"These are to be angled for with a short line not
much more than half the length of your rod, if the air be
still, or with longer very near, or all out as long as your
rod, if you have any wind to carry it from you."
--_The Complete Angler._
Two days after the horse race recorded in the last chapter, John Hardy
had asked the Pastor's permission to take Karl and Axel with him to
fish Godseier Jensen's tributary to the Gudenaa. They had breakfast
early, and Hardy asked for a little lunch to take with them, to which
the Pastor willingly assented.
"Hardy," said the Pastor, "may I ask you one thing, and that is, have
you spoken to Kirstin about what I told you?"
"No," replied Hardy. "Why should I? There is nothing that is necessary
for me to say. She is your servant and not mine. If she be suspicious
naturally and accuses me of gross misconduct, it is not for me to
reprove her, although, if you believed it, I should clear myself, as I
value your good opinion. Surely that is not necessary?"
"No, by no means," said Pastor Lindal; "but I thought a reproof from
you----"
"You have given her reproof sufficient," interrupted Hardy, "and so
have I, and there is no need to repeat it. It is true, I spoke to her
without full knowledge of her conduct, but to say more is neither
necessary nor expedient."
The Pastor was surprised at the decided tone Hardy used. It had been
his intention to clear the matter up, so that nothing should rest in
Hardy's mind against Kirstin. He now understood that Hardy thought no
more of the matter than that a woman-servant in his employ had said a
foolish thing. This was a small matter, but it raised Hardy much in
the worthy Pastor's estimation.
Hardy had sent a note to proprietor Jensen, to say he was coming over
to fish on his property, and to ask leave to put his horses in his
stable. So Garth drove, and they got out of the carriage near the
stream they were to fish, and Karl and Axel were soon busy in putting
up the rods Hardy had given them. The stream ran through a flat
meadow, and here and there was covered with reeds. There was little
flow in the stream, but where it was deeper there were no reeds. The
water rush was abundant on the banks, growing along the flat banks and
out in the water. Hardy had heard there were plenty of trout there,
but it appeared difficult to catch them. The day was warm and still,
and it did not look at all propitious. Karl and Axel threw their flies
into the water for a long time with no result--not a trout moved.
Hardy did not fish, but looked on. It was clear the trout were not on
the feed, and, moreover, the sun was high and the day bright. Hardy
sat down and smoked. The two boys came back to him after their futile
attempts to fish. They saw Hardy had not wetted his line, but had
attached a dyed casting line to it, on which was a large but light
thin wired hook. He then sent the boys hunting for grasshoppers and
fernwebs, and letting out so much of the reel line as, with the
casting line, would be as long as his rod, he let the grasshopper that
he had put on the hook fall lightly on the water, and be carried down
by the sluggish stream; there was a swirl in the water, and Hardy was
fast in a big trout. The day, however, was so hot and bright that,
after catching eight trout with much difficulty and steady fishing,
Hardy decided to call at the Jensen's Herregaard, and give them the
fish he had caught, and fish in the evening, when the sun was less
powerful. The heat, as it sometimes is in Denmark, was excessive. He
had been seen coming up the avenue of lime trees, and the stout
proprietor came out to meet him, with his face full of pleasure and
kindness, for he liked John Hardy.
"Welcome, and glad to see you!" exclaimed Herr Jensen. "It is too hot
and bright for fishing, and you have been wise to come up to the
house. I thought it probable that you would not fish much, and I
remained at home in the hope you might call."
"We have caught a few trout for you," said Hardy; "but the heat in
your flat country such a day as this is more than I care to bear. Your
trout are larger on the average than in the Gudenaa, and are splendid
fish. I have fished in many lands, and never saw better. The few fish
we have caught to-day average a pound, but they are very young fish,
and I never saw fish the same age so large."
"How can you tell how old they are?" asked Herr Jensen, incredulously.
