Now the invitation of a king is the same as a command, and one is always expected to accept. Of course Washington was delighted to accept this invitation. Washington spent the rest of the day preceding the dinner hour visiting the country people near Copenhagen. He was late getting home, and he was terrified when he realized that he might be late for dinner. To keep the King and Queen waiting would be a terrible offense. He dressed as rapidly as he could. But in his haste, he pulled his necktie to pieces,—the only one he had fit for the occasion! He pinned it together the best he could and put it on; but he says that he was in great distress throughout the dinner lest the tie come to pieces again. He reached the palace just in time for the dinner. He was taken directly to the King, who led him to where the Queen was standing, and presented him to her. She was very cordial and gracious. She spoke English perfectly; and Washington was again surprised to find that she, too, was thoroughly familiar with affairs in the United States, and that she also knew about Tuskegee. There was a very distinguished group of people present. The dinner was given in the magnificent Summer Palace, and everything was truly royal in its elegance and splendor. Washington says, “As I ate food for the first time in my life out of gold dishes, I could not but recall the time when as a slave boy I ate my syrup from a tin plate.”[36] CHAPTER XV BOOKER T. WASHINGTON: THE MAN Booker Washington at home, with his wife and children, his garden, his chickens, his pigs, his horses and cows, is far more interesting than Washington the orator, the writer, the teacher, the traveler, the college principal. No man ever loved his home more than Washington. He had to be away from it much of the time. He was away at least half of each year. This was a great hardship to him, and just as often as was possible he got away from his exacting duties and returned to Tuskegee to find rest and quiet and comfort and joy with his own family. He was an early riser, when at home, getting up always at 6 o’clock. His first morning task was to gather the fresh eggs. He was very fond of chickens and always kept a number of them. “I begin my day,” he says, “by seeing how many eggs I can find, or how many little chicks there are that are just beginning to creep through the shells.... I like to find the new eggs myself, and I am selfish enough to permit no one else to do this....”[37]