I admit I had not been listening very carefully. "Certainly," I said. "Allow me, Herr Beck, to ask you something in return." "By all means." "Can you tell me what the _Kirchhaus_ is?" The old man rose. To my intense amazement he glared savagely at me and went out, slamming the door, before I had time to recover from my surprise. I looked at Kessel, but he, usually a model of self-possession and good manners, was literally shaking with laughter. "What on earth's the matter?" I asked. "You've fairly put your foot in it," he managed to get out at last. "Poor old chap; did you notice how furious he was? And to think that he had hoped you'd back him up!" "But what's upset him?" I asked, and my astonishment was so genuine that it was Kessel's turn to be surprised. "You mean to say you didn't do it on purpose?" "What?" "Didn't you ask him what the _Kirchhaus_ was on purpose?" "I asked him because I didn't know and wanted to," I said, rather nettled. He looked at me and began to laugh even more hilariously than before. "Well, if that isn't the best thing I've ever heard! Don't you know what the Lautenburg _Kirchhaus_ is, my friend?" "Well?" "Well, good God, it's the asylum!" * * * * * * The Grand Duchess loved sport in season and out of season. Every now and then she would condescend to hunt foxes or deer by way of entertaining the officers of the 7th Hussars. But her private and peculiar delight was sport in solitude, preferably on a wet and windy day without grooms, attendants or beaters. All she required was a dog and the off-chance. Many an evening have I seen her in her little room making up her own cartridges. The pretty little cylinders, blue, violet, green, yellow, or red, white and blue, were spread out before her on a table, into which the ramrod was screwed. Carefully packing the copper loaders, she gave to each its dose of powder, wad, charge of shot and little piece of white cardboard. When she had rammed all this home, she wrote the number of the charge on each. Hagen was always present on those occasions, and as it was part of his duties, it would have been very difficult to get rid of him. Melusine von Graffenfried, indolent and a poor walker, preferred to stay behind, lying on rugs and smoking her eternal cigarettes. Count Marçais, on the other hand, always came with us. These excursions gave him a chance of showing off his sensational sporting clothes, on which Aurora never failed to compliment him. I must admit he was excellent company, with his high spirits and charming manner. We used to ride out of the castle about two o'clock in the afternoon. The first stage was the _Herrenwald_. Squirrels swarmed in the trees. Pheasants rose heavily from the ground as we passed. At the bottom of some wooded ravine we could hear the fussy but invisible flight of a woodcock.