[Illustration]
Comus, God of the pleasures of the table and of good living, was the
presider over feasts and festivals, and was honoured most by the dissipated
youth who, to do him reverence, wandered about at night in masks, dancing
to the sound of musical instruments, and knocking at the doors of dwelling
places. During his festivals, men and women exchanged each others dresses.
He is represented as a young and drunken man, with a garland of flowers
upon his head, his face lit up by the deity of wine, and with a flambeau in
his hand which appears falling.