fine, and all the materials of the exact hue required
by the sisters for their dresses; indeed, it would have been difficult
to say what there was not in Herr Meyer's waggon which the nuns could
possibly require. The price, too, at which he sold his goods was
remarkably low, and the nuns of Nimptsch were not at all averse to
making good bargains. Unfortunately, however, he discovered that he had
only brought specimens of many of the articles. His large waggon he had
left at Torgau. He would, therefore, take the orders with which the
holy ladies might honour him, and return next day with the goods.

The merchant, Herr Meyer, was better than his word, for he returned the
next day not only with the articles ordered, but with many other curious
things, which he had brought, he said, for the inspection and amusement
of the ladies, and the servants and attendants in the house; the good
portress especially was remembered. There were carriages and animals
which ran along the ground by themselves, and a house in which a door
opened, when out of it came a cock which crowed, and then a small bird
came out of an upper window and sang, and then a woman looked out to
ascertain what the noise was about. Numerous toys of a similar
character the merchant had brought, he said, from Nuremburg.

Meantime the horses in the waggon became very frisky, the merchant,
therefore, went down, with most of his boxes to help quiet them, he
said, leaving the abbess and her nuns busily engaged with the toys; the
portress, too, was still watching the cock coming out of the house and
crowing, and the bird singing, and the woman looking out to see what it
was all about.

"These horses will be doing some mischief, Karl, if they stay shut up in
this court-yard," exclaimed the merchant. "I will open the gate, and
then if they choose to gallop off they will soon get tired, and you can
come back for me and my goods."

Suiting the action to the word, he undid the bars of the gate, and Karl
drove through, pulling up, however, directly he was outside. The
portress ran out, for such a thing as allowing a stranger to open the
gate was against all rule.

"Stay, I have some more curious things," said the merchant. And he
stepped into the waggon.

Just at that moment something must have startled the horses, for they
set off at full speed, the driver in no way attempting to stop them.
The lady abbess and the nuns looked out through the bars of the window