"And I will make thee beds of roses,
And then a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle."
_The Complete Angler._
John Hardy had risen early, and had time before breakfast to inspect
the surroundings of the little Danish parsonage. The house was low, of
two stories, with a large cellarage underneath, in which was stored
articles of all kinds that might be injured by the frost of winter.
The roof was brown tiles, with a high pitch, so that the snow should
slip off easily. The chief entrance was through a little shrubbery
surrounded by a white-washed wall leading up to a few steps to the
front door. The living rooms were to the left of the inner hall, and
the Pastor's study to the right, which was so arranged that access was
easy from the front door, or by passing through an inner vestibule to
the back of the house. The kitchen was to the rear of the left side,
and the outbuildings, which consisted of stables for cows, horses, and
sheep, were to the back of the main building. The Pastor had two
horses, for the farm work of his glebe, and these were used for
journeys to the railway station or elsewhere in an old four-wheel
conveyance, which could scarcely be termed a carriage or a waggon. In
fact, it answered both purposes. The rooms were warmed by iron stoves,
in the winter, the fuel used being chiefly wood and turf. The Pastor
had a sort of turbary right, which supplied him with the latter. The
shrubbery in front of the main building was planted with poplars,
lilacs, and laburnum. The grass on the lawn was coarse and rough, and
an occasional cow was tethered on it, which did not improve the
quality of the herbage.
The income from all sources of Pastor Lindal was small, according to
English views, but it was sufficient to enable him to maintain a happy
home and to do his duty to his parish with strict economy. The
difficulty was the future of his sons and daughter.
After breakfast, in which the trout caught by Hardy the previous
evening occupied a conspicuous position, the Pastor said--
"When you return I shall be interested, Herr Hardy, to hear your views
of Rosendal. The place is, as I told you, Danish; but I should like to
hear how it looks through English spectacles."
"You have told me, Herr Pastor," said Hardy, "that Froken Helga has an
enthusiasm for Rosendal. I fear I shall be interested thereby, as she
goes with us."
Hardy looked at Froken Helga, who looked annoyed; and he saw he had
said something which displeased her.
The way to Rosendal was over the sandy road for two English miles,
when the entrance gate was reached, leading up an avenue of lime trees
that had been pollarded. The storms would certainly have pollarded
them in a more irregular manner than the hand of man. The house was a
much larger house than Pastor Lindal's parsonage, but after the same
fashion. The entrance steps were wider, but the whole arrangement of
the mansion was after the same plan. There was the same too near
proximity of the stables and cow houses, possibly essential in cold
weather, for their being attended to. The view from the front of the
house was to a lake of about thirty acres. On each side of the lake
were very large beech trees, with juniper bushes underneath; and the
effect was, as the Pastor had said, idyllic. A narrow valley was
planted with roses, and through it a path led to the lake, hence the
name Rosendal. The beech trees were of great age, and the rising
ground on each side had protected them from the prevailing winds. The
effect on the eye, in comparison with the nakedness of the surrounding
country, was forcible, and John Hardy was impressed by the natural and
distinctive beauty of the place.
Froken Helga had scarcely replied to his attempts at conversation on
the way to Rosendal. She had run races with her brothers and entered
into all their whims and caprices, but to John Hardy she had only
replied in monosyllables; but when she saw the effect the beauty of
the place had on Hardy, she said--
"Is it not a pretty place?"
"It has its peculiar beauty, Froken Helga," replied Hardy.
"I would rather live here than any place I know," said Helga. "The
peace and calm of the beech woods, and the fret of the wind waves on
the shore of the lake, suggest thoughts that are unspeakable to me."
Hardy started. She had spoken in a simple manner, but he felt that she
experienced all she uttered. He now understood Pastor Lindal's words
that Rosendal was Helga's enthusiasm. Then there was an appreciation
of nature and her mysteries that Hardy had thought impossible out of
English refinement and its influence.
"Can we go through the house?" said Hardy, as if with a sudden
determination. "I wish to see it."
"The Forvalter or bailiff lives in the house, and if he is not at home
his wife is, or their servant," replied Helga.
The house had reception-rooms after the older Danish fashion, and were
such as could be made comfortable, even to an English tenant. John
Hardy asked the bailiff's wife if she could point out the boundary of
the property; and this was done from the rising ground behind the
house. A visit to the valley of roses was made, and a stroll through
the beech woods. Karl and Axel had ran to the shores of the lake, and
had hunted along its banks to find wild ducks' eggs, happily without
success.
On the way back to Pastor Lindal's parsonage, John Hardy attempted a
conversation with Froken Helga; but it failed utterly. She talked with
her brothers and walked with them. Hardy saw he was avoided. He had
seen the same conduct in young girls in France, and attributed it to
the same reason, and said nothing more.
The Pastor, when his pipe had been, as usual, filled by Helga after
dinner, and at the first vigorous puffs, addressed Hardy.
