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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/30617-8.txt b/30617-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9f4a945 --- /dev/null +++ b/30617-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9101 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Danish Parsonage, by John Fulford Vicary + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Danish Parsonage + +Author: John Fulford Vicary + +Release Date: December 6, 2009 [EBook #30617] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A DANISH PARSONAGE *** + + + + +Produced by Jim Adcock from images obtained from the Internet Archive. + + + + + + + + + A DANISH PARSONAGE + + + + + BY + + AN ANGLER + + + + + LONDON + + + KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH & CO., 1, PATERNOSTER SQUARE + + + 1884 + + + +(The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved.) + + + + + CONTENTS + + CHAPTER I. + +Introductory + + CHAPTER II. + +The Danish Parsonage--Trout fishing on the Gudenaa + + CHAPTER III. + +Rosendal + + CHAPTER IV. + +The Danish Church--The clerical party in Denmark + + CHAPTER V. + +Danish parishioners--The piano--English and Danish horses + + CHAPTER VI. + +Pike, perch, and eel fishing--A silver wedding at a Danish +proprietor's + + CHAPTER VII. + +Danish horse-breeding--A fatal accident + + CHAPTER VIII. + +The superstition of the Huldr--The tradition of Gefion--Of +Churches--The legend of the sunken mansion--Of the boar Limgrim + + CHAPTER IX. + +Kaempehøie or tumuli--Hidden treasure--Ghosts--Spectral +Huntsmen--Witches--Gypsies--The book of Cyprianus--Nissen--Elle folk + + CHAPTER X. + +The purchase of Rosendal--Pike fishing--Karl Lindal rides the English +horse + + CHAPTER XI. + +The legend of the Damhest--The Helhest--The Kirkelam--The +Gravso--Burying alive to propitiate supernatural power--Traditions of +robbers--The Basilisk--The Lindorm--Lygtemænd + + CHAPTER XII. + +Horse racing in Denmark--A horse race + + CHAPTER XIII. + +Trout fishing in hot weather--Danish ladies riding--A practical visit +to Rosendal + + CHAPTER XIV. + +Folketro--Havmænd--Havfruer--The gnome of the elder +tree--Varulv--Marer--Strandvarsler--Kirkegrim + + CHAPTER XV. + +The Pastor and his daughter--The Scotch landscape gardener--Folkeviser + + CHAPTER XVI. + +Trout fishing--The legend of the Aamænd--Changelings--Wise men and +wise women--Dværge--Tyge Brahe--Herr Eske Brok--The family Rosenkrands + + CHAPTER XVII. + +A drive through part of Jutland--Silkeborg--Himmelbjerg Traditions of +Holger Danske--Walling sinners up + + CHAPTER XVIII. + +Horsens--Veile--Legends--The Swedes in Jutland--Hamlet--Abbot Muus--A +found treasure--The priest at Urlev--Koldinghuus + + CHAPTER XIX. + +Holsted--Folke Eventyr--The story of the priest and his clerk--Of the +queen who was walled up seventeen years--Of the Trold and the +boy--Esbjerg + + CHAPTER XX. + +In England--Hardy Place--Mrs. Hardy--Correspondence with Denmark + + CHAPTER XXI. + +Mrs. Hardy visits Denmark--Helga Lindal--The yacht sails for +Copenhagen + + CHAPTER XXII. + +Yachting from Copenhagen to Christiania--Helga Lindal's Birthday + + CHAPTER XXIII. + +Christiania to Aarhus--Pastor Lindal and the yacht--John Hardy's +wedding-day is fixed--The Domkirke at Aarhus--Traditions and legends + + CHAPTER XXIV. + +Pastor Lindal joins the yacht for a cruise amongst the Danish +islands--Samsø and traditions--Endelave and the giantess--Odense and +its historical traditions--Nyborg--King Christian and the monkey--The +ghost of Queen Helvig--Mærkedage--Svendborg--St. Jørgen and the +Lindorm--The murdered lady--Weather days + + CHAPTER XXV. + +Vordingborg--Mariebo and traditions--Legend of Borre +Island--Phanefjord and Grønsund--Legends of Phane and Grøn--The +pilgrim stone--Drive to Møen's Klint--The Underjordiske--Margrethe +Skælvig's wedding-dress--The twenty pigs and Gamle +Erik--Præstø--Stevn's Klint--Hoierup--The termination "rup" +explained--Copenhagen to Aarhus + + CHAPTER XXVI. + +Pastor Lindal's views as to his parish--His daughter's as to her +wedding-dress--The marriage--John Hardy and his wife's arrival at +Hardy Place--With the Pastor--A daughter-in-law's duty--Pastor +Lindal's strong opinions on the English church system-- + + + + ARGUMENT + +The Viking, _tenax propositi_, if he planned an expedition, carried it +out, through all obstacles, or died in the attempt. + +The descendants, softened in manner and cast of thought by centuries +of time, retain the same singleness of purpose. + +There is no other thought of the duty of life except to do it. If self +has to be sacrificed, it is done without reserve. + +The result is that there are men and women who are the reflection of +duty, and although this occurs in all lands, yet nowhere does it exist +in greater purity than in the descendants of the Viking. + + + + + A DANISH PARSONAGE + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + + "_Piscator_. Oh, sir! doubt not but that Angling is + an art. Is it not an art to deceive a Trout with an artificial + fly?--a Trout that is more sharp-sighted than any Hawk you + have named, and more watchful and timorous than your + high-mettled Merlin is bold. And yet I doubt not to catch a + brace or two to-morrow for a friend's breakfast." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +John Hardy had lived with his mother at Hardy Place. His father had +died when he was six years of age, and there was consequently a long +minority of fifteen years. The greatest influence in John Hardy's life +was a trout stream that ran winding through an English landscape for +four miles in the Hardys' property. John Hardy fished it as a +schoolboy, and it was the greatest triumph he experienced as a lad, to +catch more trout in it with a fly than the numerous fly-fishers to +whom Mrs. Hardy's kindness gave permission. When college days came, +John Hardy, ever intent on fishing, went to Norway in the vacation +with the checkered result of getting an occasional salmon, and in the +smaller streams on the fjelds a quantity of small trout. The grand +scenery in the fjords, and the kindly nature of the people, led John +Hardy to more remote districts, where sport was better, the fare and +quarters worse, but some acquisition of Scandinavian language a +necessity. + +Thus John Hardy not only gradually acquired a knowledge of many +dialects in Scandinavia, but the ability to read and understand the +simpler books in the language. He travelled and fished through Norway +and Sweden, and by degrees learnt, from the necessity of speaking it, +more and more of the Danish language, the language of Scandinavia, as +English relatively is to broad Scotch. This naturally led to his going +to Denmark, and his travelling through Jutland and the Danish islands. +In Jutland he accidentally fished in a West Jutland river, and to his +surprise found the difficult but good fishing that his heart longed +for. + +John Hardy returned home, and was at Hardy Place with his mother the +whole winter, and then, as April came round with the fishing season, +John became restless, and told his mother of his Danish fishing +experiences, and left for Copenhagen. His mother said, "Write me once +a week, John, and bring me home a Scandinavian princess for your +wife." John Hardy promised to write, but said he thought Scandinavian +princesses did not rise to a fly. His mother's face grew grave, and +she said, "You should marry soon, John; you are twenty-eight, and I +want to see you married to a wife to whom you can trust Hardy Place +and the care of your mother in her old age." + +"I can find no one yet, dear mother," said John Hardy. "I cannot bear +you should have any one at Hardy Place you did not only like but +love." + +"Bless you, John," said his mother. "I trust in your love; and I know +some men are such gentlemen, and so was your father, and so are you, +John." + +So Hardy left for Copenhagen by the English steamer from Hull to St. +Petersburg, and was landed in the pilot-boat at Elsinore, and went +thence by rail to Copenhagen. On the journey John Hardy thought that +his best course was to get lodgings with a respectable family in +Jutland near the Gudenaa, the little river that embouches in the +Randers fjord and flows through part of Jutland, and is the principal +river in it. + +John Hardy had taken from his bankers introductions to persons in +Copenhagen, to whom he had communicated his wishes. The result was an +advertisement in the _Berlinske Tidende_ that an Englishman required +lodgings near the Gudenaa, with an opportunity of being taught the +Danish language. The replies were many and of a very varied character, +as might be anticipated from such an advertisement. + +But John Hardy received a reply from a Danish clergyman in Jutland, +which struck his fancy beyond the rest. It was as follows:-- + +"In reply to the advertisement in the _Berlinske Tidende_ of +yesterday's date, I beg to offer lodgings in my house. It is a small +parsonage in Jutland, and the Gudenaa is near. There is a towing-path +on the banks, and where such exists the fishing is free, consequently +no difficulty will arise as to permission to fish. The fishing is not +particularly good, and if great anticipations exist on this score, I +must say that they will not, in my opinion, be realized. Small fish on +which the trout feed are abundant, as also the cadis worm and fly, and +the trout do not take readily an artificial bait, either fly or +minnow. I cannot, therefore, say that I think many trout can be +caught. There is also much fishing with small nets. I can, however, +teach Danish to an Englishman, although my knowledge of English is +imperfect; but on the other hand, if the advertiser will teach my two +sons, of sixteen and fourteen years of age, English, I should require +no payment from him. I am a widower, with a daughter and the two sons +already named. I can only add that he would be received kindly, and +treated as a member of my family." + +The straightforwardness of this communication had its effect on John +Hardy's open character, and he replied that he would accept the +conditions stipulated, but that he could do so only on a payment of a +monthly sum, which he was advised in Copenhagen was a full +compensation, and rather more than would be expected, for the +accommodation and cost that might be incurred by the Danish Pastor. + +The reply from the Jutland parsonage was: "The evident consideration +shown by your answer to my letter should be sufficient, but before you +come here will you kindly give me references in Copenhagen, or, if +that be difficult, in England, where I might make inquiry. I am the +Pastor of the parish where I reside, and it is due to my position that +I should make inquiry before I can admit any one to my house under any +circumstances. I do not wish to ask what is not right or reasonable, +but as I am situated it is a necessity, however advantageous your +coming here might be to me." + +This reply impressed John Hardy more than the previous communication, +and he replied with the address of a bank in Copenhagen, with +reference to his own bankers in London, for which John Hardy had to +wait a week in Copenhagen. These replies were to the effect that John +Hardy was a gentleman of position and character in England, and that +any amount that might be incurred by him for expenses in Denmark would +at once be paid by the Danish bank. + +John Hardy, it must be confessed, would rather have been fishing in +the Gudenaa than waiting for references that would show he was to be +trusted in a Danish household; but he was assured in Copenhagen that +in Jutland an introduction is not only necessary, but that it should +be supported by references, which when once done in a satisfactory +manner, then the natural kindness of the Jutland people would be open +to him. John Hardy's later experiences led him to recognize how true +the advice he received in Copenhagen was in this respect. + +He left Copenhagen by the steamer for Aarhus, and went by rail to a +small station on the railway, where the Pastor met him with a +two-horse vehicle, that made the small distance of eight English miles +a journey of nearly three hours. The Pastor was a man of fifty, with a +fresh complexion and a kindly face, and asked many questions of John +Hardy's family and friends, his position in England, his age, the +income from his landed property, and his views and intentions in life. + +John Hardy had, however, heard he must expect this, and answered +simply and frankly. + +When at length the little Danish parsonage was reached, with its +whitewashed garden wall, with poplar trees and lilac bushes, John +Hardy felt it was a relief to escape the close cross-examination to +which he had been so long subjected, and to see the Pastor's two boys +running out with eager curiosity to inspect the Englishman, and assist +in taking his luggage to the room apportioned to him. + +"We shall have dinner shortly," said the Pastor. "Helga is not here to +meet us, and that is a sign that we shall not wait long. Karl and Axel +will show you your room and bring anything you may want, and help you +to unpack your portmanteaus." + +John Hardy went to his room--a room with little furniture, but adapted +as a sitting-room or bedroom. The two boys, with the desire that all +boys have to be useful to a guest, assisted in undoing his luggage, +and John Hardy was soon ready to follow them to the little dining-room +of the parsonage. + +The table was laid with a little bunch of wild flowers and grasses +here and there, but with little else. The Pastor received Hardy in a +more friendly manner than he had exhibited before, and his daughter +Helga appeared from a door leading from the kitchen, and was +introduced by her father. John Hardy saw a tall woman of twenty, with +fair hair and violet eyes, and bowed. The dinner was borne in by two +women-servants, and Helga signed to John Hardy where he should sit. + +There was little conversation at dinner. John Hardy, for his part, was +hungry, and also knew little Danish; but gradually, as the more +substantial dishes disappeared, conversation arose, and John Hardy +turned its direction to the fishing in the Gudenaa. + +"Your frank letters to me," said Hardy, "would not lead me to expect +much; but there are trout in the Gudenaa, and it might be that a few +might be caught." + +"You will not catch them with a fly, after the English fashion," said +Karl. "An Englishman that came from Randers has been here, and he +caught three only in a whole day." + +"I fear Karl is right," said the Pastor. "There is such an abundance +of fish-food in the Gudenaa, that a means of catching them that leaves +no option to the fish is apparently the only successful method." + +"That is the very position that interests me," replied Hardy. "The +difficulty is the only pleasure in the sport." + +"They fish with the lines set at night, baited with a small fish, and +catch, not only trout, but eels," said Karl. "You might try that. But +they do not catch many." + +Helga had brought her father a large porcelain pipe with a long stem, +and the Pastor was smoking slowly and vigorously. Coffee was brought +in, and Helga offered Hardy a large pipe like her father's. This he +declined. + +"Do you not smoke?" said the Pastor. + +"Yes," replied Hardy; "but we are not accustomed to do so in a lady's +presence in England; and what an English gentleman would do in England +he should do in Denmark." + +"Good," said the Pastor, "very good. But it is our custom to smoke. +The practice is habitual with us. Helga, will you speak?" + +"I should be sorry you did not smoke, Herr Hardy," said Helga. "My +father likes to have some one smoking at the same time. It will be a +comfort to him." + +So John lit a cigar with some misgiving; and he sent Karl up to his +room for a courier-bag, in which he had some fishing-books with +trout-flies. Karl and Axel looked at the English trout-flies with +interest. + +"Those feathered things," said Karl, "I have seen used, but they only +catch small trout, and now and then a bleak. I have seen Englishmen +use them here from Randers." + +John Hardy selected three flies and put them on a casting-line, and +wound it round his hat, and he said, "Now, will you two boys go with +me to fish at six o'clock to-morrow morning?" + +"Yes, that will we," said Karl. "Kirstin will call us, and will have +coffee ready an hour earlier than usual, if you wish it." + +"Am I disturbing your house, Herr Pastor," said Hardy, "by suggesting +this to your boys?" + +"By no means," said the Pastor. "It is now Thursday, and we shall not +expect you to begin to teach them English until Monday, and the boys +can have a free time until then. We have breakfast at ten to eleven, +and you would have time to fish a little; and Kirstin will give you +some bread and butter and coffee at six." + +"There is nothing unusual in this, Herr Hardy," said Frøken Helga, in +reply to a look of surprise from Hardy. "It will put us to no +inconvenience." + +"That may be," said the Pastor; "but I think you should clearly +understand that you are not likely to catch any trout." + +"That," said Hardy, "we must leave to the trout to decide." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + "_Piscator._ Good morrow, sir! What, up and dressed + so early! + "_Viator._ Yes, sir. I have been dressed this half hour, for I + rested so well and have so great a mind either to take or to + see a trout taken in your fine river that I could no longer + lie a-bed. + "_Piscator._ I am glad to see you so brisk this morning and so + eager of sport, though I must tell you, this day proves so + calm, and the sun rises so bright, as promises no great + success to the angler; but however, we will try, and one way + or the other, we shall sure do something." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +Kirstin, the elder of Pastor Karl Lindar's women servants, was about +forty-five--a large-framed woman with a hard face. She possessed, in +common with the Jutland lower class, a shrewd sense, yet highly +suspicious, but at the bottom strong good nature. She had been with +Pastor Lindal more than twenty years, and her devotion to him and his +was complete. At all times she gave her advice, whether asked or +unasked, on every topic, and materially assisted in economizing the +pastor's narrow income. Her work was done with the exactitude of a +clock, neat and precise; and if the work in the house was by any cause +increased, she rose earlier and went to bed later, rejoicing in her +capacity for work and usefulness. The influence her steady character +had in the house was great, and on the Pastor's daughter, Frøken +Helga's leaving an educational institution at Copenhagen, Kirstin's +strict sense of duty created an impression that Frøken Helga never +lost. She awoke to the fact of what her duty was--that it was to her +father and his home. Kirstin's manner was not kindly, and she could +give sharp answers, but the woman's kindly nature often showed itself +in a strong light. Outside the Pastor's house she was respected and +liked, and always went by the name of Præsten's Kirstin. + +At half-past five the morning of the day after John Hardy's arrival at +the parsonage, Kirstin knocked at the door of his room, and brought in +the accustomed coffee and its belongings. + +John Hardy was dressed, as he was always an early riser, and was +attaching two large Irish lake trout flies to a stronger casting line +than he had selected the night before. + +"Morn," said Kirstin. "I tell the gentleman that Karl and Axel have +had coffee. Has the gentleman anything to command?" + +"Tell them I am ready to go fishing," said Hardy; "but if we catch any +trout and the trout are in the kitchen by ten o'clock, can we have +them cooked for breakfast?" + +"If the gentleman's fish are there, the frying-pan is ready," replied +Kirstin; "but the Herr Pastor would not wish the gentleman to be +without a breakfast." + +It was clear Kirstin doubted a trout breakfast's possibility. John +Hardy began to doubt too; but he took his fishing-rod, a light +sixteen-foot fly rod, and called the two boys, who rushed into his +room eager to a degree. + +"Herr Hardy," said Axel, "they all say you will catch nothing--do you +think you will?" + +The anxiety in the boy's face amused Hardy, who gave him the +fishing-bag to carry, and his brother Karl the landing-net. + +John Hardy went to the bridge close to the parsonage, and looked up +the river. The country was flat, chiefly arable land, with meadows +here and there of coarse grass. The river had a peaty colour, and +resembled in its flow some portions of the Thames. + +"Do you know where the deepest water is up the river, boys?" inquired +Hardy. + +"Up by the tile works," said the boys both at once, "and above that it +is not deep." + +Hardy walked up the towing-path, keeping his eye on the river, but not +a trout moved. He saw the abundance of bleak and smaller fish, and it +occurred to him that it was easy to account for the non-success of the +fly-fishers in the Gudenaa. The fish would not be often feeding, as +trout food existed in such quantity; and besides, to a voracious trout +a plump little fish was more acceptable than an ephemera. If there +were any fish feeding they would be in the shallows. + +Hardy tried small trout flies, but without success; not a fish moved, +and the boys' faces had a disappointed look. He changed his casting +line for the one with the Irish lake trout flies, and was soon fast in +a trout. This Karl, in his excitement to get into the landing-net, +nearly lost, but Hardy let the fish have line, and then drew it again +within reach of the landing-net. This fish was full of food, and +corroborated the Pastor's statement. The trout resembles the Hampshire +trout, but the colours were more brightly painted. Hardy fished +steadily for two hours, with the result of landing eight trout +averaging a pound each, to the boys' intense delight. Kirstin and +their father had both doubted Hardy, but there were the fish and could +be cooked for breakfast. The boys never doubted Hardy after. + +"Axel, little man," said John Hardy, "run to the kitchen with the +fish, and tell Kirstin that the Englishman wants to know if the +frying-pan is ready." + +Axel was off like a hare. + +When Karl and Hardy reached the parsonage, the Pastor was at the door. +"I see no fish," said he, "and I am glad I did not lead you to expect +any success in that direction." + +"We have not been very successful," said Hardy, quietly taking down +his rod. "A knowledge of the habits of the fish in different rivers, +and a knowledge of the rivers is necessary, and this an intimate +acquaintance only gives." + +"Yes, but, father," put in Kari, "Herr Hardy has caught a lot; he +would not let us keep the small ones, but kept eight of the biggest. +Axel has ran on with them. Kirstin told me the frying-pan would be +ready, but not the gentleman's fish." + +When John Hardy was called to breakfast--a Danish breakfast +corresponds much to an early English lunch--he found Karl and Axel's +tongues wagging like a dog's tail at dinner-time, they were so full of +the fishing. They had caught a few roach in the river, and about once +in a moon a trout, and John Hardy's completer knowledge had impressed +them. Hardy bowed to Frøken Helga, and would have shaken hands, but +she pointed to a seat, and Hardy sat down. The Pastor said grace, and +attacked the trout with much appreciation of their merits. + +"We tried to cast a line out, father, with Herr Hardy's rod," said +Axel, "but could not, the line fell all of a heap, while Herr Hardy +threw it a long way; it hovered over the water for a second, and fell +slowly on the water. The flies appeared like live insects." + +"You know, father," put in Karl, "the wider shallow in the river above +the tile works? I saw a trout rise there, and pointed it out to Herr +Hardy, He watched it, and when the trout rose again he walked straight +into the river and caught it by a long cast. It was the biggest fish." + +"I have undertaken to teach you two boys English," said Hardy; "and if +you will try and learn, I will teach you how to fish and give you rods +and flies as well." + +"A thousand thanks, Herr Hardy," said Karl and Axel, with delight. + +"You have already prepared the way for performing your part of our +contract, Herr Hardy," said the Pastor; "I can only hope I shall +execute mine so well. With the boys' hearts in the work the rest is +easy;" and Pastor Lindal regarded his manly and self-possessed guest +with interest. + +John Hardy could now in the full light of a day in May consider Pastor +Lindal; his age was apparently over fifty, his features were clear cut +and handsome, his eyes blue, and his hair had been a light-brown. +There was an impression of probity about him that struck Hardy +forcibly. His manner was a trifle awkward to Hardy's notion, but it +was kindly. His daughter Helga was like her father. Her complexion was +clear and her voice musical. Her manner was, Hardy thought, not +refined. It was simple and straightforward, and to John Hardy she +appeared to want the ladylike tone of an English lady. The two boys +Karl and Axel were like English lads of the same age, frank and open, +and Hardy liked them. + +The Pastor had his pipe in full glow--his daughter had filled it--and +Hardy, taught by his experience of the previous evening, lit a cigar. +The Pastor said that he had his duties to attend to, and some of his +parish children as he called them to visit, and that his daughter +Helga had also her visits to make. Hardy replied that he should write +to his mother and some business letters, and if dinner was at four, as +the Pastor had intimated, that he should like to fish in the evening, +to relieve Kirstin's doubts as to whether the frying-pan would be +wanted for breakfast on the morrow by catching some trout the night +before. + +"And you will take us, Herr Hardy?" said Karl and Axel with some +anxiety. + +"Come to my room at three," said Hardy; "I will begin to teach you how +to fish. I have a lighter fly rod, and we will prepare the tackle." + +After dinner John Hardy and the boys went to the river. Hardy had a +sixteen-foot minnow rod, and put up a twelve-foot fly rod for the +boys, and showed them how to cast it. They took it in turns, and Karl +caught a trout. Hardy waded the shallows, fishing with a minnow, and +the trout for an hour were on the feed. The largest trout he caught +was over three pounds, and seventeen weighed nineteen pounds, by +Hardy's English spring balance. + +John Hardy changed his clothes and came down to the room occupied by +Pastor Lindal and his family as a sitting-room, and found Frøken Helga +playing on an old piano to the Pastor, who was smoking in his easy +chair. She at once ceased. + +"We have caught more and larger fish, Herr Pastor," said Hardy; "the +fishing in the Gudenaa is good, and any doubt as to there being trout +for breakfast, and, if you wish, dinner, to-morrow, is at an end." + +"You English are a thorough people," said the Pastor; "whether it be +sport or business, science or skill, you are to the front." + +"Our faith is that we owe it to our Danish ancestors," said Hardy; +"the hard tenacity of the Vikings is what we admire most in history." + +"My faith is that it is the free and independent spirit of your +institutions for ages," replied the Pastor. "You now enjoy the changes +wrought by Cromwell, for which the English people then were ripe. But +do light your cigar, and hear a suggestion I have to make for +to-morrow. There is an old Danish place near here, called Rosendal. +Its special beauty is the idyllic landscape of beech trees, a lake, +and a valley where they grow such roses as will resist our Danish +climate. The house is an old house, but has been restored by +successive owners. The place is visited by people far and near. It is +thoroughly Danish, and especially Jydsk (Jutlandsk). It is only two +English miles from here, and my daughter Helga's only enthusiasm is +Rosendal. She will go with you, with Karl and Axel. Is the walk too +far?" + +"No, certainly not," said Hardy; "do we go before breakfast or after?" + +"Helga, order breakfast earlier," said the Pastor. + +"Yes, father," said Frøken Helga; "but is it necessary for me to go to +Rosendal, the boys can show Herr Hardy the way?" + +"You always like to go there and enjoy it," said her father. "You have +been in the house some days preparing to receive Herr Hardy, and the +walk will do you good. Go by all means." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + "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 Frøken Helga has an +enthusiasm for Rosendal. I fear I shall be interested thereby, as she +goes with us." + +Hardy looked at Frøken 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. + +Frøken 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, Frøken 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 Frøken 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 Frøken 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, Frøken 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 Frøken +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 £1 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, +"_Prokuratør._" + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + + "Many a one + Owes to his country his religion, + And in another, would as strongly grow + Had but his mother or his nurse taught him so." + _The Complete Angler._ + + +The church at Vandstrup lay on rising ground from the river. It was +white-washed, covered with red tiles, and surrounded by a white-washed +wall enclosing God's acre, in which so many slept the last long sleep. +There were a few poplars planted close to the church-yard wall, and a +few weather-beaten ash trees, with a single dwarfed weeping willow +over a grave. On Sunday, John Hardy watched with interest the +church-going people collecting by the church gate. The men in dark +Wadmel jackets with bright buttons, and the women with red ribands +bound on their caps and knitted sleeves. The women left their wooden +shoes in the dry ditch by the roadside, and put on leather shoes, and +waited for the Pastor's arrival. Accuracy of time was not expected, +and only when the Pastor appeared did the men throng into the church +on one side and the women on the other. The interior of the church was +simple to a degree. John Hardy with Karl and Axel sat on the men's +side, and Frøken Helga and Kirstin on the other. The service was +similar to that of the English Protestant service, although relics of +what would be now called Romanism remained. There were candles on the +altar, and the Pastor chanted some portion of the service. John Hardy +longed for the sermon. The thorough honest feeling exhibited by the +Pastor's character in his home, with his evident refinement and +education, had excited his curiosity as to what the sermon would be. + +The text of the sermon was from the fifth chapter of St. Matthew, part +of ver. 42: "Give to him that asketh thee!" + +"When a man comes and asks anything of you, what should you give? The +best thing is sympathy and love; material gifts he may want, but these +kindliness will dictate, and kindliness is the real gold of life. If +no power exists to give what is necessary to assist your neighbour in +a material sense, yet to your ability give; and if you give at all, +give kindly. Those of you who want not material things, yet may want +kind sympathy when God smiteth with sorrow. Recollect, then, that that +is the time for kindliness to be proved that is golden." + +This was the epitome of the sermon, and John Hardy could not hear a +sound in the church, so intently was it listened to. + +"I could understand your sermon, Herr Pastor," said Hardy; "it was +preached in such simple Danish, and I liked it. But what interested me +was the earnestness with which you were listened to: every word was +heard by every one of your congregation, and I could see felt." + +"It was not always so," said Pastor Lindal. "I have won the sympathy +and friendship of the children of my parish by years of work amongst +them. The character of the Jutland people is suspicious--there is a +strange mixture of shrewdness and stolidity; they are slow to +appreciate, but when once their sympathy is won, they are fast +friends. It is impossible for a sermon to have any effect without you +have won their friendship on other days than Sundays." + +John Hardy said nothing, but he thought that the application was true +to other lands than Denmark, particularly England. + +The Pastor had to perform another service at an Annex Kirke (a +subsidiary church), and left after a short meal to do so. Frøken Helga +went to her room, and Karl and Axel implored Hardy to go fishing; but +he refused. "It is not right to do so," he said; "we have to keep the +Sunday, and fishing is not keeping the Sunday." + +"But everybody does here, and more than, other days," said Karl. + +"That may be," said Hardy; "but I cannot do what I do not think is +right." + +Kirstin was present and heard this conversation, and it met her +evident approval. She told the boys that the Englishman must not be +teased on a Sunday, that he might wish to read his Bible, and that he +must not be disturbed. The boys left the room in bad humour. + +"Kirstin," said Hardy, "my being here will, I dare say, give you more +trouble, and I wish to recognize it. I am an Englishman accustomed to +many servants, and may be careless of what trouble I give. You must +not judge me by what is the custom in Denmark. Here is forty kroner; +will you kindly give what you think fit to others in the house, and +keep the rest yourself?" + +"No," said Kirstin, "I will have no money. Herr Pastor says you will +pay for your stay here by teaching, and it rests with him; also it is +too much." + +Hardy had to pocket his money again with a dissatisfied look, but +Kirstin understood him; and his face, on which nature had written +"gentleman," and which she had closely observed since Hardy's arrival, +appealed to her. + +"I have seen the gentleman," said Kirstin, "look at Frøken Helga, and +I will tell the gentleman something that may serve him. Frøken Helga +can never marry. Her duty is to her father and her brothers, and she +knows and feels that." + +John Hardy was not in love with Frøken Helga; but yet this simple +Jutland peasant had divined what might occur, and had forewarned him. +The explanation of Helga's conduct towards him was clear. He saw that +she daily visited the people in the parish, and told the Pastor what +was necessary to tell him, and that her usefulness in the parsonage +and in every corner of it was a want that she filled. Kirstin +understood all this, and saw that it could not be interrupted without +a breach of duty. + +John Hardy went to his room, and did not come out of it until they +were all assembled that Sunday evening in the little dining-room. + +The Pastor was tired, but very conversational; and when his great +porcelain pipe had been filled as usual by Helga with Kanaster, he +said, "I was struck by your evident interest in our service; but I was +pleased to hear that you refused to go fishing with Karl and Axel, +because the sabbath should be kept. Now, we have not that view, +although it is the best view; and I say frankly that if you had taken +the boys fishing, I should have not objected; but you said you felt it +was not right, and I honour the thought. There is with us in Denmark a +strong feeling against the Established Church, and a political +question arose some years ago which will well illustrate it. On the +7th of January, 1868, a bill was brought before our Lower House of +Parliament as to military service, and the question was raised whether +theological candidates should be eligible for military service. The +issue was raised in the Lower House of Representatives and fought +there. It then passed into the Higher House of Representatives, and +was fought there. The strife was long and intensely bitter, the +greater part of the population of Denmark becoming partisans for or +partisans against the clerical party. After the fight in the Higher +House, it was again referred to the Lower, and refought there, and so +again to the Higher House, with two interludes of appeals to the +country. The clerical party described the position of the clergy in a +florid style. They declaimed that poets and painters had represented +the life of a Danish priest as a beautiful idyl, each scene in +relative harmony with surrounding nature, whose heart is not touched +as wandering in the path-fields he hears the bells of the country +church ringing in the morning of the sabbath. How lovely is the little +white church, with its red roof and quaint gables, amidst its woods +and meadows! The little parsonage standing in its own garden, with a +little belt of trees close to the church, while around it flock the +little country houses, as a hen gathers her chickens. Nothing is more +exquisite than the perfect affection and peace that exists between the +country clergyman and his congregation. He is the teacher of the +young, the comforter of the old, in each house a welcome guest, and +the estimation in which his holy calling is held invests him with +respect. In spiritual need or worldly care every one of his +congregation hasten to their minister. He is the curer of souls, +adviser, father, friend. The homes of his flock are his own, and it is +his pride to confer happiness and promote contentment." + +"That is a bright picture," said Hardy. + +"Yes," said Pastor Lindal; "but the opposite party drew another, which +attracted many partisans. They said his reverence has a good time of +it. He has a house which is better than a Danish farmer's, and a farm +which is just as good. He has horses, cows, pigs, sheep, and poultry. +He has, moreover, tithes and dues of many kinds; and besides these, it +is necessary to stick a dollar in his fist whenever one must make use +of him. Whilst the Danish farmer has to sweat behind his plough, the +clergyman sits at his ease smoking his pipe in his study, and has +nothing more to do than to preach on a Sunday, and to hear the +children read once a week. Everything that is congenial to the taste +of the Danish farmer, the clergyman turns up his nose at. He abuses +the leaders of the people, and only reads conservative newspapers, and +on election days he votes against all his parish. The farmer maintains +and pays him, but his conviction is that he is better than any farmer. +What, therefore, can be more stiff-necked of him than to refuse to +serve his country with his own, reverend person? Off with his black +coat and clap on a red, and let the corporal teach him. He is a +learned fellow, but, doubtless, stupid at drill." + +"That last," said Hardy, "is a reference to Holberg's play of 'Erasmus +Montanus.'" + +"Yes," said Pastor Lindal; "and it amused the country. But they got +hold of another idea, and tore it to shreds: they said if the flock +goes to war, the shepherd should not be absent. The result, however, +was that theological candidates are liable to military service, and it +makes a difference of possibly twenty men yearly. It, however, proves +one thing, and that is, the Lower House had got hold of the clerical +gown, and were determined, with bull-dog tenacity, to rend it." + +"A similar question in England," said Hardy, "would have produced the +same result." + +"That I can well believe," said the Pastor; "but with you a +congregation can be sold to the highest bidder, and is. There is no +thought in England of adjusting the payment for church work to the +work done, and so long as this exists it is a dangerous feature." + +"Without doubt," said Hardy. + +Before going to bed, Hardy said to Frøken Helga, "Good night," as he +had done on previous nights, without more than a bow; but to his +surprise she held out her hand, and said-- + +"Thank you, Herr Hardy; I have rarely seen my father so interested to +talk with any one, and it is kind of you to interest him." + +"It is the contrary, Frøken Helga; he interests me," said Hardy. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + + "Hunting trains up the younger nobility to the use + of manly exercises in their riper age." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +To John Hardy the days passed pleasantly at the little Danish +parsonage. He taught the boys English a short time daily, and their +bright faces and strong desire to learn made Hardy interested in their +progress. If they were inclined to be inattentive, which was rare, the +hint that he should not take them with him fishing secured earnest and +immediate attention. The Pastor saw that the boys made progress in +learning English with Hardy, and he himself taught them several hours +daily, or, if he were absent, he set them work to do, and his daughter +Helga sat in the room until the Pastor returned. + +Hardy accompanied him in his visits to his Sognebørn (literally, +parish children), and he gradually became acquainted with the Danish +farmers, and was known in the parish as Præsten's Englænder, or the +parson's Englishman. He was amused by the habits of many of the men, +in treating him as if he was a harmless idiot, to be humoured and +always answered in the affirmative. Stories were told him of how in +some parts of the river there were trout et Par Alen long (about four +feet), but to amuse the idiot for the moment. + +The peculiarity of knickerbockers received much consideration, and it +was a frequent question if Hardy adopted that dress for a sickness in +his legs. Hardy's knowledge of farming and the management of cattle, +particularly horses, was an unfailing source of conversation. There +are many good horses bred in Jutland for sale in England, Germany, and +Sweden. The original breed appeared to Hardy to be either Hungarian or +Polish. These horses are well adapted for light carriage work; and +many a horse foaled on a Jutland farm has been in a London carriage, +to the considerable profit of the importer. + +The evenings at the parsonage passed in conversation with the Pastor, +who held a sort of tobacco parliament. Hardy was a good listener, and +was anxious to perfect himself in the Danish language. Frøken Helga +knitted and listened. The boys learned lessons or played games. The +Pastor liked to hear his daughter sing; but it would be doing that +worthy man strong injustice to say he liked the piano, which was very +old and worse than worthless. It was to Hardy's ear torture to hear it +in contrast with Frøken Helga's clear voice. At last he could stand it +no longer, and the matter came to a crisis. + +"Herr Pastor," said Hardy, "when at the exhibition of Copenhagen, of +your national industry, I was much struck by the tone of a piano by a +Copenhagen maker, and I have ordered one, and I shall be much indebted +to you if you will allow it to be sent here until I return to +England." + +"There will be much extra expense attached to that plan," replied the +Pastor, "and, besides, it might get injured here." + +"Those considerations I am fully prepared for," said Hardy; "but if I +may take the leaf from my mouth, as you Danes say, or speak plainly, +your piano is worn out, and is spoiling Frøken Helga's ear and taste +for music. Her voice is excellent, and rings as clearly as a silver +bell; but then the jingle of the piano is like the toothache." + +"We are all accustomed to it," said the Pastor; "but I only hear +Helga's voice." + +So the piano appeared, and a man to tune it, and Frøken Helga played +it. The tone was good, and the Pastor listened to the old Danish songs +he had heard so many times with delight. + +One evening Helga had to make a visit to a sick woman, and the Pastor +puffed away at his teacup of a pipe, with longer puffs than usual. +Hardy saw there was something in the way, and at last it struck him +that he missed his daughter's song. He had once told Hardy that her +voice was like her mother's. + +Hardy sat down to the piano, and played and sang an English ballad, +and then another. He then sang a plaintive German song, with a manly +pathos and taste, that showed the well-bred gentleman he was. + +The Pastor applauded loudly, and Hardy turned round, and, lo! there +was Frøken Helga, with a look on her face that Hardy never forgot, so +intense was her surprise. + +"Helga," said her father, "go and thank Herr Hardy for his singing to +me instead of you; he saw I missed you, my child, and he sang to +divert me." + +"A thousand thanks!" said Helga, using a common Danish expression. "I +never heard so beautiful a song! But why did you not tell us that you +could play and sing before?" + +"Because I preferred Frøken Helga's voice to that of Præsten's +Englænder," said Hardy. + +Nothing would induce Frøken Helga to sing that evening; her father +almost commanded her, but she would not. At last she said, "I cannot, +father; Herr Hardy sings too well." + +This speech was not forgotten for a long time, and Karl and Axel +teased their sister with perpetual questions as to whether they or she +was not doing something or other too well. If Karl caught no trout, he +explained to his sister that he was afraid of fishing too well. If +Axel had dirty hands, his explanation was that he was afraid of +washing them too well. + +John Hardy had visited the Gudenaa within walking distance, or boating +distance, and he wished to make longer expeditions from the parsonage. +He inspected several of the farms near, and at last arranged with +farmer Niels Jacobsen to rent stabling for three horses. He then wrote +the following letter, addressed to a groom at Hardy Place:-- + +"Robert Garth, + +"I want you to bring Buffalo to me in Denmark. The horse is to be +taken to Harwich, and thence on board the steamer for Esbjerg. The +steamers are fitted up with stables for horses, and there will be no +difficulty. When you come to Esbjerg, take train to Horsens, where I +will meet you. A telegram must be sent me to Vandstrup Præstegaard, to +say when you will arrive at Horsens. Bring two hunting saddles and +bridles, and some of the snaffle bits that I like. + +"Show this letter to the steward, and he will let you have what money +he thinks is necessary for your journey. + +"Yours truly, + +"John Hardy." + +In little more than a week, Buffalo and Robert Garth were in Niels +Jacobsen's stables. + +Buffalo was a good English-bred horse, a good jumper, with a chest +like a wall, and hind-quarters up to weight. Niels Jacobsen and his +neighbours had collected and criticized. + +"Gild bevars! sikken en Hest!" ["God preserve us, what a horse!"] said +Niels, sucking away at his pipe, with a chorus echoing the same words +from his neighbours. There was no doubt of their approval, and Buffalo +had a succession of visitors and admirers for days. + +Hardy had communicated to Pastor Lindal that he intended to have one +of his horses and a groom from England, and had great difficulty in +preventing the Pastor turning out his own small stable to make room +for Buffalo; but this Hardy would not allow. Robert Garth lodged at +Jacobsen's, and Hardy, with that thoughtfulness he always had for +those about him, arranged for his man's meals and sleeping quarters as +nearly as possible to an English groom's notions. + +"Well, Bob," said Hardy, "you will shake down after a bit; but what I +want you to do is, to help me to pick out a pair of light carriage +horses from here. I have seen a lot, and you will have plenty to +choose from. They will suit my mother, and I wish to take them over as +a present to her." + +"I have seen some of them Danish horses," said Robert Garth, "and not +half bad horses either; but it is the infernal lingo. They keep +smoking them big wood pipes, and when they don't smoke they chews, and +then they spits." + +"Where did you see any Danish horses?" asked Hardy. + +"At Sir Charles'; he had a pair, hardly up to fifteen hands, but very +pretty steppers, with a thinish mane, a trifle small below the knee," +said Garth. + +"That's the very thing," said Hardy. + +As soon as it was known that the priest's Englishman wanted to buy two +Jutland horses, plenty offered; and Karl and Axel were intensely +interested in the trial of the horses, which went on in a rough piece +of land close to the parsonage. + +When the horses were brought up, Hardy mounted one, and Robert Garth +criticized. Hardy put the horse through its paces, and if his judgment +was not favourable, it was declined; but if doubtful. Garth rode it, +and Hardy looked on. A couple of horses were thus selected, and both +had Robert Garth's unqualified approval. + +"They are both as handsome as paint, and as sound as bells," said +Garth. + +"Are you a horse-dealer?" asked Pastor Lindal, of Hardy, one evening. + +"No, certainly not," replied Hardy. + +"You have shown every qualification for it," said the Pastor. + +"Possibly," said Hardy. "I see I have done this also too well. I only +wanted the horses for my mother's carriage. She likes an open light +carriage, and it is difficult to procure really good horses in England +of a suitable size. The horses I have bought will suit her exactly, if +we have good luck with them; that is, that they turn out well, and we +have no accident with them. I shall buy a light four-wheel carriage at +Horsens, and my groom will drive them, and we shall then see if it be +necessary to discard either or both, before they are taken to +England." + +"But why did you send for a horse from England?" said Pastor Lindal, +to whom a horse was a horse and a cow was a cow. + +"I fear because I like a good horse," replied Hardy. "Your Jutland +horses are not adapted to the saddle, except for lady's hacks, or +light carriage work; my English horse would jump the ditches that +abound in your Danish fields, and would, for instance, jump your +garden wall." + +"That I am sure no horse can," said the Pastor, decidedly. + +"Does he mean, father," said Frøken Helga, "that his horse can jump +our garden wall?" + +"Yes," said Hardy; "it is scarcely five feet. But will you promise, +Frøken Helga, that if my horse does jump the wall, that you will not +say that the horse does it too well? It is not me, but the horse that +jumps the wall." + +Helga looked annoyed at the reference made to her saying that he sang +and played too well for any one to follow after him, but she said +nothing. + +Karl and Axel had listened. They too thought it impossible; but they +believed in Hardy. + +"Well, Karl," said Hardy, "don't you believe in me and the English +horse?" + +"No," said Karl. "A horse cannot jump the garden wall by himself, much +more with a man on his back; no horse could do it. But I believe you +can do anything." + +"Well, Herr Pastor," said Hardy, "I have no one who believes in me or +my horse. Frøken Helga regards me with suspicion; and no one in +Jutland appears to believe more than they see." + +"Yes; but it is impossible," said Pastor Lindal. + +The next day after breakfast, Buffalo and one of the Danish horses +were taken to the parsonage by Robert Garth. Buffalo had an English +saddle on, and looked fully recovered from his journey to Denmark, and +fit for anything. The Pastor, his daughter, and his two boys came out +to see the English horse. Frøken Helga had not seen it before, and it +struck her as being the handsomest horse she had ever seen; and she +observed the respect the English groom showed Hardy. + +"What do you think of the oats, Bob?" said Hardy. + +"First-rate," said Garth, touching his hat; "they have picked Buffalo +up wonderful, and he is fit to go anywhere." + +Hardy mounted his horse. His mother had sent over his hunting +breeches, and when mounted, the Pastor was struck with the manly +figure of the quiet-mannered Englishman. + +"The horse will not take even such a jump as your garden wall," said +Hardy, "in cold blood. I will give him a gallop down the field below, +and then bring him up and jump the wall. You will see the grand spread +of his stride as he gallops." + +Hardy rode like an English country gentleman accustomed to the saddle, +and the great wide strides taken by Buffalo even the Pastor observed +with astonishment. Suddenly Hardy turned and came at the garden wall, +with Buffalo well in hand, who rose to the jump and cleared it easily, +and out through a break in the shrubbery over the wall at the other +side. + +Hardy rode quietly in through the entrance gate and dismounted. It was +clear, by the demeanour of the English groom, that he saw nothing +unusual in what had passed; but it was very different with the Danish +family. The boys cheered, but Frøken Helga had disappeared. + +"If you were not accustomed to do this," said the Pastor, "I should +consider it was not right to risk so good a horse and your own limbs. +A fall must be dangerous to you and your horse." + +"Yes; a fall would be, and is," said Hardy. "I have broken my arm and +a collar-bone by falls when hunting." + +"Now, Herr Pastor," added Hardy, "you will see the difference between +my English horse and one of the best horses we could buy here." + +"He can't jump a yard, master," said Garth; "it is no use trying him." + +Hardy mounted the Danish horse, and the difference was apparent in +pace and action. + +"Bob," said Hardy, "they are no use for saddle horses, except for +ladies; but they will do well for what we bought them." + +"Right you are, master!" said Garth, as Hardy remounted Buffalo, and +went for a ride. + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + + "Next, note that the eel seldom stirs in the day, + but then hides himself; and therefore is usually caught by + night, with one of those baits of which I have spoken." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +The two Danish horses were driven by Garth, and, in his hands, soon +grew accustomed to harness and the light carriage John Hardy had +purchased at Horsens. Longer expeditions were made to fish the smaller +Danish streams, and, to the great gratification of Karl and Axel, to +Silkeborg. The lakes at Silkeborg, with their idyllic picturesqueness, +interested Hardy, while the pike and the perch fishing yielded good +sport. Hardy was skilful in spinning a heavy minnow deep in the water, +casting it from a boat, and thus attracting the heaviest perch. A +paternoster also in his hands caught a quantity of perch. Pike were +caught by casting a dead roach, with a rod with upright rings, and +Hardy threw his bait with a length and certainty that the Danish +fishermen were not accustomed to. The bait would fall into a little +spot of water amongst the reeds. A jerk and pull made the dead fish +appear like a wounded live one; when out would rush Herr _Esox lucius_ +from his lair, and, after expostulating in the usual manner, would +come into the boat with the sullen look of +how-I-should-like-to-bite-the-calf-of-your-leg, peculiar to Herr +Esox's genus. + +The Danish fishermen at Silkeborg began to entertain the notion that +John Hardy, if his stay was prolonged, would depopulate the lakes of +both pike and perch; and they hugged the idea with affection that at +least he could not catch eels, with which the lakes abound. + +"Can you catch eels, Herr Hardy?" said Karl. "The fishermen say you +may be able to catch pike and perch, but you do not know how to catch +eels with a line in the lakes." + +"Yes," replied Hardy, "if you and Axel will undertake to take them off +the hooks when caught; it is not an agreeable bit of work." + +"Yes, that will we," said Karl and Axel at once. + +They had then no idea of the difficulty of getting off the slime of an +eel from their clothes, and what very pointed personal remarks would +be made by Kirstin, when they returned to Vandstrup Præstegaard. + +The preparations for catching eels with lines was of immense interest +to the boys. Hardy had several stakes made with sharpened ends. The +stakes were driven into a shallow part of the lake, and a line +attached to each, of about thirty yards' length. The line was a cotton +one, with copper wire twisted in it; and to each line, at the distance +of every six feet, was attached a strong gimp hook, baited with a dead +minnow. The lines were laid down at dusk, with a weight at the end of +about half a pound. A boat was chartered, and the lines visited at +intervals the half part of the night. By drawing the line, it was easy +to detect if an eel was on the line. The result was the constant +employment of Karl and Axel in taking eels off the lines; and the next +day their clothes were white and shiny, with slime from the eels. + +"You are so good to us, Herr Hardy," said Karl, "I wish you would live +always with us." + +"We do not live only to catch fish," said Hardy; "each of us has his +duty and work to do; but there is no reason why we should not enjoy +the beautiful world God has given us, when we do our duty first. My +duty I know; yours you have yet to learn." + +These simple words had a strong impression on the two lads, and were +never forgotten; and when Karl and Axel returned to their father's +house, they told him what Hardy had said, and he never forgot it +either. + +"I think," said the Pastor to his daughter, "that Herr Hardy is as +good as he is kind." + +One little circumstance that now occurred it is necessary to mention. +Hardy had been some time at the parsonage, and he therefore offered to +pay what he had agreed to pay for his board and lodging. + +The Pastor refused to accept payment, "You have come here, and whilst +here have repaid us again and again by your kind ways and manners. My +two boys have grown in a few weeks to be gentle and considerate in +their conduct. They were rough and wild before. You have taught them +English, and their progress has astonished me. I have taught them +daily, but you have succeeded in teaching more in a few weeks than I +have years. I cannot repay this. I can only say I will receive no +money of yours." + +"But I am well able to pay the moderate sum you stated that was your +wish I should pay, and I will pay it with pleasure." + +"That may be," said the Pastor, "but the principle is the same. I +could not honestly take anything from you." + +"Then I must leave," said Hardy; "I could not remain here at your +charge. I see I put you to more expenditure than is usual with you, +and I could not continue to do so." + +"You are, of course, at liberty to leave when you wish," said the +Pastor; "but if you will give way in this, I shall feel I have at +least recognized in the only way in my power what you have done for me +and mine." + +There was no doubt of the sincerity of the Pastor's meaning. His open +face was as clear to read as print. + +Frøken Helga was present at this interview, and Hardy looked at her in +the hope of finding in her expression as to what he should do. She was +knitting as usual. He thought there was a feeling that she wished the +matter should drop, so Hardy said-- + +"Well, Herr Pastor, all I can say is that the money is at your +disposition, and if you refuse to take it when I go away I shall pay +it to the Fattigkasse (poor box); and I must insist I have done +nothing more than any Englishman would do." + +"Good, very good!" said the Pastor. "Let us shake hands, and there is +an end of it." + +As Hardy took the Pastor's hand, he thought Frøken Helga's face bore +an expression of approval, but her retiring manner made it impossible +to discover what her thoughts really were. + +A few days after, at breakfast, the Pastor said to Hardy, "There is an +invitation for you to go to Gods-eier (landowner) Jensen's. They are +going to celebrate their silver wedding. They have also invited me and +my daughter Helga. Jensen breeds horses, and his reason for asking you +is probably because he has heard of your English horse. Niels Jacobsen +has talked with him about it. He saw him at a market some days ago. +You can, of course, decline; and, at any rate, you can do as you wish. +We shall go because they are friends of ours, and it would be a want +of respect not to go on such an occasion as a silver wedding. There +will be several persons there, and there will be a dinner at about +three, and a dance after, in which the younger people will join." + +"Thank you," said Hardy; "I should like to see more of Danish society, +and I should wish to go for that reason." + +John Hardy did not say that he had a strong wish to see Frøken Helga +in society. He had seen her only at home, perpetually knitting and +occupied in the management of the affairs of the parsonage. He +observed, when she expressed a wish, that neither the wayward boys nor +the strong-minded Kirstin had the least thought of acting in +opposition to it, and he felt an interest in the opportunity of seeing +her in society, and observing whether there would be the same +unbending nature. + +The invitation was therefore accepted. + +The distance was about five English miles, and Garth drove the pair of +Danish horses in the neat livery of Hardy Place; and the Pastor and +his daughter sat together, while Hardy sat beside Garth. He did this +because he thought that Frøken Helga would rather dispense with his +society. + +"They will do eight miles," said Garth, "but I do not believe they +will do more; they go what you may call pretty, but there is not much +stay in them, and if you drive them out of their pace, they are cut +down at once." + +"Yes, Bob," said Hardy; "but they will suit my mother, and they are +just what she wants and would like." + +"Yes," said Bob Garth, "there is that; but they starves them so much +when they are young, and that does not make sinew or bone." + +Notwithstanding Garth's predictions, the Jensen's mansion was reached +in half an hour from Vandstrup Præstegaard, and Garth drove up with a +flourish that impressed Herr Jensen, who was on the door steps. + +"Are these the horses the Englishman bought a few days ago, Herr +Pastor Lindal?" asked Herr Jensen. + +"Yes," said Pastor Lindal. "But how are you, and how is Fru Lindal and +your family?" + +"They are all right, thank you, Herr Pastor," replied Herr Jensen. +"But I never saw horses so managed! Why, they could be sold in +Hamburgh for a lot of money. They are fit for any carriage anywhere." + +If Fru Jensen had not appeared on the scene, it is possible that her +husband's interest in the horses might have been prolonged +indefinitely; but she conducted Frøken Helga Lindal into the house, +introduced herself to John Hardy, and told the Pastor to tell the +English groom where to put up his horses and where to wait until he +should be required to return to Vandstrup Præstegaard. + +Herr Jensen looked at the Englishman with interest, as he stood before +him in his evening dress, broad-shouldered with fine limbs, his +clothes fitting well, and looking like a wedge from his broad chest +down to his feet. + +They went into an assembly-room, where many guests were gathered. +There were several landowners of the district with their families, and +John Hardy's simple manners and unmistakable stamp of gentleman made a +favourable impression. He was introduced to a Frøken Jaeger, and was +told he would have to take her in to dinner. Hardy bowed. + +"How old are you?" said Frøken Jaeger. + +"Twenty-eight," replied Hardy. + +"What is your profession?" inquired Frøken Jaeger. + +"Landowner," replied Hardy. And Hardy was subjected to a +cross-examination that elicited from him that his father was dead +years ago, that his mother lived at Hardy Place, that he was a +magistrate for the English county where he resided, and was also an +officer in the yeomanry cavalry. + +"Then why do you not wear a uniform?" inquired Frøken Jaeger, with +some asperity. + +"Because it is not allowed, and I do not wish it, when in a foreign +country," replied Hardy. + +It is to be feared that if the cross-examination had been much longer, +that Hardy would have declined to answer any more questions, and have +exhibited some of that insularity that is so common in Englishmen; but +dinner was announced, and Hardy offered his arm, and Frøken Jaeger was +soon occupied in other and more material subjects. She was about +thirty-five, according to Hardy's judgment, and had a long sharp nose +and an equally sharp chin, tending ultimately to form what some people +ungenerously call nutcrackers; but her appetite was good, and it left +an opportunity to Hardy to observe his fellow guests. + +The Pastor sat near his host, and his daughter was paired with a young +Danish landowner, who paid her great attention. Her dress was simple, +with an ornament or two inherited from her mother; but her clear +complexion, her tall figure and clean-cut features impressed Hardy. +She talked with every one with animation, and Hardy could scarcely +realize the comparison between the quiet figure steadily knitting with +ear and eye always at her father's service to the perfect Danish lady +before him. + +There were several toasts proposed during the dinner. The event of the +day had to be particularly recognized, which was done with much +enthusiasm. Then followed other toasts, and Hardy's health was drunk, +to which he had to reply. He rose quickly, and said in Danish that his +knowledge of the language was yet so imperfect that he could say +little more than thanks, but that he would add that he owed a debt of +kindness to the Danes with whom he had been brought in contact, and he +thanked them and his host for their kindness and consideration to a +foreigner. Hardy read in Frøken Helga's face that what he had said was +what had her approval, and that he had said enough. + +"You appear to look at Frøken Helga Lindal, Herr Hardy," said Frøken +Jaeger; "are you engaged to her?" + +"No," said Hardy. + +"But what do you think of her?" + +"That she is an excellent daughter," replied Hardy. + +"And that she would make an excellent wife?" said Frøken Jaeger. + +"Possibly," said Hardy, with a determination to say nothing more. + +The dinner party broke up. The elder people of the male sort adjourned +to a very strong tobacco-parliament and cards; the younger went into +the assembly-room, which was now converted into a ball-room. Frøken +Jaeger said, "Herr Hardy, I have put your name down in my list of +dances for the first dance, and you will dance with me." + +Hardy went to Frøken Helga Lindal, and besought her to deliver him +from Frøken Jaeger; but she declined, and said, "You have to dance +with Frøken Jaeger; you have taken her in to dinner, and it is our +custom." + +"Then," said Hardy, "let me have one dance with you, a waltz?" + +Helga gave him her list, and he wrote his name down for the first +waltz possible. + +"Is it your father's wish to stay here a long time, Frøken Helga?" +asked Hardy. + +"No; but it depends on you," replied Helga. "He will not leave until +you wish, but I know the sooner he is home the better for him. But +Herr Jensen will want to talk to you about his horses." + +"I will see him at once," said Hardy, "and tell him I will ride over +to-morrow to see his horses, and that will, I think, prevent any delay +arising from that cause." + +So Hardy went into the tobacco-parliament, and arranged with Herr +Jensen to see him the following day, and the catechising Frøken Jaeger +had to wait while the dance and the waltz she loved so well had begun; +but Hardy's appearance and his good dancing allayed her rising anger. + +"Do you dance much in England?" said Frøken Jaeger. + +"No," said Hardy; "I do not like it." + +At length the time came for his dance with Frøken Helga Lindal, and as +they stood up the personal beauty of both was remarked. Helga's +elastic movement on Hardy's arm, the ease with which she danced in +perfect time, and her bright manner had its effect on Hardy. He was +not quite sure but that he had just told Frøken Jaeger a story, in +saying that he did not like dancing. + +"You dance well, Frøken Helga!" said Hardy. + +"I can do nothing so well as you," replied Helga. "But my father would +wish to leave, and if you can arrange it, I shall thank you so much. +You can do what you like; we cannot." + +A short time after, they were sitting behind the trotting horses, and +the Pastor thanked Hardy for his consideration. "They are kind +people," said he, "but they do not think that my duty is never to be +away from my home, so that I can be called at any moment to do what +duty may arise, and which, if I should delay or omit, would be wrong." + +"It is a strict view," said Hardy, "but it is the right one. I cannot +say it is general in England." + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + + "If the prayer be good, the commoner the better. + Prayer in the Church's words, + As well as sense, of all prayers bears the bell." + _The Complete Angler._ + + +The next day after the late breakfast at the parsonage, John Hardy +rode over to the Jensen's on Buffalo, and Garth followed on one of the +Danish horses, and was received with much warmth. Herr Jensen walked +round and round Buffalo, for he loved a horse, and admired the length +of his step as Buffalo walked. He had heard the story of his jumping +the wall at Vandstrup Præstegaard, and his desire to see him perform +in that capacity was so great, that Hardy put him through a gallop and +over a few fences, and Herr Jensen approved loudly. Fru Jensen was +present and her two daughters, Mathilde and Maria Jensen. + +Hardy's quiet manner when he dismounted and made his respects to the +ladies, as if he had just trotted his horse up the avenue, struck +them, and they forgave him on the spot for leaving so early the night +before. Hardy went into the old Danish Herregaard (country house), and +was received with the usual Danish hospitality. The ladies talked +incessantly of the proceedings of the night before, and Hardy had to +bear the result of Frøken Jaeger's severe cross-examination to the +fullest particular. She had told all Hardy's answers to her questions, +and they were possessed with Hardy's position in England, so far as he +had chosen to answer Frøken Jaeger, and the ladies were ready to +pursue the inquiry further; but, fortunately for Hardy, Herr Jensen +was anxious to show him his farm, and particularly his horses. Hardy +at once assented, and Herr Jensen took him to see his brood mares and +foals, with a few young horses not yet sold, which Herr Jensen was +holding for a higher price than the people he sold to at Hamburgh +would pay him. Garth accompanied them. + +"I have sold horses often to England," said Jensen; "but they will pay +a price upon each particular horse. Some they will pay £40 for, some +they will pay £18 for; and when the horses arrive at Hull, they will +say there is some fault or defect in the higher paid-for horses, and +the consequence is that I prefer selling to the Germans. They pay £25 +to £30 a horse, and take, perhaps, twenty or thirty yearly; and many +of the best go to England after being trained, and the rest are sold +in Germany or elsewhere; but I never hear any complaints of defects or +the like." + +"That I can well understand," said Hardy. "In England, a really good +horse has no price. If he is wanted, any price will be paid; but a +horse with a fault is nowhere." + +"Our horses," said Jensen, "are good horses for light weights; but in +England they are used chiefly for carriages now. I have two horses +here that would make good saddle horses, and I wish you could try +them." + +The two horses Herr Jensen referred to were in a pasture, tethered to +an iron spike driven in the ground, with a rope giving them a range of +a few yards of grass. + +"What do you think of these two horses, Bob?" said Hardy to Garth. + +"Very good park hacks," said Garth, "and just the thing for a lady to +ride." + +"My man will try one of the horses if you like," said Hardy. "He is +accustomed to horses." + +Garth fetched the saddle he had rode over in, and a light snaffle +bridle, and mounted, and, after the usual difficulties that always +occur with colts, he rode the horse, sitting firm and easy in the +saddle, to Herr Jensen's great admiration. + +"He is a good horse," said Garth. "But, master, ask the governor one +question, and that is how he feeds them in the winter." + +"What does he say?" asked Herr Jensen. + +"He asks how you feed your horses in the winter," replied Hardy. + +"That is the difficulty," said Jensen. "We have little to give them in +the winter and spring, and it is hard work to keep them alive. We cut +our grass in the meadows twice yearly; the first hay is good, the +second is not so good by a long way." + +"Our notion is that a horse should always be kept well," said Hardy, +"or his bone and sinew want firmness." + +"There is no doubt of that," said Herr Jensen. "We understand that +very well; but yet what can we do? We breed horses to make money by +them. If we fed them as you say, we could not get the cost back." + +"I have heard the same story in England," said Hardy; "a farmer has to +treat his farm as a business, and, Herr Jensen, you are quite right in +doing so." + +Hardy went over Herr Jensen's farm, and his knowledge of farming in +all its branches so interested Herr Jensen, that it was late when they +returned to the Herregaard. Dinner was ready, and Hardy had to bear a +running fire of criticism from Fru Jensen and her daughters. He had +not, they said, observed the particular merits of many of the Danish +ladies who had been present at the dance of the previous evening, but +doubtless he was preoccupied. + +"No," said Hardy, "I was not preoccupied. My difficulty is that I do +not know Danish well, and Herr Jensen has had the greatest difficulty +to understand me about horses; how, then, could I understand so +difficult a subject as a Danish lady?" + +"Frøken Jaeger says, you said that Frøken Helga Lindal would make an +excellent wife," said Fru Jensen. + +"Yes," said Hardy. "She asked me, and I said it was possible." + +Hardy said this in so strong a manner that it was even apparent to +Herr Jensen that he did not wish the conversation extended, so Herr +Jensen proposed a cigar and an adjournment to his own room. + +Hardy left at six o'clock, and rode to Vandstrup. On his way thither +an occurrence happened that Hardy never forgot. + +Hardy, followed by Garth, had ridden on to within an English mile of +Vandstrup, when he saw a waggon overturned, and a man lying underneath +it. The horses were kicking in their harness, as they lay in the ditch +by the roadside. The waggon was the same as is usually employed by the +Danish farmer, for his farm work, and was heavy in construction. Hardy +galloped up, and found the man lying under the waggon evidently +seriously injured. He was a workman called Nils Rasmussen, and had +taken a load of turf, in company with another man with a similar load +in another waggon, to a village near Vandstrup. The turf discharged, +there was the opportunity of getting drunk; and the horses of both +waggons were driven hard down a slope in the road by their drunken +drivers, and coming in contact, Nils Rasmussen was thrown out, and the +waggon fell on him, whilst the struggling of the horses every moment +increased the serious injuries he was receiving. + +Garth cut the horses free, and Nils Rasmussen was taken from under the +waggon. Several people came running up, and one of them rode Hardy's +Danish horse for the district doctor. Hardy assisted in carrying the +injured man to his home, and sent Garth to the stables on Buffalo, +with instructions to come to Rasmussen's house for orders. It was +clear the case was serious from the first Hardy undressed the man, and +found that he had more than one limb broken, while from the froth and +blood in the mouth, internal injuries were present. + +When Garth returned, he was sent to the parsonage, with a request for +a pair of dry clean sheets, a bottle of cognac, and some of Hardy's +linen handkerchiefs. Garth returned in a white heat, without the +articles he was sent for. Hardy had supposed that the news of the +accident would have reached the parsonage, and after enumerating the +articles required, he added a request that they should be given to +Garth to take to Rasmussen's. Kirstin read the note, and put several +questions to Garth, which, from his ignorance of Danish, it was +impossible for him to answer; "When suddenly," said Garth, "she +appeared to get into a rage. She rushed at me, beat me about the head, +and shouted at me." + +The district doctor now came in, and Hardy's attention was occupied. +He told him what he had seen of the accident, and the symptoms of +injury internally. The doctor was used to cases either more or less +grave of a similar character, and he showed much cool professional +skill. "I will remain here," e said to Hardy, "until sent for. The +case is hopeless, and all that can be done is to watch by him." + +When the doctor left, Hardy decided to remain, as Nils Rasmussen's +wife and family were incapable of being of the slightest use. He sent +Garth to his lodgings, with orders to come to Rasmussen's at six the +next morning. + +Meanwhile Hardy had been expected at the parsonage, and it grew later +and later. + +"He is stopping with the Jensens," said the Pastor, + +"No, he is not!" burst out Kirstin; "he is at Rasmussen's. He sent +that man of his here a while since for a pair of sheets and a bottle +of the best brandy to take to Rasmussen's, and you can see the writing +he sent by his servant." + +The Pastor took the scrap of paper and read it aloud. + +"It is that bold, bad hussey, Karen Rasmussen!" said Kirstin. + +"How can you know that?" said Frøken Helga. + +"Know it!" exclaimed Kirstin; "I am sure of it. No man can be so good +as the Englishman appears to be." + +The Pastor and his family retired to rest with a shock of grief and +pain. "He must leave at once," thought the Pastor. + +Shortly after six the next morning, Garth fetched one of Rasmussen's +neighbours, whom he sent with the following note to the pastor, +written on a similar scrap of paper as his unfortunate communication +of the previous evening, and torn from his note-book. + +"Dear Herr Pastor, + +"Nils Rasmussen, the workman at Jorgensens, is sinking fast. You have, +of course, heard of the accident? The district doctor at once saw the +case was beyond all hope. Will you come immediately? + +"Yours faithfully, + +"John Hardy." + +As the Pastor left his house, he met one after another of Nils +Rasmussen's neighbours coming for him. He heard of John Hardy's +assistance and care, and that he had been the whole night acting as +nurse, as the family were incapable. + +As the Pastor entered, he met Hardy. + +"It is too late, Herr Pastor," said the latter; "the man is dead. But +go in and speak to the wife, and I will wait for you. Here is twenty +kroner, which you can give her; the expenses of the funeral I will +bear, and I can arrange that she shall receive ten kroner weekly, +through the post-office, until they can help themselves." + +In half an hour the Pastor came out, and he said, "Hardy, I thank you +for your attention to this poor man. You have done nothing more than +what was right you should do, and what any one else should have done; +but you have done your duty with a kindliness that does you honour." + +Hardy said nothing, the horror of watching a man dying in agony for a +whole night had unstrung his steady nerves. On reaching the parsonage, +he went to his room, and, wearied out, at last fell asleep. + +The Pastor, after the usual morning prayers with his household, said, +"Stay, Kirstin! You have wickedly cast shame on an honest man; you +have attributed sin to another without cause. You have heard that +Rasmussen is dead, and how he died; but you do not know that the man +you foully slandered had done his utmost for his brother man. When I +came to Rasmussen's house, Herr Hardy's clothes were covered with dirt +and blood. He had tended the dying man the whole night; he had torn up +his linen shirt and under-clothing for bandages; and when I was about +to speak to the widow, he gave me money for present need, and has +ordered it so that she shall not want for the future. And yet this is +the man to whom you would impute sin and shame. Ask forgiveness of +God, and beg Herr Hardy's pardon. Go!" + +The hard-natured Jutland woman was overcome. Frøken Helga's eyes +filled with tears, and she went and kissed her father. + +"We were wrong to think evil of another, under any circumstances," +said the Pastor, "or to allow suspicion of evil to grow in our minds." + +Hardy was ignorant of the little episode thus acted in the Pastor's +household, and when he came down from his room some time later, he +found a breakfast waiting for him, the Pastor shook hands with him, +and asked how he was. + +"I feel what I have gone through this night," replied Hardy, "but am +quite well." + +"An honest answer," said the Pastor. + +"But, little father," said Frøken Helga, "can you not tell Herr Hardy +that he has been kind and good?" + +Praise from her father's lips for a duty well done was with Helga more +than gold or incense; and how wrong had they not all been towards +Hardy! + +"Your father has already said enough," said Hardy. + +"Then I will speak for myself," said Helga, "and say that I thank you +for your goodness to Rasmussen and his family;" and she took his hand +and kissed it. + +Hardy saw she was governed by a momentary impulse, but it evinced a +warm sympathy for what she considered a good act, and impressed him +the more so as her manner was always towards him cold and retiring. + +At this juncture Kirstin appeared in an unusual state of agitation. + +"I have come," she said, "to ask Herr Hardy's pardon, for what I have +said and done." + +"My servant reports to me that you beat him yesterday," said Hardy, +"and as you did not beat me I have nothing to forgive. I have told my +man, if you do so again, to lay the matter before the authorities. He +will have to come here in acting as my servant; but if you beat him +because you cannot understand him, he must be protected, the more so +as his orders are not to strike you, under any circumstances. The +matter has been brought to the Herr Pastor's knowledge, and that is +enough, and you can go out." + +There was a stern dignity in John Hardy's manner, always present in a +man of his type when accustomed to obedience. + +Kirstin hesitated. "You can go out, Kirstin," repeated Hardy; and she +obeyed. + +Frøken Helga's implicit faith in the rigid character of Kirstin was +shaken. + +Rasmussen's funeral took place shortly after, and on the Sunday the +Pastor referred to Hardy's conduct. + +"It may hurt the sensibility of the Englishman who is with us, that I +should refer to him thus publicly; but it is my duty, while the +occurrence of Rasmussen's death has the force of its being recent to +point out, not that it was his simple duty to do what he did, but the +way and manner that duty was done showed a Christian charity that no +one of us could do more than imitate." + +"I question whether you are right, to praise the conduct of an +individual from the pulpit, Herr Pastor," said Hardy. + +"My duty," said the Pastor, gravely, "is to preach the parable of the +Good Samaritan, and the recent occurrence will interest many who would +not be interested otherwise." + +"My father has done what is right," said his daughter, with warmth. "I +should have done the same." + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + + "Oh, how happy here's our leisure! + Oh, how innocent our pleasure!" + _The Complete Angler._ + + +John Hardy received a letter from his mother, dated from Hardy Place. + +"My dearest John, + +"Your weekly letters have become shorter, and I have read between the +lines that you are keeping back something from your mother; but this +doubt has been made a certainty from a letter of Robert Garth's to his +friends here. He writes, so I hear, that the 'governor' is sweet on a +parson's daughter in Denmark. Now, I know, dearest John, that you will +always be the true gentleman your father was; but this has distressed +me, because you say yourself nothing. Do come home to me. I miss the +sound of your footstep, the manly voice that reminds me of your +father, and, above all, your kindly manner to your mother. Write at +once, as my anxiety is more than I can bear." + +There was more in the letter, breathing the same deep affectionate +solicitude a mother alone feels. John Hardy wrote at once. + +"My dearest Mother, + +"If I had anything to tell you, I should have told you long ago. I +have described Pastor Lindal's family to you in my letters, and, I can +only add, my respect for him grows daily. He does his duty with a +simplicity that is difficult to be understood in England, and I have +learnt to look forward to hearing his Sunday sermons, from their +freshness such as single-mindedness alone gives. I feel more the +earnestness of religion and the simplicity with which it should be +invested from the influence of his character. I know you will say that +this has nothing to do with Frøken Helga Lindal, his daughter, and you +want to hear of her. All I can say is, that her character is what +would attract you. She does her duty in the Pastor's household with +simple exactness; she assists in visiting the parish, and is of +material use to her father in this respect. She is spoken of +everywhere and by all in praise and regard, and she is like her +father--simple and true. I cannot say that I do not admire so perfect +a nature, but I do not feel now a wish to ask her to be my wife, and +if I did she would say 'no.' Her father is a widower, and his daughter +is his right hand. His two boys, who are really good lads, have to be +considered, and Frøken Helga's influence over them is complete. Her +leaving her father would leave him unassisted, and his two sons +without the influence she alone possesses. She knows and sees this, +and would sacrifice her life to her sense of duty. If she cared for +me, there would be no difference; that would be sacrificed too. I can +assure you that I shall never bring any one to Hardy Place that my +mother cannot receive as her daughter. The kind affection and care you +have always shown me is dearer to me than houses and land and wealth +or the strongest feelings of selfishness. + +"I hope, dear mother, that this will set your mind at rest. + +"If you wish me to come home, I will do so; but I wish to stay longer, +and when you see there is no real cause for anxiety, you may have no +objection. The days pass pleasantly here. I teach the two boys English +every day. They fish with me for trout in the river, the Gudenaa, and +we make excursions together, and occasionally we visit a Danish family +in the neighbourhood; and the genuine kindness I receive everywhere +interests me. In the evenings Pastor Lindal is conversational, and his +conversation is like his sermons, always fresh. There is no one +thought harped upon and torn to tatters. To say he is a man of +original thought would not describe him--it is individuality and +simplicity; there is nothing extraordinary or unusual, but a clearness +of colour, like a diamond, which is the more valuable when it has no +colour." + +John Hardy wrote a little more on home affairs at Hardy Place, and +closed his letter. + +In the evening, when the Pastor's pipe was as usual lighted by his +daughter, Hardy asked him as to the superstitions in Denmark, and if +they then were prevalent and had any force. + +"They are endless," said the Pastor, "and in every conceivable +direction. There is no land so full of traditional superstition as +Jutland." + +"When in Norway," said Hardy, "the superstition that struck me most +was that of the Huldr, who in different districts was differently +described. Generally the Huldr was described as a tall fair woman, +with a yellow bodice and a blue skirt, with long fair yellow hair +loose over the shoulders; but she was as hollow as a kneading trough, +and had a cow's tail. She was described as coming to the Sæter farms +on the fjelds, after they were vacated by the Norwegian farmers, with +a quantity of cattle and milking cans; and I have heard the cattle +call sang by Norwegians that they have heard the Huldr sing. I have +spoken with people who have seen the Huldr, and described her to me +with a vividness as if it were a real personage. I have heard people +say they have seen her knitting, sitting on a rock with a ball of +worsted thrown out before her, to entice mortals to take it up, when +they must follow where she would lead." + +"We have not that superstition in Jutland," said the Pastor; "that is +begotten of the lonely life in the isolated farms in the fields in +Norway and their interminable woods and natural wildness of nature. +Our superstitions are, as I said, endless. They consist of historical +traditions of a supernatural character, of traditions attached to +places, as old houses, churches, also of particular men, of hidden +treasure, of robbers, and the like. Then there are the more +supernatural superstitions, as of witches, ghosts, the devil, of +Trolds, of mermen and mermaids, of Nissen, like your English pixey, of +the three-legged horse that inhabits the churchyards, the were-wolf, +the gnome that inhabits the elder tree, the nightmare, or, as we call +it, Maren. There is also the tradition of gigantic dragons or +serpents, called by us Lindorm, in which your story of St. George and +the dragon prominently figures. There are also minor superstitions of +the will-o'-the-wisp, the bird called in English the goatsucker, and +the classical Basilisk." + +"But surely all those superstitions cannot exist now?" inquired Hardy. + +"I do not say they do; but they are hidden to a greater extent in the +recesses of the hearts of the people than you would imagine." + +"Can you relate anything of these superstitions?" said Hardy. "It +would interest me beyond everything." + +"Yes," said the Pastor. "I will give you an example in any one of the +particular traditions I have mentioned, and I will begin with the +historical superstition, as I mentioned that first. + +"When King Gylfe reigned in Sweden, a woman came to him, and she +enchanted him so by her singing that he gave her leave to plough so +much of his land as she could in a day with four oxen, and what she +thus ploughed should be hers. This woman was of the race of the giants +(Aseme). She took her four sons and changed them into oxen, and +attached them to the plough. She ploughed out the place she had +chosen, and thus created the island of Sjælland. She did this from the +Mælar lake in Sweden; and it is said that where there is a point of +land in Sjælland there is in the Mælar lake a bay, and vice versa, so +that both the Mælar lake and Sjælland island have one form, one is +land, the other water. This tradition is common over Denmark, and with +us has become classical. The woman's name was Gefion." + +"I have seen a delineation of the tradition," said Hardy, "at one of +your Danish palaces, on a ceiling at Fredriksborg." + +"Yes, it is there; but you will find it everywhere in Denmark," +replied the Pastor. "Of traditions of churches, they are endless; but +we will take one example, possibly by no means the best. When Hadderup +church, between Viborg and Holstebro, was building, the Trolds tore +down every night what had been erected in the day. It was therefore +determined to attach two calves to a load of stones in a waggon, and +where the calves were found in the morning to build the church. This, +however, did not answer, and at last an agreement was made with the +Trolds that they should allow the church to be built, on the condition +that they should have the first bride that went to the church. This +succeeded, and the church was built. When the first bridal procession +should, however, go to the church, at a particular place a sudden mist +fell upon them, and when it cleared off the bride had disappeared." + +"A very striking tradition," said Hardy. "It has a good deal of +picturesque colouring." + +"Yes," said the Pastor, "and that is why I told you that particular +tradition. But of places there is a tradition of Silkeborg, with +nothing supernatural about it; but as you have been there fishing, it +may interest you to know why it has obtained that name. The story is, +that a bishop wished to build a house there, but he was uncertain +where; so he threw his silk hat into the water as he sailed on the +Gudenaa, and he determined that where his silk hat came to land, that +there would he build his house. The hat came ashore at Silkeborg. The +bishop, however, could not have sailed up the Gudenaa, and the +probability is he must have gone down the lake, as the Gudenaa runs +from the lake through Jutland to the sea at Randers." + +"There is a similar tradition," said Hardy, "in Iceland. When the +Norwegian chiefs were conquered by Harold the Fair-haired, about 870, +they cast the carved oak supports of their chairs, that they were +accustomed to sit in at the head of their tables, surrounded by their +dependents, and decided that where these drove ashore, they would +found a colony; and where they did drive ashore was on the shores of +Iceland. It may possibly have influenced the tradition you relate of +Silkeborg." + +"Possibly," said the Pastor; "but of traditions of places, there are +very many, and, as an example, there was in Randers province an +island, and on the island a mansion; and when the family owning it +were absent, three women-servants determined to play the priest a +trick. They dressed up a sow like a sick person in bed, and sent for +the priest to administer the sacrament to a dying person. The priest, +however, saw the wicked deception, and at once left the island in his +boat. Immediately the whole island sank as soon as he lifted his foot +from the shore of the island. But a table swam towards him, on which +was his Bible, which in his anger and haste he had forgotten to take +with him. Where the island sank can, it is said, yet be seen the three +chimneys of the mansion deep down in the water; and there are some +high trees growing up through the water, to which, when they grow high +enough, will the enemies of Denmark come and fasten their ships." + +"This story is only one of a class to the same effect," continued the +Pastor. "It has many variations to a similar effect. You have heard of +Limfjord in North Jutland. It derives its name after our tradition to +the following: At the birth of Christ a Trold woman was so enraged at +the circumstance of his birth that she produced a monster at a birth, +and this monster gradually took the form of a boar; and it is related +that when the boar was in the woods, its bristles were higher than the +tops of the trees. This boar was called Limgrim, and rooted up the +land so as to create the inlet of the sea that we call Limfjord; the +name originally was Limgrimsfjord, since abbreviated to Limfjord." + +"What is your view of the origin of these traditions?" asked Hardy. + +"They are to me," said the Pastor, "an evidence of the continuous +change the world undergoes, has undergone, and will undergo. The older +the tradition, the more antagonistic it is to the known laws of +nature; the later the tradition, the less improbable it is. We have +seen how heathenism, with its unreasonable and wild vagaries, gave way +to the early Christian Church. Then arose the ultramontane Church, +which was succeeded by the purer light let in by Morten Luther; and +changes are taking place, and will take place; and the use of these +old traditions is to teach us that change must be. Age succeeds to +age, and generation to generation. The science of geology teaches the +same lesson. As we learn more of it, and more accurately of it, we +gradually grasp the thought that endless ages have wrought changes, +and will continue to work at the discretion of the Great Power that we +feel and know exists. We can only say that the works of the Lord are +wonderful, and trust in him." + +"Have you heard of the religion of Buddha?" said Hardy. "With all our +present researches into it, we know comparatively little; but, taken +broadly, it is a doctrine of slow development. A life exists, and +gradually earthly passion ceases, and a state of perfect rest is +reached, but through an endless series of change." + +"Yes," replied Pastor Lindal; "but it is a religion of the +imagination. It has a certain beauty and a poetic charm, while the +Christian religion has the reality of the principle that kindliness is +the real gold of life, which I have learnt from you." + +Hardy felt that in his letters to his mother he had correctly +described Pastor Lindal. + +Frøken Helga had continued knitting as usual, but that she listened to +every word her father uttered was clear to Hardy; and when he rose to +go to his room for the night, she said, "Thank you, Herr Hardy; you +have interested my father to speak in the way he only can." + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + + "But he that unto others leads the way + In public prayer, + Should do it so, + As all that hear may know + They need not fear + To tune their hearts unto his tongue." + _The Complete Angler._ + + +The next day, as soon as signs of the tobacco parliament were apparent +by Frøken Helga filling and lighting her father's pipe, Karl and Axel, +who had been interested in listening to the conversation on traditions +the previous evening, besought Hardy to lead Pastor Lindal to the same +subject. + +"The many ancient burial places existing all over Jutland," said +Hardy, "must have given rise to traditions of hidden treasure. Our +English word for these tumuli is barrows." + +"And ours," said the Pastor, "is Kæmpehøi, or Kæmpedysse, meaning a +fighting man's burial place; the verb to fight is kæmpe, and present +Danish. It was, however, a custom to bury treasure in secluded places, +and to kill a slave at the place that his ghost might guard the +treasure. There is a tumulus or barrow between Viborg and Holstebro. +It is related that this barrow was formerly always covered with a blue +mist, and that a copper kettle full of money was buried there. One +night, however, two men dug down to the kettle, and seized it by the +handle; but immediately wonderful things happened, with a view of +preventing them from taking away the kettle and the money--first, they +saw a black dog with a red hot tongue; next, a cock drawing a load of +hay; then a carriage with four black horses. The men, however, pursued +their occupation without uttering a word. But at last came a man, lame +in one foot, halting by, and he said, 'Look, the town is on fire!' The +two men looked, and sure enough the town appeared to them to be on +fire. One of them uttered an exclamation, and the kettle and the +treasure sank in the earth far beyond their reach. There are many of +these stories, but the principle inculcated is, that when digging for +treasure it must be carried out in perfect silence. You will have +observed that a great many of the tumuli you have met with in Denmark +have been opened. This has chiefly been done by the hidden-treasure +seekers; but it has had one good result, and that is, it has enriched +the museums in Denmark, especially that of Northern Antiquities in +Copenhagen. You have probably seen the museum in Bergen, Norway. You +will have seen precisely the same type of subjects there as in +Copenhagen; and in the tumuli in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, what has +been found is, _coeteris paribus_, identical in type." + +"You said just now that a slave was killed at places where treasure +was hidden," said Hardy; "is there much belief in that direction?" + +"Yes; the belief in ghosts was very strong," replied the Pastor, "and +still exists. The general view was that if a man's conduct was +criminal in a high degree, that within three days after he 'walked;' +that is, his ghost appeared at the places he had been attached to when +in life, attended by more or less supernatural attributes. This, of +course, arose from our Saviour's resurrection on the third day; but as +to this, I will tell you a tradition that is an exception. There was +once a man who was exceptionally wicked and bad; he was a thief and a +robber, never went to church, and committed all manner of crimes. When +he died and was buried in the churchyard, and the people who had +attended the funeral had returned to the man's house to drink the +Gravøl--that is the beer that was specially brewed for consumption at +a funeral--lo! there was the dead and buried man sitting on the roof +of the house, glaring down on all those who ventured to look up at +him. The priest was sent for, and he exorcised the ghost, and ordered +him to remain, until the world's end, at the bottom of a moss bog, and +to keep him there had a sharp stake driven through him; but, +notwithstanding, the ghost rises at night, but as he cannot, from the +exorcising of the priest, assume human form, he flies about in the +likeness of the bird we call the night raven until cock crow." + +"In English," said Hardy, "the night jar. It was the practice in +England to bury suicides with a stake driven through their bodies at +four cross-ways. It is possible that this arose from a desire to +prevent the ghost of the dead person from troubling the living, and +being at a four cross-ways, that it should not know which direction to +take." + +"It may be so," said Pastor Lindal; "but in discussing these things we +are apt, as in philology, to assume our own comparisons to be correct. +We have also the traditions of spectral huntsmen, with the +accompaniment of horses and hounds with red-hot glowing tongues; and, +singularly enough, the tradition often occurs that their quarry was +the Elle-kvinder, that is women of the elves, but who are described as +of the size of ordinary women. The spectral huntsmen have often been +seen with the Elle-kvinder tied to their saddles by their hair." + +"Your traditions of witches," said Hardy, "appear to be similar to +ours. You appear to have burnt and thrown them into ponds to drown +after the same cruel custom as in England." + +"True," replied the Pastor, "and the description in Macbeth of witches +answers to our traditions. On St. John's night witches were supposed +to fly to Bloksberg, a mythical place in Norway, upon broomsticks and +in brewing tubs. There they met Gamle Erik, the evil one, who entered +their names in his ledger, and instructed them in witchcraft, and, +after executing the witches' dance, they returned to their respective +homes in the same fashion. This tradition is common to other +countries, but in Jutland the belief was that the favourite form a +witch adopted was that of a hare, which evaded the huntsmen, and could +not be shot except by a piece of silver, which must have been +inherited--a piece of silver purchased or given had no effect. The +witch was then found in the person of some old woman with a wound, who +was forthwith dealt with in the cruel fashion then the rule. The +gypsies, or, as they are called with us, Tâtarfolk, from their eastern +origin, drove a good business by professing to cure the effects of +witchcraft; they generally managed to cause the ill effect, however, +before they cured it. They would give a drug to a farmer's cow, and +call a few days after and offer to drive away the witch that possessed +the cow. They would take with them a black furry doll tied to a +string. A hole was dug several feet deep in the cowhouse; suddenly the +black furry thing was at the bottom of the hole, just sufficient for +some of the people to see it when it disappeared. That was the witch; +the cow was, of course, cured by an antidote." + +"The gypsy is common enough in England," said Hardy; "but they do less +in telling fortunes or in thieving farmyards then formerly was their +custom. They appear to do a good business in small wares, as brushes +and mats, which they take about in vans." + +"The gypsy," said the Pastor, "where superstition exists, trade upon +it, and in old times in Denmark this brought them a rich harvest. They +persuaded the farmers' wives that they must have inherited silver, or +they could do nothing against evil influences, and acquired thereby +many an old-fashioned heirloom. With us they have never pursued, as +you suggest, a steady trade." + +"Have you not a tradition of a book called Cyprianus?" asked Hardy. + +"The idea of the book is from the Sibyll's books of Roman history," +replied Pastor Lindal. "The contents of Cyprianus is very differently +described. It is related of it that it is a book of prophecy of +material events, that is not in a religious sense. Also, it is +described as containing formula for raising the devil, or a number of +small devils, who immediately demand work to do, and whom it is fatal +not to keep employed. There are many stories based on this, chiefly +related of persons who accidentally find a Cyprianus and read some of +it, when the hobgoblins appear, and the difficulty of the situation +increases until some person versed in the use of the book applies the +formula that sends the hobgoblins to their proper places." + +"The devil I have always heard in Norway as taking the form of a black +dog," said Hardy. + +"It is the same in our traditions," said Pastor Lindal. "An +extraordinary belief was that a carriage at certain times and places +would not move, and that the horses could not draw it. The remedy then +was, for those who knew how, to take off one hind wheel of the +carriage and put it in the carriage, when the devil would have to act +as hind wheel to the end of the journey, much to his supposed +discomfort. There are many stories of this." + +"Hans Christian Andersen's stories have made us acquainted with +Nissen, or the house goblin," said Hardy. + +"There is little more to tell you then," said the Pastor, "except that +Nissen's description is defined by our traditions in Jutland to be a +little fellow with sharp cat-formed ears, and to have fingers only, +and no thumb. He is supposed to inhabit particular farm-houses and +their range of buildings, and, when there is a scarcity of fodder, +will steal from another farm; and if there be another Nissen there, +they will fight each for the interests of the farm he frequents. He +will play tricks on the people working at the farms, particularly so +if every Thursday night his porridge is neglected to be put in its +accustomed place, generally in the threshing barn." + +"But have you no traditions of underground people?" asked Hardy. + +"The stories of underground people are more abundant than any other +class of tradition," replied the Pastor. "We call them Underjordiske, +which means underground people; but by it is included Elle folk or +elves, Trolds or goblins, and Bjærg folk or hill people. Their homes +are chiefly placed by tradition in the tumuli or barrows to which we +have before referred; and at times a tumulus is seen as standing on +four pillars, while the Underjordiske dance underneath and drink ale +and mead. At times it is related that they come out of their dwellings +in the barrows with their red cows, or to air their money, or clean +their kitchen utensils. Through all these stories the manner of life +of the Underjordiske is the same as that of the Danish Bønde or +farmer. They are not, however, always supposed to live in the barrows, +as several stories exist of the Bjærg folk coming to a Bønde and +asking him to shift his stable to another place, as the dung from his +cattle falls on his (the Bjærgmand's) dining-table, and it is +disagreeable. If the Bønde obeys, he is promised prosperity, and +everything thrives on his farm. They can also, however, be revengeful, +and are dangerous generally. Their particular aversion is church +bells, and it is generally attributed to their influence that there +are so few Underjordiske seen nowadays." + +"Can you relate any stories of them?" asked Hardy. + +"Very many," replied the Pastor. "There are several collections of +these traditions, and although each collection is generally the same +in character, yet the details and stories themselves widely differ. +But I will tell you two of the stories. A Trold lived in a barrow +between two church towers, about a mile from each other. This Trold +had a wife, who was of Christian folk. It was necessary to get the +services of a midwife, and the Trold fetched the nearest, and gave her +for her services what appeared to be two pieces of charcoal; but the +Trold's wife told her to take them home, but warned her that as soon +as she put one foot outside she should suddenly jump aside, as the +Trold would cast a glowing hot-iron rod at her. She followed the +advice and went home, when the charcoal turned to silver money. The +two women, however, became friends, and the midwife often spun flax +for the Trold; but she was forbidden to wet her fingers with Christian +spittle, and they brought her a little crock to hold water for her to +wet her fingers in. This continued for some time, when at last the +Trold wife came to the midwife and said, 'My husband, the Trold, will +stay here no longer. He says he cannot bear the two ding-dong danging +church towers.' So they left, flying, it is said, through the air on a +long stick, with all their belongings." + +"A story with some imagery," said Hardy. + +"The next, however, is more so," said the Pastor. "On a St. John's +night, or, as we call it, Sankt. Hans. Nat, the Bjærg folk and Elle +folk had collected to make merry. A man came riding by from Viborg, +and he could see the assembled Underjordiske enjoying the feast. An +Ellekone, or elf wife, went round with a large silver tankard, and +offered drink to every one, and came at last to the horseman. He +pretended to drink, but threw the contents of the tankard over his +shoulder, put spurs to his horse, and galloped off. But the Ellekone +was after him, and came nearer and nearer; her breasts were so long +that they fell on her knees and impeded her. She therefore threw them, +one after the other, over her shoulders, and continued the chase with +renewed speed. Fortunately he was close to the river, and dashed +through it. The Ellekone caught the hind shoe of his horse, and tore +it off; but she could not go over the water. The tankard was said to +be the largest ever seen in Denmark." + +"The story is a common one to many countries, but it scarcely exists +with so much clear and distinct imagery as in your recital, Herr +Pastor," said Hardy. + +"I think now we have had enough of traditions for one evening," said +the Pastor. + +"What is your opinion of the effect of these traditions on the minds +of the people generally?" asked Hardy. + +"It is difficult to say," said the Pastor; "we can but guess at their +effect. As education and civilization progress, they lose their +superstitious influence and interest and amuse. There is a wild +picturesque imagery that must appeal to the most educated mind. They +afford subjects to painters; but I have never seen a picture yet based +on these traditions that grasped the graphic thought of the recital of +the tradition. In a religious sense they do no harm; they excite the +imagination of the people only to prepare their minds for the +simplicity of the Christian faith, at least they assist to do so. When +I visit my Sognebørn (literally, parish children), I tell the children +these traditions, and when they grow older they like to hear anything +I have to say; it assists me in suggesting religious thought when +their minds are ripe for it." + +Frøken Helga, who had all the evening knitted and listened to her +father, dropped her knitting and went to him and caressed him. "Dear +little father," she said, "you are always good and thoughtful." + +"I think so also," said Hardy. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + + "But I am the most pleased with this little house + of anything I ever saw: it stands in a kind of peninsula too, + with a delicate clear river about it. I dare hardly go in, + lest I should not like it so well within as without, but by + your leave I will try." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +The next day John Hardy received a letter from Prokuratør Steindal of +Copenhagen. + +"Your honoured instructions as to Rosendal I have attended to. The +price they will sell for I have approximately arrived at, but I cannot +advise you to buy. The value of Rosendal is not so great as the price +asked, and it appears to me that you should hesitate before making a +purchase that will pay you so little income. I feel it my duty to say +that whatever your instructions may be, that I cannot act on them +without a personal interview. If you wish, therefore, to pursue the +matter further, you should come to Copenhagen and discuss it with me. +I cannot advise a client to make a purchase to his prejudice; if I did +so, I should not only acquire a bad reputation, but it would not be +right for me to do so. I await, therefore, the honour of your reply." + +John Hardy went to Copenhagen, and returned in a few days to Vandstrup +Præstegaard. + +The next day the Pastor had received the _Jyllands Post_, the local +newspaper. When Hardy appeared at the breakfast table, he said, +"Rosendal is sold to Prokuratør Steindal of Copenhagen, and it is +extra-ordinary that I have received a letter from him to say that I +and my family have leave to visit Rosendal when we wish to do so, and +that my two sons, Karl and Axel, have leave to catch all the pike in +Rosendal lake. There is the usual notice of the sale in the _Jyllands +Post_, and from the letter from Steindal, it must be true." + +"I have no doubt of its truth," said Hardy. "I would only suggest that +we at once went to fish for the pike at Rosendal lake; my servant can +bring the carriage, and I can ride my English horse, so that Frøken +Helga can enjoy another visit to Rosendal." + +"But," said the Pastor, "the permission to fish does not extend to +you, Herr Hardy." + +"That may be," said Hardy, "but that is no reason why my advice should +not be rendered as to how to catch the pike." + +Robert Garth brought the carriage and drove, and Hardy rode his horse +Buffalo. The weather was pleasant, and the drive was enjoyable. + +When they came to Rosendal, the respectful demeanour of the bailiff +towards Hardy struck the Pastor. Hardy placed his forefinger across +his lips. The bailiff told Hardy that if they wished to have lunch in +the mansion they could do so, after a walk in the beechwoods and by +the lake and rosary. + +"The boys are so intent on the pike fishing," said Hardy, "that I will +go with them. We shall try and catch a pike, and send it up to the +bailiff's wife to be baked, and will then leave our lines and join +you." + +"But, Herr Hardy, you have no permission to fish; it only extends to +Karl and Axel," said the Pastor, with some firmness. + +"Then I think I must leave the boys to their own devices," said Hardy; +"but I fear no pike will appear for our lunch." + +"It is better so than we should trespass on a stranger's kindness," +said the Pastor. + +So Hardy walked with the Pastor and his daughter through the +beechwoods and by the lake. + +"I think now in the summer-time, with the beech trees in full leaf, +and the reeds by the lake, and the grass in the meadows in full +growth, that Rosendal is nearly at its best," said Frøken Helga. + +"It has its beauty always," said her father. "I have seen it in +spring, and in summer, and in autumn, and in winter; it has a charm of +its own. It appeals to us with its idyllic nature." + +"You are right, little father," said Helga; "it has always its +peculiar beauty. There is no place I love so much." + +Hardy, who had bought Rosendal, felt as if he was deceiving the open +and kindly natures of the Pastor and his daughter, and he determined +to keep the secret no longer. He would but wait an opportunity to +clear the matter up. + +When they returned to the mansion of Rosendal, Garth and the bailiff's +wife had prepared the refreshments they had taken with them. Garth +waited at table. The bailiff's wife, however, appeared disquieted, and +the Pastor asked what was the matter. + +"Only that the owner of Rosendal should sit at the head of the table, +instead of between two boys," replied she. + +"The owner of Rosendal!" exclaimed the Pastor. + +"Yes. There he sits!" said the bailiff's wife, pointing at Hardy. + +"How do you know I am the owner of Rosendal?" asked Hardy. + +"Because the Prokuratør Steindal has written my man to say so," said +the bailiff's wife, "and we have expected it all along." + +"If that be the case, Herr Pastor, you might have allowed me to catch +a pike for lunch," said Hardy; "for the boys did not." + +"But have you bought Rosendal, Herr Hardy?" asked Frøken Helga. + +"I did so when in Copenhagen," said Hardy. "Is there any reason why I +should not?" + +"But why have you not said a word to us?" asked Pastor Lindal. + +"Because it was so uncertain, and because I wished, as a surprise to +you, to say that any enjoyment of Rosendal stands at your disposition +and your family's," replied Hardy. + +They all looked at Hardy, but there was no doubt of the sincerity of +his meaning. + +"And may we come here and catch the pike?" asked Karl, with some +anxiety. + +"Yes, if you can, every fin of them," replied Hardy; "and we will, if +the Pastor will now allow me, catch some this afternoon. I dare say +Rasmussen's widow would like as many as we can catch. We will set a +lot of lines and leave them, and roam about the place and visit them +later, and the chances are, if there be pike, we shall catch a few." + +They wandered through the grounds and over the house and buildings +with renewed interest. + +"Do you understand the management of such a property, Hardy?" inquired +Pastor Lindal, who, since the Rasmussen incident, rarely addressed him +otherwise than by his name simply. + +"I understand farming and the management of landed property in +England," replied Hardy; "and it does not appear to me so very +difficult to manage so small a place as Rosendal, with common sense +and the assistance of so good a class of people as are already on the +estate. I shall not, for instance, begin to cut down the beech trees, +or drain the lake, although in an economical sense both would pay to +do. The lake could be drained to a good meadow; draining at the same +time the meadows adjoining, while the beech trees could be sold, and +the land they occupy turned into tillage. The house is a poor +residence and out of repair, so are the farm-buildings; but the place +has its peculiar charm, which I should not interrupt." + +Pastor Lindal regarded the practical self-possessed Englishman with +surprise. + +Hardy observed a look of displeasure in Helga's face at the thought of +so pretty a situation being turned into a practical farm, so he said-- + +"I have not possession yet, and shall not have until after I leave +Denmark this summer, and I could do nothing now; but my intention is +to consult a professional English landscape gardener, with the view of +increasing the attraction of Rosendal. He would do nothing that would +appear inconsistent with the natural beauty of the place." + +"But he will cut it up and make all sorts of changes!" said Helga, in +a disappointed tone. + +"Yes," said Hardy; "and I see you think that it would not be the same +old Rosendal to you again; but you have not seen how pretty the +surroundings of our English homes are made by these means, and the +exercise of judicious taste." + +"But it would not be the same Rosendal to me," said Helga, +unconsciously uttering the very thought Hardy had read in her handsome +face. + +"Possibly not," replied Hardy; "but your first exclamation would be +that you could not have believed Rosendal could have been made so +beautiful. A natural gem must be polished to exhibit its full beauty." + +"That may be; but the thought of seeing Rosendal changed, Hardy, is +what strikes us," said the Pastor. + +"Well, Herr Pastor, there is one thing I will do," said Hardy, "and +that is, before I do anything the plans shall be submitted to your and +Frøken Helga's judgment." + +"Which, I fear, we shall not understand," said the Pastor. + +"Yes, you will, because you will have the plan of the estate, as it +now exists, before you as well as the plan of the proposed +alterations; but, as far as I myself can see, no striking change would +be desirable, or would be suggested." + +"But why have you bought Rosendal, Herr Hardy?" asked Helga, looking +full at him. She had all a woman's curiosity, and it was inexplicable +to her what motive Hardy could have had for his purchase. + +"I will tell you when my mother comes here next year," said Hardy. + +"You have bought it for a residence for your mother, then?" said +Helga, inquiringly. + +"I cannot say I have," replied Hardy. + +They had come to the shores of the little lake, where the two boys had +been anxiously watching the trimmers that Garth had assisted them in +setting round the reeds; but although they saw several fish were on, +Garth would not let them take the boat to the lines until his master +came. Hardy saw the situation, and said-- + +"Don't wait, Bob; take the lads to the lines, and let them pull them +up." + +Several pike were brought ashore, but none of any size. It had been +the habit of the former owner of Rosendal to use nets, and take out +the largest fish, so as not to allow a few monsters to tyrannize over +the rest of the fish in the lake. The boys had seen similar tackle to +the English trimmers, but neither so neat nor effective. + +"We do not consider this method of fishing a fair way in England," +said Hardy; "it is adopted by poachers, to steal fish from private +ponds, and it is not popular with anglers. The approved method is to +troll for pike." + +"Very interesting to the fish, if they only knew it," said the Pastor. +"I fear when on the hooks they would scarcely appreciate the +distinction. For my part, I do not like the mode of fishing you have +just practised, as a little fish is kept in misery until the pike +chops him with his teeth, or it dies on the hook." + +"You are quite right to condemn it in that way," said Hardy; and, +turning to Karl and Axel, added, "You hear what your father says; so +when you wish to fish here you must troll, as you saw me do at +Silkeborg; and as only one can troll in the boat at one time, I will +give you my trolling-rod and gear, so that you can fish when you +like." + +"Thank you, so much, Herr Hardy," said the boys at once. "You are +always good, and think so much about us." + +"You are kind. Hardy," said the Pastor; while Frøken Helga looked as +if she did not understand Hardy. + +As they walked up to the mansion from the lake, they went through the +valley of roses, which has before been described as giving the name to +Rosendal. + +"What do you say, Frøken Helga, to this place?" asked Hardy. "Is there +no room for improvement here? There are a few ragged rose bushes +widely distributed, and in the whole valley of roses scarcely a dozen +roses in bloom at a time of the year when there should be abundance." + +"More roses might be planted, Herr Hardy," said Helga; "but your view +would be to plant a straight row of standards, with a gravel walk down +the middle." + +"You are like Kirstin, always imputing evil to me," said Hardy. "Such +a walk would destroy the natural effect of the valley, and would be a +sin to do." + +Helga started. She did not know that Hardy was ignorant of Kirstin's +conduct towards him. The Pastor, with his delicate instinct, at once +saw that Hardy was ignorant of Kirstin's tale of shame, or he would +not have referred to it. + +"Whatever Hardy does, Helga," said the Pastor, "will be thoughtfully +done." + +"No doubt of it," said Helga; "he is a cool and calculating +Englishman." She was vexed at the illusion to Kirstin. + +When they came close to the mansion, Hardy said, "Now, here the +grounds do not require alteration, provided they were always covered +with snow, which, however frequent, is not what we can fall back upon +in a summer residence, which Rosendal is. There is the straight drive +up to the door steps, a clump of bushes each side of a bit of meadow +grass, and that is all; and there is a straight view from the house to +the lake, there is no break or change, nothing catches the eye except +the tethered cows. It is like the toy houses made at Leipsic for +children to play with. Surely a change that introduces a thought of +beauty in the landscape would not be destructive to Rosendal, Frøken +Helga." + +"You appear, Herr Hardy, to find fault with everything Danish," said +Helga, sharply; "our horses are inferior, our houses are, and even our +gardens are." + +"But I never said you were," broke in Hardy, with a laugh. + +"No; but I see you think it," retorted Helga. "You have heard me say +that I like Rosendal as it is, and you exhibit your English ideas to +show how uncivilized and wanting in taste I am." + +"But are you not imputing evil," said Hardy, "like Kirstin, the +grossly suspicious?" + +Helga blushed and said nothing, and Pastor Lindal determined to tell +Hardy what Kirstin had imputed to him. + +As Garth brought round the horses and a man led out Buffalo, Karl was +struck with a great wish to ride the English horse. He asked Hardy +hesitatingly. Hardy told him to ask his father, who looked at Hardy. + +"The horse is likely to give him a fall," he said, "and he might get +an awkward fall; but boys should learn to ride, and I have no +objections if you have not." + +The Pastor assented, the stirrups were shortened, and Karl mounted. + +"Don't pull at his mouth," said Hardy; "he does not like a stranger +interfering with his mouth." + +"And might I jump him over a ditch on the way home?" begged Karl. + +"You may; but I think you had better leave that alone," said Hardy. + +Garth drove, and Hardy chatted with the Pastor, but kept his eye fixed +on Karl. Buffalo went along at a smooth trot after the carriage--so +far, so well; but when they came to the meadow running down to the +Gudenaa, Karl rode into the meadow and galloped at a water ditch in +the same manner as he had often seen Hardy do. Buffalo stretched out +and took the ditch like a bird, making a longer jump than was at all +necessary. There was a loud splash and a scream from Frøken Helga, and +Buffalo, with an empty saddle, was galloping away. + +Hardy took the reins from Garth, as he said coolly, "Pick the lad out +of the ditch, and catch the horse. There is nothing to fear, Herr +Pastor." + +Garth called the horse, which stopped. He then assisted Karl out of +the ditch, who was covered with peaty slime, wiped the mud from his +face and mouth, and pointed to the carriage. Garth then crossed the +ditch on a plank bridge and caught Buffalo, and rode him over the +ditch, coming to the side of the carriage. Karl looked foolish. + +"There, is nothing to be ashamed of, Karl," said Hardy. "I had many a +fall before I learnt how to stick on. It is what we all have to go +through. Come up by the side of me, little man; you would make your +father and sister in a mess." + +The Pastor and his daughter were, for the moment, much frightened by +the incident; but Hardy's manner of treating it as a matter of course +reassured them. + +"There was no cause for alarm, Herr Pastor," said Hardy. "Karl can, if +he will, assure you that the mud at the bottom of the ditch was as +soft as eider down. Garth, ride on; I will drive up to the parsonage, +and thence to the stables." + +"Thank you for a pleasant day, Hardy," said the Pastor, as he went +into his house. + +"Stop, Herr Pastor! here are the pike that were caught in the lake. +Take what you like, and I will send the rest to Widow Rasmussen." + +The pike cooked that day for dinner was, Hardy thought, a fish with as +strong a flavour of mud as any fish could possibly possess. The +horse-radish sauce, and the sage and bread with which it was stuffed, +availed nothing, and Hardy formed a resolution with regard to the lake +that afterwards had the result of its being stocked with trout instead +of pike. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + + "_Piscator._--I love such mirth as does not make + friends ashamed to look upon one another the next + morning."--_The Complete Angler._ + + +When the tobacco parliament began the evening after the excursion to +Rosendal, Pastor Lindal said, "I have told Herr Hardy the nature of +Kirstin's imputations against him, and what he said to-day to you, +Helga, was in ignorance of that. I am quite sure that he would never +have referred to Kirstin in the way he did had he known everything. +His only thought was that Kirstin was generally suspicious and that +was all. He had no idea that when you criticized his treatment of +Rosendal that he was comparing your conduct with what was bad." + +Helga looked puzzled; but after a while she rose up from her seat, and +extended her hand to Hardy. "I hope you will forgive me, Herr Hardy, +if I have not understood you." + +"Thank you," said Hardy. "I had hoped that my character was so simple +that it left nothing to the imagination or to construction. It appears +to me to be a work of time to acquire the approving confidence of any +one in Jutland." + +"I begin to think you are true," said Helga. "You have said no single +word which has not been borne out; but your opinions differ from ours, +and that widely." + +"There is, of course," said Hardy, "the difference of nationality, but +in the wide world what is best is best, and if anything I do or say +differs from your national feeling, yet if it be right and best it is +best." + +"Good, very good," said the Pastor. "We are all in the hands of a +Higher Power, and we have to obey it. It is not for us to criticize +and doubt, but to obey." + +"But it is not a question of religion," said Helga, "if we Danes +differ in opinion from the English or if our customs are different." + +"Just so," said the Pastor; "but God is over all. Nation may call to +nation and generation to generation; but, as Herr Hardy suggests, +nationalities may differ, but what is best in thought and deed will +come to the front." + +"But why should he despise us?" asked Helga. + +"Herr Hardy despises nothing," replied her father. "He sees and +appreciates what is good in us, and sympathizes with the stability of +the Danish character, but he naturally values the broader thought in +everyday life of the English people." + +"That is because he is an Englishman," retorted Helga. + +"You forget, Helga, that Herr Hardy is present," said her father, "and +what you have said would pain him. If he be an Englishman he cannot +help it, and if he should be English in thought and character it is +not what you should condemn. He is only true to himself. Since he has +been with us, what has his conduct been?" + +Helga knitted in silence; she felt the justice of her father's reproof +and her injustice to Hardy. + +Hardy, to change the conversation, said to Karl, "Well, Karl, you have +not told us how soft you found the ditch that you went to the bottom +of." + +"I do not know how I fell off," said Karl. "I was suddenly under water +in the ditch." + +"You fell off as Buffalo was about to jump. He checked his stride +before he jumped, and then you tumbled off," said Hardy. + +"What should I have done?" asked Karl. + +"Stuck on," replied Hardy. "You have to learn the motion of the horse +when jumping, which only practise gives." + +"It was like the Damhest," said the Pastor, "which is a legendary +horse that comes out of mill-dams, ponds, or lakes, at night, and +entices people to ride it, when it jumps into the water. The best +story of it is from Thisted, a little to the north-west of this. Three +tipsy Bønder (farmers) were going home, when one of them wished for a +horse, that they might ride home, when, lo! there appeared a +long-backed black horse, on whose back they all clambered, and there +appeared room for many more. As the last man got up he exclaimed-- + +'Herre, Jesu Kors +Aldrig saae jeg saadan Hors.' + +'By the Lord Jesu's cross, +Never saw I such a horse.' + +Instantly at that holy name the horse disappeared from under them, and +the three Bønder were lying on the ground. The Danish word for horse +is 'hest,' but the Jutland people use the word 'hors,' in their +dialect." + +"There is a similar legend in the Shetland Islands; but, then, it is a +little horse that jumps into the sea, with the unfortunate person it +has enticed to mount it," said Hardy. + +"There is also a similar legend in France," said the Pastor. "The +horse is called 'Le Lutin.' We have another legendary horse, that is +said to abide in churchyards, and has three legs. The legend has +arisen from the practice in old times of burying a living horse at the +funeral of a man of distinction. This horse's ghost is called the +'Helhest.' If any one meets it, it is a sign to him of an early death. +It is a tradition of the cathedral at Aarhus, that such a horse is +occasionally seen there. A man whose window looked out to the +cathedral exclaimed one day to a neighbour, 'What horse is that?' +There is none,' said his neighbour. 'Then it must be the Helhest,' +said the other, who shortly after died. It is said that in the +cathedral at Roeskilde, there is a narrow stone on which, in old +times, people used to spit, because a Helhest was buried there. The +word 'hel' is from 'hæl,' a heel, because the horse lacked one hoof or +heel. The legend appears to have existed in the Roman times, as they +called it Unipes, or the one-footed." + +"The pronunciation of 'hel' in Danish is as if it were spelt in +English as 'hæl'" said Hardy. "I certainly never heard that legend +before." + +"There are other legends of animals," said Pastor Lindal. "There is +the Kirkelam, or the church lamb. This arose from the practice, when a +church was founded, to bury under the altar a living lamb, to prevent, +it was said, the church from sinking. This lamb's ghost was called the +Kirkelam, and, if at any time a child was about to die, the church +lamb was supposed to appear at the threshold of the door. In +Carlslunde church tower there is a bas-relief of a lamb, to show that +a living lamb was buried there when the church was built. It is +related that a woman was sent for to nurse another woman who was very +ill; as she went through the churchyard, she was aware of something +like a dog or a cat rubbing itself against her clothes. She stooped +down to look at it, in the half light of the evening, when, lo! it was +the church lamb. The sick woman died at the very same instant, so runs +the legend." + +"The legend of the Kirkelam," said Hardy, "is distinctive, insomuch as +it appears symbolical, and not based, as most legends are, on the +fancies and wild imaginations of the people." + +"In the olden times of Christianity," said Pastor Lindal, "it was +found necessary to employ symbols, and to take measures to occupy the +attention of an ignorant people, and it is possible that thus the +practice arose to be followed by the legend." + +"It was a heathen practice to bury living creatures," continued the +Pastor, "to avert the plague, when sometimes they buried children, or +for other fantastic reasons. Thus, there is the legend of the Gravso, +meaning the buried sow. The reason for its having been buried alive is +lost. The sow is supposed to appear in the streets of towns, and when +it appears is an omen of bad luck or death. Sometimes it is said that +it runs between people's legs, and takes them on its back, and leaves +them in strange places." + +"You said just now that children were buried to avert or stay the +plague, when it visited Denmark," said Hardy; "does there exist any +authentic record of such, or does it rest entirely on tradition?" + +"I fear we must admit it to have occurred," replied Pastor Lindal. +"The records of it are too many and consistent to doubt the truth of +the practice. There is a tradition of a place in Jutland where all the +inhabitants died of the plague, and the inhabitants of an adjoining +town averted the spread of the pestilence by buying a child of a +gypsy, and burying it alive, which tradition says had the desired +result. There is also a tradition that on the east side of a certain +church in Jutland no one is buried, because a child was buried there +to stay the plague. At another place, two children were purchased of +very poor parents, and were buried alive in a sandhill, to stay the +pestilence then raging in the district. The people gave them some +bread and butter, to induce them to go into the living grave prepared +for them; and when the first spadeful of sand was thrown into the +hole, one of the children cried out, 'Mother, they are throwing sand +on my bread and butter!' Comparing this with the treatment of witches, +or women suspected of witchcraft, at the same epoch, it is not at all +impossible that such senseless and cruel customs prevailed. The +stories of robbers that may be well attributed to the same period have +all a cruel tinge." + +"Can you tell us any?" asked Hardy. + +"A very great many. One story has been adopted and embellished, and +has appeared in many lands, and it is possible that you may have heard +it, so wide has the same story spread. The story is that a rich man +had an only daughter, and amongst many suitors was a young stranger of +singularly bold manners, and she accepted him with her father's full +consent. But, as it happened, she went out for a walk in a wood near, +and she came to a cave. She was astonished to find that this cave was +inhabited and divided into rooms. There were chairs and a table and +kitchen utensils in the first room, in the second room there was much +old silver plate and costly articles, but in the inner room of all +there were portions of dead bodies. She was terrified, and would have +fled from these horrors, but she heard steps at the entrance of the +cave, and the robbers entered. She hid herself under a bed, and, to +her horror, she saw the man she had promised to marry bring in a +woman, whom he brutally murdered; and as he could not get a gold ring +off that was on her finger, he chopped it off with an axe, with such +violence that it rolled underneath the bed where she was. The robber +could not find it, and gave up the search. At night, the robbers all +departed on a plundering expedition, when she hastened home. She said, +however, nothing of what had happened. The wedding-day was fixed, and +the wedding guests assembled; but when the festivities were at the +highest, she produced the finger of the dead woman, with the ring on +it! The bridegroom turned pale, and, after being put to the torture, +confessed many murders, and was, with his band, executed with the +cruelty then practised; that is, their entrails were cut out by the +executioner, the bodies severed into pieces, and hung up to rot on a +gallows." + +"The whole story is a very cruel picture," said Hardy. + +"So the stories of robbers all are," said the Pastor. "There is a +story of a robber called Langekniv, or 'long knife.' His practice was +to kill people by casting a heavy knife at them, with a string +attached to it, so that he could possess himself of the knife again +with celerity. He committed many murders. But one day a pedlar was +going across a lonely heath, when he saw Langekniv coming. The pedlar +fell down at first with fright, but afterwards pretended to be nearly +dead from illness; and when Langekniv came up, he said, 'Take my pack +and my money, and fetch a doctor; I am dying.' Langekniv thought that +with a man who could be so easily robbed, it was not necessary to do +more than he was asked; but as soon as he turned to go away, the +pedlar struck him with his staff a blow on the ankle, that disabled +him from running. He then ran for assistance, and Langekniv, after +making it very hot for his captors by casting his long knife, was +seized, and bound, and put in a cart, and was executed. When his +entrails was being cut out by the executioner, he was asked if it +hurt, and Langekniv replied that it was not so bad as the toothache. + +"There is one robber story, however, that illustrates the +extraordinary manner in which a clue to a murder can sometimes be +acquired. A pedlar was passing in a lonely hollow of a road on a heath +in Jutland, when two robbers attacked him, and killed him under +circumstances of great cruelty. A flock of wild geese was flying over +head, and the pedlar said the birds of the air shall witness against +you of my murder. Years went by, when, one day, the people were +waiting in the churchyard for the priest to come to service. A flock +of geese was flying overhead, when a horse-dealer from Holstein, a +stranger to the place, said, 'There goes the pedlar's witnesses.' +These words excited attention. The man lost all control over himself, +and confessed the murder." + +"A very extraordinary story," said Hardy, "but a very possible one. +But have you not traditions of very supernatural things, as the story +of the Kraken?" + +"There is the tradition of the Basilisk, as we call it, and that of +the Lindorm. The legend of the Basilisk is, of course, of classic +origin. It is that when a cock becomes very old, it lays an egg, and +the heat of a dungheap hatches it, and a Basilisk is produced. It is +so hideous a monster, that whoever looks on it can no longer live, but +melts away. It is also said that the Basilisk inhabits wells, and that +it is dangerous to look down a well, as to encounter the gaze of a +Basilisk would be to turn the beholder to stone. There is also another +variation of the legend. The egg when laid by the cock must be hatched +by a toad; but when the Basilisk is hatched, if it be first seen by a +human being, it at once dies, but if the contrary, the beholder dies." + +"There is a novel written by Sir Walter Scott," said Hardy, "under the +title of 'Count Robert of Paris' in which he describes the Varanger +guard. It is possible that as such a body of men did exist, that such +legends were brought back by them." + +"It may be," said Pastor Lindal; "but in all such matters we may +dogmatize, and be very wide of the mark, although we cannot deny the +possibility." + +"But what about the Lindorm?" asked Hardy. + +"The Lindorm is a legendary serpent," replied the Pastor. "Your +English story of St. George and the dragon is a contest with a +Lindorm, and we have many variations of the story. The principal +incidents, however, coincide with your English story. One story of a +Lindorm is, that a girl went out to milk her master's cows, and as she +went over the fields she saw a little spotted snake. It appeared so +pretty that she took it home and kept it in a box. Every day she fed +it with milk and what else she could get that it would eat, but it +became at last so large that it could not be kept in the box any +longer. It ran after the girl wherever she went, and drank out of the +milk-pails, as she milked the cows. This the house mother (the +farmer's wife) objected to, and she said the snake should be killed to +prevent further mischief; but the snake was not killed, and further +mischief did occur. It became so big that it was not satisfied with +what was given it, but seized the cattle, one after another, and ate +them. It soon became the terror of the district. A wise woman, +however, advised that a bull calf should be reared with fresh milk and +wheat bread, to destroy the Lindorm. Meanwhile it had attained such a +size, that every day a cow had to be given it, or an old horse, to +prevent its taking the more valuable cattle. When, however, the bull +calf was three years old, it was strong enough to combat the Lindorm, +and killed it; but when the combat took place, the snake struck a +large stone with its tail, and cut thereby a furrow in it, and the +stone is shown to this day as a proof of the legend." + +"A very interesting legend," said Hardy. "Are there more?" + +"There is a remarkable one," replied Pastor Lindal, "as one of the +legends of the old cathedral at Aarhus. Many years ago, it was +observed that the bodies buried in the churchyard, then belonging to +the cathedral, were taken away, no one knew how. At last, it was +observed that a Lindorm had its habitation under the cathedral, and +came out every night, and devoured the corpses. As it was feared that +not only this would continue, but also that the foundations of the +cathedral might be undermined by the excavations made by the Lindorm, +it was determined to seek means to destroy it. At this time a glazier +came to Aarhus, and when he heard the danger in which the cathedral +was placed, he promised to help the town councillors to get rid of the +Lindorm. He made a box of looking-glass so large that he could himself +go into it, and to which there was only one opening, and which was not +larger than that he could use his sword with effect. He had this box +taken into the cathedral by daylight, and when midnight came he +lighted four wax candles, which he placed in the four corners of the +box. When the Lindorm came up the aisle of the cathedral and saw its +reflection in the looking-glass, it thought that it was another +Lindorm, with whom it could pair, and was so occupied in its +contemplation that the glazier had the opportunity of cutting its +throat with his sword, and it died of the wound thus given. The +poisonous nature of the blood that flowed from the Lindorm, however, +caused the glazier's death." + +"That is certainly a striking legend," said Hardy. + +"There is also a legend of a Lindorm that encircled a church and +devoured the people as they came out, as it appeared only after their +being in it. It had its head at one entrance and its tail at the +other, and destroyed the people with both. The people then made a hole +in the church wall, through which they escaped. Another legend is that +a Lindorm bathes once a year in a lake, which after has a green film +on it. This, however, you may have observed in the lakes at Silkeborg +this summer, arising from the quantity of weed growth during the +hotter weather." + +"I have observed what you mention," said Hardy, "and I should expect +it is not the first time that an ordinary natural occurrence has been +attributed to supernatural causes." + +"That applies," said the Pastor, "also to what you call in England +will-o-the-wisp. We call this in Danish, Lygtemænd, or men with +lanterns. The tradition is that they are spirits of wicked people, +particularly of men who have measured land falsely, and so acquired an +advantage over their neighbours. They are supposed to desire to +mislead the traveller, and entice him into bogs and swamps. It is said +that the best means to prevent being thus deceived is to turn one's +hat, so that the back part should come to the front; care, however, +must be taken not to point at a Lygtemænd, as he is then dangerous. +Such is the tradition." + +"Your legends, this evening, have been more than usually interesting, +Herr Pastor," said Hardy. "It would appear as if, with such a mass of +legendary lore, you would have men growing up and becoming authors of +the richest fancy." + +"Hans Christian Andersen is an instance," said the Pastor, "so is +Ingemann, and, of late, Carl Andersen, the curator of Rosenborg +palace. There are others also. It is no doubt that the human fancy, +when led into extraordinary lines of thought, is influenced to produce +them." + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + + "Who hunts, doth oft in danger ride; + Who hawks, lures oft both far and wide; + Who uses games, shall often prove + A loser; but he who falls in love + Is fettered in fond Cupid's snare. + My Angle breeds me no such care." + _The Complete Angler._ + + +An idea had occurred to Godseier Jensen which had filled the mind of +the worthy proprietor and horse breeder. He had discussed the idea +with his neighbours in all its branches, and had appealed to his +paternal Government to assist him. The idea was a horse race, after +the English model. Tentative advertisements appeared in the Danish and +Swedish papers, and the replies in the support of the idea came in +from all sides. A few Swedish noblemen owned race-horses, and they +gave in their adhesion and support. The local horse-breeders and +dealers were eager in its support, and the Government expressed their +intention of assisting, in the hope that it might encourage the +breeding of better class horses. + +John Hardy was early consulted in the movement, and heard a great deal +of good advice and well-intentioned talk on the subject of horses and +horse racing in particular. A prominent feature in the idea was +naturally where the races should be held, and on this point John +Hardy, at one time, thought the whole affair would fall through. + +A field was, however, found that gave a course round it of one and a +quarter English miles, the soil was light, and the field did not make +the best racing ground; but there was no better to be secured for the +purpose, and the consequence was it was determined on. A grand stand +was erected, and the course staked out, the day fixed, and the entries +for the races were anxiously waited for by Herr Jensen, who acted as +honorary secretary. They at last were able to arrange several flat +races, a hurdle race--the hurdles rather low--a trotting match, a +steeple-chase, and a consolation race. The steeple-chase course was +down a sharpish incline, with a water jump at the bottom, and some +fences specially erected, and about the middle of the course a stone +wall of loose stones. This course was well in view of the grand stand, +as well as from the middle of the flat-race course. + +John Hardy was implored by proprietor Jensen to enter Buffalo for the +steeple-chase, but he declined, on the ground that he preferred to +look on, and did not like risking so favourite a horse in a +steeple-chase race. Herr Jensen was in despair; he himself and all his +friends and acquaintances felt more interest in the steeple-chase than +all the rest put together. The only entries for the race were some +horses belonging to a cavalry regiment, but of these there were only +four. The pressure that was brought to bear on Hardy was so great, +that he saw he should give serious offence if he did not let Buffalo +be entered for the steeple-chase. He, however, explained to proprietor +Jensen that his servant, Robert Garth, would ride, but that his orders +would be to ride carefully, avoid the other horses, and not press +Buffalo. Now a fresh difficulty arose. The cavalry horses were entered +by the subalterns of the regiment, who would ride the horses +themselves, and the Englishman was going to send his servant to ride +against them. There was the insular pride and bad taste of the English +exemplified, and, in the end, John Hardy had to ride his own horse, +very much against his will. + +The auspicious day dawned, and crowds attended, bearing positive +testimony to the popularity of Herr Jensen's idea. + +The Pastor declined to go; he said he thought it was no place for him. +"It is a day of amusement where a black coat and the notion of a +sermon appears out of place." + +The Jensens insisted on taking Frøken Helga and her two brothers, who, +since they had heard that Hardy was to ride, were intensely excited. + +"I have prayed that you will win, Herr Hardy," said Axel, who was +always a quiet lad in manner, and had become more so since his +acquaintance with Hardy. + +"I am going to take care of my good horse, Axel," said Hardy. "I do +not intend to risk his being injured by throwing him down or letting +the other horses get too near, and, besides, I should not like to +win." + +"And why not?" said Helga. "I cannot understand a man riding in a race +and not doing his best to win it." + +"Your sympathies are with the cavalry officers, and I should please +you best by not winning," said Hardy. + +"There is your professed superiority again," retorted Helga; "you say +you are going to let the others win, suggesting that you could win the +race if you chose to do so. I do not believe you can, and think you +are afraid to ride hard. You speak of taking care of your horse, which +means yourself." + +John Hardy looked her full in the face, with a stern expression he +sometimes had. What she had said would have galled any man, and Hardy +felt it keenly. + +The races began, and were well ridden, and ridden to win. There was no +betting that John Hardy heard of. He and his servant Garth were asked, +on the horses being trotted out, as to the probable winners, which +they were able to indicate from their knowledge of what is and is not +racing condition in a horse, and they were generally correct. + +The trotting match was a failure; there were several entries, but only +one horse trotted both heats round the course, the others had not been +trained properly or sufficiently. The hurdle race yielded much +amusement; many horses had entered for that race, and several refused +to jump at all, and there were many falls, to the delight of the +populace, and only three horses went through the race, which was won +by a neck, the three coming well in together. + +When the steeple-chase race was prepared for, Garth brought up +Buffalo, looking, as he always did, a grand horse, and amongst the +more horsey of the Danes there was much praise of him. John Hardy +mounted; he had taken off his coat, waistcoat, and braces, and Garth +had tied a blue silk handkerchief on his head. There was a quiet look +of efficiency about John Hardy that was a contrast to the heavy +mustachios cultivated by the cavalry officers and their rather weedy +steeds. There was trouble in getting a start from the restiveness of +one of the cavalry horses and the difficulty his rider experienced in +managing it, but once away they swept down the slope, Buffalo two +horse lengths behind. The water jump reached, the cavalry horses +rushed into it, and Hardy had a difficulty in steering clear of the +floundering men and horses and letting Buffalo fly the water jump. The +water jump had been specially prepared, and was very shallow, and +Danish horses appeared to have considered it was best to gallop +through it. As it was the rule of the race that the jump must be +taken, they were, by that rule, out of the race. They, however, kept +on and rode well, taking the fences and wall, with Buffalo going wide +of them in the rear. When they came to the rising ground again, +corresponding to the slope they had ridden down, the Danish horses +began to show signs of being ridden out of hand, and Buffalo passed +easily in a canter, taking his fences as quietly as if at exercise, +and came in an easy winner. The course had been about four to five +English miles, a little too long, thought Hardy, for the Danish +horses. Proprietor Jensen came forward to congratulate Hardy, and to +thank him for enabling the race to be made interesting to them all. + +The prize was a silver cup, but Hardy declined to accept it, to the +astonishment of stout proprietor Jensen and his friends. + +"What in the name of the devil's skin and bones does the man mean?" +said Herr Jensen, with some heat. "Why, you have won it, and rode so +well that it has been a pleasure to us all to see you." + +"The race has not been a fair one," said Hardy; "my horse has been +specially trained for this sort of work, the horses I rode against +have not, I therefore wish the cup given to the second horse." + +The Danish officers pressed Hardy to take the cup, but Hardy was firm. +They spoke to him in that manly way habitual with Danish gentlemen, +and Hardy liked them. They went up to Buffalo, which Robert Garth was +leading up and down to cool; and Hardy induced one of the officers to +try Buffalo at one of the small fences erected for the hurdle race; +and when he came back, the Danish cavalry officer said, "Why, you +could have ridden away from us from the first!" + +"No doubt," said Hardy. + +"And you did not, because you did not wish to let the race appear a +hollow one," said the officer, "and it would disappoint so many." + +"I only entered my horse for the race," said Hardy, "under great +pressure, not until I saw I should give offence to Godseier Jensen and +many others who have been kind to me. They wanted to see my horse +race. I intended to have let my servant ride, but when I heard I +should have to ride against Danish gentlemen, I rode myself." + +"What a charger he would make!" said one of the cavalry officers. + +"He is too light in bone," said Hardy. "I am an officer in the +yeomanry cavalry of my country, and use a bigger framed horse as a +charger." + +"We will take the cup because it is your wish, Herr Hardy," said the +officer, "but you must come and dine with some of us to-morrow, and +bring your horse, and let the other men of our regiment see it. We are +much obliged to you. You have taught us what we have heard of, and +that is a hunting-seat. Cavalry men cannot go well across country, +riding, as we do, with a cavalry seat. We dine at three. Ask for Baron +Jarlsberg." + +Hardy accepted, and went up to the grand stand where Fru Jensen and +her daughters were and Frøken Helga Lindal. He had changed his clothes +for a black morning coat and tweed trousers. The last race was being +ran. + +"Herr Jensen has sent me to see you to your carriage, Fru Jensen," +said Hardy; "he is much occupied with his duties of honorary +secretary, and settling the usual disputes that arise." + +"And was that you with a blue handkerchief round your head and nothing +on but a flannel shirt?" asked Fru Jensen. + +"Yes," said Hardy; "but I had other garments on than a flannel shirt." + +"Of course," said Fru Jensen, "of course; but if I were your mother, I +should be afraid of your catching cold." + +"But when, Fru Jensen, we ride a race, we have to be dressed for it, +and the less clothes we have the better." + +"And you have won the race, I hear," said Fru Jensen; "but I did not +know who won, and I see it is a silver cup. It will be something to +take back to England. Your father, Helga, will be glad to hear Herr +Hardy is to have a silver cup." + +Helga had perception enough to see that she had wounded Hardy in the +early part of the day and that he had not forgotten it. He said +nothing to her, but gave Fru Jensen his arm, and conducted them to the +Jensen's carriage, a heavy four-wheeled conveyance, arranged to carry +eight, by seats placed one after the other in a sort of four-wheeled +dogcart with a long body. + +It had been a great desire of proprietor Jensen to have a dinner of a +public character after the races, but this it was found not +practicable to carry out within anything like a reasonable hour, +according to Danish notions, and the consequence was Herr Jensen had +to content himself with asking as many of his own friends and his +friends' friends as he could to his own Herregaard. He was in the best +possible humour. The races had gone off without a hitch, and every one +had congratulated him. He had been told he had made a great hit with +his Englishman, as the officers of the Danish cavalry regiment were +delighted with him. It was, however, positively necessary that the +worthy proprietor should return home to receive his friends. + +"Where is the Englishman?" he inquired, as he came to the carriage. + +"Here," said Hardy. "The ladies are waiting for you, and the carriage +is ready to start." + +John Hardy was going to sit by the side of one of Herr Jensen's +daughters, but he would not have it. The proprietor must talk over the +races with Hardy, and he did, so volubly that Hardy could scarcely +understand him. "I never saw anything so smart as the way you took +those fences after passing the other horses! It was grand to see your +horse going easily over about a foot above them; and the way you came +in past the judges was splendid. I must say I did not like your +refusal to take the prize; it was only a cup that cost us about £5 of +your money, but it was the prize for all that, and was well won. If it +was the smallness of its value," said the worthy proprietor, carried +away by his enthusiasm, "I would give you a dozen such. They lost the +race at once by not taking the water jump and galloping their horses +through it without jumping it. I saw you were in a difficulty, but the +way you held your horse and took the water jump was good. I did like +the way also in which you spoke to the cavalry officers and letting +one of them ride your horse over one of the hurdle jumps, and so let +him see that they had been nowhere, and that you could have beaten +them at any point of the race. After all, I think you were right to +give up the cup with such a superior horse, but very few men would +have done it, but the way you did it is what has made such a good +impression. Come and stay with me as long as you like! There is a +little river through my property with trout in it, you may catch them +all if you like." + +"Thank you, Herr Jensen," said Hardy, "but I return to England +shortly. I will, however, come over, with your permission, and fish +your river, which is a little tributary to the Gudenaa, and I hear has +some good trout in it. We have not liked to ask your leave, because +you might have other friends for whom you would wish to reserve the +fishing." + +"If I had," said the proprietor, "I would give it you; nothing would +give me greater pleasure than to return your kindness to me. You gave +up your own wishes about the racing only to oblige me; you did not +wish to ride or risk your horse, but you did it to oblige me." + +"Thank you very much," said Hardy. "May I take Pastor Lindal's two +sons, Karl and Axel, with me to fish? They will not depopulate the +stream." + +"You may take anybody," said Herr Jensen, warmly. + +Frøken Helga heard this conversation, and it showed her how +differently Hardy had acted from what she had suggested to him in the +morning before the races. Herr Jensen's unqualified praise had let her +see how good Hardy had been, and how considerate for others, and she +had accused him of being a coward and only caring for himself. + +When they came to proprietor Jensen's Herregaard, Hardy jumped out of +the carriage, and assisted Fru Jensen and her daughters out, but to +Frøken Helga Lindal he only extended his arm, so that she might rest +her hand on it on her descending from the carriage. She would have +spoken, but Hardy was gone. + +The dinner at proprietor Jensen's was a very lively affair. Early in +the dinner he proposed the Englishman's health, and Hardy responded +briefly; and then came many other toasts, and the ultimate conclusion +was there was nothing like horse-racing, and as the evening wore on, +so did the fogginess of the subject. Hardy had sent Garth to his +stables with Buffalo after the race, and told him to fetch them at +Herr Jensen's Herregaard at an early hour with the carriage, and Hardy +drove himself, talking to Garth, who sat beside him. Karl and Axel had +preferred to stay to see the last festivities of the races and to walk +home, consequently Frøken Helga sat by herself in the carriage, and +Hardy, after seeing her safely in and well cared for, did not address +a word to her. They drove to the parsonage, and Hardy drove to the +stables with Garth, to see Buffalo after his extra work that day, and +Hardy walked back. + +The Pastor was smoking his pipe, listening to the events of the day as +described by Karl and Axel. "You won your race. Hardy," said Pastor +Lindal; "and the boys say easily." + +"Yes, I won the race I rode," said Hardy. + +"And, father, he would not take the cup, that is the prize he won; he +said his horse was a better horse, and gave it to the man who came in +second, and a long way behind he was," said Karl. + +Frøken Helga knitted, but did not look up. + +"And did you not see the race, Helga?" + +"Yes, father," said Helga; "and I saw Herr Hardy win it." + +"But what is the matter, Helga?" asked her father, with some hardness. + +"Father, I have been wrong," said Helga. "Herr Hardy said he did not +wish to risk his horse, and that he did not wish to win the race, but +that he could easily if he chose. I did not like his professing to be +so superior over us Danes, and I told him so, and that he was afraid +to ride his horse, and that he knew he would not win. I now know that +what he said was quite true, and that he has behaved well." + +"You should have heard how they cheered him when he came in," said +Karl. + +"I do think, Helga, if you made so insulting a speech to Herr Hardy," +said the Pastor, with some asperity, "that it should be withdrawn. To +tell a man that he is a coward and has false pride is too galling, and +when not a single ground for it exists the more so. You might thereby +have tempted him to risk his life, to say nothing of his horse." + +Helga burst into tears. + +Hardy rose and held out his hand to her. "I hope," he said, "you will +think no more of this; I shall not. Your saying what you have to your +father is enough for me. I do hope you will believe me when I say that +after so frank an admission that I shall only respect the strong +national feeling that prompted you. I admit a Danish gentleman can do +all I can and possibly more." + +"You are a gentleman, Hardy," said the Pastor. + +Helga took Hardy's hand coldly, and left the room. She had made a +mistake and had atoned, that was all. + +The next day Hardy rode Buffalo, attended by Garth on one of the +Danish horses, to the quarters of the cavalry regiment, and was +received with much kindness. A dinner had been arranged at a hotel +near, and the men and officers of the regiment regarded Buffalo with +much interest. One after the other asked leave to mount him and ride +him a short distance over a bit of grass adjoining the cavalry +barracks. Hardy let them inspect the horse to their hearts' content. +His winning the race so easily the day before had its special value. +Hardy's knowledge of cavalry accoutrements and horses was another +point of common interest. He rode several of the best horses of the +regiment, but preferred changing their heavy military bridles to his +own light snaffle, and the effect was marked, and was noted by the +cavalry officers. + +At dinner, the cup of the day before was produced, and Hardy had to +drink out of it. + +"It is your cup and fairly won, but we appreciate the feeling that +gives it to us," said Baron Jarlsberg, "and we shall keep it in the +regiment as a memento of an English horse beating the best horses in a +Danish cavalry regiment." + +Hardy rode to the parsonage, after a very pleasant time, with many +expressions of good feeling from the Danish officers. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + + "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 Frøken 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 Frøken 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 Frøken +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 Frøken 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 Frøken 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 Frøken 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 Frøken 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 Frøken +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 Frøken Jensens want to ride Herr Hardy's +horses." + +Helga had returned, and heard what Karl said. + +"Frøken 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 Frøken 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 Frøken 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 Frøken Mathilde suggested. + +"No doubt your mother will do everything," said Frøken 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 Frøken 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 Frøken 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 Præstegaard, 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. + +Frøken 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 Frøken 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. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + + "Good God, how sweet are all things here! + How beautiful the fields appear! + How cleanly do we feed and lie! + Lord, what good hours do we keep; + How quietly we sleep! + What peace! what unanimity! + How different from the lewd fashion + Is all our business, all our recreation!" + _The Complete Angler._ + + +Frøken Helga had filled the porcelain pipe with Kanaster one evening, +when she said to her father that he should relate to Herr Hardy what +he knew of Folketro. + +"What is Folketro?" asked Hardy. + +"It is the belief in supernatural subjects; for instance, the belief +in the merman is a Folketro." + +"I know the beautiful old ballad that is sung in Norway of the merman +king rising from the sea in a jewelled dress, where the king's +daughter had come to fish with a line of silk. He sings to her, and, +charmed with his song, she gives him both her hands, and he draws her +under the sea." + +"Yes, we all know that ballad," said the Pastor; "it is known to all +Scandinavians. We have, however, in Jutland, a tradition founded upon +it. Two poor people who lived near Aarhus had an only daughter, called +Grethe. One day she was sent to the seashore to fetch sand, when a +Havmand (merman) rose up out in the sea. His beard was greener than +the salt sea, but otherwise his form was fair, and he enticed the girl +to follow him into the sea, by the promise of as much silver as she +could wish for. She went to the bottom of the sea, and was married to +the Havmand ('Hav' is a Danish word for the sea), and had five +children. One day she sat rocking the cradle of her youngest child, +when she heard the church bells ring ashore. She had almost forgotten +what she had learnt of Christian faith, but the longing was so great +to go to church that she wept bitterly. The merman at length allowed +her to go, and she went to church. She had not been there long before +the merman came to the church and called 'Grethe! Grethe!' She heard +him call, but remained; this occurred three times, when the merman was +heard loudly lamenting, as he returned to the sea. Grethe remained +with her parents, and the merman is often heard bitterly grieving the +loss of Grethe." + +"The same tradition occurs in many lands," said Hardy. + +"Yes, but that is the one we have here in Jutland," replied Pastor +Lindal. "There is a story that comes from the neighbourhood of +Ringkiøbing, which may have a similarity with traditions elsewhere +also; but the Jutland story is as follows: For a long time no ship had +been wrecked on the west coast of Jutland, and consequently the +Havmand had been a long time without a victim. So he went on land and +threw a hook at the cattle on the sand hills, whither they frequently +wandered from the farms, and dragged them into the sea. Close to the +sea lived a Bonde, who had two red yearlings, which he did not wish to +lose; so he coupled them together with twigs of the mountain ash, over +which the Havmand had no power. However, he threw his hook at them, +but could not drag the yearlings down to the sea, as they were +protected by the virtue in the mountain ash. His hook stuck in its +twigs, and the yearlings came home with it, and the Bonde hung it up +in his house by the chimney. One day, when his wife was at home alone, +the Havmand came and took away the hook, and said, 'The first calves +of red cows, with a mountain ash couple, the Havmand could not drag to +the sea, and for want of my hook I have missed many a good catch.' So +the Havmand returned to the sea, and since then has never taken any +cattle from that part of the coast." + +"It is very possible that the cattle were stolen by people landing +from the sea," said Hardy. + +"Probably," said the Pastor. "There is another story of a Havmand's +body being washed up by the sea, close to the church, and it was +buried in the churchyard. But the sea every year washed away so much +of the sandy coast that the people were afraid the church would be +washed away; so they dug up the Havmand, and found him sitting at the +bottom of the grave, sucking one of his toes. They carried him down to +the sea, for which he thanked them, and said that now the sea should +ever cast up as much sand as it washed away, and both the church and +churchyard should never suffer from the encroachments of the sea." + +"A story with more apparent improbability than usual. But the +impression appears to exist that these supernatural beings could never +really die. Is it not so?" inquired Hardy. + +"It would appear so," replied the Pastor; "but in the case of Trolds +or Underjordiske, their deaths are occasionally referred to in the +traditions about them." + +"But are there no legends of mermaids?" said Hardy. + +"Many," replied the Pastor. "The Danish word is 'Havfru,' or +sea-woman. On the Jutland coast a mermaid or Havfru was accustomed to +drive her cattle up from the sea, so that they could graze in the +fields ashore. This the Bønder did not like. They, therefore, one +night, surrounded the cattle, and secured both them and the Havfru in +an enclosure, and refused to let them go until they had been paid for +the grass the sea cattle had consumed from their fields. As she had no +money, they demanded that she should give them the belt that she wore +round her waist, which appeared to be covered with precious stones. To +ransom herself and cattle, she at length consented, and the Bønder +received the belt; but as she went to the sea-shore she said to the +biggest bull of her herd, 'Root up,' and the bull rooted the earth up +that was over the sand in their meadows, and the consequence was the +wind blew the sand so that it buried the church. The Bønder, +therefore, had small joy of the belt, particularly when they found it +was only common rushes." + +"There is a ballad," said Hardy, "that I met with in Norway of Count +Magnus and the Havfru. She promised him a sword, a horse, and a ship +of miraculous powers; but he was true to his earthly love." + +"The people often sing it here," said the Pastor, "and a good ballad +it is. It is, however, well known in England. There was a common +belief that there were cattle in the sea, and it is related that a man +once saw a red cow constantly in the evening feeding on his standing +corn. He asked his neighbours' assistance, and they secured it. It had +five calves whilst in the man's possession, and each of them cow +calves; but they gave him so much trouble from their unruly nature +that he beat them frequently. One day he did so by the seaside, when a +voice from the sea called the cattle, who all rushed into the sea. + +"There is a very common story of a fisherman, on the west coast of +Jutland, seeing a Havmand riding on a billow of the sea, but shivering +with the cold, as he had only one stocking on. The fisherman took off +one of his stockings and gave it to the Havmand. Some time after, he +was on the sea fishing, when the Havmand appeared, and sang-- + + + 'Hør du Mand som Hosen gav. + Tag dit Skib og drag til Land, + Det dundrer under Norge.' + + 'Listen, you man, who gave the stocking. + Take your ship and make for land, + It thunders under Norway.' + + +The fisherman obeyed, and a great storm ensued, and many people +perished at sea." + +"It is common to observe that where the natural disposition of the +people is a kindly one, there exists in their legends instances of a +similar character, where a kindness is recollected and rewarded," said +Hardy. + +"It occurs often," said Pastor Lindal, "in the legends of the +Underjordiske." + +"Hans Christian Andersen has a story about the elder tree, but it is +not very clear what position the fairy of the elder tree bears in +tradition," said Hardy. + +"There is supposed to exist in the elder tree a supernatural being, a +gnome or fairy, called the Hyldemøer, or fairy of the elder tree," +replied the Pastor. "She is said to revenge all injury to the tree; +and of a man who cut an elder bush down, it is related that he died +shortly after. At dusk, the Hyldemøer peeps in through the window at +the children, when they are alone. It is also said that she sucks +their breasts at night, and that this can be only averted by the juice +of an onion." + +"Is there any distinct legend of the Hyldemøer?" asked Hardy. + +"Not that I know of," replied the Pastor. "There is a saying that a +child cannot sleep if its cradle is made of elder tree, but there is +no story with any incidents, that I am aware of. A cradle of elder +tree is not likely to be often made." + +"The legend of the were-wolf is very general in all Europe," said +Hardy. "Does the tradition exist with you?" + +"It is called the Varulv with us," replied the Pastor. "It is said to +be a man, who changes into the form of a wolf, and is known by a tuft +of hair between the shoulders. When he wishes to change himself from +the human form to a wolf, he repeats three times, 'I was, I am,' and +immediately his clothes fall off, like a snake changing its skin. It +is said that if a woman creeps under the caul of a foal, extended on +four sticks, that her children will be born without the usual pains of +childbirth, but that the boys will be Varulve, and the daughters +Marer, or mares. The superstition about the latter, I will tell you +presently. The man, however, is freed by some other person telling him +he is a Varulv. In the other traditions on the subject elsewhere, the +Varulv is supposed to attack women near their confinement; and it is +related that a man, who was a Varulv, was at work in the fields with +his wife, when suddenly a wolf appeared, and attacked her. She struck +at it with her apron, which the wolf tore to pieces. Then the man +reappeared, with a torn piece of the apron in his mouth. 'You are a +Varulv,' said the woman; and the man said, 'I was, but now you have +told me so I am free.' This is the Jutland legend of the were-wolf." + +"What is that of the Marer, or mares?" asked Hardy. + +"Marer is the plural of Mare," replied the Pastor. "It is a woman, +who, like the Varulv, changes to the form of a mare. It is the +nightmare, which, as we all know, is dreadful enough. A woman who is a +Mare (the final e is pronounced as a) is known by the hair growing +together on her eyebrows. It is a very old superstition. It occurs in +Snorro's 'Heimskringla,' where King Vauland complains of a Mare having +ridden him in his sleep. There are several stories based on the +superstition. A Bondekarl--that is, a farm servant--was ridden every +night by a Mare, although he had stopped up every hole to prevent her; +but at last he discovered that she came through a hole in an oak post, +which he stopped with a wooden pin, as soon as he knew she was in the +room. As the day dawned, she assumed her human form, having no power +otherwise. The man married her, and they lived together very happily. +One day, the man asked his wife if she knew how she came into the +house, and showed her the little wooden pin, which yet stood in the +oak post. His wife peeped through the hole, and as she stood and +looked, she suddenly became so small that she could go through the +hole. She disappeared and never returned. There is also a story of a +certain Queen of Denmark, who was very fond of horses, but she liked +one horse far beyond the others. The groom observed that this horse +was always tired in the morning, with the appearance of its having +been ridden all night. He at length suspected that it was ridden by a +Mare. He, therefore, one night took a bucket of water and threw it +over the horse, when, lo! the queen sat on the horse's back." + +"The superstition is evidently an ancient one," said Hardy. "There is +no doubt that people had the nightmare very badly in old times, from +their habits of life and sudden and violent changes taking place in +their circumstances." + +"There is a method of catching a Mare," said the Pastor; "and that is +by putting a sieve over her when she is acting a nightmare. It is said +she can then be caught, as she cannot come out until she has counted +all the holes in the sieve." + +"There are difficulties enough attending that," said Hardy. "But +surely this must exhaust all the subjects you call Folketro?" + +"By no means," said the Pastor. "We have a very dangerous coast on the +west of Jutland, and I have heard sailors say of our sandy coast that +they prefer rocks to sands to be wrecked on. There has consequently +arisen a superstition as to omens, and these are called Strandvarsler, +or omens from the sea-shore or strand. Varsel is an omen, Varsler is +the plural of the word. In old times it was said to be dangerous to go +on the roads or paths near the coast, as the Strandvarsler were often +met. They were ghosts of people who had been drowned and still lay +unburied in the sea. It is related that one evening a Strandvarsel +jumped on a Bonders back and shouted, 'Carry me to church!' The Bonde +had to obey, and went the nearest way to the church. When he came +close to the churchyard wall, the Strandvarsel jumped over it; but the +Kirkegrim, of whom I will speak directly, seized the Strandvarsel, and +immediately a combat took place between them. When they had fought a +while, they both rested to take breath. The Strandvarsel asked the +Bonde, 'Did I hit him?' 'No,' said the Bonde. So they fought again, +and again they rested, and the Strandvarsel put the same question. +'No,' said the Bonde. They fought again, and they rested, and the same +question was put by the Strandvarsel. 'Yes,' said the Bonde. 'It was +lucky for you that you said "Yes,"' said the Strandvarsel, 'or I would +have broken your neck.' The legend goes no farther. There is, however, +another story, but of the same character in its bearing. A +Bondekone--that is, a farmer's wife--went out to milk her cows. She +saw that a corpse had been washed up by the sea, and there was a purse +of money on its waist. As there was no one near, she took the money, +which she thought she could have as much need of as any one else. But +the next night the Strandvarsel came and made so much noise outside +her window that she came out, and he said she must help him. There was +nothing to do but to obey, she thought; so she said farewell to her +children, as she expected death, and went out to the Strandvarsel. +When she came out, he told her to take him by his leg and drag him to +the nearest churchyard, which was three English miles distant. When +they came to the churchyard, the Strandvarsel said, 'Let me go, or the +Kirkegrim will seize you.' This she did; but as soon as the +Strandvarsel was in the churchyard, the Kirkegrim rushed at the +Bondekone, and seized her by her skirt; as this was old, it gave way, +and she escaped. But she had a good time of it after, with the money +she had taken from the corpse by the sea-shore." + +"These legends are fresh and interesting," said Hardy; "thank you very +much. But is there no story where an omen had effect?" + +"There are several," replied the Pastor, "and the people on the west +coast have the reputation of having what is called a clear sight of +the future in this respect. There was a man who stated that a ship +would be wrecked at Torsminde, which would be laden with such heavy +timber that it would take four men to carry each of the pieces of +timber. He said he had the warning from a Strandvarsel. A year passed, +when a ship was wrecked, with such heavy railway iron that it took +four men to carry each rail. It was certainly a mistake for the omen +to say it would be timber when it was iron; but as it was correct +about four men having to carry each piece of railway iron, and the +ship did wreck at Torsminde, it was considered a true warning or +omen." + +"But that brings the superstition down to quite recent time," said +Hardy. + +"I have already told you that these superstitions yet live in the +hearts of the people; they do not confess them openly, but they do +exist here and there." + +"What is the superstition about the Kirkegrim?" asked Hardy. + +"The Kirkegrim," replied the Pastor, "is a spirit or gnome that +inhabits the church, and revenges any injury to it or the churchyard. +That is all; there are no stories about it, beyond what I have +related, that I know of." + +"It is, in fact, a spiritual churchwarden," said Hardy, "after our +English notions. It is to be regretted we have not them in England." + +"I think, little father, you have talked a long time, and you are +tired," said Frøken Helga. + +"You are right, Frøken," said Hardy. "Thank you, Herr Pastor, for a +series of interesting legends. I can only say how sorry I am that I +must go to England shortly. My mother wishes to have me at home, as +she is lonely without me, and I cannot bear she should be so any +longer." + +"And when, Herr Hardy, do you propose to leave?" inquired Helga. + +"In about a week, Frøken," replied Hardy, to whom he thought it +appeared a matter of indifference whether he went or stayed. + +"My father will miss you much, and so shall we all," said Helga. "You +have been good and kind, and there has nothing happened about you that +we have not liked." + +Hardy looked at her. It was clear that, as usual, she said nothing but +what she meant. + +"If you come here again, you will go to Rosendal?" said the Pastor. + +"Yes," replied Hardy. "My intention is to go to Rosendal in May, next +year, and I hope to bring my mother with me; but, meanwhile, I have +told the bailiff that the place is at your disposition, and Karl and +Axel can catch all the fish in the lake they can; and as it is my +intention to clear the lake of pike and put in trout instead, I hope +they will use their best endeavours. My rods and tackle I will leave +to assist them." + +"You are so good to us, Herr Hardy!" said Karl. + +"Yes; but I am afraid I have a proposition to make with regard to you, +Karl, which may interrupt the fishing." + +"And what is that?" asked the Pastor. + +"Your present view with regard to Karl is that he should go to +Copenhagen and be a legal student. Now, my proposition is that he +returns with me to England, that he resides at Hardy Place and learns +English, during the winter. I will get a tutor in the English curate +with the English rector of my parish. I will, meanwhile, inquire if I +can find him a place in an English house of business in London, and, +if I can, it will be a better future for him than that of a legal +student in Copenhagen. At any rate, the experiment can be tried; and +there is another reason--it will cost you, Herr Pastor, nothing." + +"It is kind," said the Pastor. "I will think of it, and I thank you, +Hardy." + +"I have much to thank you for, Herr Pastor. I have learnt much here," +said Hardy, "and as you will take nothing from me for the cost I have +put you to during my stay here, it will give me the opportunity of +repaying in part my debts to you." + +The Pastor rose up and extended his hand to Hardy, and said, "I cannot +say how much I thank you. I accept it, Hardy." + +His daughter had knitted as usual, but her head was bent over her +work. + +"Helga," said the Pastor, "why do you not speak?" + +"Because, father," said Helga, "Herr Hardy is so good I do not know +what to say. He is better than other men." + +When Hardy said "Good night" to her, before he went to his room, she +said, "Good night, sir!" in English, but would not take the hand Hardy +held out to her. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + + "_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._ + + +Frøken 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, Frøken 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 Frøken 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 Frøken 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, Frøken 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 Frøken 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 Lørdag 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 Kjærlighed + Hvor Kjærlighed 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 Frøken 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 Frøken 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." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + + "The trout and salmon being in season have, at their + first taking out of the water, their bodies adorned with + such red spots, and the other with such black spots, as give + them such an addition of natural beauty as I think was never + given to any woman by artificial paint or patches." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +John Hardy had tied a couple of casting lines with the flies he +usually fished with on the Gudenaa, and came down a little before +three the next day. + +Karl and Axel yet slept, but their sister called them, and after the +accustomed cup of coffee and rusks they went out to fish on the +Gudenaa. Of late Hardy had hired a flat-bottomed boat, and a man +called Nils Nilsen rowed or punted it with a pole, as on the Thames, +or he went ashore on the towing-path and pulled it up the river with a +towing rope, while a minnow was cast from the boat. + +Hardy had taken a travelling rug for Helga to sit on, and Nils Nilsen +towed the boat up the river, while Hardy fished with a minnow and +caught a few trout. When they reached the shallows, which Hardy +usually fished with a fly, he sent the boys on land to cast from the +bank, and Nils Nilsen took the pole to punt the boat slowly down the +stream. The trout rose freely for about an hour, and Helga had charge +of the landing-net, and lost for Hardy several good fish, to Nils +Nilsen's great disgust. She saw the long casts Hardy made, the light +fall of the fly on the water, while a slight motion of the line threw +the flies repeatedly on the surface of the river like real flies, and +as soon as a trout rose the line was tightened with a sudden motion, +and the trout drawn gradually to within reach of the landing-net. + +"May I try, Herr Hardy, to throw the line for the Fish?" asked Helga. + +"Certainly," replied Hardy, and he shortened the line to allow her to +do so. + +Her first attempt was to hook Hardy's cap; her next was to hook Nils +Nilsen by the ear. + +"It seems so easy to do," said Helga, as she handed Hardy the rod, who +showed her how to cast the line as well as he was able. + +"You will fish better from the bank, where it is not necessary to cast +such a long line," said Hardy. "We will try a little lower down." + +Helga followed his instructions, and at length hooked a trout, which +Hardy picked out with the landing-net. + +"I do so like this sort of fishing," said Helga; "it is the way a lady +should fish, if she fished at all." + +"Many English ladies are good fly fishers," said Hardy; "and I have +seen them catch salmon in Norway. I will, with pleasure, leave my rods +and tackle here, if you would like to fish with Axel; he can show you +how to attach the flies to the line, and anything else necessary." + +"Thank you so much!" replied Helga; and as she raised her eyes to his, +with her handsome face lit up by exercise, Hardy saw how beautiful she +was. Her manner towards him had changed. She talked freely to him now, +and without reserve. + +"We will put a mark on the trout you have caught," said Hardy, "that +we may know it again after it has been in the frying-pan. The Herr +Pastor does not often eat fish of his daughter's catching. It weighs +just half an English pound." + +"How can you tell?" asked Helga. + +"I guess it to be so; but we will soon see," replied Hardy, as he took +a little spring balance out of his pocket, and held it up to her with +the trout on it. "That little line is the half-pound, and the fish +pulls the spring to that line." + +"What a pretty thing to weigh with! Is it silver?" asked Helga. + +"Yes, it is silver," replied Hardy. "I will leave it with you, with +the rest of the fishing gear, on the condition that the first time you +catch a trout weighing one pound you write and tell me all about it." + +"Yes, that I will!" said Helga. "I write my father's letters, and +shall have to write to you for him about Rosendal." + +At breakfast, Helga described to her father all the little incidents +of the morning, and her bright fresh look testified to the benefit of +early morning exercise. + +"I think, Helga," said the Pastor, "that when Karl is gone, you had +better go fishing in the morning with Axel; you look the better for +it." + +When the tobacco parliament was opened that evening, and the Pastor +had finished puffing like a small steam launch to get his porcelain +pipe well lit. Hardy asked him if there was anything in the +superstitions of Jutland, corresponding to those of the sea, about the +rivers. + +"Yes," replied the Pastor. "Our Danish word for river is 'Aa' +(pronounced like a broad _o_). Thus, the Gudenaa is the Guden river. +The tradition is that each river has its Aamand or river man, who +every year craves a life; if a year passes without a victim, he can be +heard at night saying, 'The time and hour are come, but the victim is +not yet come.' Sometimes the Aamand is called Nøkken." + +"That is the Norsk name," said Hardy. "In Scotland they have a +superstition as to changelings; that is, a human child is stolen and a +child of the Trolds substituted. This is referred to by Sir Walter +Scott in one of his poems. Does anything of the sort exist in your +Jutland traditions?" + +"There are several varied stories," replied Pastor Lindal. "One is of +a couple who had a very pretty child; they lived near a wood called +Rold Wood. The Trolds came one night and stole the child, leaving one +of their own in its place. The man and his wife did not at first +notice any change, but the wife gradually became suspicious, and she +asked the advice of a wise woman, who told her to brew in a nutshell, +with an eggshell as beer barrel, in the changeling's presence, who +exclaimed that it had lived so many years as to have seen Rold Wood +hewn down and grow up three times, but had never seen any one brew in +a nutshell before. 'If you are as old as that,' said the wife, 'you +can go elsewhere;' and she took the broom-stick and beat the +changeling until it ran away, and as it ran he caught his feet in his +hands and rolled away over hill and dale so long as they could see it. +This story has a variation that they made a sausage with the skin, +bones, and bristles of a pig, and gave the changeling, who made the +same exclamation, with the result as I have before related. There is +also another variation, where the changeling is got rid of by heating +the oven red hot and putting it into the oven, when the Trold mother +appears and snatches it out, and disappears with her child." + +"The superstition would appear to have arisen from children being +affected with diseases which were not understood," said Hardy. + +"We can only speculate," said the Pastor, "in these subjects; the +origin is lost in the mists of time. There is one story of a +changeling that has some graphic incidents. When a child is born, a +light is always kept burning in the mother's room until the child is +baptized, as the Trolds may come and steal it. This was not done at a +place in North Jutland, because the mother could not sleep with the +light burning. The father therefore determined to hold the child in +his arms, so long as it was dark in the room, but he fell asleep; +shortly after he was aroused, and he saw a tall woman standing by the +bed, and found that he had two children in his arms. The woman +vanished, but the children remained, and he did not know which was his +own. He consulted a wise woman, who advised him to get an unbroken +horse colt, who would indicate the changeling. Both children were +placed on the ground, and the colt smelt at them; one he licked, but +the other he kicked at. It was therefore plain which was the +changeling. The Trold mother came running up, snatched the child away, +and disappeared." + +"The advice of the wise woman was clever. It is, as you say, a graphic +story," said Hardy. "But who were the wise women?" + +"There were both men and women. They were called Kloge Mænd and Kloge +Koner, or wise men and wise wives. They pretended to heal diseases, to +find things lost or stolen, and the like. They were often called white +witches, as in England. There was a man called Kristen, who pretended +to have wonderful powers. A certain Bonde did not believe in him, and +one day told him that he had a sow possessed with a devil. The sow was +simply vicious. Kristen at once offered to drive the devil out of the +sow. He instructed the Bonde and his men not to open the door of the +stable in which the pig was, even if they saw him (Kristen) come and +knock and shout, as the devil would take upon him his appearance, to +enable him to escape better. Kristen went into the stable and began to +exorcise. The sow, however, rushed at him and chased him round the +stable, and every time Kristen passed the door, he shouted to the +Bonde and his men to open it, but they, pretending to follow his +instructions, would not. At last, when Kristen was nearly dead with +fatigue, they opened the door. Of course, Kristen never heard the last +of that sow." + +"That is not a bad story," said Hardy. + +"You have read Holberg's comedies?" said the Pastor. "In one of them +you will recollect a thief is discovered from amongst the other +domestics of the house, by their being ranged behind the man who had +been asked to discover the thief, and who tells them all to hold their +hands up. He asks if they are all holding their hands up, as his back +is towards them. They all reply, 'Yes;' and the man then asks if the +person who has stolen the silver cup is holding up his hand. The thief +replied 'Yes,' thus discovering himself. There is a story of a watch +being stolen in a large household in Jutland. The white witch was sent +for, and he discovered the thief by ranging the domestics round a +table and making each domestic put a finger on the table, over which +he held a sharp axe. He asked each if they had stolen the watch, as +the axe would fall and cut off the finger of the one who had. He +detected the thief by his at once removing his finger." + +"Verily a wise man," said Hardy. "In Norway I used to meet with the +word 'Dværg,' as applied to supernatural beings. + +"Dværg is dwarf in Danish," replied the Pastor; "but there are many +stories of them, and in a superstitious sense. Dværg are analogous to +Underjordiske, or underground people. The tradition of their origin +is, that Eve was one day washing her children at a spring, when God +suddenly called her, at which she was frightened, and hid two of the +children that were yet unwashed, as she did not wish Him to see them +when dirty. God said, 'Are all your children here?' and she replied, +'Yes.' God said, 'What is hidden from Me shall be hidden from men;' +and from these two children are descended the Dværg and Underjordiske. +The most striking story of a Dværg is that in the Danish family Bille, +who have a Dværg in their coat of arms. There was, many hundred years +ago, such a dry time in the land that all the water-mills could not +work, and the people could not get their corn ground. A member of the +family of Bille was in his Herregaard, and was much troubled on this +account. A little Dværg came to him, who was covered with hair, and +had a tree in his hand plucked up by the roots. 'What is the matter?' +said the Dværg. 'It is no use my telling you' said Bille; 'you cannot +help me.' The Dværg replied, 'You cannot get your corn ground, and you +have many children and people that want bread; but I will show you a +place on your own land where you can build seven corn-mills, and they +shall never want water.' So Herr Bille built the seven mills, and they +have never wanted water, winter or summer. The Dværg gave him also a +little white horn, and told Herr Bille that as long as it was kept in +the family, prosperity would attend it. This legend belongs to +Sjælland." + +"I suppose there are many traditions in families in Denmark?" said +Hardy. + +"Very many," replied the Pastor. "There is a story of Tyge Brahe, or, +as you call him in England, Tycho. He was at a wedding, and got into a +quarrel with a Herr Manderup Parsberg, and it went so far that they +fought a duel. Tyge Brahe lost his nose. But he had a nose made of +gold and silver, so artistically correct that no one could see that it +was any other than his own nose, and of flesh and blood; but to be +sure that it should not be lost, he always carried some glue in his +pocket." + +"I never heard that story of the great astronomer," said Hardy. + +"There is a story also of a Herr Eske Brok, who lived in Sjælland. He +was one day walking with a servant, and was swinging about his +walking-stick, when suddenly a hat fell at his feet. He picked it up +and put it on, when he heard an exclamation from his servant Then said +Brok, 'You try the hat;' and they found that whoever had the hat on +was invisible to the other. After a while, a bareheaded boy came to +Brok's house and inquired for his hat, and offered a hundred ducats +for it, and afterwards more. At last, the boy promised that if he gave +him the hat none of his descendants should ever want. Brok gave the +hat to the boy; but as he went away he said, 'But you shall never have +sons, only daughters.' So Eske Brok was the last of his name." + +"That boy must have been a Dværg," said Hardy. + +"Quite as probable as the story," said the Pastor. "There is, however, +another impossible story of a Herr Manderup Holck of Jutland. He was +taken prisoner by the Turks, and his wife contrived his escape by +sending him a dress of feathers, so that he could fly out of his +Turkish prison and home to Jutland. She, with very great prudence, +collected all the bed-clothes in the parish, that he should fall soft +when he alighted in Jutland." + +"The story is so improbable that it must be very old indeed," said +Hardy. + +"I think the tradition about the Rosenkrands' arms is older," said +Pastor Lindal. "The date attached to it is given as A.D. 663. The son +of the then King of Denmark went to England to help an English king, +whose name is given as Ekuin, in his wars. He secretly married the +daughter of the crown prince, and by her had a son. She placed the +child in a box of gold, and placed a consecrated candle and salt in +the box, because the child was not baptized. One day, her father, +Prince Reduval, rode by and saw the child, and as it was in a gold box +he concluded that it came from a noble source. He brought it up under +the name of Karl. King Ekuin died, and Prince Reduval succeeded, and +he was the first Christian king in England. He desired to marry Karl +to his daughter, who was his own mother; but when the marriage should +take place, she confessed that the bridegroom was her own son. The +king therefore wanted to burn her at the stake, but Karl arranged +matters so that his father should be married to his mother, who for +nineteen years had been separated from her. Karl had painted on his +arms a white cross, to show he was a Christian, then white and blue, +to show he was both an English and a Danish prince. In one quartering +he had a lion painted white with a crown, to signify Denmark, and in +another quartering a lion, to signify England, and then a design like +a chessboard, to betoken the long separation of his father and +mother." + +"I think the story rather clashes with history," said Hardy; "but +Rosenkrands means a wreath of roses." + +"Yes, it does," said the Pastor. "One of them went to Rome, and the +pope gave him a wreath of roses; hence the name." + +"You will miss Herr Hardy, little father," said Helga. "In two days he +leaves us. Cannot he stay longer?" + +"No, I cannot," said Hardy. "My mother wishes me to return. She is +anxious to see me, and I am anxious to tell her my experiences in +Denmark; but whatever my own wishes are, I must obey hers." + +"What sort of person is your mother?" asked Helga. + +"The best and kindest," replied Hardy, as he took a photograph out of +his pocket-book and handed her, which Helga looked at with evident +interest. + +"I feel what you say of her is true," said Helga. "Little father, it +is a noble face." + +"It is like you, Hardy," said the Pastor. "She must have been +handsome." + +"Yes, but she is," said Hardy. "Here is a photograph of her picture at +twenty-two;" and he handed the Pastor another photograph. + +Helga looked over her father's shoulder. "It is lovely!" she said, +with warmth. "It is more like you, Herr Hardy, than the other." + +"As you like the photographs, Frøken," said Hardy, "keep them; it is +seldom a compliment is so well uttered." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + + "_Viator._--That will not be above a day longer; but + if I live till May come twelvemonth, you are sure of me again, + either with my Master Walton or without him." