At Aix a nominal
king, chosen from among the youth for his skill in shooting at a
popinjay, presided over the midsummer festival. He selected his own
officers, and escorted by a brilliant train marched to the bonfire,
kindled it, and was the first to dance round it. Next day he
distributed largesse to his followers. His reign lasted a year,
during which he enjoyed certain privileges. He was allowed to attend
the mass celebrated by the commander of the Knights of St. John on
St. John's Day; the right of hunting was accorded to him, and
soldiers might not be quartered in his house. At Marseilles also on
this day one of the guilds chose a king of the _badache_ or double
axe; but it does not appear that he kindled the bonfire, which is
said to have been lighted with great ceremony by the pr?fet and
other authorities.
In Belgium the custom of kindling the midsummer bonfires has long
disappeared from the great cities, but it is still kept up in rural
districts and small towns. In that country the Eve of St. Peter's
Day (the twenty-ninth of June) is celebrated by bonfires and dances
exactly like those which commemorate St.
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