The Romance of the Canoness

In June, 1864, a visit I had promised to pay one of the friends of my youth led me into the heart of the province of Brandenburg. I could travel by the railway as far as the little city of St. but from this place was compelled to hire a carriage for two or three miles as the estate which my friend had owned several years, did not even possess the advantage of a daily stage. So on reaching St. I applied to the landlord of the "Crown-Prince" who was also postmaster for a carriage and as it was past three o'clock in the afternoon and the drive over shadeless roads in the early heat of summer would not be particularly agreeable, I begged him not to hurry but give me time to have a glimpse of the little city and its environs.