[Ye Kynge his evill in me laye]
Ye Kynge his evill in me laye,
Wh. he of Scottlande charmed awaye.
He layde his hand on mine and sayd:
“Be gone!” Ye ill no longer stayd.
But O ye wofull plyght in wh.
I'm now y-pight: I have ye itche!
The superstition that maladies can be cured
by royal taction is dead, but like many a
departed conviction it has left a monument
of custom to keep its memory green. The
practice of forming in line and shaking the
President's hand had no other origin, and
when that great dignitary bestows his healing
salutation on