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +The next morning, John Hardy was up early, studying the excellent map +of Jutland by Oberst Mansa. It gives the roads and by-ways with much +care and correctness. The idea had occurred to him to drive the +hundred and odd English miles from the parsonage to Esbjerg. The +horses must be sent there to meet the steamer; the weather was +settled, and as it was early in August, the early mornings and +evenings were pleasant He accordingly sketched out the route, with the +distances from one little Jutland town to another, and it was clear a +good deal could be seen and the drive would be enjoyable. + +Hardy came down to the little reception-room, where breakfast was +usually served, and opened out Mansa's map on the table. Frøken Helga +was there, and her two brothers, Karl and Axel. + +"I want to speak to your sister, boys," said Hardy; "you will hear all +about it by-and-by, if you will go out for a while." + +The boys left. Helga looked a little startled. Hardy said, "I have an +extraordinary proposition to make; but you must not look so +frightened." Helga had turned pale, her knitting dropped. "I only want +your attention to this map of Jutland," added Hardy. He saw her face +was now full of colour; but what about the map of Jutland? Hardy, an +inconsistent man for the moment, was thinking of who else in the world +but Kapellan Holm, and his being at Vandstrup Præstegaard all the +winter, and that was not the map of Jutland. Suddenly it flashed +across his mind that Pastor Lindal had told him about Kapellan Holm, +and that Karl had repeated what Mathilde Jensen had said about his +buying Rosandal. As he sat thinking, he looked all the time at Helga. +At length he said, "I am going home to my mother, Frøken, but I hope +to be here in May; earlier I cannot come, because it would be cold for +my mother to travel." + +"We shall be glad to see you, Herr Hardy; and I long to see your +mother," said Helga. + +Then Hardy knew that Kapellan Holm was nowhere, and his face grew +bright, and he was ready for the map of Jutland. + +Hardy explained his idea of driving to Esbjerg, and the extraordinary +proposition was that he proposed to take not only Karl, but Helga +Lindal herself and Axel. + +"I should so like it," said Helga, "but----" + +"I know," said Hardy, "that there are likely to be several 'buts.' The +serious one is that the Pastor would not like to leave his parish for +five days. Can this be arranged? Can he get any one to come here?" + +"He will write the Provost" (the dean), replied Helga. "But he has +already arranged to go to Esbjerg to see Karl off to England, and as +we thought you might go to England earlier, a Hjælpe-præst is ready to +come here at any time; a day more or less will make no difference." + +"The next 'but' is, whether the Herr Pastor would like it," said +Hardy. + +"That I am sure he will; but he must consider the expense," replied +Helga, "and there would be the extra railway expense of my returning +here." + +"Then we leave at midday for Silkeborg," said Hardy. "Will you, +Frøken, tell your father about it? he is in his study; and now we can +tell the boys;" and he called them, sent Axel for Garth, and told Karl +to be ready at midday. + +The Pastor immediately bustled in. "What a scheme you have hatched!" +he said. + +"Yes; but you cannot have had time to have heard it," said Hardy, +"much more to condemn it." + +"Helga came into my study and said, 'Little father, Herr Hardy wants +to drive us all by stages to see Karl off; can we go?' Now, is that +the scheme?" + +"Certainly," replied Hardy. "We want you to send our heavy luggage to +the station for Esbjerg, and a telegram to Silkeborg to order dinner +at five and beds, and leave here at midday. The next day we can get to +Horsens, and then to Veile, or farther. I have taken out the different +places and distances by Mansa's map, which you can check. Here is also +the English guide-book for Jutland. We can have a row on the lake at +Silkeborg this evening, and as I have been your guest so long, I +invite you to be mine to Esbjerg. I must leave now, or we should miss +the steamer." + +Hardy's quiet self-possession overcame the scruples the Pastor was +about to make. He had been bound to his parish for years, and not even +his youngest son would enjoy the drive to Esbjerg more. + +"Honestly said," the Pastor spoke, addressing Hardy, and using a +familiar Danish phrase, "I should enjoy it more than I can say." + +Helga liked Hardy's way of treating the money difficulty. It was done +with such tact that it seemed as if Hardy was receiving a favour. + +Axel came in with Robert Garth. + +"Bob," said Hardy, in English, "we shall drive to Esbjerg by stages; +clear everything, and get ready to start at twelve." + +"Thank you, sir," said Garth, and was gone. + +"What did you say." said Helga, whose knowledge of English was slight. +Hardy explained. + +The man's ready obedience struck her, and lingered in her mind long +after. She was not accustomed to the prompt execution of such an order +by a servant, and attributed it to Hardy's personal character and +influence. + +After breakfast, during which much conversation arose on the proposed +drive, Hardy came down with his fly-rods, books, and reels, and the +precious little spring balance. + +"There," he said, "Frøken Helga, is all the fly-fishing gear; the +flies in the small book are best for the Gudenaa. I hope you will +break all the rods and smash all the tackle, to give me the pleasure +of bringing you fresh ones from England." + +She thanked him in the Danish manner that Hardy liked so much in her. + +At twelve they left for Silkeborg. Hardy drove, and Garth rode +Buffalo. The Pastor sat by Hardy's side, and told many an interesting +anecdote of the places they passed. The circumstances of the Danish +families, the tradition of a Kæmpehøi or tumulus, and the social +condition of the people were all known to him. Hardy drove slowly, as +the day was warm, and he wished to spare his horses, and it was not +until a little after five that they reached the hotel at Silkeborg. +Hardy had been there before, with Karl and Axel, and they knew him, +and obeyed his telegram to the letter. + +"I have a proposition to make," said Hardy, "but I will leave it to my +guests to do as they please, I propose we have a row on the lake this +evening, but not for long; but to-morrow that we rise at six and +charter one of the wheel boats, that is the paddle-wheel boats that +are worked by hand, and visit Himmelbjerg, and have breakfast there, +and the carriage can meet us at the foot of the hill, at a point to +the south of it, and we can drive on to Horsens." + +"Excellent!" said Helga, using a Danish expression. "But it will be a +long day for my father." + +"We should get to Horsens at six, and we can telegraph to the hotel to +be ready to receive us at that time," said Hardy. "But the next day is +only nineteen English miles to Veile, and would be less fatiguing." + +"I like to be tired, Hardy, by outdoor exercise," said Pastor Lindal. +"Your plan is excellent, and is just what I should not only like, but +enjoy." + +The row on the lake was very pleasant. The Pastor told the story of +Bishop Peter applying to the pope to decree a separation of all the +married priests from their wives, and how the three sisters of the +priest there drew lots who should go to Rome to get a dispensation for +their brother to keep his wife. The lot fell on the youngest, and she +went to Rome and got the pope's permission; but on the condition that +she should have cast three bells, which she shipped at Lubeck, one +bell was lost in the sea, and the two others were placed in two +churches near Aarhus. + +The view from Himmelbjerg has the strong charm of great variety. The +lakes are spread out below, amongst woods, heaths, meadows, and +cultivated land. The early morning gives the view at its best. There +are views and views, but the variety of prospect from Himmelbjerg +impresses. Juul Sø, the lake at the foot of the Himmelbjerg, is at +times lovely. + +Axel was, however, very hungry. The view might be good, but a growing +boy's appetite is good also. He asked his father if he might go to the +restaurant in Himmelbjerg and get a bit of Smør-brød (bread and +butter). Karl said he wanted to go, too. There had been the long row +up the lakes, the walks about Himmelbjerg, and even Frøken Helga +looked hungry. As soon as they came to the restaurant, the waiter told +them that breakfast was waiting for them. + +"Waiting for us!" said the Pastor; "it is more likely we shall have to +wait for our breakfast." + +"I thought that you might prefer that the breakfast should be ready, +and I ordered it yesterday. I sent a note up last night," said Hardy. + +The breakfast was the more enjoyed from Hardy's thoughtfulness, so +much so that when the inevitable porcelain pipe was filled, it was a +difficulty to get the Pastor down the Himmelbjerg. When they at last +reached the carriage, which a man from the hotel at Silkeborg had +driven, as Garth had charge of Buffalo, the Pastor decided to go in +the carriage, and not by Hardy's side. Helga, after seeing her father +comfortable, got up by Hardy, and talked to him unreservedly. + +The bright ripple of Helga's talk was pleasant to hear in its clear +transparency. She told Hardy of her father so long as she could +recollect, and the great sorrow that fell upon him when her mother +died, and how difficult it was to keep him from the bitter memory of +his loss; that she was with him at every spare moment, and how at +times it was beyond her power to cheer him; but that since Hardy had +been with them, her father had scarcely shown a sign of the sorrow +they knew was always at his heart. + +"It is the way you listen," said Helga, "that my father likes. You +cannot, he says, speak Danish as well as we Danes, but your manner of +listening is perfect, and that there is a respectful attention +impossible to describe." + +"I can describe it," said Hardy, laughing. "The fact is, I know Danish +not very perfectly, and my whole attention is necessary to grasp what +is said." + +"I told him so," said Helga; "but he said there is more than that--it +was true politeness." + +"Well," said Hardy, "you have now explained that you have not so good +an opinion of me as your father." + +"No," said Helga; "that's not my meaning. I only related what passed, +and I am not able to judge any one like my father." + +"I have heard, however, that you have differed from your father in +judging a particular person," said Hardy, "and a man whom your father +speaks well of." + +"That is Kapellan Holm," said Helga, quickly, "My father has told you +about him?" + +"Yes," replied Hardy; "but I do not wish you to tell me any more about +him, and to prevent your thoughts being occupied by the Kapellan, +would you like to drive a few miles?" + +"Gladly," replied Helga, using the pretty Danish phrase that so well +expressed her meaning. + +She insisted on taking off her gloves to drive, and said she could not +feel the reins so well, and disliked wearing gloves in hot weather. + +Hardy showed her how to hold the reins so as to feel the horses' mouth +slightly. She appeared to like to hear the quick sound of the horses +trotting. + +"How easily they go! There is no difficulty in slackening or +quickening their speed, and they obey the least touch on the rein," +said Helga. + +"We have been training them for my mother to drive, and Garth drives +well," said Hardy. + +"I should so like to learn to ride!" said Helga, carried away by her +admiration of the horses. + +"That is what I once offered to teach you," said Hardy, "and you +replied in the negative so decidedly that I did not like to refer to +the subject afterwards." + +"Yes; Kirstin said it was not womanly to ride, and that I was not a +Bondetøs" (a peasant girl), replied Helga. "But I do not see that it +is different in that respect to driving a horse in a carriage, and if +horses are kept, I think that it is useful to be able to ride them. +There was also another reason why I did not wish you to teach me to +ride, that I cannot tell you." + +"Then do not tell me," said Hardy. "But supposing I am at Rosendal, in +May, next year, will there be any objection then, if your father has +none?" + +"No," said Helga, involuntarily. + +"Then I will recollect to bring over an English lady's saddle," said +Hardy. + +The Pastor, overcome with his walk, his breakfast, and the warmth of +the day, had fallen asleep, and woke up to the situation that his +daughter was driving the carriage. + +"Stop!" he cried; "you will upset the carriage, Helga. You must not +drive; you will throw down the horses." + +"She has driven for the last ten miles, Herr Pastor," said Hardy. + +The worthy Pastor, however, was so decided, that Hardy had to take the +reins and drive into Horsens. He had telegraphed and ordered dinner at +six, and drove into the hotel yard, but was scarcely prepared to find +so many people collected there. They had simply come to see Buffalo, +whose reputation had risen after the horse-race. They smoked, spat, +criticized, and praised. "Sikken en Hest." + +As they came in, Hardy gave a very necessary order to his servant, +Robert Garth, namely, to get the horses' feet well washed, as the +roads are so sandy. + +The dinner was well served, and much praised by Pastor Lindal, who of +course had a legend to relate, of Holger Danske, whose sword was +buried with him near Horsens. The sword was so heavy that, when it was +taken from the Kæmpehøi, or tumulus, twelve horses could not draw it. +The walls of the house in which it was placed shook, and so much +unhappiness occurred that the sword was restored to its resting place +in the tumulus, and on its return journey two horses could draw it +easily. Holger Danske was so big a man, that when he had a suit of +clothes made, the tailors were obliged to use ladders to take his +measure; but one day an unfortunate tailor tickled him in the ear with +his scissors, and Holger Danske thought it was a flea, and squeezed +him to death between his fingers." + +"There were giants in those days," said Hardy. + +"There is in the Kloster (cloister) Church at Horsens a hole in the +wall, across which is an iron cross. Behind this a nun was walled up +alive. She had, it was said, been confined of a dog. There is a stone +in which a dog is figured, to preserve the recollection of so very +extraordinary a circumstance, and a place is shown where her fingers +marked the stone of the wall in her last agony." + +"The practice of walling people up," said Hardy, "was very general in +Denmark, was it not?" + +"Yes, if tradition be true," said the Pastor, "which, as you know, we +must receive _cum grano salis_. There is a story of a man walling up +his woman-servant, because she cooked a cat for his dinner. He had +caught a hare, but a dog had stolen it, so she cooked a cat instead. +This enraged her master, and he walled her up alive." + +"Thank you, Herr Pastor, for your legends," said Hardy; "but I should +like to walk through the little town, and I dare say Karl and Axel +would too, if we may leave you and Frøken Helga." + +"By all means," said the Pastor, "and Helga will go too." + +"No, little father, I will stay with you," said Helga. "You will have +no one to fill your pipe, and will feel lonely." + +As John Hardy went out, he gave Karl and Axel some money. The boys +asked what it was for. + +"To buy anything you like, as far it will go," said Hardy. + +The boys, however, would not take it; they were sure their father +would not wish it, after the expense Hardy had already been put to on +their account. + +"Your father would be quite right," said Hardy; but he recollected it, +and this small circumstance, told him that Karl could be trusted, and +assisted him more to get Karl a situation of trust than Hardy's +influence and that of his friends. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + + "_Viator._--Methinks the way is mended since I had + the good fortune to fall into your good company." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +Horsens was explored the next day, but Hardy had a purpose in view. He +knew his mother would like to see photographs of his Danish friends. +The chief reason for a walk the night before was to ascertain the +photographer's shop. This he discovered, and proposed that they should +all be separately photographed. + +"You want to show your mother our photographs," said Helga. + +"I do," said Hardy. "You have all been so kind to me that it would +interest her." + +"I should like to see the photographs before they are sent you," said +Helga. + +"That you can," said Hardy. "They shall be sent you, and if you do not +like them, do not send them to me." + +"Nonsense," said the Pastor; "they shall of course be sent you. I can +understand that if you have a photograph it will describe more than +any description, and we will send them, or rather the photographer +shall; it is not that we should wish to appear other than as we really +are. If the photographs are not what is called successful, you can +explain that, if you like, but I, for my part, would rather not be +favoured by any artificial process." + +"You are right, little father," said Helga; and they were all +photographed separately, except Hardy and Karl, as the Pastor objected +to the latter. "They will see Karl himself, and there is no need of +the expense," he said; "and Hardy we shall not forget." + +They left Horsens a little after midday for Veile, a distance, as +before stated, of about nineteen English miles. Pastor Lindal sat by +Hardy as he drove, and as they passed by Engom, he told the story of +how Øve Lunge had sold himself to the evil one, "Øve Lunge made a +bargain with the owners of the land near to acquire as much land as he +could ride a foal just born round, whilst the priest was preaching a +sermon in the pulpit at Engom Church. They assented readily; but the +foal ridden by Herr Øve Lunge went like a bird, and two black boars +followed, rooting up the line the foal took, so as to enclose the +land. On his way, Herr Øve Lunge met a Bonde with an axe, and he was +obliged to turn aside, as the evil one has no power against an edge of +steel. Therefore there were many irregularities in the foal's course. +The Bonde who had thus sought to interrupt Herr Øve Lunge, rushed to +the church at Engom, and besought the priest to vacate the pulpit, who +did so, and thus saved much land passing into Herr Øve Lunge's +possession. As Herr Øve Lunge had sold himself to the evil one, he can +of course find no rest, and his ghost is seen, followed by his hounds, +as he hunts at night over the property thus acquired." + +"Are their many legends relating to Veile?" asked Hardy. + +"A few," replied the Pastor, "and some historical, Gorm den Gamle, +that is Gorm the old and his Queen Thyra, are buried in two tumuli, or +Kæmpehøi, at Jellinge, near Veile. At Queen Thyra's tumulus there was +once a spring of water which sprung up, it is related as evidence of +her purity. One day, however, a Bonde washed a horse that had the +glanders at the spring, when it at once dried up. + +"At the same place, Jellinge (the final e is pronounced like a), in +the year 1628, a priest called Søren Stefensen was suspected by the +Swedes of being in correspondence with the Danes, when the Swedes were +invading Jutland, and had occupied Jellinge, The messenger who went +with his letters was taken, and a letter was found in a stick he +carried. The Swedes hung him up to his own church door by his beard to +a great hook, and he is said to have hung there a long time; but at +last they took him down, and hung him on a gallows. He was priest at +Veile, and the governor of the Latin school there, from 1614 to 1619." + +"In Shakespeare's play of 'Hamlet'" said Hardy, "it is described of +Hamlet's father that he smote the sledded Polaks on the ice." + +"Our story of Amlet, not Hamlet, is as follows," said the Pastor. "At +Mors, a place in Jutland, there was a king called Fegge. He had a +tower at a place which is now called Fegge Klit ('klit' is a +sand-hill), and from thence he sent his ships to sea, in the Western +sea, that is your North sea. He and his brother Hvorvendil took turns +to rule at land or at sea, so that one should be at sea three years, +and the other on land three years. Fegge, however, became jealous of +Hvorvendil's power and good luck, and killed him and married his wife, +which murder was avenged by Amlet, her son, who slew Fegge, whose +grave is yet shown at Fegge Klit. The word 'sledded,' is bad Danish +for driving in a sledge. Polak is a Pole, and near Veile they +committed great atrocities. They killed women and children, and stole +the Bønder's cattle; and a man had often to buy his own bullock, and +the price went down to such a degree that the price at last reached +about 2d, (English) for a cow. They were hired by the Swedes to +plunder Denmark. They came to a Præstegaard, near Veile, and stole and +plundered; but a man in the priest's service, called Hans Nielsen, +told the priest's wife to give them all the drink she could. They all +got drunk. Hans Nielsen took away their arms. He then bound them one +by one, and made one of them shoot all the rest, one after the other. +This man confessed he was a Dane, but had joined the Swedes. So Hans +Nielsen killed him with a sword, for being a traitor. The Poles were +all buried in a hole, which is now called Polakhullet, or the Pole's +hole. They committed such devastation in the very district we are now +passing, that a man from Thy met a woman from Skaane, in Sweden, and +she at once offered to marry him in the dialect of the time. + + + "'Aa vil du være min Mand? + Saa vil a være din Kone; + Du er fød i Thyeland, + Og a er fød i Skaane.' + + "'Oh, will you be my man? + So will I be your wife; + You are born in Thyeland, + And I am born in Skaane.' + + +This is a nursery rhyme to this day. There is also a weed called +Charlock in England, the seed of this was brought by them with the +fodder they had with them, and it is now all over Denmark." + +"What you have told me about Shakespeare's play would, I fear, excite +some controversy amongst persons who make Shakespeare their study in +England," said Hardy. + +"I can only say," rejoined the Pastor, "that the tradition is as +related by me." + +"We shall soon be at Veile," said Hardy, turning round to Frøken Helga +Lindal. She had heard that her father talked incessantly to Hardy, so +was satisfied that all went well. + +"I wish it was double the distance away," she said; "I enjoy +travelling like this so much!" + +Veile is a pretty little Jutland town, and as they drove up to the +hotel Hardy had selected and telegraphed to, they determined to have a +walk in the neighbourhood at once, and postpone dinner a little later. + +"There was a fire once in Veile, in the year 1739," said the Pastor. +"A woman who was thought out of her mind, at Easter visited a +neighbour, who showed her the clothes she had made to wear at Easter; +but the woman said, 'What will this avail, when the whole street will +be burned in eight days; but although I shall perish in the flames, +yet my body will be laid out in the town hall before I am buried?' The +next Sunday, a boy in firing off some powder he had put in a door key, +set fire to a house. The mad woman, as she was called, had forgotten +some things in the house, and went in for them; but her clothes caught +on fire, and she died from the burns she received. She was taken to +the town hall as the nearest place, and the street she indicated was +burnt. + +"There is another story of an old monastery near Veile. The name of +the abbot was Muus (mouse). He was so hostile to the king that it was +determined to suppress the monastery. The force commissioned to +execute the king's order sent word to the abbot that he could leave +the monastery, if not, they should be obliged, in execution of their +orders, to arrest him. This message was given the abbot when he was at +dinner, and he replied that the mouse must have time to eat his dinner +in peace. The commander of the force replied not longer than the cat +will permit, and took the place by force. It is said this happened in +the thirteenth century." + +"The place appears to bristle with legends," said Hardy. "Are there +more?" + +"Many more; but I will not tell you any more until after dinner." + +"That is right, little father," said his daughter, who always feared +that he might get too tired before he retired to rest. + +The dinner at Veile was excellent. The host had asked Hardy what they +would like, and Hardy had replied that he would leave it to him to get +as good a dinner as he could. The consequence was that the host did +his best. The Pastor was greatly pleased at Hardy's simple manner of +ordering a dinner, but that it should be successful was a greater +success still. + +The tobacco-parliament continued to be held, although for the time at +Veile. The journey had a good effect on Pastor Lindal, whose +temperament was naturally cheerful. He talked on subjects that Hardy +had no idea he had any knowledge of in natural science. He had studied +Darwin, and had even read a book of Sir John Lubbock's. At last Hardy +interrupted. + +"There are no more legends or traditions of Veile, are there?" he +said. + +"As I have said before, there are many," was the reply, "and here is +one. Once there were two brothers living near Fredericia, one was +rich, the other was poor. The place they lived at wanted a church. The +rich brother would contribute nothing, and his brother said that if he +were so rich he would build the church himself. The next night he +dreamt that on a bridge at Veile, called the southern bridge, he would +hear of something to his advantage. He went to Veile, and walked up +and down it all day. At last an officer passed and repassed him, and +asked him what he wanted. He told him he had dreamt he would find a +treasure on Veile bridge. The officer replied, 'I dreamt that I should +find a treasure in a barn near Fredericia,' belonging to a Bonde he +named. It was the man's own name. He found the treasure. One day he +was out looking round for a place to build the church on when he met +his brother, who did not know what had happened. He said, 'I am going +to build the church, and I am looking round to find the best site.' +'Indeed,' said the rich brother; 'if you build the church, I will give +the bells.' But when he saw the church would be built, it vexed the +avaricious man so much to have to give the bells, that he went and +hung himself. + +"There is an authenticated story of a priest, as we are generally +called," continued the Pastor, "at the time of the plague, in 1654. It +was brought by a ship to Copenhagen, and spread rapidly. The priest at +Urlev Præstegaard had some clothes sent him belonging to his +relatives, who had died of the plague at Copenhagen. His name was +Søren Pedersen Prip. As soon as he saw the plague had occurred in his +household, his only thought was how to prevent its spreading in his +parish. He forbade all intercourse; and as his servants, wife, and +children died one after the other, he hoisted a flag, as a signal when +he wanted a coffin, which, as he had no one to send to fetch it, he +managed to convey on a wheelbarrow, and he himself buried all his +household. But that the people should not be without hearing God's +word, he preached to them from a stone in the churchyard, which is yet +shown. There is said to be also a carved wooden basrelief of him in +the church." + +"He might have said, 'Exegi monumentum ære perennius'" said Hardy. +"Such a man exhibits one side of your national character that the +world has honoured and will honour. You say the stone can be pointed +out. It is a matter of surprise to me that the stones used in many +places in your old walls about churchyards and old buildings are so +varied in character: there are, for instance, red and grey granite, +syenite, the older sandstones, but all of the older geological +formations. The side, for instance, of Viborg Cathedral is like a +piece of old-fashioned patchwork from this cause, and has not a good +effect." + +"In the glacial period these stones were brought down by the ice and +stranded on Jutland," said the Pastor; "they are scattered over the +whole country more or less. There is a legend of a giant who lived at +Veile, who threw these stones at Graverslund Church; but he was a bad +shot, and this accounts for the stones being found everywhere. His +name was Gavl; but it was the ice of the glacial period that was the +giant." + +"It will not be possible to visit Kolding," said Hardy, "because it +would make us too late for the steamer. We shall have a longer run +than usual to-morrow, and reach Esbjerg midday the day after, and the +steamer leaves at night. Are there any traditions of Kolding, Herr +Pastor?" + +"A number, and, of course, attached to Koldinghuus, which was erected +in the thirteenth century," said the Pastor. "The oldest story is that +of the bloodstains in Koldinghuus. It is said that a king lived there, +who had an only daughter. For some reason he determined to kill her, +and decided that as she was fond of dancing she should be danced to +death. He therefore, amongst his officers, sought out the toughest for +the work; but his daughter danced with nine of them without signs of +giving way. The king was enraged. He danced with her himself, and then +cut with his dagger the belt she wore, which had sustained her, so +says the legend. Her mouth filled with blood, and she died in her +father's arms. Nothing could wash the stain of her blood out of the +floor. + +"As to Kolding itself, there are several stories," continued the +Pastor. "There is more than one about the church clock, which never +keeps time, the reason is that the men in an adjoining town, not far +from Kolding, had in a time of scarcity borrowed seed from the men +from Kolding, and had pledged a neighbouring meadow, which should +belong to the men of Kolding if the value of the seed was not paid on +a certain day and at a certain hour. When the time came, the men of +Kolding induced the clock-keeper to alter the clock; and when the +borrowers came to repay the loan, it was too late, and the meadow was +adjudged to belong to the men of Kolding. There is a variation of this +story, that the widow of Henning Limbek borrowed the money and pledged +the meadow with the same result. She was on the bridge and heard the +clock strike twelve and she at once returned home and surrendered the +meadow to the men of Kolding. There is another story of a rich man who +lived near Kolding, and they offered him a large sum for the meadow, +and the terms were settled at a feast. The rich man, however, had a +horse, and he affirmed that the horse would gallop from his house to +Kolding by a certain time. This the men of Kolding denied as possible. +He then offered to wager the meadow against a considerable sum that +the horse would. The horse performed the journey within the time +stated, but the clock had been altered. Ever since, the church clock +has never been correct." + +"Not very correct of the men of Kolding," said Hardy, "and, I fear, +not a good side of the Danish character." + +"I cannot deny that such principles occur with us," said Pastor +Lindal; "possibly we have learnt it from the English." + +"We shall have to start at six to-morrow, Herr Pastor, to reach +Hoisted," said Hardy. "The hotel there is moderate, and we can only +expect what we can obtain. We shall have to break our longest journey +where we can, to give the horses a little rest." + +"Therefore, we should go to bed early," said the Pastor. + +"But I cannot go to bed without thanking you, Herr Hardy, for your +goodness to my father," said Frøken Helga. "I have never seen him so +bright, and I thank you." She thanked him in her Danish manner by +shaking hands. + +"There is little need to thank me," said Hardy. "I have learnt much +from your father, and am thankful for it; but I hope with time to win +the same kindly trust from him as you already possess, and I think +deservedly." + +Helga never forgot these words. They echoed in her recollection +through the winter months, and Kapellan Holm was nowhere. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + + "_Piscator._--Come, sir, let us be going; for the + sun grows low, and I would have you look about you as you + ride, for you will see an odd country, and sights that will + seem strange to you." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +John Hardy, before he retired to rest, had arranged with the hotel +manager at Veile to telegraph to Bække, where he designed to have a +late breakfast, or rather lunch, and to a little inn, a few English +miles further on, where they could pass the night. Thus the horses +could rest at Bække, and then go further to a station that would leave +them but a little distance to reach Esbjerg. + +It was eleven before they reached Bække, travelling over not the best +of roads, and when they got there Hardy's forethought in telegraphing +was apparent. The Pastor was tired, but as conversational as ever. +Karl and Axel were obviously hungry, and as there was nothing to be +had but fried eggs, and the usual indigestible _et ceteras_, Hardy was +anxious to get on to their destination for the night. The Pastor went +into the carriage, and Helga got up by Hardy's side, but her father +had specially stipulated that she was not to drive the horses. This, +of course, had to be obeyed, as the Pastor's wish once expressed was +enough for Helga. The direction was over by-roads, and it was perhaps +best the Pastor had been so decisive. + +Helga talked as before, unreservedly, and the ring of her clear voice, +with its transparent truth, was a pleasure to hear. + +"Travelling like this is such a pleasure," she said; "the sound of the +step of the horses even has its effect, as we feel they go easily to +themselves. There is the succession of change of place and scene, +fresh green meadows after dry and dusty roads, and, after a dull bit, +there comes a pretty prospect of a country house, with its woods and +lake. The coming also to a fresh place every night has its interest. I +cannot think of a more pleasant way of travelling. Do you, Herr +Hardy?" + +"Yes," said Hardy. "I like a fresh breeze blowing in the wished-for +direction, and an English sailing yacht, as a means of travelling. You +do not go so fast as you appear to sail, but it is pleasant to see the +bright wave flashing by, and to feel the yacht rushing through the +sea." + +"But, then, there is not the varied change of scene as in travelling +as we now do, Herr Hardy," said Helga. + +"There is nothing like yachting for variety, if there be favourable +winds, but on that it is dependent," said Hardy. "For instance, the +Mediterranean can be explored in a winter, and places in Spain and +Portugal visited on the way to Gibraltar, and then Italy and the +Ionian Islands and Greece." + +"It must be a great drawback to be so dependent on the wind," said +Helga. + +"Yes; and particularly so in yachting on the coast of Norway, amongst +the Danish islands, or up the Baltic," said Hardy; "but this +difficulty is got over by the use of steam, and steam yachts are +becoming the rule." + +"Have you a yacht, Herr Hardy?" asked Helga. + +"I am having one built," replied Hardy. "My mother likes the sea, and +I am having one built so that she may be as comfortable as possible. +It is a steam yacht, and we shall be at sea in a fortnight, and I +shall take Karl, if he wishes." + +"He likes the sea, and when we go to Copenhagen from Aarhus in the +steamer, we enjoy the journey," said Helga. + +"There is one small matter which has struck me with regard to Karl," +said Hardy, "and that is, you Scandinavians are liable to what you +call Hjemve (home sickness). I wish you would ask your father to say +to him that he goes to England to try to get on in life, and that it +is childish to be afraid of meeting strange people, but to look to the +future and not be occupied with the present." + +"Thank you very much, Herr Hardy; you are very thoughtful. Karl has +been very quiet the last two days, and you have anticipated what I had +thought," said Helga. + +They had arrived at Hoisted, where they had to pass the night. The +modest little inn did its best for them, and the Pastor was glad to +rest; but after dinner his enjoyment of his pipe was great. It is not +understood in England that such is good or necessary. _Tot homines +quot sententiæ_. The question is in England, Is it wrong for a parson +to enjoy his pipe? The answer is, "No," with some people, "Yes," with +others; but the question whether it is good for him is very generally +answered in the negative. + +"You have but few stories of the people, or, as you call them, +Eventyr?" asked Hardy. + +"There are very many," replied the Pastor. "But in Norway you will +have found an even richer store. The grandness of nature there has +influenced the imaginations of the people. Their legends, traditions, +and stories are more romantic and weird. Their traditions of the Huldr +are exquisitely fantastic and picturesque to a degree. Their +Folke-Eventyr is rich in colour. There is a depth of thought and of +the knowledge of human nature as it is that fills the mind with +astonishment. There is in them all a sense of justice, a feeling of +appreciation of what is good and true, as if the thought had been +inspired. Nationally, the Norwegians are honest, and their +Folke-Eventyr has contributed to form the character of the people. It +has engendered a respect for what is good and true. There is also an +idea of rough justice and humour; and I will tell you a story which +will illustrate this. There was once a priest who was very +overbearing. When he drove in the roads, he shouted to the people he +met, 'Out of the way, I am coming; out of the way!' He did this so +often that the king determined to check his pride, and drove to the +priest's. As he was coming, he met the priest, who shouted as usual. +The king drove as he should do, as king, and the priest had to give +way. When the king was at the side of the priest's carriage, he said, +'Come to me at the palace to-morrow, and if you cannot answer three +questions I put to you, I will punish you for your pride's sake.' This +was treatment the priest was not accustomed to. He could bully the +Bønder, but answering questions did not suit him. So he went to his +clerk and told him that one fool can ask more questions than ten wise +men could answer, and that he must go up to the palace to the king and +reply to his questions. So the clerk went in the priest's gown. The +king was in the balcony with his crown and sceptre, and was dressed in +such a costume that he looked a king." + +"'So you have come,' said the king. + +"'Yes,' said the clerk. It was quite certain that he was there. + +"'Tell me' said the king, 'how far the east is from the west?' + +"'A day's journey,' answered the clerk. + +"'How can that be?' said the king. + +"'The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and generally does +it in a day,' answered the clerk. + +"'Good,' said the king. 'But tell me now how much money I am worth?' + +"'Well,' replied the clerk, 'Christ was sold for thirty pieces of +silver, and I should put you at twenty-nine.' + +"'A good answer,' said the king. 'But tell me now what I am at this +moment thinking about?' + +"'That's easy to answer,' replied the clerk. 'The fact is, you think I +am the priest, but I am only the clerk.' + +"'Then go you home and be priest, and, let the priest be clerk,' +commanded the king." + +"A very excellent story," said Hardy, "and, as you say, shows a strong +sense of rough justice and humour." + +"There is a child's story," said the Pastor, "with its humour; but it +is very simple, as all stories of the people should be. A boy found a +pretty box in a wood, but he could not open it, for it was locked. A +little further he found a key. The question was whether the key would +fit the box. He blew into the key and put the key into the lock, when +lo! it fitted, and the box opened. But can you guess what was in the +box? No, of course not. There was a calf's tail in the box, but if the +calf's tail had been longer, so would this story be." + +"But that is a Norwegian story," said Hardy. "Are there none +essentially Danish?" + +"They are related to some extent in H. C. Andersen's stories, and they +have been translated into English. There is a story, however, that may +not have been translated. A king and queen had no children; but a +beggar came to her and said, 'You can have a son, if you will let me +be his godfather when he is christened.' The queen assented. The queen +had a son, but the king had to go to war to quell a rebellion. The +king made her promise that she would nurse the child herself, and not +trust to nurses and other people. The queen did so, and the beggar +stood godfather. The beggar bent down over the child, and said that +everything it wished for it should have. This the king's attendant +heard. He was accustomed to attend the king when hunting, and he +thought that such a child was worth possessing. The queen, however, +watched the child night and day. One day she was in a summer-house and +had fallen asleep, with the child in her lap; when she woke the child +was gone. When the king returned, he had a tower built in a wood, and +he walled the queen up in it, as a punishment for losing the child. +The attendant brought the child up as his own, and there was no +suspicion. He took the child, when grown up, out hunting when the king +went, and taught him to wish for such and such a head of game, and if +he shot an arrow at it, he always hit. The king could not understand +how so young a hunter could always be so successful, but the attendant +assured him that it was only a sure hand and eye. The attendant had +meanwhile become very rich, by getting the king's son to wish him to +be so. The attendant had taken a girl into his service, who grew up to +be very beautiful. She had suspicions that all was not right, and +asked the attendant; but he would not tell her. At last the attendant +told her the boy must be killed, and she must do it, and cut out his +tongue, to show him that she had murdered him. She, however, killed a +hind, and cut out its tongue, and showed the attendant the tongue. The +attendant thought she had done as she was told, and told her the +story, which the king's son heard from a place where she had hid him. +The king's son immediately wished the attendant should be a +three-legged dog, that must always follow him. He wished the girl to +be a rose and put her in his button-hole. The king's son then attended +the court, as the king wished to go hunting. 'Where is the attendant?' +asked the king. 'He is here close by,' said the king's son. The king +was satisfied with the answer, and went out hunting. The king's son +led the hunt to the tower where the queen was walled in, and wished +that the tower might fall down and the queen be found in it yet +living. This happened, although she had been there seventeen years. +The prince then took the rose out of his button-hole, and married the +girl who had so well served him." + +"A graphic story," said Hardy, "and has the same tendency that you +attributed to the Norwegian stories of the people, or Folke-Eventyr." + +"There is a story more peculiarly belonging to Jutland," said Pastor +Lindal, "and that is of a Trold who lived in a wood in a large +Kæmpehøi, or tumulus. He was an old grey-bearded Trold, and the people +in the district were afraid of him. There was an old woman who lived +near with her son. They had a cow, and it was difficult to get grass +for it, particularly in the winter. The boy took the cow and grazed it +on the Trold's Kæmpehøi. The Trold came out and objected, and +threatened, and drove the boy and the cow away. The boy, however, got +a piece of soft cheese from his mother, and stole a bird sitting on +its eggs in a nest, these he put in his pocket; so the next day he +took the cow to the same place, and the Trold came out and threatened. +The Trold took up a stone and pressed it in his hand, so that water +came from it, to show how he could crush him. The boy said that is +nothing, and took the cheese from his pocket and pressed it, so that +it appeared as if he was squeezing more out of a stone than the Trold +could. So the Trold said, 'I will throw a stone up, and you can count +until it comes down. The boy did so, and counted up to one hundred and +thirty-one. 'That is good!' said the boy. 'But now count for the stone +I cast;' and the Trold counted, but the boy threw the bird up in the +air, and of course it flew away. The Trold was astonished, and asked +the boy if he would come into his service. The first thing was to +fetch water, as the Trold wanted to brew. The Trold had a large bucket +to fetch water, which the boy could not even lift; so he said, 'This +will not do at all; we had best fetch in the river.' But this the +Trold could not do. The boy behaved in the same way with fetching turf +and fuel; and when the Trold went out to pick nuts, he picked up +stones and gave the Trold to crack. This gave him the toothache, but +the boy advised him to fill his mouth full of water and sit on the +fire until it boiled. This did not succeed, and so the boy continued +to tease the Trold until he compassed his destruction, and taking all +the Trold's gold and silver, he went home, and had enough to live on +all his days, with his mother." + +"I have heard a parallel story from many lands," said Hardy. + +"That is true enough; it is a story very widespread, with different +incidents and features," said the Pastor. + +The next day they drove into Esbjerg, and Garth and Hardy put the +horses on board the steamer for England. It would leave in the +evening, when the tide would allow it to get out of dock. + +The Pastor had arranged to stay the night at Esbjerg, to see the very +last of his son Karl on his leaving for England. + +As they left, Hardy said, "I shall be at Rosendal in May, and I hope +my mother will be with me; but you will hear from me many times before +then, and I dare say Karl will write you more frequently than I do." + +Helga said simply, "I thank you, Herr Hardy, for your kindness to us." + +The steamer left that night, and the next day Pastor Lindal went to +the railway station at Esbjerg to take three tickets to the station +nearest his parsonage. Three tickets were handed to him, and the +Pastor expostulated. + +"They are first-class tickets, and----" + +"Yes," said the station clerk; "but they are already taken and paid +for." + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + + "_Piscator,_--But, look you, sir, now you are at the + brink of the hill, how do you like my river, the vale it winds + through like a snake, and the situation of my little + fishing-house?"--_The Complete Angler._ + + +As John Hardy drove up to the front of Hardy Place, the young Danish +lad was struck with the beauty of the lawns and shrubberies. + +"This is by far prettier than Rosendal, Herr Hardy," he said. + +Mrs. Hardy had evidently been waiting some time for the sound of +wheels on the carriage drive, and as her son alighted, she received +him with warm natural affection. + +"John, my own boy, I am so glad to see you again," she said; "you have +been too long away from your mother." + +"You will have me all to yourself until next May, mother, and then you +will have me with you at Rosendal," said her son. "But here is Karl +Lindal, son of Pastor Lindal, of Vandstrup Præstegaard, Denmark." + +The tall, fair-haired lad, with his honest blue eyes, favourably +impressed Mrs. Hardy, who could see beyond outward appearance and +awkwardness of manner. + +"Welcome to Hardy Place, Mr. Karl Lindal," she said, taking the lad's +hand kindly. "You can have no better introduction here than as my own +boy's friend." + +Karl bowed. He saw a tall elderly lady, dressed in good taste and +perfect neatness, strikingly like her son. They entered the inner +hall, where Mrs. Hardy had been sitting, and tea was served, and she +and her son talked to each other with that kindly confidence not so +frequent nowadays. Karl looked at the old portraits on the wall, and +observed the quiet taste of the decorations and furniture, with its +appearance of comfort, so conspicuous in an English home. + +Mother and son had much to say to each other; but at length John Hardy +observed a tired look on the young Dane's face, and he took him up to +the bedroom Mrs. Hardy had directed to be prepared for him, near her +son's rooms. + +"Karl," he said, "here is your room, and everything you are likely to +want ready. If you want anything, press that nob, which rings a bell, +and a man-servant will answer it; but as he may not understand you, +come for a moment into my dressing-room, and I will show you where my +things are, and if you want anything, take it." + +There was a strong contrast between Hardy's rooms in his own home and +the single little room he had occupied in Denmark, and Karl said so. + +"Yes," said Hardy; "you will find a good deal of difference between +England and Denmark, but you will find me the same John Hardy." + +"I have not dressed, mother," said Hardy, as he came down just before +the gong was struck for dinner; "my young Danish friend is not +supplied with evening dress, and I thought he might feel a trifle less +strange, where everything must strike with the force of novelty a lad +of seventeen, if I appeared as he has usually seen me." + +"You are the same thoughtful, considerate old John," said his mother, +proud of her son's kind heart; "but I do think, John, you look better +than when you left." + +"I am better," said John. "The fare at the little Danish parsonage was +simple and good. At first I missed a few things that I was accustomed +to here, but the excellence of the quality of everything at the +Pastor's soon made me forget them. I think, too, my mother, I have +learnt much. The simplicity with which the Danish Pastor did his work +with exact conscientiousness interested me. There was never a thought +of postponing a duty under any circumstances. There was never a +thought that a duty done was a sacrifice of self, but his duty was +done with a serious singleness of purpose and thorough trust in God, +that had a strong influence on his parishioners. They saw he was +sincere and true." + +"You are drawing a good picture of the Pastor, John," said his mother; +"but," she added in a whisper, as John took her into dinner, "what +about the Scandinavian princess?" + +"I will tell you all about her after you have seen her photograph," +said John. "I will give it you when you go into the library after +dinner. I will give Karl Lindal some English to read, as he must lose +no time in acquiring the language." + +Karl Lindal felt awkward and uneasy at dinner. The novelty of +everything so occupied him that he was the more gauche in manner. This +Mrs. Hardy observed, and said little to him. It was best the lad +should be left to get over the change that had impressed him. + +When John Hardy joined his mother in the library, he found her with a +large reading-glass, looking at Helga Lindal's photograph. "It is a +good face, John, like her brother somewhat, and fine features," said +his mother. "Is she tall?" + +"About five feet eight, mother," replied John. "She is like her father +in character--simple and true, and with common sense." + +"But you wrote me, John, that if you did propose to her that she would +not accept you, on account of her father wanting her assistance and +relying so much on her," said Mrs. Hardy. + +"I did, mother; but her father wished her to become engaged to a +curate of his called Holm," said John. "She refused Holm, as she did +not like him, and I think her father would wish her to marry any one +she did like. His view appears to be that she owes a duty to herself, +and he would think it his duty to prevent her sacrificing all her +young life even to him." + +"Why, the man is right, John, and his photograph says as much!" said +Mrs. Hardy. "But, John, answer me plainly--have you said anything to +her?" + +"No," replied Hardy. "I do not feel certain of myself without you, +mother. I want you to see her." + +"Have you led her to expect that you might speak to her John?" asked +his mother. + +"When I went there first, she behaved towards me as if she disliked +me," replied John; "but her manner changed. I had offered to teach her +to ride: she declined in a very decided way; but in driving to +Esbjerg, she said she should like to learn, and that her objection, +whatever it was, did not exist longer. I said I would teach her when I +came again to Denmark. One evening, I sang the German song you have +heard me sing so often, and I turned round suddenly and saw her face; +she looked at me as if she loved me with all her heart, but possibly +so simple a nature as hers was carried away by the song's influence. I +turned away my face, that it might reflect nothing to her." + +"Did anything else occur, John?" asked his mother. + +"Yes," replied John. "A few evenings before I left, I showed her +father and herself your photographs; she exhibited a warm interest in +them, particularly that one of the picture. I gave her the +photographs, and she thanked me as if I had given her something she +had a great wish for." + +"It is a long way for an old woman, John," said Mrs. Hardy; "but I +would go to the end of the earth to see you happily married. I like +her face," added she, looking at Helga Lindal's photograph; "it is +good and firm of purpose for so young a woman. Is she ladylike, John?" + +"Her manner is simple and sincere," he replied; "and I never saw +anything that you, mother, would not approve of; but, living as she +does, and has, she has not seen much society, or acquired any +artificial manner. Her management of her father's house is practical, +and the obedience to her wishes and orders as complete as they ever +are in Denmark. Their servants are not as ours are." + +"Why you do like her, John," said his mother. + +"I do, but I do not feel certain of myself," said John. "The time I +have known her is short, and it may be only a passing fancy; and what +I want, mother, is your help in knowing my own mind, but, above all, +hers. You will understand her instantly." + +"But why did you buy Rosendal, John?" asked his mother; "in all your +letters you never gave a reason." + +"I bought it on an impulse," replied John, "but I did think I might +want it at the time. It is a place you can live in, mother, until you +are tired of it, but from which you can help me." + +"I do not think you need fear, John, her being carried off by any +one," said Mrs. Hardy, to whom the idea of any woman not being in love +with her son was impossible. + +"I must risk it," said John, "but I could not do other than I have +done. If I had spoken a word to her when a guest in her father's +house, it would have been wrong. But I wanted to talk with you, my +mother. I have no secrets from you; and John kissed her, and wished +her 'Good night.'" + +A few weeks at Hardy Place made a great change in Karl Lindal. He +talked English better, and his manners were not so boyish. He felt +also the influence of the good people about him, and had lost his +home-sickness. + +The experimental trip in the new steam yacht that Hardy had had built +(and which he had christened the _Rosendal_) was a great delight to +the young Dane, who was naturally fond of the sea. The yacht made a +few short trips in the English Channel, and was then laid up for the +winter. Karl made himself useful on board the yacht, and his greatest +pleasure was to do anything for John Hardy or his mother. The lad's +thankfulness for the kindness he received was thorough, and Mrs. Hardy +liked the lad. + +"Is your sister Helga like you, Mr. Karl Lindal?" asked Mrs. Hardy, +one day, when her son was not present. + +"She is more clever in everything than I am," replied Karl, "and she +is so good to me and Axel, and gives up everything for us. She is four +years older." + +At last a letter came to John Hardy, from Vandstrup Præstegaard. + +"Herr Hardy, + +"My father desires me to say that they are proceeding with the work at +Rosendal, and that there is nothing specially to report at present, as +there is nothing being done contrary to your wishes, and there is no +room for complaint on what is being done. + +"My father also desires me to express his thanks for your kindness +about the tickets from Esbjerg. It was a matter that surprised us all, +except me, and it was my fault in saying that my coming back from +Esbjerg would be an additional cost to him; I understood the +completeness of your kindness at once. I felt you would not let it be +a burden to my father on my account and Axel, and that when you were +taking the tickets that you might as well include my father's also; +but to take first-class tickets was not necessary, and what we did not +wish. + +"I promised to write if I caught a trout that weighed one pound, +English, by your measure. I have fished many times, and caught one by +the bend in the river just below the tile works. Axel got it into the +landing-net, and my father has seen it weighed, and it is just a +little heavier than the line that marks the one pound English. I thank +you also for your consideration in this. My father is pleased to see +me looking fresh and well after going out fishing, and he says no fish +are so good as those Helga catches. I thank you, Herr Hardy, for your +thinking that this would also please my father. + +"We all send you friendly greeting from here, and our best affection +to Karl. + +"Helga Lindal." + +John Hardy translated the letter for his mother, and gave it to her +with the original. + +"Her handwriting is ladylike, John," said his mother, "there is no +doubt of that; and she writes such a beautiful, simple letter! I like +her, John! If you love her, do not lose her for the world." + +John Hardy was touched. + +"Bless you, my mother," he said; "your heart is as mine; you love +again with your son's love. But I know it is best to wait until May, +when we can go there." + +Karl Lindal wrote to his father in Denmark. + +"My all-dearest Father, + +"The kindness I receive from Herr Hardy and his mother is great. They +are most kind. I feel it not possible to express my thanks; but I am +always trying to be useful, to show how thankful I am. They are so +different from Danish people. I cannot say how beautiful Herr Hardy's +house is. It is far prettier than Rosendal. I learn English every day +with an English Kapellan; he is very kind, and he teaches me the +English games of cricket and lawn tennis. Mrs. Hardy, that is Herr +Hardy's mother, is beautiful. She touches my cheek with her hand, and +she asks if Helga is like me. I answer that Helga is better, and she +seems to be pleased to hear me say so. Herr Hardy has taken me out in +his yacht, that is a pleasure vessel with steam power; he has called +it the _Rosendal_. + +"I have been out with Herr Hardy shooting partridges. He has had many +gentlemen down to shoot, but they none of them shoot so well as Herr +Hardy. A flock of the birds get up, and Herr Hardy, who shoots with a +double-barrelled gun, always gets two. His gamekeeper, or Jaeger, told +me that they always could depend on the governor, as they call Herr +Hardy. + +"Herr Hardy took me to London, and I went to the Zoological Gardens, +where there were a great many rare animals, and to the Haymarket +Theatre, which is like the Royal Theatre at Copenhagen. I was measured +for clothes by a tailor in London, and Herr Hardy has given me many +more things than necessary; but he is so kind I do not know what to +say or do. I send my best love to you and Helga and Axel. + +"Your son, + +"Karl Lindal." + +Another letter came from Vandstrup Præstegaard. + +"Herr Hardy, + +"My father desires me to say that the work at Rosendal is nearly +finished, and that the land where the trees are to be planted is +prepared for them. There is nothing that he sees neglected, or that he +should bring to your notice. + +"We have received many letters from Karl, and we are interested in +them. He writes and describes your house, and repeats again and again +your goodness to him. He describes your mother as very kind. We have +no doubt but this is you. My father says if you do anything, you do it +always in the kindest way. I do not doubt but that this is so, and we +all thank you gratefully, and greet you kindly. + +"Helga Lindal." + +John Hardy translated this letter for his mother. She read it, and +said-- + +"John, the letter is a letter to keep for all time! I feel so proud of +you, my own boy, that such a letter should be addressed to you. I +never read so beautiful a letter; so short, and yet so exquisite in +its simplicity! You can trust your future to her, John." + +"Thank you, my mother," replied her son. "I know I can trust her, if +she will trust me." + +"Why, John, you can offer her wealth, position, and influence," said +Mrs. Hardy. + +"All which would be nothing with her," said John "She would be as +content to marry me on a bare subsistence as if I had a larger income +than we have. Position is nothing to her, because she scarcely +understands it; and as for influence, she has more influence for good +in her father's parish than any person in it." + +"A faint heart, John," suggested his mother. + +"Yes, I know that; but my heart is not faint," said John. "I only wait +to be sure of it, and your approval, mother." + +Karl Lindal made progress in learning English and Hardy made inquiries +for a berth for him with a foreign broker. In reply to the question as +to Karl's character, Hardy told the story of the young Dane's refusing +taking any money from Hardy in their driving tour to Esbjerg. This +slight matter made a favourable impression, and the young Dane entered +on his duties. Hardy procured lodgings for him in London, with a young +medical man who had recently married, and had began to keep house, and +whose relatives resided near Hardy Place. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + + "Only a sweet and virtuous soul + Like seasoned timber, never gives + But when the whole world turns to coal, + Then chiefly lives." + _The Complete Angler._ + + +The interior of Rosendal had been painted, and sketch plans of the +different floors and rooms had been submitted to Mrs. Hardy. +Lithographed drawings of Danish furniture had been procured in +Copenhagen, so that she could select what furniture she thought +necessary for their stay at Rosendal during the summer, and this was +purchased for John Hardy by Prokuratør Steindal, and sent to Rosendal. + +The planting and improvements in the grounds had been carried out. + +Robert Garth and a manservant were sent with the horses, a carriage, +and the heavy impedimenta to Esbjerg by steamer, late in April, to +prepare for the occupation of the mansion at Rosendal. + +Then came a letter from Vandstrup Præstegaard. + +"Herr Hardy, + +"We have heard that your servants are preparing Rosendal for your +mother's residence there. It has occurred to my father that everything +may not be at first ready for her, and he has directed me to write and +say that if she will come here on her arriving in Jutland, that we +will do our best to make her stay a pleasant one. We are all so +grateful for your goodness to Karl, that it would gladden us to do +anything for your mother. + +"We send respectful greetings to her and to yourself. + +"Helga Lindal." + +John translated the letter to his mother. + +"Accept it, John," she said. "My maid can be driven over by Robert +Garth, the two miles you say that Rosendal is situated from the +parsonage, if she would be in the way there." + +"No, my mother," said Hardy; "you do not know the language. I will go +to Rosendal, and you can certainly take your maid with you. Pastor +Lindal knows a little English, and so does his daughter. It will be a +good sign if she has been learning it in the winter; I left my +Danish-English books there, but I suggested nothing to her in this +direction." + +"How simply to the point her letter is, John!" exclaimed Mrs. Hardy. +"There are no phrases about their accommodation not being so good, or +that their means are narrow; she simply says they will do their best, +and that they would be glad to do it. It is not possible to doubt +her." + +"It is like her manner," said John. "I can fancy I hear the words she +writes." + +Towards the middle of May, Mrs. Hardy, her son, and two women-servants +travelled overland to Jutland, from Flushing. + +Robert Garth met them at the railway station, and drove them to the +parsonage. + +Parson Lindal was at the door, and welcomed Mrs. Hardy with much +old-fashioned politeness. "Welcome, and glad to see you," he said in +English to her, while he warmly greeted Hardy in Danish. + +Helga was standing by her father, regarding their visitor with great +interest; she had shaken hands with John Hardy, and welcomed him back +to Jutland. The Pastor introduced his daughter to Mrs. Hardy, who held +out her hand to Helga, and drew her closer and kissed her, as if she +had been her daughter. + +"You are a beautiful edition of your brother Karl, Miss Lindal," she +said. "He has become a great favourite of mine, and you will be glad +to hear he is well spoken of in London." + +Robert Garth drove one of the servants to Rosendal, and had orders to +fetch John Hardy in the evening, at the parsonage. + +The Pastor had time for a word with Hardy, as his mother went to +change her travelling dress. + +"I am glad to see you, Hardy; but what a trick you played us about the +tickets from Esbjerg! I did not like it at first, but when I thought +of your friendly intentions, I forgave you; but I cannot thank you +enough for your goodness to Karl, and your wisely placing him in +lodgings with the chance of good influence. That is good of you, +indeed." + +"Where is Axel?" asked Hardy. + +"He is at Copenhagen, at a school for a time," replied the Pastor. "He +will be home in the summer for a holiday." + +"What about Rosendal?" asked Hardy. + +"It is much improved; in a month or six weeks it will be lovely," +answered the Pastor. "The plan was excellent that you adopted, and, as +you have been written, it has been executed well." + +When Mrs. Hardy appeared, perfectly well dressed, as she always was, +John could see that the Pastor observed her well-bred manner. "Your +parsonage, Herr Pastor," she said, "has a look of calm contentment and +quiet that strikes me in coming from busy England." + +"That is near the reality, Mrs. Hardy," replied he; "but it is not the +fact with all our Danish parsonages, men vary here as they do +elsewhere." + +"That may be; but you have the greater opportunity for attaining the +actuality of what is simple and true," said Mrs. Hardy. + +"Possibly we have," replied Pastor Lindal; "but I fear we are all +liable to neglect opportunities which suggest only." + +John Hardy had been obliged to assist at this conversation as +interpreter, when Kirstin announced dinner was served. Hardy rose and +shook hands with Kirstin. + +"It is an old servant, mother," said Hardy; and Mrs. Hardy rose and +shook hands with Kirstin, and then the Pastor took Mrs. Hardy in to +dinner. + +Mrs. Hardy's ladylike tact soon enabled her to get on with the +Pastor--she used the simplest English words, and Hardy was able to +talk to Helga. + +"I have brought the side saddle," he said. + +"I have seen it at Rosendal; and your man Garth has been exercising +the horses with a skirt daily, to make them more accustomed to a lady +riding them," said Helga. + +"Well?" said Hardy, inquiringly. + +"I shall be glad to learn to ride, Herr Hardy, if you will kindly +teach me," said Helga. "Your man has told us that the horses and +carriage were at our disposal until your mother came. We have not +often used them, as my father said that if I wished to learn to ride, +I had better wait until you came, as you understood horses, and that +he was afraid some accident might occur." + +John Hardy had apprised Mrs. Hardy of the inevitable porcelain pipe, +which, as she did not like tobacco smoking, her son asked the Pastor +to hold his tobacco-parliament in his own study, where he went to keep +him company. + +Thus Mrs. Hardy was alone with Helga for some time. She found that +Helga could speak a little English, and Mrs. Hardy led her to speak of +the management of the little household at the parsonage, and then of +her father, which with Helga was an inexhaustible theme. She told +Mrs. Hardy of John's gift of the piano, which she said she had +accepted because her father liked to hear her sing. + +"I feel it was wrong to have accepted it," she said, "but I did so on +the impulse of the moment; my father had been listening to my singing, +and it seemed to draw his mind away from his great sorrow, and I +thought any feeling of my own should be sacrificed to that." + +"Why, what a dear child you are!" said Mrs. Hardy, led away by Helga's +earnest blue eyes, and she kissed her affectionately. "You talk a good +deal better English than I expected," she added. + +"Perhaps so," replied Helga. "Mr. Hardy left his books here for Axel, +and I have been learning all the winter, in the hope of being of use +to you; I knew you would want some one to speak English, as your son +might not always be at hand. Karl has written with such gratitude of +you, that it is the only way that occurred to me that I might really +be useful to you." + +"You are a dear, sensible girl, Miss Lindal," said Mrs. Hardy, +caressing her; "and so it will be. And will you come and stay with me +as long as your father can spare you, at Rosendal, and help me to get +the house in order?" + +"I will do anything for you, Mrs. Hardy," replied Helga, earnestly. + +John Hardy came in to wish them "Good night," before he left for +Rosendal. + +"I shall drive over in the morning to see if you wish to go to +Rosendal, mother," he said. + +"Certainly I do, John," replied his mother, "But I have a message for +you;" and she whispered, "I like her already, John; she is perfectly +good and true." + +John Hardy was right when he said that his mother's influence on his +own thoughts would crystallize them. + +The next few days were occupied in settling down at Rosendal. +Mrs. Hardy was charmed with the place. Its natural beauty was what +such a mind as hers could recognize, and she praised Rosendal to +Helga, to the latter's great satisfaction. + +Helga was assiduous in learning English, and daily became more useful +to Mrs. Hardy, The Pastor often came to dinner, and the days passed +pleasantly. + +"John," said Mrs. Hardy, one day, when she was alone with her son, +"you have asked me to ascertain what Helga Lindal's feelings are to +you, if I possibly could. I cannot. All I can say is, marry her, and +you will never regret it. Ask her. She is the best and truest woman I +ever met." + +"Very good, mother," replied John. "I will." + +That day Pastor Lindal came to dinner, and his daughter was to return +with him in the evening, to remain at home. + +John Hardy asked Helga to walk through the grounds, while her father +was conversing with Mrs. Hardy, They went to a particular place that +John recollected, and he said-- + +"Frøken, do you remember your asking me at this spot why I bought +Rosendal?" + +"Yes, perfectly," said Helga, frankly; "and you said you would tell me +when your mother came." + +"My reason is, and was, because you said there was no place you should +like to live at so much as Rosendal." + +"Do you mean you will give it to us?" asked Helga. + +"My meaning is that I will give it to you, Helga. I want you to be my +wife." + +"I will, if you will wait. Hardy; my father cannot live without me +now." + +"Wait!" cried Hardy; and he looked into her blue eyes. "Why, you have +loved me a long time, and never told me so! I have been in doubt and +fear." + +"You never need doubt it more. Hardy," said she, saying "du" to him +for the first time. "When you came here first, I tried not to like +you; then I tried to disgust you with me, and you were so good and +manly that I loved you with all my heart. I thought," she added, "you +would have spoken to me when you proposed the driving tour to Esbjerg, +and I was so frightened." + +"Yes," said Hardy, "it was in my mind, but I was a guest in your +father's house, and I had to ask my mother's blessing and support. But +tell me one thing, what was the reason that you would not tell me +about your refusing to learn to ride?" + +"My reason was that I did try not to like you, and then I refused." + +"I see," said Hardy, kissing what he thought the most beautiful mouth +in the world. + +When they returned to the house, Mrs. Hardy saw her son's bright face, +and knew he had been accepted. + +"Dear mother," said John, caressing her, "she's won." + +Mrs. Hardy embraced Helga warmly, and the Pastor saw how the matter +stood, and held out his hand. + +"I have understood you all along, Hardy, and you are a noble fellow. +You have my consent, willingly." + +Helga was preparing to return with her father, but Mrs. Hardy +interposed. + +"You can have John, Herr Pastor," she said; "but I must have my +daughter here, that I may get to know more of her. John shall go with +you, but I must have her for to-night." + +The Pastor had to give way, and John Hardy went with him, and they +held a tobacco-parliament, and John slept in his old room at the +parsonage. + +Mrs. Hardy, when they were gone, said, "Tell me all about John, my +darling, all you know;" and Helga told her. + +"He is like his father," said Mrs. Hardy; "he was so true and good a +gentleman, that I feel the same interest as if it were my own marriage +over again, and my son has been my all for years. He has told me so +much about you, that before I came it was the holding up the mirror to +memory; all what he said, and had dwelt in my mind, came back." + +Helga told her that she could not marry until her father was too old +to attend to his duty; that he could not, and would not, give his duty +up until pronounced unfit. + +"I will arrange all that," said Mrs. Hardy, "You shall be married to +John this summer, and you must say no more; you must leave that to me. +Your father's greatest happiness will be to see you happily married, +and he has told me so." + +A few days after, John Hardy and his mother and Helga Lindal called at +the Jensens'. John frankly told them the story of his engagement, and, +as he was going to be married in Denmark, asked the two Frøken Jensens +if they would be bridesmaids. Helga wished it. + +Mathilde Jensen reminded Hardy that she had said he bought Rosendal +because he wanted to marry Helga Lindal. + +"Yes," said John; "I thanked you for so disposing of me." + +The worthy proprietor was delighted that John Hardy would be his +neighbour for some time of the year, and thanked him for the mare +Hardy had sent over from England to improve his breeding stock. John +Hardy had made him a present of it. + +"She is," said the proprietor, "as handsome as can be; but she has a +temper." + +"She is Irish," said Hardy. "But you will find the horse foals easy to +manage; the mares may give a little trouble, but they will go like +birds." + +The Jensens pressed them to stay to an early dinner, and Mrs. Hardy +thought they had best do so. The well-bred English lady made a strong +impression on the Jensen ladies, and the genuine Danish hospitality +appealed to Mrs. Hardy. + +The result of this visit was a return visit to Rosendal. The exact +service and the excellent arrangements of everything had its effect on +the Jensens, and the consequence was that numerous calls were made at +Rosendal. + +Helga had returned to the parsonage, when John Hardy one day came to +his mother with a telegram. The steam yacht Rosendal was at Aarhus. + +"Let us go to Copenhagen, John," said Mrs. Hardy, "and take Helga with +us. She is fond of the sea, and I enjoy her society. It is the perfect +truth that is in everything about her that I love." + +"She will not go if I ask her, mother," said John; "but if you do she +may." + +"Telegraph to them to have steam up, John," said his mother, "and I +will drive to the parsonage." + +His mother left, and, to John's astonishment, Helga returned with her, +ready to go anywhere. + +"The Pastor insisted on her going," said Mrs. Hardy, "and I promised +to bring back his youngest son, who is at school at Copenhagen. The +Pastor is a sensible man. He said to his daughter, 'Why should you not +enjoy the kindness your future husband can show you?' and there was an +end to her objections." + +They hurried to the station, and got on board the Rosendal after a +short railway journey. + +"You had better go below and get your dress changed, Helga; my mother +will show you where your berth is. What you want is a warm woollen +dress that a little sea water will not hurt. There are several +belonging to my mother on board." + +When Helga came up, they were at sea. The pilot was steering. +Mrs. Hardy was sitting on a wicker chair on deck. Some one in a +sailor's dress placed a chair for her. + +"When you are tired of sitting here," said Hardy, for he it was, "you +can go into the deck-house and lie down. We shall have dinner at six. +There is Samsø, and before you rise to-morrow we shall be at +Copenhagen, I shall have to be up all night." + +The yacht delighted Helga. The dinner was served so well that it +surprised her; and when they came on deck, it was a pleasure to see +the distant lights in the fine summer's night, and to feel the yacht +rushing through the smooth sea. + +"I do like this. Hardy," she said. "Must I go to my berth? I would +rather be on deck and hear your voice now and then." + +"No," said Hardy; "because you must not draw off my attention. We have +to look after the pilot, and I am the only man on board that knows +Danish;" and Helga went at once. + +Mrs. Hardy, who had heard what had passed, was pleased to see her +rapid compliance with what was necessary. + +When Helga came on deck the next day, they were at anchor near the +Custom House at Copenhagen. Mrs. Hardy was already up, and they had +breakfast. + +Hardy gave some necessary orders as to coaling, and they went ashore +and saw the Museum of Northern Antiquities, Thorwaldsen's Museum, and +much else, and lunched at the Hotel d'Angleterre in the King's New +Market, or Kongens Nytorv. + +"Now, Helga, what is there more to see?" asked Hardy. + +"There is the picture gallery in Christiansborg Slot, but there are so +many steps up to it that it will fatigue Mrs. Hardy; but, if we might, +I should like to call and see Axel, and arrange about his coming back +with us," said Helga. "To-morrow you could see Rosenborg, which is +certain to interest you; we have to give notice to-day to the +curator." + +"I shall be henpecked, mother," said Hardy. "She orders everything +already." + +"No, you will not," said Helga, who understood him, although he had +spoken in English. "I shall give my life to you, and my will too." +There was no mistaking the look in those blue eyes. "You might be +interested," she added, "in going to the Royal Theatre. The play +to-night is one of Holberg's comedies, 'Den pantsatte Bondedreng,' +that is, 'The Farmer's Boy left in Pledge.' It is a good play and +popular. I can tell the story of the play to Mrs. Hardy before she +goes, as you. Hardy, already know it." + +"I give myself entirely in your hands, Helga. You shall be obeyed +before marriage, and obey me after," said Hardy, laughing. + +"It is not a question of obedience," replied Helga. "I am yours +altogether when I am your wife." + +As she had said this in Danish, Hardy explained to his mother. + +Mrs. Hardy said, "She is a jewel, John, and without price;" and rose +from her seat and kissed her on the parting of her hair. + +"Don't do that, mother," said John; "you make me wish to kiss her head +off." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + + "Oh, ye valleys! oh, ye mountains! + Oh, ye groves, and crystal fountains! + How I love, as liberty, + By turns to come and visit ye!" + _The Complete Angler._ + + +Axel's joy at the unexpected pleasure of seeing his sister and Hardy +was unbounded, but when he heard he was going on board the yacht for a +cruise, and then to return home, he was wild with delight. + +They went to the theatre that evening, and to Rosenborg the next day, +and the yacht left in the afternoon for Elsinore, and anchored for the +night. + +Mrs. Hardy preferred being at sea to staying longer at Copenhagen. The +theatre with its excellent acting interested her, but the knowledge of +the language was wanting, and detracted from her enjoyment of +Holberg's dramatic genius, which for so many years has interested the +Danish public. Rosenborg, with its rich and varied treasures for four +hundred years, was a greater enjoyment to her, and is alone worth a +visit to Copenhagen. + +"We have supplies and coal on board, mother," said Hardy, "and we can +run up the Swedish coast to Gothenborg and see the falls at +Trollhättan, by starting early, and can then cruise down the Danish +coast." + +"I think, John," said Mrs. Hardy, "I would rather go up to +Christiania; we can write Pastor Lindal from Elsinore that we shall do +so. We can lay to during the darker hours at many places, or, as we +take a pilot from here to Christiania, can run on. The weather is +calm." + +Helga had heard what Mrs. Hardy had said, and, as Hardy looked at her, +she said, "Where your mother pleases." + +The next day, at breakfast time after English fashion, the yacht was +fifty miles from Elsinore, and sea life began. The decks were clean +and everything in order. The fore-staysail was set, as well as the +fore and main sails, to catch the wind from the westward, and the +yacht ran steadily, to the comfort of all on board. + +Hardy had every arrangement made for his mother's comfort, her chair +and wraps and footstool were all placed on deck, as he knew she liked, +and Helga watched him doing this with pleasure. + +"I think, Helga," he said, "it may interest you to inspect the yacht. +Axel has been everywhere except up the masts." And Hardy showed her +the engines, the many contrivances for economizing space, the compact +little cooking-galley, and the berths for his own use and friends, as +well as the little library they had on board, the stores and pantry. +"And now," he said, "as the sea air will make you hungry, and you are +not accustomed to an English breakfast, what would you like for lunch? +There is a list of soups, also preserved meats, and a lot of things +sent from Hardy Place." + +"I will have anything that has come from Hardy Place," said Helga; and +Hardy gave directions accordingly, to her subsequent approval. + +They walked up and down the deck, and Hardy pointed out the different +places on the coast on the chart, stopping at times to speak to +Mrs. Hardy. + +"I think this is the most delightful way of travelling. Hardy," said +Helga, "and I recollect that you said so when you drove us to Esbjerg. +There is more living interest at sea; the changes and contrasts are +greater, that is, in natural features." + +"You are right, Helga, except that you call me Hardy. Now, my name is +John, positively John." + +"I cannot pronounce it as you do," said Helga, "and I am afraid you +will laugh at me. The name with us is spelt 'Jon,' pronounced 'Yon.' +We have also 'Johan,' pronounced 'Yohan.'" + +"I am aware of the learning you exhibit, Helga; but, notwithstanding, +my name is John, and if you do not call me so, I shall be obliged to +kiss you until you do, and my mother will say I shall be quite +justified in taking that course." + +Helga went and sat down by Mrs. Hardy. + +"He is teasing me," she said, as she laid her head on Mrs. Hardy's +lap. + +"John," said Mrs. Hardy, as she touched Helga's cheek, "you do not +take care of your Scandinavian princess; her skin is so thin and +clear, that this little cheek is at fever heat with the action of the +sun and wind. Tell my maid to bring the lotion I use, and a sponge." + +"Thank you, Mrs. Hardy," said Helga, "but I do not mind the sun +burning me; it makes my face a little warm, that is all." + +"She does not know how handsome she is, John," said Mrs. Hardy, in +French; "but her beauty lies in this, that there is nothing so +beautiful as what is true." + +After lunch, John Hardy told one of his men to fetch some rope quoits, +to amuse Axel, and cleared part of the deck for the purpose. Helga, +however, joined in the game with the zest of a child; her clear voice +and laughter and natural grace made conquests of the yacht sailors. + +"Uncommon neat about the spars!" exclaimed an old salt; "a smart craft +when she's got all her sails bent, I'll be bound." + +"Well, pilot," said Hardy, "where can you put us in for shelter for +the night? We want to go up the Christiania Fjord by daylight, and +when the ladies will be on deck. It has, besides, been a long run for +the engineers." + +"We shall have Frederikstad abeam at ten tonight, if she goes as she's +going, and we can lay off there until the morning," replied the pilot. +"There is no anger in the weather, and it will be a fine night. In +fact, there will be no night; we are close on St. Hans' night, the +longest day." + +"We will keep the fires banked, anyway," said Hardy, "and set a +watch.'' + +"Yes, better weigh," said the pilot. "The chances are the custom-house +officers will board, and you had best keep your burgee and ensign +flying, as then they may not trouble you." + +At six the wind fell, and the sails were taken in, and the sea was +soon without a ripple. Mrs. Hardy and Helga sat on deck after dinner, +enjoying the changing beauty of the shore and the soft tints that rest +on the northern lands at close of day. Hardy had wraps brought up from +below, to keep the dew off his mother and the Scandinavian princess, +and chatted with them. + +When they determined to go below, Helga, in her Danish manner, shook +hands with Hardy, and said, "Tak for i dag" (thank you for to-day). "I +have never enjoyed life so much." + +"Mother," said John, when Helga had gone, "you surprised me when you +said you would rather go up to Christiania; you did so that I might +see my princess for a few days when her mind is animated by what is +strikingly novel to her, so that the bright transparency of her +character should be more apparent. Thank you, my mother!" + +"We have one heart, John," replied his mother. + +John Hardy went on deck, anything but disposed to sleep. "Pass the +word to get up for drift-lines and two men to go in a boat fishing." + +The night, or rather the softer daylight, was favourable for catching, +Pollock and one man rowing. John Hardy worked two lines and the other +man two. They pulled in round the islands and soon caught many fish, +which made a welcome addition to the breakfast-table the next day. + +At eight they were under weigh, steaming up the grander scenery of the +Christiania Fjord. Helga had come on deck, and Hardy saw she was +interested in the scenery they were passing. + +"We are in the Christiania Fjord," he said. + +"How lovely and lake-like!" said Helga, when the breakfast-bell rang. +"Must we go below, John?" + +"There is no need whatever, now that you have called me, John;" and he +directed her breakfast and his own to be brought on deck, and that his +mother should be informed they were having breakfast on deck, which +brought Mrs. Hardy up with them. + +"We are making progress, mother," said Hardy, "and, for the first +time, I have been called John; but only under desperate threats." + +"You will not let him tease me, Mrs. Hardy?" said Helga, with an +appealing look and earnest tone. + +"Do you wish me to punish him?" said Mrs. Hardy, smiling. "Shall I +have him thrown overboard, or put in irons?" + +"No, no!" cried Helga, who was doubtful how far the maternal authority +might extend amongst the English. + +"Then we will both of us forgive him this time?" said Mrs. Hardy. + +"Yes, I will, Mrs. Hardy," said Helga, with an earnestness that left +no doubt. + +"Now then," said John, "as I have been condemned and pardoned, let us +have breakfast. I was afraid to go to sleep last night, so went +fishing, to catch some fish for breakfast, and here they are." + +"Why, John, were you afraid to go to sleep?" asked Helga, anxiously. + +"Because I knew I should dream of you, Helga," replied Hardy, "and +have not been in bed all night because of that, and because I went +fishing. Moreover, I suspect you of being a 'Mare,' your eyebrows grow +together, and I dread the nightmare." + +"My eyebrows do not grow together," replied Helga, firmly. + +"Let me see," said John; and he took her face between his hands, and +added, "I am not certain, I must look closer;" and kissed her between +the eyes. + +"It is time for me to interfere," said John's mother; and she rang a +small handbell in the deckhouse. + +"Oh, don't, mother!" said John, with a piteous look. + +"Oh, Mrs. Hardy! what are you going to do with Him?" asked Helga, with +concern. + +"First, he shall have no more breakfast, because he has finished," +said Mrs. Hardy; "and then I will condemn him to----" + +"No, no!" said Helga, beseechingly. + +"I must," said Mrs. Hardy. + +The great black-bearded steward came in to take away the breakfast +things. + +"Do go away; you are not wanted!" said Helga; and she pushed him out, +and shut the door of the deck-house. + +Mrs. Hardy got up and embraced her affectionately. + +"Why," said she, "I was only going to condemn him to love you always, +all his life, and with all his heart. You must not mind if he teases a +little, all men do; but he is as good as gold, and as true as +yourself." + +"Now, Helga," said John, "let the steward clear away, and have a walk +on deck. I will not tease you any more until next time. But where is +that boy Axel?" + +Axel had become a favourite with the men, for English sailors like a +quick lad. He had an undying interest in knots and the contrivances on +board the yacht, and the men liked the little Dane, as they called +him. John Hardy sent a man to find him. + +"He is down in the fok'sle, sir, learning knots off the men," said the +man, touching his cap. + +"Axel is trying to learn our English way of tieing knots, Helga," said +Hardy, "and my men have taken him in charge. They will be kind to him, +and would teach a lad no harm." + +"When you were with us last year, you were so thoughtful of every one, +and you were so kind; but when you tease me, I think you love me +less," said Helga, slowly; "and I see you are thoughtful still. But +why do you tease me?" + +"Because I love you so; I do not know how to behave wisely," replied +John. "You called me a cool and calculating Englishman; but if you +knew how it hurt me when you said so, you would not have said what you +did." + +Mrs. Hardy had come on deck, and Helga went to her. Mrs. Hardy saw she +was agitated, and was alarmed, but waited for Helga to speak. + +"I know now he loved me from the first time we went to Rosendal," said +Helga, "and I have been so bad to him. What I have said and did was +hard." + +"He understands it all, Helga, and there is no need for grief when you +are so happy in the certainty of John's truth," said Mrs. Hardy. + +"Thank you; thank you!" said Helga. "I feel so weak against his +strength." + +"Go and tell him so," said Mrs. Hardy, "if you feel so, and enjoy the +beautiful scenes he is taking you through." + +"There is not the weirdness in the scenery here, Helga, as further +north, on the west coast of Norway. The hills here are rounder in +form, as if by the action of ice ages ago," said Hardy. "Your father +has often explained to you the action of glaciers, and how the large +stones or boulders found in Jutland were conveyed by the ice and left +where the ice grounded." + +"It is lovely to pass a fresh prospect every minute," said Helga, "and +to sail so easily through the still waters. The sun is hotter here +than I think with us; it scalds more." + +"Pass the word to get the awning up," said Hardy to one of his men; +and presently half a dozen willing hands had done it. + +"How pleasant!" said Helga. "The draught of air under the awning makes +it feel so delightfully fresh. The colour of the foliage, the grass, +the rocks, and sea appear distinct in effect of colour, John; how is +that?" + +"It is one of the many phases of nature," replied John. "The air is +very clear here, and it may be that the summer being so short, nature +paints in fresher colours." + +"When shall we reach Christiania?" asked Helga. + +"About three, as the yacht is going; the order I have given is, to run +forty revolutions, that is a little more than half speed," replied +Hardy. "If you wish to reach Christiania earlier, I will give the +order for full speed." + +"You must do what your mother wishes, John," said Helga. + +"I am," replied John; "her wishes are that I should consult yours. +Now, for instance, we shall get to Christiania at three; what would +you like to see this afternoon?" + +"Oscarshall," said Helga, "and Tidemand's pictures is what I long to +see; but we had best go there to-morrow. We can take a walk this +afternoon." + +"And come back to dinner and go to the theatre?" added John. + +The New Palace came in view about two, and then Akershuus Castle, and +the yacht was put in her berth by the pilot. + +Mrs. Hardy declined to go ashore, as she said she should be too +fatigued to go to the theatre, and John had a walk with his princess. +He tried to inveigle her into saying that she wanted something, that +he might get it for her; but his sly ways were detected. + +At the theatre a French Vaudeville was acted, which John thought his +mother was greatly tired of and would have left, but Helga's interest +at being in a foreign theatre, and seeing so many strange faces, was +so apparent that Mrs. Hardy would not leave. The night when they came +out of the theatre was beautiful, and John, at his mother's wish, +steered the yacht's gig a little out of the harbour before they joined +the yacht. + +The next day was Helga's birthday, her twenty-first, and at eight +o'clock, Norsk time, the yacht was dressed with bunting. + +Before Helga had finished dressing, Mrs. Hardy's maid came into her +state-room, with a small packet, containing a handsome turquoise ring +from Mrs. Hardy, and a leather case from John Hardy, with the initials +"H. H." There was a slight blush on her cheek as she remarked this. +Her name was to be Helga Hardy. + +"Mr. Hardy has directed me to show you the contents of the +dressing-case, as you may not understand how to open the secret +drawer," said Mrs. Hardy's maid. "This is a little gold key, and opens +the dressing-case; there is scent, tooth-powder, and soap, and the +whole is ready for use. And this is the way the jewel drawer opens; +you press this knob, and it flies open, and is filled with the +jewellery Mr. Hardy thought you might like. When you wish to shut the +drawer, you push it so, and it closes with a spring." + +Mrs. Hardy's maid opened the jewel drawer again, and left it for Helga +to examine its contents. The initials were engraved as a monogram on +different articles, even the ivory brushes had them. Mrs. Hardy had +told her that light blue suited her, and there was a turquoise +bracelet in good taste, and several rings, some of which did not fit +her, as John Hardy when he bought her betrothal ring in Copenhagen had +not been able to get them altered, as his stay in Copenhagen was +short. Her first impulse was to decline such a costly present, next +she thought, "He cannot have told his mother." The breakfast bell +rang, and she went into the saloon where breakfast was served, and +kissed Mrs. Hardy, whose present she wore and thanked her warmly. John +Hardy wished her many happy returns of the day in a kindly Danish +phrase. + +"But how do you like John's present, my child?" said Mrs. Hardy. + +Helga looked at John. She saw at once that his mother not only knew +all about it, but had probably suggested it. "I thought it too costly +to accept," said Helga. + +John put his hands on her two shoulders and shook her gently. "You +must not," he said in Danish, "be stiff-necked on your birthday. My +mother bought what I have given you in London, and the jewellery was +sent to Copenhagen for us to select from. It is all my mother's +choice." + +"In the winter?" said Helga. + +"Yes, my child, in the winter. I understood John, although he had so +many doubts and fears. He told me so much about you that I ordered the +dressing-case, which John has paid for," said Mrs. Hardy, "and if I +were you I would thank him." + +She thanked him in the pretty Danish manner that so well became her, +and said, "Thank you, Mr. Hardy; you are so good to me." + +If the black-bearded steward had not come in at this moment, it is to +be feared that John would have run the risk of being summarily +adjudicated upon as before described. + +"Where is Axel?" asked John. + +"He is out fishing, sir; been out since six o'clock, with one of the +men forard," replied the steward. This was explained to Helga, and +breakfast proceeded. + +"I think," said Mrs. Hardy, "that Helga should write her father, and +say that we have arrived here and shall leave to-morrow evening; and, +John, you could ask him to meet us at Aarhus when we arrived. I fear +the worthy Pastor may think you have carried off his daughter, John." + +"The very course I intend to take, mother, and in which you have aided +and abetted, and I bless and thank you for it," said John. