It was a survivor of the days when this whole region had been an outpost of civilization against hordes of barbarian invaders.
One curious thing he noticed at once about the great house.

No flag was flying from it, though it boasted a sort of turret from which a flag might well have been flung out to the wind.

All the other big houses he had seen had had flags out and the absence of a standard here seemed significant, somehow.
When he entered the village he found that there was no inn.

He saw the usual notice of mobilization and the proclamation of war, but the people were not stirring yet.

He had to wait for some time before he found a house where people were up.