The paradox of serving Count Keller, an aristocratic minister of high privilege, when poverty and destruction awaited them in every small town they traveled through, also weighed upon Jacob's conscience. High-ranking officials in the delegation held extravagant parties and dinners, which Jacob desperately tried to avoid attending. Surrounded by the decadence, he was beginning to feel isolated and homesick.
This passage vividly portrays Jacob Green's inner conflicts during the war. On one hand, he served the privileged noble officials, while on the other hand, he witnessed the poverty and destruction of the towns along the way. When the high-ranking officials still held luxurious banquets during the war, Jacob tried to avoid them, which made him feel out of place with the extravagance around him and filled him with loneliness and longing for his hometown. This intense contrast not only reflects his sympathy for the lower-class people, but also allows us to see his conscience as an intellectual - he could not comfortably enjoy the privileges and maintained a clear understanding of the cruelty of the war and the injustice of society.