"Everywhere on the monuments we meet with flowers; bouquets of flowers are presented to the gods; the coffins are covered with wreaths of flowers; flowers form the decoration of the houses, and all the capitals of the pillars are painted in imitation of their colored petals. The Egyptian also loved shady trees. He not only prayed that the 'Nile should bestow every flowering plant in their season' upon his departed soul, but also that his soul might sit 'on the boughs of the trees that he had planted, and enjoy the cool air in the shade of his sycamore.' The arable fields, the shadeless woods of palms, the bare mud soil, scarcely provided the scenery which he most admired; he therefore tried to supply the want by landscape gardening. In the oldest periods there were parks and gardens; and the gentleman of ancient Egypt talked with pride of his shady trees, his sweet-smelling plants, and his cool tanks. All the sentiments with which we regard the woods and meadows of nature, the Egyptian felt towards his well kept garden; to him it was the dwelling place of love, and his trees were the confidants of lovers. "On the 'festival day of the garden,' that is on the day when the garden was in full bloom, the wild fig-tree calls to the maiden to come into the shade of the fig leaves as a trysting place: "The little Sycamore, Which she planted with her hand She begins to speak, And her (words are as) drops of honey. She is charming, her bower is green, Greener than the (papyrus). She is laden with fruit, Redder than the ruby, The color of her leaves is as glass, Her stem is as the color of the opal.... It is cool in her shadow. She sends her letter by a little maiden, The daughter of her chief gardener She makes her haste to her beloved: Come and linger in the (garden) ... The servants who belong to thee Come with the dinner things; They are bringing beer of every (kind), With all manner of bread, Flowers of yesterday and of today, And all kinds of refreshing fruit. Come, spend this festival day And tomorrow and the day after tomorrow Sitting in my shadow. Thy companion sits at thy right hand, Thou dost make him drink, And then thou dost follow what he says.... I am of a silent nature And I do not tell what I see I do not chatter."[1] Having attractive grounds as a setting, the houses of the wealthy Egyptians were also attractive indoors. The dining room was the important room of the house. Guests generally sat on stools when dining. When ladies gathered for a banquet, they frequently sat on costly rugs spread upon the floor. Servants or slaves served those assembled from a large table loaded with tempting viands.