"_Piscator._--But come, sir, I see you have dined,
and therefore, if you please, we will walk down again to the
little house, and I will read you a lecture on angling."
--_The Complete Angler._
Froken Helga and Kirstin the next day were much occupied in preparing
Karl's outfit; old stockings had to have new feet, cloth had to be
bought and the tailor sent for, as well as a Syjomfru, or seamstress,
to assist about his shirts. An inquiry, however, directed to Hardy on
the subject, put a stop to all the bustle.
"How many stockings of a thick kind had Karl better take?" asked
Helga. "We are preparing his outfit, and there is but a short time to
get his clothes and shirts made."
'"The less he takes the better," replied Hardy. "It is better he
should get his clothes in England. He will then appear like lads of
the same age do in England in dress. It is very galling to a lad not
to be dressed as other boys. English boys are apt to tease on the
subject of anything foreign in dress and manner. I know it is not good
conduct to do so, but it is done. If, therefore, you will let me order
his things in England, it will be best, and save you much trouble
now."
"But my father would find it difficult to pay for the expensive
English things," retorted Helga.
"No, he will not; that I will care for," said Hardy, using a familiar
Danish phrase.
"Then I must mention it to my father," said Helga.
"Certainly," said Hardy; "but tell him that as I have undertaken to
make an effort on Karl's behalf to assist him to an independent
position, it will be less difficult for me to do so if he is well
dressed."
"You despise everything Danish, Herr Hardy, even a boy's clothes,"
said Helga, as she was leaving the room.
"Stop," said Hardy; "I want to ask you one question. Do you not
yourself think, Froken Helga, that what I propose is best for Karl?"
"Yes," said Helga, almost involuntarily.
"Then why should you suggest to me that I despise everything Danish?"
asked Hardy. "No country has interested me more."
Helga looked at him, as if begging him to say no more, and went to her
father's study. She told him what Hardy had said. "I think it is so
noble of him, little father, to be so considerate; he seems to think
beforehand of everything."
"Yes," said Pastor Lindal, "I have learnt to know that if he does
anything, he is sure to find out the kindest way to do it. I will go
at once and thank him."
"And I told him, little father, that he despised everything Danish,
even to a boy's clothes," said Helga, between whom and her father
existed a perfect trust in one another; "and he looked hurt, and I
feel so sorry, little father."
"You treat him as if you disliked him, Helga, but if you do he has
certainly given no cause, and he is entitled to common civility. I
think what you told me you said to him at the horse-race was
irritating and wrong."
"I feel it was, little father, but I do my utmost to try not to like
him or any one. Kirstin has told him that my duty is to you and Karl
and Axel, and that I could never marry. I know it is my duty to live
for you, little father, and that you could not get on without me."
"You have a duty to yourself, Helga," said her father, gravely, as he
saw that his daughter liked Hardy, and that her conduct towards him
had only been an effort to do what she thought her duty in life. He
saw also that in a short time Hardy would see it too. "There is no man
I like so much," added he; "but I do not wish to lead you to like any
one, yet there is no good in struggling against what is natural and
necessary. Now, Helga, answer me this--has he said anything to you?"
"No, no; not a word!" replied Helga, quickly.
"I was sure of it," said her father, "and he will not; he is under my
roof, and he will say nothing to me or you--he has too much delicacy
of feeling to do so."
"But, little father, he looks on me as an inferior," said Helga. "He
is so superior in everything, that I feel as if he said, 'You are a
simple country girl.'"
"Well," said her father, "what are you else? But I am sure he never
said or, by his manner, led you to infer that he thought you his
inferior."
"It is not that," said Helga. "If he but opens the door and enters a
room or leaves it, he does so in a manner I cannot describe. He is not
like other men. He does everything well and knows everything well. He
makes me feel I am so small."
"When he is with me," said the Pastor, "he makes me feel the better
Christian and more kindly towards every one. When he first came he
taught me one sentence I shall never forget, 'that kindliness is the
real gold of life.'"
"But you said that on the first Sunday he was here, little father, in
your sermon," interrupted Helga.
"But I learnt it from him," said the Pastor. "But there is something I
think I had better tell you, as there should be perfect confidence,
even in thought, between us, my child. When Karl came from the
Jensens' the other day, he repeated what Mathilde Jensen said about
Hardy buying Rosendal. I think myself it is probable--mind, I only say
probable. I see he observes everything you do, and that your unfair
speeches hurt him. He asked me if you were, as Fru Jensen said,
attached to Kapellan Holm, and his manner for the moment changed. He
is going to bring his mother over to Denmark, and, judging from his
character of simple kindly consideration for every one, it is clear he
wishes his mother to see you before he speaks."
"Oh, little father, it cannot be true," said Helga; "it cannot be
true!"
