e piece of cake which he has in his hand: the child names
whoever comes into his head, without respect of persons, until the
portion where the bean is given out. He who gets it is reckoned king
of the company, although he may be a person of the least importance.
This done, everyone eats, drinks, and dances heartily."{5}

In Berry at the end of the festive repast a cake is brought before the
head of the household, and divided into as many portions as there are
guests, plus one. The youngest member of the family distributes them. The
portion remaining is called _la part du bon Dieu_ and is given to the
first person who asks for it. A band of children generally come to claim
it, with a leader who sings a little song.{6} There was formerly a
custom of dressing up a king in full robes. He had a fool to amuse him
during the feast, and shots were fired when he drank.{7}

Here is a nineteenth-century account from Lorraine:--

"On the Vigil of the Epiphany all the family and the guests assemble
round the table, which is illuminated by a lamp hanging above its
centre. Lots are cast for the king of the feast, and if the head of
anyone present casts no shadow on the wall it is a sign that he will
die during the year. Then the king chooses freely his queen: they
have the place of honour, and each time they raise their glasses to
their mouths cries of 'The king drinks, the queen drinks!' burst
forth on all sides.... The next day an enormous cake, divided into
equal portions, is distributed to the company by the youngest boy.
The first portion is always for _le bon Dieu_, the second for the
Blessed Virgin (these two portions are always given to the first poor
person who presents himself); then come those of relations, servants,
and visitors. He who finds a bean in his portion is proclaimed king;
if it is a lady she chooses her |340| king, and he invites the
company to a banquet on the Sunday following, at which black kings
are made by rubbing the face with a burnt cork."{8}

The use of the _gateau des Rois_ goes pretty far back. At the monastery
of Mont-St.-Michel in the thirteenth century the Epiphany king was chosen
from among the monks by means of a number of cakes in one of which a bean
was placed. At Matins, High Mass, and Vespers he sat upon a special
throne.{9}

It may be added that there is a quaint old story of a curate "who having
taken his p