ut his own waist,
so that he leaves his friend half naked. This custom of undressing on
these occasions takes other forms; sometimes men place themselves naked
before the person whom they salute; it is to show their humility, and
that they are unworthy of appearing in his presence. This was practised
before Sir Joseph Banks, when he received the visits of two female
Otaheitans. Their innocent simplicity, no doubt, did not appear immodest
in the eyes of the _virtuoso_.

Sometimes they only undress partially. The Japanese only take off a
slipper; the people of Arracan their sandals in the street, and their
stockings in the house.

In the progress of time it appears servile to uncover oneself. The
grandees of Spain claim the right of appearing covered before the king,
to show that they are not so much subjected to him as the rest of the
nation: and (this writer truly observes) we may remark that the
_English_ do not uncover their heads so much as the other nations of
Europe. Mr. Hobhouse observes that uncovering the head, with the Turks,
is a mark of indecent familiarity; in their mosques the Franks must keep
their hats on. The Jewish custom of wearing their hats in their
synagogues is, doubtless, the same oriental custom.

In a word, there is not a nation, observes the humorous Montaigne, even
to the people who when they salute turn their backs on their friends,
but that can be justified in their customs.

The negroes are lovers of ludicrous actions, and hence all their
ceremonies seem farcical. The greater part pull the fingers till they
crack. Snelgrave gives an odd representation of the embassy which the
king of Dahomy sent to him. The ceremonies of salutation consisted in
the most ridiculous contortions. When two negro monarchs visit, they
embrace in snapping three times the middle finger.

Barbarous nations frequently imprint on their salutations the
dispositions of their character. When the inhabitants of Carmena (says
Athenaeus) would show a peculiar mark of esteem, they breathed a vein,
and presented for the beverage of their friend the flowing blood. The
Franks tore the hair from their head, and presented it to the person
they saluted. The slave cut his hair, and offered it to his master.

The Chinese are singularly affected in their personal civilities. They
even calculate the number of their reverences. These are the most
remarkable postures. The men move their hands in an affectionate manner,
while they