"No, it is not true; but it is, as I said, probable," replied her
father. "But there is one thing I should like to tell him myself, if
you dislike what I have said, and that is, if he should entertain
anything of the sort, that you have no wish in that direction. I do
not think it right to let him nurse the probability in his mind that
you might listen to him when he comes with his mother next year, when
it would be painful to her to see her only son get a Kurv" (literally,
a basket; the meaning is a rejection). "I think we should save them
this, as it would be a heavy blow to both son and mother."
"But Kirstin has told him I cannot marry, little father," said Helga,
"and he believes it."
"Herr Hardy will not care what an old woman says," replied her father;
"but there is no need to say anything whatever, and nothing must be
said unless you feel you could never listen to him."
"I do not know what to say, little father," said Helga, with a bright
gleam of coming happiness in her eyes.
"Then we will say nothing, and let things take their course," said
Pastor Lindal. "It is best so. You do not know your own mind yet, and
it is possible it is the same with Hardy; only do not build too much
on this, Helga. And now kiss your little father, and I will go and
thank Hardy for his goodness about Karl."
John Hardy was writing a letter to his mother.
"We shall be home in ten days from the date of this letter, dearest
mother, and this letter will be three days reaching you. The route we
shall take is by the cattle steamer from Esbjerg to Harwich, from
which latter place I will telegraph. I shall bring the two Danish
horses I have bought for your own use, and as Garth has had them in
training some time they will be ready for you to use at once.
"I shall bring a son of Pastor Lindal's with me; his age is, as I have
told you in a former letter, about sixteen. His father has been good
to me, and would receive no payment for my stay with him; but I have
left the money to be distributed in his parish as he should direct. My
view is to let Karl Lindal stay at Hardy Place this autumn and winter,
but in the spring to get him a situation with a foreign broker in
London. His knowledge of English is only from what I have taught him,
and it is necessary that he should learn more to fit him for an office
in England. He is also a raw country lad, and a stay at Hardy Place
will work a change, and prepare him for a wider sphere than a retired
Danish parsonage.
"I am expecting the gardener you have sent over to survey Rosendal and
plan some improvement in the grounds. He has been two days at
Rosendal, and, I fear, has had the usual difficulty of language.
Garth, however, has been with him, to assist his measuring. Pastor
Lindal and his daughter are in a state of alarm at what I am going to
do there. They fear I shall destroy the natural beauty of the place. I
shall soon be home now, and am longing to see your dear kind face
again."
The tobacco parliament, as Hardy always called it, had scarcely began,
when Kirstin announced that there was an Englishman at the door.
"It is the Scotchman, Macdonald, the gardener, my mother has sent over
to see Rosendal," said Hardy. "May he come in and show you his plans?"
"We should like to see them beyond everything," said Froken Helga,
eagerly.
"The difficulty about the place is that the farmyard is at the house,"
said Macdonald. Hardy interpreted.
"We cannot interfere with that now, Macdonald. We must make the best
of it as it is," said Hardy.
"Just what I expected," said Macdonald, unfolding his plans. "There is
the plan of Rosendal as it now is--that is, the house, woods, lake,
and gardens; you must look it all over first, and see if you know the
place, and then you'll be prepared for the next plan. You see,
Mr. Hardy, there is practically little room for alteration. The little
low whitewashed wall round the house can come down, the kitchen garden
made into a shrubbery with walks; the turf is so coarse that you
cannot make anything of it. The kitchen garden can be placed at the
back. The valley of roses can be made into a pretty place, and I
should advise the _Pinus Montana_ being planted, to contrast with its
dark green the roses when in bloom; it will shelter them also. The
little wall being down, the ground can be sloped and planted, as shown
in plan. For the valley of roses I have prepared a large plan."
Hardy interrupted, but seeing the Pastor about to speak, said--
"No, Herr Pastor; we must have Froken Helga's opinion first. She it is
that has so blamed the obstinacy of my conduct in thinking that
Rosendal can be improved. Let her speak; but, first, Macdonald has
more to say."
Macdonald suggested several other changes, which, although small in
themselves, yet in the aggregate made considerable alteration.
"Well, Froken Helga?" said Hardy, after she had seen the plans.
"I think it will make Rosendal perfectly lovely," said Helga, warmly.
"I should not have thought it possible so few simple changes could
effect so much."
"The cost," said the Pastor, "cannot be much either. I heartily
approve of the plans."
"We will come over and see you at Rosendal to-morrow, Macdonald, and
go through the plans on the spot," said Hardy. And after Macdonald had
experienced the hospitality of the Pastor, he left.
"He is a clever man," said the Pastor, referring to Macdonald.
"He is a good man," said Hardy; "but he has been educated to such
work, and consequently he sees things that did not even strike the
quick intelligence of Froken Helga Lindal."
"I have been very foolish and----" said Helga, but stopped and
blushed.
"Not at all," said Hardy. "You had liked Rosendal as it is. It was
very natural that you should have thought any change would be for the
worse."
"Thank you, Herr Hardy," said Helga; but her voice had a softer tone.
"I wish," she added, after a pause, "you would sing to us the German
song you sang once to my father."
