ed
washin' or not. But I presoom they wuz middlin' clean; they be now
anyway, and the Emperor doesn't do it for bathin' purposes or to help
corns, but it is a religious custom. Robert explained it all out to me
so plain that I almost seemed to see it myself.

Robert said that the day he wuz here there wuz twelve old men, some on
'em ninety years old, seated at a table set out handsome with good
dishes, napkins, etc., and the table all covered with rose leaves, and
under it brown linen cushions for the old feet to rest on.

The old men had on black clothes, short breeches, black silk
stockings, and wide white turned-down collars. They wuz seated by
grand court officials, the oldest man seated at the head of the table.
Anon the Emperor come in in full uniform, with a train of nobility and
big court officers with him, all in gorgeous attire, and the Emperor
took his place at the head of the table as a waiter to wait on the
oldest old man. And then follered twelve palace officials, each
bearin' a black tray that had four dishes of good food on it, and they
took their places opposite the old men who set on one side of the
table, some as they do in pictures of the Last Supper or some as we
have some times in cleanin' house and things tore up and we all set on
one side of the table.

Then all bein' ready, the Emperor took the food off the tray opposite
the oldest man, and waited on him jest as polite as Philury waits on
me when we have company. The Crown Prince waited on the one next in
age, and each of the old men wuz waited on by some grand duke or other
member of the Austrian nobility.

After the trays wuz emptied, the palace guard, in full uniform, come
in with twelve more trays, and so on till four courses wuz served, the
last consistin' of a sweet dish, fruit, cheese, almonds, etc. After
this, and it wuz done quite quick, for not a mouthful wuz eaten, a
large, gold tray wuz brought in with a gold pitcher on it and a large
napkin, and the Emperor knelt and poured a little water on the old
man's foot, and wiped it on the napkin. It wuzn't very dirty, I spoze;
his folks had tended to that, and got off the worst of it. But he had
had his foot washed by a Emperor, and I spoze he felt his oats more or
less, as the sayin' is in rural districts, though he orten't to,
seein' it wuz a religious ceremony to inculcate humility, and the old
man ort to felt it too, as well as the Emperor. But howsumever, the
hull twelve on 'em ha