their master, chanting his praises, before receiving the necklaces and
jewels of gold which he presented to them by his chamberlains, or which
he himself deigned to fling to them.**

* No plan or exact drawing of any of the palaces of the
Ancient Empire has come down to us, but, as Erman has very
justly pointed out, the signs found in contemporary
inscriptions give us a good general idea of them. The doors
which lead from one of the hours of the night to another, in
the "Book of the Other World," show us the double passage
leading to the courtyard. The hieroglyph [--] gives us the
name Ûôskhît (literally, _the broad_ [place]) of the
courtyard on to which the passage opened, at the end of
which the palace and royal judgment-seat (or, in the other
world, the tribunal of Osiris, the court of the double
truth) were situated.

** The ceremonial of these receptions is not represented on
any monuments with which we are at present acquainted, prior
to the XVIIIth dynasty.

It is difficult for us to catch a glimpse of the detail of the internal
arrangements: we find, however, mention made of large halls "resembling
the hall of Atûmû in the heavens," whither the king repaired to deal
with state affairs in council, to dispense justice and sometimes also to
preside at state banquets. Long rows of tall columns, carved out of
rare woods and painted with bright colours, supported the roofs of these
chambers, which were entered by doors inlaid with gold and silver, and
incrusted with malachite or lapis-lazuli.*