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + + + "Come, live with me and be my love. + And we will all the pleasures prove, + That valleys, groves, or hills, or field, + Or woods and sleepy mountains yield." + _The Complete Angler._ + + +Helga wrote her father as follows:-- + +"My All-dearest Father, + +"You were written to that we were going to Christiania from Elsinore. +I did not know that it was so far, but the steamship Herr Hardy has +sails as fast as the steamer from Aarhus to Copenhagen, and everything +is so clean and nice, and seeing fresh places, has been a great +pleasure. Mrs. Hardy has been, as Karl said, as kind as any one could +be, and I cannot say how grateful I am to her. We are to go to +Oscarshall to-day and many other places in Christiania; and Mr. Hardy +has asked me to write and say that we shall leave here to-morrow, and +shall call at Fredrikshavn and telegraph to you from there the time we +may expect to be at Aarhus, and they think you might like to come and +see the steamer, and stay the night on board, and return home the next +day with us. Herr Hardy has written a letter, which I enclose, as he +said you might wish to hear from him to say how glad his mother would +be to see you on English ground, as an English ship is as English +land. If you can come, dear little father, I should be so glad! I hope +Kirstin has managed everything for you in my absence. She said I was +wrong to go away from you, and perhaps I am, and it is a sad thought +to me; but it is not for long, and if I have been led away to do what +is not fitting, you will tell me, and I will do what you say. Axel is +very happy on board. Herr Hardy is very good to him, and his men are +so friendly and teach him how to tie knots and go fishing with him, +that he is very happy all day long. + +"Mrs. Hardy greets you kindly, and Herr Hardy says I must say that he +thanks you for teaching him to love what is good and true. Live well, +little father. + +"Your daughter, + +"Helga Lindal." + +John Hardy gave directions that the yacht should fill up with coal and +supplies; and in the two days they were at Christiania, a good deal +was seen. There is much to see, and much of natural beauty in +Christiania, and Helga was interested. When they got under way and +steamed down the Christiania Fjord and saw the effect of the sun +setting, which then had its special beauty, Helga thought she had +never seen anything so lovely. + +"No! not even Rosendal?" asked John. + +"Rosendal has its own charm," replied Helga; "there can be other +places that have their singular beauty." + +"I am so glad that you say that," said Hardy. "You may even come to +think that the place where my fathers have lived in England has its +charm;" and he held her face in his hands, and looked into her eyes. + +"I have promised to marry you, John," said Helga, "and it is not +whether your house is beautiful or not; wherever you live I will give +my life to you." + +"Bless you, dearest," said John, "I will never forget what you say;" +and he never did. + +When the yacht had cleared the Christiania Fjord, the night was fine +and clear, but a breeze sprang up from the westward, and grew fresher +towards morning. This had the effect of sending the yacht along under +sail and steam, and at eight o'clock the next day the pilot was sent +ashore at Frederikshavn with a telegram for Pastor Lindal, that they +hoped to arrive at Aarhus at six in the evening. + +"When are you going to marry your Scandinavian princess, John?" asked +Mrs. Hardy, when she was settled in her usual place on deck. + +"I am afraid to say anything, mother, to Helga," replied her son. "I +see there does exist a doubt in her mind as to whether she is not +doing what is wrong in leaving her father for this cruise, much more a +cruise for life. I fear to approach the subject with her, as it may +lead to her entertaining a fixed determination not to marry until her +father's death." + +"There is no selfishness about Pastor Lindal," said Mrs. Hardy, "and, +moreover, he is a sensible man. He is certain to desire that his +daughter should be well and happily provided for; besides, he has seen +enough of you, John, to value you, and I see he likes you. I think you +are right not to speak to Helga on the subject; leave it to me and +Pastor Lindal." + +"Thank you, mother, a thousand times," said John. "I understand you +perfectly well, and I will do anything you think best or shall +arrange." + +"What I have thought of, John, is this," said his mother: "you can be +married, say, the first of August, and remain at Rosendal for your +honeymoon, and then come home to Hardy Place." + +"And what will you do, mother?" asked John. + +"I see you do not want your own mother in the way during the +honeymoon," said Mrs. Hardy, smiling. "You can send the yacht round to +Esbjerg, and I will meet it by rail as soon as you are married, and +return home in the yacht to Harwich." + +"What! go home alone, mother?" said John. "I cannot let you do that!" + +"Well, you can see me safely off at Esbjerg, John," said Mrs. Hardy, +"But this is the way that will please me best, and I wish to give you +a welcome home with your wife, and I long to see her at the head of +the table at Hardy Place." + +"You are the same good mother, ever;" and John took his mother's hand +and kissed it. + +As soon as the entrance of the outer harbour at Aarhus could be made +out, John Hardy went on the bridge with his binocular, and +distinguished Pastor Lindal's head appearing over the parapet wall at +the pierhead. + +"Your father is on the pier, Helga, and you can see him with this +glass," said Hardy, handing her his binocular. This she found +difficult to do, as there were so many other heads appearing; but all +doubt was at an end as the yacht glided past the pierhead of the outer +harbour, for there was the worthy Pastor himself. + +The yacht was soon brought to, and Pastor Lindal stepped on deck, to +be met with much affection from his daughter and Axel. It was clear to +Mrs. Hardy that Helga's attachment to her father was one of simple +trust in each other, the same as existed between herself and her own +boy John. + +The Pastor was ceremoniously polite to Mrs. Hardy, but he greeted John +Hardy with much warmth and thanks. He was pleased with the yacht and +its many clever contrivances for saving space and arriving at comfort, +and at dinner was, for him, merry. He was delighted to see his +daughter with such a fresh and healthy look, after the cruise to +Christiania. Axel, usually a quiet and retiring lad, talked +incessantly; he had so much to relate of all that passed since leaving +Copenhagen, that at length the Pastor stopped him; but Hardy +intervened, "Let him run on, Herr Pastor; he is describing very well. +He will come to an end with what he has to say, shortly." + +The Pastor had thus, from Axel's point of view, the whole history of +the cruise from beginning to end. + +"And what do you say, Helga?" asked the Pastor. + +"I never thought that life could be made so pleasant and so happy, +little father," replied Helga. "Mrs. Hardy is kinder than I can say." + +"And Hardy was not?" said the Pastor, smiling. + +"He is like his mother, little father; their natures are the same," +replied Helga. "But he is a man, and men are never so good as women." + +John Hardy laughed, and, as the conversation was in Danish, told his +mother what Helga had said. + +"It is her simple naturalness that makes her say that, John," said +Mrs. Hardy. "She sees in me what she thinks a perfect woman, although +I am an ordinary Englishwoman; while she does not understand the +rougher nature men possess. Her thorough truth in thought and feeling +is her greatest charm." + +Axel, however, put his oar in. "Why, father how can Helga say Herr +Hardy is not as good as Fru Hardy? He gave her a toilet box with +costly things in it." + +"Yes, little father, it is true," said Helga; "but it was too costly a +present, and I did not like to accept it." + +When dinner was over, Mrs. Hardy told her son to go on deck, and take +Axel with him. She then asked Helga to show her father the +dressing-case John Hardy had given her. The Pastor started when he +read the initials, "H. H." His quick apprehension realized the +position. + +"Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy, "our children leave us as we grow +older; and is there any better wish for them than that they should +have a happy future?" + +Mrs. Hardy held out her hand, and Pastor Lindal grasped it. He +understood her, and, with the ceremonious politeness habitual to him, +raised her hand to his lips. + +"I think," said Mrs. Hardy, "they can be married on the first of +August. There is no reason to delay the happiness of their young life. +They can remain near you at Rosendal for a month, and come to England +for the winter, and return to you in May." + +Helga was present, and heard all Mrs. Hardy had said. She put one hand +on her father's shoulder. + +"Father," she said in Danish, "I will wait your wish and time." + +"Mrs. Hardy is right, Helga," said her father, "I shall miss you, but +it will be a joy to me to lose you to Hardy. He is the one man I like, +and I hope he is the one man you love." + +"I can never forget how we wronged him, when Rasmussen was injured and +died, and how noble he has always been!" said his daughter. "I have +been unkind and bad to him, and I now know pained him with what I +said. Little father, what you say I should do that will I do." + +"Mrs. Hardy," said the Pastor, "my daughter assents to what you +propose, and I assent. You can order the matter as you will." + +"I will promise you. Pastor Lindal," said Mrs. Hardy, "that all the +time she can she shall be in Denmark, and that I will be to her as her +own mother." Mrs. Hardy held out her hand to the Pastor, and the +compact then made ever after was adhered to. + +Mrs. Hardy rose, and kissed Helga on her flaxen hair. "Will you tell +John, or I?" she asked. + +"I cannot," replied Helga, earnestly. + +"Then, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy, "we will go on deck, and I +should like a walk about Aarhus, if you will take me, and John can +take his wife that is to be." + +When Mrs. Hardy came on deck, she said to her son, "The first of +August, John; it is so settled." + +John Hardy lifted his mother from the deck, and positively kissed her +in the sight of his own men and a numerous crowd of curious Danes, who +had collected to see the yacht, and f Helga had not jumped ashore, it +was not at all improbable but that she might have shared the same +fate. + +The trust and confidence the mother and son had in each other was a +comfort to the Pastor. It was the best guarantee for Helga's future. + +"It is late," said the Pastor; "but I know the clerk at the Domkirke +(cathedral), and you can possibly see it." + +The advantage of seeing the Domkirke with the Pastor was obvious to +Mrs. Hardy, and they were much interested in the details he gave of +the old vestments preserved in the Domkirke and the ancient folding +pictures at the altar, the date of which is 1479, but the pictures are +Italian and older. + +"The old church tradition," said the Pastor, "is that the patron +saint, St. Clement, after suffering martyrdom, came ashore after +floating about the sea for eleven hundred years, bound to a ship's +anchor, which circumstance is delineated in more than one place in the +Domkirke. One of the stories of the Domkirke is recorded on a stone," +continued the Pastor. "It is the figure of a woman with a hole in her +left breast. She was shot by a rejected lover, as she went to the +Domkirke to attend the church service of the times. The stone must +have been once in an horizontal position, as it is worn as if it had +been placed at the entrance of the Domkirke, as is believed to be the +case, and much trodden on." + +"Are there more stories connected with the Domkirke?" asked +Mrs. Hardy. + +"Yes, many," replied the Pastor. "There is the story of the monks +being killed by bricks falling on them from the arched roof, when +playing cards behind the altar. There is also the story of a large +hunting horn, which is said to be now preserved in one of our museums, +which horn was used at the evening service before Good Friday, in +catholic times. It was blown through a hole in the roof of the +Domkirke, and the words shouted as loud as possible, 'Evig forbandet +være, Judas' (For ever may Judas be accursed). There is also the +monument of Laurids Ebbesen who had been unfaithful to the king, who, +when he visited the Domkirke, cut the nose off the monumental figure +with his sword. The ship which is hung up in the Domkirke, is a model +which Peter the Great of Russia had made in France, and it was sent by +a French vessel from Toulon, which was wrecked at the Scaw, or, as we +call it, Skagen. The cargo of the ship was sold by auction. A seaman +of Aarhus bought the model, which is that of a ship of war with +seventy-four cannon, and gave it to the Domkirke, at Whitsuntide, +1720." + +"Thank you very much, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy. + +It must, however, be recorded that notwithstanding the interest John +Hardy had in such lore as the Pastor possessed in such rich abundance, +he was very much interested in another direction. At length, after +much absorbing contemplation, he said, "I never saw such blue as there +is in your eyes, Helga!" + +The next day they returned to Rosendal, and Pastor Lindal to his +parsonage with Helga. He had been pleased with his berth on board the +yacht, and the comfortable opportunity the deck-house afforded for +holding a tobacco-parliament, which Mrs. Hardy bore with much +patience. + +As the yacht was at Aarhus, Mrs. Hardy wished to make a tour amongst +the Danish islands before sending it to Esbjerg. + +"I think, John," she said, "that to-morrow we will invite Pastor +Lindal and Helga to dinner, and we will talk over the arrangements for +your wedding. I should not offer to give her a wedding outfit, as I +think she would not like it. I should give her a good watch and chain, +as a wedding present, and lockets to the two Miss Jensens. It is clear +that the quieter the wedding is the more likely to meet the Pastor's +wishes and his daughter's." + +"I think," said John, "that you are right, but I should wish to let +Helga know that I would bear any expense they wished. I should be so +glad if you would say so to her, mother. When we were at Christiania, +I wanted her to let me get her gloves or anything else she might wish +for, and she said 'You need not try to buy my goodwill, John; you +possess it' but she used a Danish word which 'goodwill' does not +translate." + +"I had better ascertain their wishes, John," said his mother, "and say +we only wish to further them; and this once settled, you must come +with me on board the yacht, so that your mother may have her own boy +with her for a while. It will be better for you, as here you would be +restless; and as to your plans for teaching Helga to ride, you can do +so after you are married and are staying here." + +John caressed his mother and assented. + +Helga had filled the porcelain pipe after dinner, and Mrs. Hardy and +Pastor Lindal sat in a garden seat in the grounds at Rosendal, the day +following the decision of Mrs. Hardy's views for her son's wedding. + +"We should wish to obey any wishes you may have, Herr Pastor, as to +the wedding," said Mrs. Hardy, after a general conversation with him. + +"John will remain at Rosendal for a month, and then go to England for +the winter, and come to you again in May." + +The Pastor took several long pulls at his pipe and created a cloud of +smoke. At last he said-- + +"I have not thought of it, Mrs. Hardy." And it was plain he had not. + +"I will, then, say what I think," said she. "The wedding should be at +your church; and will you marry them?" + +"Certainly; it is my intention," he replied. + +"The wedding to be as quiet as possible," continued Mrs. Hardy, "and +proprietor Jensen's daughters to be bridesmaids; and John has an old +college friend who will come here to be his best man, and will return +with me to England in the yacht, from Esbjerg." + +Mrs. Hardy's practical common sense impressed the Pastor; he assented +sadly. + +"There is nothing to mourn over or regret, Herr Pastor, and you will +feel the constant joy of knowing that she is happy with the man of her +choice, and that as long as I live I will watch over her as my own; +also the pleasure of looking forward to her stay in Denmark every +summer will occupy and interest you." + +The Pastor smoked in silence, but his heart was sad. + +It was fortunate that John and Helga appeared, the latter laden with +blooms gleaned in the valley of roses. Her face was bright with +happiness. + +"Mrs. Hardy," she said, "John has persisted in picking rose after +rose, holding them up to my cheek and telling me that I am the fairest +rose, and that I am going to be the rose of Rosendal, and has teased +me dreadfully." + +"I think John is right to say so, and to say so to you," said +Mrs. Hardy, smiling kindly at her. + +The Pastor felt what Mrs. Hardy had once said, that we should love +with our children's love, and the sadness left his face. He began to +share his daughter's love for Hardy. + +Mrs. Hardy rose from her seat, and drew Helga away, and John had to be +content to follow her with his eyes only. + +"Your father, Helga, last year, went for a tour with John; can he do +the same now? On Monday, I am going with John in the yacht for a +cruise amongst the Danish islands," said Mrs. Hardy, "do you think he +would like to go with us? It would allow of his being better +acquainted with us, and would distract his thoughts from dwelling on +your leaving him." + +"Nothing could be better or kinder, Mrs. Hardy," replied Helga. "I +will write for the priest who generally does my father's duty in his +absence, at once." + +"Stay," said Mrs. Hardy, "if your father leaves with us, it will +enable you to get ready for your wedding in his absence; it will be +better so. And here is a little packet. It will meet any expense; it +is not from John, it is from me;" and Mrs. Hardy kissed her +affectionately and was gone. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + + + "_Piscator._--But, my worthy friend, I would rather + prove myself a gentleman by being learned and humble, valiant + and inoffensive, virtuous and communicable, than by any fond + ostentation of riches." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +Pastor Lindal accepted the invitation to join the yacht. He was +anxious to know more of Mrs. Hardy, in whose hands he felt so much of +his daughter's future lay. + +Mrs. Hardy had, as she had done before every Sunday, attended the +parish church, and Helga thanked her for the contents of the packet of +Danish bank notes. It was more in amount, she said, than she wanted, +and would return Mrs. Hardy three-fourths of it. + +"It is very kind," said Helga; "but I can only accept what is +positively necessary, and I accept that because it would relieve my +father from an expense that he cannot well bear, and because John +might wish to see me well dressed when I am married to him." + +"Would you not like to make Kirstin and your father's other servants a +present when you are married?" said Mrs. Hardy. + +"Yes, I shall; but I cannot use your money to do that, Mrs. Hardy. I +shall give them what I have of my own, and what they know I have +valued; it is not much, but they would like it best." + +This conversation had ended when they reached the parsonage, where +Robert Garth was waiting with the carriage to drive Mrs. Hardy and her +son to Rosendal. + +"John," said Mrs. Hardy, as they drove away, "she is worthy of your +best affection. There is not a day passes but that something arises +which makes me love her more and more." Mrs. Hardy loved again with +her son's love. + +"Mother," said John, "she is so dear to me; there is nothing that is +not truth with her." + +"You are right, John," said his mother. "Give her all your heart, and +she will give you hers." + +"I know it, mother," said John. + +Pastor Lindal accompanied them to Aarhus, and when they came on board +the yacht, John Hardy spread out the chart of the Danish islands +before him. + +"We can reach Nyborg to-night, Herr Pastor," said he, "and call and +stop at Svendborg, and run round Møen's Klint to Copenhagen, and +passing Elsinore to Aarhus again, stopping at any place on the way." + +"But the time?" asked the Pastor. + +"A week," replied John; "or you can land at any place, and return by +rail in a few hours." + +"No, Herr Pastor," interposed Mrs. Hardy, "you must not bind us to +time. We shall see if the cruise is a benefit to you, and if so, you +must prolong it." + +The Pastor always surrendered when challenged by Mrs. Hardy. + +Whilst they were at lunch, the _Rosendal_ steam yacht was passing +Samsø. + +"This island," said John Hardy, "appears from the chart to be a sand +bank washed up by the sea." + +"So is all Denmark," said Pastor Lindal. "The legends and traditions +belonging to Samsø, however, are not as old as those of Jutland, and +it would therefore appear not to have been inhabited at so early a +period. There is an historical tradition that in 1576 a mermaid +appeared to a man of Samsø, and directed him to go to Kallundborg, +where King Frederick II. was then staying with his court, and tell him +that his queen would have a son, which would become a mighty ruler. +The king questioned the man, who stated that the mermaid's name was +Isbrand, and that she lived in the sea, not far from land, with her +mother and grandmother, and that it was the latter that had foretold +the birth of Queen Margrethe, who united the three Scandinavian +kingdoms under one crown. King Frederick sent the man home, and +commanded him not to come to the court again. + +The king's son was Christian IV., under whose rule Denmark attained +its zenith of power. Once, when Christian IV. was driven ashore by a +storm on Samsø, he saw the priest's man ploughing. The king took the +plough and ploughed a furrow, and told the man to tell his master that +the king had ploughed for him." + +"A good way to acquire popularity in those times," remarked +Mrs. Hardy. "But are there any more stories of the kind?" + +"There is the story of the Church of the Holy Cross. There is a tablet +said to be yet in the church, on which there is an inscription," +replied the Pastor. "This states that a gilt cross in the church was +washed ashore bound to a corpse, but that when they would take the +corpse to a particular churchyard, that four horses could not move the +waggon in which it was placed. They then tried to draw the waggon to +another churchyard, with the same result; but at last they directed +the horses to the church at Onsberg, and then two horses could easily +draw it; so the corpse was buried in the eastern end of the church, +and the church afterwards called the Church of the Holy Cross. The +date is given as 1596. There is also a story of the Swedish war of +1658, when a party of Swedish cavalry took a tailor prisoner, and set +him at work on a table in a farm-house, while they fired at a mark on +the door, the balls passing close to his head. It is said the door yet +exists, with the bullet marks in it." + +"We have an island in sight, on the starboard bow, called Endelave; +are there any traditions existing there?" asked Hardy. + +"There is only the story of a giant who threw a stone from thence to +Jutland, which was so large that two girls saved themselves from a +bull by climbing to the top of it. There is, however, the variation +that it was thrown by a giantess from Fyen (Funen) with her garter. I +know of no special legend from Endelave." + +"There is a town marked Kjerteminde on the chart; is that in +recollection of anything specially historical, as would appear from +the name?" asked Hardy. + +"When Odin built the town called Odense," replied the Pastor, "the +other towns were envious of its better appearance and condition, and +particularly the town now called Kjerteminde, and complaint was made +to Odin, who was angry, and replied, 'Vær du mindre' (literally, 'be +you less'); this was that they should continue to be smaller towns +than Odense. In time the name from Vær du mindre became altered to its +present name of Kjerteminde. There is also the variation that the name +is from St Gertrude's minde (memory) contracted to Kjerteminde. She +was the sailors' patron saint." + +"There is more to be said of Odense, as it was founded by Odin," said +Mrs. Hardy. + +"What I can tell you of Odense," said the Pastor, "is history, +chiefly. There is the story that a rich man called Ubbe gave his +property to St. Knud's (Canute) Church under singular circumstances. +His relatives wanted him to leave his property to them, and they +placed a woman in his household, if possible, to influence him in +their favour, and she did not. Ubbe had become blind. He directed some +tripe to be cooked, possibly because his teeth were gone. The woman, +however, having no tripe, cut up an old felt hat and gave him. This he +chewed and chewed, when a little child told him what it was. He was +angry at the deceit, and gave his property to the Church; and the name +of a portion of his lands was changed from Ubberud to Kallun (tripe). +Odense is the birth-place of Hans Christian Andersen, whose stories +have been translated into English," continued Pastor Lindal; "but, +like other translations, they lose immeasurably by translation." + +"What is the chief historical interest connected with Odense?" asked +Mrs. Hardy. + +"The death of St. Knud," replied the Pastor. "He was the grand-nephew +of Canute the Great. He was killed in the church of St Albanus, in +1086, by his rebellious subjects. He wanted to make war on England, as +he claimed the English throne, and they resisted; so far it is +history. The story is that he was pursued, and fled to the church, and +prayed for his enemies. He saw a Jutland man looking at him through a +window of the church, and the king asked for water. The man ran to a +stream and fetched water in a cup; but as he reached it to the king, +another man struck the cup with his spear, and the water was spilt, +and the king was killed by a stone thrown at him. The man who had +prevented the king getting the cup of water went out of his mind, and +had always a burning thirst, and on going to a well to drink fell +down, and stuck in it over the water, which he could not reach, and so +perished. The king was canonized, but is said to occasionally visit +the church, where he was buried, from his place amongst the angels. +This church he had just commenced to build. There is a story that when +the tower was building, an apprentice told his master he was as good a +builder. The master-builder went out of the tower on the scaffolding +and stuck an axe into it, and told the apprentice to go and fetch it, +if he could. The apprentice went, but called out that an adjoining +village was approaching the town of Odense. 'Then God have mercy on +your soul' said the master-builder. The apprentice fell to the ground +and was killed. There is, however, a variation of this story, which +localizes it in Copenhagen at Our Lady's Church there, and that the +apprentice cried out that he saw two axes. The result was the same." + +"Thank you very much, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy. "You must try and +keep up the practice of speaking English." The Pastor was in the habit +of falling back on his own language when he had a difficulty, for John +Hardy to interpret. + +"I think we should have but one language all over the world," said the +Pastor, "and that language should be English." + +"There is not much to see at Nyborg, mother," said John, "and the +pilot says if we leave early to-morrow that we had best anchor outside +the harbour, clear of the course of the steamers from Korsør. We shall +have the anchor down at six, and we can go ashore and have dinner a +little before eight, and then the Pastor can hold his second +tobacco-parliament before we turn in. We shall also have to engage +another pilot, as it is difficult navigation to Svendborg; and if we +start at six, we shall be there at eight to-morrow, which will enable +us to see Svendborg and its pretty neighbourhood, and in the evening +can anchor under shelter of Væirø, an island, so as to reach +Vordingborg early to-morrow." + +Mrs. Hardy followed her son's explanation on the chart. He was himself +the registered owner of his yacht, and acted as his own skipper when +on board; and as his men had been with him in other yachts, of which +he had been the owner, they had confidence in him, as they had seen +his courage and seamanship again and again put to the proof. + +"You are always self-reliant, John," said his mother. + +"Yes; but Pastor Lindal has taught me on whom reliance should be +placed," said John. "The simple trust he has and the simple faith of +which he is convinced are in his life and practice. No sermon can have +such influence as to be with him one day in his parish when he visits +those he sees it necessary to visit. It is the simplicity of perfect +truth about him that has made his daughter a pearl without price." + +"I believe every word of what you say, John," said his mother. "She +has now my heart as completely as she has yours." + +There is not so much to see in Nyborg. The walk in the wood is pretty +with its thoroughly Danish prospect, and there is little else to +interest. Pastor Lindal was tired when they reached the yacht, but +revived with the tonic effect of a good dinner. They adjourned to the +deck-house, and Hardy essayed to fill the porcelain pipe with +Kanaster, but failed. The pipe was too hard pressed with tobacco and +would not draw, and it was not John Hardy only who missed Helga. + +"Is there anything to relate about Nyborg, Herr Pastor?" asked Hardy. + +"There is not much specially," replied the Pastor. "There is the story +of the monkey taking Christian II. out of his cradle when there was a +royal residence at Nyborg, and jumping out of the window with him, and +taking him upon the roof, so that it was with difficulty that they got +him down again. There is also the story of the ghost of Queen Helvig, +who was married to Valdemar Atterdag. She is said to have appeared for +years to the sentry on the ramparts, and to have always left a dollar +under a stone, which he collected; but one day, he was sick, and told +a comrade to fetch the dollar, but no dollars were placed under the +stone after. Queen Helvig was imprisoned there for a long time, under +a charge frequently preferred in those days." + +"Had you not particular days called Mærkedage, to which particular +importance was attached?" asked Hardy. + +"They were principally the greater festivals of the Church, or on New +Year's Day," replied the Pastor. "Thus, for instance, if the sun shone +out so long on New Year's Day that a horse could be saddled, it was a +sign of a fruitful year; also, if a girl or a young man wished to know +whom she or he would marry, they write the names of suspected persons +on different pieces of paper, and put them under their pillows on New +Year's Eve, and the one thus dreamt of is the one selected; also, if a +turf is cut from the churchyard New Year's Eve, the person who puts it +on his or her head can see who will die in the year, as their ghosts +will appear in the churchyard. There is also another means to the same +end, and that is when people sit at a table New Year's Eve; those that +will die in the year cast a shadow, but without a head. Tyge Brahe has +particularized many days in the year as being unlucky, on which to +attend to any business or to do anything important, but they are so +numerous that they are not regarded." + +"Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy, "you are tired with your walk about +Nyborg, and your speaking so much in English; I wish to suggest a +subject that will give you something to think of." + +"What may that be?" asked the Pastor. + +"I have thought," said Mrs. Hardy, "that you might like to see us at +home in England before the winter. John will leave at the end of +August, and you might go with him. What I feel is, that I should like +during the winter you should feel that your daughter is well cared +for." + +"I will go," said the Pastor; and he held out his hand to Mrs. Hardy +in his Danish manner, and the matter was at an end. Mrs. Hardy's +kindly tact always overcame him. + +The visit to Svendborg entailed so much to see and explore, that it +was not until late in the evening that the yacht was reached. The +Pastor was, however, fresher than the evening before, possibly because +they had not walked so much, but had driven. + +"What we have seen at Svendborg, Herr Pastor, is very pretty," said +Mrs. Hardy, "but it differs from an English landscape; and it is only +by seeing both that you can realize the contrast." + +"That is very possible," replied Pastor Lindal. "The same landscape +painted by different artists would make each their impression; how +much more, then, would nature, with influences we cannot understand, +produce different effects?" + +Mrs. Hardy looked as if a fresh field of thought was opened to her, +and her son observed his mother's look of surprise. + +"I have been often astonished," he said, "to hear from Pastor Lindal +and Helga a similar cast of thought that has given me something to +think of for long after. I think it is the outcome of a natural +singleness of thought we do not often meet." + +"I believe you are right, John," said his mother. "But possibly Herr +Pastor can tell us a tradition of Svendborg;" and she raised her voice +and addressed him. + +"There is the tradition of St. Jørgen," he said, "or, as you call it +in English, St. George and the dragon. The features of the story, of +course, are the same; with us the tradition runs as follows:--There +was a temple inhabited by a dragon, who issued from it and laid waste +the country. Each day the monster craved a human life, until at last +lots were drawn as to who should be the victim, and from this neither +the king nor his family were exempt, and the lot fell on his only +daughter. The king offered half his kingdom to any one who should +destroy the dragon. A knight called Jørgen attempted to do so, by +putting poisoned cakes in the dragon's way; but that availed nothing. +He then attacked it, and the monster retreated to Svendborg; but it +again came forth, and a combat between the knight and the dragon +ensued. The dragon was slain, and where its poisonous blood poured out +no grass will grow. The combat is said to be delineated on the church +bells. It is very probably only an echo of the Greek story of Perseus +and Andromeda. You will observe the dragon in our tradition is said to +have issued from a temple. We had no temples, the Greeks had. + +"There are not many special traditions connected with Svendborg. There +is the story of a noble lady who was murdered at Svendborg, but the +murderers were men of rank, and the whole town agreed to pay +blood-money, and some farms were apportioned to the murdered woman's +relatives and a wooden cross set up over her grave; and it was agreed +that when the wooden cross fell into decay, whoever first repaired it +should possess the farm so apportioned. The consequence was that a +wooden cross was always kept ready to repair the original cross. This +story has many variations and is differently localized." + +"Are there not many proverbs with regard to the weather, or the like, +in Denmark?" asked Hardy. + +"There are, but they are identical with the English," replied the +Pastor. "There are some that may be new; for instance, we say that +there is always some sun on a Saturday, that the poor may dry the +clothes they wash. The farmers also say that if the priest takes his +text from St. Luke in preaching his Sunday's sermon, it is sure to +rain. Also, that a southerly wind is like a woman's anger, it always +ends in weeping. Of days in the week we say, that if it rains on a +Sunday and a Monday it will rain the whole week. Again, we say-- + + + 'Søndags Veir til Middag + Er Ugens Veir til Fredag.' + + 'Sunday's weather to midday + Is the week's weather to Friday. + + +There is another of the same character: + + + 'Tirsdag giver Veir til Torsdag, + Fredags Veir giver Søndags Veir, + Lørdag har sit eget Veir, + Mandag enten værre eller bedre.' + + 'Tuesday's weather is Thursday's weather, + Friday's weather is Sunday's weather, + Saturday has its own weather, + Monday is either worse or better. + + +The same, I believe, exists in England," continued the Pastor, "or at +least very nearly allied to it." + +"It is so," said Hardy. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + + + "Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright, + The bridal of the earth and sky." + _The Complete Angler._ + + +The yacht had anchored for the night to the east of Væirø, an island +and lighthouse. The pilot and steward had gone ashore to purchase +fresh milk. The morning was without a breath of wind, and the yacht +was motionless. + +"What a sense of calm and peace!" said Mrs. Hardy, as she came on +deck. "There is not a fish coming to the surface of the still water, +or a bird in the air, or a boat visible. It is almost desolation." + +"We are out of the track of vessels," said Pastor Lindal, "and there +are few fish just here, consequently no sea-birds in pursuit of them." + +"You will soon see more life, mother," said Hardy, "From our position +we are seventeen knots to Vordingborg, which we shall reach shortly +after breakfast. We shall have to take another pilot there, for the +difficult channel by Grønsund out to the Baltic, as our present pilot +is not allowed to go beyond Vordingborg." + +"Your pilots, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy, "appointed by your +Government, appear men well selected for their duty. They are all +experienced men and well-conducted. We have been yachting on many +shores, but the pilots we have taken in Denmark have been all men that +have given me a feeling of confidence." + +"There is much employment for pilots on some parts of our coast," said +the Pastor, "and the men soon acquire experience." + +When they came on deck after breakfast, the yacht was half-way to +Vordingborg. + +"What is the land on the starboard bow?" asked Mrs. Hardy. + +"Falster," replied the Pastor, "and to the south is Laaland. One of +the chief towns is Mariebo; it is so called from the special wish of +the Virgin, as evidenced by a shining light having been seen there +every night. Queen Margrethe bought the site for a church, from the +owner, Jens Grim, and the place was called Mariebo. The termination +'bo' is present Danish for an abode or dwelling, as it was supposed +the Virgin had been there. 'By' is present Danish for a town. In the +church there is the figure of a monk on one of the pillars pointing at +another pillar, where it is said a treasure is buried. A Danish +antiquary is said to have found in the Vatican a paper stating that +when the monks were driven out of Mariebo, they had hid their +documents in a pillar of the church. It is not known to me whether any +search has been made. The owner of the site, Jens Grim, was attacked +by people from Lubeck; they besieged his two fastnesses. They +succeeded in taking one of them by a very simple stratagem. Jens Grim +had lost his knife, which the Lubeckers found, and took it to the +fastness, where they knew he was not, and said they had come to take +possession by Jens Grimes order, and produced the knife. They were +admitted and took the place." + +"What do you propose to do at Vordingborg, John?" asked Mrs. Hardy. + +"We are close to it, mother," replied John. "It is likely to be a +similar place to Svendborg." + +"There is not much to see at Vordingborg. There are the ruins of King +Valdemar's castle; the portion most prominent is called the Goose +Tower, because the figure of a goose was used as a weathercock," said +the Pastor. "If I might suggest, a drive in a carriage in the +neighbourhood would, I think, interest you. The scenery is the same +type as at Svendborg." + +The Pastor's suggestion was followed, and he poured forth much +historical learning connected with Vordingborg. + +"Is there no legend?" asked Hardy. + +"Yes," replied the Pastor; "but it is one common to a great many +places. It is this. A giantess wished to remove a tumulus or Kæmpehøi +from Vordingborg to Møen. She put it in her apron; but there was a +hole in it, and the Kæmpehøi fell into the sea near the coast, and +formed what is called Borreø, or Borre Island. That is the only legend +I know, or can recollect at present, particularly attached to +Vordingborg. But do you not propose an excursion to Møen's Klint?" + +"That we do, as it is different from any other place in Denmark," said +Hardy. "The difficulty is, if it should come on to blow hard in the +eastern sea, as you call the Baltic, the yacht would have to run back +to Grønsund, or go to Copenhagen." + +"Then," said the Pastor, "why not leave the yacht at Grønsund? You can +get a carriage and a pair of horses to drive through the whole of +Møen, about sixteen English miles, and return the same evening to the +yacht." + +John Hardy laid Mansa's map and the chart before his mother, who +assented. + +"Where can we get horses?" he asked. + +"At Phanefjord, I expect," replied the Pastor. "They could be ordered +to be ready at the ferry at six in the morning, and in three hours we +could reach Liselumd, from whence Møen's Klint can be explored on +foot." + +"Is it too much for you, mother?" said Hardy. "It will be a long day; +but the next day, weather permitting, we should be under weigh for +Copenhagen, and you would have rest." + +"It will be a long day, John," replied his mother, "but not too long. +I like Pastor Lindal's plan." + +"What is the meaning of the name Phanefjord?" asked Hardy. "Is it +derived from the Greek?" + +"There was a giant called Grønjette, or the Green Giant; he gave his +name to the fjord, which is called Grønsund. He was married to a +giantess called Phane; hence Phanefjord. They are said to be buried at +Harbolle, and their graves are one hundred yards (English) long. He +was accustomed to ride through the woods with his head under his left +arm, with a spear, and surrounded by hounds. The Bønder always left a +sheaf of oats for his horse, so that he should not ride over their +freshly sown fields, when the Jette or giant went on his hunting +excursions. There is even an epitaph on Grøn and Phane:-- + + + 'Nu hviler Grøn med Phane sin; + Som trættede rasken Hjort og Hind. + Tak, Bonde, god! den dyre Gud, + Nu gaar du tryg af Sundet ud.' + + +Literally-- + + + 'Now rests Grøn and his Phane; + They followed the quick buck and hind. + Thank, peasant, the good God, + That now you can safely go through the fjord.' + + +There is a story of Grøn. He halted one night and knocked at a Bonde's +door, and told him to hold his hounds by a leash. Grøn rode away, and +was absent two hours. At length he returned, but across his horse was +a mermaid, which he had shot. This was before the time of powder. Grøn +said to the Bonde, 'I have hunted that mermaid for seven years, and +now I have got her.' He then asked for something to drink, and when he +was served with it he gave the Bonde some gold money; but it was so +hot it burnt through his hand, and the money sunk in the earth. Grøn +laughed, and said, 'As you have drank with me, you shall have +something, so take the leash you have held my hounds with.' Grøn rode +away, and the Bonde kept the leash, and as long as he did so all +things prospered; but at last he thought it was of little value, and +threw it away. He then gradually grew poorer and poorer, and died in +great poverty." + +"A very good legend, and thank you, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy. + +"There is an old ballad," continued the Pastor, "called 'The Pilgrim +Stone,' which opens with a mother calling her three daughters to go to +the early Catholic church service of the times, and then the water was +so shallow between Møen and Falster that they could jump over it. The +three daughters were attacked by three robbers and killed by them. +They put their bodies in sacks; but they were seized by the father and +his men, and then it appeared that the three robbers were brothers to +the murdered girls, having been stolen, when they were very young, on +their way to school. The two eldest were hung, and the youngest made a +pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and when he returned he lived a few years +at Phanefjord, and was buried where the pilgrim stone marks the place. +The ballad is of the simplest character and incomplete; but such is +the story. Under different conditions it is recited in other places in +Denmark; but it is dramatic in all cases." + +"It is indeed dramatic," said Mrs. Hardy. "The stories of giants +appear to have had their origin from natural forces, as ice, or the +heat of summer, but have been blended with human attributes." + +The drive to Møen's Klint from Grønsund was full of interest from +Pastor Lindal's knowledge of the past history of so many places. + +"There are not so many traditions in the low part of Møen as in Høie +Møen; that is where the cliffs are," said the Pastor. "The cliffs are +chalk, with layers of flint, and were supposed to be peopled with +Underjordiske or underground people, the chief of whom was called the +Klinte Konge, or cliff king. Klint is the Danish word for cliff. His +queen is described as being very beautiful, and she resided at the +place called Dronningstol, or the queen's throne or chair, and near it +was her sceptre, in old times called Dronningspir, but now called +Sommerspir. The Klinte Konge was supposed to reside at Kongsberg. He +was always at war with another Klinte Konge, at Rygen, and there is an +old ballad on the subject. It is said that when Denmark is in danger, +the Klinte Konge and his army can be seen ready to resist the invader. +There are very many variations of this superstitious story, more or +less picturesque." + +"Are there any stories of communications between the Underjordiske and +mortals?" asked Mr. Hardy. + +"There is such a story. A woman called Margrethe Skælvigs was going to +Emelund to borrow a dress of Peer Munk's wife, to be married in, when +an old woman met her, and asked where she was going. Margrethe told +her. 'When you pass here on Saturday, I will lend you a bridal dress;' +and she gave Margrethe a dress of cloth of gold, and told her to +return it in eight days; but that if Margrethe saw no one when she +brought it back, she might keep the dress. No one appeared, and +Margrethe kept the dress." + +"The conjecture might be that the dress was given her by her intended +husband," said Hardy, "who adopted this method of giving her a dress. +I should like to impose on Helga in the same way." + +"Don't talk nonsense, John," said Mrs. Hardy, who feared that it might +not be agreeable to Pastor Lindal; and, to turn his thoughts in +another direction, asked him if there were not other legends of a +different type. + +"Yes; there is one very commonly repeated," he replied. "A Bonde had +twenty pigs ranging through the wood by Møen's Klint. He lost them, +and after searching for a whole year, he met Gamle Erik (the devil; +literally, Old Erik) riding on a pig and driving nineteen before him, +and making a great noise by beating on an old copper kettle. The pigs +were all in good case, except the one Gamle Erik rode, which bore +traces of bad treatment. The Bonde shouted and called, and Gamle Erik +was frightened, and dropped the copper kettle, and let the pigs be +pigs. So the Bonde had not only his pigs, but a copper kettle to +recollect Gamle Erik by." + +Mrs. Hardy was much pleased with the scenery about the cliffs, and the +contrast of the dark blue sea against the white chalk, and the varied +prospects in the woods. + +The drive had been full of interest, and Mrs. Hardy thanked Pastor +Lindal for his suggesting it, and the pleasure of hearing his +narrations on the very places with which they were connected, and +added-- + +"I shall come again another year, Herr Pastor, on purpose to enjoy +your society, if you will act as guide." + +"God willing, it will be a pleasure to me," said he; "but these few +days have had their effect on me. I appear to see things with a +clearer view, that at home have been difficult to me. Travelling +develops the mind, and gives it a broader cast of thought. You, who +have travelled so much, Mrs. Hardy, appear to have been influenced by +the process." + +"Thank you for your compliment, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy. "It is +well put." + +At eight the following day, the yacht was passing Møen's Klint, at +sea, bound for Copenhagen. There was a stiff breeze from the westward, +and in passing Præstø Bay the yacht was in a short rough beam sea, +that made things very lively to all on board, except possibly the +Pastor, as his ears gradually assumed a greenish tint. + +John Hardy consulted the pilot, and the yacht was brought up and +anchored under Stevn's Klint, in shelter, much to Pastor Lindal's +comfort, who appeared at lunch fully recovered from his sea-sickness. + +"Præstø," said he, "is so called after a priest called Anders; he was +a monk at the time of the Reformation, but adopted the reformed +religion. He had only a small copper coin, which always returned to +him when he spent it, and received no other payment for his services. +In the arms of the town of Præstø is a man in a priest's dress, +supposed to be in his memory." + +"Were there any Underjordiske in the cliff at the yacht's bow?" asked +Hardy. + +"There was fabled to be an Elle Konge," replied Pastor Lindal, "or +king of the elves, and he occupied not only Stevn's Klint, but also an +adjoining church, where a place in the wall is shown as his residence, +and is called Elle Kongen's Kammer, or the king of the elves' chamber. +In the neighbourhood of this church are the remains of an oak wood. +The trees therein are said to have been trees by day, but the soldiers +of the elf king by night. The church referred to is Storehedinge, and +was built by a monk against the wishes of the great man of the +locality, who, when the church was built, cut off the monk's head. The +figure of a monk's head is on a stone in the wall by the altar. + +"The church a little to the south of the lighthouse is called Høierup, +and was built in fulfilment of the vow of a seaman when in danger. As +the cliff crumbles away, the church is said to go a cock's footstep +back on the mainland every Christmas night." + +"What is the meaning of 'rup' as a termination to so many Danish +places?" asked Hardy. + +"It is your English 'thorp,' or Swedish 'torp,' or German 'dorf,' a +village," replied the Pastor. "Vandstrup, for instance, is 'the +village by the water,' as the Danish word for water is Vand. It is, as +you know, close to the river." + +The pilot had predicted that the wind would lessen at four o'clock in +the afternoon, and the yacht got under weigh, and, carrying plenty of +sail and full steam, made a rapid passage across Kiøge Bay, so +disturbing sometimes to the breakfast of the Kiøbenhavner, who trusts +himself to a pleasure excursion on its waters. + +Off Dragør, the jack was again hoisted for the Copenhagen pilot, and +the Rosendal steam yacht was at anchor off the Custom House at +Copenhagen, before a late dinner, that evening. + +"We must fill up with coal and water, mother, and it had better be +done here," said Hardy; "it would give us time for an excursion to +Roeskilde to see the Domkirke, or elsewhere." + +"No, John," said Mrs. Hardy. "I want to purchase many articles that +you will want at Rosendal after you are married, that you would never +think of; and I must leave something for the Pastor to tell me next +summer." + +"But what shall I do with Pastor Lindal tomorrow?" asked John Hardy. + +"He will like to be left to himself, to go where he wishes," replied +his mother; and she was right. As the yacht left Copenhagen a day or +so after, Mrs. Hardy refused to visit the beautiful vicinity of +Copenhagen. "No, John; and no, Herr Pastor," she said. "I must keep +something to see for other years, and something to look forward to and +wish to see. I even decline to hear the story of the soldier who shot +from Kronborg Castle a cow with a cannon in Sweden, and that although +he did not hurt the milkmaid. The Herr Pastor must keep something to +tell me another season." + +"But, mother, we can anchor at Elsinore, and you could see Kronborg +Castle," urged her son. + +"So I will another year, John," she replied. "Get your mud-hook up, as +you call it, and let me have my way. I hope not only to visit more of +Denmark, but also of Sweden and Norway, and hope not only the Herr +Pastor will be with us, but his daughter." + +"Thank you kindly," said the Pastor, shaking hands with her in the +manner frequent in Denmark. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + + + "Come, live with me and be my love, + And we will some new pleasures prove. + Of golden sands and crystal brooks. + With silken lines and silver hooks." + _The Complete Angler._ + + +When Pastor Lindal arrived at his parsonage, he was received by his +daughter with much affection. She saw he was benefited by the cruise +in the yacht, and was in good spirits. + +"Little father," she said, "you look so well. Thank you, Mrs. Hardy, +for taking him with you; it will give my father so much to talk of, in +the winter, to Axel; and thank you, John, too." + +"I am glad there is a word for me," said Hardy, using, as he often did +with her, a Danish phrase. "I was beginning to think I was not to be +spoken to at all." + +"I think," said Mrs. Hardy, "that the Pastor and Helga might come to +us to-morrow, John, and that, as you are so impatient for a +tête-à-tête interview with Helga, you can have a ramble in your woods +at Rosendal, while I discuss the matters that have to be arranged with +the Pastor." + +John thought this a very excellent arrangement; but Pastor Lindal +declined. He had much to see to in his parish, and he could not, he +said, after the absence of a week, return to his parish and not visit +it. He explained that he felt it to be his duty to feel the pulse of +his parish, to see what changes of thought occurred and what +circumstances had arisen that might influence his Sognebørn (children +of his parish). This, he said, guided him in what he preached. + +"I agree with every word you say, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy. +"There can be no better view of what your duty is. The shepherd should +always watch;" and, as she read disappointment in her son's face, she +added, "You can, however, spare us Helga to lunch with us at Rosendal; +John can drive over for her, and she shall return early." + +Pastor Lindal assented, and John Hardy drove over as early as he +thought advisable, and in returning to Rosendal insisted on Helga's +driving and telling him everything that had occurred in his absence at +sea. + +It was a pleasure to Mrs. Hardy to see their happy faces as they drove +up at Rosendal. + +"Bless you, dear mother!" said John. "It has been so sweet to hear the +thankfulness with which she speaks of every little attention we showed +her father when at sea. It was your considerate goodness that +suggested it all." + +"You must let me have your princess, John, for a few minutes," said +his mother. "You have to consider her, and that there are subjects +that we can discuss better without you." + +"I agree to five minutes, and no longer," said John, with some warmth. +"For goodness' sake, mother, do not be unreasonable, and keep her an +unconscionable time." + +"There is no doubt of his affection for you, Helga," said Mrs. Hardy, +"and it is a joy to me to see it; but come into my sitting-room, and +tell me what you have done about your wedding-dress." + +"Here is the money you kindly gave me," replied Helga. "I have thought +it over, and I think that John would rather marry me just as I am than +that I should appear any different; and my father, I feel, would wish +it so." Mrs. Hardy recollected the cloud on the Pastor's open face +when her son had referred to giving Helga a wedding-dress. "I have, +therefore, not used any of the money, Mrs. Hardy," added Helga; "but I +am very grateful for your considering me as if I were your daughter." + +"I will always act a mother's part to you, Helga," said Mrs. Hardy; +"your freedom from selfishness, as well as honesty of feeling, make me +love and respect you. It is not money, or money's worth, that is +everything. I have always taught my son that kindliness is the real +gold of life." + +"When John came here first," said Helga, "he said that, and my father +has liked him from that moment." + +"But you did not, Helga?" said Mrs. Hardy, as if asking the question, +and smiling. + +"I did, really," replied Helga; "but I thought it was wrong to think +of him, and I treated him in a manner of which I am ashamed. I would +give anything to recall what I said to him." + +John Hardy came bustling in. "Mother!" he exclaimed, "I really cannot +let you take up all Helga's time with discussions." + +"What we have discussed, John, is yourself," said his mother, "and I +can wish for nothing better for you than Helga's golden truth and +love. You can take her for a walk in the woods until lunch, but mind, +John, to be back punctually at one." + +"Why, that is only an hour, mother," protested John, who was becoming +quite unreasonable and impatient. + +"And twelve times as long as you would let your mother speak to her +daughter that is to be," said Mrs. Hardy. + +"Now, Helga," said John, "I recollect you called me a cool and +calculating Englishman. I shall take you down to the lake, where it +will be cool, and there I shall find a Smørblomst, or a buttercup, and +by placing it to your chin, I shall be able to calculate the +transparency of your complexion from the reflection of colour." + +"Don't tease me, John, about what I said to you last year," said +Helga, imploringly. "If I said anything that pained you, I am sorry +for it; but do not always keep it alive against me." + +"There is the rose of Rosendal, mother, and the jewel of Hardy Place," +said Hardy to his mother, on his unpunctual return to lunch. "She is +so good and single-minded that it is impossible to invent ways of +teasing her." + +"Then I should not try, John," said his mother. + +A few days before John's marriage, his friend and neighbour, Sir +Charles Lynton, arrived at Rosendal. + +"It is a lovely place, John," said his friend; "but, I suppose, +nothing to be compared with the loveliness of your Scandinavian +princess?" + +"Don't quiz," said Hardy; "but come out and try a cast for an hour or +so for the Danish trout. We can also visit a landowner near, who +breeds good Jutland horses, and I know that is in your line." + +"By all means," said his friend. + +The stout proprietor, Jensen, was pleased with their visit, and the +opportunity of hearing another Englishman's opinion as to his stock of +horses. + +"They want bone," said Sir Charles, "and to be kept better through the +winter." + +"Then it would not pay to breed horses," said the proprietor. "A +big-boned horse would be more expensive to keep up, and would not +stand the cold and wet of our climate. We have no market for very +high-class horses; that is, we might sell one now and then, but not +many." + +A short tobacco-parliament on horses was inevitable, and hints were +exchanged and thoughts expressed very valuable in their way, but not +necessary to be recorded here. + +The wedding took place in the little Danish church at Vandstrup, and +was witnessed by a large number of Hardy's Danish acquaintances and +the Pastor's friends. The Pastor made a long discourse, for his heart +was full. + +Mrs. Hardy would not hear of her son's accompanying her to Esbjerg. +She left with Sir Charles Lynton, for Horsens, to continue the journey +the next day to Esbjerg, where the yacht had been sent to meet them. + +It was not until the middle of September that John Hardy and his wife, +with Pastor Lindal, left Denmark by the overland route for Hardy +Place. The time of their arrival at the station for Hardy Place was +therefore known some time before, and confirmed by a telegram from +Hardy on their reaching England. + +Mrs. Hardy was on the platform, with a tall young man Pastor Lindal +did not know. + +"It is your son Karl, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy. + +A year's residence in England had made a great change in the Danish +lad, and he appeared so English that the Pastor hesitated before he +spoke to him in Danish. Karl's reply assured him that if he was +changed outwardly, there was no change that he could regret. + +Mrs. Hardy welcomed the Pastor and her son's wife warmly. Two +carriages had been prepared, and John Hardy and his wife went in the +first, and Mrs. Hardy, the Pastor, and Karl in the second. When they +reached the entrance to Hardy Place, there was a considerable crowd of +well-wishers, who cheered lustily. There was an arch with the words-- + + "Saxon and Dane are we, + But all of us Danes + in our welcome of thee." + +"It is kindly meant," said the Pastor, to Mrs. Hardy; "and I like the +full ring of the English cheer." + +At the door at Hardy Place there was another crowd, and amid more +English cheers the fair Dane John Hardy had brought home as his wife +alighted at Hardy Place. + +Mrs. Hardy took possession of Helga, and left her son to speak to his +friends and thank them for their reception, and entertain them. + +"I have only asked Sir Charles Lynton to dinner, John," said +Mrs. Hardy. "I was afraid Helga might not be at her ease with a party +of perfect strangers the very first day she is here." + +The Pastor was delighted with Hardy Place. "I see now," he said, "how +you knew how to deal with Rosendal. Your English landscape gardening +is good. I never saw so beautiful a place! The impression on me is +that of neatness and taste." + +"Sir Charles Lynton comes to dinner, Herr Pastor," said Hardy; "and +you shall go and see his place to-morrow--it is only eight English +miles from here--and then you must tell me what you would like to see +or do during your very short stay in England. I dare say Karl can +suggest something. He must go to his work in London to-morrow." + +Mrs. Hardy brought Helga down to the drawing-room before dinner, +dressed in her neat Danish dress, and a flower in her hair. She shook +hands with Sir Charles Lynton, and thanked him for his coming to her +wedding in Denmark. + +"Now," said Mrs. Hardy, "I shall take her in to dinner and place her +at the head of your table, John, as the new mistress of Hardy Place, +and a better there cannot be." + +Helga did not clearly understand, and John explained in Danish. "My +mother," he said, "wishes to instal you in the position she has +herself so long occupied as mistress here." + +"No," said Helga, decidedly. "I am her daughter, and will serve her +gladly. You surely would not wish me to usurp your mother's place, +John, and that to-day?" She had said this in Danish, and she added in +English, "No, Mrs. Hardy; you are housemother here, and I am your +daughter and owe you a daughter's duty." + +It had been Mrs. Hardy's dream that when her son brought his wife +home, the latter should occupy her seat, and rule as Mrs. Hardy of +Hardy Place. As Helga put it, she had got a daughter, and that was +all. Helga took Mrs. Hardy's hand and kissed it. + +"What a trump she is, John!" exclaimed Sir Charles Lynton. "She will +be the greatest joy and comfort to your mother all her life. I shall +advertise in the Danish papers for a wife." + +"Let Helga sit at your side, mother," said John, "and the Pastor at +your right." + +The Pastor did not appear to think what had passed was unusual in his +daughter's conduct, but this little episode prepared the way for young +Mrs. Hardy of Hardy Place acquiring many friends. + +During Pastor Lindal's short stay in England, John Hardy did his best +to interest him in English life and manners. The Pastor's wish was to +visit an English country church, and to see the whole working of an +English parish. His disapproval of the gift, or, worse still, the +sale, of a cure of souls was utter and complete. + +"Your system of selling or giving livings is bad," he said. "No actual +sympathy can arise between the clergyman and his parishioners unless +they are interested in his selection." + +When he had attended the parish church on the Sunday, Hardy questioned +him. + +"The perfect neatness and order in the church," said the Danish +Pastor, "leave nothing to be desired; what is wanting is the warmth of +human sympathy and life. The service is cold and lifeless, the sermon +like dead leaves. The congregation hear, but they do not listen. There +is a want of harmony created by your system; it produces a barrier +between your clergyman and his flock; it prevents their working well +together, as a rule. In a few cases you will have exceptional men that +will get over any difficulty, and will do their duty well if you bind +them with chains; but it is not in that direction you should look, but +to a Christian bond of sympathy and common interest, as a rule." + +"You are a keen observer, Herr Pastor. It is so," said Hardy. + +"It is not necessary to be a keen observer to see it," replied Pastor +Lindal. "It lies so near the surface that it is not seen, when deeper +causes are looked for and ascribed as producing results they are far +from effecting." + +"Your criticism is hard on the English country parishes," said Hardy; +"if you were here longer, you might alter the decisive character of +your opinion." + +"It is possible, but the contrast strikes me," said Pastor Lindal. "I +speak as I see." + +"That I do not doubt," said Hardy; "and I think the impression of +contrast between your own parish and that of mine is wide." + +"There is but one principle, and that is that 'charity suffereth long, +and is kind,'" said the Pastor; "and when you came to Denmark and said +that kindliness is the real gold of life, there was nothing struck me +so much. It was my very thought in a phrase. I cannot therefore +understand why it should not be a more active principle in your +churches." + +"It is in the hearts of a great many English people," said Hardy. + +"It may be," said Pastor Lindal, "but it is not apparent to a stranger +in your parish church. But there is another matter cognate to us if +not to you, and that is the relief of the poor. Your system is costly, +but it creates the evil. You assist the poor to be paupers; we assist +the poor not to be so, and it costs us less. You train up children in +your work-houses to look to the poor rate or poor box, as we call it, +in after life as something to fall back on, in case of need, or +without need. The system is bad, as it creates more claimants on your +poor rate. This we prevent by teaching the children to earn a living. +The interest your clergy have in this is indirect, and it appears to +me they have little power to be of use, if they had the wish to be so, +which with many men must be a strong wish." + +"It is so;" said Hardy, "and it does not appear to me so extraordinary +that you should observe it, as the contrast between what exists with +you and in England is so marked." + +The Pastor left for Harwich to meet the Danish steamer, and John Hardy +and Helga accompanied him. Helga was cheerful until her father had +left, but for a long time wore a sad expression on her face. John +Hardy and his mother did their best to comfort and allay, but without +success. At last came a letter from her father, and her sadness +vanished. The good man wrote of Hardy and Mrs. Hardy, and how worthy +they were of her affection, and it was her duty now to give them her +gratitude and love; and she became bright at once. John Hardy's +friends called, and Helga mixed in English society and gradually +became accustomed to her new home, and no one was so popular as young +Mrs. Hardy of Hardy Place. + + +FINIS. + + + +PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's A Danish Parsonage, by John Fulford Vicary + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A DANISH PARSONAGE *** + +***** This file should be named 30617-8.txt or 30617-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/6/1/30617/ + +Produced by Jim Adcock from images obtained from the Internet Archive. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Danish Parsonage + +Author: John Fulford Vicary + +Release Date: December 6, 2009 [EBook #30617] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A DANISH PARSONAGE *** + + + + +Produced by Jim Adcock from images obtained from the Internet Archive. + + + + + +</pre> + +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h1 align="center">A DANISH PARSONAGE</h1> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h5 align="center">BY</h5> +<h3 align="center">AN ANGLER</h3> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<center><big>LONDON</big></center> +<br> +<center>KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH & CO., 1, PATERNOSTER SQUARE</center> +<br> +<center><small>1884</small></center> +<br> +<br> +<center><small>(The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved.)</small></center> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h3 align="center">CONTENTS</h3> +<hr width="50%" size=2> +<br> +<center>CHAPTER I.</center><br> +Introductory +<a href="#pg1">1</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER II.</center><br> +The Danish Parsonage—Trout fishing on the Gudenaa +<a href="#pg11">11</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER III.</center><br> +Rosendal +<a href="#pg20">20</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER IV.</center><br> +The Danish Church—The clerical party in Denmark +<a href="#pg29">29</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER V.</center><br> +Danish parishioners—The piano—English and Danish horses +<a href="#pg37">37</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER VI.</center><br> +Pike, perch, and eel fishing—A silver wedding at a Danish +proprietor's +<a href="#pg48">48</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER VII.</center><br> +Danish horse-breeding—A fatal accident +<a href="#pg60">60</a> +<br><br> +<a name="pgvi"></a> +<center>CHAPTER VIII.</center><br> +The superstition of the Huldr—The tradition of Gefion—Of +Churches—The legend of the sunken mansion—Of the boar +Limgrim +<a href="#pg72">72</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER IX.</center><br> +Kæmpehøie or tumuli—Hidden treasure—Ghosts—Spectral +Huntsmen—Witches—Gypsies—The book of Cyprianus— +Nissen—Elle folk +<a href="#pg82">82</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER X.</center><br> +The purchase of Rosendal—Pike fishing—Karl Lindal rides the +English horse +<a href="#pg93">93</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER XI.</center><br> +The legend of the Damhest—The Helhest—The Kirkelam—The +Gravso—Burying alive to propitiate supernatural power— +Traditions of robbers—The Basilisk—The Lindorm— +Lygtemænd +<a href="#pg106">106</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER XII.</center><br> +Horse racing in Denmark—A horse race +<a href="#pg120">120</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER XIII.</center><br> +Trout fishing in hot weather—Danish ladies riding—A practical +visit to Rosendal +<a href="#pg135">135</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER XIV.</center><br> +Folketro—Havmænd—Havfruer—The gnome of the elder tree— +Varulv—Marer—Strandvarsler—Kirkegrim +<a href="#pg149">149</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER XV.</center><br> +The Pastor and his daughter—The Scotch landscape gardener— +Folkeviser +<a href="#pg164">164</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER XVI.</center><br> +Trout fishing—The legend of the Aamænd—Changelings—Wise +men and wise women—Dværge—Tyge Brahe—Herr Eske +Brok—The family Rosenkrands +<a href="#pg177">177</a> +<br><br> +<a name="pgvii"></a> +<center>CHAPTER XVII.</center><br> +A drive through part of Jutland—Silkeborg—Himmelbjerg +Traditions of Holger Danske—Walling sinners up +<a href="#pg189">189</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER XVIII.</center><br> +Horsens—Veile—Legends—The Swedes in Jutland—Hamlet— +Abbot Muus—A found treasure—The priest at Urlev— +Koldinghuus +<a href="#pg201">201</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER XIX.</center><br> +Holsted—Folke Eventyr—The story of the priest and his clerk— +Of the queen who was walled up seventeen years—Of the +Trold and the boy—Esbjerg +<a href="#pg213">213</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER XX.</center><br> +In England—Hardy Place—Mrs. Hardy—Correspondence with +Denmark +<a href="#pg224">224</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER XXI.</center><br> +Mrs. Hardy visits Denmark—Helga Lindal—The yacht sails for +Copenhagen +<a href="#pg236">236</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER XXII.</center><br> +Yachting from Copenhagen to Christiania—Helga Lindal's +Birthday +<a href="#pg251">251</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER XXIII.</center><br> +Christiania to Aarhus—Pastor Lindal and the yacht—John Hardy's +wedding-day is fixed—The Domkirke at Aarhus—Traditions +and legends +<a href="#pg265">265</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER XXIV.</center><br> +Pastor Lindal joins the yacht for a cruise amongst the Danish +islands—Samsø and traditions—Endelave and the giantess— +Odense and its historical traditions—Nyborg—King Christian +and the monkey—The ghost of Queen Helvig—Mærkedage +—Svendborg—St. Jørgen and the Lindorm—The murdered +lady—Weather days +<a href="#pg279">279</a> +<br><br> +<a name="pgviii"></a> +<center>CHAPTER XXV.</center><br> +Vordingborg—Mariebo and traditions—Legend of Borre Island— +Phanefjord and Grønsund—Legends of Phane and Grøn— +The pilgrim stone—Drive to Møen's Klint—The Underjordiske +—Margrethe Skælvig's wedding-dress—The twenty +pigs and Gamle Erik—Præstø—Stevn's Klint—Hoierup—The +termination "rup" explained—Copenhagen to Aarhus +<a href="#pg293">293</a> +<br><br> +<center>CHAPTER XXVI.</center><br> +Pastor Lindal's views as to his parish—His daughter's as to her +wedding-dress—The marriage—John Hardy and his wife's +arrival at Hardy Place—With the Pastor—A daughter-in-law's +duty—Pastor Lindal's strong opinions on the English +church system— +<a href="#pg305">305</a> +<br> +<br> +<h4 align="center">ARGUMENT.</h4> +<blockquote> +<small> +<br> +The Viking, <i>tenax propositi</i>, if he planned an expedition, +carried it out, through all obstacles, or died in the attempt. +<br><br> +The descendants, softened in manner and cast of thought by +centuries of time, retain the same singleness of purpose. +<br><br> +There is no other thought of the duty of life except to do it. +If self has to be sacrificed, it is done without reserve. +<br><br> +The result is that there are men and women who are the +reflection of duty, and although this occurs in all lands, yet +nowhere does it exist in greater purity than in the descendants +of the Viking. +</small> +</blockquote> +<a name="pg1"></a> +<br> +<br> +<h1 align="center">A DANISH PARSONAGE.</h1> +<br> +<hr width="25%" size=2> +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER I.</h2> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"<i>Piscator</i>. Oh, sir! doubt not but that Angling is an art. Is it not +an art to deceive a Trout with an artificial fly?—a Trout that is more +sharp-sighted than any Hawk you have named, and more watchful and +timorous than your high-mettled Merlin is bold. And yet I doubt not +to catch a brace or two to-morrow for a friend's breakfast."—<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +John Hardy had lived with his mother at Hardy +Place. His father had died when he was six years of +age, and there was consequently a long minority of +fifteen years. The greatest influence in John Hardy's +life was a trout stream that ran winding through an +English landscape for four miles in the Hardys' +property. John Hardy fished it as a schoolboy, and +it was the greatest triumph he experienced as a +lad, to catch more trout in it with a fly than the +numerous fly-fishers to whom Mrs. Hardy's kindness +gave permission. When college days came, + +<a name="pg2"></a> + +John Hardy, ever intent on fishing, went to Norway in the +vacation with the checkered result of getting an +occasional salmon, and in the smaller streams on the +fjelds a quantity of small trout. The grand scenery +in the fjords, and the kindly nature of the people, led +John Hardy to more remote districts, where sport was +better, the fare and quarters worse, but some acquisition +of Scandinavian language a necessity. +</p><p> +Thus John Hardy not only gradually acquired a +knowledge of many dialects in Scandinavia, but the +ability to read and understand the simpler books in +the language. He travelled and fished through Norway +and Sweden, and by degrees learnt, from the +necessity of speaking it, more and more of the Danish +language, the language of Scandinavia, as English +relatively is to broad Scotch. This naturally led to his +going to Denmark, and his travelling through Jutland +and the Danish islands. In Jutland he accidentally +fished in a West Jutland river, and to his surprise +found the difficult but good fishing that his heart +longed for. +</p><p> +John Hardy returned home, and was at Hardy +Place with his mother the whole winter, and then, as +April came round with the fishing season, John +became restless, and told his mother of his Danish +fishing experiences, and left for Copenhagen. His +mother said, "Write me once a week, John, and bring +me home a Scandinavian princess for your wife." +John Hardy promised to write, but said he thought + +<a name="pg3"></a> + +Scandinavian princesses did not rise to a fly. His +mother's face grew grave, and she said, "You should +marry soon, John; you are twenty-eight, and I want +to see you married to a wife to whom you can trust +Hardy Place and the care of your mother in her +old age." +</p><p> +"I can find no one yet, dear mother," said John +Hardy. "I cannot bear you should have any one +at Hardy Place you did not only like but love." +</p><p> +"Bless you, John," said his mother. "I trust in +your love; and I know some men are such gentlemen, +and so was your father, and so are you, John." +</p><p> +So Hardy left for Copenhagen by the English +steamer from Hull to St. Petersburg, and was landed +in the pilot-boat at Elsinore, and went thence by rail +to Copenhagen. On the journey John Hardy thought +that his best course was to get lodgings with a +respectable family in Jutland near the Gudenaa, the +little river that embouches in the Randers fjord and +flows through part of Jutland, and is the principal +river in it. +</p><p> +John Hardy had taken from his bankers introductions +to persons in Copenhagen, to whom he had +communicated his wishes. The result was an advertisement +in the <i>Berlinske Tidende</i> that an Englishman +required lodgings near the Gudenaa, with an opportunity +of being taught the Danish language. The +replies were many and of a very varied character, as +might be anticipated from such an advertisement. +</p><p> +<a name="pg4"></a> +But John Hardy received a reply from a Danish +clergyman in Jutland, which struck his fancy beyond +the rest. It was as follows:— +</p><p> +"In reply to the advertisement in the <i>Berlinske +Tidende</i> of yesterday's date, I beg to offer lodgings +in my house. It is a small parsonage in Jutland, and +the Gudenaa is near. There is a towing-path on the +banks, and where such exists the fishing is free, consequently +no difficulty will arise as to permission to +fish. The fishing is not particularly good, and if great +anticipations exist on this score, I must say that they +will not, in my opinion, be realized. Small fish on +which the trout feed are abundant, as also the cadis +worm and fly, and the trout do not take readily an +artificial bait, either fly or minnow. I cannot, therefore, +say that I think many trout can be caught. +There is also much fishing with small nets. I can, +however, teach Danish to an Englishman, although +my knowledge of English is imperfect; but on the +other hand, if the advertiser will teach my two sons, +of sixteen and fourteen years of age, English, I +should require no payment from him. I am a +widower, with a daughter and the two sons already +named. I can only add that he would be received +kindly, and treated as a member of my family." +</p><p> +The straightforwardness of this communication +had its effect on John Hardy's open character, and he +replied that he would accept the conditions stipulated, +but that he could do so only on a payment of a + +<a name="pg5"></a> + +monthly sum, which he was advised in Copenhagen +was a full compensation, and rather more than would +be expected, for the accommodation and cost that +might be incurred by the Danish Pastor. +</p><p> +The reply from the Jutland parsonage was: "The +evident consideration shown by your answer to my +letter should be sufficient, but before you come here +will you kindly give me references in Copenhagen, or, +if that be difficult, in England, where I might make +inquiry. I am the Pastor of the parish where I reside, +and it is due to my position that I should make +inquiry before I can admit any one to my house under +any circumstances. I do not wish to ask what is not +right or reasonable, but as I am situated it is a +necessity, however advantageous your coming here +might be to me." +</p><p> +This reply impressed John Hardy more than the +previous communication, and he replied with the +address of a bank in Copenhagen, with reference to +his own bankers in London, for which John Hardy +had to wait a week in Copenhagen. These replies +were to the effect that John Hardy was a gentleman +of position and character in England, and that any +amount that might be incurred by him for expenses in +Denmark would at once be paid by the Danish bank. +</p><p> +John Hardy, it must be confessed, would rather +have been fishing in the Gudenaa than waiting for +references that would show he was to be trusted in a +Danish household; but he was assured in Copenhagen + +<a name="pg6"></a> + +that in Jutland an introduction is not only necessary, +but that it should be supported by references, which +when once done in a satisfactory manner, then the +natural kindness of the Jutland people would be +open to him. John Hardy's later experiences led +him to recognize how true the advice he received in +Copenhagen was in this respect. +</p><p> +He left Copenhagen by the steamer for Aarhus, and +went by rail to a small station on the railway, where +the Pastor met him with a two-horse vehicle, that +made the small distance of eight English miles a +journey of nearly three hours. The Pastor was a man +of fifty, with a fresh complexion and a kindly face, and +asked many questions of John Hardy's family and +friends, his position in England, his age, the income +from his landed property, and his views and intentions +in life. +</p><p> +John Hardy had, however, heard he must expect +this, and answered simply and frankly. +</p><p> +When at length the little Danish parsonage was +reached, with its whitewashed garden wall, with poplar +trees and lilac bushes, John Hardy felt it was a +relief to escape the close cross-examination to which +he had been so long subjected, and to see the Pastor's +two boys running out with eager curiosity to inspect +the Englishman, and assist in taking his luggage to +the room apportioned to him. +</p><p> +"We shall have dinner shortly," said the Pastor. +"Helga is not here to meet us, and that is a sign that + +<a name="pg7"></a> + +we shall not wait long. Karl and Axel will show you +your room and bring anything you may want, and +help you to unpack your portmanteaus." +</p><p> +John Hardy went to his room—a room with little +furniture, but adapted as a sitting-room or bedroom. +The two boys, with the desire that all boys have to be +useful to a guest, assisted in undoing his luggage, and +John Hardy was soon ready to follow them to the +little dining-room of the parsonage. +</p><p> +The table was laid with a little bunch of wild +flowers and grasses here and there, but with little else. +The Pastor received Hardy in a more friendly manner +than he had exhibited before, and his daughter Helga +appeared from a door leading from the kitchen, and +was introduced by her father. John Hardy saw a tall +woman of twenty, with fair hair and violet eyes, and +bowed. The dinner was borne in by two women-servants, +and Helga signed to John Hardy where he +should sit. +</p><p> +There was little conversation at dinner. John +Hardy, for his part, was hungry, and also knew little +Danish; but gradually, as the more substantial +dishes disappeared, conversation arose, and John +Hardy turned its direction to the fishing in the +Gudenaa. +</p><p> +"Your frank letters to me," said Hardy, "would not +lead me to expect much; but there are trout in the +Gudenaa, and it might be that a few might be +caught." +</p><p> +<a name="pg8"></a> +"You will not catch them with a fly, after the English +fashion," said Karl. "An Englishman that came from +Randers has been here, and he caught three only in +a whole day." +</p><p> +"I fear Karl is right," said the Pastor. "There +is such an abundance of fish-food in the Gudenaa, +that a means of catching them that leaves no +option to the fish is apparently the only successful +method." +</p><p> +"That is the very position that interests me," +replied Hardy. "The difficulty is the only pleasure +in the sport." +</p><p> +"They fish with the lines set at night, baited with a +small fish, and catch, not only trout, but eels," said +Karl. "You might try that. But they do not catch +many." +</p><p> +Helga had brought her father a large porcelain pipe +with a long stem, and the Pastor was smoking slowly +and vigorously. Coffee was brought in, and Helga +offered Hardy a large pipe like her father's. This he +declined. +</p><p> +"Do you not smoke?" said the Pastor. +</p><p> +"Yes," replied Hardy; "but we are not accustomed +to do so in a lady's presence in England; and what +an English gentleman would do in England he should +do in Denmark." +</p><p> +"Good," said the Pastor, "very good. But it is our +custom to smoke. The practice is habitual with us. +Helga, will you speak?" +</p><p> +<a name="pg9"></a> +"I should be sorry you did not smoke, Herr +Hardy," said Helga. "My father likes to have some +one smoking at the same time. It will be a comfort +to him." +</p><p> +So John lit a cigar with some misgiving; and he +sent Karl up to his room for a courier-bag, in which +he had some fishing-books with trout-flies. Karl +and Axel looked at the English trout-flies with +interest. +</p><p> +"Those feathered things," said Karl, "I have seen +used, but they only catch small trout, and now and +then a bleak. I have seen Englishmen use them here +from Randers." +</p><p> +John Hardy selected three flies and put them on a +casting-line, and wound it round his hat, and he said, +"Now, will you two boys go with me to fish at six +o'clock to-morrow morning?" +</p><p> +"Yes, that will we," said Karl. "Kirstin will call +us, and will have coffee ready an hour earlier than +usual, if you wish it." +</p><p> +"Am I disturbing your house, Herr Pastor," said +Hardy, "by suggesting this to your boys?" +</p><p> +"By no means," said the Pastor. "It is now Thursday, +and we shall not expect you to begin to teach +them English until Monday, and the boys can have +a free time until then. We have breakfast at ten to +eleven, and you would have time to fish a little; and +Kirstin will give you some bread and butter and +coffee at six." +</p><p> +<a name="pg10"></a> +"There is nothing unusual in this, Herr Hardy," said +Frøken Helga, in reply to a look of surprise from +Hardy. "It will put us to no inconvenience." +</p><p> +"That may be," said the Pastor; "but I think you +should clearly understand that you are not likely to +catch any trout." +</p><p> +"That," said Hardy, "we must leave to the trout +to decide." +</p> +<a name="pg11"></a> +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER II.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"<i>Piscator</i>. Good morrow, sir! What, up and dressed so early! +<br> +"<i>Viator.</i> Yes, sir. I have been dressed this half hour, for I rested +so well and have so great a mind either to take or to see a trout taken +in your fine river that I could no longer lie a-bed. +<br> +"<i>Piscator</i>. I am glad to see you so brisk this morning and so eager +of sport, though I must tell you, this day proves so calm, and the sun +rises so bright, as promises no great success to the angler; but however, +we will try, and one way or the other, we shall sure do something."—<i>The +Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +Kirstin, the elder of Pastor Karl Lindar's women +servants, was about forty-five—a large-framed woman +with a hard face. She possessed, in common with +the Jutland lower class, a shrewd sense, yet highly +suspicious, but at the bottom strong good nature. +She had been with Pastor Lindal more than twenty +years, and her devotion to him and his was complete. +At all times she gave her advice, whether asked or +unasked, on every topic, and materially assisted in +economizing the pastor's narrow income. Her work +was done with the exactitude of a clock, neat and +precise; and if the work in the house was by any +cause increased, she rose earlier and went to bed later, +rejoicing in her capacity for work and usefulness. + +<a name="pg12"></a> + +The influence her steady character had in the house +was great, and on the Pastor's daughter, Frøken +Helga's leaving an educational institution at Copenhagen, +Kirstin's strict sense of duty created an impression +that Frøken Helga never lost. She awoke +to the fact of what her duty was—that it was to her +father and his home. Kirstin's manner was not +kindly, and she could give sharp answers, but the +woman's kindly nature often showed itself in a strong +light. Outside the Pastor's house she was respected +and liked, and always went by the name of Præsten's +Kirstin. +</p><p> +At half-past five the morning of the day after +John Hardy's arrival at the parsonage, Kirstin knocked +at the door of his room, and brought in the accustomed +coffee and its belongings. +</p><p> +John Hardy was dressed, as he was always an +early riser, and was attaching two large Irish lake +trout flies to a stronger casting line than he had +selected the night before. +</p><p> +"Morn," said Kirstin. "I tell the gentleman that +Karl and Axel have had coffee. Has the gentleman +anything to command?" +</p><p> +"Tell them I am ready to go fishing," said Hardy; +"but if we catch any trout and the trout are in the +kitchen by ten o'clock, can we have them cooked for +breakfast?" +</p><p> +"If the gentleman's fish are there, the frying-pan +is ready," replied Kirstin; "but the Herr Pastor + +<a name="pg13"></a> + +would not wish the gentleman to be without a breakfast." +</p><p> +It was clear Kirstin doubted a trout breakfast's +possibility. John Hardy began to doubt too; but he +took his fishing-rod, a light sixteen-foot fly rod, and +called the two boys, who rushed into his room eager +to a degree. +</p><p> +"Herr Hardy," said Axel, "they all say you will +catch nothing—do you think you will?" +</p><p> +The anxiety in the boy's face amused Hardy, who +gave him the fishing-bag to carry, and his brother +Karl the landing-net. +</p><p> +John Hardy went to the bridge close to the parsonage, +and looked up the river. The country was +flat, chiefly arable land, with meadows here and there +of coarse grass. The river had a peaty colour, and +resembled in its flow some portions of the Thames. +</p><p> +"Do you know where the deepest water is up the +river, boys?" inquired Hardy. +</p><p> +"Up by the tile works," said the boys both at +once, "and above that it is not deep." +</p><p> +Hardy walked up the towing-path, keeping his +eye on the river, but not a trout moved. He saw the +abundance of bleak and smaller fish, and it occurred +to him that it was easy to account for the non-success +of the fly-fishers in the Gudenaa. The fish would not +be often feeding, as trout food existed in such quantity; +and besides, to a voracious trout a plump little +fish was more acceptable than an ephemera. If + +<a name="pg14"></a> + +there were any fish feeding they would be in the +shallows. +</p><p> +Hardy tried small trout flies, but without success; +not a fish moved, and the boys' faces had a disappointed +look. He changed his casting line for the +one with the Irish lake trout flies, and was soon fast +in a trout. This Karl, in his excitement to get into +the landing-net, nearly lost, but Hardy let the fish +have line, and then drew it again within reach of the +landing-net. This fish was full of food, and corroborated +the Pastor's statement. The trout resembles +the Hampshire trout, but the colours were more +brightly painted. Hardy fished steadily for two hours, +with the result of landing eight trout averaging a +pound each, to the boys' intense delight. Kirstin and +their father had both doubted Hardy, but there were +the fish and could be cooked for breakfast. The boys +never doubted Hardy after. +</p><p> +"Axel, little man," said John Hardy, "run to the +kitchen with the fish, and tell Kirstin that the +Englishman wants to know if the frying-pan is ready." +</p><p> +Axel was off like a hare. +</p><p> +When Karl and Hardy reached the parsonage, the +Pastor was at the door. "I see no fish," said he, "and +I am glad I did not lead you to expect any success in +that direction." +</p><p> +"We have not been very successful," said Hardy, +quietly taking down his rod. "A knowledge of the +habits of the fish in different rivers, and a knowledge + +<a name="pg15"></a> + +of the rivers is necessary, and this an intimate +acquaintance only gives." +</p><p> +"Yes, but, father," put in Kari, "Herr Hardy has +caught a lot; he would not let us keep the small +ones, but kept eight of the biggest. Axel has ran on +with them. Kirstin told me the frying-pan would be +ready, but not the gentleman's fish." +</p><p> +When John Hardy was called to breakfast—a +Danish breakfast corresponds much to an early +English lunch—he found Karl and Axel's tongues +wagging like a dog's tail at dinner-time, they were so +full of the fishing. They had caught a few roach in +the river, and about once in a moon a trout, and John +Hardy's completer knowledge had impressed them. +Hardy bowed to Frøken Helga, and would have +shaken hands, but she pointed to a seat, and Hardy +sat down. The Pastor said grace, and attacked the +trout with much appreciation of their merits. +</p><p> +"We tried to cast a line out, father, with Herr +Hardy's rod," said Axel, "but could not, the line fell +all of a heap, while Herr Hardy threw it a long way; +it hovered over the water for a second, and fell slowly +on the water. The flies appeared like live insects." +</p><p> +"You know, father," put in Karl, "the wider +shallow in the river above the tile works? I saw a +trout rise there, and pointed it out to Herr Hardy, +He watched it, and when the trout rose again he +walked straight into the river and caught it by a long +cast. It was the biggest fish." +</p><p> +<a name="pg16"></a> +"I have undertaken to teach you two boys +English," said Hardy; "and if you will try and +learn, I will teach you how to fish and give you rods +and flies as well." +</p><p> +"A thousand thanks, Herr Hardy," said Karl and +Axel, with delight. +</p><p> +"You have already prepared the way for performing +your part of our contract, Herr Hardy," said the +Pastor; "I can only hope I shall execute mine so +well. With the boys' hearts in the work the rest is +easy;" and Pastor Lindal regarded his manly and self-possessed +guest with interest. +</p><p> +John Hardy could now in the full light of a day +in May consider Pastor Lindal; his age was apparently +over fifty, his features were clear cut and handsome, +his eyes blue, and his hair had been a light-brown. +There was an impression of probity about +him that struck Hardy forcibly. His manner was a +trifle awkward to Hardy's notion, but it was kindly. +His daughter Helga was like her father. Her complexion +was clear and her voice musical. Her manner +was, Hardy thought, not refined. It was simple and +straightforward, and to John Hardy she appeared to +want the ladylike tone of an English lady. The two +boys Karl and Axel were like English lads of the +same age, frank and open, and Hardy liked them. +</p><p> +The Pastor had his pipe in full glow—his daughter +had filled it—and Hardy, taught by his experience of +the previous evening, lit a cigar. The Pastor said + +<a name="pg17"></a> + +that he had his duties to attend to, and some of his +parish children as he called them to visit, and that his +daughter Helga had also her visits to make. Hardy +replied that he should write to his mother and some +business letters, and if dinner was at four, as the +Pastor had intimated, that he should like to fish in +the evening, to relieve Kirstin's doubts as to whether +the frying-pan would be wanted for breakfast on the +morrow by catching some trout the night before. +</p><p> +"And you will take us, Herr Hardy?" said Karl +and Axel with some anxiety. +</p><p> +"Come to my room at three," said Hardy; "I +will begin to teach you how to fish. I have a lighter +fly rod, and we will prepare the tackle." +</p><p> +After dinner John Hardy and the boys went to +the river. Hardy had a sixteen-foot minnow rod, and +put up a twelve-foot fly rod for the boys, and showed +them how to cast it. They took it in turns, and Karl +caught a trout. Hardy waded the shallows, fishing +with a minnow, and the trout for an hour were on the +feed. The largest trout he caught was over three +pounds, and seventeen weighed nineteen pounds, by +Hardy's English spring balance. +</p><p> +John Hardy changed his clothes and came down +to the room occupied by Pastor Lindal and his family +as a sitting-room, and found Frøken Helga playing on +an old piano to the Pastor, who was smoking in his +easy chair. She at once ceased. +</p><p> +"We have caught more and larger fish, Herr + +<a name="pg18"></a> + +Pastor," said Hardy; "the fishing in the Gudenaa is +good, and any doubt as to there being trout for breakfast, +and, if you wish, dinner, to-morrow, is at an end." +</p><p> +"You English are a thorough people," said the +Pastor; "whether it be sport or business, science or +skill, you are to the front." +</p><p> +"Our faith is that we owe it to our Danish +ancestors," said Hardy; "the hard tenacity of the +Vikings is what we admire most in history." +</p><p> +"My faith is that it is the free and independent +spirit of your institutions for ages," replied the Pastor. +"You now enjoy the changes wrought by Cromwell, +for which the English people then were ripe. But do +light your cigar, and hear a suggestion I have to make +for to-morrow. There is an old Danish place near here, +called Rosendal. Its special beauty is the idyllic +landscape of beech trees, a lake, and a valley where +they grow such roses as will resist our Danish climate. +The house is an old house, but has been restored by +successive owners. The place is visited by people far +and near. It is thoroughly Danish, and especially +Jydsk (Jutlandsk). It is only two English miles +from here, and my daughter Helga's only enthusiasm +is Rosendal. She will go with you, with Karl and +Axel. Is the walk too far?" +</p><p> +"No, certainly not," said Hardy; "do we go +before breakfast or after?" +</p><p> +"Helga, order breakfast earlier," said the Pastor. +</p><p> +"Yes, father," said Frøken Helga; "but is it + +<a name="pg19"></a> + +necessary for me to go to Rosendal, the boys can +show Herr Hardy the way?" +</p><p> +"You always like to go there and enjoy it," said +her father. "You have been in the house some days +preparing to receive Herr Hardy, and the walk will +do you good. Go by all means." +</p> +<a name="pg20"></a> +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER III.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"And I will make thee beds of roses,<br> +And then a thousand fragrant posies,<br> +A cap of flowers, and a kirtle<br> +Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle."<br> +<i>The Complete Angler.</i> +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +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 + +<a name="pg21"></a> + +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. +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +After breakfast, in which the trout caught by +Hardy the previous evening occupied a conspicuous +position, the Pastor said— +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"You have told me, Herr Pastor," said Hardy, +"that Frøken Helga has an enthusiasm for Rosendal. + +<a name="pg22"></a> + +I fear I shall be interested thereby, as she goes +with us." +</p><p> +Hardy looked at Frøken Helga, who looked +annoyed; and he saw he had said something which +displeased her. +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +<a name="pg23"></a> +Frøken 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— +</p><p> +"Is it not a pretty place?" +</p><p> +"It has its peculiar beauty, Frøken Helga," replied +Hardy. +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +"Can we go through the house?" said Hardy, as if +with a sudden determination. "I wish to see it." +</p><p> +"The Forvalter or bailiff lives in the house, and +if he is not at home his wife is, or their servant," +replied Helga. +</p><p> +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 + +<a name="pg24"></a> + +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. +</p><p> +On the way back to Pastor Lindal's parsonage, John +Hardy attempted a conversation with Frøken 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. +</p><p> +The Pastor, when his pipe had been, as usual, filled +by Helga after dinner, and at the first vigorous puffs, +addressed Hardy. +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"You speak like a photograph, Herr Hardy," said + +<a name="pg25"></a> + +Pastor Lindal. "But did you not like the house and +grounds?" +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"That you can judge of by some photographs of +Hardy Place, my residence in England," said Hardy. +"I will fetch them." +</p><p> +He shortly after appeared with a set of four photographs, +and a strong reading-glass. +</p><p> +"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 + +<a name="pg26"></a> + +English mile distant. This gives greater privacy; +while at Rosendal, the stables and house and farm are +practically under one roof." +</p><p> +"Herr Hardy would say, father, that we Danes +want the refinement of the English," said Frøken +Helga, who did not like the correct criticism of a +place she loved so well. +</p><p> +"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, Frøken Helga." +</p><p> +"I gave no answer!" retorted Helga. +</p><p> +"Just so," said Hardy, smiling. +</p><p> +Helga understood him. +</p><p> +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?" +</p><p> +"Yes," replied Hardy, "except when I take a +foreign tour. My mother resides there. My father +died when I was young. But would not Frøken +Helga like to see the photographs?" +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +"Before I came here," said Hardy, "I read in the +<i>Berlinske Tidende</i> an advertisement for the sale of +Rosendal, which to-day appears to be the same place. +</p><p> +<a name="pg27"></a> +"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." +</p><p> +About a week after this conversation, John Hardy +received the following letter from Copenhagen:— +</p><p> +"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 £1 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. +</p><p> +"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 + +<a name="pg28"></a> + +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. +</p><p> +"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. +</p><p> +"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. +</p><p> +"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. +</p><p> +"I wait, therefore, the honour of your reply, and +respectfully greet you. +</p><p> +"Obediently,<br> +"Axel Steindal,<br> +"<i>Prokuratør.</i>" +</p> +<a name="pg29"></a> + +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER IV.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"Many a one<br> +Owes to his country his religion,<br> +And in another, would as strongly grow<br> +Had but his mother or his nurse taught him so."