at the loader was
useful) and then a few minutes later missed five running.

At noon the young Countess drove out with her French companion to join
me. She watched the shooting until half after twelve and then drove me
home for luncheon. It is the custom for the men who start shooting
early to be sought out and brought home to luncheon by the ladies, or
to be joined by them for lunch in the woods in case of an all-day
shoot. The game is shot only by the nobles and their guests and there
seem to be no Robin Hoods among the devoted peasantry.

If this shooting to which I had been treated was considered by the
Countess to need an apology, I was curious to ascertain what she
called really good hunting, and so I propounded the question. She
replied quite seriously that the best shooting to be had upon her
estates was hare shooting and that on a good day five guns were
usually expected to kill four thousand between the hours of ten and
three.

* * * * *

To an American it is very extraordinary to see feudalism in full
swing; to have every person whom one meets anywhere, stop, raise his
hat, and make a deep obeisance; to have even the slightest word or
request to anyone answered with a low bow and an instantly bared head.
It is still more surprising to realize how sincere and devoted is all
this homage. Everyone for miles around acts in this same way to the
Countess, to her daughter, and, of course, to any of their guests. To
an American it all seems several hundred years out of date.

* * * * *

_Wednesday, January 6th._ There were guests for dinner tonight, nobles
from neighboring estates. One of the men is about to start on an
automobile trip to the Serbian and Carpathian fronts. He is to be away
some four or five days, leaving on Monday. He begged me to go with him
but I resisted the temptation, for I am now forty-nine hours' travel
from London and must soon be turning my face westward.

I went to mass this morning in the little plaster church of a village
near the castle. The acolytes were small peasant boys, and whenever
they knelt down they turned toward the congregation prodigious
boot-soles studded with a surprising array of shiny hobnails.

* * * * *

_Thursday, January 7th._ In bidding me good-bye last night, the
Countess took my hand in both of hers and before the assembled dinner
party thanked me for my services