Marçais had wired the time of my arrival. The man in the cap signalled and two huge lackeys in black and gold livery suddenly appeared before me. One of them took my luggage while the other assisted me to enter an enormous limousine which started at once. In ten minutes we had passed through Lautenburg and were entering at top speed what I took to be the great courtyard of the Castle. At all events a sentry presented arms. "Will the Herr Professor kindly get out?" said the lackey, opening the door while the chauffeur sounded his horn. A round, red-faced steward appeared on the steps and bowed three or four times. "Has the Herr Professor had a pleasant journey? Will he be kind enough to follow me and I will take him to his room." With all the fellowships rolled into one I shouldn't have been addressed as "Professor" as many times in ten years in France as I was in Lautenburg on the morning of my arrival alone. My luggage was in my room. I admit that it was not without a feeling of approval that I saw a very enticing meal spread out on the table. "If the Herr Professor wants anything, he has only to ring. Ludwig, his valet, is at hand, entirely at his service." As he was going out the stout functionary bowed even lower than before and handed me an envelope studded with red seals. "Will the Herr Professor kindly accept the letter left for him by Major von Kessel." Major von Kessel, the tutor of his Highness Duke Joachim, offered his apologies for his inability to receive me on my arrival. Unfortunately the whole Court of Lautenburg had gone hunting and he himself had to accompany his pupil. He therefore suggested my spending the day in making myself at home in the palace. He would have the honour to receive me at a quarter to ten on the following morning, Monday, with a view to presenting me to the Grand Duke Frederick-Augustus. Wishing to test my new powers at once, I rang. Ludwig appeared. "Good Lord!" I thought, "if M. Thierry could only see you he'd feel reassured." The fellow, thirty years old or so, had the most amazingly inexpressive face I had ever beheld before I went to Germany. Subsequently I became quite used to these good-natured, blue-eyed bran-bags. His head was that of nine out of ten of our prisoners. I only managed to extract from Ludwig one piece of information, that I should take my meals on the ground floor (my room was on the floor above) in a room reserved for the civil and military establishment of Duke Joachim, that is to say myself, Major von Kessel and Professor Cyrus Beck, of Kiel University. In addition we could all have meals served in our own rooms if we wished. Vignerte had hitherto spoken in the same level tone, finding no difficulty in recalling the smallest detail of a story with which he visibly lived night and day. But at this point he paused.