"Why, you look at a horse's mouth, don't you? and it is the same with
trout," replied Hardy; "that is, to some extent. The teeth get larger
at the base, the jaw bone thickens with age, and the snout gets
longer. I have often seen trout that have been reared from ova, and
whose age was consequently known, and have closely observed their
mouths. The fish in your stream grow fast from the great abundance of
the food that trout thrive best on."
"But come in out of the heat," said Herr Jensen, "and have a snaps or
a glass of wine. My friends who come here to fish rarely catch so many
trout in a whole day's fishing; and that when they consider the
weather favourable; but you English appear to be born with a rod and a
gun."
Karl and Axel proposed going with Robert Garth to see the proprietor's
horses and live stock, and, as they knew a little English, they got on
very well with Garth, whom they considered a paragon of a servant. His
respectful demeanour towards Hardy impressed them, and the way he did
his work about the horses was always a matter of interest.
Hardy went into the proprietor's spacious reception room, which was
well but plainly furnished, with its aspect of neatness so dear to a
Danish house mother.
Fru Jensen and her two daughters were knitting, but rose to welcome
Hardy, with the genial friendliness habitual with Danish ladies. They
insisted on his staying to dinner, but Hardy objected, as he had Karl
and Axel with him as well as his servant; but all objections were
futile, and Fru Jensen left the room, to give the necessary directions
for a very substantial dinner.
Mathilde Jensen was about two and twenty, with a fresh complexion,
blue eyes, and light hair, and a cheerful manner. "How is your
beautiful horse, Herr Hardy?" she asked.
"Quite fit to run another race," replied Hardy. "But do not you Danish
ladies ride?"
"Yes. We have each our own horse, and we often ride with father and by
ourselves short distances," said Froken Mathilde; "but they are not
such good horses as those you have purchased in Denmark."
"They are never satisfied with their horses," said the proprietor;
"they are always wanting me to buy a horse of a different colour than
what they have got--first it's chesnut, and then dark bay."
"Would you like to ride one of my Danish horses?" said Hardy. "They
have been frequently ridden."
"No, no; don't go putting that in their heads, Herr Hardy!" protested
the proprietor. "They never had a petticoat on their backs."
"If Froken Mathilde would lend her side saddle and an old skirt, my
man shall try both the horses, while we are here," said Hardy. "I have
no lady's saddle here, but from what I know of the horses there is no
doubt but that they will carry a lady quietly, and better backs for a
lady I have seldom seen."
Proprietor Jensen's desire to see an English groom, whom he saw
understood his business, handling his favourite animal, a horse,
overcame whatever scruples he may have had as to its leading to his
daughters riding Hardy's horses, and in a few minutes one of the
horses was mounted by Garth, with a skirt tied to his waist, and the
horse trotted and cantered up and down the avenue. The other horse was
also tried. The English groom's perfect riding was much praised by the
proprietor.
"Do let me ride, father, just once up and down," begged Froken
Mathilde; and before her father could object, she had slipped the
skirt that Garth had just untied from his waist over her dress and
mounted, with Garth's assistance.
It was a pretty sight to see the handsome girl's enjoyment of riding
the well-trained horse, as she rode up to where her father and mother
and Hardy were standing.
"Oh, father!" she exclaimed, "you must get me a horse like this, or I
shall die, I know I shall;" and she went up and kissed her father in a
coaxing manner.
"What nonsense!" said the prudent Fru Jensen. "One horse is as good as
another for you."
"Well, well, we'll see," growled the proprietor, but pleased,
nevertheless, to see his daughter, like himself, fond of horses.
At dinner the conversation turned on Rosendal, which the Jensens had
heard Hardy had purchased.
"It is a pretty place," said the proprietor, "but the farm is not
much. But why did you buy it? It cannot be as a speculation, as the
price is excessive."
"He intends to marry Helga Lindal and live there so that she will not
be too far from her father, to whom she is so much attached," said
Mathilde Jensen, laughing. "I can explain it all for him."
"Thank you, for disposing of my affairs so nicely," said Hardy; "you
have saved me a good deal of explanation."