<br> +<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +The church at Vandstrup lay on rising ground from +the river. It was white-washed, covered with red +tiles, and surrounded by a white-washed wall enclosing +God's acre, in which so many slept the last long sleep. +There were a few poplars planted close to the church-yard +wall, and a few weather-beaten ash trees, with a +single dwarfed weeping willow over a grave. On +Sunday, John Hardy watched with interest the church-going +people collecting by the church gate. The men +in dark Wadmel jackets with bright buttons, and the +women with red ribands bound on their caps and +knitted sleeves. The women left their wooden shoes +in the dry ditch by the roadside, and put on leather +shoes, and waited for the Pastor's arrival. Accuracy +of time was not expected, and only when the Pastor +appeared did the men throng into the church on one + +<a name="pg30"></a> + +side and the women on the other. The interior of the +church was simple to a degree. John Hardy with +Karl and Axel sat on the men's side, and Frøken +Helga and Kirstin on the other. The service was +similar to that of the English Protestant service, +although relics of what would be now called Romanism +remained. There were candles on the altar, and the +Pastor chanted some portion of the service. John +Hardy longed for the sermon. The thorough honest +feeling exhibited by the Pastor's character in his home, +with his evident refinement and education, had excited +his curiosity as to what the sermon would be. +</p><p> +The text of the sermon was from the fifth chapter +of St. Matthew, part of ver. 42: "Give to him that +asketh thee!" +</p><p> +"When a man comes and asks anything of you, +what should you give? The best thing is sympathy +and love; material gifts he may want, but these kindliness +will dictate, and kindliness is the real gold of +life. If no power exists to give what is necessary to +assist your neighbour in a material sense, yet to your +ability give; and if you give at all, give kindly. Those +of you who want not material things, yet may want +kind sympathy when God smiteth with sorrow. +Recollect, then, that that is the time for kindliness to +be proved that is golden." +</p><p> +This was the epitome of the sermon, and John +Hardy could not hear a sound in the church, so +intently was it listened to. +</p><p> +<a name="pg31"></a> +"I could understand your sermon, Herr Pastor," +said Hardy; "it was preached in such simple Danish, +and I liked it. But what interested me was the earnestness +with which you were listened to: every word +was heard by every one of your congregation, and I +could see felt." +</p><p> +"It was not always so," said Pastor Lindal. "I +have won the sympathy and friendship of the children +of my parish by years of work amongst them. The +character of the Jutland people is suspicious—there +is a strange mixture of shrewdness and stolidity; +they are slow to appreciate, but when once their +sympathy is won, they are fast friends. It is impossible +for a sermon to have any effect without you have +won their friendship on other days than Sundays." +</p><p> +John Hardy said nothing, but he thought that the +application was true to other lands than Denmark, +particularly England. +</p><p> +The Pastor had to perform another service at an +Annex Kirke (a subsidiary church), and left after a +short meal to do so. Frøken Helga went to her +room, and Karl and Axel implored Hardy to go +fishing; but he refused. "It is not right to do so," he +said; "we have to keep the Sunday, and fishing is +not keeping the Sunday." +</p><p> +"But everybody does here, and more than, other +days," said Karl. +</p><p> +"That may be," said Hardy; "but I cannot do +what I do not think is right." +</p><p> +<a name="pg32"></a> +Kirstin was present and heard this conversation, +and it met her evident approval. She told the boys +that the Englishman must not be teased on a Sunday, +that he might wish to read his Bible, and that he must +not be disturbed. The boys left the room in bad +humour. +</p><p> +"Kirstin," said Hardy, "my being here will, I +dare say, give you more trouble, and I wish to recognize +it. I am an Englishman accustomed to many +servants, and may be careless of what trouble I give. +You must not judge me by what is the custom in +Denmark. Here is forty kroner; will you kindly give +what you think fit to others in the house, and keep +the rest yourself?" +</p><p> +"No," said Kirstin, "I will have no money. Herr +Pastor says you will pay for your stay here by teaching, +and it rests with him; also it is too much." +</p><p> +Hardy had to pocket his money again with a +dissatisfied look, but Kirstin understood him; and his +face, on which nature had written "gentleman," and +which she had closely observed since Hardy's arrival, +appealed to her. +</p><p> +"I have seen the gentleman," said Kirstin, "look +at Frøken Helga, and I will tell the gentleman something +that may serve him. Frøken Helga can never +marry. Her duty is to her father and her brothers, +and she knows and feels that." +</p><p> +John Hardy was not in love with Frøken Helga; +but yet this simple Jutland peasant had divined what + +<a name="pg33"></a> + +might occur, and had forewarned him. The explanation +of Helga's conduct towards him was clear. He +saw that she daily visited the people in the parish, +and told the Pastor what was necessary to tell him, +and that her usefulness in the parsonage and in every +corner of it was a want that she filled. Kirstin understood +all this, and saw that it could not be interrupted +without a breach of duty. +</p><p> +John Hardy went to his room, and did not come +out of it until they were all assembled that Sunday +evening in the little dining-room. +</p><p> +The Pastor was tired, but very conversational; and +when his great porcelain pipe had been filled as usual +by Helga with Kanaster, he said, "I was struck by +your evident interest in our service; but I was pleased +to hear that you refused to go fishing with Karl and +Axel, because the sabbath should be kept. Now, we +have not that view, although it is the best view; and I +say frankly that if you had taken the boys fishing, +I should have not objected; but you said you felt it +was not right, and I honour the thought. There is +with us in Denmark a strong feeling against the +Established Church, and a political question arose +some years ago which will well illustrate it. On the +7th of January, 1868, a bill was brought before our +Lower House of Parliament as to military service, +and the question was raised whether theological candidates +should be eligible for military service. The +issue was raised in the Lower House of Representatives + +<a name="pg34"></a> + +and fought there. It then passed into the Higher +House of Representatives, and was fought there. +The strife was long and intensely bitter, the greater +part of the population of Denmark becoming partisans +for or partisans against the clerical party. After the +fight in the Higher House, it was again referred to the +Lower, and refought there, and so again to the Higher +House, with two interludes of appeals to the country. +The clerical party described the position of the +clergy in a florid style. They declaimed that poets +and painters had represented the life of a Danish +priest as a beautiful idyl, each scene in relative harmony +with surrounding nature, whose heart is not +touched as wandering in the path-fields he hears the +bells of the country church ringing in the morning +of the sabbath. How lovely is the little white church, +with its red roof and quaint gables, amidst its woods +and meadows! The little parsonage standing in its +own garden, with a little belt of trees close to the +church, while around it flock the little country houses, +as a hen gathers her chickens. Nothing is more +exquisite than the perfect affection and peace that +exists between the country clergyman and his congregation. +He is the teacher of the young, the comforter +of the old, in each house a welcome guest, and +the estimation in which his holy calling is held invests +him with respect. In spiritual need or worldly care +every one of his congregation hasten to their minister. +He is the curer of souls, adviser, father, friend. The + +<a name="pg35"></a> + +homes of his flock are his own, and it is his pride to +confer happiness and promote contentment." +</p><p> +"That is a bright picture," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"Yes," said Pastor Lindal; "but the opposite +party drew another, which attracted many partisans. +They said his reverence has a good time of it. He +has a house which is better than a Danish farmer's, +and a farm which is just as good. He has horses, +cows, pigs, sheep, and poultry. He has, moreover, +tithes and dues of many kinds; and besides these, it +is necessary to stick a dollar in his fist whenever one +must make use of him. Whilst the Danish farmer +has to sweat behind his plough, the clergyman sits at +his ease smoking his pipe in his study, and has nothing +more to do than to preach on a Sunday, and to hear +the children read once a week. Everything that is congenial +to the taste of the Danish farmer, the clergyman +turns up his nose at. He abuses the leaders of the +people, and only reads conservative newspapers, and +on election days he votes against all his parish. The +farmer maintains and pays him, but his conviction +is that he is better than any farmer. What, therefore, +can be more stiff-necked of him than to refuse to +serve his country with his own, reverend person? Off +with his black coat and clap on a red, and let the +corporal teach him. He is a learned fellow, but, +doubtless, stupid at drill." +</p><p> +"That last," said Hardy, "is a reference to Holberg's +play of 'Erasmus Montanus.'" +</p><p> +<a name="pg36"></a> +"Yes," said Pastor Lindal; "and it amused the +country. But they got hold of another idea, and tore +it to shreds: they said if the flock goes to war, the +shepherd should not be absent. The result, however, +was that theological candidates are liable to military +service, and it makes a difference of possibly twenty +men yearly. It, however, proves one thing, and +that is, the Lower House had got hold of the clerical +gown, and were determined, with bull-dog tenacity, to +rend it." +</p><p> +"A similar question in England," said Hardy, +"would have produced the same result." +</p><p> +"That I can well believe," said the Pastor; "but +with you a congregation can be sold to the highest +bidder, and is. There is no thought in England of +adjusting the payment for church work to the work +done, and so long as this exists it is a dangerous +feature." +</p><p> +"Without doubt," said Hardy. +</p><p> +Before going to bed, Hardy said to Frøken Helga, +"Good night," as he had done on previous nights, +without more than a bow; but to his surprise she +held out her hand, and said— +</p><p> +"Thank you, Herr Hardy; I have rarely seen my +father so interested to talk with any one, and it is +kind of you to interest him." +</p><p> +"It is the contrary, Frøken Helga; he interests +me," said Hardy. +</p> +<a name="pg37"></a> +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER V.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"Hunting trains up the younger nobility to the use of manly exercises +in their riper age."<br>—<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +To John Hardy the days passed pleasantly at the +little Danish parsonage. He taught the boys English +a short time daily, and their bright faces and strong +desire to learn made Hardy interested in their progress. +If they were inclined to be inattentive, which +was rare, the hint that he should not take them with +him fishing secured earnest and immediate attention. +The Pastor saw that the boys made progress in learning +English with Hardy, and he himself taught them +several hours daily, or, if he were absent, he set them +work to do, and his daughter Helga sat in the room +until the Pastor returned. +</p><p> +Hardy accompanied him in his visits to his Sognebørn +(literally, parish children), and he gradually +became acquainted with the Danish farmers, and was +known in the parish as Præsten's Englænder, or the +parson's Englishman. He was amused by the habits +of many of the men, in treating him as if he was a + +<a name="pg38"></a> + +harmless idiot, to be humoured and always answered +in the affirmative. Stories were told him of how in +some parts of the river there were trout et Par Alen +long (about four feet), but to amuse the idiot for the +moment. +</p><p> +The peculiarity of knickerbockers received much +consideration, and it was a frequent question if Hardy +adopted that dress for a sickness in his legs. Hardy's +knowledge of farming and the management of cattle, +particularly horses, was an unfailing source of conversation. +There are many good horses bred in Jutland +for sale in England, Germany, and Sweden. The +original breed appeared to Hardy to be either Hungarian +or Polish. These horses are well adapted for +light carriage work; and many a horse foaled on a +Jutland farm has been in a London carriage, to the +considerable profit of the importer. +</p><p> +The evenings at the parsonage passed in conversation +with the Pastor, who held a sort of tobacco +parliament. Hardy was a good listener, and was +anxious to perfect himself in the Danish language. +Frøken Helga knitted and listened. The boys learned +lessons or played games. The Pastor liked to hear +his daughter sing; but it would be doing that worthy +man strong injustice to say he liked the piano, which +was very old and worse than worthless. It was to +Hardy's ear torture to hear it in contrast with Frøken +Helga's clear voice. At last he could stand it no +longer, and the matter came to a crisis. +<a name="pg39"></a> +</p><p> +"Herr Pastor," said Hardy, "when at the exhibition +of Copenhagen, of your national industry, I was +much struck by the tone of a piano by a Copenhagen +maker, and I have ordered one, and I shall be much +indebted to you if you will allow it to be sent here +until I return to England." +</p><p> +"There will be much extra expense attached to +that plan," replied the Pastor, "and, besides, it might +get injured here." +</p><p> +"Those considerations I am fully prepared for," +said Hardy; "but if I may take the leaf from my +mouth, as you Danes say, or speak plainly, your piano +is worn out, and is spoiling Frøken Helga's ear and +taste for music. Her voice is excellent, and rings +as clearly as a silver bell; but then the jingle of the +piano is like the toothache." +</p><p> +"We are all accustomed to it," said the Pastor; +"but I only hear Helga's voice." +</p><p> +So the piano appeared, and a man to tune it, +and Frøken Helga played it. The tone was good, +and the Pastor listened to the old Danish songs he +had heard so many times with delight. +</p><p> +One evening Helga had to make a visit to a sick +woman, and the Pastor puffed away at his teacup of a +pipe, with longer puffs than usual. Hardy saw there +was something in the way, and at last it struck him +that he missed his daughter's song. He had once +told Hardy that her voice was like her mother's. +</p><p> +Hardy sat down to the piano, and played and + +<a name="pg40"></a> + +sang an English ballad, and then another. He then +sang a plaintive German song, with a manly pathos +and taste, that showed the well-bred gentleman he +was. +</p><p> +The Pastor applauded loudly, and Hardy turned +round, and, lo! there was Frøken Helga, with a look +on her face that Hardy never forgot, so intense was +her surprise. +</p><p> +"Helga," said her father, "go and thank Herr +Hardy for his singing to me instead of you; he saw +I missed you, my child, and he sang to divert me." +</p><p> +"A thousand thanks!" said Helga, using a common +Danish expression. "I never heard so beautiful a +song! But why did you not tell us that you could +play and sing before?" +</p><p> +"Because I preferred Frøken Helga's voice to that +of Præsten's Englænder," said Hardy. +</p><p> +Nothing would induce Frøken Helga to sing that +evening; her father almost commanded her, but she +would not. At last she said, "I cannot, father; Herr +Hardy sings too well." +</p><p> +This speech was not forgotten for a long time, +and Karl and Axel teased their sister with perpetual +questions as to whether they or she was not doing +something or other too well. If Karl caught no trout, +he explained to his sister that he was afraid of fishing +too well. If Axel had dirty hands, his explanation +was that he was afraid of washing them too well. +</p><p> +John Hardy had visited the Gudenaa within + +<a name="pg41"></a> + +walking distance, or boating distance, and he wished +to make longer expeditions from the parsonage. He +inspected several of the farms near, and at last +arranged with farmer Niels Jacobsen to rent stabling +for three horses. He then wrote the following letter, +addressed to a groom at Hardy Place:— +</p><p> +"Robert Garth, +</p><p> +"I want you to bring Buffalo to me in +Denmark. The horse is to be taken to Harwich, +and thence on board the steamer for Esbjerg. The +steamers are fitted up with stables for horses, and +there will be no difficulty. When you come to +Esbjerg, take train to Horsens, where I will meet +you. A telegram must be sent me to Vandstrup +Præstegaard, to say when you will arrive at Horsens. +Bring two hunting saddles and bridles, and some of +the snaffle bits that I like. +</p><p> +"Show this letter to the steward, and he will let +you have what money he thinks is necessary for your +journey. +</p><p> +"Yours truly, +</p><p> +"John Hardy." +</p><p> +In little more than a week, Buffalo and Robert +Garth were in Niels Jacobsen's stables. +</p><p> +Buffalo was a good English-bred horse, a good +jumper, with a chest like a wall, and hind-quarters +up to weight. Niels Jacobsen and his neighbours had +collected and criticized. +</p><p> +<a name="pg42"></a> +"Gild bevars! sikken en Hest!" ["God preserve us, what a horse!"] said Niels, +sucking away at his pipe, with a chorus echoing the +same words from his neighbours. There was no +doubt of their approval, and Buffalo had a succession +of visitors and admirers for days. +</p><p> +Hardy had communicated to Pastor Lindal that +he intended to have one of his horses and a groom +from England, and had great difficulty in preventing +the Pastor turning out his own small stable to make +room for Buffalo; but this Hardy would not allow. +Robert Garth lodged at Jacobsen's, and Hardy, +with that thoughtfulness he always had for those +about him, arranged for his man's meals and sleeping +quarters as nearly as possible to an English groom's +notions. +</p><p> +"Well, Bob," said Hardy, "you will shake down +after a bit; but what I want you to do is, to help me +to pick out a pair of light carriage horses from here. +I have seen a lot, and you will have plenty to choose +from. They will suit my mother, and I wish to take +them over as a present to her." +</p><p> +"I have seen some of them Danish horses," said +Robert Garth, "and not half bad horses either; but it +is the infernal lingo. They keep smoking them big +wood pipes, and when they don't smoke they chews, +and then they spits." +</p><p> +"Where did you see any Danish horses?" asked +Hardy. +</p><p> +<a name="pg43"></a> +"At Sir Charles'; he had a pair, hardly up to +fifteen hands, but very pretty steppers, with a thinish +mane, a trifle small below the knee," said Garth. +</p><p> +"That's the very thing," said Hardy. +</p><p> +As soon as it was known that the priest's Englishman +wanted to buy two Jutland horses, plenty offered; +and Karl and Axel were intensely interested in the +trial of the horses, which went on in a rough piece +of land close to the parsonage. +</p><p> +When the horses were brought up, Hardy mounted +one, and Robert Garth criticized. Hardy put the horse +through its paces, and if his judgment was not favourable, +it was declined; but if doubtful. Garth rode it, and +Hardy looked on. A couple of horses were thus selected, +and both had Robert Garth's unqualified approval. +</p><p> +"They are both as handsome as paint, and as +sound as bells," said Garth. +</p><p> +"Are you a horse-dealer?" asked Pastor Lindal, +of Hardy, one evening. +</p><p> +"No, certainly not," replied Hardy. +</p><p> +"You have shown every qualification for it," said +the Pastor. +</p><p> +"Possibly," said Hardy. "I see I have done this +also too well. I only wanted the horses for my +mother's carriage. She likes an open light carriage, +and it is difficult to procure really good horses in +England of a suitable size. The horses I have bought +will suit her exactly, if we have good luck with them; +that is, that they turn out well, and we have no + +<a name="pg44"></a> + +accident with them. I shall buy a light four-wheel +carriage at Horsens, and my groom will drive them, +and we shall then see if it be necessary to discard +either or both, before they are taken to England." +</p><p> +"But why did you send for a horse from England?" +said Pastor Lindal, to whom a horse was +a horse and a cow was a cow. +</p><p> +"I fear because I like a good horse," replied Hardy. +"Your Jutland horses are not adapted to the saddle, +except for lady's hacks, or light carriage work; my +English horse would jump the ditches that abound +in your Danish fields, and would, for instance, jump +your garden wall." +</p><p> +"That I am sure no horse can," said the Pastor, +decidedly. +</p><p> +"Does he mean, father," said Frøken Helga, "that +his horse can jump our garden wall?" +</p><p> +"Yes," said Hardy; "it is scarcely five feet. But +will you promise, Frøken Helga, that if my horse +does jump the wall, that you will not say that the +horse does it too well? It is not me, but the horse +that jumps the wall." +</p><p> +Helga looked annoyed at the reference made to her +saying that he sang and played too well for any one to +follow after him, but she said nothing. +</p><p> +Karl and Axel had listened. They too thought it +impossible; but they believed in Hardy. +</p><p> +"Well, Karl," said Hardy, "don't you believe in +me and the English horse?" +</p><p> +<a name="pg45"></a> +"No," said Karl. "A horse cannot jump the garden +wall by himself, much more with a man on his back; +no horse could do it. But I believe you can do anything." +</p><p> +"Well, Herr Pastor," said Hardy, "I have no one +who believes in me or my horse. Frøken Helga +regards me with suspicion; and no one in Jutland +appears to believe more than they see." +</p><p> +"Yes; but it is impossible," said Pastor Lindal. +</p><p> +The next day after breakfast, Buffalo and one of +the Danish horses were taken to the parsonage by +Robert Garth. Buffalo had an English saddle on, +and looked fully recovered from his journey to Denmark, +and fit for anything. The Pastor, his daughter, +and his two boys came out to see the English horse. +Frøken Helga had not seen it before, and it struck her +as being the handsomest horse she had ever seen; and +she observed the respect the English groom showed +Hardy. +</p><p> +"What do you think of the oats, Bob?" said +Hardy. +</p><p> +"First-rate," said Garth, touching his hat; "they +have picked Buffalo up wonderful, and he is fit to go +anywhere." +</p><p> +Hardy mounted his horse. His mother had sent +over his hunting breeches, and when mounted, the +Pastor was struck with the manly figure of the quiet-mannered +Englishman. +</p><p> +"The horse will not take even such a jump as your + +<a name="pg46"></a> + +garden wall," said Hardy, "in cold blood. I will give +him a gallop down the field below, and then bring +him up and jump the wall. You will see the grand +spread of his stride as he gallops." +</p><p> +Hardy rode like an English country gentleman +accustomed to the saddle, and the great wide strides +taken by Buffalo even the Pastor observed with +astonishment. Suddenly Hardy turned and came at +the garden wall, with Buffalo well in hand, who rose to +the jump and cleared it easily, and out through a break +in the shrubbery over the wall at the other side. +</p><p> +Hardy rode quietly in through the entrance gate +and dismounted. It was clear, by the demeanour of +the English groom, that he saw nothing unusual in +what had passed; but it was very different with the +Danish family. The boys cheered, but Frøken Helga +had disappeared. +</p><p> +"If you were not accustomed to do this," said the +Pastor, "I should consider it was not right to risk so +good a horse and your own limbs. A fall must be +dangerous to you and your horse." +</p><p> +"Yes; a fall would be, and is," said Hardy. "I +have broken my arm and a collar-bone by falls when +hunting." +</p><p> +"Now, Herr Pastor," added Hardy, "you will see +the difference between my English horse and one of +the best horses we could buy here." +</p><p> +"He can't jump a yard, master," said Garth; "it is +no use trying him." +</p><p> +<a name="pg47"></a> +Hardy mounted the Danish horse, and the +difference was apparent in pace and action. +</p><p> +"Bob," said Hardy, "they are no use for saddle +horses, except for ladies; but they will do well for +what we bought them." +</p><p> +"Right you are, master!" said Garth, as Hardy +remounted Buffalo, and went for a ride. +</p> +<a name="pg48"></a> +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER VI.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"Next, note that the eel seldom stirs in the day, but then hides himself; +and therefore is usually caught by night, with one of those baits of +which I have spoken."<br>—<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +The two Danish horses were driven by Garth, and, +in his hands, soon grew accustomed to harness and the +light carriage John Hardy had purchased at Horsens. +Longer expeditions were made to fish the smaller +Danish streams, and, to the great gratification of Karl +and Axel, to Silkeborg. The lakes at Silkeborg, with +their idyllic picturesqueness, interested Hardy, while +the pike and the perch fishing yielded good sport. +Hardy was skilful in spinning a heavy minnow deep in +the water, casting it from a boat, and thus attracting +the heaviest perch. A paternoster also in his hands +caught a quantity of perch. Pike were caught by casting +a dead roach, with a rod with upright rings, and +Hardy threw his bait with a length and certainty that +the Danish fishermen were not accustomed to. The +bait would fall into a little spot of water amongst the +reeds. A jerk and pull made the dead fish appear + +<a name="pg49"></a> + +like a wounded live one; when out would rush Herr +<i>Esox lucius</i> from his lair, and, after expostulating in +the usual manner, would come into the boat with the +sullen look of how-I-should-like-to-bite-the-calf-of-your-leg, +peculiar to Herr Esox's genus. +</p><p> +The Danish fishermen at Silkeborg began to entertain +the notion that John Hardy, if his stay was +prolonged, would depopulate the lakes of both pike +and perch; and they hugged the idea with affection +that at least he could not catch eels, with which the +lakes abound. +</p><p> +"Can you catch eels, Herr Hardy?" said Karl. +"The fishermen say you may be able to catch pike +and perch, but you do not know how to catch eels +with a line in the lakes." +</p><p> +"Yes," replied Hardy, "if you and Axel will +undertake to take them off the hooks when caught; +it is not an agreeable bit of work." +</p><p> +"Yes, that will we," said Karl and Axel at once. +</p><p> +They had then no idea of the difficulty of getting +off the slime of an eel from their clothes, and what very +pointed personal remarks would be made by Kirstin, +when they returned to Vandstrup Præstegaard. +</p><p> +The preparations for catching eels with lines was +of immense interest to the boys. Hardy had several +stakes made with sharpened ends. The stakes were +driven into a shallow part of the lake, and a line +attached to each, of about thirty yards' length. The +line was a cotton one, with copper wire twisted in it; + +<a name="pg50"></a> + +and to each line, at the distance of every six feet, was +attached a strong gimp hook, baited with a dead +minnow. The lines were laid down at dusk, with a +weight at the end of about half a pound. A boat +was chartered, and the lines visited at intervals the +half part of the night. By drawing the line, it was +easy to detect if an eel was on the line. The result +was the constant employment of Karl and Axel in +taking eels off the lines; and the next day their clothes +were white and shiny, with slime from the eels. +</p><p> +"You are so good to us, Herr Hardy," said Karl, +"I wish you would live always with us." +</p><p> +"We do not live only to catch fish," said Hardy; +"each of us has his duty and work to do; but there +is no reason why we should not enjoy the beautiful +world God has given us, when we do our duty first. +My duty I know; yours you have yet to learn." +</p><p> +These simple words had a strong impression on +the two lads, and were never forgotten; and when +Karl and Axel returned to their father's house, they +told him what Hardy had said, and he never forgot +it either. +</p><p> +"I think," said the Pastor to his daughter, "that +Herr Hardy is as good as he is kind." +</p><p> +One little circumstance that now occurred it is +necessary to mention. Hardy had been some time +at the parsonage, and he therefore offered to pay +what he had agreed to pay for his board and lodging. +</p><p> +The Pastor refused to accept payment, "You + +<a name="pg51"></a> + +have come here, and whilst here have repaid us again +and again by your kind ways and manners. My two +boys have grown in a few weeks to be gentle and +considerate in their conduct. They were rough and +wild before. You have taught them English, and their +progress has astonished me. I have taught them +daily, but you have succeeded in teaching more in +a few weeks than I have years. I cannot repay this. +I can only say I will receive no money of yours." +</p><p> +"But I am well able to pay the moderate sum you +stated that was your wish I should pay, and I will +pay it with pleasure." +</p><p> +"That may be," said the Pastor, "but the principle +is the same. I could not honestly take anything +from you." +</p><p> +"Then I must leave," said Hardy; "I could not +remain here at your charge. I see I put you to more +expenditure than is usual with you, and I could not +continue to do so." +</p><p> +"You are, of course, at liberty to leave when you +wish," said the Pastor; "but if you will give way in +this, I shall feel I have at least recognized in the only +way in my power what you have done for me and +mine." +</p><p> +There was no doubt of the sincerity of the Pastor's +meaning. His open face was as clear to read as +print. +</p><p> +Frøken Helga was present at this interview, and +Hardy looked at her in the hope of finding in her + +<a name="pg52"></a> + +expression as to what he should do. She was knitting +as usual. He thought there was a feeling that she +wished the matter should drop, so Hardy said— +</p><p> +"Well, Herr Pastor, all I can say is that the money +is at your disposition, and if you refuse to take it +when I go away I shall pay it to the Fattigkasse +(poor box); and I must insist I have done nothing +more than any Englishman would do." +</p><p> +"Good, very good!" said the Pastor. "Let us +shake hands, and there is an end of it." +</p><p> +As Hardy took the Pastor's hand, he thought +Frøken Helga's face bore an expression of approval, +but her retiring manner made it impossible to discover +what her thoughts really were. +</p><p> +A few days after, at breakfast, the Pastor said to +Hardy, "There is an invitation for you to go to Gods-eier +(landowner) Jensen's. They are going to celebrate +their silver wedding. They have also invited +me and my daughter Helga. Jensen breeds horses, +and his reason for asking you is probably because +he has heard of your English horse. Niels Jacobsen +has talked with him about it. He saw him at a +market some days ago. You can, of course, decline; +and, at any rate, you can do as you wish. We shall +go because they are friends of ours, and it would be +a want of respect not to go on such an occasion as a +silver wedding. There will be several persons there, +and there will be a dinner at about three, and a +dance after, in which the younger people will join." +</p><p> +<a name="pg53"></a> +"Thank you," said Hardy; "I should like to see +more of Danish society, and I should wish to go for +that reason." +</p><p> +John Hardy did not say that he had a strong +wish to see Frøken Helga in society. He had seen +her only at home, perpetually knitting and occupied +in the management of the affairs of the parsonage. +He observed, when she expressed a wish, that neither +the wayward boys nor the strong-minded Kirstin had +the least thought of acting in opposition to it, and +he felt an interest in the opportunity of seeing her +in society, and observing whether there would be the +same unbending nature. +</p><p> +The invitation was therefore accepted. +</p><p> +The distance was about five English miles, and +Garth drove the pair of Danish horses in the neat +livery of Hardy Place; and the Pastor and his +daughter sat together, while Hardy sat beside Garth. +He did this because he thought that Frøken Helga +would rather dispense with his society. +</p><p> +"They will do eight miles," said Garth, "but I do +not believe they will do more; they go what you may +call pretty, but there is not much stay in them, and +if you drive them out of their pace, they are cut down +at once." +</p><p> +"Yes, Bob," said Hardy; "but they will suit my +mother, and they are just what she wants and would +like." +</p><p> +"Yes," said Bob Garth, "there is that; but they + +<a name="pg54"></a> + +starves them so much when they are young, and that +does not make sinew or bone." +</p><p> +Notwithstanding Garth's predictions, the Jensen's +mansion was reached in half an hour from Vandstrup +Præstegaard, and Garth drove up with a flourish that +impressed Herr Jensen, who was on the door steps. +</p><p> +"Are these the horses the Englishman bought a +few days ago, Herr Pastor Lindal?" asked Herr +Jensen. +</p><p> +"Yes," said Pastor Lindal. "But how are you, +and how is Fru Lindal and your family?" +</p><p> +"They are all right, thank you, Herr Pastor," +replied Herr Jensen. "But I never saw horses so +managed! Why, they could be sold in Hamburgh +for a lot of money. They are fit for any carriage +anywhere." +</p><p> +If Fru Jensen had not appeared on the scene, it +is possible that her husband's interest in the horses +might have been prolonged indefinitely; but she conducted +Frøken Helga Lindal into the house, introduced +herself to John Hardy, and told the Pastor to +tell the English groom where to put up his horses and +where to wait until he should be required to return +to Vandstrup Præstegaard. +</p><p> +Herr Jensen looked at the Englishman with +interest, as he stood before him in his evening dress, +broad-shouldered with fine limbs, his clothes fitting +well, and looking like a wedge from his broad chest +down to his feet. +</p><p> +<a name="pg55"></a> +They went into an assembly-room, where many +guests were gathered. There were several landowners +of the district with their families, and John Hardy's +simple manners and unmistakable stamp of gentleman +made a favourable impression. He was introduced +to a Frøken Jaeger, and was told he would have +to take her in to dinner. Hardy bowed. +</p><p> +"How old are you?" said Frøken Jaeger. +</p><p> +"Twenty-eight," replied Hardy. +</p><p> +"What is your profession?" inquired Frøken +Jaeger. +</p><p> +"Landowner," replied Hardy. And Hardy was +subjected to a cross-examination that elicited from +him that his father was dead years ago, that his +mother lived at Hardy Place, that he was a magistrate +for the English county where he resided, and was +also an officer in the yeomanry cavalry. +</p><p> +"Then why do you not wear a uniform?" inquired +Frøken Jaeger, with some asperity. +</p><p> +"Because it is not allowed, and I do not wish it, +when in a foreign country," replied Hardy. +</p><p> +It is to be feared that if the cross-examination had +been much longer, that Hardy would have declined +to answer any more questions, and have exhibited +some of that insularity that is so common in Englishmen; +but dinner was announced, and Hardy offered +his arm, and Frøken Jaeger was soon occupied in other +and more material subjects. She was about thirty-five, +according to Hardy's judgment, and had a long + +<a name="pg56"></a> + +sharp nose and an equally sharp chin, tending ultimately +to form what some people ungenerously call +nutcrackers; but her appetite was good, and it left an +opportunity to Hardy to observe his fellow guests. +</p><p> +The Pastor sat near his host, and his daughter was +paired with a young Danish landowner, who paid her +great attention. Her dress was simple, with an ornament +or two inherited from her mother; but her clear +complexion, her tall figure and clean-cut features impressed +Hardy. She talked with every one with +animation, and Hardy could scarcely realize the +comparison between the quiet figure steadily knitting +with ear and eye always at her father's service to the +perfect Danish lady before him. +</p><p> +There were several toasts proposed during the +dinner. The event of the day had to be particularly +recognized, which was done with much enthusiasm. +Then followed other toasts, and Hardy's health was +drunk, to which he had to reply. He rose quickly, +and said in Danish that his knowledge of the language +was yet so imperfect that he could say little more than +thanks, but that he would add that he owed a debt of +kindness to the Danes with whom he had been brought +in contact, and he thanked them and his host for +their kindness and consideration to a foreigner. +Hardy read in Frøken Helga's face that what he had +said was what had her approval, and that he had +said enough. +</p><p> +"You appear to look at Frøken Helga Lindal, + +<a name="pg57"></a> + +Herr Hardy," said Frøken Jaeger; "are you engaged +to her?" +</p><p> +"No," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"But what do you think of her?" +</p><p> +"That she is an excellent daughter," replied +Hardy. +</p><p> +"And that she would make an excellent wife?" +said Frøken Jaeger. +</p><p> +"Possibly," said Hardy, with a determination to +say nothing more. +</p><p> +The dinner party broke up. The elder people of the +male sort adjourned to a very strong tobacco-parliament +and cards; the younger went into the assembly-room, +which was now converted into a ball-room. +Frøken Jaeger said, "Herr Hardy, I have put your +name down in my list of dances for the first dance, +and you will dance with me." +</p><p> +Hardy went to Frøken Helga Lindal, and besought +her to deliver him from Frøken Jaeger; but she declined, +and said, "You have to dance with Frøken Jaeger; +you have taken her in to dinner, and it is our custom." +</p><p> +"Then," said Hardy, "let me have one dance with +you, a waltz?" +</p><p> +Helga gave him her list, and he wrote his name +down for the first waltz possible. +</p><p> +"Is it your father's wish to stay here a long time, +Frøken Helga?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"No; but it depends on you," replied Helga. "He +will not leave until you wish, but I know the sooner + +<a name="pg58"></a> + +he is home the better for him. But Herr Jensen will +want to talk to you about his horses." +</p><p> +"I will see him at once," said Hardy, "and tell +him I will ride over to-morrow to see his horses, and +that will, I think, prevent any delay arising from that +cause." +</p><p> +So Hardy went into the tobacco-parliament, and +arranged with Herr Jensen to see him the following +day, and the catechising Frøken Jaeger had to +wait while the dance and the waltz she loved so well +had begun; but Hardy's appearance and his good +dancing allayed her rising anger. +</p><p> +"Do you dance much in England?" said Frøken +Jaeger. +</p><p> +"No," said Hardy; "I do not like it." +</p><p> +At length the time came for his dance with Frøken +Helga Lindal, and as they stood up the personal +beauty of both was remarked. Helga's elastic movement +on Hardy's arm, the ease with which she danced +in perfect time, and her bright manner had its effect +on Hardy. He was not quite sure but that he had +just told Frøken Jaeger a story, in saying that he did +not like dancing. +</p><p> +"You dance well, Frøken Helga!" said Hardy. +</p><p> +"I can do nothing so well as you," replied Helga. +"But my father would wish to leave, and if you can +arrange it, I shall thank you so much. You can do +what you like; we cannot." +</p><p> +A short time after, they were sitting behind the + +<a name="pg59"></a> + +trotting horses, and the Pastor thanked Hardy for his +consideration. "They are kind people," said he, "but +they do not think that my duty is never to be away +from my home, so that I can be called at any moment +to do what duty may arise, and which, if I should +delay or omit, would be wrong." +</p><p> +"It is a strict view," said Hardy, "but it is the +right one. I cannot say it is general in England." +</p> +<a name="pg60"></a> + +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER VII.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"If the prayer be good, the commoner the better.<br> +Prayer in the Church's words,<br> +As well as sense, of all prayers bears the bell."<br> +<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +The next day after the late breakfast at the parsonage, +John Hardy rode over to the Jensen's on Buffalo, +and Garth followed on one of the Danish horses, and +was received with much warmth. Herr Jensen +walked round and round Buffalo, for he loved a horse, +and admired the length of his step as Buffalo walked. +He had heard the story of his jumping the wall +at Vandstrup Præstegaard, and his desire to see him +perform in that capacity was so great, that Hardy +put him through a gallop and over a few fences, and +Herr Jensen approved loudly. Fru Jensen was +present and her two daughters, Mathilde and Maria +Jensen. +</p><p> +Hardy's quiet manner when he dismounted and +made his respects to the ladies, as if he had just +trotted his horse up the avenue, struck them, and they +forgave him on the spot for leaving so early the +night before. + + <a name="pg61"></a> + +Hardy went into the old Danish Herregaard +(country house), and was received with the usual +Danish hospitality. The ladies talked incessantly +of the proceedings of the night before, and Hardy +had to bear the result of Frøken Jaeger's severe cross-examination +to the fullest particular. She had told +all Hardy's answers to her questions, and they were +possessed with Hardy's position in England, so far +as he had chosen to answer Frøken Jaeger, and the +ladies were ready to pursue the inquiry further; but, +fortunately for Hardy, Herr Jensen was anxious to +show him his farm, and particularly his horses. Hardy +at once assented, and Herr Jensen took him to +see his brood mares and foals, with a few young +horses not yet sold, which Herr Jensen was holding +for a higher price than the people he sold to at +Hamburgh would pay him. Garth accompanied them. +</p><p> +"I have sold horses often to England," said Jensen; +"but they will pay a price upon each particular +horse. Some they will pay £40 for, some they will +pay £18 for; and when the horses arrive at Hull, +they will say there is some fault or defect in the +higher paid-for horses, and the consequence is that +I prefer selling to the Germans. They pay £25 to +£30 a horse, and take, perhaps, twenty or thirty +yearly; and many of the best go to England after +being trained, and the rest are sold in Germany +or elsewhere; but I never hear any complaints of +defects or the like." +</p><p> +<a name="pg62"></a> +"That I can well understand," said Hardy. "In +England, a really good horse has no price. If he is +wanted, any price will be paid; but a horse with a +fault is nowhere." +</p><p> +"Our horses," said Jensen, "are good horses for +light weights; but in England they are used chiefly for +carriages now. I have two horses here that would make +good saddle horses, and I wish you could try them." +</p><p> +The two horses Herr Jensen referred to were in +a pasture, tethered to an iron spike driven in the +ground, with a rope giving them a range of a few +yards of grass. +</p><p> +"What do you think of these two horses, Bob?" +said Hardy to Garth. +</p><p> +"Very good park hacks," said Garth, "and just +the thing for a lady to ride." +</p><p> +"My man will try one of the horses if you like," +said Hardy. "He is accustomed to horses." +</p><p> +Garth fetched the saddle he had rode over in, +and a light snaffle bridle, and mounted, and, after +the usual difficulties that always occur with colts, +he rode the horse, sitting firm and easy in the saddle, +to Herr Jensen's great admiration. +</p><p> +"He is a good horse," said Garth. "But, master, +ask the governor one question, and that is how he +feeds them in the winter." +</p><p> +"What does he say?" asked Herr Jensen. +</p><p> +"He asks how you feed your horses in the +winter," replied Hardy. +</p><p> +<a name="pg63"></a> +"That is the difficulty," said Jensen. "We have +little to give them in the winter and spring, and it is +hard work to keep them alive. We cut our grass in +the meadows twice yearly; the first hay is good, the +second is not so good by a long way." +</p><p> +"Our notion is that a horse should always be +kept well," said Hardy, "or his bone and sinew want +firmness." +</p><p> +"There is no doubt of that," said Herr Jensen. +"We understand that very well; but yet what can +we do? We breed horses to make money by them. +If we fed them as you say, we could not get the cost +back." +</p><p> +"I have heard the same story in England," said +Hardy; "a farmer has to treat his farm as a business, +and, Herr Jensen, you are quite right in doing +so." +</p><p> +Hardy went over Herr Jensen's farm, and his +knowledge of farming in all its branches so interested +Herr Jensen, that it was late when they returned to +the Herregaard. Dinner was ready, and Hardy had +to bear a running fire of criticism from Fru Jensen +and her daughters. He had not, they said, observed +the particular merits of many of the Danish ladies +who had been present at the dance of the previous +evening, but doubtless he was preoccupied. +</p><p> +"No," said Hardy, "I was not preoccupied. My +difficulty is that I do not know Danish well, and Herr +Jensen has had the greatest difficulty to understand + +<a name="pg64"></a> + +me about horses; how, then, could I understand so +difficult a subject as a Danish lady?" +</p><p> +"Frøken Jaeger says, you said that Frøken Helga +Lindal would make an excellent wife," said Fru +Jensen. +</p><p> +"Yes," said Hardy. "She asked me, and I said +it was possible." +</p><p> +Hardy said this in so strong a manner that it was +even apparent to Herr Jensen that he did not wish +the conversation extended, so Herr Jensen proposed +a cigar and an adjournment to his own room. +</p><p> +Hardy left at six o'clock, and rode to Vandstrup. +On his way thither an occurrence happened that +Hardy never forgot. +</p><p> +Hardy, followed by Garth, had ridden on to within +an English mile of Vandstrup, when he saw a waggon +overturned, and a man lying underneath it. The +horses were kicking in their harness, as they lay in the +ditch by the roadside. The waggon was the same as +is usually employed by the Danish farmer, for his farm +work, and was heavy in construction. Hardy galloped +up, and found the man lying under the waggon +evidently seriously injured. He was a workman called +Nils Rasmussen, and had taken a load of turf, in +company with another man with a similar load in +another waggon, to a village near Vandstrup. The +turf discharged, there was the opportunity of getting +drunk; and the horses of both waggons were driven +hard down a slope in the road by their drunken + +<a name="pg65"></a> + +drivers, and coming in contact, Nils Rasmussen was +thrown out, and the waggon fell on him, whilst the +struggling of the horses every moment increased the +serious injuries he was receiving. +</p><p> +Garth cut the horses free, and Nils Rasmussen +was taken from under the waggon. Several people +came running up, and one of them rode Hardy's +Danish horse for the district doctor. Hardy assisted +in carrying the injured man to his home, and sent +Garth to the stables on Buffalo, with instructions to +come to Rasmussen's house for orders. It was clear +the case was serious from the first Hardy undressed +the man, and found that he had more than one limb +broken, while from the froth and blood in the mouth, +internal injuries were present. +</p><p> +When Garth returned, he was sent to the parsonage, +with a request for a pair of dry clean sheets, a +bottle of cognac, and some of Hardy's linen handkerchiefs. +Garth returned in a white heat, without the +articles he was sent for. Hardy had supposed that +the news of the accident would have reached the +parsonage, and after enumerating the articles required, +he added a request that they should be given to +Garth to take to Rasmussen's. Kirstin read the +note, and put several questions to Garth, which, from +his ignorance of Danish, it was impossible for him to +answer; "When suddenly," said Garth, "she appeared +to get into a rage. She rushed at me, beat me about +the head, and shouted at me." +</p><p> +<a name="pg66"></a> +The district doctor now came in, and Hardy's +attention was occupied. He told him what he had +seen of the accident, and the symptoms of injury +internally. The doctor was used to cases either more +or less grave of a similar character, and he showed +much cool professional skill. "I will remain here," he +said to Hardy, "until sent for. The case is hopeless, +and all that can be done is to watch by him." +</p><p> +When the doctor left, Hardy decided to remain, +as Nils Rasmussen's wife and family were incapable +of being of the slightest use. He sent Garth to his +lodgings, with orders to come to Rasmussen's at six +the next morning. +</p><p> +Meanwhile Hardy had been expected at the parsonage, +and it grew later and later. +</p><p> +"He is stopping with the Jensens," said the Pastor, +</p><p> +"No, he is not!" burst out Kirstin; "he is at +Rasmussen's. He sent that man of his here a while +since for a pair of sheets and a bottle of the best +brandy to take to Rasmussen's, and you can see the +writing he sent by his servant." +</p><p> +The Pastor took the scrap of paper and read it +aloud. +</p><p> +"It is that bold, bad hussey, Karen Rasmussen!" +said Kirstin. +</p><p> +"How can you know that?" said Frøken Helga. +</p><p> +"Know it!" exclaimed Kirstin; "I am sure of it. +No man can be so good as the Englishman appears +to be." +</p><p> +<a name="pg67"></a> +The Pastor and his family retired to rest with a +shock of grief and pain. "He must leave at once," +thought the Pastor. +</p><p> +Shortly after six the next morning, Garth fetched +one of Rasmussen's neighbours, whom he sent with +the following note to the pastor, written on a similar +scrap of paper as his unfortunate communication of +the previous evening, and torn from his note-book. +</p><p> +"Dear Herr Pastor, +</p><p> +"Nils Rasmussen, the workman at Jorgensens, +is sinking fast. You have, of course, heard +of the accident? The district doctor at once saw +the case was beyond all hope. Will you come immediately? +</p><p> +"Yours faithfully, +</p><p> +"John Hardy." +</p><p> +As the Pastor left his house, he met one after +another of Nils Rasmussen's neighbours coming for +him. He heard of John Hardy's assistance and care, +and that he had been the whole night acting as +nurse, as the family were incapable. +</p><p> +As the Pastor entered, he met Hardy. +</p><p> +"It is too late, Herr Pastor," said the latter; "the +man is dead. But go in and speak to the wife, and +I will wait for you. Here is twenty kroner, which you +can give her; the expenses of the funeral I will bear, +and I can arrange that she shall receive ten kroner + +<a name="pg68"></a> + +weekly, through the post-office, until they can help +themselves." +</p><p> +In half an hour the Pastor came out, and he said, +"Hardy, I thank you for your attention to this poor +man. You have done nothing more than what was +right you should do, and what any one else should +have done; but you have done your duty with a +kindliness that does you honour." +</p><p> +Hardy said nothing, the horror of watching a man +dying in agony for a whole night had unstrung his +steady nerves. On reaching the parsonage, he went +to his room, and, wearied out, at last fell asleep. +</p><p> +The Pastor, after the usual morning prayers +with his household, said, "Stay, Kirstin! You have +wickedly cast shame on an honest man; you have +attributed sin to another without cause. You have +heard that Rasmussen is dead, and how he died; but +you do not know that the man you foully slandered +had done his utmost for his brother man. When I +came to Rasmussen's house, Herr Hardy's clothes +were covered with dirt and blood. He had tended +the dying man the whole night; he had torn up his +linen shirt and under-clothing for bandages; and +when I was about to speak to the widow, he gave me +money for present need, and has ordered it so that +she shall not want for the future. And yet this is the +man to whom you would impute sin and shame. Ask +forgiveness of God, and beg Herr Hardy's pardon. +Go!" +</p><p> +<a name="pg69"></a> +The hard-natured Jutland woman was overcome. +Frøken Helga's eyes filled with tears, and she went +and kissed her father. +</p><p> +"We were wrong to think evil of another, under +any circumstances," said the Pastor, "or to allow suspicion +of evil to grow in our minds." +</p><p> +Hardy was ignorant of the little episode thus +acted in the Pastor's household, and when he came +down from his room some time later, he found a +breakfast waiting for him, the Pastor shook hands +with him, and asked how he was. +</p><p> +"I feel what I have gone through this night," +replied Hardy, "but am quite well." +</p><p> +"An honest answer," said the Pastor. +</p><p> +"But, little father," said Frøken Helga, "can you +not tell Herr Hardy that he has been kind and good?" +</p><p> +Praise from her father's lips for a duty well done +was with Helga more than gold or incense; and how +wrong had they not all been towards Hardy! +</p><p> +"Your father has already said enough," said +Hardy. +</p><p> +"Then I will speak for myself," said Helga, "and +say that I thank you for your goodness to Rasmussen +and his family;" and she took his hand and kissed it. +</p><p> +Hardy saw she was governed by a momentary +impulse, but it evinced a warm sympathy for what +she considered a good act, and impressed him the +more so as her manner was always towards him cold +and retiring. +</p><p> +<a name="pg70"></a> +At this juncture Kirstin appeared in an unusual +state of agitation. +</p><p> +"I have come," she said, "to ask Herr Hardy's +pardon, for what I have said and done." +</p><p> +"My servant reports to me that you beat him +yesterday," said Hardy, "and as you did not beat me +I have nothing to forgive. I have told my man, if +you do so again, to lay the matter before the authorities. +He will have to come here in acting as my +servant; but if you beat him because you cannot +understand him, he must be protected, the more so +as his orders are not to strike you, under any circumstances. +The matter has been brought to the Herr +Pastor's knowledge, and that is enough, and you can +go out." +</p><p> +There was a stern dignity in John Hardy's manner, +always present in a man of his type when accustomed +to obedience. +</p><p> +Kirstin hesitated. "You can go out, Kirstin," +repeated Hardy; and she obeyed. +</p><p> +Frøken Helga's implicit faith in the rigid character +of Kirstin was shaken. +</p><p> +Rasmussen's funeral took place shortly after, and +on the Sunday the Pastor referred to Hardy's conduct. +</p><p> +"It may hurt the sensibility of the Englishman +who is with us, that I should refer to him thus publicly; +but it is my duty, while the occurrence of Rasmussen's +death has the force of its being recent to point out, not +that it was his simple duty to do what he did, but + +<a name="pg71"></a> + +the way and manner that duty was done showed a +Christian charity that no one of us could do more +than imitate." +</p><p> +"I question whether you are right, to praise the +conduct of an individual from the pulpit, Herr +Pastor," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"My duty," said the Pastor, gravely, "is to preach +the parable of the Good Samaritan, and the recent +occurrence will interest many who would not be +interested otherwise." +</p><p> +"My father has done what is right," said his +daughter, with warmth. "I should have done the +same." +</p> +<a name="pg72"></a> +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER VIII.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"Oh, how happy here's our leisure!<br> +Oh, how innocent our pleasure!"<br> +<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +John Hardy received a letter from his mother, dated +from Hardy Place. +</p><p> +"My dearest John, +</p><p> +"Your weekly letters have become shorter, +and I have read between the lines that you are +keeping back something from your mother; but +this doubt has been made a certainty from a letter of +Robert Garth's to his friends here. He writes, so +I hear, that the 'governor' is sweet on a parson's +daughter in Denmark. Now, I know, dearest John, +that you will always be the true gentleman your +father was; but this has distressed me, because you +say yourself nothing. Do come home to me. I miss +the sound of your footstep, the manly voice that +reminds me of your father, and, above all, your kindly +manner to your mother. Write at once, as my +anxiety is more than I can bear." +</p><p> +<a name="pg73"></a> +There was more in the letter, breathing the same +deep affectionate solicitude a mother alone feels. +John Hardy wrote at once. +</p><p> +"My dearest Mother, +</p><p> +"If I had anything to tell you, I should +have told you long ago. I have described Pastor +Lindal's family to you in my letters, and, I can only +add, my respect for him grows daily. He does his +duty with a simplicity that is difficult to be understood +in England, and I have learnt to look forward +to hearing his Sunday sermons, from their freshness +such as single-mindedness alone gives. I feel more the +earnestness of religion and the simplicity with which +it should be invested from the influence of his character. +I know you will say that this has nothing +to do with Frøken Helga Lindal, his daughter, and +you want to hear of her. All I can say is, that her +character is what would attract you. She does her +duty in the Pastor's household with simple exactness; +she assists in visiting the parish, and is of material +use to her father in this respect. She is spoken of +everywhere and by all in praise and regard, and she +is like her father—simple and true. I cannot say that +I do not admire so perfect a nature, but I do not +feel now a wish to ask her to be my wife, and if I +did she would say 'no.' Her father is a widower, and +his daughter is his right hand. His two boys, who +are really good lads, have to be considered, and + +<a name="pg74"></a> + +Frøken Helga's influence over them is complete. +Her leaving her father would leave him unassisted, +and his two sons without the influence she alone +possesses. She knows and sees this, and would +sacrifice her life to her sense of duty. If she cared +for me, there would be no difference; that would be +sacrificed too. I can assure you that I shall never +bring any one to Hardy Place that my mother cannot +receive as her daughter. The kind affection and care +you have always shown me is dearer to me than +houses and land and wealth or the strongest feelings +of selfishness. +</p><p> +"I hope, dear mother, that this will set your mind +at rest. +</p><p> +"If you wish me to come home, I will do so; but +I wish to stay longer, and when you see there is +no real cause for anxiety, you may have no objection. +The days pass pleasantly here. I teach the two boys +English every day. They fish with me for trout in +the river, the Gudenaa, and we make excursions +together, and occasionally we visit a Danish family +in the neighbourhood; and the genuine kindness I +receive everywhere interests me. In the evenings +Pastor Lindal is conversational, and his conversation +is like his sermons, always fresh. There is no one +thought harped upon and torn to tatters. To say +he is a man of original thought would not describe +him—it is individuality and simplicity; there is +nothing extraordinary or unusual, but a clearness of + +<a name="pg75"></a> + +colour, like a diamond, which is the more valuable +when it has no colour." +</p><p> +John Hardy wrote a little more on home affairs +at Hardy Place, and closed his letter. +</p><p> +In the evening, when the Pastor's pipe was as +usual lighted by his daughter, Hardy asked him as +to the superstitions in Denmark, and if they then +were prevalent and had any force. +</p><p> +"They are endless," said the Pastor, "and in +every conceivable direction. There is no land so full +of traditional superstition as Jutland." +</p><p> +"When in Norway," said Hardy, "the superstition +that struck me most was that of the Huldr, who in +different districts was differently described. Generally +the Huldr was described as a tall fair woman, with a +yellow bodice and a blue skirt, with long fair yellow +hair loose over the shoulders; but she was as hollow +as a kneading trough, and had a cow's tail. She was +described as coming to the Sæter farms on the fjelds, +after they were vacated by the Norwegian farmers, with +a quantity of cattle and milking cans; and I have heard +the cattle call sang by Norwegians that they have +heard the Huldr sing. I have spoken with people +who have seen the Huldr, and described her to me +with a vividness as if it were a real personage. I +have heard people say they have seen her knitting, +sitting on a rock with a ball of worsted thrown out +before her, to entice mortals to take it up, when they +must follow where she would lead." +</p><p> +<a name="pg76"></a> +"We have not that superstition in Jutland," said +the Pastor; "that is begotten of the lonely life in the +isolated farms in the fields in Norway and their +interminable woods and natural wildness of nature. +Our superstitions are, as I said, endless. They consist +of historical traditions of a supernatural character, of +traditions attached to places, as old houses, churches, +also of particular men, of hidden treasure, of robbers, +and the like. Then there are the more supernatural +superstitions, as of witches, ghosts, the devil, of Trolds, +of mermen and mermaids, of Nissen, like your English +pixey, of the three-legged horse that inhabits the +churchyards, the were-wolf, the gnome that inhabits +the elder tree, the nightmare, or, as we call it, Maren. +There is also the tradition of gigantic dragons or +serpents, called by us Lindorm, in which your story of +St. George and the dragon prominently figures. +There are also minor superstitions of the will-o'-the-wisp, +the bird called in English the goatsucker, and +the classical Basilisk." +</p><p> +"But surely all those superstitions cannot exist +now?" inquired Hardy. +</p><p> +"I do not say they do; but they are hidden to a +greater extent in the recesses of the hearts of the +people than you would imagine." +</p><p> +"Can you relate anything of these superstitions?" +said Hardy. "It would interest me beyond everything." +</p><p> +"Yes," said the Pastor. "I will give you an + +<a name="pg77"></a> + +example in any one of the particular traditions I +have mentioned, and I will begin with the historical +superstition, as I mentioned that first. +</p><p> +"When King Gylfe reigned in Sweden, a woman +came to him, and she enchanted him so by her +singing that he gave her leave to plough so much +of his land as she could in a day with four oxen, +and what she thus ploughed should be hers. This +woman was of the race of the giants (Aseme). +She took her four sons and changed them into oxen, +and attached them to the plough. She ploughed +out the place she had chosen, and thus created +the island of Sjælland. She did this from the Mælar +lake in Sweden; and it is said that where there +is a point of land in Sjælland there is in the Mælar +lake a bay, and vice versâ, so that both the Mælar +lake and Sjælland island have one form, one is land, +the other water. This tradition is common over +Denmark, and with us has become classical. The +woman's name was Gefion." +</p><p> +"I have seen a delineation of the tradition," said +Hardy, "at one of your Danish palaces, on a ceiling +at Fredriksborg." +</p><p> +"Yes, it is there; but you will find it everywhere +in Denmark," replied the Pastor. "Of traditions of +churches, they are endless; but we will take one +example, possibly by no means the best. When +Hadderup church, between Viborg and Holstebro, +was building, the Trolds tore down every night what + +<a name="pg78"></a> + +had been erected in the day. It was therefore determined +to attach two calves to a load of stones in a +waggon, and where the calves were found in the +morning to build the church. This, however, did not +answer, and at last an agreement was made with the +Trolds that they should allow the church to be built, +on the condition that they should have the first bride +that went to the church. This succeeded, and the +church was built. When the first bridal procession +should, however, go to the church, at a particular place +a sudden mist fell upon them, and when it cleared +off the bride had disappeared." +</p><p> +"A very striking tradition," said Hardy. "It has +a good deal of picturesque colouring." +</p><p> +"Yes," said the Pastor, "and that is why I told +you that particular tradition. But of places there is +a tradition of Silkeborg, with nothing supernatural +about it; but as you have been there fishing, it may +interest you to know why it has obtained that name. +The story is, that a bishop wished to build a house +there, but he was uncertain where; so he threw his +silk hat into the water as he sailed on the Gudenaa, +and he determined that where his silk hat came +to land, that there would he build his house. The +hat came ashore at Silkeborg. The bishop, however, +could not have sailed up the Gudenaa, and the +probability is he must have gone down the lake, as +the Gudenaa runs from the lake through Jutland +to the sea at Randers." +</p><p> +<a name="pg79"></a> +"There is a similar tradition," said Hardy, "in +Iceland. When the Norwegian chiefs were conquered +by Harold the Fair-haired, about 870, they cast the +carved oak supports of their chairs, that they were +accustomed to sit in at the head of their tables, surrounded +by their dependents, and decided that where +these drove ashore, they would found a colony; and +where they did drive ashore was on the shores of +Iceland. It may possibly have influenced the tradition +you relate of Silkeborg." +</p><p> +"Possibly," said the Pastor; "but of traditions of +places, there are very many, and, as an example, there +was in Randers province an island, and on the island +a mansion; and when the family owning it were +absent, three women-servants determined to play the +priest a trick. They dressed up a sow like a sick +person in bed, and sent for the priest to administer +the sacrament to a dying person. The priest, however, +saw the wicked deception, and at once left the island +in his boat. Immediately the whole island sank as +soon as he lifted his foot from the shore of the island. +But a table swam towards him, on which was his +Bible, which in his anger and haste he had forgotten to +take with him. Where the island sank can, it is said, +yet be seen the three chimneys of the mansion deep +down in the water; and there are some high trees +growing up through the water, to which, when they +grow high enough, will the enemies of Denmark come +and fasten their ships." +</p><p> +<a name="pg80"></a> +"This story is only one of a class to the same +effect," continued the Pastor. "It has many variations +to a similar effect. You have heard of Limfjord in +North Jutland. It derives its name after our tradition +to the following: At the birth of Christ a Trold +woman was so enraged at the circumstance of his birth +that she produced a monster at a birth, and this +monster gradually took the form of a boar; and it is +related that when the boar was in the woods, its +bristles were higher than the tops of the trees. This +boar was called Limgrim, and rooted up the land so +as to create the inlet of the sea that we call Limfjord; +the name originally was Limgrimsfjord, since abbreviated +to Limfjord." +</p><p> +"What is your view of the origin of these +traditions?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"They are to me," said the Pastor, "an evidence of +the continuous change the world undergoes, has undergone, +and will undergo. The older the tradition, the +more antagonistic it is to the known laws of nature; +the later the tradition, the less improbable it is. We +have seen how heathenism, with its unreasonable and +wild vagaries, gave way to the early Christian Church. +Then arose the ultramontane Church, which was succeeded +by the purer light let in by Morten Luther; and +changes are taking place, and will take place; and the +use of these old traditions is to teach us that change +must be. Age succeeds to age, and generation to +generation. The science of geology teaches the same + +<a name="pg81"></a> + +lesson. As we learn more of it, and more accurately +of it, we gradually grasp the thought that endless +ages have wrought changes, and will continue to work +at the discretion of the Great Power that we feel and +know exists. We can only say that the works of the +Lord are wonderful, and trust in him." +</p><p> +"Have you heard of the religion of Buddha?" said +Hardy. "With all our present researches into it, we +know comparatively little; but, taken broadly, it is +a doctrine of slow development. A life exists, and +gradually earthly passion ceases, and a state of perfect +rest is reached, but through an endless series of +change." +</p><p> +"Yes," replied Pastor Lindal; "but it is a religion +of the imagination. It has a certain beauty and a +poetic charm, while the Christian religion has the +reality of the principle that kindliness is the real gold +of life, which I have learnt from you." +</p><p> +Hardy felt that in his letters to his mother he had +correctly described Pastor Lindal. +</p><p> +Frøken Helga had continued knitting as usual, but +that she listened to every word her father uttered was +clear to Hardy; and when he rose to go to his room +for the night, she said, "Thank you, Herr Hardy; +you have interested my father to speak in the way +he only can." +</p> +<a name="pg82"></a> +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER IX.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"But he that unto others leads the way<br> +In public prayer,<br> +Should do it so,<br> +As all that hear may know<br> +They need not fear<br> +To tune their hearts unto his tongue."<br> +<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +The next day, as soon as signs of the tobacco +parliament were apparent by Frøken Helga filling +and lighting her father's pipe, Karl and Axel, who had +been interested in listening to the conversation on +traditions the previous evening, besought Hardy to +lead Pastor Lindal to the same subject. +</p><p> +"The many ancient burial places existing all over +Jutland," said Hardy, "must have given rise to +traditions of hidden treasure. Our English word for +these tumuli is barrows." +</p><p> +"And ours," said the Pastor, "is Kæmpehøi, or +Kæmpedysse, meaning a fighting man's burial place; +the verb to fight is kæmpe, and present Danish. It was, +however, a custom to bury treasure in secluded places, + +<a name="pg83"></a> + +and to kill a slave at the place that his ghost might +guard the treasure. There is a tumulus or barrow +between Viborg and Holstebro. It is related that this +barrow was formerly always covered with a blue mist, +and that a copper kettle full of money was buried there. +One night, however, two men dug down to the kettle, +and seized it by the handle; but immediately wonderful +things happened, with a view of preventing them from +taking away the kettle and the money—first, they saw +a black dog with a red hot tongue; next, a cock drawing +a load of hay; then a carriage with four black horses. +The men, however, pursued their occupation without +uttering a word. But at last came a man, lame in one +foot, halting by, and he said, 'Look, the town is on fire!' +The two men looked, and sure enough the town +appeared to them to be on fire. One of them uttered +an exclamation, and the kettle and the treasure sank +in the earth far beyond their reach. There are many +of these stories, but the principle inculcated is, that +when digging for treasure it must be carried out in +perfect silence. You will have observed that a great +many of the tumuli you have met with in Denmark +have been opened. This has chiefly been done by +the hidden-treasure seekers; but it has had one good +result, and that is, it has enriched the museums in Denmark, +especially that of Northern Antiquities in Copenhagen. +You have probably seen the museum in Bergen, +Norway. You will have seen precisely the same type +of subjects there as in Copenhagen; and in the tumuli + +<a name="pg84"></a> + +in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, what has been +found is, <i>coeteris paribus</i>, identical in type." +</p><p> +"You said just now that a slave was killed at +places where treasure was hidden," said Hardy; "is +there much belief in that direction?" +</p><p> +"Yes; the belief in ghosts was very strong," replied +the Pastor, "and still exists. The general view was +that if a man's conduct was criminal in a high degree, +that within three days after he 'walked;' that is, his +ghost appeared at the places he had been attached to +when in life, attended by more or less supernatural +attributes. This, of course, arose from our Saviour's +resurrection on the third day; but as to this, I will tell +you a tradition that is an exception. There was once +a man who was exceptionally wicked and bad; he was +a thief and a robber, never went to church, and committed +all manner of crimes. When he died and was +buried in the churchyard, and the people who had +attended the funeral had returned to the man's house +to drink the Gravøl—that is the beer that was specially +brewed for consumption at a funeral—lo! there was the +dead and buried man sitting on the roof of the house, +glaring down on all those who ventured to look up +at him. The priest was sent for, and he exorcised the +ghost, and ordered him to remain, until the world's end, +at the bottom of a moss bog, and to keep him there +had a sharp stake driven through him; but, notwithstanding, +the ghost rises at night, but as he cannot, +from the exorcising of the priest, assume human form, + +<a name="pg85"></a> + +he flies about in the likeness of the bird we call the +night raven until cock crow." +</p><p> +"In English," said Hardy, "the night jar. It +was the practice in England to bury suicides with a +stake driven through their bodies at four cross-ways. +It is possible that this arose from a desire to prevent +the ghost of the dead person from troubling the +living, and being at a four cross-ways, that it should +not know which direction to take." +</p><p> +"It may be so," said Pastor Lindal; "but in discussing +these things we are apt, as in philology, to +assume our own comparisons to be correct. We have +also the traditions of spectral huntsmen, with the +accompaniment of horses and hounds with red-hot +glowing tongues; and, singularly enough, the tradition +often occurs that their quarry was the Elle-kvinder, +that is women of the elves, but who are described as +of the size of ordinary women. The spectral huntsmen +have often been seen with the Elle-kvinder +tied to their saddles by their hair." +</p><p> +"Your traditions of witches," said Hardy, "appear +to be similar to ours. You appear to have burnt and +thrown them into ponds to drown after the same cruel +custom as in England." +</p><p> +"True," replied the Pastor, "and the description +in Macbeth of witches answers to our traditions. On +St. John's night witches were supposed to fly to +Bloksberg, a mythical place in Norway, upon broomsticks +and in brewing tubs. There they met Gamle + +<a name="pg86"></a> + +Erik, the evil one, who entered their names in his +ledger, and instructed them in witchcraft, and, after +executing the witches' dance, they returned to their +respective homes in the same fashion. This tradition +is common to other countries, but in Jutland the +belief was that the favourite form a witch adopted +was that of a hare, which evaded the huntsmen, and +could not be shot except by a piece of silver, which +must have been inherited—a piece of silver purchased +or given had no effect. The witch was then found in +the person of some old woman with a wound, who was +forthwith dealt with in the cruel fashion then the rule. +The gypsies, or, as they are called with us, Tâtarfolk, +from their eastern origin, drove a good business by professing +to cure the effects of witchcraft; they generally +managed to cause the ill effect, however, before they +cured it. They would give a drug to a farmer's cow, +and call a few days after and offer to drive away the +witch that possessed the cow. They would take with +them a black furry doll tied to a string. A hole was +dug several feet deep in the cowhouse; suddenly the +black furry thing was at the bottom of the hole, just +sufficient for some of the people to see it when it +disappeared. That was the witch; the cow was, of +course, cured by an antidote." +</p><p> +"The gypsy is common enough in England," said +Hardy; "but they do less in telling fortunes or in +thieving farmyards then formerly was their custom. +They appear to do a good business in small wares, + +<a name="pg87"></a> + +as brushes and mats, which they take about in +vans." +</p><p> +"The gypsy," said the Pastor, "where superstition +exists, trade upon it, and in old times in Denmark +this brought them a rich harvest. They persuaded +the farmers' wives that they must have inherited silver, +or they could do nothing against evil influences, and +acquired thereby many an old-fashioned heirloom. +With us they have never pursued, as you suggest, a +steady trade." +</p><p> +"Have you not a tradition of a book called +Cyprianus?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"The idea of the book is from the Sibyll's books +of Roman history," replied Pastor Lindal. "The contents +of Cyprianus is very differently described. It is +related of it that it is a book of prophecy of material +events, that is not in a religious sense. Also, it is +described as containing formula for raising the devil, +or a number of small devils, who immediately demand +work to do, and whom it is fatal not to keep employed. +There are many stories based on this, chiefly +related of persons who accidentally find a Cyprianus +and read some of it, when the hobgoblins appear, and +the difficulty of the situation increases until some +person versed in the use of the book applies the +formula that sends the hobgoblins to their proper +places." +</p><p> +"The devil I have always heard in Norway as +taking the form of a black dog," said Hardy. +</p><p> +<a name="pg88"></a> +"It is the same in our traditions," said Pastor +Lindal. "An extraordinary belief was that a carriage +at certain times and places would not move, and that +the horses could not draw it. The remedy then was, +for those who knew how, to take off one hind wheel +of the carriage and put it in the carriage, when the +devil would have to act as hind wheel to the end of +the journey, much to his supposed discomfort. There +are many stories of this." +</p><p> +"Hans Christian Andersen's stories have made us +acquainted with Nissen, or the house goblin," said +Hardy. +</p><p> +"There is little more to tell you then," said the +Pastor, "except that Nissen's description is defined +by our traditions in Jutland to be a little fellow with +sharp cat-formed ears, and to have fingers only, and no +thumb. He is supposed to inhabit particular farm-houses +and their range of buildings, and, when there is +a scarcity of fodder, will steal from another farm; and +if there be another Nissen there, they will fight each +for the interests of the farm he frequents. He will +play tricks on the people working at the farms, particularly +so if every Thursday night his porridge is +neglected to be put in its accustomed place, generally +in the threshing barn." +</p><p> +"But have you no traditions of underground +people?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"The stories of underground people are more +abundant than any other class of tradition," replied + +<a name="pg89"></a> + +the Pastor. "We call them Underjordiske, which means +underground people; but by it is included Elle folk +or elves, Trolds or goblins, and Bjærg folk or hill +people. Their homes are chiefly placed by tradition +in the tumuli or barrows to which we have before +referred; and at times a tumulus is seen as standing +on four pillars, while the Underjordiske dance underneath +and drink ale and mead. At times it is related +that they come out of their dwellings in the barrows +with their red cows, or to air their money, or clean +their kitchen utensils. Through all these stories the +manner of life of the Underjordiske is the same as +that of the Danish Bønde or farmer. They are not, +however, always supposed to live in the barrows, as +several stories exist of the Bjærg folk coming to a +Bønde and asking him to shift his stable to another +place, as the dung from his cattle falls on his (the Bjærgmand's) +dining-table, and it is disagreeable. If the +Bønde obeys, he is promised prosperity, and everything +thrives on his farm. They can also, however, be +revengeful, and are dangerous generally. Their particular +aversion is church bells, and it is generally +attributed to their influence that there are so few +Underjordiske seen nowadays." +</p><p> +"Can you relate any stories of them?" asked +Hardy. +</p><p> +"Very many," replied the Pastor. "There are +several collections of these traditions, and although +each collection is generally the same in character, + +<a name="pg90"></a> + +yet the details and stories themselves widely differ. +But I will tell you two of the stories. A Trold lived +in a barrow between two church towers, about a mile +from each other. This Trold had a wife, who was +of Christian folk. It was necessary to get the services +of a midwife, and the Trold fetched the nearest, +and gave her for her services what appeared to be +two pieces of charcoal; but the Trold's wife told her +to take them home, but warned her that as soon as +she put one foot outside she should suddenly jump +aside, as the Trold would cast a glowing hot-iron rod +at her. She followed the advice and went home, +when the charcoal turned to silver money. The two +women, however, became friends, and the midwife often +spun flax for the Trold; but she was forbidden to wet +her fingers with Christian spittle, and they brought +her a little crock to hold water for her to wet her +fingers in. This continued for some time, when at +last the Trold wife came to the midwife and said, 'My +husband, the Trold, will stay here no longer. He says +he cannot bear the two ding-dong danging church +towers.' So they left, flying, it is said, through the air +on a long stick, with all their belongings." +</p><p> +"A story with some imagery," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"The next, however, is more so," said the Pastor. +"On a St. John's night, or, as we call it, Sankt. Hans. +Nat, the Bjærg folk and Elle folk had collected to +make merry. A man came riding by from Viborg, +and he could see the assembled Underjordiske enjoying + +<a name="pg91"></a> + +the feast. An Ellekone, or elf wife, went +round with a large silver tankard, and offered drink +to every one, and came at last to the horseman. He +pretended to drink, but threw the contents of the +tankard over his shoulder, put spurs to his horse, and +galloped off. But the Ellekone was after him, and +came nearer and nearer; her breasts were so long +that they fell on her knees and impeded her. She +therefore threw them, one after the other, over her +shoulders, and continued the chase with renewed +speed. Fortunately he was close to the river, and +dashed through it. The Ellekone caught the hind +shoe of his horse, and tore it off; but she could not +go over the water. The tankard was said to be the +largest ever seen in Denmark." +</p><p> +"The story is a common one to many countries, +but it scarcely exists with so much clear and distinct +imagery as in your recital, Herr Pastor," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"I think now we have had enough of traditions +for one evening," said the Pastor. +</p><p> +"What is your opinion of the effect of these +traditions on the minds of the people generally?" +asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"It is difficult to say," said the Pastor; "we can +but guess at their effect. As education and civilization +progress, they lose their superstitious influence +and interest and amuse. There is a wild picturesque +imagery that must appeal to the most educated mind. +They afford subjects to painters; but I have never seen + +<a name="pg92"></a> + +a picture yet based on these traditions that grasped +the graphic thought of the recital of the tradition. +In a religious sense they do no harm; they excite the +imagination of the people only to prepare their minds +for the simplicity of the Christian faith, at least they +assist to do so. When I visit my Sognebørn (literally, +parish children), I tell the children these traditions, +and when they grow older they like to hear anything +I have to say; it assists me in suggesting religious +thought when their minds are ripe for it." +</p><p> +Frøken Helga, who had all the evening knitted +and listened to her father, dropped her knitting and +went to him and caressed him. "Dear little father," +she said, "you are always good and thoughtful." +</p><p> +"I think so also," said Hardy. +</p> +<a name="pg93"></a> +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER X.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"But I am the most pleased with this little house of anything I ever +saw: it stands in a kind of peninsula too, with a delicate clear river +about it. I dare hardly go in, lest I should not like it so well within +as without, but by your leave I will try."<br>—<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +The next day John Hardy received a letter from +Prokuratør Steindal of Copenhagen. +</p><p> +"Your honoured instructions as to Rosendal I +have attended to. The price they will sell for I have +approximately arrived at, but I cannot advise you +to buy. The value of Rosendal is not so great as the +price asked, and it appears to me that you should +hesitate before making a purchase that will pay you +so little income. I feel it my duty to say that whatever +your instructions may be, that I cannot act on +them without a personal interview. If you wish, +therefore, to pursue the matter further, you should +come to Copenhagen and discuss it with me. I +cannot advise a client to make a purchase to his +prejudice; if I did so, I should not only acquire a bad +reputation, but it would not be right for me to do so. +I await, therefore, the honour of your reply." +</p><p> +<a name="pg94"></a> +John Hardy went to Copenhagen, and returned +in a few days to Vandstrup Præstegaard. +</p><p> +The next day the Pastor had received the <i>Jyllands +Post</i>, the local newspaper. When Hardy appeared +at the breakfast table, he said, "Rosendal is sold to +Prokuratør Steindal of Copenhagen, and it is extra-ordinary +that I have received a letter from him to say +that I and my family have leave to visit Rosendal +when we wish to do so, and that my two sons, Karl +and Axel, have leave to catch all the pike in Rosendal +lake. There is the usual notice of the sale in the +<i>Jyllands Post</i>, and from the letter from Steindal, it +must be true." +</p><p> +"I have no doubt of its truth," said Hardy. "I +would only suggest that we at once went to fish for +the pike at Rosendal lake; my servant can bring the +carriage, and I can ride my English horse, so that +Frøken Helga can enjoy another visit to Rosendal." +</p><p> +"But," said the Pastor, "the permission to fish +does not extend to you, Herr Hardy." +</p><p> +"That may be," said Hardy, "but that is no +reason why my advice should not be rendered as to +how to catch the pike." +</p><p> +Robert Garth brought the carriage and drove, and +Hardy rode his horse Buffalo. The weather was +pleasant, and the drive was enjoyable. +</p><p> +When they came to Rosendal, the respectful +demeanour of the bailiff towards Hardy struck the +Pastor. Hardy placed his forefinger across his lips. + +<a name="pg95"></a> + +The bailiff told Hardy that if they wished to have +lunch in the mansion they could do so, after a walk +in the beechwoods and by the lake and rosary. +</p><p> +"The boys are so intent on the pike fishing," said +Hardy, "that I will go with them. We shall try and +catch a pike, and send it up to the bailiff's wife to be +baked, and will then leave our lines and join you." +</p><p> +"But, Herr Hardy, you have no permission to fish; +it only extends to Karl and Axel," said the Pastor, +with some firmness. +</p><p> +"Then I think I must leave the boys to their own +devices," said Hardy; "but I fear no pike will appear +for our lunch." +</p><p> +"It is better so than we should trespass on a +stranger's kindness," said the Pastor. +</p><p> +So Hardy walked with the Pastor and his daughter +through the beechwoods and by the lake. +</p><p> +"I think now in the summer-time, with the beech +trees in full leaf, and the reeds by the lake, and the +grass in the meadows in full growth, that Rosendal is +nearly at its best," said Frøken Helga. +</p><p> +"It has its beauty always," said her father. "I +have seen it in spring, and in summer, and in +autumn, and in winter; it has a charm of its own. +It appeals to us with its idyllic nature." +</p><p> +"You are right, little father," said Helga; "it has +always its peculiar beauty. There is no place I love +so much." +</p><p> +Hardy, who had bought Rosendal, felt as if he + +<a name="pg96"></a> + +was deceiving the open and kindly natures of the +Pastor and his daughter, and he determined to keep +the secret no longer. He would but wait an opportunity +to clear the matter up. +</p><p> +When they returned to the mansion of Rosendal, +Garth and the bailiff's wife had prepared the refreshments +they had taken with them. Garth waited at +table. The bailiff's wife, however, appeared disquieted, +and the Pastor asked what was the matter. +</p><p> +"Only that the owner of Rosendal should sit at +the head of the table, instead of between two boys," +replied she. +</p><p> +"The owner of Rosendal!" exclaimed the Pastor. +</p><p> +"Yes. There he sits!" said the bailiff's wife, +pointing at Hardy. +</p><p> +"How do you know I am the owner of Rosendal?" +asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"Because the Prokuratør Steindal has written my +man to say so," said the bailiff's wife, "and we have +expected it all along." +</p><p> +"If that be the case, Herr Pastor, you might have +allowed me to catch a pike for lunch," said Hardy; +"for the boys did not." +</p><p> +"But have you bought Rosendal, Herr Hardy?" +asked Frøken Helga. +</p><p> +"I did so when in Copenhagen," said Hardy. "Is +there any reason why I should not?" +</p><p> +"But why have you not said a word to us?" asked +Pastor Lindal. +</p><p> +<a name="pg97"></a> +"Because it was so uncertain, and because I +wished, as a surprise to you, to say that any enjoyment +of Rosendal stands at your disposition and +your family's," replied Hardy. +</p><p> +They all looked at Hardy, but there was no doubt +of the sincerity of his meaning. +</p><p> +"And may we come here and catch the pike?" +asked Karl, with some anxiety. +</p><p> +"Yes, if you can, every fin of them," replied +Hardy; "and we will, if the Pastor will now allow +me, catch some this afternoon. I dare say Rasmussen's +widow would like as many as we can catch. We +will set a lot of lines and leave them, and roam about +the place and visit them later, and the chances are, +if there be pike, we shall catch a few." +</p><p> +They wandered through the grounds and over the +house and buildings with renewed interest. +</p><p> +"Do you understand the management of such a +property, Hardy?" inquired Pastor Lindal, who, +since the Rasmussen incident, rarely addressed him +otherwise than by his name simply. +</p><p> +"I understand farming and the management of +landed property in England," replied Hardy; "and +it does not appear to me so very difficult to manage +so small a place as Rosendal, with common sense and +the assistance of so good a class of people as are +already on the estate. I shall not, for instance, +begin to cut down the beech trees, or drain the +lake, although in an economical sense both would pay + +<a name="pg98"></a> + +to do. The lake could be drained to a good meadow; +draining at the same time the meadows adjoining, +while the beech trees could be sold, and the land they +occupy turned into tillage. The house is a poor +residence and out of repair, so are the farm-buildings; +but the place has its peculiar charm, which I +should not interrupt." +</p><p> +Pastor Lindal regarded the practical self-possessed +Englishman with surprise. +</p><p> +Hardy observed a look of displeasure in Helga's +face at the thought of so pretty a situation being +turned into a practical farm, so he said— +</p><p> +"I have not possession yet, and shall not have +until after I leave Denmark this summer, and I could +do nothing now; but my intention is to consult a +professional English landscape gardener, with the +view of increasing the attraction of Rosendal. He +would do nothing that would appear inconsistent with +the natural beauty of the place." +</p><p> +"But he will cut it up and make all sorts of +changes!" said Helga, in a disappointed tone. +</p><p> +"Yes," said Hardy; "and I see you think that +it would not be the same old Rosendal to you again; +but you have not seen how pretty the surroundings +of our English homes are made by these means, and +the exercise of judicious taste." +</p><p> +"But it would not be the same Rosendal to me," +said Helga, unconsciously uttering the very thought +Hardy had read in her handsome face. +</p><p> +<a name="pg99"></a> +"Possibly not," replied Hardy; "but your first +exclamation would be that you could not have believed +Rosendal could have been made so beautiful. +A natural gem must be polished to exhibit its full +beauty." +</p><p> +"That may be; but the thought of seeing Rosendal +changed, Hardy, is what strikes us," said the Pastor. +</p><p> +"Well, Herr Pastor, there is one thing I will do," +said Hardy, "and that is, before I do anything the +plans shall be submitted to your and Frøken Helga's +judgment." +</p><p> +"Which, I fear, we shall not understand," said the +Pastor. +</p><p> +"Yes, you will, because you will have the plan of +the estate, as it now exists, before you as well as the +plan of the proposed alterations; but, as far as I +myself can see, no striking change would be desirable, +or would be suggested." +</p><p> +"But why have you bought Rosendal, Herr +Hardy?" asked Helga, looking full at him. She had +all a woman's curiosity, and it was inexplicable to her +what motive Hardy could have had for his purchase. +</p><p> +"I will tell you when my mother comes here next +year," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"You have bought it for a residence for your +mother, then?" said Helga, inquiringly. +</p><p> +"I cannot say I have," replied Hardy. +</p><p> +They had come to the shores of the little lake, +where the two boys had been anxiously watching the + +<a name="pg100"></a> + +trimmers that Garth had assisted them in setting +round the reeds; but although they saw several fish +were on, Garth would not let them take the boat +to the lines until his master came. Hardy saw the +situation, and said— +</p><p> +"Don't wait, Bob; take the lads to the lines, and +let them pull them up." +</p><p> +Several pike were brought ashore, but none of any +size. It had been the habit of the former owner of +Rosendal to use nets, and take out the largest fish, +so as not to allow a few monsters to tyrannize over +the rest of the fish in the lake. The boys had seen +similar tackle to the English trimmers, but neither +so neat nor effective. +</p><p> +"We do not consider this method of fishing a +fair way in England," said Hardy; "it is adopted by +poachers, to steal fish from private ponds, and it is +not popular with anglers. The approved method is +to troll for pike." +</p><p> +"Very interesting to the fish, if they only knew it," +said the Pastor. "I fear when on the hooks they +would scarcely appreciate the distinction. For my +part, I do not like the mode of fishing you have just +practised, as a little fish is kept in misery until the +pike chops him with his teeth, or it dies on the hook." +</p><p> +"You are quite right to condemn it in that way," +said Hardy; and, turning to Karl and Axel, added, +"You hear what your father says; so when you wish +to fish here you must troll, as you saw me do at + +<a name="pg101"></a> + +Silkeborg; and as only one can troll in the boat at +one time, I will give you my trolling-rod and gear, +so that you can fish when you like." +</p><p> +"Thank you, so much, Herr Hardy," said the +boys at once. "You are always good, and think so +much about us." +</p><p> +"You are kind. Hardy," said the Pastor; while +Frøken Helga looked as if she did not understand +Hardy. +</p><p> +As they walked up to the mansion from the lake, +they went through the valley of roses, which has +before been described as giving the name to Rosendal. +</p><p> +"What do you say, Frøken Helga, to this place?" +asked Hardy. "Is there no room for improvement +here? There are a few ragged rose bushes widely +distributed, and in the whole valley of roses scarcely +a dozen roses in bloom at a time of the year when +there should be abundance." +</p><p> +"More roses might be planted, Herr Hardy," said +Helga; "but your view would be to plant a straight +row of standards, with a gravel walk down the +middle." +</p><p> +"You are like Kirstin, always imputing evil to +me," said Hardy. "Such a walk would destroy the +natural effect of the valley, and would be a sin +to do." +</p><p> +Helga started. She did not know that Hardy was +ignorant of Kirstin's conduct towards him. The + +<a name="pg102"></a> + +Pastor, with his delicate instinct, at once saw that +Hardy was ignorant of Kirstin's tale of shame, or he +would not have referred to it. +</p><p> +"Whatever Hardy does, Helga," said the Pastor, +"will be thoughtfully done." +</p><p> +"No doubt of it," said Helga; "he is a cool and +calculating Englishman." She was vexed at the +illusion to Kirstin. +</p><p> +When they came close to the mansion, Hardy +said, "Now, here the grounds do not require alteration, +provided they were always covered with snow, which, +however frequent, is not what we can fall back upon +in a summer residence, which Rosendal is. There is +the straight drive up to the door steps, a clump of +bushes each side of a bit of meadow grass, and that +is all; and there is a straight view from the house to +the lake, there is no break or change, nothing catches +the eye except the tethered cows. It is like the toy +houses made at Leipsic for children to play with. +Surely a change that introduces a thought of beauty +in the landscape would not be destructive to Rosendal, +Frøken Helga." +</p><p> +"You appear, Herr Hardy, to find fault with everything +Danish," said Helga, sharply; "our horses are +inferior, our houses are, and even our gardens are." +</p><p> +"But I never said you were," broke in Hardy, with +a laugh. +</p><p> +"No; but I see you think it," retorted Helga. +"You have heard me say that I like Rosendal as it is, + +<a name="pg103"></a> + +and you exhibit your English ideas to show how uncivilized +and wanting in taste I am." +</p><p> +"But are you not imputing evil," said Hardy, +"like Kirstin, the grossly suspicious?" +</p><p> +Helga blushed and said nothing, and Pastor +Lindal determined to tell Hardy what Kirstin had +imputed to him. +</p><p> +As Garth brought round the horses and a man led +out Buffalo, Karl was struck with a great wish to ride +the English horse. He asked Hardy hesitatingly. +Hardy told him to ask his father, who looked at +Hardy. +</p><p> +"The horse is likely to give him a fall," he said, +"and he might get an awkward fall; but boys should +learn to ride, and I have no objections if you have +not." +</p><p> +The Pastor assented, the stirrups were shortened, +and Karl mounted. +</p><p> +"Don't pull at his mouth," said Hardy; "he does +not like a stranger interfering with his mouth." +</p><p> +"And might I jump him over a ditch on the way +home?" begged Karl. +</p><p> +"You may; but I think you had better leave that +alone," said Hardy. +</p><p> +Garth drove, and Hardy chatted with the Pastor, +but kept his eye fixed on Karl. Buffalo went along +at a smooth trot after the carriage—so far, so well; +but when they came to the meadow running down to +the Gudenaa, Karl rode into the meadow and galloped + +<a name="pg104"></a> + +at a water ditch in the same manner as he had often +seen Hardy do. Buffalo stretched out and took the +ditch like a bird, making a longer jump than was at +all necessary. There was a loud splash and a scream +from Frøken Helga, and Buffalo, with an empty +saddle, was galloping away. +</p><p> +Hardy took the reins from Garth, as he said +coolly, "Pick the lad out of the ditch, and catch the +horse. There is nothing to fear, Herr Pastor." +</p><p> +Garth called the horse, which stopped. He then +assisted Karl out of the ditch, who was covered with +peaty slime, wiped the mud from his face and mouth, +and pointed to the carriage. Garth then crossed +the ditch on a plank bridge and caught Buffalo, and +rode him over the ditch, coming to the side of the +carriage. Karl looked foolish. +</p><p> +"There, is nothing to be ashamed of, Karl," said +Hardy. "I had many a fall before I learnt how to +stick on. It is what we all have to go through. Come +up by the side of me, little man; you would make +your father and sister in a mess." +</p><p> +The Pastor and his daughter were, for the moment, +much frightened by the incident; but Hardy's manner +of treating it as a matter of course reassured them. +</p><p> +"There was no cause for alarm, Herr Pastor," +said Hardy. "Karl can, if he will, assure you that the +mud at the bottom of the ditch was as soft as eider +down. Garth, ride on; I will drive up to the parsonage, +and thence to the stables." +</p><p> +<a name="pg105"></a> +"Thank you for a pleasant day, Hardy," said the +Pastor, as he went into his house. +</p><p> +"Stop, Herr Pastor! here are the pike that were +caught in the lake. Take what you like, and I will +send the rest to Widow Rasmussen." +</p><p> +The pike cooked that day for dinner was, Hardy +thought, a fish with as strong a flavour of mud as any +fish could possibly possess. The horse-radish sauce, +and the sage and bread with which it was stuffed, +availed nothing, and Hardy formed a resolution with +regard to the lake that afterwards had the result of its +being stocked with trout instead of pike. +</p> +<a name="pg106"></a> + +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER XI.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"<i>Piscator</i>.—I love such mirth as does not make friends ashamed to +look upon one another the next morning."