daughter, and by them welcomed (wilkommen heiset)—as it is termed in their language—he has even a right to take them by the arm and to kiss them (zu küssen), which is the custom of the country, and if any one does not do it, it is regarded and imputed as ignorance and ill-breeding on his part: the same custom is also observed in the Netherlands." (Written by Samuel Kiechel, 1585. See Rye, p. 90.)
"Another custom is observed there [England], which is when guests arrive at an inn, the hostess with all her family go out to meet and receive them; and the guests are required to kiss them all, and this among the English was the same as shaking hands among other nations."[1]
Erasmus in 1499 wrote a letter from England to his friend Fausto Andrelini, an Italian poet, exhorting him in a strain of playful levity to think no more of his gout, but to betake himself to England; for, he remarks, "here are girls with angels' faces, so kind and obliging that you would far prefer them to all your Muses. Besides, there is a custom here never to be sufficiently commended. Wherever you come, you are received with a kiss by all; when you take your leave, you are dismissed with kisses; you return, kisses are repeated. They come to visit you, kisses again;
- ↑ Leo von Rozmital, 1577. See Rye, p. 260.
