The queen, after entering the ante-room, retired to the right, where her ladies-in-waiting received her and escorted her to her own apartments to prepare for the banquet, which had been delayed by the review. Remeses leading the way, with me by his side, we came to the outer room, where handsomely dressed pages offered us scented water in ewers of gold, to lave our fingers, removed our sandals, and in foot-pans of gold washed our feet, beginning with Remeses. They then dried them with perfumed napkins of the softest linen fringed with threads of gold, and placed upon them sandals of crimson cloth, embroidered with flowers. Our upper garments were removed by Nubian servants, and replaced by a banquet-vesture, more or less rich according to our rank. Thus refreshed, we entered a beautiful reception-room containing the most elegant articles of furniture. Here every one of us was presented by the chief gardener of the palace with a lotus-flower, to be held in the hand during the entertainment. As we moved about, admiring the beauty of the rooms and the furniture, and such objects of luxury and art as were intended to gratify the tastes of guests, there were several arrivals of generals, and officers of the chariot legion, and other divisions of the army of Lower Egypt, who had been summoned to the banquet. Among these I recognized some of the superbly uniformed officers who had lined the avenue of the grand approach to the throne--for you will recollect that I said it was an army of officers, soldiers of this rank alone being permitted to do the honors of the palace on the reception of princes or foreign ambassadors. There were, also, nobles, and distinguished citizens, Egyptian gentlemen of worth and condition, that entitled them to the honor of dining at the palace. From a window I witnessed the arrival of these. They came in elegant pleasure-chariots, attended by a number of servants. One of these footmen came forward to announce to the chief porter his master's name; others took the reins, for the Egyptian lord prefers to drive himself in the streets; another, who held above his head, standing behind him, a large parasol of gorgeous plumes, alighted, carried it still above him as he crossed to the portico of the palace. Several aged persons arrived in palanquins exquisitely carved and painted, and borne by slaves. Two or three arrived on foot, an attendant holding a shield or large fan above them. Water was brought also for their feet, but not in golden foot-bowls, and robes and sandals were distributed according to rank.