—<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +When the tobacco parliament began the evening +after the excursion to Rosendal, Pastor Lindal said, +"I have told Herr Hardy the nature of Kirstin's imputations +against him, and what he said to-day to +you, Helga, was in ignorance of that. I am quite +sure that he would never have referred to Kirstin in +the way he did had he known everything. His only +thought was that Kirstin was generally suspicious +and that was all. He had no idea that when you +criticized his treatment of Rosendal that he was comparing +your conduct with what was bad." +</p><p> +Helga looked puzzled; but after a while she rose +up from her seat, and extended her hand to Hardy. +"I hope you will forgive me, Herr Hardy, if I have +not understood you." +</p><p> +"Thank you," said Hardy. "I had hoped that +my character was so simple that it left nothing to the +imagination or to construction. It appears to me to + +<a name="pg107"></a> + +be a work of time to acquire the approving confidence +of any one in Jutland." +</p><p> +"I begin to think you are true," said Helga. +"You have said no single word which has not been +borne out; but your opinions differ from ours, and +that widely." +</p><p> +"There is, of course," said Hardy, "the difference +of nationality, but in the wide world what is best is +best, and if anything I do or say differs from your +national feeling, yet if it be right and best it is +best." +</p><p> +"Good, very good," said the Pastor. "We are all +in the hands of a Higher Power, and we have to obey +it. It is not for us to criticize and doubt, but to +obey." +</p><p> +"But it is not a question of religion," said Helga, +"if we Danes differ in opinion from the English or if +our customs are different." +</p><p> +"Just so," said the Pastor; "but God is over all. +Nation may call to nation and generation to generation; +but, as Herr Hardy suggests, nationalities may +differ, but what is best in thought and deed will come +to the front." +</p><p> +"But why should he despise us?" asked Helga. +</p><p> +"Herr Hardy despises nothing," replied her father. +"He sees and appreciates what is good in us, and +sympathizes with the stability of the Danish character, +but he naturally values the broader thought in everyday +life of the English people." +</p><p> +<a name="pg108"></a> +"That is because he is an Englishman," retorted +Helga. +</p><p> +"You forget, Helga, that Herr Hardy is present," +said her father, "and what you have said would pain +him. If he be an Englishman he cannot help it, and +if he should be English in thought and character it is +not what you should condemn. He is only true to +himself. Since he has been with us, what has his +conduct been?" +</p><p> +Helga knitted in silence; she felt the justice of +her father's reproof and her injustice to Hardy. +</p><p> +Hardy, to change the conversation, said to Karl, +"Well, Karl, you have not told us how soft you +found the ditch that you went to the bottom of." +</p><p> +"I do not know how I fell off," said Karl. "I was +suddenly under water in the ditch." +</p><p> +"You fell off as Buffalo was about to jump. He +checked his stride before he jumped, and then you +tumbled off," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"What should I have done?" asked Karl. +</p><p> +"Stuck on," replied Hardy. "You have to learn +the motion of the horse when jumping, which only +practise gives." +</p><p> +"It was like the Damhest," said the Pastor, +"which is a legendary horse that comes out of mill-dams, +ponds, or lakes, at night, and entices people to +ride it, when it jumps into the water. The best story +of it is from Thisted, a little to the north-west of this. +Three tipsy Bønder (farmers) were going home, when + +<a name="pg109"></a> + +one of them wished for a horse, that they might ride +home, when, lo! there appeared a long-backed black +horse, on whose back they all clambered, and there +appeared room for many more. As the last man got +up he exclaimed— +</p><p> +'Herre, Jesu Kors<br> +Aldrig saae jeg saadan Hors.' +</p><p> +'By the Lord Jesu's cross,<br> +Never saw I such a horse.' +</p><p> +Instantly at that holy name the horse disappeared +from under them, and the three Bønder were lying on +the ground. The Danish word for horse is 'hest,' +but the Jutland people use the word 'hors,' in their +dialect." +</p><p> +"There is a similar legend in the Shetland Islands; +but, then, it is a little horse that jumps into the sea, +with the unfortunate person it has enticed to mount +it," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"There is also a similar legend in France," said +the Pastor. "The horse is called 'Le Lutin.' We have +another legendary horse, that is said to abide in +churchyards, and has three legs. The legend has +arisen from the practice in old times of burying a +living horse at the funeral of a man of distinction. +This horse's ghost is called the 'Helhest.' If any one +meets it, it is a sign to him of an early death. It +is a tradition of the cathedral at Aarhus, that such +a horse is occasionally seen there. A man whose +window looked out to the cathedral exclaimed one + +<a name="pg110"></a> + +day to a neighbour, 'What horse is that?' There +is none,' said his neighbour. 'Then it must be the +Helhest,' said the other, who shortly after died. It +is said that in the cathedral at Roeskilde, there is +a narrow stone on which, in old times, people used +to spit, because a Helhest was buried there. The +word 'hel' is from 'hæl,' a heel, because the horse +lacked one hoof or heel. The legend appears to have +existed in the Roman times, as they called it Unipes, +or the one-footed." +</p><p> +"The pronunciation of 'hel' in Danish is as if it +were spelt in English as 'hæl'" said Hardy. "I +certainly never heard that legend before." +</p><p> +"There are other legends of animals," said Pastor +Lindal. "There is the Kirkelam, or the church +lamb. This arose from the practice, when a church +was founded, to bury under the altar a living lamb, +to prevent, it was said, the church from sinking. This +lamb's ghost was called the Kirkelam, and, if at any +time a child was about to die, the church lamb was +supposed to appear at the threshold of the door. In +Carlslunde church tower there is a bas-relief of a lamb, +to show that a living lamb was buried there when +the church was built. It is related that a woman +was sent for to nurse another woman who was very +ill; as she went through the churchyard, she was +aware of something like a dog or a cat rubbing itself +against her clothes. She stooped down to look at +it, in the half light of the evening, when, lo! it was + +<a name="pg111"></a> + +the church lamb. The sick woman died at the very +same instant, so runs the legend." +</p><p> +"The legend of the Kirkelam," said Hardy, "is +distinctive, insomuch as it appears symbolical, and +not based, as most legends are, on the fancies and wild +imaginations of the people." +</p><p> +"In the olden times of Christianity," said Pastor +Lindal, "it was found necessary to employ symbols, +and to take measures to occupy the attention of an +ignorant people, and it is possible that thus the +practice arose to be followed by the legend." +</p><p> +"It was a heathen practice to bury living creatures," +continued the Pastor, "to avert the plague, +when sometimes they buried children, or for other +fantastic reasons. Thus, there is the legend of the +Gravso, meaning the buried sow. The reason for its +having been buried alive is lost. The sow is supposed +to appear in the streets of towns, and when it appears +is an omen of bad luck or death. Sometimes it is +said that it runs between people's legs, and takes them +on its back, and leaves them in strange places." +</p><p> +"You said just now that children were buried to +avert or stay the plague, when it visited Denmark," +said Hardy; "does there exist any authentic record +of such, or does it rest entirely on tradition?" +</p><p> +"I fear we must admit it to have occurred," replied +Pastor Lindal. "The records of it are too many and +consistent to doubt the truth of the practice. There +is a tradition of a place in Jutland where all the + +<a name="pg112"></a> + +inhabitants died of the plague, and the inhabitants +of an adjoining town averted the spread of the pestilence +by buying a child of a gypsy, and burying it +alive, which tradition says had the desired result. +There is also a tradition that on the east side of a +certain church in Jutland no one is buried, because +a child was buried there to stay the plague. At +another place, two children were purchased of very +poor parents, and were buried alive in a sandhill, to +stay the pestilence then raging in the district. The +people gave them some bread and butter, to induce +them to go into the living grave prepared for them; +and when the first spadeful of sand was thrown into +the hole, one of the children cried out, 'Mother, they +are throwing sand on my bread and butter!' Comparing +this with the treatment of witches, or women +suspected of witchcraft, at the same epoch, it is not at +all impossible that such senseless and cruel customs +prevailed. The stories of robbers that may be well +attributed to the same period have all a cruel tinge." +</p><p> +"Can you tell us any?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"A very great many. One story has been adopted +and embellished, and has appeared in many lands, +and it is possible that you may have heard it, so wide +has the same story spread. The story is that a rich +man had an only daughter, and amongst many suitors +was a young stranger of singularly bold manners, and +she accepted him with her father's full consent. But, +as it happened, she went out for a walk in a wood + +<a name="pg113"></a> + +near, and she came to a cave. She was astonished +to find that this cave was inhabited and divided into +rooms. There were chairs and a table and kitchen +utensils in the first room, in the second room there +was much old silver plate and costly articles, but in +the inner room of all there were portions of dead +bodies. She was terrified, and would have fled from +these horrors, but she heard steps at the entrance of +the cave, and the robbers entered. She hid herself +under a bed, and, to her horror, she saw the man she +had promised to marry bring in a woman, whom he +brutally murdered; and as he could not get a gold +ring off that was on her finger, he chopped it off with +an axe, with such violence that it rolled underneath +the bed where she was. The robber could not find +it, and gave up the search. At night, the robbers all +departed on a plundering expedition, when she +hastened home. She said, however, nothing of what +had happened. The wedding-day was fixed, and the +wedding guests assembled; but when the festivities +were at the highest, she produced the finger of the +dead woman, with the ring on it! The bridegroom +turned pale, and, after being put to the torture, confessed +many murders, and was, with his band, executed +with the cruelty then practised; that is, their +entrails were cut out by the executioner, the bodies +severed into pieces, and hung up to rot on a gallows." +</p><p> +"The whole story is a very cruel picture," said +Hardy. +</p><p> +<a name="pg114"></a> +"So the stories of robbers all are," said the Pastor. +"There is a story of a robber called Langekniv, or +'long knife.' His practice was to kill people by +casting a heavy knife at them, with a string attached +to it, so that he could possess himself of the knife +again with celerity. He committed many murders. +But one day a pedlar was going across a lonely heath, +when he saw Langekniv coming. The pedlar fell +down at first with fright, but afterwards pretended +to be nearly dead from illness; and when Langekniv +came up, he said, 'Take my pack and my money, +and fetch a doctor; I am dying.' Langekniv thought +that with a man who could be so easily robbed, it +was not necessary to do more than he was asked; +but as soon as he turned to go away, the pedlar +struck him with his staff a blow on the ankle, that +disabled him from running. He then ran for assistance, +and Langekniv, after making it very hot for his +captors by casting his long knife, was seized, and +bound, and put in a cart, and was executed. When +his entrails was being cut out by the executioner, he +was asked if it hurt, and Langekniv replied that it +was not so bad as the toothache. +</p><p> +"There is one robber story, however, that illustrates +the extraordinary manner in which a clue to +a murder can sometimes be acquired. A pedlar was +passing in a lonely hollow of a road on a heath in +Jutland, when two robbers attacked him, and killed +him under circumstances of great cruelty. A flock + +<a name="pg115"></a> + +of wild geese was flying over head, and the pedlar +said the birds of the air shall witness against you of +my murder. Years went by, when, one day, the +people were waiting in the churchyard for the priest +to come to service. A flock of geese was flying +overhead, when a horse-dealer from Holstein, a +stranger to the place, said, 'There goes the pedlar's +witnesses.' These words excited attention. The +man lost all control over himself, and confessed the +murder." +</p><p> +"A very extraordinary story," said Hardy, "but +a very possible one. But have you not traditions of +very supernatural things, as the story of the Kraken?" +</p><p> +"There is the tradition of the Basilisk, as we call +it, and that of the Lindorm. The legend of the Basilisk +is, of course, of classic origin. It is that when a +cock becomes very old, it lays an egg, and the heat of +a dungheap hatches it, and a Basilisk is produced. It +is so hideous a monster, that whoever looks on it can +no longer live, but melts away. It is also said that the +Basilisk inhabits wells, and that it is dangerous to look +down a well, as to encounter the gaze of a Basilisk +would be to turn the beholder to stone. There is +also another variation of the legend. The egg when +laid by the cock must be hatched by a toad; but +when the Basilisk is hatched, if it be first seen by a +human being, it at once dies, but if the contrary, the +beholder dies." +</p><p> +"There is a novel written by Sir Walter Scott," + +<a name="pg116"></a> + +said Hardy, "under the title of 'Count Robert of +Paris' in which he describes the Varanger guard. It +is possible that as such a body of men did exist, that +such legends were brought back by them." +</p><p> +"It may be," said Pastor Lindal; "but in all such +matters we may dogmatize, and be very wide of the +mark, although we cannot deny the possibility." +</p><p> +"But what about the Lindorm?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"The Lindorm is a legendary serpent," replied the +Pastor. "Your English story of St. George and the +dragon is a contest with a Lindorm, and we have +many variations of the story. The principal incidents, +however, coincide with your English story. One story +of a Lindorm is, that a girl went out to milk her +master's cows, and as she went over the fields she saw +a little spotted snake. It appeared so pretty that she +took it home and kept it in a box. Every day she fed +it with milk and what else she could get that it would +eat, but it became at last so large that it could not +be kept in the box any longer. It ran after the +girl wherever she went, and drank out of the milk-pails, +as she milked the cows. This the house mother +(the farmer's wife) objected to, and she said the snake +should be killed to prevent further mischief; but the +snake was not killed, and further mischief did occur. +It became so big that it was not satisfied with what +was given it, but seized the cattle, one after another, +and ate them. It soon became the terror of the +district. A wise woman, however, advised that a bull + +<a name="pg117"></a> + +calf should be reared with fresh milk and wheat +bread, to destroy the Lindorm. Meanwhile it had +attained such a size, that every day a cow had to be +given it, or an old horse, to prevent its taking the +more valuable cattle. When, however, the bull calf +was three years old, it was strong enough to combat +the Lindorm, and killed it; but when the combat took +place, the snake struck a large stone with its tail, and +cut thereby a furrow in it, and the stone is shown to +this day as a proof of the legend." +</p><p> +"A very interesting legend," said Hardy. "Are +there more?" +</p><p> +"There is a remarkable one," replied Pastor +Lindal, "as one of the legends of the old cathedral +at Aarhus. Many years ago, it was observed that +the bodies buried in the churchyard, then belonging to +the cathedral, were taken away, no one knew how. At +last, it was observed that a Lindorm had its habitation +under the cathedral, and came out every night, and +devoured the corpses. As it was feared that not only +this would continue, but also that the foundations of +the cathedral might be undermined by the excavations +made by the Lindorm, it was determined to seek +means to destroy it. At this time a glazier came to +Aarhus, and when he heard the danger in which the +cathedral was placed, he promised to help the town +councillors to get rid of the Lindorm. He made a box +of looking-glass so large that he could himself go into +it, and to which there was only one opening, and which + +<a name="pg118"></a> + +was not larger than that he could use his sword with +effect. He had this box taken into the cathedral by +daylight, and when midnight came he lighted four wax +candles, which he placed in the four corners of the box. +When the Lindorm came up the aisle of the cathedral +and saw its reflection in the looking-glass, it thought +that it was another Lindorm, with whom it could pair, +and was so occupied in its contemplation that the +glazier had the opportunity of cutting its throat with +his sword, and it died of the wound thus given. The +poisonous nature of the blood that flowed from the +Lindorm, however, caused the glazier's death." +</p><p> +"That is certainly a striking legend," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"There is also a legend of a Lindorm that encircled +a church and devoured the people as they +came out, as it appeared only after their being in +it. It had its head at one entrance and its tail +at the other, and destroyed the people with both. +The people then made a hole in the church wall, +through which they escaped. Another legend is that +a Lindorm bathes once a year in a lake, which after +has a green film on it. This, however, you may have +observed in the lakes at Silkeborg this summer, arising +from the quantity of weed growth during the hotter +weather." +</p><p> +"I have observed what you mention," said Hardy, +"and I should expect it is not the first time that an +ordinary natural occurrence has been attributed to +supernatural causes." +</p><p> +<a name="pg119"></a> +"That applies," said the Pastor, "also to what you +call in England will-o-the-wisp. We call this in +Danish, Lygtemænd, or men with lanterns. The +tradition is that they are spirits of wicked people, +particularly of men who have measured land falsely, +and so acquired an advantage over their neighbours. +They are supposed to desire to mislead the traveller, +and entice him into bogs and swamps. It is said that +the best means to prevent being thus deceived is to +turn one's hat, so that the back part should come to +the front; care, however, must be taken not to point at +a Lygtemænd, as he is then dangerous. Such is the +tradition." +</p><p> +"Your legends, this evening, have been more than +usually interesting, Herr Pastor," said Hardy. "It +would appear as if, with such a mass of legendary +lore, you would have men growing up and becoming +authors of the richest fancy." +</p><p> +"Hans Christian Andersen is an instance," said +the Pastor, "so is Ingemann, and, of late, Carl +Andersen, the curator of Rosenborg palace. There +are others also. It is no doubt that the human fancy, +when led into extraordinary lines of thought, is influenced +to produce them." +</p> + +<a name="pg120"></a> + +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER XII.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"Who hunts, doth oft in danger ride;<br> +Who hawks, lures oft both far and wide;<br> +Who uses games, shall often prove<br> +A loser; but he who falls in love<br> +Is fettered in fond Cupid's snare.<br> +My Angle breeds me no such care."<br> +<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +An idea had occurred to Godseier Jensen which had +filled the mind of the worthy proprietor and horse +breeder. He had discussed the idea with his +neighbours in all its branches, and had appealed to +his paternal Government to assist him. The idea was +a horse race, after the English model. Tentative +advertisements appeared in the Danish and Swedish +papers, and the replies in the support of the idea came +in from all sides. A few Swedish noblemen owned +race-horses, and they gave in their adhesion and +support. The local horse-breeders and dealers were +eager in its support, and the Government expressed +their intention of assisting, in the hope that it might +encourage the breeding of better class horses. +</p><p> +John Hardy was early consulted in the movement, + +<a name="pg121"></a> + +and heard a great deal of good advice and well-intentioned +talk on the subject of horses and horse +racing in particular. A prominent feature in the idea +was naturally where the races should be held, and on +this point John Hardy, at one time, thought the whole +affair would fall through. +</p><p> +A field was, however, found that gave a course +round it of one and a quarter English miles, the soil +was light, and the field did not make the best racing +ground; but there was no better to be secured for the +purpose, and the consequence was it was determined +on. A grand stand was erected, and the course +staked out, the day fixed, and the entries for the +races were anxiously waited for by Herr Jensen, who +acted as honorary secretary. They at last were able +to arrange several flat races, a hurdle race—the hurdles +rather low—a trotting match, a steeple-chase, and a +consolation race. The steeple-chase course was down +a sharpish incline, with a water jump at the bottom, +and some fences specially erected, and about the +middle of the course a stone wall of loose stones. +This course was well in view of the grand stand, as +well as from the middle of the flat-race course. +</p><p> +John Hardy was implored by proprietor Jensen +to enter Buffalo for the steeple-chase, but he declined, +on the ground that he preferred to look on, and did +not like risking so favourite a horse in a steeple-chase +race. Herr Jensen was in despair; he himself and all +his friends and acquaintances felt more interest in the + +<a name="pg122"></a> + +steeple-chase than all the rest put together. The +only entries for the race were some horses belonging +to a cavalry regiment, but of these there were only +four. The pressure that was brought to bear on +Hardy was so great, that he saw he should give +serious offence if he did not let Buffalo be entered for +the steeple-chase. He, however, explained to proprietor +Jensen that his servant, Robert Garth, would +ride, but that his orders would be to ride carefully, +avoid the other horses, and not press Buffalo. Now +a fresh difficulty arose. The cavalry horses were +entered by the subalterns of the regiment, who would +ride the horses themselves, and the Englishman was +going to send his servant to ride against them. There +was the insular pride and bad taste of the English +exemplified, and, in the end, John Hardy had to ride +his own horse, very much against his will. +</p><p> +The auspicious day dawned, and crowds attended, +bearing positive testimony to the popularity of Herr +Jensen's idea. +</p><p> +The Pastor declined to go; he said he thought it +was no place for him. "It is a day of amusement +where a black coat and the notion of a sermon appears +out of place." +</p><p> +The Jensens insisted on taking Frøken Helga and +her two brothers, who, since they had heard that +Hardy was to ride, were intensely excited. +</p><p> +"I have prayed that you will win, Herr Hardy," +said Axel, who was always a quiet lad in manner, and + +<a name="pg123"></a> + +had become more so since his acquaintance with +Hardy. +</p><p> +"I am going to take care of my good horse, Axel," +said Hardy. "I do not intend to risk his being injured +by throwing him down or letting the other horses +get too near, and, besides, I should not like to win." +</p><p> +"And why not?" said Helga. "I cannot understand +a man riding in a race and not doing his best +to win it." +</p><p> +"Your sympathies are with the cavalry officers, +and I should please you best by not winning," said +Hardy. +</p><p> +"There is your professed superiority again," retorted +Helga; "you say you are going to let the +others win, suggesting that you could win the race if +you chose to do so. I do not believe you can, and +think you are afraid to ride hard. You speak of +taking care of your horse, which means yourself." +</p><p> +John Hardy looked her full in the face, with a +stern expression he sometimes had. What she had +said would have galled any man, and Hardy felt it +keenly. +</p><p> +The races began, and were well ridden, and ridden +to win. There was no betting that John Hardy +heard of. He and his servant Garth were asked, on +the horses being trotted out, as to the probable +winners, which they were able to indicate from their +knowledge of what is and is not racing condition in a +horse, and they were generally correct. +</p><p> +<a name="pg124"></a> +The trotting match was a failure; there were +several entries, but only one horse trotted both heats +round the course, the others had not been trained +properly or sufficiently. The hurdle race yielded +much amusement; many horses had entered for that +race, and several refused to jump at all, and there +were many falls, to the delight of the populace, and +only three horses went through the race, which was +won by a neck, the three coming well in together. +</p><p> +When the steeple-chase race was prepared for, +Garth brought up Buffalo, looking, as he always did, +a grand horse, and amongst the more horsey of the +Danes there was much praise of him. John Hardy +mounted; he had taken off his coat, waistcoat, and +braces, and Garth had tied a blue silk handkerchief +on his head. There was a quiet look of efficiency +about John Hardy that was a contrast to the heavy +mustachios cultivated by the cavalry officers and +their rather weedy steeds. There was trouble in +getting a start from the restiveness of one of the +cavalry horses and the difficulty his rider experienced +in managing it, but once away they swept down the +slope, Buffalo two horse lengths behind. The water +jump reached, the cavalry horses rushed into it, and +Hardy had a difficulty in steering clear of the floundering +men and horses and letting Buffalo fly the water +jump. The water jump had been specially prepared, +and was very shallow, and Danish horses appeared to +have considered it was best to gallop through it. As + +<a name="pg125"></a> + +it was the rule of the race that the jump must be +taken, they were, by that rule, out of the race. They, +however, kept on and rode well, taking the fences +and wall, with Buffalo going wide of them in the +rear. When they came to the rising ground again, +corresponding to the slope they had ridden down, the +Danish horses began to show signs of being ridden +out of hand, and Buffalo passed easily in a canter, +taking his fences as quietly as if at exercise, and +came in an easy winner. The course had been about +four to five English miles, a little too long, thought +Hardy, for the Danish horses. Proprietor Jensen +came forward to congratulate Hardy, and to thank +him for enabling the race to be made interesting to +them all. +</p><p> +The prize was a silver cup, but Hardy declined to +accept it, to the astonishment of stout proprietor Jensen +and his friends. +</p><p> +"What in the name of the devil's skin and bones +does the man mean?" said Herr Jensen, with some +heat. "Why, you have won it, and rode so well that +it has been a pleasure to us all to see you." +</p><p> +"The race has not been a fair one," said Hardy; +"my horse has been specially trained for this sort of +work, the horses I rode against have not, I therefore +wish the cup given to the second horse." +</p><p> +The Danish officers pressed Hardy to take the cup, +but Hardy was firm. They spoke to him in that +manly way habitual with Danish gentlemen, and + +<a name="pg126"></a> + +Hardy liked them. They went up to Buffalo, which +Robert Garth was leading up and down to cool; +and Hardy induced one of the officers to try Buffalo +at one of the small fences erected for the hurdle race; +and when he came back, the Danish cavalry officer +said, "Why, you could have ridden away from us from +the first!" +</p><p> +"No doubt," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"And you did not, because you did not wish to let +the race appear a hollow one," said the officer, "and +it would disappoint so many." +</p><p> +"I only entered my horse for the race," said Hardy, +"under great pressure, not until I saw I should give +offence to Godseier Jensen and many others who have +been kind to me. They wanted to see my horse race. +I intended to have let my servant ride, but when I +heard I should have to ride against Danish gentlemen, +I rode myself." +</p><p> +"What a charger he would make!" said one of +the cavalry officers. +</p><p> +"He is too light in bone," said Hardy. "I am an +officer in the yeomanry cavalry of my country, and +use a bigger framed horse as a charger." +</p><p> +"We will take the cup because it is your wish, +Herr Hardy," said the officer, "but you must come and +dine with some of us to-morrow, and bring your horse, +and let the other men of our regiment see it. We are +much obliged to you. You have taught us what we +have heard of, and that is a hunting-seat. Cavalry + +<a name="pg127"></a> + +men cannot go well across country, riding, as we do, +with a cavalry seat. We dine at three. Ask for +Baron Jarlsberg." +</p><p> +Hardy accepted, and went up to the grand stand +where Fru Jensen and her daughters were and Frøken +Helga Lindal. He had changed his clothes for a +black morning coat and tweed trousers. The last +race was being ran. +</p><p> +"Herr Jensen has sent me to see you to your +carriage, Fru Jensen," said Hardy; "he is much occupied +with his duties of honorary secretary, and settling +the usual disputes that arise." +</p><p> +"And was that you with a blue handkerchief +round your head and nothing on but a flannel shirt?" +asked Fru Jensen. +</p><p> +"Yes," said Hardy; "but I had other garments on +than a flannel shirt." +</p><p> +"Of course," said Fru Jensen, "of course; but if I +were your mother, I should be afraid of your catching +cold." +</p><p> +"But when, Fru Jensen, we ride a race, we have to +be dressed for it, and the less clothes we have the +better." +</p><p> +"And you have won the race, I hear," said Fru +Jensen; "but I did not know who won, and I see it +is a silver cup. It will be something to take back to +England. Your father, Helga, will be glad to hear +Herr Hardy is to have a silver cup." +</p><p> +Helga had perception enough to see that she had + +<a name="pg128"></a> + +wounded Hardy in the early part of the day and that +he had not forgotten it. He said nothing to her, but +gave Fru Jensen his arm, and conducted them to the +Jensen's carriage, a heavy four-wheeled conveyance, +arranged to carry eight, by seats placed one after the +other in a sort of four-wheeled dogcart with a long +body. +</p><p> +It had been a great desire of proprietor Jensen +to have a dinner of a public character after the races, +but this it was found not practicable to carry out +within anything like a reasonable hour, according to +Danish notions, and the consequence was Herr Jensen +had to content himself with asking as many of his +own friends and his friends' friends as he could to his +own Herregaard. He was in the best possible humour. +The races had gone off without a hitch, and every one +had congratulated him. He had been told he had +made a great hit with his Englishman, as the officers +of the Danish cavalry regiment were delighted with +him. It was, however, positively necessary that the +worthy proprietor should return home to receive his +friends. +</p><p> +"Where is the Englishman?" he inquired, as he +came to the carriage. +</p><p> +"Here," said Hardy. "The ladies are waiting for +you, and the carriage is ready to start." +</p><p> +John Hardy was going to sit by the side of one of +Herr Jensen's daughters, but he would not have it. +The proprietor must talk over the races with Hardy, + +<a name="pg129"></a> + +and he did, so volubly that Hardy could scarcely +understand him. "I never saw anything so smart as +the way you took those fences after passing the other +horses! It was grand to see your horse going easily +over about a foot above them; and the way you came +in past the judges was splendid. I must say I did +not like your refusal to take the prize; it was only a +cup that cost us about £5 of your money, but it was +the prize for all that, and was well won. If it was +the smallness of its value," said the worthy proprietor, +carried away by his enthusiasm, "I would give you a +dozen such. They lost the race at once by not taking +the water jump and galloping their horses through it +without jumping it. I saw you were in a difficulty, +but the way you held your horse and took the water +jump was good. I did like the way also in which +you spoke to the cavalry officers and letting one of +them ride your horse over one of the hurdle jumps, +and so let him see that they had been nowhere, and +that you could have beaten them at any point of the +race. After all, I think you were right to give up the +cup with such a superior horse, but very few men +would have done it, but the way you did it is what +has made such a good impression. Come and stay +with me as long as you like! There is a little river +through my property with trout in it, you may catch +them all if you like." +</p><p> +"Thank you, Herr Jensen," said Hardy, "but I +return to England shortly. I will, however, come over, + +<a name="pg130"></a> + +with your permission, and fish your river, which is a +little tributary to the Gudenaa, and I hear has some +good trout in it. We have not liked to ask your leave, +because you might have other friends for whom you +would wish to reserve the fishing." +</p><p> +"If I had," said the proprietor, "I would give it +you; nothing would give me greater pleasure than to +return your kindness to me. You gave up your own +wishes about the racing only to oblige me; you did +not wish to ride or risk your horse, but you did it to +oblige me." +</p><p> +"Thank you very much," said Hardy. "May +I take Pastor Lindal's two sons, Karl and Axel, +with me to fish? They will not depopulate the +stream." +</p><p> +"You may take anybody," said Herr Jensen, +warmly. +</p><p> +Frøken Helga heard this conversation, and it +showed her how differently Hardy had acted from +what she had suggested to him in the morning before +the races. Herr Jensen's unqualified praise had let +her see how good Hardy had been, and how considerate +for others, and she had accused him of being +a coward and only caring for himself. +</p><p> +When they came to proprietor Jensen's Herregaard, +Hardy jumped out of the carriage, and assisted +Fru Jensen and her daughters out, but to Frøken +Helga Lindal he only extended his arm, so that she +might rest her hand on it on her descending from the + +<a name="pg131"></a> + +carriage. She would have spoken, but Hardy was +gone. +</p><p> +The dinner at proprietor Jensen's was a very lively +affair. Early in the dinner he proposed the Englishman's +health, and Hardy responded briefly; and then +came many other toasts, and the ultimate conclusion +was there was nothing like horse-racing, and as the +evening wore on, so did the fogginess of the subject. +Hardy had sent Garth to his stables with Buffalo after +the race, and told him to fetch them at Herr Jensen's +Herregaard at an early hour with the carriage, and +Hardy drove himself, talking to Garth, who sat beside +him. Karl and Axel had preferred to stay to see the +last festivities of the races and to walk home, consequently +Frøken Helga sat by herself in the carriage, +and Hardy, after seeing her safely in and well cared +for, did not address a word to her. They drove to +the parsonage, and Hardy drove to the stables with +Garth, to see Buffalo after his extra work that day, +and Hardy walked back. +</p><p> +The Pastor was smoking his pipe, listening to the +events of the day as described by Karl and Axel. +"You won your race. Hardy," said Pastor Lindal; +"and the boys say easily." +</p><p> +"Yes, I won the race I rode," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"And, father, he would not take the cup, that is +the prize he won; he said his horse was a better horse, +and gave it to the man who came in second, and a +long way behind he was," said Karl. +</p><p> +<a name="pg132"></a> +Frøken Helga knitted, but did not look up. +</p><p> +"And did you not see the race, Helga?" +</p><p> +"Yes, father," said Helga; "and I saw Herr Hardy +win it." +</p><p> +"But what is the matter, Helga?" asked her +father, with some hardness. +</p><p> +"Father, I have been wrong," said Helga. "Herr +Hardy said he did not wish to risk his horse, and that +he did not wish to win the race, but that he could +easily if he chose. I did not like his professing to be +so superior over us Danes, and I told him so, and that +he was afraid to ride his horse, and that he knew he +would not win. I now know that what he said was +quite true, and that he has behaved well." +</p><p> +"You should have heard how they cheered him +when he came in," said Karl. +</p><p> +"I do think, Helga, if you made so insulting a +speech to Herr Hardy," said the Pastor, with some +asperity, "that it should be withdrawn. To tell a man +that he is a coward and has false pride is too galling, +and when not a single ground for it exists the more +so. You might thereby have tempted him to risk his +life, to say nothing of his horse." +</p><p> +Helga burst into tears. +</p><p> +Hardy rose and held out his hand to her. "I +hope," he said, "you will think no more of this; I +shall not. Your saying what you have to your father +is enough for me. I do hope you will believe me when +I say that after so frank an admission that I shall only + +<a name="pg133"></a> + +respect the strong national feeling that prompted you. +I admit a Danish gentleman can do all I can and +possibly more." +</p><p> +"You are a gentleman, Hardy," said the Pastor. +</p><p> +Helga took Hardy's hand coldly, and left the +room. She had made a mistake and had atoned, that +was all. +</p><p> +The next day Hardy rode Buffalo, attended by +Garth on one of the Danish horses, to the quarters of +the cavalry regiment, and was received with much +kindness. A dinner had been arranged at a hotel +near, and the men and officers of the regiment +regarded Buffalo with much interest. One after the +other asked leave to mount him and ride him a short +distance over a bit of grass adjoining the cavalry +barracks. Hardy let them inspect the horse to their +hearts' content. His winning the race so easily the +day before had its special value. Hardy's knowledge +of cavalry accoutrements and horses was another +point of common interest. He rode several of the +best horses of the regiment, but preferred changing +their heavy military bridles to his own light snaffle, +and the effect was marked, and was noted by the +cavalry officers. +</p><p> +At dinner, the cup of the day before was produced, +and Hardy had to drink out of it. +</p><p> +"It is your cup and fairly won, but we appreciate +the feeling that gives it to us," said Baron Jarlsberg, +"and we shall keep it in the regiment as a memento + +<a name="pg134"></a> + +of an English horse beating the best horses in a +Danish cavalry regiment." +</p><p> +Hardy rode to the parsonage, after a very pleasant +time, with many expressions of good feeling from the +Danish officers. +</p> +<a name="pg135"></a> + +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER XIII.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"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."—<i>The +Complete Angler.</i> +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +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. +</p><p> +"Hardy," said the Pastor, "may I ask you one +thing, and that is, have you spoken to Kirstin about +what I told you?" +</p><p> +"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?" +</p><p> +"No, by no means," said Pastor Lindal; "but I +thought a reproof from you——" +</p><p> +<a name="pg136"></a> +"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." +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +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 + +<a name="pg137"></a> + +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. +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +<a name="pg138"></a> +"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." +</p><p> +"How can you tell how old they are?" asked Herr +Jensen, incredulously. +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +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 + +<a name="pg139"></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. +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +"Quite fit to run another race," replied Hardy. +"But do not you Danish ladies ride?" +</p><p> +"Yes. We have each our own horse, and we often +ride with father and by ourselves short distances," +said Frøken Mathilde; "but they are not such good +horses as those you have purchased in Denmark." +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +<a name="pg140"></a> +"Would you like to ride one of my Danish +horses?" said Hardy. "They have been frequently +ridden." +</p><p> +"No, no; don't go putting that in their heads, +Herr Hardy!" protested the proprietor. "They never +had a petticoat on their backs." +</p><p> +"If Frøken 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." +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +"Do let me ride, father, just once up and down," +begged Frøken 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. +</p><p> +It was a pretty sight to see the handsome girl's +enjoyment of riding the well-trained horse, as she + +<a name="pg141"></a> + +rode up to where her father and mother and Hardy +were standing. +</p><p> +"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. +</p><p> +"What nonsense!" said the prudent Fru Jensen. +"One horse is as good as another for you." +</p><p> +"Well, well, we'll see," growled the proprietor, +but pleased, nevertheless, to see his daughter, like +himself, fond of horses. +</p><p> +At dinner the conversation turned on Rosendal, +which the Jensens had heard Hardy had purchased. +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"Thank you, for disposing of my affairs so +nicely," said Hardy; "you have saved me a good +deal of explanation." +</p><p> +"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. +</p><p> +"In Denmark, you must know," said the proprietor, +"that it is the custom for a Pastor's daughter +always to marry the Kapellan." +</p><p> +<a name="pg142"></a> +Hardy understood now the secret of Frøken Helga +Lindal's manner. She was attached to this Kapellan +Holm. +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"The first thing I intend to do is to improve the +grounds and repair the house, but I do not contemplate +making much alteration." +</p><p> +"I should so like to see Rosendal!" said Mathilde +Jensen; and her younger sister, Marie Jensen, +expressed the same wish. +</p><p> +"Why, you have seen it again and again," said +their mother. "You want Herr Hardy to take +you." +</p><p> +"So we do, little mother," said both the girls, "and +we want him to let us ride his horses." +</p><p> +"Snak!" said their father. The Danish word +"snak" has its peculiar expressive force, its meaning +in English being that nonsense is being talked. +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"A most excellent plan, Herr Hardy!" exclaimed +Frøken Mathilde; "but it leaves little mother home + +<a name="pg143"></a> + +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?" +</p><p> +Of course everything was ordered as Frøken +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. +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +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 +Frøken 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 + +<a name="pg144"></a> + +what had occurred. The boys were in the habit of +saying what was uppermost. +</p><p> +It was clear, then, that what Proprietor Jensen had +said about Frøken Helga was correct. +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"They are hospitable people," said the Pastor. +</p><p> +"But great gossips," added the daughter, who had +scarcely noticed Hardy since his return. She got up +and left the room. +</p><p> +Hardy determined to risk a question. "Your +daughter is, the Jensens say, attached to a Kapellan +Holm, Herr Pastor?" said he, inquiringly. +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +<a name="pg145"></a> +"Godseier Jensen and his family are going to +Rosendal to-morrow," said Hardy, after smoking some +time in silence. +</p><p> +"Yes," said Karl; "the Frøken Jensens want to +ride Herr Hardy's horses." +</p><p> +Helga had returned, and heard what Karl said. +</p><p> +"Frøken Mathilde Jensen is a girl with a cheerful +character, open and honest, like the Danes naturally +are," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"I think she is a great deal too forward!" said +Helga, sharply. +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +The next day Hardy rode his English horse to +the Jensens' Herregaard, and Garth followed with +both the Danish horses. +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +"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!" +</p><p> +<a name="pg146"></a> +"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." +</p><p> +"Yes; but we Danes are poor," said the proprietor, +"and I cannot afford the purchase of such a mare." +</p><p> +"When I return to England, I will see what I can +do for you," said Hardy. +</p><p> +The side saddles were placed on Hardy's Danish +horses, and they went to Rosendal, the Frøken Jensens +enjoying the ride greatly. +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +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 Frøken Mathilde Jensen +from its incompleteness. +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +<a name="pg147"></a> +"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 Frøken Mathilde suggested. +</p><p> +"No doubt your mother will do everything," +said Frøken Mathilde, "but a wife is the one thing +needful." +</p><p> +"Possibly," said Hardy. "I will consult my mother +on the subject." +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"That may be, little mother," replied Frøken +Mathilde; "but Englishmen are very dull, and you +had none to talk to." +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +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 Frøken Mathilde +said, with much emphasis— +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +The hospitable proprietor would not hear of +Hardy's leaving; a glass of schnaps was inevitable and + +<a name="pg148"></a> + +a smoke, and Rosendal was discussed again and again, +and its advantages and defects considered from every +point of view. +</p><p> +At last, Hardy left, and rode to Vandstrup Præstegaard, +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. +</p><p> +Frøken Helga asked if the Fru Jensen had given +him any advice. +</p><p> +"Yes," said Hardy, "and very good advice, about +the management of the people and dairy." But, he +added, the Frøken 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. +</p><p> +"And which you intend to do, Herr Hardy?" +asked Helga. +</p><p> +"Certainly," said Hardy. +</p> +<a name="pg149"></a> +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER XIV.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"Good God, how sweet are all things here!<br> +How beautiful the fields appear!<br> +How cleanly do we feed and lie!<br> +Lord, what good hours do we keep;<br> +How quietly we sleep!<br> +What peace! what unanimity!<br> +How different from the lewd fashion<br> +Is all our business, all our recreation!"<br> +<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +Frøken Helga had filled the porcelain pipe with +Kanaster one evening, when she said to her father +that he should relate to Herr Hardy what he knew of +Folketro. +</p><p> +"What is Folketro?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"It is the belief in supernatural subjects; for +instance, the belief in the merman is a Folketro." +</p><p> +"I know the beautiful old ballad that is sung in +Norway of the merman king rising from the sea in +a jewelled dress, where the king's daughter had come +to fish with a line of silk. He sings to her, and, +charmed with his song, she gives him both her hands, +and he draws her under the sea." +</p><p> +"Yes, we all know that ballad," said the Pastor; + +<a name="pg150"></a> + +"it is known to all Scandinavians. We have, however, +in Jutland, a tradition founded upon it. Two poor +people who lived near Aarhus had an only daughter, +called Grethe. One day she was sent to the seashore +to fetch sand, when a Havmand (merman) rose +up out in the sea. His beard was greener than the +salt sea, but otherwise his form was fair, and he +enticed the girl to follow him into the sea, by the +promise of as much silver as she could wish for. She +went to the bottom of the sea, and was married to the +Havmand ('Hav' is a Danish word for the sea), and +had five children. One day she sat rocking the +cradle of her youngest child, when she heard the +church bells ring ashore. She had almost forgotten +what she had learnt of Christian faith, but the longing +was so great to go to church that she wept +bitterly. The merman at length allowed her to go, +and she went to church. She had not been there +long before the merman came to the church and +called 'Grethe! Grethe!' She heard him call, but +remained; this occurred three times, when the merman +was heard loudly lamenting, as he returned to +the sea. Grethe remained with her parents, and the +merman is often heard bitterly grieving the loss of +Grethe." +</p><p> +"The same tradition occurs in many lands," said +Hardy. +</p><p> +"Yes, but that is the one we have here in Jutland," +replied Pastor Lindal. "There is a story + +<a name="pg151"></a> + +that comes from the neighbourhood of Ringkiøbing, +which may have a similarity with traditions elsewhere +also; but the Jutland story is as follows: For a +long time no ship had been wrecked on the west +coast of Jutland, and consequently the Havmand had +been a long time without a victim. So he went on +land and threw a hook at the cattle on the sand +hills, whither they frequently wandered from the +farms, and dragged them into the sea. Close to +the sea lived a Bonde, who had two red yearlings, +which he did not wish to lose; so he coupled them +together with twigs of the mountain ash, over +which the Havmand had no power. However, he +threw his hook at them, but could not drag the +yearlings down to the sea, as they were protected by +the virtue in the mountain ash. His hook stuck in +its twigs, and the yearlings came home with it, and +the Bonde hung it up in his house by the chimney. +One day, when his wife was at home alone, the +Havmand came and took away the hook, and said, +'The first calves of red cows, with a mountain ash +couple, the Havmand could not drag to the sea, and +for want of my hook I have missed many a good +catch.' So the Havmand returned to the sea, and +since then has never taken any cattle from that part +of the coast." +</p><p> +"It is very possible that the cattle were stolen by +people landing from the sea," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"Probably," said the Pastor. "There is another + +<a name="pg152"></a> + +story of a Havmand's body being washed up by the +sea, close to the church, and it was buried in the +churchyard. But the sea every year washed away so +much of the sandy coast that the people were afraid +the church would be washed away; so they dug up +the Havmand, and found him sitting at the bottom +of the grave, sucking one of his toes. They carried +him down to the sea, for which he thanked them, and +said that now the sea should ever cast up as much +sand as it washed away, and both the church and +churchyard should never suffer from the encroachments +of the sea." +</p><p> +"A story with more apparent improbability than +usual. But the impression appears to exist that these +supernatural beings could never really die. Is it not +so?" inquired Hardy. +</p><p> +"It would appear so," replied the Pastor; "but in +the case of Trolds or Underjordiske, their deaths are +occasionally referred to in the traditions about them." +</p><p> +"But are there no legends of mermaids?" said +Hardy. +</p><p> +"Many," replied the Pastor. "The Danish word +is 'Havfru,' or sea-woman. On the Jutland coast a +mermaid or Havfru was accustomed to drive her cattle +up from the sea, so that they could graze in the fields +ashore. This the Bønder did not like. They, therefore, +one night, surrounded the cattle, and secured both +them and the Havfru in an enclosure, and refused to +let them go until they had been paid for the grass the + +<a name="pg153"></a> + +sea cattle had consumed from their fields. As she +had no money, they demanded that she should give +them the belt that she wore round her waist, which +appeared to be covered with precious stones. To +ransom herself and cattle, she at length consented, +and the Bønder received the belt; but as she went to +the sea-shore she said to the biggest bull of her herd, +'Root up,' and the bull rooted the earth up that was +over the sand in their meadows, and the consequence +was the wind blew the sand so that it buried the +church. The Bønder, therefore, had small joy of the +belt, particularly when they found it was only common +rushes." +</p><p> +"There is a ballad," said Hardy, "that I met with +in Norway of Count Magnus and the Havfru. She +promised him a sword, a horse, and a ship of +miraculous powers; but he was true to his earthly +love." +</p><p> +"The people often sing it here," said the Pastor, +"and a good ballad it is. It is, however, well known +in England. There was a common belief that there +were cattle in the sea, and it is related that a man +once saw a red cow constantly in the evening feeding +on his standing corn. He asked his neighbours' +assistance, and they secured it. It had five calves +whilst in the man's possession, and each of them +cow calves; but they gave him so much trouble +from their unruly nature that he beat them frequently. +One day he did so by the seaside, when a + +<a name="pg154"></a> + +voice from the sea called the cattle, who all rushed +into the sea. +</p><p> +"There is a very common story of a fisherman, on +the west coast of Jutland, seeing a Havmand riding on +a billow of the sea, but shivering with the cold, as he +had only one stocking on. The fisherman took off +one of his stockings and gave it to the Havmand. +Some time after, he was on the sea fishing, when the +Havmand appeared, and sang— +</p> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +'Hør du Mand som Hosen gav.<br> +Tag dit Skib og drag til Land,<br> +Det dundrer under Norge.'<br> +<br> +'Listen, you man, who gave the stocking.<br> +Take your ship and make for land,<br> +It thunders under Norway.'<br> +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +The fisherman obeyed, and a great storm ensued, and +many people perished at sea." +</p><p> +"It is common to observe that where the natural +disposition of the people is a kindly one, there exists +in their legends instances of a similar character, +where a kindness is recollected and rewarded," said +Hardy. +</p><p> +"It occurs often," said Pastor Lindal, "in the +legends of the Underjordiske." +</p><p> +"Hans Christian Andersen has a story about the +elder tree, but it is not very clear what position the +fairy of the elder tree bears in tradition," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"There is supposed to exist in the elder tree a +supernatural being, a gnome or fairy, called the +Hyldemøer, or fairy of the elder tree," replied the + +<a name="pg155"></a> + +Pastor. "She is said to revenge all injury to the tree; +and of a man who cut an elder bush down, it is related +that he died shortly after. At dusk, the Hyldemøer +peeps in through the window at the children, when +they are alone. It is also said that she sucks their +breasts at night, and that this can be only averted by +the juice of an onion." +</p><p> +"Is there any distinct legend of the Hyldemøer?" +asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"Not that I know of," replied the Pastor. "There +is a saying that a child cannot sleep if its cradle is +made of elder tree, but there is no story with any +incidents, that I am aware of. A cradle of elder tree +is not likely to be often made." +</p><p> +"The legend of the were-wolf is very general in +all Europe," said Hardy. "Does the tradition exist +with you?" +</p><p> +"It is called the Varulv with us," replied the +Pastor. "It is said to be a man, who changes into +the form of a wolf, and is known by a tuft of hair +between the shoulders. When he wishes to change +himself from the human form to a wolf, he repeats +three times, 'I was, I am,' and immediately his clothes +fall off, like a snake changing its skin. It is said that +if a woman creeps under the caul of a foal, extended +on four sticks, that her children will be born without +the usual pains of childbirth, but that the boys will +be Varulve, and the daughters Marer, or mares. The +superstition about the latter, I will tell you presently. + +<a name="pg156"></a> + +The man, however, is freed by some other person +telling him he is a Varulv. In the other traditions on +the subject elsewhere, the Varulv is supposed to attack +women near their confinement; and it is related that +a man, who was a Varulv, was at work in the fields +with his wife, when suddenly a wolf appeared, and +attacked her. She struck at it with her apron, which +the wolf tore to pieces. Then the man reappeared, +with a torn piece of the apron in his mouth. 'You +are a Varulv,' said the woman; and the man said, 'I +was, but now you have told me so I am free.' This +is the Jutland legend of the were-wolf." +</p><p> +"What is that of the Marer, or mares?" asked +Hardy. +</p><p> +"Marer is the plural of Mare," replied the Pastor. +"It is a woman, who, like the Varulv, changes to the +form of a mare. It is the nightmare, which, as we +all know, is dreadful enough. A woman who is a +Mare (the final e is pronounced as a) is known by the +hair growing together on her eyebrows. It is a very +old superstition. It occurs in Snorro's 'Heimskringla,' +where King Vauland complains of a Mare having +ridden him in his sleep. There are several stories +based on the superstition. A Bondekarl—that is, a +farm servant—was ridden every night by a Mare, +although he had stopped up every hole to prevent +her; but at last he discovered that she came through +a hole in an oak post, which he stopped with a +wooden pin, as soon as he knew she was in the room. + +<a name="pg157"></a> + +As the day dawned, she assumed her human form, +having no power otherwise. The man married her, +and they lived together very happily. One day, the +man asked his wife if she knew how she came into +the house, and showed her the little wooden pin, +which yet stood in the oak post. His wife peeped +through the hole, and as she stood and looked, she +suddenly became so small that she could go through +the hole. She disappeared and never returned. +There is also a story of a certain Queen of Denmark, +who was very fond of horses, but she liked one horse +far beyond the others. The groom observed that +this horse was always tired in the morning, with the +appearance of its having been ridden all night. He +at length suspected that it was ridden by a Mare. +He, therefore, one night took a bucket of water and +threw it over the horse, when, lo! the queen sat on +the horse's back." +</p><p> +"The superstition is evidently an ancient one," +said Hardy. "There is no doubt that people had the +nightmare very badly in old times, from their habits +of life and sudden and violent changes taking place +in their circumstances." +</p><p> +"There is a method of catching a Mare," said the +Pastor; "and that is by putting a sieve over her +when she is acting a nightmare. It is said she can +then be caught, as she cannot come out until she has +counted all the holes in the sieve." +</p><p> +"There are difficulties enough attending that," + +<a name="pg158"></a> + +said Hardy. "But surely this must exhaust all the +subjects you call Folketro?" +</p><p> +"By no means," said the Pastor. "We have a +very dangerous coast on the west of Jutland, and +I have heard sailors say of our sandy coast that they +prefer rocks to sands to be wrecked on. There has +consequently arisen a superstition as to omens, and +these are called Strandvarsler, or omens from the +sea-shore or strand. Varsel is an omen, Varsler is +the plural of the word. In old times it was said to +be dangerous to go on the roads or paths near the +coast, as the Strandvarsler were often met. They +were ghosts of people who had been drowned and +still lay unburied in the sea. It is related that one +evening a Strandvarsel jumped on a Bonders back +and shouted, 'Carry me to church!' The Bonde had +to obey, and went the nearest way to the church. +When he came close to the churchyard wall, the +Strandvarsel jumped over it; but the Kirkegrim, of +whom I will speak directly, seized the Strandvarsel, +and immediately a combat took place between them. +When they had fought a while, they both rested to +take breath. The Strandvarsel asked the Bonde, +'Did I hit him?' 'No,' said the Bonde. So they +fought again, and again they rested, and the Strandvarsel +put the same question. 'No,' said the Bonde. +They fought again, and they rested, and the same +question was put by the Strandvarsel. 'Yes,' said +the Bonde. 'It was lucky for you that you said "Yes,"' + +<a name="pg159"></a> + +said the Strandvarsel, 'or I would have broken your +neck.' The legend goes no farther. There is, however, +another story, but of the same character in its +bearing. A Bondekone—that is, a farmer's wife—went +out to milk her cows. She saw that a corpse had +been washed up by the sea, and there was a purse +of money on its waist. As there was no one near, +she took the money, which she thought she could +have as much need of as any one else. But the next +night the Strandvarsel came and made so much noise +outside her window that she came out, and he said +she must help him. There was nothing to do but +to obey, she thought; so she said farewell to her +children, as she expected death, and went out to the +Strandvarsel. When she came out, he told her to take +him by his leg and drag him to the nearest churchyard, +which was three English miles distant. When +they came to the churchyard, the Strandvarsel said, +'Let me go, or the Kirkegrim will seize you.' This +she did; but as soon as the Strandvarsel was in the +churchyard, the Kirkegrim rushed at the Bondekone, +and seized her by her skirt; as this was old, it gave +way, and she escaped. But she had a good time of +it after, with the money she had taken from the corpse +by the sea-shore." +</p><p> +"These legends are fresh and interesting," said +Hardy; "thank you very much. But is there no +story where an omen had effect?" +</p><p> +"There are several," replied the Pastor, "and the + +<a name="pg160"></a> + +people on the west coast have the reputation of +having what is called a clear sight of the future in +this respect. There was a man who stated that a +ship would be wrecked at Torsminde, which would be +laden with such heavy timber that it would take four +men to carry each of the pieces of timber. He said +he had the warning from a Strandvarsel. A year +passed, when a ship was wrecked, with such heavy +railway iron that it took four men to carry each rail. +It was certainly a mistake for the omen to say it +would be timber when it was iron; but as it was correct +about four men having to carry each piece of railway +iron, and the ship did wreck at Torsminde, it was +considered a true warning or omen." +</p><p> +"But that brings the superstition down to quite +recent time," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"I have already told you that these superstitions +yet live in the hearts of the people; they do not confess +them openly, but they do exist here and there." +</p><p> +"What is the superstition about the Kirkegrim?" +asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"The Kirkegrim," replied the Pastor, "is a spirit +or gnome that inhabits the church, and revenges any +injury to it or the churchyard. That is all; there are +no stories about it, beyond what I have related, that +I know of." +</p><p> +"It is, in fact, a spiritual churchwarden," said +Hardy, "after our English notions. It is to be regretted +we have not them in England." +</p><p> +<a name="pg161"></a> +"I think, little father, you have talked a long time, +and you are tired," said Frøken Helga. +</p><p> +"You are right, Frøken," said Hardy. "Thank +you, Herr Pastor, for a series of interesting legends. I +can only say how sorry I am that I must go to England +shortly. My mother wishes to have me at home, +as she is lonely without me, and I cannot bear she +should be so any longer." +</p><p> +"And when, Herr Hardy, do you propose to leave?" +inquired Helga. +</p><p> +"In about a week, Frøken," replied Hardy, to +whom he thought it appeared a matter of indifference +whether he went or stayed. +</p><p> +"My father will miss you much, and so shall +we all," said Helga. "You have been good and kind, +and there has nothing happened about you that we +have not liked." +</p><p> +Hardy looked at her. It was clear that, as usual, +she said nothing but what she meant. +</p><p> +"If you come here again, you will go to Rosendal?" +said the Pastor. +</p><p> +"Yes," replied Hardy. "My intention is to go to +Rosendal in May, next year, and I hope to bring my +mother with me; but, meanwhile, I have told the bailiff +that the place is at your disposition, and Karl and +Axel can catch all the fish in the lake they can; and +as it is my intention to clear the lake of pike and put in +trout instead, I hope they will use their best endeavours. +My rods and tackle I will leave to assist them." +</p><p> +<a name="pg162"></a> +"You are so good to us, Herr Hardy!" said Karl. +</p><p> +"Yes; but I am afraid I have a proposition to +make with regard to you, Karl, which may interrupt +the fishing." +</p><p> +"And what is that?" asked the Pastor. +</p><p> +"Your present view with regard to Karl is that +he should go to Copenhagen and be a legal student. +Now, my proposition is that he returns with me to +England, that he resides at Hardy Place and learns +English, during the winter. I will get a tutor +in the English curate with the English rector of my +parish. I will, meanwhile, inquire if I can find him a +place in an English house of business in London, and, +if I can, it will be a better future for him than that of +a legal student in Copenhagen. At any rate, the +experiment can be tried; and there is another reason—it +will cost you, Herr Pastor, nothing." +</p><p> +"It is kind," said the Pastor. "I will think of it, +and I thank you, Hardy." +</p><p> +"I have much to thank you for, Herr Pastor. I +have learnt much here," said Hardy, "and as you will +take nothing from me for the cost I have put you to +during my stay here, it will give me the opportunity +of repaying in part my debts to you." +</p><p> +The Pastor rose up and extended his hand to +Hardy, and said, "I cannot say how much I thank +you. I accept it, Hardy." +</p><p> +His daughter had knitted as usual, but her head +was bent over her work. +</p><p> +<a name="pg163"></a> +"Helga," said the Pastor, "why do you not +speak?" +</p><p> +"Because, father," said Helga, "Herr Hardy is so +good I do not know what to say. He is better than +other men." +</p><p> +When Hardy said "Good night" to her, before he +went to his room, she said, "Good night, sir!" in +English, but would not take the hand Hardy held +out to her. +</p> +<br> +<a name="pg164"></a> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER XV.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"<i>Piscator</i>.—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."<br>—<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +Frøken 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. +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +'"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 + +<a name="pg165"></a> + +things in England, it will be best, and save you much +trouble now." +</p><p> +"But my father would find it difficult to pay for +the expensive English things," retorted Helga. +</p><p> +"No, he will not; that I will care for," said Hardy, +using a familiar Danish phrase. +</p><p> +"Then I must mention it to my father," said +Helga. +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"You despise everything Danish, Herr Hardy, +even a boy's clothes," said Helga, as she was leaving +the room. +</p><p> +"Stop," said Hardy; "I want to ask you one +question. Do you not yourself think, Frøken Helga, +that what I propose is best for Karl?" +</p><p> +"Yes," said Helga, almost involuntarily. +</p><p> +"Then why should you suggest to me that I +despise everything Danish?" asked Hardy. "No +country has interested me more." +</p><p> +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." +</p><p> +"Yes," said Pastor Lindal, "I have learnt to know +that if he does anything, he is sure to find out the + +<a name="pg166"></a> + +kindest way to do it. I will go at once and thank +him." +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"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?" +</p><p> +"No, no; not a word!" replied Helga, quickly. +</p><p> +<a name="pg167"></a> +"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." +</p><p> +"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.'" +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"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.'" +</p><p> +"But you said that on the first Sunday he was +here, little father, in your sermon," interrupted Helga. +</p><p> +"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 + +<a name="pg168"></a> + +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." +</p><p> +"Oh, little father, it cannot be true," said Helga; +"it cannot be true!" +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"But Kirstin has told him I cannot marry, little +father," said Helga, "and he believes it." +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"I do not know what to say, little father," said +Helga, with a bright gleam of coming happiness in +her eyes. +</p><p> +<a name="pg169"></a> +"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." +</p><p> +John Hardy was writing a letter to his mother. +</p><p> +"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. +</p><p> +"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. +</p><p> +<a name="pg170"></a> +"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." +</p><p> +The tobacco parliament, as Hardy always called +it, had scarcely began, when Kirstin announced that +there was an Englishman at the door. +</p><p> +"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?" +</p><p> +"We should like to see them beyond everything," +said Frøken Helga, eagerly. +</p><p> +"The difficulty about the place is that the farmyard +is at the house," said Macdonald. Hardy +interpreted. +</p><p> +"We cannot interfere with that now, Macdonald. +We must make the best of it as it is," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"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 + +<a name="pg171"></a> + +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 <i>Pinus Montana</i> 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." +</p><p> +Hardy interrupted, but seeing the Pastor about +to speak, said— +</p><p> +"No, Herr Pastor; we must have Frøken 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." +</p><p> +Macdonald suggested several other changes, which, +although small in themselves, yet in the aggregate +made considerable alteration. +</p><p> +"Well, Frøken Helga?" said Hardy, after she had +seen the plans. +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"The cost," said the Pastor, "cannot be much +either. I heartily approve of the plans." +</p><p> +"We will come over and see you at Rosendal + +<a name="pg172"></a> + +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. +</p><p> +"He is a clever man," said the Pastor, referring +to Macdonald. +</p><p> +"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 Frøken Helga Lindal." +</p><p> +"I have been very foolish and——" said Helga, +but stopped and blushed. +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +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— +</p> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"Det var en Lørdag aften<br> +Jeg sad og vented dig<br> +Du loved mig at komme vist<br> +Men kom dog ej til mig."<br> +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +This song of the people possesses a rare plaintiveness, + +<a name="pg173"></a> + +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— +</p> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"Hvor kan man plukker Roser<br> +Hvor ingen Roser groer?<br> +Hvor kan man finde Kjærlighed<br> +Hvor Kjærlighed ej boer?"<br> +<br> +"Where can one pluck roses<br> +Where no roses grow?<br> +Where can one find affection<br> +Where no affection lives?"<br> +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +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. +</p><p> +Hardy got up from the piano, and saw that +Helga's eyes were tearful. +</p><p> +"I thank you, Hardy," said the Pastor. "No man +can sing like that unless his heart is true." +</p><p> +"I am sure of it, father," said Helga. "I never +heard anything so beautiful in my life!" +</p><p> +"But, Hardy, you are going away; and how will +you take the piano?" asked Pastor Lindal. +</p><p> +"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 Frøken +Helga would accept it as a recollection of a cool +and calculating Englishman, I will give it her with +pleasure." +</p><p> +Before the Pastor could reply, his daughter had. +</p><p> +<a name="pg174"></a> +"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." +</p><p> +"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." +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +<a name="pg175"></a> +Hardy said he could not leave the Pastor and his +daughter while he went fishing with them. +</p><p> +"We must have a pike for dinner," said the Pastor, +"and as the boys cannot catch one, you must, Hardy." +</p><p> +"May I go in the boat?" asked Helga. "I have +never seen Herr Hardy fish." +</p><p> +"Oh, pike-fishing is nothing," said Karl "It is +trout-fishing with a fly that Herr Hardy does so +well." +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +"That is the boys' doing," said Hardy, as he pulled +off his coat for her to sit on. +</p><p> +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. +</p><p> +As Frøken 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." +</p><p> +"We can do that to-morrow evening," said Hardy, + +<a name="pg176"></a> + +"as you cannot get up at three in the morning, as we +are accustomed to do." +</p><p> +"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. +</p><p> +"Certainly, if you wish it," said Hardy. +</p><p> +As they returned home, Karl expressed no wish +to ride Buffalo, and Garth rode it, and Hardy drove +his Danish horses. +</p><p> +"I should like to see how you drive; may I come +up and sit beside you?" said Helga. +</p><p> +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." +</p><p> +Helga drove the carriage to the parsonage. +</p><p> +"Little father," said Helga, "I have driven you +all the way from the entrance gate at Rosendal." +</p><p> +"I am glad," said the Pastor, "you did not tell +me that before, as I should have been in great +anxiety." +</p><p> +"But Herr Hardy was sitting by me, little father," +said Helga, "and there was no danger when he +is near." +</p> +<a name="pg177"></a> +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER XVI.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"The trout and salmon being in season have, at their first taking +out of the water, their bodies adorned with such red spots, and the +other with such black spots, as give them such an addition of natural +beauty as I think was never given to any woman by artificial paint or +patches."—<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +John Hardy had tied a couple of casting lines with +the flies he usually fished with on the Gudenaa, and +came down a little before three the next day. +</p><p> +Karl and Axel yet slept, but their sister called +them, and after the accustomed cup of coffee and +rusks they went out to fish on the Gudenaa. Of late +Hardy had hired a flat-bottomed boat, and a man +called Nils Nilsen rowed or punted it with a pole, as +on the Thames, or he went ashore on the towing-path +and pulled it up the river with a towing rope, while a +minnow was cast from the boat. +</p><p> +Hardy had taken a travelling rug for Helga to sit +on, and Nils Nilsen towed the boat up the river, while +Hardy fished with a minnow and caught a few trout. +When they reached the shallows, which Hardy usually +fished with a fly, he sent the boys on land to cast +from the bank, and Nils Nilsen took the pole to punt + +<a name="pg178"></a> + +the boat slowly down the stream. The trout rose +freely for about an hour, and Helga had charge of the +landing-net, and lost for Hardy several good fish, to +Nils Nilsen's great disgust. She saw the long casts +Hardy made, the light fall of the fly on the water, +while a slight motion of the line threw the flies repeatedly +on the surface of the river like real flies, and +as soon as a trout rose the line was tightened with +a sudden motion, and the trout drawn gradually to +within reach of the landing-net. +</p><p> +"May I try, Herr Hardy, to throw the line for the +Fish?" asked Helga. +</p><p> +"Certainly," replied Hardy, and he shortened the +line to allow her to do so. +</p><p> +Her first attempt was to hook Hardy's cap; her +next was to hook Nils Nilsen by the ear. +</p><p> +"It seems so easy to do," said Helga, as she +handed Hardy the rod, who showed her how to cast +the line as well as he was able. +</p><p> +"You will fish better from the bank, where it is +not necessary to cast such a long line," said Hardy. +"We will try a little lower down." +</p><p> +Helga followed his instructions, and at length +hooked a trout, which Hardy picked out with the +landing-net. +</p><p> +"I do so like this sort of fishing," said Helga; "it +is the way a lady should fish, if she fished at all." +</p><p> +"Many English ladies are good fly fishers," said +Hardy; "and I have seen them catch salmon in + +<a name="pg179"></a> + +Norway. I will, with pleasure, leave my rods and +tackle here, if you would like to fish with Axel; he +can show you how to attach the flies to the line, and +anything else necessary." +</p><p> +"Thank you so much!" replied Helga; and as she +raised her eyes to his, with her handsome face lit up +by exercise, Hardy saw how beautiful she was. Her +manner towards him had changed. She talked freely +to him now, and without reserve. +</p><p> +"We will put a mark on the trout you have +caught," said Hardy, "that we may know it again +after it has been in the frying-pan. The Herr Pastor +does not often eat fish of his daughter's catching. It +weighs just half an English pound." +</p><p> +"How can you tell?" asked Helga. +</p><p> +"I guess it to be so; but we will soon see," replied +Hardy, as he took a little spring balance out of his +pocket, and held it up to her with the trout on it. +"That little line is the half-pound, and the fish pulls +the spring to that line." +</p><p> +"What a pretty thing to weigh with! Is it silver?" +asked Helga. +</p><p> +"Yes, it is silver," replied Hardy. "I will leave +it with you, with the rest of the fishing gear, on the +condition that the first time you catch a trout weighing +one pound you write and tell me all about it." +</p><p> +"Yes, that I will!" said Helga. "I write my +father's letters, and shall have to write to you for him +about Rosendal." +</p><p> +<a name="pg180"></a> +At breakfast, Helga described to her father all the +little incidents of the morning, and her bright fresh +look testified to the benefit of early morning exercise. +</p><p> +"I think, Helga," said the Pastor, "that when +Karl is gone, you had better go fishing in the morning +with Axel; you look the better for it." +</p><p> +When the tobacco parliament was opened that +evening, and the Pastor had finished puffing like a +small steam launch to get his porcelain pipe well lit. +Hardy asked him if there was anything in the superstitions +of Jutland, corresponding to those of the sea, +about the rivers. +</p><p> +"Yes," replied the Pastor. "Our Danish word for +river is 'Aa' (pronounced like a broad <i>o</i>). Thus, the +Gudenaa is the Guden river. The tradition is that +each river has its Aamand or river man, who every +year craves a life; if a year passes without a victim, +he can be heard at night saying, 'The time and hour +are come, but the victim is not yet come.' Sometimes +the Aamand is called Nøkken." +</p><p> +"That is the Norsk name," said Hardy. "In +Scotland they have a superstition as to changelings; +that is, a human child is stolen and a child of the +Trolds substituted. This is referred to by Sir Walter +Scott in one of his poems. Does anything of the +sort exist in your Jutland traditions?" +</p><p> +"There are several varied stories," replied Pastor +Lindal. "One is of a couple who had a very pretty +child; they lived near a wood called Rold Wood. + +<a name="pg181"></a> + +The Trolds came one night and stole the child, leaving +one of their own in its place. The man and his +wife did not at first notice any change, but the wife +gradually became suspicious, and she asked the advice +of a wise woman, who told her to brew in a nutshell, +with an eggshell as beer barrel, in the changeling's +presence, who exclaimed that it had lived so +many years as to have seen Rold Wood hewn +down and grow up three times, but had never +seen any one brew in a nutshell before. 'If you +are as old as that,' said the wife, 'you can go +elsewhere;' and she took the broom-stick and beat +the changeling until it ran away, and as it ran he +caught his feet in his hands and rolled away over hill +and dale so long as they could see it. This story has +a variation that they made a sausage with the skin, +bones, and bristles of a pig, and gave the changeling, +who made the same exclamation, with the result as I +have before related. There is also another variation, +where the changeling is got rid of by heating the +oven red hot and putting it into the oven, when the +Trold mother appears and snatches it out, and disappears +with her child." +</p><p> +"The superstition would appear to have arisen +from children being affected with diseases which were +not understood," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"We can only speculate," said the Pastor, "in +these subjects; the origin is lost in the mists of time. +There is one story of a changeling that has some + +<a name="pg182"></a> + +graphic incidents. When a child is born, a light is +always kept burning in the mother's room until the +child is baptized, as the Trolds may come and steal +it. This was not done at a place in North Jutland, +because the mother could not sleep with the light +burning. The father therefore determined to hold +the child in his arms, so long as it was dark in the +room, but he fell asleep; shortly after he was +aroused, and he saw a tall woman standing by the +bed, and found that he had two children in his arms. +The woman vanished, but the children remained, and +he did not know which was his own. He consulted +a wise woman, who advised him to get an unbroken +horse colt, who would indicate the changeling. Both +children were placed on the ground, and the colt +smelt at them; one he licked, but the other he kicked +at. It was therefore plain which was the changeling. +The Trold mother came running up, snatched +the child away, and disappeared." +</p><p> +"The advice of the wise woman was clever. It is, +as you say, a graphic story," said Hardy. "But who +were the wise women?" +</p><p> +"There were both men and women. They were +called Kloge Mænd and Kloge Koner, or wise men and +wise wives. They pretended to heal diseases, to find +things lost or stolen, and the like. They were often +called white witches, as in England. There was a +man called Kristen, who pretended to have wonderful +powers. A certain Bonde did not believe in him, and + +<a name="pg183"></a> + +one day told him that he had a sow possessed with a +devil. The sow was simply vicious. Kristen at once +offered to drive the devil out of the sow. He instructed +the Bonde and his men not to open the door +of the stable in which the pig was, even if they saw +him (Kristen) come and knock and shout, as the +devil would take upon him his appearance, to enable +him to escape better. Kristen went into the stable +and began to exorcise. The sow, however, rushed at +him and chased him round the stable, and every time +Kristen passed the door, he shouted to the Bonde and +his men to open it, but they, pretending to follow his +instructions, would not. At last, when Kristen was +nearly dead with fatigue, they opened the door. Of +course, Kristen never heard the last of that sow." +</p><p> +"That is not a bad story," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"You have read Holberg's comedies?" said the +Pastor. "In one of them you will recollect a thief is +discovered from amongst the other domestics of the +house, by their being ranged behind the man who had +been asked to discover the thief, and who tells them +all to hold their hands up. He asks if they are all +holding their hands up, as his back is towards them. +They all reply, 'Yes;' and the man then asks if the +person who has stolen the silver cup is holding up his +hand. The thief replied 'Yes,' thus discovering himself. +There is a story of a watch being stolen in a +large household in Jutland. The white witch was +sent for, and he discovered the thief by ranging the + +<a name="pg184"></a> + +domestics round a table and making each domestic +put a finger on the table, over which he held a sharp +axe. He asked each if they had stolen the watch, as +the axe would fall and cut off the finger of the one +who had. He detected the thief by his at once +removing his finger." +</p><p> +"Verily a wise man," said Hardy. "In Norway +I used to meet with the word 'Dværg,' as applied +to supernatural beings. +</p><p> +"Dværg is dwarf in Danish," replied the Pastor; +"but there are many stories of them, and in a superstitious +sense. Dværg are analogous to Underjordiske, +or underground people. The tradition of their origin +is, that Eve was one day washing her children at a +spring, when God suddenly called her, at which she was +frightened, and hid two of the children that were yet +unwashed, as she did not wish Him to see them when +dirty. God said, 'Are all your children here?' and +she replied, 'Yes.' God said, 'What is hidden from Me +shall be hidden from men;' and from these two children +are descended the Dværg and Underjordiske. The +most striking story of a Dværg is that in the Danish +family Bille, who have a Dværg in their coat of arms. +There was, many hundred years ago, such a dry time +in the land that all the water-mills could not work, +and the people could not get their corn ground. A +member of the family of Bille was in his Herregaard, +and was much troubled on this account. A little +Dværg came to him, who was covered with hair, and + +<a name="pg185"></a> + +had a tree in his hand plucked up by the roots. +'What is the matter?' said the Dværg. 'It is no use +my telling you' said Bille; 'you cannot help me.' The +Dværg replied, 'You cannot get your corn ground, and +you have many children and people that want bread; +but I will show you a place on your own land where +you can build seven corn-mills, and they shall never +want water.' So Herr Bille built the seven mills, and +they have never wanted water, winter or summer. +The Dværg gave him also a little white horn, and told +Herr Bille that as long as it was kept in the family, +prosperity would attend it. This legend belongs to +Sjælland." +</p><p> +"I suppose there are many traditions in families +in Denmark?" said Hardy. +</p><p> +"Very many," replied the Pastor. "There is a +story of Tyge Brahe, or, as you call him in England, +Tycho. He was at a wedding, and got into a quarrel +with a Herr Manderup Parsberg, and it went so far +that they fought a duel. Tyge Brahe lost his nose. +But he had a nose made of gold and silver, so artistically +correct that no one could see that it was any +other than his own nose, and of flesh and blood; but to +be sure that it should not be lost, he always carried +some glue in his pocket." +</p><p> +"I never heard that story of the great astronomer," +said Hardy. +</p><p> +"There is a story also of a Herr Eske Brok, who +lived in Sjælland. He was one day walking with a + +<a name="pg186"></a> + +servant, and was swinging about his walking-stick, +when suddenly a hat fell at his feet. He picked it up +and put it on, when he heard an exclamation from his +servant Then said Brok, 'You try the hat;' and they +found that whoever had the hat on was invisible to +the other. After a while, a bareheaded boy came to +Brok's house and inquired for his hat, and offered +a hundred ducats for it, and afterwards more. At last, +the boy promised that if he gave him the hat none +of his descendants should ever want. Brok gave the +hat to the boy; but as he went away he said, 'But +you shall never have sons, only daughters.' So Eske +Brok was the last of his name." +</p><p> +"That boy must have been a Dværg," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"Quite as probable as the story," said the Pastor. +"There is, however, another impossible story of a +Herr Manderup Holck of Jutland. He was taken +prisoner by the Turks, and his wife contrived his +escape by sending him a dress of feathers, so that he +could fly out of his Turkish prison and home to Jutland. +She, with very great prudence, collected all +the bed-clothes in the parish, that he should fall soft +when he alighted in Jutland." +</p><p> +"The story is so improbable that it must be very +old indeed," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"I think the tradition about the Rosenkrands' +arms is older," said Pastor Lindal. "The date attached +to it is given as A.D. 663. The son of the then King +of Denmark went to England to help an English king, + +<a name="pg187"></a> + +whose name is given as Ekuin, in his wars. He +secretly married the daughter of the crown prince, and +by her had a son. She placed the child in a box of +gold, and placed a consecrated candle and salt in the +box, because the child was not baptized. One day, +her father, Prince Reduval, rode by and saw the child, +and as it was in a gold box he concluded that it +came from a noble source. He brought it up under +the name of Karl. King Ekuin died, and Prince Reduval +succeeded, and he was the first Christian king in +England. He desired to marry Karl to his daughter, +who was his own mother; but when the marriage +should take place, she confessed that the bridegroom +was her own son. The king therefore wanted to +burn her at the stake, but Karl arranged matters so +that his father should be married to his mother, who +for nineteen years had been separated from her. Karl +had painted on his arms a white cross, to show he was +a Christian, then white and blue, to show he was both +an English and a Danish prince. In one quartering +he had a lion painted white with a crown, to signify +Denmark, and in another quartering a lion, to signify +England, and then a design like a chessboard, to betoken +the long separation of his father and mother." +</p><p> +"I think the story rather clashes with history," said +Hardy; "but Rosenkrands means a wreath of roses." +</p><p> +"Yes, it does," said the Pastor. "One of them +went to Rome, and the pope gave him a wreath of +roses; hence the name." +</p><p> +<a name="pg188"></a> +"You will miss Herr Hardy, little father," said +Helga. "In two days he leaves us. Cannot he stay +longer?" +</p><p> +"No, I cannot," said Hardy. "My mother wishes +me to return. She is anxious to see me, and I am +anxious to tell her my experiences in Denmark; but +whatever my own wishes are, I must obey hers." +</p><p> +"What sort of person is your mother?" asked +Helga. +</p><p> +"The best and kindest," replied Hardy, as he took +a photograph out of his pocket-book and handed her, +which Helga looked at with evident interest. +</p><p> +"I feel what you say of her is true," said Helga. +"Little father, it is a noble face." +</p><p> +"It is like you, Hardy," said the Pastor. "She +must have been handsome." +</p><p> +"Yes, but she is," said Hardy. "Here is a photograph +of her picture at twenty-two;" and he handed +the Pastor another photograph. +</p><p> +Helga looked over her father's shoulder. "It is +lovely!" she said, with warmth. "It is more like you, +Herr Hardy, than the other." +</p><p> +"As you like the photographs, Frøken," said +Hardy, "keep them; it is seldom a compliment is +so well uttered." +</p> +<a name="pg189"></a> +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER XVII.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"<i>Viator.</i>—That will not be above a day longer; but if I live till +May come twelvemonth, you are sure of me again, either with my +Master Walton or without him."<br>—<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +The next morning, John Hardy was up early, studying +the excellent map of Jutland by Oberst Mansa. +It gives the roads and by-ways with much care and +correctness. The idea had occurred to him to drive +the hundred and odd English miles from the parsonage +to Esbjerg. The horses must be sent there +to meet the steamer; the weather was settled, and as +it was early in August, the early mornings and evenings +were pleasant He accordingly sketched out the +route, with the distances from one little Jutland town +to another, and it was clear a good deal could be +seen and the drive would be enjoyable. +</p><p> +Hardy came down to the little reception-room, +where breakfast was usually served, and opened out +Mansa's map on the table. Frøken Helga was there, +and her two brothers, Karl and Axel. +</p><p> +"I want to speak to your sister, boys," said +Hardy; "you will hear all about it by-and-by, if +you will go out for a while." +</p><p> +<a name="pg190"></a> +The boys left. Helga looked a little startled. +Hardy said, "I have an extraordinary proposition to +make; but you must not look so frightened." Helga +had turned pale, her knitting dropped. "I only want +your attention to this map of Jutland," added Hardy. +He saw her face was now full of colour; but what +about the map of Jutland? Hardy, an inconsistent +man for the moment, was thinking of who else in the +world but Kapellan Holm, and his being at Vandstrup +Præstegaard all the winter, and that was not the map +of Jutland. Suddenly it flashed across his mind that +Pastor Lindal had told him about Kapellan Holm, +and that Karl had repeated what Mathilde Jensen +had said about his buying Rosandal. As he sat +thinking, he looked all the time at Helga. At length +he said, "I am going home to my mother, Frøken, +but I hope to be here in May; earlier I cannot come, +because it would be cold for my mother to travel." +</p><p> +"We shall be glad to see you, Herr Hardy; and +I long to see your mother," said Helga. +</p><p> +Then Hardy knew that Kapellan Holm was +nowhere, and his face grew bright, and he was ready +for the map of Jutland. +</p><p> +Hardy explained his idea of driving to Esbjerg, +and the extraordinary proposition was that he proposed +to take not only Karl, but Helga Lindal herself +and Axel. +</p><p> +"I should so like it," said Helga, "but——" +</p><p> +"I know," said Hardy, "that there are likely to + +<a name="pg191"></a> + +be several 'buts.' The serious one is that the Pastor +would not like to leave his parish for five days. Can +this be arranged? Can he get any one to come +here?" +</p><p> +"He will write the Provost" (the dean), replied +Helga. "But he has already arranged to go to +Esbjerg to see Karl off to England, and as we +thought you might go to England earlier, a Hjælpe-præst +is ready to come here at any time; a day more +or less will make no difference." +</p><p> +"The next 'but' is, whether the Herr Pastor +would like it," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"That I am sure he will; but he must consider +the expense," replied Helga, "and there would be +the extra railway expense of my returning here." +</p><p> +"Then we leave at midday for Silkeborg," said +Hardy. "Will you, Frøken, tell your father about it? +he is in his study; and now we can tell the boys;" +and he called them, sent Axel for Garth, and told +Karl to be ready at midday. +</p><p> +The Pastor immediately bustled in. "What a +scheme you have hatched!" he said. +</p><p> +"Yes; but you cannot have had time to have +heard it," said Hardy, "much more to condemn it." +</p><p> +"Helga came into my study and said, 'Little +father, Herr Hardy wants to drive us all by stages to +see Karl off; can we go?' Now, is that the scheme?" +</p><p> +"Certainly," replied Hardy. "We want you to +send our heavy luggage to the station for Esbjerg, + +<a name="pg192"></a> + +and a telegram to Silkeborg to order dinner at five +and beds, and leave here at midday. The next day +we can get to Horsens, and then to Veile, or farther. +I have taken out the different places and distances by +Mansa's map, which you can check. Here is also the +English guide-book for Jutland. We can have a row +on the lake at Silkeborg this evening, and as I have +been your guest so long, I invite you to be mine +to Esbjerg. I must leave now, or we should miss the +steamer." +</p><p> +Hardy's quiet self-possession overcame the scruples +the Pastor was about to make. He had been bound +to his parish for years, and not even his youngest son +would enjoy the drive to Esbjerg more. +</p><p> +"Honestly said," the Pastor spoke, addressing +Hardy, and using a familiar Danish phrase, "I should +enjoy it more than I can say." +</p><p> +Helga liked Hardy's way of treating the money +difficulty. It was done with such tact that it seemed +as if Hardy was receiving a favour. +</p><p> +Axel came in with Robert Garth. +</p><p> +"Bob," said Hardy, in English, "we shall drive to +Esbjerg by stages; clear everything, and get ready +to start at twelve." +</p><p> +"Thank you, sir," said Garth, and was gone. +</p><p> +"What did you say." said Helga, whose knowledge +of English was slight. Hardy explained. +</p><p> +The man's ready obedience struck her, and lingered +in her mind long after. She was not accustomed to + +<a name="pg193"></a> + +the prompt execution of such an order by a servant, +and attributed it to Hardy's personal character and +influence. +</p><p> +After breakfast, during which much conversation +arose on the proposed drive, Hardy came down with +his fly-rods, books, and reels, and the precious little +spring balance. +</p><p> +"There," he said, "Frøken Helga, is all the fly-fishing gear; +the flies in the small book are best for +the Gudenaa. I hope you will break all the rods and +smash all the tackle, to give me the pleasure of bringing +you fresh ones from England." +</p><p> +She thanked him in the Danish manner that +Hardy liked so much in her. +</p><p> +At twelve they left for Silkeborg. Hardy drove, +and Garth rode Buffalo. The Pastor sat by Hardy's +side, and told many an interesting anecdote of the +places they passed. The circumstances of the Danish +families, the tradition of a Kæmpehøi or tumulus, and +the social condition of the people were all known +to him. Hardy drove slowly, as the day was warm, +and he wished to spare his horses, and it was not +until a little after five that they reached the hotel at +Silkeborg. Hardy had been there before, with Karl +and Axel, and they knew him, and obeyed his telegram +to the letter. +</p><p> +"I have a proposition to make," said Hardy, +"but I will leave it to my guests to do as they please, +I propose we have a row on the lake this evening, + +<a name="pg194"></a> + +but not for long; but to-morrow that we rise at six +and charter one of the wheel boats, that is the paddle-wheel +boats that are worked by hand, and visit +Himmelbjerg, and have breakfast there, and the +carriage can meet us at the foot of the hill, at a point +to the south of it, and we can drive on to Horsens." +</p><p> +"Excellent!" said Helga, using a Danish expression. +"But it will be a long day for my father." +</p><p> +"We should get to Horsens at six, and we can +telegraph to the hotel to be ready to receive us at +that time," said Hardy. "But the next day is only +nineteen English miles to Veile, and would be less +fatiguing." +</p><p> +"I like to be tired, Hardy, by outdoor exercise," +said Pastor Lindal. "Your plan is excellent, and is +just what I should not only like, but enjoy." +</p><p> +The row on the lake was very pleasant. The +Pastor told the story of Bishop Peter applying to +the pope to decree a separation of all the married +priests from their wives, and how the three sisters of +the priest there drew lots who should go to Rome to +get a dispensation for their brother to keep his wife. +The lot fell on the youngest, and she went to Rome +and got the pope's permission; but on the condition +that she should have cast three bells, which she +shipped at Lubeck, one bell was lost in the sea, and +the two others were placed in two churches near +Aarhus. +</p><p> +The view from Himmelbjerg has the strong charm + +<a name="pg195"></a> + +of great variety. The lakes are spread out below, +amongst woods, heaths, meadows, and cultivated land. +The early morning gives the view at its best. There +are views and views, but the variety of prospect from +Himmelbjerg impresses. Juul Sø, the lake at the +foot of the Himmelbjerg, is at times lovely. +</p><p> +Axel was, however, very hungry. The view +might be good, but a growing boy's appetite is good +also. He asked his father if he might go to the +restaurant in Himmelbjerg and get a bit of Smør-brød +(bread and butter). Karl said he wanted to go, +too. There had been the long row up the lakes, the +walks about Himmelbjerg, and even Frøken Helga +looked hungry. As soon as they came to the +restaurant, the waiter told them that breakfast was +waiting for them. +</p><p> +"Waiting for us!" said the Pastor; "it is more +likely we shall have to wait for our breakfast." +</p><p> +"I thought that you might prefer that the breakfast +should be ready, and I ordered it yesterday. I +sent a note up last night," said Hardy. +</p><p> +The breakfast was the more enjoyed from Hardy's +thoughtfulness, so much so that when the inevitable +porcelain pipe was filled, it was a difficulty to get the +Pastor down the Himmelbjerg. When they at last +reached the carriage, which a man from the hotel at +Silkeborg had driven, as Garth had charge of Buffalo, +the Pastor decided to go in the carriage, and not by +Hardy's side. Helga, after seeing her father comfortable, + +<a name="pg196"></a> + +got up by Hardy, and talked to him unreservedly. +</p><p> +The bright ripple of Helga's talk was pleasant +to hear in its clear transparency. She told Hardy +of her father so long as she could recollect, and the +great sorrow that fell upon him when her mother +died, and how difficult it was to keep him from the +bitter memory of his loss; that she was with him +at every spare moment, and how at times it was +beyond her power to cheer him; but that since +Hardy had been with them, her father had scarcely +shown a sign of the sorrow they knew was always +at his heart. +</p><p> +"It is the way you listen," said Helga, "that my +father likes. You cannot, he says, speak Danish as +well as we Danes, but your manner of listening is +perfect, and that there is a respectful attention impossible +to describe." +</p><p> +"I can describe it," said Hardy, laughing. "The +fact is, I know Danish not very perfectly, and my +whole attention is necessary to grasp what is said." +</p><p> +"I told him so," said Helga; "but he said there +is more than that—it was true politeness." +</p><p> +"Well," said Hardy, "you have now explained +that you have not so good an opinion of me as your +father." +</p><p> +"No," said Helga; "that's not my meaning. I +only related what passed, and I am not able to judge +any one like my father." +</p><p> +<a name="pg197"></a> +"I have heard, however, that you have differed +from your father in judging a particular person," +said Hardy, "and a man whom your father speaks +well of." +</p><p> +"That is Kapellan Holm," said Helga, quickly, +"My father has told you about him?" +</p><p> +"Yes," replied Hardy; "but I do not wish you to +tell me any more about him, and to prevent your +thoughts being occupied by the Kapellan, would you +like to drive a few miles?" +</p><p> +"Gladly," replied Helga, using the pretty Danish +phrase that so well expressed her meaning. +</p><p> +She insisted on taking off her gloves to drive, and +said she could not feel the reins so well, and disliked +wearing gloves in hot weather. +</p><p> +Hardy showed her how to hold the reins so as to +feel the horses' mouth slightly. She appeared to like +to hear the quick sound of the horses trotting. +</p><p> +"How easily they go! There is no difficulty in +slackening or quickening their speed, and they obey +the least touch on the rein," said Helga. +</p><p> +"We have been training them for my mother to +drive, and Garth drives well," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"I should so like to learn to ride!" said Helga, +carried away by her admiration of the horses. +</p><p> +"That is what I once offered to teach you," said +Hardy, "and you replied in the negative so decidedly +that I did not like to refer to the subject afterwards." +</p><p> +<a name="pg198"></a> +"Yes; Kirstin said it was not womanly to ride, +and that I was not a Bondetøs" (a peasant girl), +replied Helga. "But I do not see that it is different +in that respect to driving a horse in a carriage, and +if horses are kept, I think that it is useful to be able +to ride them. There was also another reason why +I did not wish you to teach me to ride, that I cannot +tell you." +</p><p> +"Then do not tell me," said Hardy. "But supposing +I am at Rosendal, in May, next year, will there be +any objection then, if your father has none?" +</p><p> +"No," said Helga, involuntarily. +</p><p> +"Then I will recollect to bring over an English +lady's saddle," said Hardy. +</p><p> +The Pastor, overcome with his walk, his breakfast, +and the warmth of the day, had fallen asleep, and +woke up to the situation that his daughter was +driving the carriage. +</p><p> +"Stop!" he cried; "you will upset the carriage, +Helga. You must not drive; you will throw down the +horses." +</p><p> +"She has driven for the last ten miles, Herr +Pastor," said Hardy. +</p><p> +The worthy Pastor, however, was so decided, that +Hardy had to take the reins and drive into Horsens. +He had telegraphed and ordered dinner at six, and +drove into the hotel yard, but was scarcely prepared +to find so many people collected there. They had +simply come to see Buffalo, whose reputation had + +<a name="pg199"></a> + +risen after the horse-race. They smoked, spat, +criticized, and praised. "Sikken en Hest." +</p><p> +As they came in, Hardy gave a very necessary +order to his servant, Robert Garth, namely, to get the +horses' feet well washed, as the roads are so sandy. +</p><p> +The dinner was well served, and much praised by +Pastor Lindal, who of course had a legend to relate, +of Holger Danske, whose sword was buried with him +near Horsens. The sword was so heavy that, when it +was taken from the Kæmpehøi, or tumulus, twelve +horses could not draw it. The walls of the house in +which it was placed shook, and so much unhappiness +occurred that the sword was restored to its resting +place in the tumulus, and on its return journey two +horses could draw it easily. Holger Danske was so +big a man, that when he had a suit of clothes made, +the tailors were obliged to use ladders to take his +measure; but one day an unfortunate tailor tickled +him in the ear with his scissors, and Holger Danske +thought it was a flea, and squeezed him to death +between his fingers." +</p><p> +"There were giants in those days," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"There is in the Kloster (cloister) Church at +Horsens a hole in the wall, across which is an iron +cross. Behind this a nun was walled up alive. She +had, it was said, been confined of a dog. There is a +stone in which a dog is figured, to preserve the recollection +of so very extraordinary a circumstance, +and a place is shown where her fingers marked the +stone of the wall in her last agony." +</p><p> +<a name="pg200"></a> +"The practice of walling people up," said Hardy, +"was very general in Denmark, was it not?" +</p><p> +"Yes, if tradition be true," said the Pastor, "which, +as you know, we must receive <i>cum grano salis</i>. There +is a story of a man walling up his woman-servant, +because she cooked a cat for his dinner. He had +caught a hare, but a dog had stolen it, so she cooked a +cat instead. This enraged her master, and he walled +her up alive." +</p><p> +"Thank you, Herr Pastor, for your legends," said +Hardy; "but I should like to walk through the little +town, and I dare say Karl and Axel would too, if we +may leave you and Frøken Helga." +</p><p> +"By all means," said the Pastor, "and Helga will +go too." +</p><p> +"No, little father, I will stay with you," said Helga. +"You will have no one to fill your pipe, and will feel +lonely." +</p><p> +As John Hardy went out, he gave Karl and Axel +some money. The boys asked what it was for. +</p><p> +"To buy anything you like, as far it will go," said +Hardy. +</p><p> +The boys, however, would not take it; they were +sure their father would not wish it, after the expense +Hardy had already been put to on their account. +</p><p> +"Your father would be quite right," said Hardy; +but he recollected it, and this small circumstance, +told him that Karl could be trusted, and assisted him +more to get Karl a situation of trust than Hardy's +influence and that of his friends. +</p> +<a name="pg201"></a> +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"<i>Viator</i>.