The Crown Prince and his brother Prince Fritz remained only for a very short time under his charge before going on to the university; but the younger Princes were in his care for some years at Ploen, where I was once invited to stay for a few weeks to give Prince Joachim lessons in English. The “Schloss” where the Princes lived was a large, bright, pleasant country-house standing in pretty but not large grounds, bordered by forest, on the edge of the beautiful _Ploener See_. From the neighbouring _Kadetten-Schule_, where the boys undergo a semi-military training, four to six cadets were chosen to share the lessons and amusements of the Princes, always returning to the _Schule_ to sleep. Ploen is a very small, primitive town, so small that I made the mistake of calling it a “village” and was severely reprimanded by Prince Joachim for my blunder. It had just one long straggling street, with a few shops, and at the end close to the lake stood the _Kadetten-Schule_, which had formerly been the residence of the old Danish Kings, some of whose bodies lay in the crypt of the little chapel adjoining--a dismal place, full of sarcophagi huddled together in mouldering oblivion. As the boys were occupied all morning with their other studies, I, who was lodged in the _Prinzen-Villa_ under the fostering care of the wife of the private detective, had nothing to do till one o’clock; and the Governor kindly allowed me to ride one of his two horses every morning--fine big cavalry chargers, which fled away with me in a light-hearted manner over the tree-shaded roads and fields, evidently pleased at my light weight and determined that I should have a good time. I had been allowed to bring my side-saddle from the New Palace: “the very first time,” the Master of the Horse assured me, “that such a privilege had ever been granted to any lady at court.” He jokingly said he hoped it would not establish a precedent, and I said I hoped it would. The stable authorities were always very amiable and courteous, and anxious to gratify my taste for riding. These morning excursions allowed me to explore a great deal of the neighbourhood, which I should otherwise have been unable to see. All this district of Holstein is rather flat, but beautifully wooded, with many lakes which add a wistful calm beauty to the sleepy landscape. There is something reminiscent of England in the farm-houses and the hedgerows, which are never seen in Brandenburg, where the fields are unfenced. At one o’clock I was at the Schloss for luncheon, where I had to talk English with the Prince and his cadets--charming boys, some of whom I had met in Potsdam, where they lived. None of the tutors knew any English, though one of them had evidently learned some from a book which professed--without fulfilling its profession--to teach “without a teacher.”