"Yes, but Pastor Lindal's daughter is going to marry the Kapellan
(curate) he once had, a Kapellan Holm. She refused him, but her father
wishes it, as Holm is a good man," said Fru Jensen.
"In Denmark, you must know," said the proprietor, "that it is the
custom for a Pastor's daughter always to marry the Kapellan."
Hardy understood now the secret of Froken Helga Lindal's manner. She
was attached to this Kapellan Holm.
"But what are you going to do with Rosendal?" asked Herr Jensen. "It
is a matter of interest to us; it is not far, and we should like such
a neighbour as Herr Hardy."
"The first thing I intend to do is to improve the grounds and repair
the house, but I do not contemplate making much alteration."
"I should so like to see Rosendal!" said Mathilde Jensen; and her
younger sister, Marie Jensen, expressed the same wish.
"Why, you have seen it again and again," said their mother. "You want
Herr Hardy to take you."
"So we do, little mother," said both the girls, "and we want him to
let us ride his horses."
"Snak!" said their father. The Danish word "snak" has its peculiar
expressive force, its meaning in English being that nonsense is being
talked.
"Garth shall bring over both horses to-morrow," said Hardy, "and I
will ride over; and I dare say Herr Jensen will accompany us, and lend
my man a horse, as we should want him at Rosendal. If you assent, I
will send a message to the bailiff, as you might like a little
refreshment there."
"A most excellent plan, Herr Hardy!" exclaimed Froken Mathilde; "but
it leaves little mother home alone, which is the only fault in it. But
you will drive, won't you, little father, and take mother and Herr
Hardy's groom?"
Of course everything was ordered as Froken Mathilde Jensen wished. She
had made her father make many a sacrifice of his money and own wishes,
but she repaid him with her real affection for him.
As the evening drew on, Hardy and the two boys left, and tried the
proprietor's little stream with a fly. The trout rose freely, and
Hardy caught about a dozen. The fish rose best to a gray-winged sedge
fly, when thrown high over the water and falling slowly and softly
near the reeds. Karl and Axel had little success, the perfect
stillness of the water to them was a difficulty.
When they arrived at the parsonage, the Pastor was smoking in his
accustomed chair, and his daughter was singing to him. She stopped as
soon as she heard the carriage wheels. And after speaking a few words
to the Pastor, Hardy went to his room. Karl and Axel remained, and,
like other boys who go about very little, were very full of the day's
experiences. The trying the horses was described, and Froken Mathilde
Jensen's explanation of why Hardy had bought Rosendal was given in
full, with Fru Jensen's statement as to Kapellan Holm; so that when
John Hardy came from his room, he saw that something had passed which
had disturbed both the Pastor and his daughter. He at once judged
correctly what had occurred. The boys were in the habit of saying what
was uppermost.
It was clear, then, that what Proprietor Jensen had said about Froken
Helga was correct.
"We have caught a few trout," said Hardy, "and taken a few to the
Jensens, who were so good as to make us stay to dinner, with the kind
hospitality so conspicuous in Denmark."
"They are hospitable people," said the Pastor.
"But great gossips," added the daughter, who had scarcely noticed
Hardy since his return. She got up and left the room.
Hardy determined to risk a question. "Your daughter is, the Jensens
say, attached to a Kapellan Holm, Herr Pastor?" said he, inquiringly.
"No, decidedly not," said the Pastor. "I am sorry to say she dislikes
him; his manner is not pleasant, and she considers him addicted to
drink, of which I have never observed any sign. He is a good man, a
little boisterous in manner. He is coming here to assist me in the
winter, and will live with us. He is now in Copenhagen."
Hardy thought Helga Lindal difficult to understand. That she would
marry a man that the Pastor had described was not consistent with her
character; but, then, women do inconsistent things. Her manner to him
was not courteous--it was unfriendly; but now and then she would speak
warmly and gratefully for any kindness Hardy showed her father.
"Godseier Jensen and his family are going to Rosendal to-morrow," said
Hardy, after smoking some time in silence.
"Yes," said Karl; "the Froken Jensens want to ride Herr Hardy's
horses."
