Morning journal and courier., 1882-06-01
1yasbfnptbe Feet Uf1he Poor

A correspondent at Vienna writes: The
grand ceremony of washing the feet of
twelve old men and twelve old women was
performed in the Burg palace yesterday
GOOD Friday by the emperor and empress
The ceremony was instituted to remind their
imperial maiesties at least once a year that
Christ had humbled himself by doing this
mental service for his disciples. At II o'clock
in the morning the poor old men and women
were conducted into the grand hall of cere
monies, where they were seated at two long
boards, decked in the splendid fashion Gus
tomary for royal or imperial guests The
old people could hardly be told asunder
they were dressed almost alike in dark pill
grim gowns of cloth and la: ge felt hats. If
it were not for snowy boards flowing down
the breasts of few of the old men, you could
not distinguish their procession from that of
the women. When they were all seated the
high dignitaries of court took up their places
along the marble walls, and the master of
ceremonies gave sign that their majesties
preceded by the clergy, were coming. The
crown prince and all the archdukes present
at Vienna accompanied the emperor. The
crown princess and the archduchesses pre-
ceded the empress. Fox-hunting must be
a means of preserving beauty, for Empress
Elizabeth, notwithstanding her 46 summers,
is still as handsome as ever. She is very
tall, and her graceful bearing was well dis
played in tight black satin dress, with
long black veil flowing down to her train.
On Der breast she wore the diamond cross of
a decoration. Immediately behind the en-
press entered the imperial stewards and
great number of pages, bearing the viands,
which they handed to the emperor and en-
press, who placed them upon the board in
front of their aged guests. 1t would strike
you as exquisitely incOngruous to see the
emperor in his fine field marshal's uniform,
the empress in all the majesty of her beauty
and her unrivaled rank, standing behind the
chairs of those poor people and waiting upon
them The archdukes cleared the tables, and
when the viands were removed the real cere-
monies began. The emperor and empress
had the same task to perform, except that
the latter washed the feet Of the women, the
former those of the men. The court mar
shals bore golden ever and two pages
golden basin and an embroidered towel, the
empress knelt down and sprinkled little
water upon the feet of each old woman,
which she dried or pretended to dry with the
towel, the chief priest reading aloud the
thirteenth chapter of st. John, in Latin.
When the washing was over q golden tray
with twenty-five bags was brought, in each
of which were thirty silver coins, the price of
which the Saviour was betrayed. Each old
man and each old woman had the string of a
bag placed round his or her neck by the
emperor or empress, who then withdrew
with the same ceremony as they entered.
The old men and women are never permitted
to go through the ceremony a second time
This year the Oldest man was 80, the young
est IS, and the women were about the same
age. They are always brought from their
homes in the suburbs and taken back again
in splendid imperial carriages.