About six o'clock
The chef , a famous cordon bleu , had transferred the work of the usual table d'hote to his underlings , and had bent the powers of his culinary intelligence solely on the production of the magnificent dinner I had ordered . The landlord , in spite of himself , broke into exclamations of wonder and awe as he listened to and wrote down my commands for different wines of the rarest kinds and choicest vintages . The servants rushed hither and thither to obey my various behests , with looks of immense importance ; the head waiter , a superb official who prided himself on his artistic taste , took the laying-out of the table under his entire superintendence , and nothing was talked of or thought of for the time but the grandeur of my proposed entertainment . About six o'clock I sent my carriage down to the railway station to meet Ferrari as I had arranged ; and then , at my landlord 's invitation , I went to survey the stage that was prepared for one important scene of my drama -- to see if the scenery , side-lights , and general effects were all in working order . To avoid disarranging my own apartments , I had chosen for my dinner-party a room on the ground-floor of the hotel , which was often let out for marriage-breakfasts and other purposes of the like kind ; it was octagonal in shape , not too large , and I had had it most exquisitely decorated for the occasion . The walls were hung with draperies of gold-colored silk and crimson velvet , interspersed here and there with long mirrors , which were ornamented with crystal candelabra , in which twinkled hundreds of lights under rose-tinted glass shades . At the back of the room , a miniature conservatory was displayed to view , full of rare ferns and subtly perfumed exotics , in the center of which a fountain rose and fell with regular and melodious murmur .