PRESENTS. 87 



to a supreme ruler. Hence the making of presents grows 

 into a formal recognition of supremacy. In ancient Yera 

 Pas, &quot; as soon as some one was elected king ... all the 

 lords of the tribes appeared or sent relations of theirs . . . 

 with presents.&quot; Among the Cliibclias, when a new king- 

 came to the throne, &quot; the chief men then took an oath that 

 they would be obedient and loyal vassals, and as a proof of 

 their loyalty each one gave him a jewel and a number of 

 rabbits, &c.&quot; Of the Mexicans, Toribio says &quot; Each year, 

 at certain festivals, those Indians who did not pay taxes, 

 even the chiefs . . . made gifts to the sovereigns ... in 

 token of their submission.&quot; And so in Peru, &quot; no one ap 

 proached Atahuallpa without bringing a present in token 

 of submission.&quot; This significance of gift-making is shown 

 in the records of the Hebrews. In proof of Solomon s 

 supremacy it is said that &quot; all the kings of the earth 

 sought the presence of Solomon . . . and they brought 

 every man his present ... a rate year by year.&quot; Con 

 versely, when Saul was chosen king &quot; the children of Belial 

 said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, 

 and brought him no presents.&quot; Throughout the remote 

 East the bringing of presents to the chief ruler has still the 

 same meaning. I have before me illustrative facts from 

 Japan, from China, from Burmah. 



Nor does early European history fail to exemplify pres 

 ent-giving and its implications. During the Merovingian 

 period &quot; on a fixed day, once a-year, in the field of March, 

 according to ancient custom, gifts were offered to the kings 

 by the people; &quot; and this custom continued into the Carolin- 

 gian period. Such gifts were made alike by individuals and 

 communities. From the time of Gontram, who was over 

 whelmed with gifts by the inhabitants of Orleans on his en 

 try, it long continued the habit with towns thus to seek the 

 goodwill of monarchs who visited them. In ancient Eng 

 land, too, when the monarchs visited a town, present-mak 

 ing entailed so heavy a loss that in some cases &quot; the passing 



