Booker T. Washington, Builder o - African American History

Booker T. Washington, Builder of a Civilization. 117
anxious to know if I had been invited to the palace for dinner."
And further on he thus describes the dinner:
"The dinner was not at the palace where I was received in the morning, but at
the summer palace several miles out of Copenhagen. When I reached the hotel
from the country it soon dawned upon me that I was in great danger of being
late. To keep a King and Queen and their guests waiting on one for dinner
would of course be an outrageous offense. I dressed as hastily as I was able, but
just as I was putting on the finishing touches to my costume my white tie
bursted. I was in a predicament from which for a moment I saw no means of
rescuing myself. I did not have time to get another tie, and of course I could not
wear the black one. As well as I could, however, I put the white tie about my
neck, fastened it with a pin, and earnestly prayed that it might remain in decent
position until the dinner was over. Nevertheless, I trembled all through the
dinner for fear that my tie might go back on me.
"I succeeded in reaching the summer palace about ten minutes before the time to
go into the dining-room. Here again I was met by the King's Chamberlain by
whom I was conveyed through a series of rooms and, finally, into the presence
of the King, who, after some conversation, led me where the Queen was
standing and presented me to her. The Queen received me graciously and even
cordially. She spoke English perfectly, and seemed perfectly familiar with my
work. I had, however, a sneaking idea that Minister Egan was responsible for a
good deal of the familiarity which both the King and Queen seemed to exhibit
regarding Tuskegee.
"As I entered the reception-room there were about twenty or twenty-five people
who were to be entertained at dinner. I will not attempt to describe the elegance,
not to say splendor, of everything in connection with the dinner. 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.
"I think I got through the dinner pretty well by following my usual custom,
namely, of watching other people to see just what they did and what they did
not do. There was one place, however, where I confess I made a failure. It is
customary at the King's table, as is true at other functions in many portions of
Europe, I understand, to drink a silent toast to the King. This was so new and
strange to me that I decided that, since I did not understand the custom, the best
thing was to frankly confess my ignorance. I reassured myself with the
24.03.2006