 still observed, their kissing has perhaps gen- 

 erally ceased, it continued even among Eng- 

 lish Protestants until the time of Queen Eliza- 

 beth. An elaborate account of it in 1572 

 appears in Brand's Popular Antiquities, vol. 

 i, p. 145 et seq. (Bohn's edition), in which 

 the kissing of the feet is twice mentioned. 

 It is also specified in Cavendish's Life of 

 Wolsey as practiced by the cardinal in 

 1530." 



After preparing the above statement, 

 Colonel Mallery received two further ac- 



counts of kissing in connection with feet- 

 washing among the Dunkers ; one was from 

 Philadelphia by an eye-witness, who thor- 

 oughly bears out his own statement and 

 recollection. He has also been told by a 

 gentleman from St. Louis, who called upon 

 him, that on the last Holy Thursday, March 

 26th, the kissing of feet in connection with 

 the foot-washing ceremony was performed 

 there by the Roman Catholic archbishop, 

 and that there were full accounts of that 

 kissing in the papers of the next day. It is 

 really curious, Colonel Mallery adds and 

 more is in the matter than he at first thought 

 that in parts of the United States the 

 ceremony goes on in 1891 as a histrionic 

 presentment of traditions generally aban- 

 doned. 



EDITOR'S TABLE. 



LIBERTY AND CIVILIZATION: 



IF argument can avail aught in the 

 practical direction of events, the 

 volume lately published under the title 

 of A Plea for Liberty ought to exert a 

 powerful influence upon the politics ot 

 our day in so far as they are occupied 

 with questions of social reform. The 

 book is packed with well-digested in- 

 formation and solid reasoning, and no 

 one can fail to derive from its perusal 

 a clearer and wider comprehension ot 

 the social problem in its various aspects. 

 The great question which continually 

 presents itself, whatever department of 

 social work we turn to, is, Shall we at- 

 tempt to hasten improvement by legis- 

 lation, or shall we trust to the resources 

 of freely acting individuals to modify 

 things in their own interest and to their 

 own advantage? Sometimes, no doubt, 

 legislation, national or municipal, is our 

 only recourse ; but the teaching of the 

 book before us is that this recourse has 

 been had in a multitude of cases in 

 which the problem would have been 

 far better solved by individual initiative 

 and action. Another point which is 

 well brought out is that philanthropy 



in the great majority of cases misses its 

 aim ; it wishes to do good, and it does 

 mischief, just reversing the procedure 

 of that ancient prophet who tried to 

 curse, but found himself blessing against 

 his will. 



The general issue before the world 

 at the present moment is a very serious 

 one. Mr. Spencer has well expressed 

 it when he entitles his introductory 

 essay From Freedom to Bondage. There 

 is an undoubted danger lest, as he says, 

 those structures in the body politic 

 which make for regulation should gain 

 such a development and such a prepon- 

 derance as to leave but an insignificant 

 measure of freedom to the social units, 

 and thus, by cramping their activities, 

 fatally impair their energies. "We know 

 what a torpor has crept over the East- 

 ern nations through the stereotyping of 

 customs and institutions multiplied be- 

 yond all reason. Some one will perhaps 

 say : " Shall we not always remain a 

 free people, with power to change our 

 institutions if they become burdensome ? 

 And what does it matter who does social 

 work so long as it is done?" Both 

 questions deserve answer. An institu- 