"Let me hear about Rosendal, Herr Hardy. I can listen, but when Helga
has filled my pipe, can make any allowance then, for anybody's
prejudices, even an Englishman's."
"Rosendal is a place with an accidental, peculiar beauty," said Hardy.
"The configuration of the land is adapted to form a shelter to the
beech trees, while the little lake is just in the right place to
produce a pretty effect. The landscape is, as you say, a Jutland
landscape; the grass in the meadows is coarse, and the arable land
sandy."
"You speak like a photograph, Herr Hardy," said Pastor Lindal. "But
did you not like the house and grounds?"
"The house is Danish, of a past fashion," replied Hardy, "and there is
no difference in plan from your parsonage. The stables and outhouses
are too near the house, and so is the kitchen garden; it may be
convenient, but it is not to our English taste. The grounds are not
made the best of; but this is a subject in which the climate must be
consulted. The specimen trees we use for the purpose would, many of
them, grow dwarfed, or not at all."
"I have heard much of the English taste in this respect," said the
Pastor. "I should like to see an English residence, in contrast to our
dear Rosendal."
"That you can judge of by some photographs of Hardy Place, my
residence in England," said Hardy. "I will fetch them."
He shortly after appeared with a set of four photographs, and a strong
reading-glass.
"There," said Hardy, "is the front of Hardy Place. You will observe
the arrangement of the lawn, and you will see the fineness of the
turf, which you will see nowhere else than in England. The
conservatory is to the right of the front entrance, to be sheltered
from the east wind; the house faces south. You will see by these other
photographs different views of the house and its surroundings. The
stables and gardens, for vegetables and fruit, are at some distance;
while the home farm, equivalent to your Bondegaard, is an English mile
distant. This gives greater privacy; while at Rosendal, the stables
and house and farm are practically under one roof."
"Herr Hardy would say, father, that we Danes want the refinement of
the English," said Froken Helga, who did not like the correct
criticism of a place she loved so well.
"When I asked you the name of the owner of Rosendal," said Hardy,
looking at her, "the answer I received from you might have led my
thoughts in that direction, Froken Helga."
"I gave no answer!" retorted Helga.
"Just so," said Hardy, smiling.
Helga understood him.
The Pastor and his two boys had been looking at the photographs with
much interest. "It is a Slot [a palace], and there is good taste
throughout. And do you live there, Herr Hardy?"
"Yes," replied Hardy, "except when I take a foreign tour. My mother
resides there. My father died when I was young. But would not Froken
Helga like to see the photographs?"
Helga did not look up from the knitting, which was her constant
employment every spare moment; so Hardy addressed himself to her
father, as if he had not put the question.
"Before I came here," said Hardy, "I read in the _Berlinske Tidende_
an advertisement for the sale of Rosendal, which to-day appears to be
the same place.
"Yes," said Pastor Lindal. "It is the property of a Baron Krag; he
will sell it if he can obtain about double its value. He has the
argument on his side, that it is an exceptional place, and should sell
at an exceptional price; hitherto he has not found a buyer on these
terms. The property is small in extent."
About a week after this conversation, John Hardy received the
following letter from Copenhagen:--
"I was honoured by your letter of the 10th of this month, and, in
pursuance of your wishes, called at the Bank and enquired of you, and
presented your letter, requesting them to give me information about
you. They replied that they had heard from your London bankers that
you had a considerable sum at your disposition in their hands, and
that your yearly income was considerable, and that any services I
rendered you would be promptly paid for. I accordingly send
particulars of Rosendal, which I have already procured for other
clients; and I send sketch of the estate. The price is much in excess
of its value, 300,000 kroner (18 kroner is equal to L1 sterling). The
price that has been bid is 200,000 kroner, and possibly an advance may
be obtained on that. I wish to point out to you that 200,000 kroner is
beyond the value of Rosendal in an economical sense, and the same
money in the Danish funds would yield twice the income.
"The cows, horses, and sheep, agricultural implements, all go to the
purchaser. The land is managed by a bailiff, and the sources of income
are chiefly from the sale of butter, barley, and produce. There is a
small tile works; and a certain quantity of turf can be sold yearly.
The income is therefore uncertain.
"I think it also my duty to lay clearly before you, that if you wish
to introduce any alteration in our Danish system of farming, that it
would not be successful. There would be a passive antagonism with the
people, who, if you let them be steered by a good bailiff, would give
you no trouble. In the direction of any improvement, however, new
agricultural implements from England of the simpler kind would be well
received and adopted. The Danish cattle also are suitable to the
country, and the introduction of English high class-breeds might not
answer.
"If you did not reside at Rosendal, the bailiff's accounts could be
checked either by me or any other person you thought proper, and the
place visited twice yearly, to report the condition and the state of
the property.
"I will ascertain the exact sum that will be accepted, if you desire
it; but it will take time--negotiations for large properties are often
much protracted in Denmark.
"I wait, therefore, the honour of your reply, and respectfully greet
you.
"Obediently,
"Axel Steindal,
"_Prokurator._"