—Methinks the way is mended since I had the good fortune +to fall into your good company."—<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +Horsens was explored the next day, but Hardy +had a purpose in view. He knew his mother would +like to see photographs of his Danish friends. The +chief reason for a walk the night before was to ascertain +the photographer's shop. This he discovered, and +proposed that they should all be separately photographed. +</p><p> +"You want to show your mother our photographs," +said Helga. +</p><p> +"I do," said Hardy. "You have all been so kind to +me that it would interest her." +</p><p> +"I should like to see the photographs before they +are sent you," said Helga. +</p><p> +"That you can," said Hardy. "They shall be +sent you, and if you do not like them, do not send +them to me." +</p><p> +"Nonsense," said the Pastor; "they shall of course +be sent you. I can understand that if you have a +photograph it will describe more than any description, + +<a name="pg202"></a> + +and we will send them, or rather the photographer +shall; it is not that we should wish to appear other +than as we really are. If the photographs are not +what is called successful, you can explain that, if you +like, but I, for my part, would rather not be favoured +by any artificial process." +</p><p> +"You are right, little father," said Helga; and they +were all photographed separately, except Hardy and +Karl, as the Pastor objected to the latter. "They will +see Karl himself, and there is no need of the expense," +he said; "and Hardy we shall not forget." +</p><p> +They left Horsens a little after midday for Veile, +a distance, as before stated, of about nineteen English +miles. Pastor Lindal sat by Hardy as he drove, and +as they passed by Engom, he told the story of how +Øve Lunge had sold himself to the evil one, "Øve +Lunge made a bargain with the owners of the land +near to acquire as much land as he could ride a foal +just born round, whilst the priest was preaching a +sermon in the pulpit at Engom Church. They +assented readily; but the foal ridden by Herr Øve +Lunge went like a bird, and two black boars followed, +rooting up the line the foal took, so as to enclose the +land. On his way, Herr Øve Lunge met a Bonde +with an axe, and he was obliged to turn aside, as the +evil one has no power against an edge of steel. Therefore +there were many irregularities in the foal's course. +The Bonde who had thus sought to interrupt Herr +Øve Lunge, rushed to the church at Engom, and besought + +<a name="pg203"></a> + +the priest to vacate the pulpit, who did so, and +thus saved much land passing into Herr Øve Lunge's +possession. As Herr Øve Lunge had sold himself to +the evil one, he can of course find no rest, and his +ghost is seen, followed by his hounds, as he hunts at +night over the property thus acquired." +</p><p> +"Are their many legends relating to Veile?" asked +Hardy. +</p><p> +"A few," replied the Pastor, "and some historical, +Gorm den Gamle, that is Gorm the old and his Queen +Thyra, are buried in two tumuli, or Kæmpehøi, at +Jellinge, near Veile. At Queen Thyra's tumulus there +was once a spring of water which sprung up, it is +related as evidence of her purity. One day, however, +a Bonde washed a horse that had the glanders at the +spring, when it at once dried up. +</p><p> +"At the same place, Jellinge (the final e is pronounced +like a), in the year 1628, a priest called Søren +Stefensen was suspected by the Swedes of being in +correspondence with the Danes, when the Swedes +were invading Jutland, and had occupied Jellinge, +The messenger who went with his letters was taken, +and a letter was found in a stick he carried. The +Swedes hung him up to his own church door by his +beard to a great hook, and he is said to have hung +there a long time; but at last they took him down, +and hung him on a gallows. He was priest at Veile, +and the governor of the Latin school there, from 1614 +to 1619." +</p><p> +<a name="pg204"></a> +"In Shakespeare's play of 'Hamlet'" said Hardy, +"it is described of Hamlet's father that he smote the +sledded Polaks on the ice." +</p><p> +"Our story of Amlet, not Hamlet, is as follows," +said the Pastor. "At Mors, a place in Jutland, there +was a king called Fegge. He had a tower at a place +which is now called Fegge Klit ('klit' is a sand-hill), +and from thence he sent his ships to sea, in the +Western sea, that is your North sea. He and his +brother Hvorvendil took turns to rule at land or at +sea, so that one should be at sea three years, and the +other on land three years. Fegge, however, became +jealous of Hvorvendil's power and good luck, and +killed him and married his wife, which murder was +avenged by Amlet, her son, who slew Fegge, whose +grave is yet shown at Fegge Klit. The word +'sledded,' is bad Danish for driving in a sledge. +Polak is a Pole, and near Veile they committed great +atrocities. They killed women and children, and +stole the Bønder's cattle; and a man had often to +buy his own bullock, and the price went down to +such a degree that the price at last reached about 2d, +(English) for a cow. They were hired by the Swedes +to plunder Denmark. They came to a Præstegaard, +near Veile, and stole and plundered; but a man +in the priest's service, called Hans Nielsen, told +the priest's wife to give them all the drink she +could. They all got drunk. Hans Nielsen took +away their arms. He then bound them one by one, + +<a name="pg205"></a> + +and made one of them shoot all the rest, one after the +other. This man confessed he was a Dane, but had +joined the Swedes. So Hans Nielsen killed him with +a sword, for being a traitor. The Poles were all +buried in a hole, which is now called Polakhullet, or +the Pole's hole. They committed such devastation +in the very district we are now passing, that a man +from Thy met a woman from Skaane, in Sweden, and +she at once offered to marry him in the dialect of the +time. +</p> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"'Aa vil du være min Mand?<br> +Saa vil a være din Kone;<br> +Du er fød i Thyeland,<br> +Og a er fød i Skaane.'<br> +<br> +"'Oh, will you be my man?<br> +So will I be your wife;<br> +You are born in Thyeland,<br> +And I am born in Skaane.'<br> +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +This is a nursery rhyme to this day. There is also +a weed called Charlock in England, the seed of this +was brought by them with the fodder they had with +them, and it is now all over Denmark." +</p><p> +"What you have told me about Shakespeare's play +would, I fear, excite some controversy amongst +persons who make Shakespeare their study in England," +said Hardy. +</p><p> +"I can only say," rejoined the Pastor, "that the +tradition is as related by me." +</p><p> +"We shall soon be at Veile," said Hardy, turning +round to Frøken Helga Lindal. She had heard that + +<a name="pg206"></a> + +her father talked incessantly to Hardy, so was satisfied +that all went well. +</p><p> +"I wish it was double the distance away," she +said; "I enjoy travelling like this so much!" +</p><p> +Veile is a pretty little Jutland town, and as they +drove up to the hotel Hardy had selected and telegraphed +to, they determined to have a walk in the +neighbourhood at once, and postpone dinner a little +later. +</p><p> +"There was a fire once in Veile, in the year 1739," +said the Pastor. "A woman who was thought out of +her mind, at Easter visited a neighbour, who showed +her the clothes she had made to wear at Easter; but +the woman said, 'What will this avail, when the whole +street will be burned in eight days; but although I +shall perish in the flames, yet my body will be laid +out in the town hall before I am buried?' The next +Sunday, a boy in firing off some powder he had put +in a door key, set fire to a house. The mad woman, +as she was called, had forgotten some things in the +house, and went in for them; but her clothes caught +on fire, and she died from the burns she received. She +was taken to the town hall as the nearest place, and +the street she indicated was burnt. +</p><p> +"There is another story of an old monastery near +Veile. The name of the abbot was Muus (mouse). +He was so hostile to the king that it was determined +to suppress the monastery. The force commissioned +to execute the king's order sent word to the abbot + +<a name="pg207"></a> + +that he could leave the monastery, if not, they should +be obliged, in execution of their orders, to arrest him. +This message was given the abbot when he was at +dinner, and he replied that the mouse must have time +to eat his dinner in peace. The commander of the +force replied not longer than the cat will permit, +and took the place by force. It is said this happened +in the thirteenth century." +</p><p> +"The place appears to bristle with legends," said +Hardy. "Are there more?" +</p><p> +"Many more; but I will not tell you any more +until after dinner." +</p><p> +"That is right, little father," said his daughter, who +always feared that he might get too tired before he +retired to rest. +</p><p> +The dinner at Veile was excellent. The host had +asked Hardy what they would like, and Hardy had +replied that he would leave it to him to get as good +a dinner as he could. The consequence was that +the host did his best. The Pastor was greatly pleased +at Hardy's simple manner of ordering a dinner, +but that it should be successful was a greater success +still. +</p><p> +The tobacco-parliament continued to be held, +although for the time at Veile. The journey had +a good effect on Pastor Lindal, whose temperament +was naturally cheerful. He talked on subjects +that Hardy had no idea he had any knowledge of +in natural science. He had studied Darwin, and had + +<a name="pg208"></a> + +even read a book of Sir John Lubbock's. At last +Hardy interrupted. +</p><p> +"There are no more legends or traditions of Veile, +are there?" he said. +</p><p> +"As I have said before, there are many," was +the reply, "and here is one. Once there were two +brothers living near Fredericia, one was rich, the +other was poor. The place they lived at wanted a +church. The rich brother would contribute nothing, +and his brother said that if he were so rich he would +build the church himself. The next night he dreamt +that on a bridge at Veile, called the southern bridge, +he would hear of something to his advantage. He +went to Veile, and walked up and down it all day. +At last an officer passed and repassed him, and +asked him what he wanted. He told him he had +dreamt he would find a treasure on Veile bridge. +The officer replied, 'I dreamt that I should find a +treasure in a barn near Fredericia,' belonging to a +Bonde he named. It was the man's own name. He +found the treasure. One day he was out looking +round for a place to build the church on when he met +his brother, who did not know what had happened. +He said, 'I am going to build the church, and I am +looking round to find the best site.' 'Indeed,' said +the rich brother; 'if you build the church, I will give +the bells.' But when he saw the church would be +built, it vexed the avaricious man so much to have +to give the bells, that he went and hung himself. +</p><p> +<a name="pg209"></a> +"There is an authenticated story of a priest, as +we are generally called," continued the Pastor, "at +the time of the plague, in 1654. It was brought by a +ship to Copenhagen, and spread rapidly. The priest +at Urlev Præstegaard had some clothes sent him +belonging to his relatives, who had died of the plague +at Copenhagen. His name was Søren Pedersen Prip. +As soon as he saw the plague had occurred in his household, +his only thought was how to prevent its spreading +in his parish. He forbade all intercourse; and as +his servants, wife, and children died one after the +other, he hoisted a flag, as a signal when he wanted a +coffin, which, as he had no one to send to fetch it, he +managed to convey on a wheelbarrow, and he himself +buried all his household. But that the people should +not be without hearing God's word, he preached to +them from a stone in the churchyard, which is yet +shown. There is said to be also a carved wooden +basrelief of him in the church." +</p><p> +"He might have said, 'Exegi monumentum ære +perennius'" said Hardy. "Such a man exhibits one +side of your national character that the world has +honoured and will honour. You say the stone can +be pointed out. It is a matter of surprise to me that +the stones used in many places in your old walls +about churchyards and old buildings are so varied +in character: there are, for instance, red and grey +granite, syenite, the older sandstones, but all of the +older geological formations. The side, for instance, of + +<a name="pg210"></a> + +Viborg Cathedral is like a piece of old-fashioned patchwork +from this cause, and has not a good effect." +</p><p> +"In the glacial period these stones were brought +down by the ice and stranded on Jutland," said the +Pastor; "they are scattered over the whole country +more or less. There is a legend of a giant who lived at +Veile, who threw these stones at Graverslund Church; +but he was a bad shot, and this accounts for the stones +being found everywhere. His name was Gavl; but it +was the ice of the glacial period that was the giant." +</p><p> +"It will not be possible to visit Kolding," said +Hardy, "because it would make us too late for the +steamer. We shall have a longer run than usual +to-morrow, and reach Esbjerg midday the day after, +and the steamer leaves at night. Are there any +traditions of Kolding, Herr Pastor?" +</p><p> +"A number, and, of course, attached to Koldinghuus, +which was erected in the thirteenth century," +said the Pastor. "The oldest story is that of the +bloodstains in Koldinghuus. It is said that a +king lived there, who had an only daughter. For +some reason he determined to kill her, and decided +that as she was fond of dancing she should be +danced to death. He therefore, amongst his officers, +sought out the toughest for the work; but his daughter +danced with nine of them without signs of giving +way. The king was enraged. He danced with her +himself, and then cut with his dagger the belt she +wore, which had sustained her, so says the legend. + +<a name="pg211"></a> + +Her mouth filled with blood, and she died in her +father's arms. Nothing could wash the stain of her +blood out of the floor. +</p><p> +"As to Kolding itself, there are several stories," +continued the Pastor. "There is more than one +about the church clock, which never keeps time, +the reason is that the men in an adjoining town, +not far from Kolding, had in a time of scarcity +borrowed seed from the men from Kolding, and had +pledged a neighbouring meadow, which should belong +to the men of Kolding if the value of the seed +was not paid on a certain day and at a certain +hour. When the time came, the men of Kolding +induced the clock-keeper to alter the clock; and when +the borrowers came to repay the loan, it was too late, +and the meadow was adjudged to belong to the men +of Kolding. There is a variation of this story, that +the widow of Henning Limbek borrowed the money +and pledged the meadow with the same result. She +was on the bridge and heard the clock strike twelve +and she at once returned home and surrendered the +meadow to the men of Kolding. There is another +story of a rich man who lived near Kolding, and they +offered him a large sum for the meadow, and the +terms were settled at a feast. The rich man, however, +had a horse, and he affirmed that the horse +would gallop from his house to Kolding by a certain +time. This the men of Kolding denied as possible. +He then offered to wager the meadow against a considerable + +<a name="pg212"></a> + +sum that the horse would. The horse +performed the journey within the time stated, but +the clock had been altered. Ever since, the church +clock has never been correct." +</p><p> +"Not very correct of the men of Kolding," said +Hardy, "and, I fear, not a good side of the Danish +character." +</p><p> +"I cannot deny that such principles occur with +us," said Pastor Lindal; "possibly we have learnt it +from the English." +</p><p> +"We shall have to start at six to-morrow, Herr +Pastor, to reach Hoisted," said Hardy. "The hotel +there is moderate, and we can only expect what we +can obtain. We shall have to break our longest +journey where we can, to give the horses a little rest." +</p><p> +"Therefore, we should go to bed early," said the +Pastor. +</p><p> +"But I cannot go to bed without thanking you, +Herr Hardy, for your goodness to my father," +said Frøken Helga. "I have never seen him so +bright, and I thank you." She thanked him in her +Danish manner by shaking hands. +</p><p> +"There is little need to thank me," said Hardy. +"I have learnt much from your father, and am thankful +for it; but I hope with time to win the same +kindly trust from him as you already possess, and I +think deservedly." +</p><p> +Helga never forgot these words. They echoed +in her recollection through the winter months, and +Kapellan Holm was nowhere. +</p> + +<a name="pg213"></a> + +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER XIX.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"<i>Piscator</i>.—Come, sir, let us be going; for the sun grows low, and I +would have you look about you as you ride, for you will see an odd +country, and sights that will seem strange to you."—<i>The Complete +Angler.</i> +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +John Hardy, before he retired to rest, had arranged +with the hotel manager at Veile to telegraph to +Bække, where he designed to have a late breakfast, +or rather lunch, and to a little inn, a few English +miles further on, where they could pass the night. +Thus the horses could rest at Bække, and then go +further to a station that would leave them but a little +distance to reach Esbjerg. +</p><p> +It was eleven before they reached Bække, travelling +over not the best of roads, and when they got +there Hardy's forethought in telegraphing was +apparent. The Pastor was tired, but as conversational +as ever. Karl and Axel were obviously +hungry, and as there was nothing to be had but +fried eggs, and the usual indigestible <i>et ceteras</i>, +Hardy was anxious to get on to their destination for +the night. The Pastor went into the carriage, +and Helga got up by Hardy's side, but her father + +<a name="pg214"></a> + +had specially stipulated that she was not to drive the +horses. This, of course, had to be obeyed, as the +Pastor's wish once expressed was enough for Helga. +The direction was over by-roads, and it was perhaps +best the Pastor had been so decisive. +</p><p> +Helga talked as before, unreservedly, and the ring +of her clear voice, with its transparent truth, was +a pleasure to hear. +</p><p> +"Travelling like this is such a pleasure," she said; +"the sound of the step of the horses even has its +effect, as we feel they go easily to themselves. There +is the succession of change of place and scene, fresh +green meadows after dry and dusty roads, and, after +a dull bit, there comes a pretty prospect of a country +house, with its woods and lake. The coming also to +a fresh place every night has its interest. I cannot +think of a more pleasant way of travelling. Do you, +Herr Hardy?" +</p><p> +"Yes," said Hardy. "I like a fresh breeze blowing +in the wished-for direction, and an English sailing +yacht, as a means of travelling. You do not go so +fast as you appear to sail, but it is pleasant to see the +bright wave flashing by, and to feel the yacht rushing +through the sea." +</p><p> +"But, then, there is not the varied change of scene +as in travelling as we now do, Herr Hardy," said +Helga. +</p><p> +"There is nothing like yachting for variety, if +there be favourable winds, but on that it is dependent," + +<a name="pg215"></a> + +said Hardy. "For instance, the Mediterranean +can be explored in a winter, and places in Spain and +Portugal visited on the way to Gibraltar, and then +Italy and the Ionian Islands and Greece." +</p><p> +"It must be a great drawback to be so dependent +on the wind," said Helga. +</p><p> +"Yes; and particularly so in yachting on the +coast of Norway, amongst the Danish islands, or up +the Baltic," said Hardy; "but this difficulty is got +over by the use of steam, and steam yachts are +becoming the rule." +</p><p> +"Have you a yacht, Herr Hardy?" asked Helga. +</p><p> +"I am having one built," replied Hardy. "My +mother likes the sea, and I am having one built so +that she may be as comfortable as possible. It is a +steam yacht, and we shall be at sea in a fortnight, +and I shall take Karl, if he wishes." +</p><p> +"He likes the sea, and when we go to Copenhagen +from Aarhus in the steamer, we enjoy the journey," +said Helga. +</p><p> +"There is one small matter which has struck me +with regard to Karl," said Hardy, "and that is, you +Scandinavians are liable to what you call Hjemve +(home sickness). I wish you would ask your father +to say to him that he goes to England to try to get +on in life, and that it is childish to be afraid of meeting +strange people, but to look to the future and not +be occupied with the present." +</p><p> +"Thank you very much, Herr Hardy; you are very + +<a name="pg216"></a> + +thoughtful. Karl has been very quiet the last two +days, and you have anticipated what I had thought," +said Helga. +</p><p> +They had arrived at Hoisted, where they had to +pass the night. The modest little inn did its best for +them, and the Pastor was glad to rest; but after +dinner his enjoyment of his pipe was great. It is not +understood in England that such is good or necessary. +<i>Tot homines quot sententiæ</i>. The question is in England, +Is it wrong for a parson to enjoy his pipe? +The answer is, "No," with some people, "Yes," with +others; but the question whether it is good for him +is very generally answered in the negative. +</p><p> +"You have but few stories of the people, or, as +you call them, Eventyr?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"There are very many," replied the Pastor. "But +in Norway you will have found an even richer store. +The grandness of nature there has influenced the +imaginations of the people. Their legends, traditions, +and stories are more romantic and weird. Their +traditions of the Huldr are exquisitely fantastic and +picturesque to a degree. Their Folke-Eventyr is rich +in colour. There is a depth of thought and of the +knowledge of human nature as it is that fills the +mind with astonishment. There is in them all a +sense of justice, a feeling of appreciation of what is +good and true, as if the thought had been inspired. +Nationally, the Norwegians are honest, and their +Folke-Eventyr has contributed to form the character + +<a name="pg217"></a> + +of the people. It has engendered a respect for what +is good and true. There is also an idea of rough +justice and humour; and I will tell you a story which +will illustrate this. There was once a priest who +was very overbearing. When he drove in the roads, +he shouted to the people he met, 'Out of the way, +I am coming; out of the way!' He did this so +often that the king determined to check his pride, +and drove to the priest's. As he was coming, he met +the priest, who shouted as usual. The king drove as +he should do, as king, and the priest had to give way. +When the king was at the side of the priest's carriage, +he said, 'Come to me at the palace to-morrow, and if +you cannot answer three questions I put to you, I +will punish you for your pride's sake.' This was +treatment the priest was not accustomed to. He +could bully the Bønder, but answering questions did +not suit him. So he went to his clerk and told him +that one fool can ask more questions than ten wise +men could answer, and that he must go up to the +palace to the king and reply to his questions. So +the clerk went in the priest's gown. The king was +in the balcony with his crown and sceptre, and was +dressed in such a costume that he looked a king." +</p><p> +"'So you have come,' said the king. +</p><p> +"'Yes,' said the clerk. It was quite certain that he +was there. +</p><p> +"'Tell me' said the king, 'how far the east is +from the west?' +</p><p> +<a name="pg218"></a> +"'A day's journey,' answered the clerk. +</p><p> +"'How can that be?' said the king. +</p><p> +"'The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, +and generally does it in a day,' answered the clerk. +</p><p> +"'Good,' said the king. 'But tell me now how +much money I am worth?' +</p><p> +"'Well,' replied the clerk, 'Christ was sold for thirty +pieces of silver, and I should put you at twenty-nine.' +</p><p> +"'A good answer,' said the king. 'But tell me now +what I am at this moment thinking about?' +</p><p> +"'That's easy to answer,' replied the clerk. 'The +fact is, you think I am the priest, but I am only the +clerk.' +</p><p> +"'Then go you home and be priest, and, let the +priest be clerk,' commanded the king." +</p><p> +"A very excellent story," said Hardy, "and, as you +say, shows a strong sense of rough justice and +humour." +</p><p> +"There is a child's story," said the Pastor, "with +its humour; but it is very simple, as all stories of the +people should be. A boy found a pretty box in +a wood, but he could not open it, for it was locked. +A little further he found a key. The question was +whether the key would fit the box. He blew into +the key and put the key into the lock, when lo! it +fitted, and the box opened. But can you guess what +was in the box? No, of course not. There was a calf's +tail in the box, but if the calf's tail had been longer, +so would this story be." +</p><p> +<a name="pg219"></a> +"But that is a Norwegian story," said Hardy. +"Are there none essentially Danish?" +</p><p> +"They are related to some extent in H. C. +Andersen's stories, and they have been translated into +English. There is a story, however, that may not +have been translated. A king and queen had no +children; but a beggar came to her and said, 'You +can have a son, if you will let me be his godfather +when he is christened.' The queen assented. The +queen had a son, but the king had to go to war +to quell a rebellion. The king made her promise that +she would nurse the child herself, and not trust to +nurses and other people. The queen did so, and the +beggar stood godfather. The beggar bent down over +the child, and said that everything it wished for it +should have. This the king's attendant heard. He was +accustomed to attend the king when hunting, and he +thought that such a child was worth possessing. The +queen, however, watched the child night and day. +One day she was in a summer-house and had fallen +asleep, with the child in her lap; when she woke the +child was gone. When the king returned, he had a +tower built in a wood, and he walled the queen up in +it, as a punishment for losing the child. The attendant +brought the child up as his own, and there was no +suspicion. He took the child, when grown up, out +hunting when the king went, and taught him to wish +for such and such a head of game, and if he shot +an arrow at it, he always hit. The king could not + +<a name="pg220"></a> + +understand how so young a hunter could always be so +successful, but the attendant assured him that it was +only a sure hand and eye. The attendant had meanwhile +become very rich, by getting the king's son to +wish him to be so. The attendant had taken a girl +into his service, who grew up to be very beautiful. +She had suspicions that all was not right, and asked +the attendant; but he would not tell her. At last the +attendant told her the boy must be killed, and she +must do it, and cut out his tongue, to show him that +she had murdered him. She, however, killed a hind, +and cut out its tongue, and showed the attendant the +tongue. The attendant thought she had done as she +was told, and told her the story, which the king's son +heard from a place where she had hid him. The +king's son immediately wished the attendant should +be a three-legged dog, that must always follow him. +He wished the girl to be a rose and put her in his +button-hole. The king's son then attended the court, +as the king wished to go hunting. 'Where is the +attendant?' asked the king. 'He is here close by,' said +the king's son. The king was satisfied with the +answer, and went out hunting. The king's son led the +hunt to the tower where the queen was walled in, and +wished that the tower might fall down and the queen +be found in it yet living. This happened, although +she had been there seventeen years. The prince then +took the rose out of his button-hole, and married the +girl who had so well served him." +</p><p> +<a name="pg221"></a> +"A graphic story," said Hardy, "and has the same +tendency that you attributed to the Norwegian stories +of the people, or Folke-Eventyr." +</p><p> +"There is a story more peculiarly belonging to +Jutland," said Pastor Lindal, "and that is of a Trold +who lived in a wood in a large Kæmpehøi, or tumulus. +He was an old grey-bearded Trold, and the people in +the district were afraid of him. There was an old +woman who lived near with her son. They had a cow, +and it was difficult to get grass for it, particularly in +the winter. The boy took the cow and grazed it on +the Trold's Kæmpehøi. The Trold came out and +objected, and threatened, and drove the boy and the +cow away. The boy, however, got a piece of soft +cheese from his mother, and stole a bird sitting on its +eggs in a nest, these he put in his pocket; so the next +day he took the cow to the same place, and the Trold +came out and threatened. The Trold took up a stone +and pressed it in his hand, so that water came from it, +to show how he could crush him. The boy said that +is nothing, and took the cheese from his pocket and +pressed it, so that it appeared as if he was squeezing +more out of a stone than the Trold could. So the +Trold said, 'I will throw a stone up, and you can count +until it comes down. The boy did so, and counted up +to one hundred and thirty-one. 'That is good!' said +the boy. 'But now count for the stone I cast;' and the +Trold counted, but the boy threw the bird up in the +air, and of course it flew away. The Trold was + +<a name="pg222"></a> + +astonished, and asked the boy if he would come into +his service. The first thing was to fetch water, as the +Trold wanted to brew. The Trold had a large bucket +to fetch water, which the boy could not even lift; so he +said, 'This will not do at all; we had best fetch in the +river.' But this the Trold could not do. The boy behaved +in the same way with fetching turf and fuel; and +when the Trold went out to pick nuts, he picked up +stones and gave the Trold to crack. This gave him the +toothache, but the boy advised him to fill his mouth +full of water and sit on the fire until it boiled. This +did not succeed, and so the boy continued to tease the +Trold until he compassed his destruction, and taking +all the Trold's gold and silver, he went home, and had +enough to live on all his days, with his mother." +</p><p> +"I have heard a parallel story from many lands," +said Hardy. +</p><p> +"That is true enough; it is a story very widespread, +with different incidents and features," said +the Pastor. +</p><p> +The next day they drove into Esbjerg, and Garth +and Hardy put the horses on board the steamer for +England. It would leave in the evening, when the +tide would allow it to get out of dock. +</p><p> +The Pastor had arranged to stay the night at +Esbjerg, to see the very last of his son Karl on his +leaving for England. +</p><p> +As they left, Hardy said, "I shall be at Rosendal +in May, and I hope my mother will be with me; but + +<a name="pg223"></a> + +you will hear from me many times before then, and +I dare say Karl will write you more frequently than +I do." +</p><p> +Helga said simply, "I thank you, Herr Hardy, +for your kindness to us." +</p><p> +The steamer left that night, and the next day +Pastor Lindal went to the railway station at Esbjerg +to take three tickets to the station nearest his parsonage. +Three tickets were handed to him, and the +Pastor expostulated. +</p><p> +"They are first-class tickets, and——" +</p><p> +"Yes," said the station clerk; "but they are +already taken and paid for." +</p> + +<a name="pg224"></a> + +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER XX.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"<i>Piscator</i>,—But, look you, sir, now you are at the brink of the hill, +how do you like my river, the vale it winds through like a snake, and +the situation of my little fishing-house?"—<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +As John Hardy drove up to the front of Hardy Place, +the young Danish lad was struck with the beauty of +the lawns and shrubberies. +</p><p> +"This is by far prettier than Rosendal, Herr +Hardy," he said. +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy had evidently been waiting some time +for the sound of wheels on the carriage drive, and as +her son alighted, she received him with warm natural +affection. +</p><p> +"John, my own boy, I am so glad to see you +again," she said; "you have been too long away from +your mother." +</p><p> +"You will have me all to yourself until next May, +mother, and then you will have me with you at +Rosendal," said her son. "But here is Karl Lindal, +son of Pastor Lindal, of Vandstrup Præstegaard, +Denmark." +</p><p> +The tall, fair-haired lad, with his honest blue eyes, + +<a name="pg225"></a> + +favourably impressed Mrs. Hardy, who could see beyond +outward appearance and awkwardness of manner. +</p><p> +"Welcome to Hardy Place, Mr. Karl Lindal," she +said, taking the lad's hand kindly. "You can have no +better introduction here than as my own boy's friend." +</p><p> +Karl bowed. He saw a tall elderly lady, dressed +in good taste and perfect neatness, strikingly like her +son. They entered the inner hall, where Mrs. Hardy +had been sitting, and tea was served, and she and her +son talked to each other with that kindly confidence +not so frequent nowadays. Karl looked at the old +portraits on the wall, and observed the quiet taste +of the decorations and furniture, with its appearance +of comfort, so conspicuous in an English home. +</p><p> +Mother and son had much to say to each other; +but at length John Hardy observed a tired look on +the young Dane's face, and he took him up to the +bedroom Mrs. Hardy had directed to be prepared for +him, near her son's rooms. +</p><p> +"Karl," he said, "here is your room, and everything +you are likely to want ready. If you want +anything, press that nob, which rings a bell, and a +man-servant will answer it; but as he may not understand +you, come for a moment into my dressing-room, +and I will show you where my things are, and if you +want anything, take it." +</p><p> +There was a strong contrast between Hardy's +rooms in his own home and the single little room +he had occupied in Denmark, and Karl said so. +</p><p> +<a name="pg226"></a> +"Yes," said Hardy; "you will find a good deal of +difference between England and Denmark, but you +will find me the same John Hardy." +</p><p> +"I have not dressed, mother," said Hardy, as he +came down just before the gong was struck for +dinner; "my young Danish friend is not supplied +with evening dress, and I thought he might feel a +trifle less strange, where everything must strike with +the force of novelty a lad of seventeen, if I appeared +as he has usually seen me." +</p><p> +"You are the same thoughtful, considerate old +John," said his mother, proud of her son's kind heart; +"but I do think, John, you look better than when +you left." +</p><p> +"I am better," said John. "The fare at the little +Danish parsonage was simple and good. At first I +missed a few things that I was accustomed to here, +but the excellence of the quality of everything at the +Pastor's soon made me forget them. I think, too, my +mother, I have learnt much. The simplicity with +which the Danish Pastor did his work with exact +conscientiousness interested me. There was never a +thought of postponing a duty under any circumstances. +There was never a thought that a duty done +was a sacrifice of self, but his duty was done with a +serious singleness of purpose and thorough trust in +God, that had a strong influence on his parishioners. +They saw he was sincere and true." +</p><p> +"You are drawing a good picture of the Pastor, + +<a name="pg227"></a> + +John," said his mother; "but," she added in a whisper, +as John took her into dinner, "what about the Scandinavian +princess?" +</p><p> +"I will tell you all about her after you have seen +her photograph," said John. "I will give it you when +you go into the library after dinner. I will give Karl +Lindal some English to read, as he must lose no time +in acquiring the language." +</p><p> +Karl Lindal felt awkward and uneasy at dinner. +The novelty of everything so occupied him that he +was the more gauche in manner. This Mrs. Hardy +observed, and said little to him. It was best the +lad should be left to get over the change that +had impressed him. +</p><p> +When John Hardy joined his mother in the library, +he found her with a large reading-glass, looking at +Helga Lindal's photograph. "It is a good face, John, +like her brother somewhat, and fine features," said +his mother. "Is she tall?" +</p><p> +"About five feet eight, mother," replied John. +"She is like her father in character—simple and true, +and with common sense." +</p><p> +"But you wrote me, John, that if you did propose +to her that she would not accept you, on account of +her father wanting her assistance and relying so much +on her," said Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +"I did, mother; but her father wished her to become +engaged to a curate of his called Holm," said John. +"She refused Holm, as she did not like him, and I + +<a name="pg228"></a> + +think her father would wish her to marry any one +she did like. His view appears to be that she owes +a duty to herself, and he would think it his duty to +prevent her sacrificing all her young life even to him." +</p><p> +"Why, the man is right, John, and his photograph +says as much!" said Mrs. Hardy. "But, John, answer +me plainly—have you said anything to her?" +</p><p> +"No," replied Hardy. "I do not feel certain of +myself without you, mother. I want you to see her." +</p><p> +"Have you led her to expect that you might speak +to her John?" asked his mother. +</p><p> +"When I went there first, she behaved towards me +as if she disliked me," replied John; "but her manner +changed. I had offered to teach her to ride: she +declined in a very decided way; but in driving to +Esbjerg, she said she should like to learn, and that +her objection, whatever it was, did not exist longer. +I said I would teach her when I came again to Denmark. +One evening, I sang the German song you +have heard me sing so often, and I turned round +suddenly and saw her face; she looked at me as if +she loved me with all her heart, but possibly so +simple a nature as hers was carried away by the +song's influence. I turned away my face, that it +might reflect nothing to her." +</p><p> +"Did anything else occur, John?" asked his +mother. +</p><p> +"Yes," replied John. "A few evenings before I +left, I showed her father and herself your photographs; + +<a name="pg229"></a> + +she exhibited a warm interest in them, particularly +that one of the picture. I gave her the photographs, +and she thanked me as if I had given her something +she had a great wish for." +</p><p> +"It is a long way for an old woman, John," said +Mrs. Hardy; "but I would go to the end of the +earth to see you happily married. I like her face," +added she, looking at Helga Lindal's photograph; +"it is good and firm of purpose for so young a woman. +Is she ladylike, John?" +</p><p> +"Her manner is simple and sincere," he replied; +"and I never saw anything that you, mother, would +not approve of; but, living as she does, and has, she +has not seen much society, or acquired any artificial +manner. Her management of her father's house is +practical, and the obedience to her wishes and orders +as complete as they ever are in Denmark. Their +servants are not as ours are." +</p><p> +"Why you do like her, John," said his mother. +</p><p> +"I do, but I do not feel certain of myself," said +John. "The time I have known her is short, and it +may be only a passing fancy; and what I want, mother, +is your help in knowing my own mind, but, above +all, hers. You will understand her instantly." +</p><p> +"But why did you buy Rosendal, John?" asked +his mother; "in all your letters you never gave a +reason." +</p><p> +"I bought it on an impulse," replied John, "but +I did think I might want it at the time. It is a place + +<a name="pg230"></a> + +you can live in, mother, until you are tired of it, but +from which you can help me." +</p><p> +"I do not think you need fear, John, her being +carried off by any one," said Mrs. Hardy, to whom +the idea of any woman not being in love with her son +was impossible. +</p><p> +"I must risk it," said John, "but I could not do +other than I have done. If I had spoken a word to +her when a guest in her father's house, it would have +been wrong. But I wanted to talk with you, my +mother. I have no secrets from you; and John kissed +her, and wished her 'Good night.'" +</p><p> +A few weeks at Hardy Place made a great change +in Karl Lindal. He talked English better, and his +manners were not so boyish. He felt also the +influence of the good people about him, and had lost +his home-sickness. +</p><p> +The experimental trip in the new steam yacht that +Hardy had had built (and which he had christened +the <i>Rosendal</i>) was a great delight to the young +Dane, who was naturally fond of the sea. The yacht +made a few short trips in the English Channel, and +was then laid up for the winter. Karl made himself +useful on board the yacht, and his greatest pleasure +was to do anything for John Hardy or his mother. +The lad's thankfulness for the kindness he received +was thorough, and Mrs. Hardy liked the lad. +</p><p> +"Is your sister Helga like you, Mr. Karl Lindal?" +asked Mrs. Hardy, one day, when her son was not +present. +</p><p> +<a name="pg231"></a> +"She is more clever in everything than I am," +replied Karl, "and she is so good to me and Axel, +and gives up everything for us. She is four years +older." +</p><p> +At last a letter came to John Hardy, from Vandstrup +Præstegaard. +</p><p> +"Herr Hardy, +</p><p> +"My father desires me to say that they are +proceeding with the work at Rosendal, and that there +is nothing specially to report at present, as there is +nothing being done contrary to your wishes, and there +is no room for complaint on what is being done. +</p><p> +"My father also desires me to express his thanks +for your kindness about the tickets from Esbjerg. It +was a matter that surprised us all, except me, and +it was my fault in saying that my coming back from +Esbjerg would be an additional cost to him; I understood +the completeness of your kindness at once. I +felt you would not let it be a burden to my father +on my account and Axel, and that when you were +taking the tickets that you might as well include +my father's also; but to take first-class tickets was +not necessary, and what we did not wish. +</p><p> +"I promised to write if I caught a trout that weighed +one pound, English, by your measure. I have fished +many times, and caught one by the bend in the river +just below the tile works. Axel got it into the landing-net, +and my father has seen it weighed, and it is just + +<a name="pg232"></a> + +a little heavier than the line that marks the one pound +English. I thank you also for your consideration in +this. My father is pleased to see me looking fresh +and well after going out fishing, and he says no fish +are so good as those Helga catches. I thank you, +Herr Hardy, for your thinking that this would also +please my father. +</p><p> +"We all send you friendly greeting from here, and +our best affection to Karl. +</p><p> +"Helga Lindal." +</p><p> +John Hardy translated the letter for his mother, +and gave it to her with the original. +</p><p> +"Her handwriting is ladylike, John," said his +mother, "there is no doubt of that; and she writes +such a beautiful, simple letter! I like her, John! If +you love her, do not lose her for the world." +</p><p> +John Hardy was touched. +</p><p> +"Bless you, my mother," he said; "your heart is +as mine; you love again with your son's love. But +I know it is best to wait until May, when we can go +there." +</p><p> +Karl Lindal wrote to his father in Denmark. +</p><p> +"My all-dearest Father, +</p><p> +"The kindness I receive from Herr Hardy +and his mother is great. They are most kind. I +feel it not possible to express my thanks; but I am +always trying to be useful, to show how thankful +I am. They are so different from Danish people. I + +<a name="pg233"></a> + +cannot say how beautiful Herr Hardy's house is. It +is far prettier than Rosendal. I learn English every +day with an English Kapellan; he is very kind, and +he teaches me the English games of cricket and lawn +tennis. Mrs. Hardy, that is Herr Hardy's mother, is +beautiful. She touches my cheek with her hand, and +she asks if Helga is like me. I answer that Helga +is better, and she seems to be pleased to hear me +say so. Herr Hardy has taken me out in his yacht, +that is a pleasure vessel with steam power; he has +called it the <i>Rosendal</i>. +</p><p> +"I have been out with Herr Hardy shooting +partridges. He has had many gentlemen down to +shoot, but they none of them shoot so well as Herr +Hardy. A flock of the birds get up, and Herr +Hardy, who shoots with a double-barrelled gun, +always gets two. His gamekeeper, or Jaeger, told me +that they always could depend on the governor, as +they call Herr Hardy. +</p><p> +"Herr Hardy took me to London, and I went to +the Zoological Gardens, where there were a great +many rare animals, and to the Haymarket Theatre, +which is like the Royal Theatre at Copenhagen. I +was measured for clothes by a tailor in London, and +Herr Hardy has given me many more things than +necessary; but he is so kind I do not know what +to say or do. I send my best love to you and Helga +and Axel. +</p><p> +"Your son, +</p><p> +"Karl Lindal." +</p><p> +<a name="pg234"></a> +Another letter came from Vandstrup Præstegaard. +</p><p> +"Herr Hardy, +</p><p> +"My father desires me to say that the work +at Rosendal is nearly finished, and that the land +where the trees are to be planted is prepared for +them. There is nothing that he sees neglected, or +that he should bring to your notice. +</p><p> +"We have received many letters from Karl, and +we are interested in them. He writes and describes +your house, and repeats again and again your goodness +to him. He describes your mother as very kind. +We have no doubt but this is you. My father says +if you do anything, you do it always in the kindest +way. I do not doubt but that this is so, and we all +thank you gratefully, and greet you kindly. +</p><p> +"Helga Lindal." +</p><p> +John Hardy translated this letter for his mother. +She read it, and said— +</p><p> +"John, the letter is a letter to keep for all time! +I feel so proud of you, my own boy, that such a letter +should be addressed to you. I never read so beautiful +a letter; so short, and yet so exquisite in its +simplicity! You can trust your future to her, John." +</p><p> +"Thank you, my mother," replied her son. "I +know I can trust her, if she will trust me." +</p><p> +"Why, John, you can offer her wealth, position, +and influence," said Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +<a name="pg235"></a> +"All which would be nothing with her," said John +"She would be as content to marry me on a bare +subsistence as if I had a larger income than we have. +Position is nothing to her, because she scarcely understands +it; and as for influence, she has more influence +for good in her father's parish than any person in it." +</p><p> +"A faint heart, John," suggested his mother. +</p><p> +"Yes, I know that; but my heart is not faint," +said John. "I only wait to be sure of it, and your +approval, mother." +</p><p> +Karl Lindal made progress in learning English +and Hardy made inquiries for a berth for him with +a foreign broker. In reply to the question as to +Karl's character, Hardy told the story of the young +Dane's refusing taking any money from Hardy in +their driving tour to Esbjerg. This slight matter +made a favourable impression, and the young Dane +entered on his duties. Hardy procured lodgings for +him in London, with a young medical man who had +recently married, and had began to keep house, and +whose relatives resided near Hardy Place. +</p> + +<a name="pg236"></a> + +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER XXI.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"Only a sweet and virtuous soul<br> +Like seasoned timber, never gives<br> +But when the whole world turns to coal,<br> +Then chiefly lives."<br> +<i>The Complete Angler.</i> +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +The interior of Rosendal had been painted, and +sketch plans of the different floors and rooms had +been submitted to Mrs. Hardy. Lithographed drawings +of Danish furniture had been procured in Copenhagen, +so that she could select what furniture she +thought necessary for their stay at Rosendal during +the summer, and this was purchased for John Hardy +by Prokuratør Steindal, and sent to Rosendal. +</p><p> +The planting and improvements in the grounds +had been carried out. +</p><p> +Robert Garth and a manservant were sent with +the horses, a carriage, and the heavy impedimenta to +Esbjerg by steamer, late in April, to prepare for the +occupation of the mansion at Rosendal. +</p><p> +Then came a letter from Vandstrup Præstegaard. +</p><p> +<a name="pg237"></a> +"Herr Hardy, +</p><p> +"We have heard that your servants are +preparing Rosendal for your mother's residence there. +It has occurred to my father that everything may +not be at first ready for her, and he has directed me +to write and say that if she will come here on her +arriving in Jutland, that we will do our best to make +her stay a pleasant one. We are all so grateful for +your goodness to Karl, that it would gladden us to +do anything for your mother. +</p><p> +"We send respectful greetings to her and to +yourself. +</p><p> +"Helga Lindal." +</p><p> +John translated the letter to his mother. +</p><p> +"Accept it, John," she said. "My maid can be +driven over by Robert Garth, the two miles you say +that Rosendal is situated from the parsonage, if she +would be in the way there." +</p><p> +"No, my mother," said Hardy; "you do not know +the language. I will go to Rosendal, and you can +certainly take your maid with you. Pastor Lindal +knows a little English, and so does his daughter. +It will be a good sign if she has been learning it in +the winter; I left my Danish-English books there, but +I suggested nothing to her in this direction." +</p><p> +"How simply to the point her letter is, John!" +exclaimed Mrs. Hardy. "There are no phrases about +their accommodation not being so good, or that their + +<a name="pg238"></a> + +means are narrow; she simply says they will do +their best, and that they would be glad to do it. It +is not possible to doubt her." +</p><p> +"It is like her manner," said John. "I can fancy +I hear the words she writes." +</p><p> +Towards the middle of May, Mrs. Hardy, her son, +and two women-servants travelled overland to Jutland, +from Flushing. +</p><p> +Robert Garth met them at the railway station, and +drove them to the parsonage. +</p><p> +Parson Lindal was at the door, and welcomed +Mrs. Hardy with much old-fashioned politeness. +"Welcome, and glad to see you," he said in English +to her, while he warmly greeted Hardy in Danish. +</p><p> +Helga was standing by her father, regarding their +visitor with great interest; she had shaken hands +with John Hardy, and welcomed him back to Jutland. +The Pastor introduced his daughter to Mrs. Hardy, +who held out her hand to Helga, and drew her closer +and kissed her, as if she had been her daughter. +</p><p> +"You are a beautiful edition of your brother Karl, +Miss Lindal," she said. "He has become a great +favourite of mine, and you will be glad to hear he +is well spoken of in London." +</p><p> +Robert Garth drove one of the servants to Rosendal, +and had orders to fetch John Hardy in the evening, +at the parsonage. +</p><p> +The Pastor had time for a word with Hardy, as +his mother went to change her travelling dress. +</p><p> +<a name="pg239"></a> +"I am glad to see you, Hardy; but what a trick +you played us about the tickets from Esbjerg! I did +not like it at first, but when I thought of your friendly +intentions, I forgave you; but I cannot thank you +enough for your goodness to Karl, and your wisely +placing him in lodgings with the chance of good +influence. That is good of you, indeed." +</p><p> +"Where is Axel?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"He is at Copenhagen, at a school for a time," +replied the Pastor. "He will be home in the summer +for a holiday." +</p><p> +"What about Rosendal?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"It is much improved; in a month or six weeks +it will be lovely," answered the Pastor. "The plan +was excellent that you adopted, and, as you have +been written, it has been executed well." +</p><p> +When Mrs. Hardy appeared, perfectly well dressed, +as she always was, John could see that the Pastor +observed her well-bred manner. "Your parsonage, +Herr Pastor," she said, "has a look of calm contentment +and quiet that strikes me in coming from busy +England." +</p><p> +"That is near the reality, Mrs. Hardy," replied he; +"but it is not the fact with all our Danish parsonages, +men vary here as they do elsewhere." +</p><p> +"That may be; but you have the greater opportunity +for attaining the actuality of what is simple +and true," said Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +"Possibly we have," replied Pastor Lindal; "but + +<a name="pg240"></a> + +I fear we are all liable to neglect opportunities which +suggest only." +</p><p> +John Hardy had been obliged to assist at this +conversation as interpreter, when Kirstin announced +dinner was served. Hardy rose and shook hands +with Kirstin. +</p><p> +"It is an old servant, mother," said Hardy; and +Mrs. Hardy rose and shook hands with Kirstin, and +then the Pastor took Mrs. Hardy in to dinner. +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy's ladylike tact soon enabled her to +get on with the Pastor—she used the simplest English +words, and Hardy was able to talk to Helga. +</p><p> +"I have brought the side saddle," he said. +</p><p> +"I have seen it at Rosendal; and your man Garth +has been exercising the horses with a skirt daily, to +make them more accustomed to a lady riding them," +said Helga. +</p><p> +"Well?" said Hardy, inquiringly. +</p><p> +"I shall be glad to learn to ride, Herr Hardy, if +you will kindly teach me," said Helga. "Your man +has told us that the horses and carriage were at our +disposal until your mother came. We have not often +used them, as my father said that if I wished to learn +to ride, I had better wait until you came, as you +understood horses, and that he was afraid some +accident might occur." +</p><p> +John Hardy had apprised Mrs. Hardy of the inevitable +porcelain pipe, which, as she did not like +tobacco smoking, her son asked the Pastor to hold + +<a name="pg241"></a> + +his tobacco-parliament in his own study, where he +went to keep him company. +</p><p> +Thus Mrs. Hardy was alone with Helga for some +time. She found that Helga could speak a little +English, and Mrs. Hardy led her to speak of the +management of the little household at the parsonage, +and then of her father, which with Helga was an +inexhaustible theme. She told Mrs. Hardy of John's +gift of the piano, which she said she had accepted +because her father liked to hear her sing. +</p><p> +"I feel it was wrong to have accepted it," she +said, "but I did so on the impulse of the moment; +my father had been listening to my singing, and it +seemed to draw his mind away from his great sorrow, +and I thought any feeling of my own should be +sacrificed to that." +</p><p> +"Why, what a dear child you are!" said Mrs. +Hardy, led away by Helga's earnest blue eyes, and +she kissed her affectionately. "You talk a good deal +better English than I expected," she added. +</p><p> +"Perhaps so," replied Helga. "Mr. Hardy left +his books here for Axel, and I have been learning all +the winter, in the hope of being of use to you; I +knew you would want some one to speak English, as +your son might not always be at hand. Karl has +written with such gratitude of you, that it is the only +way that occurred to me that I might really be useful +to you." +</p><p> +"You are a dear, sensible girl, Miss Lindal," said + +<a name="pg242"></a> + +Mrs. Hardy, caressing her; "and so it will be. And +will you come and stay with me as long as your +father can spare you, at Rosendal, and help me to +get the house in order?" +</p><p> +"I will do anything for you, Mrs. Hardy," replied +Helga, earnestly. +</p><p> +John Hardy came in to wish them "Good night," +before he left for Rosendal. +</p><p> +"I shall drive over in the morning to see if you +wish to go to Rosendal, mother," he said. +</p><p> +"Certainly I do, John," replied his mother, "But +I have a message for you;" and she whispered, "I +like her already, John; she is perfectly good and +true." +</p><p> +John Hardy was right when he said that his +mother's influence on his own thoughts would crystallize +them. +</p><p> +The next few days were occupied in settling down +at Rosendal. Mrs. Hardy was charmed with the +place. Its natural beauty was what such a mind as +hers could recognize, and she praised Rosendal to +Helga, to the latter's great satisfaction. +</p><p> +Helga was assiduous in learning English, and +daily became more useful to Mrs. Hardy, The Pastor +often came to dinner, and the days passed pleasantly, +</p><p> +"John," said Mrs. Hardy, one day, when she was +alone with her son, "you have asked me to ascertain +what Helga Lindal's feelings are to you, if I possibly +could. I cannot. All I can say is, marry her, and + +<a name="pg243"></a> + +you will never regret it. Ask her. She is the best +and truest woman I ever met." +</p><p> +"Very good, mother," replied John. "I will." +</p><p> +That day Pastor Lindal came to dinner, and his +daughter was to return with him in the evening, to +remain at home. +</p><p> +John Hardy asked Helga to walk through the +grounds, while her father was conversing with Mrs. +Hardy, They went to a particular place that John +recollected, and he said— +</p><p> +"Frøken, do you remember your asking me at +this spot why I bought Rosendal?" +</p><p> +"Yes, perfectly," said Helga, frankly; "and you +said you would tell me when your mother came." +</p><p> +"My reason is, and was, because you said there +was no place you should like to live at so much as +Rosendal." +</p><p> +"Do you mean you will give it to us?" asked +Helga. +</p><p> +"My meaning is that I will give it to you, Helga. +I want you to be my wife." +</p><p> +"I will, if you will wait. Hardy; my father cannot +live without me now." +</p><p> +"Wait!" cried Hardy; and he looked into her +blue eyes. "Why, you have loved me a long time, +and never told me so! I have been in doubt and +fear." +</p><p> +"You never need doubt it more. Hardy," said she, +saying "du" to him for the first time. "When you + +<a name="pg244"></a> + +came here first, I tried not to like you; then I tried +to disgust you with me, and you were so good and +manly that I loved you with all my heart. I +thought," she added, "you would have spoken to +me when you proposed the driving tour to Esbjerg, +and I was so frightened." +</p><p> +"Yes," said Hardy, "it was in my mind, but I +was a guest in your father's house, and I had to ask +my mother's blessing and support. But tell me one +thing, what was the reason that you would not tell +me about your refusing to learn to ride?" +</p><p> +"My reason was that I did try not to like you, +and then I refused." +</p><p> +"I see," said Hardy, kissing what he thought the +most beautiful mouth in the world. +</p><p> +When they returned to the house, Mrs. Hardy +saw her son's bright face, and knew he had been +accepted. +</p><p> +"Dear mother," said John, caressing her, "she's +won." +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy embraced Helga warmly, and the +Pastor saw how the matter stood, and held out his +hand. +</p><p> +"I have understood you all along, Hardy, and you +are a noble fellow. You have my consent, willingly." +</p><p> +Helga was preparing to return with her father, but +Mrs. Hardy interposed. +</p><p> +"You can have John, Herr Pastor," she said; +"but I must have my daughter here, that I may get + +<a name="pg245"></a> + +to know more of her. John shall go with you, but +I must have her for to-night." +</p><p> +The Pastor had to give way, and John Hardy +went with him, and they held a tobacco-parliament, +and John slept in his old room at the parsonage. +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy, when they were gone, said, "Tell me +all about John, my darling, all you know;" and +Helga told her. +</p><p> +"He is like his father," said Mrs. Hardy; "he +was so true and good a gentleman, that I feel the +same interest as if it were my own marriage over +again, and my son has been my all for years. He +has told me so much about you, that before I came +it was the holding up the mirror to memory; all +what he said, and had dwelt in my mind, came +back." +</p><p> +Helga told her that she could not marry until her +father was too old to attend to his duty; that he could +not, and would not, give his duty up until pronounced +unfit. +</p><p> +"I will arrange all that," said Mrs. Hardy, "You +shall be married to John this summer, and you must +say no more; you must leave that to me. Your +father's greatest happiness will be to see you happily +married, and he has told me so." +</p><p> +A few days after, John Hardy and his mother and +Helga Lindal called at the Jensens'. John frankly +told them the story of his engagement, and, as he was +going to be married in Denmark, asked the two + +<a name="pg246"></a> + +Frøken Jensens if they would be bridesmaids. Helga +wished it. +</p><p> +Mathilde Jensen reminded Hardy that she had +said he bought Rosendal because he wanted to marry +Helga Lindal. +</p><p> +"Yes," said John; "I thanked you for so disposing +of me." +</p><p> +The worthy proprietor was delighted that John +Hardy would be his neighbour for some time of the +year, and thanked him for the mare Hardy had sent +over from England to improve his breeding stock. +John Hardy had made him a present of it. +</p><p> +"She is," said the proprietor, "as handsome as +can be; but she has a temper." +</p><p> +"She is Irish," said Hardy. "But you will find the +horse foals easy to manage; the mares may give a +little trouble, but they will go like birds." +</p><p> +The Jensens pressed them to stay to an early +dinner, and Mrs. Hardy thought they had best do so. +The well-bred English lady made a strong impression +on the Jensen ladies, and the genuine Danish +hospitality appealed to Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +The result of this visit was a return visit to +Rosendal. The exact service and the excellent +arrangements of everything had its effect on the +Jensens, and the consequence was that numerous +calls were made at Rosendal. +</p><p> +Helga had returned to the parsonage, when John +Hardy one day came to his mother with a telegram. +The steam yacht Rosendal was at Aarhus. +</p><p> +<a name="pg247"></a> +"Let us go to Copenhagen, John," said Mrs. +Hardy, "and take Helga with us. She is fond of +the sea, and I enjoy her society. It is the perfect +truth that is in everything about her that I love." +</p><p> +"She will not go if I ask her, mother," said John; +"but if you do she may." +</p><p> +"Telegraph to them to have steam up, John," said +his mother, "and I will drive to the parsonage." +</p><p> +His mother left, and, to John's astonishment, +Helga returned with her, ready to go anywhere. +</p><p> +"The Pastor insisted on her going," said Mrs. +Hardy, "and I promised to bring back his youngest +son, who is at school at Copenhagen. The Pastor is +a sensible man. He said to his daughter, 'Why +should you not enjoy the kindness your future +husband can show you?' and there was an end to +her objections." +</p><p> +They hurried to the station, and got on board the +Rosendal after a short railway journey. +</p><p> +"You had better go below and get your dress +changed, Helga; my mother will show you where +your berth is. What you want is a warm woollen +dress that a little sea water will not hurt. There are +several belonging to my mother on board." +</p><p> +When Helga came up, they were at sea. The +pilot was steering. Mrs. Hardy was sitting on a +wicker chair on deck. Some one in a sailor's dress +placed a chair for her. +</p><p> +"When you are tired of sitting here," said Hardy, + +<a name="pg248"></a> + +for he it was, "you can go into the deck-house +and lie down. We shall have dinner at six. There +is Samsø, and before you rise to-morrow we shall +be at Copenhagen, I shall have to be up all +night." +</p><p> +The yacht delighted Helga. The dinner was +served so well that it surprised her; and when they +came on deck, it was a pleasure to see the distant +lights in the fine summer's night, and to feel the yacht +rushing through the smooth sea. +</p><p> +"I do like this. Hardy," she said. "Must I go to +my berth? I would rather be on deck and hear your +voice now and then." +</p><p> +"No," said Hardy; "because you must not draw +off my attention. We have to look after the pilot, +and I am the only man on board that knows Danish;" +and Helga went at once. +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy, who had heard what had passed, was +pleased to see her rapid compliance with what was +necessary. +</p><p> +When Helga came on deck the next day, they +were at anchor near the Custom House at Copenhagen. +Mrs. Hardy was already up, and they had +breakfast. +</p><p> +Hardy gave some necessary orders as to coaling, +and they went ashore and saw the Museum of +Northern Antiquities, Thorwaldsen's Museum, and +much else, and lunched at the Hotel d'Angleterre in +the King's New Market, or Kongens Nytorv. +</p><p> +<a name="pg249"></a> +"Now, Helga, what is there more to see?" asked +Hardy. +</p><p> +"There is the picture gallery in Christiansborg +Slot, but there are so many steps up to it that it will +fatigue Mrs. Hardy; but, if we might, I should like to +call and see Axel, and arrange about his coming back +with us," said Helga. "To-morrow you could see +Rosenborg, which is certain to interest you; we have +to give notice to-day to the curator." +</p><p> +"I shall be henpecked, mother," said Hardy. "She +orders everything already." +</p><p> +"No, you will not," said Helga, who understood +him, although he had spoken in English. "I shall +give my life to you, and my will too." There was no +mistaking the look in those blue eyes. "You might +be interested," she added, "in going to the Royal +Theatre. The play to-night is one of Holberg's +comedies, 'Den pantsatte Bondedreng,' that is, 'The +Farmer's Boy left in Pledge.' It is a good play and +popular. I can tell the story of the play to Mrs. +Hardy before she goes, as you. Hardy, already +know it." +</p><p> +"I give myself entirely in your hands, Helga. +You shall be obeyed before marriage, and obey me +after," said Hardy, laughing. +</p><p> +"It is not a question of obedience," replied Helga. +"I am yours altogether when I am your wife." +</p><p> +As she had said this in Danish, Hardy explained +to his mother. +</p><p> +<a name="pg250"></a> +Mrs. Hardy said, "She is a jewel, John, and without +price;" and rose from her seat and kissed her on +the parting of her hair. +</p><p> +"Don't do that, mother," said John; "you make +me wish to kiss her head off." +</p> +<br> +<a name="pg251"></a> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER XXII.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"Oh, ye valleys! oh, ye mountains!<br> +Oh, ye groves, and crystal fountains!<br> +How I love, as liberty,<br> +By turns to come and visit ye!"<br> +<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +Axel's joy at the unexpected pleasure of seeing his +sister and Hardy was unbounded, but when he heard +he was going on board the yacht for a cruise, and +then to return home, he was wild with delight. +</p><p> +They went to the theatre that evening, and to +Rosenborg the next day, and the yacht left in the +afternoon for Elsinore, and anchored for the night. +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy preferred being at sea to staying +longer at Copenhagen. The theatre with its excellent +acting interested her, but the knowledge of the language +was wanting, and detracted from her enjoyment +of Holberg's dramatic genius, which for so many years +has interested the Danish public. Rosenborg, with its +rich and varied treasures for four hundred years, was +a greater enjoyment to her, and is alone worth a visit +to Copenhagen. +</p><p> +"We have supplies and coal on board, mother," + +<a name="pg252"></a> + +said Hardy, "and we can run up the Swedish coast +to Gothenborg and see the falls at Trollhättan, by +starting early, and can then cruise down the Danish +coast." +</p><p> +"I think, John," said Mrs. Hardy, "I would rather +go up to Christiania; we can write Pastor Lindal +from Elsinore that we shall do so. We can lay to +during the darker hours at many places, or, as we +take a pilot from here to Christiania, can run on. +The weather is calm." +</p><p> +Helga had heard what Mrs. Hardy had said, and, +as Hardy looked at her, she said, "Where your +mother pleases." +</p><p> +The next day, at breakfast time after English +fashion, the yacht was fifty miles from Elsinore, and +sea life began. The decks were clean and everything +in order. The fore-staysail was set, as well as the +fore and main sails, to catch the wind from the westward, +and the yacht ran steadily, to the comfort of all +on board. +</p><p> +Hardy had every arrangement made for his +mother's comfort, her chair and wraps and footstool +were all placed on deck, as he knew she liked, and +Helga watched him doing this with pleasure. +</p><p> +"I think, Helga," he said, "it may interest you to +inspect the yacht. Axel has been everywhere except +up the masts." And Hardy showed her the engines, +the many contrivances for economizing space, the +compact little cooking-galley, and the berths for his + +<a name="pg253"></a> + +own use and friends, as well as the little library they +had on board, the stores and pantry. "And now," +he said, "as the sea air will make you hungry, and +you are not accustomed to an English breakfast, +what would you like for lunch? There is a list of +soups, also preserved meats, and a lot of things sent +from Hardy Place." +</p><p> +"I will have anything that has come from Hardy +Place," said Helga; and Hardy gave directions accordingly, +to her subsequent approval. +</p><p> +They walked up and down the deck, and Hardy +pointed out the different places on the coast on the +chart, stopping at times to speak to Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +"I think this is the most delightful way of travelling. +Hardy," said Helga, "and I recollect that you +said so when you drove us to Esbjerg. There is more +living interest at sea; the changes and contrasts are +greater, that is, in natural features." +</p><p> +"You are right, Helga, except that you call me +Hardy. Now, my name is John, positively John." +</p><p> +"I cannot pronounce it as you do," said Helga, +"and I am afraid you will laugh at me. The name +with us is spelt 'Jon,' pronounced 'Yon.' We have +also 'Johan,' pronounced 'Yohan.'" +</p><p> +"I am aware of the learning you exhibit, Helga; +but, notwithstanding, my name is John, and if you +do not call me so, I shall be obliged to kiss you until +you do, and my mother will say I shall be quite +justified in taking that course." +</p><p> +<a name="pg254"></a> +Helga went and sat down by Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +"He is teasing me," she said, as she laid her head +on Mrs. Hardy's lap. +</p><p> +"John," said Mrs. Hardy, as she touched Helga's +cheek, "you do not take care of your Scandinavian +princess; her skin is so thin and clear, that this little +cheek is at fever heat with the action of the sun and +wind. Tell my maid to bring the lotion I use, and a +sponge." +</p><p> +"Thank you, Mrs. Hardy," said Helga, "but I +do not mind the sun burning me; it makes my face +a little warm, that is all." +</p><p> +"She does not know how handsome she is, John," +said Mrs. Hardy, in French; "but her beauty lies in +this, that there is nothing so beautiful as what is true." +</p><p> +After lunch, John Hardy told one of his men to +fetch some rope quoits, to amuse Axel, and cleared +part of the deck for the purpose. Helga, however, +joined in the game with the zest of a child; her clear +voice and laughter and natural grace made conquests +of the yacht sailors. +</p><p> +"Uncommon neat about the spars!" exclaimed an +old salt; "a smart craft when she's got all her sails +bent, I'll be bound." +</p><p> +"Well, pilot," said Hardy, "where can you put +us in for shelter for the night? We want to go up +the Christiania Fjord by daylight, and when the ladies +will be on deck. It has, besides, been a long run for +the engineers." +</p><p> +<a name="pg255"></a> +"We shall have Frederikstad abeam at ten tonight, +if she goes as she's going, and we can lay off +there until the morning," replied the pilot. "There +is no anger in the weather, and it will be a fine night. +In fact, there will be no night; we are close on St. +Hans' night, the longest day." +</p><p> +"We will keep the fires banked, anyway," said +Hardy, "and set a watch.'' +</p><p> +"Yes, better weigh," said the pilot. "The chances +are the custom-house officers will board, and you had +best keep your burgee and ensign flying, as then they +may not trouble you." +</p><p> +At six the wind fell, and the sails were taken in, +and the sea was soon without a ripple. Mrs. Hardy +and Helga sat on deck after dinner, enjoying the +changing beauty of the shore and the soft tints that +rest on the northern lands at close of day. Hardy +had wraps brought up from below, to keep the dew +off his mother and the Scandinavian princess, and +chatted with them. +</p><p> +When they determined to go below, Helga, in her +Danish manner, shook hands with Hardy, and said, +"Tak for i dag" (thank you for to-day). "I have +never enjoyed life so much." +</p><p> +"Mother," said John, when Helga had gone, "you +surprised me when you said you would rather go +up to Christiania; you did so that I might see my +princess for a few days when her mind is animated +by what is strikingly novel to her, so that the bright + +<a name="pg256"></a> + +transparency of her character should be more apparent. +Thank you, my mother!" +</p><p> +"We have one heart, John," replied his mother. +</p><p> +John Hardy went on deck, anything but disposed +to sleep. "Pass the word to get up for drift-lines +and two men to go in a boat fishing." +</p><p> +The night, or rather the softer daylight, was favourable +for catching, Pollock and one man rowing. John +Hardy worked two lines and the other man two. +They pulled in round the islands and soon caught +many fish, which made a welcome addition to the +breakfast-table the next day. +</p><p> +At eight they were under weigh, steaming up the +grander scenery of the Christiania Fjord. Helga had +come on deck, and Hardy saw she was interested in +the scenery they were passing. +</p><p> +"We are in the Christiania Fjord," he said. +</p><p> +"How lovely and lake-like!" said Helga, when the +breakfast-bell rang. "Must we go below, John?" +</p><p> +"There is no need whatever, now that you have +called me, John;" and he directed her breakfast and +his own to be brought on deck, and that his mother +should be informed they were having breakfast on +deck, which brought Mrs. Hardy up with them. +</p><p> +"We are making progress, mother," said Hardy, +"and, for the first time, I have been called John; but +only under desperate threats." +</p><p> +"You will not let him tease me, Mrs. Hardy?" said +Helga, with an appealing look and earnest tone. +</p><p> +<a name="pg257"></a> +"Do you wish me to punish him?" said Mrs. +Hardy, smiling. "Shall I have him thrown overboard, +or put in irons?" +</p><p> +"No, no!" cried Helga, who was doubtful how far +the maternal authority might extend amongst the +English. +</p><p> +"Then we will both of us forgive him this time?" +said Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +"Yes, I will, Mrs. Hardy," said Helga, with an +earnestness that left no doubt. +</p><p> +"Now then," said John, "as I have been condemned +and pardoned, let us have breakfast. I was +afraid to go to sleep last night, so went fishing, to +catch some fish for breakfast, and here they are." +</p><p> +"Why, John, were you afraid to go to sleep?" +asked Helga, anxiously. +</p><p> +"Because I knew I should dream of you, Helga," +replied Hardy, "and have not been in bed all night +because of that, and because I went fishing. Moreover, +I suspect you of being a 'Mare,' your eyebrows +grow together, and I dread the nightmare." +</p><p> +"My eyebrows do not grow together," replied +Helga, firmly. +</p><p> +"Let me see," said John; and he took her face between +his hands, and added, "I am not certain, I +must look closer;" and kissed her between the eyes. +</p><p> +"It is time for me to interfere," said John's +mother; and she rang a small handbell in the deckhouse. +</p><p> +<a name="pg258"></a> +"Oh, don't, mother!" said John, with a piteous +look. +</p><p> +"Oh, Mrs. Hardy! what are you going to do with +Him?" asked Helga, with concern. +</p><p> +"First, he shall have no more breakfast, because +he has finished," said Mrs. Hardy; "and then I will +condemn him to——" +</p><p> +"No, no!" said Helga, beseechingly. +</p><p> +"I must," said Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +The great black-bearded steward came in to take +away the breakfast things. +</p><p> +"Do go away; you are not wanted!" said Helga; +and she pushed him out, and shut the door of the +deck-house. +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy got up and embraced her affectionately. +</p><p> +"Why," said she, "I was only going to condemn +him to love you always, all his life, and with all his +heart. You must not mind if he teases a little, all +men do; but he is as good as gold, and as true as +yourself." +</p><p> +"Now, Helga," said John, "let the steward clear +away, and have a walk on deck. I will not tease you +any more until next time. But where is that boy +Axel?" +</p><p> +Axel had become a favourite with the men, for +English sailors like a quick lad. He had an undying +interest in knots and the contrivances on board the +yacht, and the men liked the little Dane, as they +called him. John Hardy sent a man to find him. +</p><p> +<a name="pg259"></a> +"He is down in the fok'sle, sir, learning knots off +the men," said the man, touching his cap. +</p><p> +"Axel is trying to learn our English way of tieing +knots, Helga," said Hardy, "and my men have taken +him in charge. They will be kind to him, and would +teach a lad no harm." +</p><p> +"When you were with us last year, you were so +thoughtful of every one, and you were so kind; but +when you tease me, I think you love me less," said +Helga, slowly; "and I see you are thoughtful still. +But why do you tease me?" +</p><p> +"Because I love you so; I do not know how to +behave wisely," replied John. "You called me a cool +and calculating Englishman; but if you knew how it +hurt me when you said so, you would not have said +what you did." +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy had come on deck, and Helga went +to her. Mrs. Hardy saw she was agitated, and was +alarmed, but waited for Helga to speak. +</p><p> +"I know now he loved me from the first time +we went to Rosendal," said Helga, "and I have been +so bad to him. What I have said and did was +hard." +</p><p> +"He understands it all, Helga, and there is no +need for grief when you are so happy in the certainty +of John's truth," said Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +"Thank you; thank you!" said Helga. "I feel +so weak against his strength." +</p><p> +"Go and tell him so," said Mrs. Hardy, "if you + +<a name="pg260"></a> + +feel so, and enjoy the beautiful scenes he is taking +you through." +</p><p> +"There is not the weirdness in the scenery here, +Helga, as further north, on the west coast of Norway. +The hills here are rounder in form, as if by the action +of ice ages ago," said Hardy. "Your father has often +explained to you the action of glaciers, and how the +large stones or boulders found in Jutland were conveyed +by the ice and left where the ice grounded." +</p><p> +"It is lovely to pass a fresh prospect every +minute," said Helga, "and to sail so easily through +the still waters. The sun is hotter here than I think +with us; it scalds more." +</p><p> +"Pass the word to get the awning up," said Hardy +to one of his men; and presently half a dozen willing +hands had done it. +</p><p> +"How pleasant!" said Helga. "The draught of air +under the awning makes it feel so delightfully fresh. +The colour of the foliage, the grass, the rocks, and +sea appear distinct in effect of colour, John; how is +that?" +</p><p> +"It is one of the many phases of nature," replied +John. "The air is very clear here, and it may be that +the summer being so short, nature paints in fresher +colours." +</p><p> +"When shall we reach Christiania?" asked +Helga. +</p><p> +"About three, as the yacht is going; the order I +have given is, to run forty revolutions, that is a little + +<a name="pg261"></a> + +more than half speed," replied Hardy. "If you wish +to reach Christiania earlier, I will give the order for +full speed." +</p><p> +"You must do what your mother wishes, John," +said Helga. +</p><p> +"I am," replied John; "her wishes are that I +should consult yours. Now, for instance, we shall get +to Christiania at three; what would you like to see +this afternoon?" +</p><p> +"Oscarshall," said Helga, "and Tidemand's pictures +is what I long to see; but we had best go there +to-morrow. We can take a walk this afternoon." +</p><p> +"And come back to dinner and go to the theatre?" +added John. +</p><p> +The New Palace came in view about two, and then +Akershuus Castle, and the yacht was put in her +berth by the pilot. +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy declined to go ashore, as she said she +should be too fatigued to go to the theatre, and John +had a walk with his princess. He tried to inveigle +her into saying that she wanted something, that he +might get it for her; but his sly ways were detected. +</p><p> +At the theatre a French Vaudeville was acted, +which John thought his mother was greatly tired of +and would have left, but Helga's interest at being in +a foreign theatre, and seeing so many strange faces, +was so apparent that Mrs. Hardy would not leave. +The night when they came out of the theatre was +beautiful, and John, at his mother's wish, steered the + +<a name="pg262"></a> + +yacht's gig a little out of the harbour before they +joined the yacht. +</p><p> +The next day was Helga's birthday, her twenty-first, +and at eight o'clock, Norsk time, the yacht was +dressed with bunting. +</p><p> +Before Helga had finished dressing, Mrs. Hardy's +maid came into her state-room, with a small packet, +containing a handsome turquoise ring from Mrs. +Hardy, and a leather case from John Hardy, with the +initials "H. H." There was a slight blush on her cheek +as she remarked this. Her name was to be Helga +Hardy. +</p><p> +"Mr. Hardy has directed me to show you the contents +of the dressing-case, as you may not understand +how to open the secret drawer," said Mrs. Hardy's +maid. "This is a little gold key, and opens the +dressing-case; there is scent, tooth-powder, and soap, +and the whole is ready for use. And this is the way +the jewel drawer opens; you press this knob, and it +flies open, and is filled with the jewellery Mr. Hardy +thought you might like. When you wish to shut the +drawer, you push it so, and it closes with a spring." +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy's maid opened the jewel drawer again, +and left it for Helga to examine its contents. The +initials were engraved as a monogram on different +articles, even the ivory brushes had them. Mrs. +Hardy had told her that light blue suited her, and +there was a turquoise bracelet in good taste, and +several rings, some of which did not fit her, as John + +<a name="pg263"></a> + +Hardy when he bought her betrothal ring in Copenhagen +had not been able to get them altered, as his +stay in Copenhagen was short. Her first impulse +was to decline such a costly present, next she thought, +"He cannot have told his mother." The breakfast bell +rang, and she went into the saloon where breakfast +was served, and kissed Mrs. Hardy, whose present she +wore and thanked her warmly. John Hardy wished +her many happy returns of the day in a kindly Danish +phrase. +</p><p> +"But how do you like John's present, my child?" +said Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +Helga looked at John. She saw at once that his +mother not only knew all about it, but had probably +suggested it. "I thought it too costly to accept," +said Helga. +</p><p> +John put his hands on her two shoulders and +shook her gently. "You must not," he said in Danish, +"be stiff-necked on your birthday. My mother +bought what I have given you in London, and the +jewellery was sent to Copenhagen for us to select +from. It is all my mother's choice." +</p><p> +"In the winter?" said Helga. +</p><p> +"Yes, my child, in the winter. I understood John, +although he had so many doubts and fears. He told +me so much about you that I ordered the dressing-case, +which John has paid for," said Mrs. Hardy, "and +if I were you I would thank him." +</p><p> +She thanked him in the pretty Danish manner that + +<a name="pg264"></a> + +so well became her, and said, "Thank you, Mr. +Hardy; you are so good to me." +</p><p> +If the black-bearded steward had not come in at +this moment, it is to be feared that John would have +run the risk of being summarily adjudicated upon as +before described. +</p><p> +"Where is Axel?" asked John. +</p><p> +"He is out fishing, sir; been out since six o'clock, +with one of the men forard," replied the steward. +This was explained to Helga, and breakfast proceeded. +</p><p> +"I think," said Mrs. Hardy, "that Helga should +write her father, and say that we have arrived here +and shall leave to-morrow evening; and, John, you +could ask him to meet us at Aarhus when we arrived. +I fear the worthy Pastor may think you have carried +off his daughter, John." +</p><p> +"The very course I intend to take, mother, and in +which you have aided and abetted, and I bless and +thank you for it," said John. +</p> +<a name="pg265"></a> +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER XXIII.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"Come, live with me and be my love.<br> +And we will all the pleasures prove,<br> +That valleys, groves, or hills, or field,<br> +Or woods and sleepy mountains yield."