Besides the gifts mentioned above,
the white dress is given to these _apostles_, who are chosen by some
Cardinals, Ambassadors, the Propaganda, the _Maggiordomo_, and the
captain of the Swiss guards.]
[Footnote 74: The water is brought to him by the Prince assisting at
the throne, and the towel is presented by the first Cardinal Priest.
When the Pope is prevented from performing this ceremony, the Cardinal
Dean supplies his place in presence of the sacred college (Lunadoro).
In that case the gospel is sung, not by a cardinal, but by the prelate
who is deacon of the _cappella_. Formerly, according to the MS.
Pontifical of the Apamean church written in 1214, Vespers were sung by
the Pope's chaplains, while he washed the feet of twelve subdeacons.]
[Footnote 75: Chardin and other travellers testify, that this practice
is preserved in modern times. In Homer's Odyssey the custom of taking
a bath before a banquet is frequently mentioned, III, 467; IV, 49, VI.
216; VIII, 449.]
[Footnote 76: The emperors of Costantinople used (according to
Codinus De Officiis Aulae Costantinop.) to wash the feet of twelve poor
persons: and Vespasiano Fiorentino in the fifteenth century, in his
life of Alfonso di Napoli quoted by Cancellieri, says that "Il Giovedi
Santo lavava i piedi a tanti poveri, quant' egli aveva anni, et
lavavagli, come si deve ... et a tutti dava una veste bianca, et un
pajo di calze, et un Alfonsino, et un fiorino et un carlino, et non
so che altra moneta.
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