Hardy rose at once and did so. He looked round to ask if he should
sing another song, when he saw Helga looking at him as a woman
sometimes looks at the man to whom she has given her heart. Her back
was turned to her father and brothers. Hardy sang the popular
"Folkevise," beginning--
"Det var en Lordag aften
Jeg sad og vented dig
Du loved mig at komme vist
Men kom dog ej til mig."
This song of the people possesses a rare plaintiveness, and describes
how a peasant girl had expected her lover, but he came not, and her
grief at seeing him with a rival. The ballad is touching to a degree,
and the verse--
"Hvor kan man plukker Roser
Hvor ingen Roser groer?
Hvor kan man finde Kjaerlighed
Hvor Kjaerlighed ej boer?"
"Where can one pluck roses
Where no roses grow?
Where can one find affection
Where no affection lives?"
is exquisitely tender. Helga had heard the song often, and sang it
herself, but it had never seemed to possess such a depth of feeling.
Hardy got up from the piano, and saw that Helga's eyes were tearful.
"I thank you, Hardy," said the Pastor. "No man can sing like that
unless his heart is true."
"I am sure of it, father," said Helga. "I never heard anything so
beautiful in my life!"
"But, Hardy, you are going away; and how will you take the piano?"
asked Pastor Lindal.
"If you would allow it to remain with you, Herr Pastor, during the
autumn and winter, I should be much indebted to you," said Hardy. "But
if Froken Helga would accept it as a recollection of a cool and
calculating Englishman, I will give it her with pleasure."
Before the Pastor could reply, his daughter had.
"I will accept it gratefully;" and she rose up and, after the Danish
manner, gave her hand to Hardy, and said, using a Danish expression,
"a thousand thanks."
"Thank you, Hardy, very much," said the Pastor. "You have done us many
kindnesses; but after visiting the poor and the sick in my parish, the
knowledge that I shall hear my daughter's voice, that is so like my
wife's, singing in the winter evenings, will be a comfort to me."
The next day they went to Rosendal, and met Macdonald with his plans.
The being on the spot and understanding what was proposed to be done
was a different thing to seeing the plans at the parsonage. The
reality struck Helga. She was much interested, and Hardy saw that she
understood and entered into everything. There was nothing to suggest
or to alter in Macdonald's plans, and Hardy at once arranged for their
execution. The Danish bailiff was at first obstructive, but Hardy's
quiet, decisive manner changed the position, and gradually it dawned
upon him that the place would be greatly improved, and that the
residence of an English family for part of the year at Rosendal would
not prejudice him.
Karl and Axel had been on the lake trolling, but they had caught
nothing, and came back disappointed to the mansion, and begged Hardy
to fish, if but to catch one pike.
Hardy said he could not leave the Pastor and his daughter while he
went fishing with them.
"We must have a pike for dinner," said the Pastor, "and as the boys
cannot catch one, you must, Hardy."
"May I go in the boat?" asked Helga. "I have never seen Herr Hardy
fish."
"Oh, pike-fishing is nothing," said Karl "It is trout-fishing with a
fly that Herr Hardy does so well."
Hardy got into the boat, and put his gear in order, which had been
disarranged by the boys' efforts to fish. A man accustomed to the lake
rowed it, and Helga stepped into it. She remarked it was wet and
dirty.
"That is the boys' doing," said Hardy, as he pulled off his coat for
her to sit on.
They rowed on the lake, and Hardy cast his trolling-bait with the long
accurate cast habitual to him, and caught four pike, and then directed
the boat to be rowed ashore.
As Froken Helga stepped ashore, where her father and brothers were
waiting for her, she said, "I can understand the boys' enthusiasm for
Herr Hardy; when Lars (the boatman) pointed out a place where a pike
might be, although yards away, the bait was dropped in it and the pike
caught. I wish Herr Hardy would let me see him catch fish on the
Gudenaa with flies."
"We can do that to-morrow evening," said Hardy, "as you cannot get up
at three in the morning, as we are accustomed to do."
"I cannot let little father miss his evening talk with you, Herr
Hardy, and to get up at three in the morning these summer days is no
hardship to me. May I go to-morrow?" asked Helga.
"Certainly, if you wish it," said Hardy.
As they returned home, Karl expressed no wish to ride Buffalo, and
Garth rode it, and Hardy drove his Danish horses.
"I should like to see how you drive; may I come up and sit beside
you?" said Helga.
After they had gone a little way, Hardy said to her, "Take the reins
and drive. I have bought these horses for my mother, and she will
drive them herself, and you can drive them. Draw the reins gently to
the horses' mouths and let them go as you wish them. To slacken speed,
draw the reins firmly but gently, and they will obey."
Helga drove the carriage to the parsonage.
"Little father," said Helga, "I have driven you all the way from the
entrance gate at Rosendal."
"I am glad," said the Pastor, "you did not tell me that before, as I
should have been in great anxiety."
"But Herr Hardy was sitting by me, little father," said Helga, "and
there was no danger when he is near."