Page 518 - the-idiot

probably the bullet hit him accidentally. I have been told
this by competent authorities.’
‘Well, a soldier once told me that they were always or-
dered to aim at the middle of the body. So you see they don’t
aim at the chest or head; they aim lower on purpose. I asked
some officer about this afterwards, and he said it was per-
fectly true.’
‘That is probably when they fire from a long distance.’
‘Can you shoot at all?’
‘No, I have never shot in my life.’
‘Can’t you even load a pistol?’
‘No! That is, I understand how it’s done, of course, but I
have never done it.’
‘Then, you don’t know how, for it is a matter that needs
practice. Now listen and learn; in the first place buy good
powder, not damp (they say it mustn’t be at all damp, but
very dry), some fine kind it is—you must ask for PISTOL
powder, not the stuff they load cannons with. They say one
makes the bullets oneself, somehow or other. Have you got
a pistol?’
‘No—and I don’t want one,’ said the prince, laughing.
‘Oh, what NONSENSE! You must buy one. French or Eng-
lish are the best, they say. Then take a little powder, about a
thimbleful, or perhaps two, and pour it into the barrel. Bet-
ter put plenty. Then push in a bit of felt (it MUST be felt, for
some reason or other); you can easily get a bit off some old
mattress, or off a door; it’s used to keep the cold out. Well,
when you have pushed the felt down, put the bullet in; do
you hear now? The bullet last and the powder first, not the

1