Sentence:  We are sadly off in the country; not but what we have very good shops in Salisbury, but it is so far to go—eight miles is a long way; Mr. Allen says it is nine, measured nine; but I am sure it cannot be more than eight; and it is such a <WSD>fag</WSD>—I come back tired to death. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A chore: an arduous and tiresome task.