Helga had returned, and heard what Karl said.
"Froken Mathilde Jensen is a girl with a cheerful character, open and
honest, like the Danes naturally are," said Hardy.
"I think she is a great deal too forward!" said Helga, sharply.
Hardy looked at her; it was clear she meant what she said. To his view
there was nothing to condemn in Mathilde Jensen's conduct. She had
good animal spirits, was natural in manner, and affectionate to her
parents, who rather spoilt her.
The next day Hardy rode his English horse to the Jensens' Herregaard,
and Garth followed with both the Danish horses.
The Jensens were all on the doorsteps, as Hardy trotted up. The
proprietor received him warmly, and his family did the like. He walked
round Hardy's horse and admired him, as he had done on a previous
occasion.
"It is the breadth of his loins," he said, "that sends him over his
jumps. I never saw anything so fine as when he passed the other
horses, taking his leaps like nothing; and how he came in with a grand
stride, by the winning post!"
"As you breed horses, Herr Jensen," said Hardy, "you should import an
English mare of Buffalo's stamp; it would enormously improve your
breeding stud. A stallion would not do so well, and would be very
costly. It is a slower process, but a more certain one."
"Yes; but we Danes are poor," said the proprietor, "and I cannot
afford the purchase of such a mare."
"When I return to England, I will see what I can do for you," said
Hardy.
The side saddles were placed on Hardy's Danish horses, and they went
to Rosendal, the Froken Jensens enjoying the ride greatly.
Fru Jensen went through the dairy and criticized, her husband did the
same with the farm buildings, and gave Hardy useful and practical
advice, which Hardy noted down and afterwards followed.
They strolled through the beech woods, and saw the valley of roses in
its ragged and neglected condition. But the good proprietor would
insist on seeing the farm, and on this also he gave Hardy many
practical hints. They returned to the mansion and had such a lunch as
Hardy had been able to arrange, which delighted Froken Mathilde Jensen
from its incompleteness.
"The fact is, Herr Hardy," she said, "you want a wife. You have no
idea how to manage anything. We have none of us a napkin, and
everything is served abominably."
"I hope to induce my mother to come here next summer," said Hardy; but
he knew Mrs. Hardy of Hardy Place would scarcely adapt herself to the
situation Froken Mathilde suggested.
"No doubt your mother will do everything," said Froken Mathilde, "but
a wife is the one thing needful."
"Possibly," said Hardy. "I will consult my mother on the subject."
"I do not like, Mathilde," said Fru Jensen, "your saying such things
to Herr Hardy. It is not what I should have said when I was your age."
"That may be, little mother," replied Froken Mathilde; "but Englishmen
are very dull, and you had none to talk to."
As they rode back to the Jensens' Herregaard, the two girls wanted to
race the horses back, to Herr Jensen's and his wife's great alarm.
Hardy told them their parents did not wish it, and that, as they did
not, he did not; and he, instead of riding with them, rode by the side
of the proprietor's carriage. And when they arrived at the Herregaard,
the girls dismounted, and Froken Mathilde said, with much emphasis--
"Herr Hardy, we thank you for your kindness to us, but we both vote
that you are frightfully dull and a bore; but we like you very much."
The hospitable proprietor would not hear of Hardy's leaving; a glass
of schnaps was inevitable and a smoke, and Rosendal was discussed
again and again, and its advantages and defects considered from every
point of view.
At last, Hardy left, and rode to Vandstrup Praestegaard, in time for a
later dinner than usual Hardy told the Pastor of the practical advice
Proprietor Jensen had given him, and the Pastor commented on it and
approved.
Froken Helga asked if the Fru Jensen had given him any advice.
"Yes," said Hardy, "and very good advice, about the management of the
people and dairy." But, he added, the Froken Jensens had decidedly
advised him to marry, so as to have some one to manage these details
for him; but he had replied that he must consult his mother on such a
subject.
"And which you intend to do, Herr Hardy?" asked Helga.
"Certainly," said Hardy.