<br> +<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +Helga wrote her father as follows:— +</p><p> +"My All-dearest Father, +</p><p> +"You were written to that we were going to +Christiania from Elsinore. I did not know that it +was so far, but the steamship Herr Hardy has sails as +fast as the steamer from Aarhus to Copenhagen, and +everything is so clean and nice, and seeing fresh places, +has been a great pleasure. Mrs. Hardy has been, as +Karl said, as kind as any one could be, and I cannot +say how grateful I am to her. We are to go to +Oscarshall to-day and many other places in Christiania; +and Mr. Hardy has asked me to write and say +that we shall leave here to-morrow, and shall call at +Fredrikshavn and telegraph to you from there the +time we may expect to be at Aarhus, and they think +you might like to come and see the steamer, and stay + +<a name="pg266"></a> + +the night on board, and return home the next day +with us. Herr Hardy has written a letter, which I +enclose, as he said you might wish to hear from him +to say how glad his mother would be to see you on +English ground, as an English ship is as English land. +If you can come, dear little father, I should be so +glad! I hope Kirstin has managed everything for +you in my absence. She said I was wrong to go away +from you, and perhaps I am, and it is a sad thought +to me; but it is not for long, and if I have been led +away to do what is not fitting, you will tell me, and I +will do what you say. Axel is very happy on board. +Herr Hardy is very good to him, and his men are so +friendly and teach him how to tie knots and go fishing +with him, that he is very happy all day long. +</p><p> +"Mrs. Hardy greets you kindly, and Herr Hardy +says I must say that he thanks you for teaching him +to love what is good and true. Live well, little +father. +</p><p> +"Your daughter, +</p><p> +"Helga Lindal." +</p><p> +John Hardy gave directions that the yacht should +fill up with coal and supplies; and in the two days they +were at Christiania, a good deal was seen. There is +much to see, and much of natural beauty in Christiania, +and Helga was interested. When they got +under way and steamed down the Christiania Fjord +and saw the effect of the sun setting, which then had + +<a name="pg267"></a> + +its special beauty, Helga thought she had never +seen anything so lovely. +</p><p> +"No! not even Rosendal?'' asked John. +</p><p> +"Rosendal has its own charm," replied Helga; +"there can be other places that have their singular +beauty." +</p><p> +"I am so glad that you say that," said Hardy. +"You may even come to think that the place where +my fathers have lived in England has its charm;" and +he held her face in his hands, and looked into her +eyes. +</p><p> +"I have promised to marry you, John," said Helga, +"and it is not whether your house is beautiful or not; +wherever you live I will give my life to you." +</p><p> +"Bless you, dearest," said John, "I will never +forget what you say;" and he never did. +</p><p> +When the yacht had cleared the Christiania Fjord, +the night was fine and clear, but a breeze sprang up +from the westward, and grew fresher towards morning. +This had the effect of sending the yacht along under +sail and steam, and at eight o'clock the next day the +pilot was sent ashore at Frederikshavn with a telegram +for Pastor Lindal, that they hoped to arrive at +Aarhus at six in the evening. +</p><p> +"When are you going to marry your Scandinavian +princess, John?" asked Mrs. Hardy, when she was +settled in her usual place on deck. +</p><p> +"I am afraid to say anything, mother, to Helga," +replied her son. "I see there does exist a doubt in + +<a name="pg268"></a> + +her mind as to whether she is not doing what is wrong +in leaving her father for this cruise, much more a cruise +for life. I fear to approach the subject with her, as +it may lead to her entertaining a fixed determination +not to marry until her father's death." +</p><p> +"There is no selfishness about Pastor Lindal," said +Mrs. Hardy, "and, moreover, he is a sensible man. He +is certain to desire that his daughter should be well +and happily provided for; besides, he has seen enough +of you, John, to value you, and I see he likes you. I +think you are right not to speak to Helga on the +subject; leave it to me and Pastor Lindal." +</p><p> +"Thank you, mother, a thousand times," said John. +"I understand you perfectly well, and I will do anything +you think best or shall arrange." +</p><p> +"What I have thought of, John, is this," said his +mother: "you can be married, say, the first of August, +and remain at Rosendal for your honeymoon, and then +come home to Hardy Place." +</p><p> +"And what will you do, mother?" asked John. +</p><p> +"I see you do not want your own mother in the +way during the honeymoon," said Mrs. Hardy, smiling. +"You can send the yacht round to Esbjerg, and I will +meet it by rail as soon as you are married, and return +home in the yacht to Harwich." +</p><p> +"What! go home alone, mother?" said John. "I +cannot let you do that!" +</p><p> +"Well, you can see me safely off at Esbjerg, John," +said Mrs. Hardy, "But this is the way that will please + +<a name="pg269"></a> + +me best, and I wish to give you a welcome home with +your wife, and I long to see her at the head of the +table at Hardy Place." +</p><p> +"You are the same good mother, ever;" and John +took his mother's hand and kissed it. +</p><p> +As soon as the entrance of the outer harbour at +Aarhus could be made out, John Hardy went on the +bridge with his binocular, and distinguished Pastor +Lindal's head appearing over the parapet wall at the +pierhead. +</p><p> +"Your father is on the pier, Helga, and you can +see him with this glass," said Hardy, handing her his +binocular. This she found difficult to do, as there +were so many other heads appearing; but all doubt +was at an end as the yacht glided past the pierhead +of the outer harbour, for there was the worthy Pastor +himself. +</p><p> +The yacht was soon brought to, and Pastor Lindal +stepped on deck, to be met with much affection from +his daughter and Axel. It was clear to Mrs. Hardy +that Helga's attachment to her father was one of +simple trust in each other, the same as existed +between herself and her own boy John. +</p><p> +The Pastor was ceremoniously polite to Mrs. +Hardy, but he greeted John Hardy with much +warmth and thanks. He was pleased with the yacht +and its many clever contrivances for saving space and +arriving at comfort, and at dinner was, for him, merry. +He was delighted to see his daughter with such a + +<a name="pg270"></a> + +fresh and healthy look, after the cruise to Christiania. +Axel, usually a quiet and retiring lad, talked incessantly; +he had so much to relate of all that passed +since leaving Copenhagen, that at length the Pastor +stopped him; but Hardy intervened, "Let him run on, +Herr Pastor; he is describing very well. He will come +to an end with what he has to say, shortly." +</p><p> +The Pastor had thus, from Axel's point of view, +the whole history of the cruise from beginning to +end. +</p><p> +"And what do you say, Helga?" asked the +Pastor. +</p><p> +"I never thought that life could be made so +pleasant and so happy, little father," replied Helga. +"Mrs. Hardy is kinder than I can say." +</p><p> +"And Hardy was not?" said the Pastor, smiling. +</p><p> +"He is like his mother, little father; their natures +are the same," replied Helga. "But he is a man, and +men are never so good as women." +</p><p> +John Hardy laughed, and, as the conversation was +in Danish, told his mother what Helga had said. +</p><p> +"It is her simple naturalness that makes her say +that, John," said Mrs. Hardy. "She sees in me what +she thinks a perfect woman, although I am an ordinary +Englishwoman; while she does not understand the +rougher nature men possess. Her thorough truth in +thought and feeling is her greatest charm." +</p><p> +Axel, however, put his oar in. "Why, father +how can Helga say Herr Hardy is not as good as + +<a name="pg271"></a> + +Fru Hardy? He gave her a toilet box with costly +things in it." +</p><p> +"Yes, little father, it is true," said Helga; "but it +was too costly a present, and I did not like to +accept it." +</p><p> +When dinner was over, Mrs. Hardy told her son to +go on deck, and take Axel with him. She then asked +Helga to show her father the dressing-case John +Hardy had given her. The Pastor started when he +read the initials, "H. H." His quick apprehension +realized the position. +</p><p> +"Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy, "our children +leave us as we grow older; and is there any better +wish for them than that they should have a happy +future?" +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy held out her hand, and Pastor Lindal +grasped it. He understood her, and, with the ceremonious +politeness habitual to him, raised her hand +to his lips. +</p><p> +"I think," said Mrs. Hardy, "they can be married +on the first of August. There is no reason to delay +the happiness of their young life. They can remain +near you at Rosendal for a month, and come to +England for the winter, and return to you in May." +</p><p> +Helga was present, and heard all Mrs. Hardy had +said. She put one hand on her father's shoulder. +</p><p> +"Father," she said in Danish, "I will wait your +wish and time." +</p><p> +"Mrs. Hardy is right, Helga," said her father, "I + +<a name="pg272"></a> + +shall miss you, but it will be a joy to me to lose you +to Hardy. He is the one man I like, and I hope he +is the one man you love." +</p><p> +"I can never forget how we wronged him, when +Rasmussen was injured and died, and how noble he +has always been!" said his daughter. "I have been +unkind and bad to him, and I now know pained him +with what I said. Little father, what you say I +should do that will I do." +</p><p> +"Mrs. Hardy," said the Pastor, "my daughter +assents to what you propose, and I assent. You can +order the matter as you will." +</p><p> +"I will promise you. Pastor Lindal," said Mrs. +Hardy, "that all the time she can she shall be in +Denmark, and that I will be to her as her own +mother." Mrs. Hardy held out her hand to the +Pastor, and the compact then made ever after was +adhered to. +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy rose, and kissed Helga on her flaxen +hair. "Will you tell John, or I?" she asked. +</p><p> +"I cannot," replied Helga, earnestly. +</p><p> +"Then, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy, "we will +go on deck, and I should like a walk about Aarhus, +if you will take me, and John can take his wife that +is to be." +</p><p> +When Mrs. Hardy came on deck, she said to her +son, "The first of August, John; it is so settled." +</p><p> +John Hardy lifted his mother from the deck, and +positively kissed her in the sight of his own men + +<a name="pg273"></a> + +and a numerous crowd of curious Danes, who had +collected to see the yacht, and if Helga had not +jumped ashore, it was not at all improbable but that +she might have shared the same fate. +</p><p> +The trust and confidence the mother and son +had in each other was a comfort to the Pastor. It +was the best guarantee for Helga's future. +</p><p> +"It is late," said the Pastor; "but I know the clerk +at the Domkirke (cathedral), and you can possibly +see it." +</p><p> +The advantage of seeing the Domkirke with +the Pastor was obvious to Mrs. Hardy, and they +were much interested in the details he gave of +the old vestments preserved in the Domkirke and +the ancient folding pictures at the altar, the date +of which is 1479, but the pictures are Italian and +older. +</p><p> +"The old church tradition," said the Pastor, "is +that the patron saint, St. Clement, after suffering martyrdom, +came ashore after floating about the sea for +eleven hundred years, bound to a ship's anchor, which +circumstance is delineated in more than one place in +the Domkirke. One of the stories of the Domkirke +is recorded on a stone," continued the Pastor. "It is +the figure of a woman with a hole in her left breast. +She was shot by a rejected lover, as she went to the +Domkirke to attend the church service of the times. +The stone must have been once in an horizontal +position, as it is worn as if it had been placed at the + +<a name="pg274"></a> + +entrance of the Domkirke, as is believed to be the +case, and much trodden on." +</p><p> +"Are there more stories connected with the Domkirke?" +asked Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +"Yes, many," replied the Pastor. "There is the +story of the monks being killed by bricks falling on +them from the arched roof, when playing cards behind +the altar. There is also the story of a large hunting +horn, which is said to be now preserved in one of +our museums, which horn was used at the evening +service before Good Friday, in catholic times. It was +blown through a hole in the roof of the Domkirke, +and the words shouted as loud as possible, 'Evig +forbandet være, Judas' (For ever may Judas be +accursed). There is also the monument of Laurids +Ebbesen who had been unfaithful to the king, who, +when he visited the Domkirke, cut the nose off the +monumental figure with his sword. The ship which +is hung up in the Domkirke, is a model which Peter +the Great of Russia had made in France, and it was +sent by a French vessel from Toulon, which was +wrecked at the Scaw, or, as we call it, Skagen. The +cargo of the ship was sold by auction. A seaman +of Aarhus bought the model, which is that of a ship +of war with seventy-four cannon, and gave it to the +Domkirke, at Whitsuntide, 1720." +</p><p> +"Thank you very much, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. +Hardy. +</p><p> +It must, however, be recorded that notwithstanding + +<a name="pg275"></a> + +the interest John Hardy had in such lore as the Pastor +possessed in such rich abundance, he was very much +interested in another direction. At length, after much +absorbing contemplation, he said, "I never saw such +blue as there is in your eyes, Helga!" +</p><p> +The next day they returned to Rosendal, and +Pastor Lindal to his parsonage with Helga. He had +been pleased with his berth on board the yacht, and +the comfortable opportunity the deck-house afforded +for holding a tobacco-parliament, which Mrs. Hardy +bore with much patience. +</p><p> +As the yacht was at Aarhus, Mrs. Hardy wished +to make a tour amongst the Danish islands before +sending it to Esbjerg. +</p><p> +"I think, John," she said, "that to-morrow we will +invite Pastor Lindal and Helga to dinner, and we will +talk over the arrangements for your wedding. I +should not offer to give her a wedding outfit, as +I think she would not like it. I should give her a +good watch and chain, as a wedding present, and +lockets to the two Miss Jensens. It is clear that the +quieter the wedding is the more likely to meet the +Pastor's wishes and his daughter's." +</p><p> +"I think," said John, "that you are right, but I +should wish to let Helga know that I would bear any +expense they wished. I should be so glad if you +would say so to her, mother. When we were at +Christiania, I wanted her to let me get her gloves or +anything else she might wish for, and she said 'You + +<a name="pg276"></a> + +need not try to buy my goodwill, John; you possess +it' but she used a Danish word which 'goodwill' +does not translate." +</p><p> +"I had better ascertain their wishes, John," said his +mother, "and say we only wish to further them; and +this once settled, you must come with me on board +the yacht, so that your mother may have her own boy +with her for a while. It will be better for you, as here +you would be restless; and as to your plans for teaching +Helga to ride, you can do so after you are married +and are staying here." +</p><p> +John caressed his mother and assented. +</p><p> +Helga had filled the porcelain pipe after dinner, +and Mrs. Hardy and Pastor Lindal sat in a garden +seat in the grounds at Rosendal, the day following the +decision of Mrs. Hardy's views for her son's wedding. +</p><p> +"We should wish to obey any wishes you may +have, Herr Pastor, as to the wedding," said Mrs. +Hardy, after a general conversation with him. +</p><p> +"John will remain at Rosendal for a month, and +then go to England for the winter, and come to you +again in May." +</p><p> +The Pastor took several long pulls at his pipe and +created a cloud of smoke. At last he said— +</p><p> +"I have not thought of it, Mrs. Hardy." And it +was plain he had not. +</p><p> +"I will, then, say what I think," said she. "The +wedding should be at your church; and will you +marry them?" +</p><p> +<a name="pg277"></a> +"Certainly; it is my intention," he replied. +</p><p> +"The wedding to be as quiet as possible," continued +Mrs. Hardy, "and proprietor Jensen's daughters +to be bridesmaids; and John has an old college friend +who will come here to be his best man, and will +return with me to England in the yacht, from +Esbjerg." +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy's practical common sense impressed +the Pastor; he assented sadly. +</p><p> +"There is nothing to mourn over or regret, Herr +Pastor, and you will feel the constant joy of knowing +that she is happy with the man of her choice, and +that as long as I live I will watch over her as my +own; also the pleasure of looking forward to her stay in +Denmark every summer will occupy and interest you." +</p><p> +The Pastor smoked in silence, but his heart was +sad. +</p><p> +It was fortunate that John and Helga appeared, +the latter laden with blooms gleaned in the valley of +roses. Her face was bright with happiness. +</p><p> +"Mrs. Hardy," she said, "John has persisted in +picking rose after rose, holding them up to my cheek +and telling me that I am the fairest rose, and that I +am going to be the rose of Rosendal, and has teased +me dreadfully." +</p><p> +"I think John is right to say so, and to say so to +you," said Mrs. Hardy, smiling kindly at her. +</p><p> +The Pastor felt what Mrs. Hardy had once said, +that we should love with our children's love, and the + +<a name="pg278"></a> + +sadness left his face. He began to share his +daughter's love for Hardy. +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy rose from her seat, and drew Helga +away, and John had to be content to follow her with +his eyes only. +</p><p> +"Your father, Helga, last year, went for a tour +with John; can he do the same now? On Monday, I +am going with John in the yacht for a cruise amongst +the Danish islands," said Mrs. Hardy, "do you think +he would like to go with us? It would allow of his +being better acquainted with us, and would distract +his thoughts from dwelling on your leaving him." +</p><p> +"Nothing could be better or kinder, Mrs. Hardy," +replied Helga. "I will write for the priest who +generally does my father's duty in his absence, at +once." +</p><p> +"Stay," said Mrs. Hardy, "if your father leaves +with us, it will enable you to get ready for your +wedding in his absence; it will be better so. And here +is a little packet. It will meet any expense; it is not +from John, it is from me;" and Mrs. Hardy kissed her +affectionately and was gone. +</p> +<br> +<a name="pg279"></a> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER XXIV.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"<i>Piscator</i>.—But, my worthy friend, I would rather prove myself a +gentleman by being learned and humble, valiant and inoffensive, +virtuous and communicable, than by any fond ostentation of riches."<br>— +<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +Pastor Lindal accepted the invitation to join the +yacht. He was anxious to know more of Mrs. Hardy, +in whose hands he felt so much of his daughter's +future lay. +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy had, as she had done before every +Sunday, attended the parish church, and Helga +thanked her for the contents of the packet of Danish +bank notes. It was more in amount, she said, than +she wanted, and would return Mrs. Hardy three-fourths +of it. +</p><p> +"It is very kind," said Helga; "but I can only +accept what is positively necessary, and I accept that +because it would relieve my father from an expense +that he cannot well bear, and because John might +wish to see me well dressed when I am married to +him." +</p><p> +"Would you not like to make Kirstin and your + +<a name="pg280"></a> + +father's other servants a present when you are married?" +said Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +"Yes, I shall; but I cannot use your money to do +that, Mrs. Hardy. I shall give them what I have of +my own, and what they know I have valued; it is not +much, but they would like it best." +</p><p> +This conversation had ended when they reached +the parsonage, where Robert Garth was waiting with +the carriage to drive Mrs. Hardy and her son to +Rosendal. +</p><p> +"John," said Mrs. Hardy, as they drove away, +"she is worthy of your best affection. There is not +a day passes but that something arises which makes +me love her more and more." Mrs. Hardy loved +again with her son's love. +</p><p> +"Mother," said John, "she is so dear to me; +there is nothing that is not truth with her." +</p><p> +"You are right, John," said his mother. "Give +her all your heart, and she will give you hers." +</p><p> +"I know it, mother," said John. +</p><p> +Pastor Lindal accompanied them to Aarhus, and +when they came on board the yacht, John Hardy +spread out the chart of the Danish islands before +him. +</p><p> +"We can reach Nyborg to-night, Herr Pastor," +said he, "and call and stop at Svendborg, and run +round Møen's Klint to Copenhagen, and passing +Elsinore to Aarhus again, stopping at any place on +the way." +</p><p> +<a name="pg281"></a> +"But the time?" asked the Pastor. +</p><p> +"A week," replied John; "or you can land at any +place, and return by rail in a few hours." +</p><p> +"No, Herr Pastor," interposed Mrs. Hardy, "you +must not bind us to time. We shall see if the cruise +is a benefit to you, and if so, you must prolong it." +</p><p> +The Pastor always surrendered when challenged +by Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +Whilst they were at lunch, the <i>Rosendal</i> steam +yacht was passing Samsø. +</p><p> +"This island," said John Hardy, "appears from +the chart to be a sand bank washed up by the sea." +</p><p> +"So is all Denmark," said Pastor Lindal. "The +legends and traditions belonging to Samsø, however, +are not as old as those of Jutland, and it would therefore +appear not to have been inhabited at so early a +period. There is an historical tradition that in 1576 +a mermaid appeared to a man of Samsø, and directed +him to go to Kallundborg, where King Frederick II. +was then staying with his court, and tell him that +his queen would have a son, which would become a +mighty ruler. The king questioned the man, who +stated that the mermaid's name was Isbrand, and +that she lived in the sea, not far from land, with her +mother and grandmother, and that it was the latter +that had foretold the birth of Queen Margrethe, who +united the three Scandinavian kingdoms under one +crown. King Frederick sent the man home, and +commanded him not to come to the court again. +</p><p> +<a name="pg282"></a> +The king's son was Christian IV., under whose rule +Denmark attained its zenith of power. Once, when +Christian IV. was driven ashore by a storm on Samsø, +he saw the priest's man ploughing. The king took +the plough and ploughed a furrow, and told the man +to tell his master that the king had ploughed for him." +</p><p> +"A good way to acquire popularity in those +times," remarked Mrs. Hardy. "But are there any +more stories of the kind?" +</p><p> +"There is the story of the Church of the Holy +Cross. There is a tablet said to be yet in the church, +on which there is an inscription," replied the Pastor. +"This states that a gilt cross in the church was +washed ashore bound to a corpse, but that when they +would take the corpse to a particular churchyard, that +four horses could not move the waggon in which it +was placed. They then tried to draw the waggon to +another churchyard, with the same result; but at last +they directed the horses to the church at Onsberg, +and then two horses could easily draw it; so the +corpse was buried in the eastern end of the church, +and the church afterwards called the Church of the +Holy Cross. The date is given as 1596. There is +also a story of the Swedish war of 1658, when a +party of Swedish cavalry took a tailor prisoner, and +set him at work on a table in a farm-house, while +they fired at a mark on the door, the balls passing +close to his head. It is said the door yet exists, with +the bullet marks in it." +</p><p> + <a name="pg283"></a> +"We have an island in sight, on the starboard +bow, called Endelave; are there any traditions existing +there?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"There is only the story of a giant who threw a +stone from thence to Jutland, which was so large that +two girls saved themselves from a bull by climbing to +the top of it. There is, however, the variation that +it was thrown by a giantess from Fyen (Funen) +with her garter. I know of no special legend from +Endelave." +</p><p> +"There is a town marked Kjerteminde on the +chart; is that in recollection of anything specially historical, +as would appear from the name?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"When Odin built the town called Odense," replied +the Pastor, "the other towns were envious of its better +appearance and condition, and particularly the town +now called Kjerteminde, and complaint was made to +Odin, who was angry, and replied, 'Vær du mindre' +(literally, 'be you less'); this was that they should +continue to be smaller towns than Odense. In time +the name from Vær du mindre became altered to its +present name of Kjerteminde. There is also the +variation that the name is from St Gertrude's minde +(memory) contracted to Kjerteminde. She was the +sailors' patron saint." +</p><p> +"There is more to be said of Odense, as it was +founded by Odin," said Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +"What I can tell you of Odense," said the Pastor, +"is history, chiefly. There is the story that a rich + +<a name="pg284"></a> + +man called Ubbe gave his property to St. Knud's +(Canute) Church under singular circumstances. His +relatives wanted him to leave his property to them, +and they placed a woman in his household, if possible, +to influence him in their favour, and she did +not. Ubbe had become blind. He directed some +tripe to be cooked, possibly because his teeth were +gone. The woman, however, having no tripe, cut up +an old felt hat and gave him. This he chewed and +chewed, when a little child told him what it was. He +was angry at the deceit, and gave his property to the +Church; and the name of a portion of his lands was +changed from Ubberud to Kallun (tripe). Odense is +the birth-place of Hans Christian Andersen, whose +stories have been translated into English," continued +Pastor Lindal; "but, like other translations, they lose +immeasurably by translation." +</p><p> +"What is the chief historical interest connected +with Odense?" asked Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +"The death of St. Knud," replied the Pastor. "He +was the grand-nephew of Canute the Great. He was +killed in the church of St Albanus, in 1086, by his +rebellious subjects. He wanted to make war on England, +as he claimed the English throne, and they +resisted; so far it is history. The story is that he was +pursued, and fled to the church, and prayed for his +enemies. He saw a Jutland man looking at him +through a window of the church, and the king asked +for water. The man ran to a stream and fetched + +<a name="pg285"></a> + +water in a cup; but as he reached it to the king, +another man struck the cup with his spear, and the +water was spilt, and the king was killed by a stone +thrown at him. The man who had prevented the +king getting the cup of water went out of his mind, +and had always a burning thirst, and on going to +a well to drink fell down, and stuck in it over the +water, which he could not reach, and so perished. +The king was canonized, but is said to occasionally +visit the church, where he was buried, from his place +amongst the angels. This church he had just commenced +to build. There is a story that when the +tower was building, an apprentice told his master he +was as good a builder. The master-builder went out +of the tower on the scaffolding and stuck an axe into +it, and told the apprentice to go and fetch it, if he +could. The apprentice went, but called out that an +adjoining village was approaching the town of Odense. +'Then God have mercy on your soul' said the master-builder. +The apprentice fell to the ground and was +killed. There is, however, a variation of this story, +which localizes it in Copenhagen at Our Lady's +Church there, and that the apprentice cried out that +he saw two axes. The result was the same." +</p><p> +"Thank you very much, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. +Hardy. "You must try and keep up the practice of +speaking English." The Pastor was in the habit of +falling back on his own language when he had a difficulty, +for John Hardy to interpret. +</p><p> +<a name="pg286"></a> +"I think we should have but one language all +over the world," said the Pastor, "and that language +should be English." +</p><p> +"There is not much to see at Nyborg, mother," +said John, "and the pilot says if we leave early +to-morrow that we had best anchor outside the +harbour, clear of the course of the steamers from +Korsør. We shall have the anchor down at six, and +we can go ashore and have dinner a little before +eight, and then the Pastor can hold his second tobacco-parliament +before we turn in. We shall also have to +engage another pilot, as it is difficult navigation to +Svendborg; and if we start at six, we shall be there at +eight to-morrow, which will enable us to see Svendborg +and its pretty neighbourhood, and in the evening +can anchor under shelter of Væirø, an island, so as to +reach Vordingborg early to-morrow." +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy followed her son's explanation on the +chart. He was himself the registered owner of his +yacht, and acted as his own skipper when on board; +and as his men had been with him in other yachts, of +which he had been the owner, they had confidence in +him, as they had seen his courage and seamanship +again and again put to the proof. +</p><p> +"You are always self-reliant, John," said his +mother. +</p><p> +"Yes; but Pastor Lindal has taught me on whom +reliance should be placed," said John. "The simple +trust he has and the simple faith of which he is convinced + +<a name="pg287"></a> + +are in his life and practice. No sermon can +have such influence as to be with him one day in his +parish when he visits those he sees it necessary to +visit. It is the simplicity of perfect truth about him +that has made his daughter a pearl without price." +</p><p> +"I believe every word of what you say, John," +said his mother. "She has now my heart as completely +as she has yours." +</p><p> +There is not so much to see in Nyborg. The +walk in the wood is pretty with its thoroughly Danish +prospect, and there is little else to interest. Pastor +Lindal was tired when they reached the yacht, but +revived with the tonic effect of a good dinner. They +adjourned to the deck-house, and Hardy essayed to +fill the porcelain pipe with Kanaster, but failed. The +pipe was too hard pressed with tobacco and would +not draw, and it was not John Hardy only who +missed Helga. +</p><p> +"Is there anything to relate about Nyborg, Herr +Pastor?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"There is not much specially," replied the Pastor. +"There is the story of the monkey taking Christian II. +out of his cradle when there was a royal residence +at Nyborg, and jumping out of the window with +him, and taking him upon the roof, so that it was +with difficulty that they got him down again. There +is also the story of the ghost of Queen Helvig, who +was married to Valdemar Atterdag. She is said to +have appeared for years to the sentry on the ramparts, + +<a name="pg288"></a> + +and to have always left a dollar under a stone, which +he collected; but one day, he was sick, and told +a comrade to fetch the dollar, but no dollars were +placed under the stone after. Queen Helvig was +imprisoned there for a long time, under a charge +frequently preferred in those days." +</p><p> +"Had you not particular days called Mærkedage, +to which particular importance was attached?" asked +Hardy. +</p><p> +"They were principally the greater festivals of the +Church, or on New Year's Day," replied the Pastor. +"Thus, for instance, if the sun shone out so long on +New Year's Day that a horse could be saddled, it was +a sign of a fruitful year; also, if a girl or a young +man wished to know whom she or he would marry, +they write the names of suspected persons on different +pieces of paper, and put them under their pillows on +New Year's Eve, and the one thus dreamt of is the one +selected; also, if a turf is cut from the churchyard +New Year's Eve, the person who puts it on his or +her head can see who will die in the year, as their +ghosts will appear in the churchyard. There is also +another means to the same end, and that is when +people sit at a table New Year's Eve; those that will +die in the year cast a shadow, but without a head. +Tyge Brahe has particularized many days in the year +as being unlucky, on which to attend to any business +or to do anything important, but they are so numerous +that they are not regarded." +</p><p> +<a name="pg289"></a> +"Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy, "you are tired +with your walk about Nyborg, and your speaking so +much in English; I wish to suggest a subject that +will give you something to think of." +</p><p> +"What may that be?" asked the Pastor. +</p><p> +"I have thought," said Mrs. Hardy, "that you +might like to see us at home in England before the +winter. John will leave at the end of August, and you +might go with him. What I feel is, that I should like +during the winter you should feel that your daughter +is well cared for." +</p><p> +"I will go," said the Pastor; and he held out his +hand to Mrs. Hardy in his Danish manner, and the +matter was at an end. Mrs. Hardy's kindly tact +always overcame him. +</p><p> +The visit to Svendborg entailed so much to see +and explore, that it was not until late in the evening +that the yacht was reached. The Pastor was, however, +fresher than the evening before, possibly because they +had not walked so much, but had driven. +</p><p> +"What we have seen at Svendborg, Herr Pastor, is +very pretty," said Mrs. Hardy, "but it differs from an +English landscape; and it is only by seeing both that +you can realize the contrast." +</p><p> +"That is very possible," replied Pastor Lindal. +"The same landscape painted by different artists +would make each their impression; how much more, +then, would nature, with influences we cannot understand, +produce different effects?" +</p><p> +<a name="pg290"></a> +Mrs. Hardy looked as if a fresh field of thought +was opened to her, and her son observed his mother's +look of surprise. +</p><p> +"I have been often astonished," he said, "to hear +from Pastor Lindal and Helga a similar cast of thought +that has given me something to think of for long +after. I think it is the outcome of a natural singleness +of thought we do not often meet." +</p><p> +"I believe you are right, John," said his mother. +"But possibly Herr Pastor can tell us a tradition of +Svendborg;" and she raised her voice and addressed +him. +</p><p> +"There is the tradition of St. Jørgen," he said, "or, +as you call it in English, St. George and the dragon. +The features of the story, of course, are the same; with +us the tradition runs as follows:—There was a temple +inhabited by a dragon, who issued from it and laid +waste the country. Each day the monster craved +a human life, until at last lots were drawn as to +who should be the victim, and from this neither +the king nor his family were exempt, and the lot +fell on his only daughter. The king offered half +his kingdom to any one who should destroy the +dragon. A knight called Jørgen attempted to do so, +by putting poisoned cakes in the dragon's way; but +that availed nothing. He then attacked it, and the +monster retreated to Svendborg; but it again came +forth, and a combat between the knight and the dragon +ensued. The dragon was slain, and where its poisonous + +<a name="pg291"></a> + +blood poured out no grass will grow. The +combat is said to be delineated on the church bells. +It is very probably only an echo of the Greek story of +Perseus and Andromeda. You will observe the dragon +in our tradition is said to have issued from a temple. +We had no temples, the Greeks had. +</p><p> +"There are not many special traditions connected +with Svendborg. There is the story of a noble lady +who was murdered at Svendborg, but the murderers +were men of rank, and the whole town agreed to pay +blood-money, and some farms were apportioned to +the murdered woman's relatives and a wooden cross +set up over her grave; and it was agreed that when +the wooden cross fell into decay, whoever first repaired +it should possess the farm so apportioned. The +consequence was that a wooden cross was always kept +ready to repair the original cross. This story has +many variations and is differently localized." +</p><p> +"Are there not many proverbs with regard to the +weather, or the like, in Denmark?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"There are, but they are identical with the English," +replied the Pastor. "There are some that may +be new; for instance, we say that there is always +some sun on a Saturday, that the poor may dry the +clothes they wash. The farmers also say that if the +priest takes his text from St. Luke in preaching his +Sunday's sermon, it is sure to rain. Also, that a +southerly wind is like a woman's anger, it always ends +in weeping. Of days in the week we say, that if it + +<a name="pg292"></a> + +rains on a Sunday and a Monday it will rain the +whole week. Again, we say— +</p> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +'Søndags Veir til Middag<br> +Er Ugens Veir til Fredag.' +<br><br> +'Sunday's weather to midday<br> +Is the week's weather to Friday.' +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +There is another of the same character: +</p> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +'Tirsdag giver Veir til Torsdag,<br> +Fredags Veir giver Søndags Veir,<br> +Lørdag har sit eget Veir,<br> +Mandag enten værre eller bedre.' +<br><br> +'Tuesday's weather is Thursday's weather,<br> +Friday's weather is Sunday's weather,<br> +Saturday has its own weather,<br> +Monday is either worse or better.' +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +The same, I believe, exists in England," continued +the Pastor, "or at least very nearly allied to it." +</p><p> +"It is so," said Hardy. +</p> +<a name="pg293"></a> +<br> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER XXV.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright,<br> +The bridal of the earth and sky."<br> +<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +The yacht had anchored for the night to the east of +Væirø, an island and lighthouse. The pilot and +steward had gone ashore to purchase fresh milk. The +morning was without a breath of wind, and the yacht +was motionless. +</p><p> +"What a sense of calm and peace!" said Mrs. +Hardy, as she came on deck. "There is not a fish +coming to the surface of the still water, or a bird in +the air, or a boat visible. It is almost desolation." +</p><p> +"We are out of the track of vessels," said Pastor +Lindal, "and there are few fish just here, consequently +no sea-birds in pursuit of them." +</p><p> +"You will soon see more life, mother," said Hardy, +"From our position we are seventeen knots to Vordingborg, +which we shall reach shortly after breakfast. +We shall have to take another pilot there, for +the difficult channel by Grønsund out to the Baltic, +as our present pilot is not allowed to go beyond +Vordingborg." +</p><p> +<a name="pg294"></a> +"Your pilots, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy, +"appointed by your Government, appear men well +selected for their duty. They are all experienced +men and well-conducted. We have been yachting on +many shores, but the pilots we have taken in Denmark +have been all men that have given me a feeling of +confidence." +</p><p> +"There is much employment for pilots on some +parts of our coast," said the Pastor, "and the men +soon acquire experience." +</p><p> +When they came on deck after breakfast, the yacht +was half-way to Vordingborg. +</p><p> +"What is the land on the starboard bow?" asked +Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +"Falster," replied the Pastor, "and to the south is +Laaland. One of the chief towns is Mariebo; it is so +called from the special wish of the Virgin, as evidenced +by a shining light having been seen there every night. +Queen Margrethe bought the site for a church, from +the owner, Jens Grim, and the place was called +Mariebo. The termination 'bo' is present Danish +for an abode or dwelling, as it was supposed the +Virgin had been there. 'By' is present Danish for a +town. In the church there is the figure of a monk +on one of the pillars pointing at another pillar, +where it is said a treasure is buried. A Danish +antiquary is said to have found in the Vatican a paper +stating that when the monks were driven out of +Mariebo, they had hid their documents in a pillar of + +<a name="pg295"></a> + +the church. It is not known to me whether any +search has been made. The owner of the site, Jens +Grim, was attacked by people from Lubeck; they +besieged his two fastnesses. They succeeded in taking +one of them by a very simple stratagem. Jens Grim +had lost his knife, which the Lubeckers found, and +took it to the fastness, where they knew he was not, +and said they had come to take possession by Jens +Grimes order, and produced the knife. They were +admitted and took the place." +</p><p> +"What do you propose to do at Vordingborg, +John?" asked Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +"We are close to it, mother," replied John. "It is +likely to be a similar place to Svendborg." +</p><p> +"There is not much to see at Vordingborg. There +are the ruins of King Valdemar's castle; the portion +most prominent is called the Goose Tower, because +the figure of a goose was used as a weathercock," +said the Pastor. "If I might suggest, a drive in a +carriage in the neighbourhood would, I think, interest +you. The scenery is the same type as at Svendborg." +</p><p> +The Pastor's suggestion was followed, and he +poured forth much historical learning connected with +Vordingborg. +</p><p> +"Is there no legend?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"Yes," replied the Pastor; "but it is one common +to a great many places. It is this. A giantess wished +to remove a tumulus or Kæmpehøi from Vordingborg + +<a name="pg296"></a> + +to Møen. She put it in her apron; but there +was a hole in it, and the Kæmpehøi fell into the sea +near the coast, and formed what is called Borreø, or +Borre Island. That is the only legend I know, or can +recollect at present, particularly attached to Vordingborg. +But do you not propose an excursion to Møen's +Klint?" +</p><p> +"That we do, as it is different from any other place +in Denmark," said Hardy. "The difficulty is, if it +should come on to blow hard in the eastern sea, as +you call the Baltic, the yacht would have to run +back to Grønsund, or go to Copenhagen." +</p><p> +"Then," said the Pastor, "why not leave the +yacht at Grønsund? You can get a carriage and a +pair of horses to drive through the whole of Møen, +about sixteen English miles, and return the same +evening to the yacht." +</p><p> +John Hardy laid Mansa's map and the chart before +his mother, who assented. +</p><p> +"Where can we get horses?" he asked. +</p><p> +"At Phanefjord, I expect," replied the Pastor. +"They could be ordered to be ready at the ferry at +six in the morning, and in three hours we could +reach Liselumd, from whence Møen's Klint can be +explored on foot." +</p><p> +"Is it too much for you, mother?" said Hardy. +"It will be a long day; but the next day, weather +permitting, we should be under weigh for Copenhagen, +and you would have rest." +</p><p> +<a name="pg297"></a> +"It will be a long day, John," replied his mother, +"but not too long. I like Pastor Lindal's plan." +</p><p> +"What is the meaning of the name Phanefjord?" +asked Hardy. "Is it derived from the Greek?" +</p><p> +"There was a giant called Grønjette, or the Green +Giant; he gave his name to the fjord, which is called +Grønsund. He was married to a giantess called +Phane; hence Phanefjord. They are said to be buried +at Harbolle, and their graves are one hundred yards +(English) long. He was accustomed to ride through +the woods with his head under his left arm, with +a spear, and surrounded by hounds. The Bønder +always left a sheaf of oats for his horse, so that he +should not ride over their freshly sown fields, when +the Jette or giant went on his hunting excursions. +There is even an epitaph on Grøn and Phane:— +</p> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +'Nu hviler Grøn med Phane sin;<br> +Som trættede rasken Hjort og Hind.<br> +Tak, Bonde, god! den dyre Gud,<br> +Nu gaar du tryg af Sundet ud.' +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +Literally— +</p> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +'Now rests Grøn and his Phane;<br> +They followed the quick buck and hind.<br> +Thank, peasant, the good God,<br> +That now you can safely go through the fjord.' +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +There is a story of Grøn. He halted one night and +knocked at a Bonde's door, and told him to hold his +hounds by a leash. Grøn rode away, and was absent +two hours. At length he returned, but across his + +<a name="pg298"></a> + +horse was a mermaid, which he had shot. This was +before the time of powder. Grøn said to the Bonde, +'I have hunted that mermaid for seven years, and +now I have got her.' He then asked for something +to drink, and when he was served with it he gave the +Bonde some gold money; but it was so hot it burnt +through his hand, and the money sunk in the earth. +Grøn laughed, and said, 'As you have drank with me, +you shall have something, so take the leash you have +held my hounds with.' Grøn rode away, and the +Bonde kept the leash, and as long as he did so all +things prospered; but at last he thought it was of +little value, and threw it away. He then gradually +grew poorer and poorer, and died in great poverty." +</p><p> +"A very good legend, and thank you, Herr +Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +"There is an old ballad," continued the Pastor, +"called 'The Pilgrim Stone,' which opens with a +mother calling her three daughters to go to the early +Catholic church service of the times, and then the +water was so shallow between Møen and Falster that +they could jump over it. The three daughters were +attacked by three robbers and killed by them. They +put their bodies in sacks; but they were seized by the +father and his men, and then it appeared that the +three robbers were brothers to the murdered girls, +having been stolen, when they were very young, on +their way to school. The two eldest were hung, and +the youngest made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, + +<a name="pg299"></a> + +and when he returned he lived a few years at Phanefjord, +and was buried where the pilgrim stone marks +the place. The ballad is of the simplest character +and incomplete; but such is the story. Under different +conditions it is recited in other places in Denmark; +but it is dramatic in all cases." +</p><p> +"It is indeed dramatic," said Mrs. Hardy. "The +stories of giants appear to have had their origin from +natural forces, as ice, or the heat of summer, but have +been blended with human attributes." +</p><p> +The drive to Møen's Klint from Grønsund was +full of interest from Pastor Lindal's knowledge of the +past history of so many places. +</p><p> +"There are not so many traditions in the low part +of Møen as in Høie Møen; that is where the cliffs are," +said the Pastor. "The cliffs are chalk, with layers of +flint, and were supposed to be peopled with Underjordiske +or underground people, the chief of whom +was called the Klinte Konge, or cliff king. Klint is +the Danish word for cliff. His queen is described as +being very beautiful, and she resided at the place +called Dronningstol, or the queen's throne or chair, +and near it was her sceptre, in old times called Dronningspir, +but now called Sommerspir. The Klinte +Konge was supposed to reside at Kongsberg. He +was always at war with another Klinte Konge, at +Rygen, and there is an old ballad on the subject. It +is said that when Denmark is in danger, the Klinte +Konge and his army can be seen ready to resist the + +<a name="pg300"></a> + +invader. There are very many variations of this +superstitious story, more or less picturesque." +</p><p> +"Are there any stories of communications between +the Underjordiske and mortals?" asked Mr. Hardy. +</p><p> +"There is such a story. A woman called Margrethe +Skælvigs was going to Emelund to borrow a dress +of Peer Munk's wife, to be married in, when an old +woman met her, and asked where she was going. +Margrethe told her. 'When you pass here on Saturday, +I will lend you a bridal dress;' and she gave +Margrethe a dress of cloth of gold, and told her to +return it in eight days; but that if Margrethe saw +no one when she brought it back, she might keep +the dress. No one appeared, and Margrethe kept the +dress." +</p><p> +"The conjecture might be that the dress was given +her by her intended husband," said Hardy, "who +adopted this method of giving her a dress. I should +like to impose on Helga in the same way." +</p><p> +"Don't talk nonsense, John," said Mrs. Hardy, who +feared that it might not be agreeable to Pastor +Lindal; and, to turn his thoughts in another direction, +asked him if there were not other legends of a +different type. +</p><p> +"Yes; there is one very commonly repeated," he +replied. "A Bonde had twenty pigs ranging through +the wood by Møen's Klint. He lost them, and after +searching for a whole year, he met Gamle Erik (the +devil; literally, Old Erik) riding on a pig and driving + +<a name="pg301"></a> + +nineteen before him, and making a great noise by +beating on an old copper kettle. The pigs were all in +good case, except the one Gamle Erik rode, which +bore traces of bad treatment. The Bonde shouted +and called, and Gamle Erik was frightened, and +dropped the copper kettle, and let the pigs be pigs. +So the Bonde had not only his pigs, but a copper +kettle to recollect Gamle Erik by." +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy was much pleased with the scenery +about the cliffs, and the contrast of the dark blue sea +against the white chalk, and the varied prospects in +the woods. +</p><p> +The drive had been full of interest, and Mrs. +Hardy thanked Pastor Lindal for his suggesting it, +and the pleasure of hearing his narrations on the very +places with which they were connected, and added— +</p><p> +"I shall come again another year, Herr Pastor, on +purpose to enjoy your society, if you will act as +guide." +</p><p> +"God willing, it will be a pleasure to me," said he; +"but these few days have had their effect on me. I +appear to see things with a clearer view, that at home +have been difficult to me. Travelling develops the +mind, and gives it a broader cast of thought. You, who +have travelled so much, Mrs. Hardy, appear to have +been influenced by the process." +</p><p> +"Thank you for your compliment, Herr Pastor," +said Mrs. Hardy. "It is well put." +</p><p> +At eight the following day, the yacht was passing + +<a name="pg302"></a> + +Møen's Klint, at sea, bound for Copenhagen. There +was a stiff breeze from the westward, and in passing +Præstø Bay the yacht was in a short rough +beam sea, that made things very lively to all on board, +except possibly the Pastor, as his ears gradually +assumed a greenish tint. +</p><p> +John Hardy consulted the pilot, and the yacht +was brought up and anchored under Stevn's Klint, +in shelter, much to Pastor Lindal's comfort, who appeared +at lunch fully recovered from his sea-sickness. +</p><p> +"Præstø," said he, "is so called after a priest called +Anders; he was a monk at the time of the Reformation, +but adopted the reformed religion. He had only a +small copper coin, which always returned to him when +he spent it, and received no other payment for his +services. In the arms of the town of Præstø is a man +in a priest's dress, supposed to be in his memory." +</p><p> +"Were there any Underjordiske in the cliff at the +yacht's bow?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"There was fabled to be an Elle Konge," replied +Pastor Lindal, "or king of the elves, and he occupied +not only Stevn's Klint, but also an adjoining church, +where a place in the wall is shown as his residence, +and is called Elle Kongen's Kammer, or the king of +the elves' chamber. In the neighbourhood of this +church are the remains of an oak wood. The trees +therein are said to have been trees by day, but the +soldiers of the elf king by night. The church +referred to is Storehedinge, and was built by a monk + +<a name="pg303"></a> + +against the wishes of the great man of the locality, +who, when the church was built, cut off the monk's +head. The figure of a monk's head is on a stone in +the wall by the altar. +</p><p> +"The church a little to the south of the lighthouse +is called Høierup, and was built in fulfilment +of the vow of a seaman when in danger. As the cliff +crumbles away, the church is said to go a cock's footstep +back on the mainland every Christmas night." +</p><p> +"What is the meaning of 'rup' as a termination +to so many Danish places?" asked Hardy. +</p><p> +"It is your English 'thorp,' or Swedish 'torp,' or +German 'dorf,' a village," replied the Pastor. "Vandstrup, +for instance, is 'the village by the water,' as +the Danish word for water is Vand. It is, as you +know, close to the river." +</p><p> +The pilot had predicted that the wind would +lessen at four o'clock in the afternoon, and the yacht +got under weigh, and, carrying plenty of sail and full +steam, made a rapid passage across Kiøge Bay, so +disturbing sometimes to the breakfast of the Kiøbenhavner, +who trusts himself to a pleasure excursion on +its waters. +</p><p> +Off Dragør, the jack was again hoisted for the +Copenhagen pilot, and the Rosendal steam yacht was +at anchor off the Custom House at Copenhagen, before +a late dinner, that evening. +</p><p> +"We must fill up with coal and water, mother, and +it had better be done here," said Hardy; "it would + +<a name="pg304"></a> + +give us time for an excursion to Roeskilde to see the +Domkirke, or elsewhere." +</p><p> +"No, John," said Mrs. Hardy. "I want to purchase +many articles that you will want at Rosendal +after you are married, that you would never think of; +and I must leave something for the Pastor to tell me +next summer." +</p><p> +"But what shall I do with Pastor Lindal tomorrow?" +asked John Hardy. +</p><p> +"He will like to be left to himself, to go where he +wishes," replied his mother; and she was right. As +the yacht left Copenhagen a day or so after, Mrs. +Hardy refused to visit the beautiful vicinity of Copenhagen. +"No, John; and no, Herr Pastor," she said. +"I must keep something to see for other years, and +something to look forward to and wish to see. I +even decline to hear the story of the soldier who shot +from Kronborg Castle a cow with a cannon in Sweden, +and that although he did not hurt the milkmaid. The +Herr Pastor must keep something to tell me another +season." +</p><p> +"But, mother, we can anchor at Elsinore, and you +could see Kronborg Castle," urged her son. +</p><p> +"So I will another year, John," she replied. "Get +your mud-hook up, as you call it, and let me have +my way. I hope not only to visit more of Denmark, +but also of Sweden and Norway, and hope not only +the Herr Pastor will be with us, but his daughter." +</p><p> +"Thank you kindly," said the Pastor, shaking +hands with her in the manner frequent in Denmark. +</p> +<br> +<a name="pg305"></a> +<br> +<h2 align="center">CHAPTER XXVI.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"Come, live with me and be my love,<br> +And we will some new pleasures prove.<br> +Of golden sands and crystal brooks.<br> +With silken lines and silver hooks."<br> +<i>The Complete Angler</i>. +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +When Pastor Lindal arrived at his parsonage, he +was received by his daughter with much affection. +She saw he was benefited by the cruise in the yacht, +and was in good spirits. +</p><p> +"Little father," she said, "you look so well. +Thank you, Mrs. Hardy, for taking him with you; +it will give my father so much to talk of, in the +winter, to Axel; and thank you, John, too." +</p><p> +"I am glad there is a word for me," said Hardy, +using, as he often did with her, a Danish phrase. "I +was beginning to think I was not to be spoken to +at all." +</p><p> +"I think," said Mrs. Hardy, "that the Pastor and +Helga might come to us to-morrow, John, and that, +as you are so impatient for a tête-à-tête interview with +Helga, you can have a ramble in your woods at +Rosendal, while I discuss the matters that have to +be arranged with the Pastor." +</p><p> +<a name="pg306"></a> +John thought this a very excellent arrangement; +but Pastor Lindal declined. He had much to see to +in his parish, and he could not, he said, after the +absence of a week, return to his parish and not visit +it. He explained that he felt it to be his duty to feel +the pulse of his parish, to see what changes of thought +occurred and what circumstances had arisen that +might influence his Sognebørn (children of his parish). +This, he said, guided him in what he preached. +</p><p> +"I agree with every word you say, Herr Pastor," +said Mrs. Hardy. "There can be no better view of +what your duty is. The shepherd should always +watch;" and, as she read disappointment in her son's +face, she added, "You can, however, spare us Helga +to lunch with us at Rosendal; John can drive over +for her, and she shall return early." +</p><p> +Pastor Lindal assented, and John Hardy drove +over as early as he thought advisable, and in returning +to Rosendal insisted on Helga's driving and +telling him everything that had occurred in his +absence at sea. +</p><p> +It was a pleasure to Mrs. Hardy to see their +happy faces as they drove up at Rosendal. +</p><p> +"Bless you, dear mother!" said John. "It has +been so sweet to hear the thankfulness with which +she speaks of every little attention we showed her +father when at sea. It was your considerate goodness +that suggested it all." +</p><p> +"You must let me have your princess, John, for a + +<a name="pg307"></a> + +few minutes," said his mother. "You have to consider +her, and that there are subjects that we can +discuss better without you." +</p><p> +"I agree to five minutes, and no longer," said +John, with some warmth. "For goodness' sake, +mother, do not be unreasonable, and keep her an +unconscionable time." +</p><p> +"There is no doubt of his affection for you, +Helga," said Mrs. Hardy, "and it is a joy to me +to see it; but come into my sitting-room, and tell +me what you have done about your wedding-dress." +</p><p> +"Here is the money you kindly gave me," replied +Helga. "I have thought it over, and I think that +John would rather marry me just as I am than that +I should appear any different; and my father, I feel, +would wish it so." Mrs. Hardy recollected the cloud +on the Pastor's open face when her son had referred +to giving Helga a wedding-dress. "I have, therefore, +not used any of the money, Mrs. Hardy," added +Helga; "but I am very grateful for your considering +me as if I were your daughter." +</p><p> +"I will always act a mother's part to you, Helga," +said Mrs. Hardy; "your freedom from selfishness, as +well as honesty of feeling, make me love and respect +you. It is not money, or money's worth, that is +everything. I have always taught my son that +kindliness is the real gold of life." +</p><p> +"When John came here first," said Helga, "he + +<a name="pg308"></a> + +said that, and my father has liked him from that +moment." +</p><p> +"But you did not, Helga?" said Mrs. Hardy, as if +asking the question, and smiling. +</p><p> +"I did, really," replied Helga; "but I thought it +was wrong to think of him, and I treated him in a +manner of which I am ashamed. I would give anything +to recall what I said to him." +</p><p> +John Hardy came bustling in. "Mother!" he +exclaimed, "I really cannot let you take up all +Helga's time with discussions." +</p><p> +"What we have discussed, John, is yourself," said +his mother, "and I can wish for nothing better for +you than Helga's golden truth and love. You can +take her for a walk in the woods until lunch, but +mind, John, to be back punctually at one." +</p><p> +"Why, that is only an hour, mother," protested +John, who was becoming quite unreasonable and +impatient. +</p><p> +"And twelve times as long as you would let your +mother speak to her daughter that is to be," said +Mrs. Hardy. +</p><p> +"Now, Helga," said John, "I recollect you called +me a cool and calculating Englishman. I shall take +you down to the lake, where it will be cool, and +there I shall find a Smørblomst, or a buttercup, and +by placing it to your chin, I shall be able to calculate +the transparency of your complexion from the +reflection of colour." +</p><p> +<a name="pg309"></a> +"Don't tease me, John, about what I said to you +last year," said Helga, imploringly. "If I said anything +that pained you, I am sorry for it; but do not +always keep it alive against me." +</p><p> +"There is the rose of Rosendal, mother, and the +jewel of Hardy Place," said Hardy to his mother, on +his unpunctual return to lunch. "She is so good and +single-minded that it is impossible to invent ways of +teasing her." +</p><p> +"Then I should not try, John," said his mother. +</p><p> +A few days before John's marriage, his friend and +neighbour, Sir Charles Lynton, arrived at Rosendal. +</p><p> +"It is a lovely place, John," said his friend; "but, +I suppose, nothing to be compared with the loveliness +of your Scandinavian princess?" +</p><p> +"Don't quiz," said Hardy; "but come out and +try a cast for an hour or so for the Danish trout. We +can also visit a landowner near, who breeds good +Jutland horses, and I know that is in your line." +</p><p> +"By all means," said his friend. +</p><p> +The stout proprietor, Jensen, was pleased with +their visit, and the opportunity of hearing another +Englishman's opinion as to his stock of horses. +</p><p> +"They want bone," said Sir Charles, "and to be +kept better through the winter." +</p><p> +"Then it would not pay to breed horses," said the +proprietor. "A big-boned horse would be more expensive +to keep up, and would not stand the cold and +wet of our climate. We have no market for very + +<a name="pg310"></a> + +high-class horses; that is, we might sell one now and +then, but not many." +</p><p> +A short tobacco-parliament on horses was inevitable, +and hints were exchanged and thoughts +expressed very valuable in their way, but not necessary +to be recorded here. +</p><p> +The wedding took place in the little Danish +church at Vandstrup, and was witnessed by a large +number of Hardy's Danish acquaintances and the +Pastor's friends. The Pastor made a long discourse, +for his heart was full. +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy would not hear of her son's accompanying +her to Esbjerg. She left with Sir Charles +Lynton, for Horsens, to continue the journey the next +day to Esbjerg, where the yacht had been sent to +meet them. +</p><p> +It was not until the middle of September that +John Hardy and his wife, with Pastor Lindal, left +Denmark by the overland route for Hardy Place. +The time of their arrival at the station for Hardy +Place was therefore known some time before, and +confirmed by a telegram from Hardy on their +reaching England. +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy was on the platform, with a tall young +man Pastor Lindal did not know. +</p><p> +"It is your son Karl, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. +Hardy. +</p><p> +A year's residence in England had made a +great change in the Danish lad, and he appeared + +<a name="pg311"></a> + +so English that the Pastor hesitated before he spoke +to him in Danish. Karl's reply assured him that if +he was changed outwardly, there was no change that +he could regret. +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy welcomed the Pastor and her son's +wife warmly. Two carriages had been prepared, and +John Hardy and his wife went in the first, and Mrs. +Hardy, the Pastor, and Karl in the second. When +they reached the entrance to Hardy Place, there was +a considerable crowd of well-wishers, who cheered +lustily. There was an arch with the words— +</p> +<br> +<blockquote> +<small> +"Saxon and Dane are we,<br> +But all of us Danes in our welcome of thee." +</small> +</blockquote> +<br> +<p> +"It is kindly meant," said the Pastor, to Mrs. +Hardy; "and I like the full ring of the English cheer." +</p><p> +At the door at Hardy Place there was another +crowd, and amid more English cheers the fair Dane +John Hardy had brought home as his wife alighted +at Hardy Place. +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy took possession of Helga, and left her +son to speak to his friends and thank them for their +reception, and entertain them. +</p><p> +"I have only asked Sir Charles Lynton to dinner, +John," said Mrs. Hardy. "I was afraid Helga might +not be at her ease with a party of perfect strangers +the very first day she is here." +</p><p> +The Pastor was delighted with Hardy Place. "I +see now," he said, "how you knew how to deal with +Rosendal. Your English landscape gardening is good. +<a name="pg312"></a> +I never saw so beautiful a place! The impression on +me is that of neatness and taste." +</p><p> +"Sir Charles Lynton comes to dinner, Herr +Pastor," said Hardy; "and you shall go and see his +place to-morrow—it is only eight English miles from +here—and then you must tell me what you would +like to see or do during your very short stay in +England. I dare say Karl can suggest something. +He must go to his work in London to-morrow." +</p><p> +Mrs. Hardy brought Helga down to the drawing-room +before dinner, dressed in her neat Danish dress, +and a flower in her hair. She shook hands with Sir +Charles Lynton, and thanked him for his coming to +her wedding in Denmark. +</p><p> +"Now," said Mrs. Hardy, "I shall take her in to +dinner and place her at the head of your table, John, +as the new mistress of Hardy Place, and a better +there cannot be." +</p><p> +Helga did not clearly understand, and John +explained in Danish. "My mother," he said, "wishes +to instal you in the position she has herself so long +occupied as mistress here." +</p><p> +"No," said Helga, decidedly. "I am her daughter, +and will serve her gladly. You surely would not +wish me to usurp your mother's place, John, and that +to-day?" She had said this in Danish, and she +added in English, "No, Mrs. Hardy; you are housemother +here, and I am your daughter and owe you +a daughter's duty." +</p><p> +<a name="pg313"></a> +It had been Mrs. Hardy's dream that when her +son brought his wife home, the latter should occupy +her seat, and rule as Mrs. Hardy of Hardy Place. +As Helga put it, she had got a daughter, and +that was all. Helga took Mrs. Hardy's hand and +kissed it. +</p><p> +"What a trump she is, John!" exclaimed Sir +Charles Lynton. "She will be the greatest joy and +comfort to your mother all her life. I shall advertise +in the Danish papers for a wife." +</p><p> +"Let Helga sit at your side, mother," said John, +"and the Pastor at your right." +</p><p> +The Pastor did not appear to think what had +passed was unusual in his daughter's conduct, but this +little episode prepared the way for young Mrs. Hardy +of Hardy Place acquiring many friends. +</p><p> +During Pastor Lindal's short stay in England, +John Hardy did his best to interest him in English +life and manners. The Pastor's wish was to visit an +English country church, and to see the whole working +of an English parish. His disapproval of the gift, or, +worse still, the sale, of a cure of souls was utter and +complete. +</p><p> +"Your system of selling or giving livings is bad," +he said. "No actual sympathy can arise between the +clergyman and his parishioners unless they are interested +in his selection." +</p><p> +When he had attended the parish church on the +Sunday, Hardy questioned him. +</p><p> +<a name="pg314"></a> +"The perfect neatness and order in the church," +said the Danish Pastor, "leave nothing to be desired; +what is wanting is the warmth of human sympathy +and life. The service is cold and lifeless, the sermon +like dead leaves. The congregation hear, but they do +not listen. There is a want of harmony created by +your system; it produces a barrier between your +clergyman and his flock; it prevents their working +well together, as a rule. In a few cases you will have +exceptional men that will get over any difficulty, and +will do their duty well if you bind them with chains; +but it is not in that direction you should look, but to +a Christian bond of sympathy and common interest, +as a rule." +</p><p> +"You are a keen observer, Herr Pastor. It is so," +said Hardy. +</p><p> +"It is not necessary to be a keen observer to see +it," replied Pastor Lindal. "It lies so near the surface +that it is not seen, when deeper causes are looked for +and ascribed as producing results they are far from +effecting." +</p><p> +"Your criticism is hard on the English country +parishes," said Hardy; "if you were here longer, you +might alter the decisive character of your opinion." +</p><p> +"It is possible, but the contrast strikes me," said +Pastor Lindal. "I speak as I see." +</p><p> +"That I do not doubt," said Hardy; "and I think +the impression of contrast between your own parish +and that of mine is wide." +</p><p> +<a name="pg315"></a> +</p><p> +"There is but one principle, and that is that +'charity suffereth long, and is kind,'" said the Pastor; +"and when you came to Denmark and said that +kindliness is the real gold of life, there was nothing +struck me so much. It was my very thought in a +phrase. I cannot therefore understand why it should +not be a more active principle in your churches." +</p><p> +"It is in the hearts of a great many English +people," said Hardy. +</p><p> +"It may be," said Pastor Lindal, "but it is not +apparent to a stranger in your parish church. But +there is another matter cognate to us if not to you, +and that is the relief of the poor. Your system is +costly, but it creates the evil. You assist the poor to +be paupers; we assist the poor not to be so, and it +costs us less. You train up children in your work-houses +to look to the poor rate or poor box, as we call +it, in after life as something to fall back on, in case +of need, or without need. The system is bad, as it +creates more claimants on your poor rate. This we +prevent by teaching the children to earn a living. +The interest your clergy have in this is indirect, and +it appears to me they have little power to be of use, +if they had the wish to be so, which with many men +must be a strong wish." +</p><p> +"It is so;" said Hardy, "and it does not appear +to me so extraordinary that you should observe it, +as the contrast between what exists with you and in +England is so marked." +</p><p> +<a name="pg316"></a> +The Pastor left for Harwich to meet the Danish +steamer, and John Hardy and Helga accompanied +him. Helga was cheerful until her father had left, +but for a long time wore a sad expression on her face. +John Hardy and his mother did their best to comfort +and allay, but without success. At last came a letter +from her father, and her sadness vanished. The good +man wrote of Hardy and Mrs. Hardy, and how worthy +they were of her affection, and it was her duty now to +give them her gratitude and love; and she became +bright at once. John Hardy's friends called, and +Helga mixed in English society and gradually became +accustomed to her new home, and no one was so +popular as young Mrs. Hardy of Hardy Place. +</p> +<br> +<center>FINIS.</center> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<hr> +<small> +PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES +</small> +<br> +<br> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's A Danish Parsonage, by John Fulford Vicary + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A DANISH PARSONAGE *** + +***** This file should be named 30617-h.htm or 30617-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/6/1/30617/ + +Produced by Jim Adcock from images obtained from the Internet Archive. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Danish Parsonage + +Author: John Fulford Vicary + +Release Date: December 6, 2009 [EBook #30617] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A DANISH PARSONAGE *** + + + + +Produced by Jim Adcock from images obtained from the Internet Archive. + + + + + + + + + A DANISH PARSONAGE + + + + + BY + + AN ANGLER + + + + + LONDON + + + KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH & CO., 1, PATERNOSTER SQUARE + + + 1884 + + + +(The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved.) + + + + + CONTENTS + + CHAPTER I. + +Introductory + + CHAPTER II. + +The Danish Parsonage--Trout fishing on the Gudenaa + + CHAPTER III. + +Rosendal + + CHAPTER IV. + +The Danish Church--The clerical party in Denmark + + CHAPTER V. + +Danish parishioners--The piano--English and Danish horses + + CHAPTER VI. + +Pike, perch, and eel fishing--A silver wedding at a Danish +proprietor's + + CHAPTER VII. + +Danish horse-breeding--A fatal accident + + CHAPTER VIII. + +The superstition of the Huldr--The tradition of Gefion--Of +Churches--The legend of the sunken mansion--Of the boar Limgrim + + CHAPTER IX. + +Kaempehoie or tumuli--Hidden treasure--Ghosts--Spectral +Huntsmen--Witches--Gypsies--The book of Cyprianus--Nissen--Elle folk + + CHAPTER X. + +The purchase of Rosendal--Pike fishing--Karl Lindal rides the English +horse + + CHAPTER XI. + +The legend of the Damhest--The Helhest--The Kirkelam--The +Gravso--Burying alive to propitiate supernatural power--Traditions of +robbers--The Basilisk--The Lindorm--Lygtemaend + + CHAPTER XII. + +Horse racing in Denmark--A horse race + + CHAPTER XIII. + +Trout fishing in hot weather--Danish ladies riding--A practical visit +to Rosendal + + CHAPTER XIV. + +Folketro--Havmaend--Havfruer--The gnome of the elder +tree--Varulv--Marer--Strandvarsler--Kirkegrim + + CHAPTER XV. + +The Pastor and his daughter--The Scotch landscape gardener--Folkeviser + + CHAPTER XVI. + +Trout fishing--The legend of the Aamaend--Changelings--Wise men and +wise women--Dvaerge--Tyge Brahe--Herr Eske Brok--The family Rosenkrands + + CHAPTER XVII. + +A drive through part of Jutland--Silkeborg--Himmelbjerg Traditions of +Holger Danske--Walling sinners up + + CHAPTER XVIII. + +Horsens--Veile--Legends--The Swedes in Jutland--Hamlet--Abbot Muus--A +found treasure--The priest at Urlev--Koldinghuus + + CHAPTER XIX. + +Holsted--Folke Eventyr--The story of the priest and his clerk--Of the +queen who was walled up seventeen years--Of the Trold and the +boy--Esbjerg + + CHAPTER XX. + +In England--Hardy Place--Mrs. Hardy--Correspondence with Denmark + + CHAPTER XXI. + +Mrs. Hardy visits Denmark--Helga Lindal--The yacht sails for +Copenhagen + + CHAPTER XXII. + +Yachting from Copenhagen to Christiania--Helga Lindal's Birthday + + CHAPTER XXIII. + +Christiania to Aarhus--Pastor Lindal and the yacht--John Hardy's +wedding-day is fixed--The Domkirke at Aarhus--Traditions and legends + + CHAPTER XXIV. + +Pastor Lindal joins the yacht for a cruise amongst the Danish +islands--Samso and traditions--Endelave and the giantess--Odense and +its historical traditions--Nyborg--King Christian and the monkey--The +ghost of Queen Helvig--Maerkedage--Svendborg--St. Jorgen and the +Lindorm--The murdered lady--Weather days + + CHAPTER XXV. + +Vordingborg--Mariebo and traditions--Legend of Borre +Island--Phanefjord and Gronsund--Legends of Phane and Gron--The +pilgrim stone--Drive to Moen's Klint--The Underjordiske--Margrethe +Skaelvig's wedding-dress--The twenty pigs and Gamle +Erik--Praesto--Stevn's Klint--Hoierup--The termination "rup" +explained--Copenhagen to Aarhus + + CHAPTER XXVI. + +Pastor Lindal's views as to his parish--His daughter's as to her +wedding-dress--The marriage--John Hardy and his wife's arrival at +Hardy Place--With the Pastor--A daughter-in-law's duty--Pastor +Lindal's strong opinions on the English church system-- + + + + ARGUMENT + +The Viking, _tenax propositi_, if he planned an expedition, carried it +out, through all obstacles, or died in the attempt. + +The descendants, softened in manner and cast of thought by centuries +of time, retain the same singleness of purpose. + +There is no other thought of the duty of life except to do it. If self +has to be sacrificed, it is done without reserve. + +The result is that there are men and women who are the reflection of +duty, and although this occurs in all lands, yet nowhere does it exist +in greater purity than in the descendants of the Viking. + + + + + A DANISH PARSONAGE + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + + "_Piscator_. Oh, sir! doubt not but that Angling is + an art. Is it not an art to deceive a Trout with an artificial + fly?--a Trout that is more sharp-sighted than any Hawk you + have named, and more watchful and timorous than your + high-mettled Merlin is bold. And yet I doubt not to catch a + brace or two to-morrow for a friend's breakfast." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +John Hardy had lived with his mother at Hardy Place. His father had +died when he was six years of age, and there was consequently a long +minority of fifteen years. The greatest influence in John Hardy's life +was a trout stream that ran winding through an English landscape for +four miles in the Hardys' property. John Hardy fished it as a +schoolboy, and it was the greatest triumph he experienced as a lad, to +catch more trout in it with a fly than the numerous fly-fishers to +whom Mrs. Hardy's kindness gave permission. When college days came, +John Hardy, ever intent on fishing, went to Norway in the vacation +with the checkered result of getting an occasional salmon, and in the +smaller streams on the fjelds a quantity of small trout. The grand +scenery in the fjords, and the kindly nature of the people, led John +Hardy to more remote districts, where sport was better, the fare and +quarters worse, but some acquisition of Scandinavian language a +necessity. + +Thus John Hardy not only gradually acquired a knowledge of many +dialects in Scandinavia, but the ability to read and understand the +simpler books in the language. He travelled and fished through Norway +and Sweden, and by degrees learnt, from the necessity of speaking it, +more and more of the Danish language, the language of Scandinavia, as +English relatively is to broad Scotch. This naturally led to his going +to Denmark, and his travelling through Jutland and the Danish islands. +In Jutland he accidentally fished in a West Jutland river, and to his +surprise found the difficult but good fishing that his heart longed +for. + +John Hardy returned home, and was at Hardy Place with his mother the +whole winter, and then, as April came round with the fishing season, +John became restless, and told his mother of his Danish fishing +experiences, and left for Copenhagen. His mother said, "Write me once +a week, John, and bring me home a Scandinavian princess for your +wife." John Hardy promised to write, but said he thought Scandinavian +princesses did not rise to a fly. His mother's face grew grave, and +she said, "You should marry soon, John; you are twenty-eight, and I +want to see you married to a wife to whom you can trust Hardy Place +and the care of your mother in her old age." + +"I can find no one yet, dear mother," said John Hardy. "I cannot bear +you should have any one at Hardy Place you did not only like but +love." + +"Bless you, John," said his mother. "I trust in your love; and I know +some men are such gentlemen, and so was your father, and so are you, +John." + +So Hardy left for Copenhagen by the English steamer from Hull to St. +Petersburg, and was landed in the pilot-boat at Elsinore, and went +thence by rail to Copenhagen. On the journey John Hardy thought that +his best course was to get lodgings with a respectable family in +Jutland near the Gudenaa, the little river that embouches in the +Randers fjord and flows through part of Jutland, and is the principal +river in it. + +John Hardy had taken from his bankers introductions to persons in +Copenhagen, to whom he had communicated his wishes. The result was an +advertisement in the _Berlinske Tidende_ that an Englishman required +lodgings near the Gudenaa, with an opportunity of being taught the +Danish language. The replies were many and of a very varied character, +as might be anticipated from such an advertisement. + +But John Hardy received a reply from a Danish clergyman in Jutland, +which struck his fancy beyond the rest. It was as follows:-- + +"In reply to the advertisement in the _Berlinske Tidende_ of +yesterday's date, I beg to offer lodgings in my house. It is a small +parsonage in Jutland, and the Gudenaa is near. There is a towing-path +on the banks, and where such exists the fishing is free, consequently +no difficulty will arise as to permission to fish. The fishing is not +particularly good, and if great anticipations exist on this score, I +must say that they will not, in my opinion, be realized. Small fish on +which the trout feed are abundant, as also the cadis worm and fly, and +the trout do not take readily an artificial bait, either fly or +minnow. I cannot, therefore, say that I think many trout can be +caught. There is also much fishing with small nets. I can, however, +teach Danish to an Englishman, although my knowledge of English is +imperfect; but on the other hand, if the advertiser will teach my two +sons, of sixteen and fourteen years of age, English, I should require +no payment from him. I am a widower, with a daughter and the two sons +already named. I can only add that he would be received kindly, and +treated as a member of my family." + +The straightforwardness of this communication had its effect on John +Hardy's open character, and he replied that he would accept the +conditions stipulated, but that he could do so only on a payment of a +monthly sum, which he was advised in Copenhagen was a full +compensation, and rather more than would be expected, for the +accommodation and cost that might be incurred by the Danish Pastor. + +The reply from the Jutland parsonage was: "The evident consideration +shown by your answer to my letter should be sufficient, but before you +come here will you kindly give me references in Copenhagen, or, if +that be difficult, in England, where I might make inquiry. I am the +Pastor of the parish where I reside, and it is due to my position that +I should make inquiry before I can admit any one to my house under any +circumstances. I do not wish to ask what is not right or reasonable, +but as I am situated it is a necessity, however advantageous your +coming here might be to me." + +This reply impressed John Hardy more than the previous communication, +and he replied with the address of a bank in Copenhagen, with +reference to his own bankers in London, for which John Hardy had to +wait a week in Copenhagen. These replies were to the effect that John +Hardy was a gentleman of position and character in England, and that +any amount that might be incurred by him for expenses in Denmark would +at once be paid by the Danish bank. + +John Hardy, it must be confessed, would rather have been fishing in +the Gudenaa than waiting for references that would show he was to be +trusted in a Danish household; but he was assured in Copenhagen that +in Jutland an introduction is not only necessary, but that it should +be supported by references, which when once done in a satisfactory +manner, then the natural kindness of the Jutland people would be open +to him. John Hardy's later experiences led him to recognize how true +the advice he received in Copenhagen was in this respect. + +He left Copenhagen by the steamer for Aarhus, and went by rail to a +small station on the railway, where the Pastor met him with a +two-horse vehicle, that made the small distance of eight English miles +a journey of nearly three hours. The Pastor was a man of fifty, with a +fresh complexion and a kindly face, and asked many questions of John +Hardy's family and friends, his position in England, his age, the +income from his landed property, and his views and intentions in life. + +John Hardy had, however, heard he must expect this, and answered +simply and frankly. + +When at length the little Danish parsonage was reached, with its +whitewashed garden wall, with poplar trees and lilac bushes, John +Hardy felt it was a relief to escape the close cross-examination to +which he had been so long subjected, and to see the Pastor's two boys +running out with eager curiosity to inspect the Englishman, and assist +in taking his luggage to the room apportioned to him. + +"We shall have dinner shortly," said the Pastor. "Helga is not here to +meet us, and that is a sign that we shall not wait long. Karl and Axel +will show you your room and bring anything you may want, and help you +to unpack your portmanteaus." + +John Hardy went to his room--a room with little furniture, but adapted +as a sitting-room or bedroom. The two boys, with the desire that all +boys have to be useful to a guest, assisted in undoing his luggage, +and John Hardy was soon ready to follow them to the little dining-room +of the parsonage. + +The table was laid with a little bunch of wild flowers and grasses +here and there, but with little else. The Pastor received Hardy in a +more friendly manner than he had exhibited before, and his daughter +Helga appeared from a door leading from the kitchen, and was +introduced by her father. John Hardy saw a tall woman of twenty, with +fair hair and violet eyes, and bowed. The dinner was borne in by two +women-servants, and Helga signed to John Hardy where he should sit. + +There was little conversation at dinner. John Hardy, for his part, was +hungry, and also knew little Danish; but gradually, as the more +substantial dishes disappeared, conversation arose, and John Hardy +turned its direction to the fishing in the Gudenaa. + +"Your frank letters to me," said Hardy, "would not lead me to expect +much; but there are trout in the Gudenaa, and it might be that a few +might be caught." + +"You will not catch them with a fly, after the English fashion," said +Karl. "An Englishman that came from Randers has been here, and he +caught three only in a whole day." + +"I fear Karl is right," said the Pastor. "There is such an abundance +of fish-food in the Gudenaa, that a means of catching them that leaves +no option to the fish is apparently the only successful method." + +"That is the very position that interests me," replied Hardy. "The +difficulty is the only pleasure in the sport." + +"They fish with the lines set at night, baited with a small fish, and +catch, not only trout, but eels," said Karl. "You might try that. But +they do not catch many." + +Helga had brought her father a large porcelain pipe with a long stem, +and the Pastor was smoking slowly and vigorously. Coffee was brought +in, and Helga offered Hardy a large pipe like her father's. This he +declined. + +"Do you not smoke?" said the Pastor. + +"Yes," replied Hardy; "but we are not accustomed to do so in a lady's +presence in England; and what an English gentleman would do in England +he should do in Denmark." + +"Good," said the Pastor, "very good. But it is our custom to smoke. +The practice is habitual with us. Helga, will you speak?" + +"I should be sorry you did not smoke, Herr Hardy," said Helga. "My +father likes to have some one smoking at the same time. It will be a +comfort to him." + +So John lit a cigar with some misgiving; and he sent Karl up to his +room for a courier-bag, in which he had some fishing-books with +trout-flies. Karl and Axel looked at the English trout-flies with +interest. + +"Those feathered things," said Karl, "I have seen used, but they only +catch small trout, and now and then a bleak. I have seen Englishmen +use them here from Randers." + +John Hardy selected three flies and put them on a casting-line, and +wound it round his hat, and he said, "Now, will you two boys go with +me to fish at six o'clock to-morrow morning?" + +"Yes, that will we," said Karl. "Kirstin will call us, and will have +coffee ready an hour earlier than usual, if you wish it." + +"Am I disturbing your house, Herr Pastor," said Hardy, "by suggesting +this to your boys?" + +"By no means," said the Pastor. "It is now Thursday, and we shall not +expect you to begin to teach them English until Monday, and the boys +can have a free time until then. We have breakfast at ten to eleven, +and you would have time to fish a little; and Kirstin will give you +some bread and butter and coffee at six." + +"There is nothing unusual in this, Herr Hardy," said Froken Helga, in +reply to a look of surprise from Hardy. "It will put us to no +inconvenience." + +"That may be," said the Pastor; "but I think you should clearly +understand that you are not likely to catch any trout." + +"That," said Hardy, "we must leave to the trout to decide." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + "_Piscator._ Good morrow, sir! What, up and dressed + so early! + "_Viator._ Yes, sir. I have been dressed this half hour, for I + rested so well and have so great a mind either to take or to + see a trout taken in your fine river that I could no longer + lie a-bed. + "_Piscator._ I am glad to see you so brisk this morning and so + eager of sport, though I must tell you, this day proves so + calm, and the sun rises so bright, as promises no great + success to the angler; but however, we will try, and one way + or the other, we shall sure do something." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +Kirstin, the elder of Pastor Karl Lindar's women servants, was about +forty-five--a large-framed woman with a hard face. She possessed, in +common with the Jutland lower class, a shrewd sense, yet highly +suspicious, but at the bottom strong good nature. She had been with +Pastor Lindal more than twenty years, and her devotion to him and his +was complete. At all times she gave her advice, whether asked or +unasked, on every topic, and materially assisted in economizing the +pastor's narrow income. Her work was done with the exactitude of a +clock, neat and precise; and if the work in the house was by any cause +increased, she rose earlier and went to bed later, rejoicing in her +capacity for work and usefulness. The influence her steady character +had in the house was great, and on the Pastor's daughter, Froken +Helga's leaving an educational institution at Copenhagen, Kirstin's +strict sense of duty created an impression that Froken Helga never +lost. She awoke to the fact of what her duty was--that it was to her +father and his home. Kirstin's manner was not kindly, and she could +give sharp answers, but the woman's kindly nature often showed itself +in a strong light. Outside the Pastor's house she was respected and +liked, and always went by the name of Praesten's Kirstin. + +At half-past five the morning of the day after John Hardy's arrival at +the parsonage, Kirstin knocked at the door of his room, and brought in +the accustomed coffee and its belongings. + +John Hardy was dressed, as he was always an early riser, and was +attaching two large Irish lake trout flies to a stronger casting line +than he had selected the night before. + +"Morn," said Kirstin. "I tell the gentleman that Karl and Axel have +had coffee. Has the gentleman anything to command?" + +"Tell them I am ready to go fishing," said Hardy; "but if we catch any +trout and the trout are in the kitchen by ten o'clock, can we have +them cooked for breakfast?" + +"If the gentleman's fish are there, the frying-pan is ready," replied +Kirstin; "but the Herr Pastor would not wish the gentleman to be +without a breakfast." + +It was clear Kirstin doubted a trout breakfast's possibility. John +Hardy began to doubt too; but he took his fishing-rod, a light +sixteen-foot fly rod, and called the two boys, who rushed into his +room eager to a degree. + +"Herr Hardy," said Axel, "they all say you will catch nothing--do you +think you will?" + +The anxiety in the boy's face amused Hardy, who gave him the +fishing-bag to carry, and his brother Karl the landing-net. + +John Hardy went to the bridge close to the parsonage, and looked up +the river. The country was flat, chiefly arable land, with meadows +here and there of coarse grass. The river had a peaty colour, and +resembled in its flow some portions of the Thames. + +"Do you know where the deepest water is up the river, boys?" inquired +Hardy. + +"Up by the tile works," said the boys both at once, "and above that it +is not deep." + +Hardy walked up the towing-path, keeping his eye on the river, but not +a trout moved. He saw the abundance of bleak and smaller fish, and it +occurred to him that it was easy to account for the non-success of the +fly-fishers in the Gudenaa. The fish would not be often feeding, as +trout food existed in such quantity; and besides, to a voracious trout +a plump little fish was more acceptable than an ephemera. If there +were any fish feeding they would be in the shallows. + +Hardy tried small trout flies, but without success; not a fish moved, +and the boys' faces had a disappointed look. He changed his casting +line for the one with the Irish lake trout flies, and was soon fast in +a trout. This Karl, in his excitement to get into the landing-net, +nearly lost, but Hardy let the fish have line, and then drew it again +within reach of the landing-net. This fish was full of food, and +corroborated the Pastor's statement. The trout resembles the Hampshire +trout, but the colours were more brightly painted. Hardy fished +steadily for two hours, with the result of landing eight trout +averaging a pound each, to the boys' intense delight. Kirstin and +their father had both doubted Hardy, but there were the fish and could +be cooked for breakfast. The boys never doubted Hardy after. + +"Axel, little man," said John Hardy, "run to the kitchen with the +fish, and tell Kirstin that the Englishman wants to know if the +frying-pan is ready." + +Axel was off like a hare. + +When Karl and Hardy reached the parsonage, the Pastor was at the door. +"I see no fish," said he, "and I am glad I did not lead you to expect +any success in that direction." + +"We have not been very successful," said Hardy, quietly taking down +his rod. "A knowledge of the habits of the fish in different rivers, +and a knowledge of the rivers is necessary, and this an intimate +acquaintance only gives." + +"Yes, but, father," put in Kari, "Herr Hardy has caught a lot; he +would not let us keep the small ones, but kept eight of the biggest. +Axel has ran on with them. Kirstin told me the frying-pan would be +ready, but not the gentleman's fish." + +When John Hardy was called to breakfast--a Danish breakfast +corresponds much to an early English lunch--he found Karl and Axel's +tongues wagging like a dog's tail at dinner-time, they were so full of +the fishing. They had caught a few roach in the river, and about once +in a moon a trout, and John Hardy's completer knowledge had impressed +them. Hardy bowed to Froken Helga, and would have shaken hands, but +she pointed to a seat, and Hardy sat down. The Pastor said grace, and +attacked the trout with much appreciation of their merits. + +"We tried to cast a line out, father, with Herr Hardy's rod," said +Axel, "but could not, the line fell all of a heap, while Herr Hardy +threw it a long way; it hovered over the water for a second, and fell +slowly on the water. The flies appeared like live insects." + +"You know, father," put in Karl, "the wider shallow in the river above +the tile works? I saw a trout rise there, and pointed it out to Herr +Hardy, He watched it, and when the trout rose again he walked straight +into the river and caught it by a long cast. It was the biggest fish." + +"I have undertaken to teach you two boys English," said Hardy; "and if +you will try and learn, I will teach you how to fish and give you rods +and flies as well." + +"A thousand thanks, Herr Hardy," said Karl and Axel, with delight. + +"You have already prepared the way for performing your part of our +contract, Herr Hardy," said the Pastor; "I can only hope I shall +execute mine so well. With the boys' hearts in the work the rest is +easy;" and Pastor Lindal regarded his manly and self-possessed guest +with interest. + +John Hardy could now in the full light of a day in May consider Pastor +Lindal; his age was apparently over fifty, his features were clear cut +and handsome, his eyes blue, and his hair had been a light-brown. +There was an impression of probity about him that struck Hardy +forcibly. His manner was a trifle awkward to Hardy's notion, but it +was kindly. His daughter Helga was like her father. Her complexion was +clear and her voice musical. Her manner was, Hardy thought, not +refined. It was simple and straightforward, and to John Hardy she +appeared to want the ladylike tone of an English lady. The two boys +Karl and Axel were like English lads of the same age, frank and open, +and Hardy liked them. + +The Pastor had his pipe in full glow--his daughter had filled it--and +Hardy, taught by his experience of the previous evening, lit a cigar. +The Pastor said that he had his duties to attend to, and some of his +parish children as he called them to visit, and that his daughter +Helga had also her visits to make. Hardy replied that he should write +to his mother and some business letters, and if dinner was at four, as +the Pastor had intimated, that he should like to fish in the evening, +to relieve Kirstin's doubts as to whether the frying-pan would be +wanted for breakfast on the morrow by catching some trout the night +before. + +"And you will take us, Herr Hardy?" said Karl and Axel with some +anxiety. + +"Come to my room at three," said Hardy; "I will begin to teach you how +to fish. I have a lighter fly rod, and we will prepare the tackle." + +After dinner John Hardy and the boys went to the river. Hardy had a +sixteen-foot minnow rod, and put up a twelve-foot fly rod for the +boys, and showed them how to cast it. They took it in turns, and Karl +caught a trout. Hardy waded the shallows, fishing with a minnow, and +the trout for an hour were on the feed. The largest trout he caught +was over three pounds, and seventeen weighed nineteen pounds, by +Hardy's English spring balance. + +John Hardy changed his clothes and came down to the room occupied by +Pastor Lindal and his family as a sitting-room, and found Froken Helga +playing on an old piano to the Pastor, who was smoking in his easy +chair. She at once ceased. + +"We have caught more and larger fish, Herr Pastor," said Hardy; "the +fishing in the Gudenaa is good, and any doubt as to there being trout +for breakfast, and, if you wish, dinner, to-morrow, is at an end." + +"You English are a thorough people," said the Pastor; "whether it be +sport or business, science or skill, you are to the front." + +"Our faith is that we owe it to our Danish ancestors," said Hardy; +"the hard tenacity of the Vikings is what we admire most in history." + +"My faith is that it is the free and independent spirit of your +institutions for ages," replied the Pastor. "You now enjoy the changes +wrought by Cromwell, for which the English people then were ripe. But +do light your cigar, and hear a suggestion I have to make for +to-morrow. There is an old Danish place near here, called Rosendal. +Its special beauty is the idyllic landscape of beech trees, a lake, +and a valley where they grow such roses as will resist our Danish +climate. The house is an old house, but has been restored by +successive owners. The place is visited by people far and near. It is +thoroughly Danish, and especially Jydsk (Jutlandsk). It is only two +English miles from here, and my daughter Helga's only enthusiasm is +Rosendal. She will go with you, with Karl and Axel. Is the walk too +far?" + +"No, certainly not," said Hardy; "do we go before breakfast or after?" + +"Helga, order breakfast earlier," said the Pastor. + +"Yes, father," said Froken Helga; "but is it necessary for me to go to +Rosendal, the boys can show Herr Hardy the way?" + +"You always like to go there and enjoy it," said her father. "You have +been in the house some days preparing to receive Herr Hardy, and the +walk will do you good. Go by all means." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + "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._" + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + + "Many a one + Owes to his country his religion, + And in another, would as strongly grow + Had but his mother or his nurse taught him so." + _The Complete Angler._ + + +The church at Vandstrup lay on rising ground from the river. It was +white-washed, covered with red tiles, and surrounded by a white-washed +wall enclosing God's acre, in which so many slept the last long sleep. +There were a few poplars planted close to the church-yard wall, and a +few weather-beaten ash trees, with a single dwarfed weeping willow +over a grave. On Sunday, John Hardy watched with interest the +church-going people collecting by the church gate. The men in dark +Wadmel jackets with bright buttons, and the women with red ribands +bound on their caps and knitted sleeves. The women left their wooden +shoes in the dry ditch by the roadside, and put on leather shoes, and +waited for the Pastor's arrival. Accuracy of time was not expected, +and only when the Pastor appeared did the men throng into the church +on one side and the women on the other. The interior of the church was +simple to a degree. John Hardy with Karl and Axel sat on the men's +side, and Froken Helga and Kirstin on the other. The service was +similar to that of the English Protestant service, although relics of +what would be now called Romanism remained. There were candles on the +altar, and the Pastor chanted some portion of the service. John Hardy +longed for the sermon. The thorough honest feeling exhibited by the +Pastor's character in his home, with his evident refinement and +education, had excited his curiosity as to what the sermon would be. + +The text of the sermon was from the fifth chapter of St. Matthew, part +of ver. 42: "Give to him that asketh thee!" + +"When a man comes and asks anything of you, what should you give? The +best thing is sympathy and love; material gifts he may want, but these +kindliness will dictate, and kindliness is the real gold of life. If +no power exists to give what is necessary to assist your neighbour in +a material sense, yet to your ability give; and if you give at all, +give kindly. Those of you who want not material things, yet may want +kind sympathy when God smiteth with sorrow. Recollect, then, that that +is the time for kindliness to be proved that is golden." + +This was the epitome of the sermon, and John Hardy could not hear a +sound in the church, so intently was it listened to. + +"I could understand your sermon, Herr Pastor," said Hardy; "it was +preached in such simple Danish, and I liked it. But what interested me +was the earnestness with which you were listened to: every word was +heard by every one of your congregation, and I could see felt." + +"It was not always so," said Pastor Lindal. "I have won the sympathy +and friendship of the children of my parish by years of work amongst +them. The character of the Jutland people is suspicious--there is a +strange mixture of shrewdness and stolidity; they are slow to +appreciate, but when once their sympathy is won, they are fast +friends. It is impossible for a sermon to have any effect without you +have won their friendship on other days than Sundays." + +John Hardy said nothing, but he thought that the application was true +to other lands than Denmark, particularly England. + +The Pastor had to perform another service at an Annex Kirke (a +subsidiary church), and left after a short meal to do so. Froken Helga +went to her room, and Karl and Axel implored Hardy to go fishing; but +he refused. "It is not right to do so," he said; "we have to keep the +Sunday, and fishing is not keeping the Sunday." + +"But everybody does here, and more than, other days," said Karl. + +"That may be," said Hardy; "but I cannot do what I do not think is +right." + +Kirstin was present and heard this conversation, and it met her +evident approval. She told the boys that the Englishman must not be +teased on a Sunday, that he might wish to read his Bible, and that he +must not be disturbed. The boys left the room in bad humour. + +"Kirstin," said Hardy, "my being here will, I dare say, give you more +trouble, and I wish to recognize it. I am an Englishman accustomed to +many servants, and may be careless of what trouble I give. You must +not judge me by what is the custom in Denmark. Here is forty kroner; +will you kindly give what you think fit to others in the house, and +keep the rest yourself?" + +"No," said Kirstin, "I will have no money. Herr Pastor says you will +pay for your stay here by teaching, and it rests with him; also it is +too much." + +Hardy had to pocket his money again with a dissatisfied look, but +Kirstin understood him; and his face, on which nature had written +"gentleman," and which she had closely observed since Hardy's arrival, +appealed to her. + +"I have seen the gentleman," said Kirstin, "look at Froken Helga, and +I will tell the gentleman something that may serve him. Froken Helga +can never marry. Her duty is to her father and her brothers, and she +knows and feels that." + +John Hardy was not in love with Froken Helga; but yet this simple +Jutland peasant had divined what might occur, and had forewarned him. +The explanation of Helga's conduct towards him was clear. He saw that +she daily visited the people in the parish, and told the Pastor what +was necessary to tell him, and that her usefulness in the parsonage +and in every corner of it was a want that she filled. Kirstin +understood all this, and saw that it could not be interrupted without +a breach of duty. + +John Hardy went to his room, and did not come out of it until they +were all assembled that Sunday evening in the little dining-room. + +The Pastor was tired, but very conversational; and when his great +porcelain pipe had been filled as usual by Helga with Kanaster, he +said, "I was struck by your evident interest in our service; but I was +pleased to hear that you refused to go fishing with Karl and Axel, +because the sabbath should be kept. Now, we have not that view, +although it is the best view; and I say frankly that if you had taken +the boys fishing, I should have not objected; but you said you felt it +was not right, and I honour the thought. There is with us in Denmark a +strong feeling against the Established Church, and a political +question arose some years ago which will well illustrate it. On the +7th of January, 1868, a bill was brought before our Lower House of +Parliament as to military service, and the question was raised whether +theological candidates should be eligible for military service. The +issue was raised in the Lower House of Representatives and fought +there. It then passed into the Higher House of Representatives, and +was fought there. The strife was long and intensely bitter, the +greater part of the population of Denmark becoming partisans for or +partisans against the clerical party. After the fight in the Higher +House, it was again referred to the Lower, and refought there, and so +again to the Higher House, with two interludes of appeals to the +country. The clerical party described the position of the clergy in a +florid style. They declaimed that poets and painters had represented +the life of a Danish priest as a beautiful idyl, each scene in +relative harmony with surrounding nature, whose heart is not touched +as wandering in the path-fields he hears the bells of the country +church ringing in the morning of the sabbath. How lovely is the little +white church, with its red roof and quaint gables, amidst its woods +and meadows! The little parsonage standing in its own garden, with a +little belt of trees close to the church, while around it flock the +little country houses, as a hen gathers her chickens. Nothing is more +exquisite than the perfect affection and peace that exists between the +country clergyman and his congregation. He is the teacher of the +young, the comforter of the old, in each house a welcome guest, and +the estimation in which his holy calling is held invests him with +respect. In spiritual need or worldly care every one of his +congregation hasten to their minister. He is the curer of souls, +adviser, father, friend. The homes of his flock are his own, and it is +his pride to confer happiness and promote contentment." + +"That is a bright picture," said Hardy. + +"Yes," said Pastor Lindal; "but the opposite party drew another, which +attracted many partisans. They said his reverence has a good time of +it. He has a house which is better than a Danish farmer's, and a farm +which is just as good. He has horses, cows, pigs, sheep, and poultry. +He has, moreover, tithes and dues of many kinds; and besides these, it +is necessary to stick a dollar in his fist whenever one must make use +of him. Whilst the Danish farmer has to sweat behind his plough, the +clergyman sits at his ease smoking his pipe in his study, and has +nothing more to do than to preach on a Sunday, and to hear the +children read once a week. Everything that is congenial to the taste +of the Danish farmer, the clergyman turns up his nose at. He abuses +the leaders of the people, and only reads conservative newspapers, and +on election days he votes against all his parish. The farmer maintains +and pays him, but his conviction is that he is better than any farmer. +What, therefore, can be more stiff-necked of him than to refuse to +serve his country with his own, reverend person? Off with his black +coat and clap on a red, and let the corporal teach him. He is a +learned fellow, but, doubtless, stupid at drill." + +"That last," said Hardy, "is a reference to Holberg's play of 'Erasmus +Montanus.'" + +"Yes," said Pastor Lindal; "and it amused the country. But they got +hold of another idea, and tore it to shreds: they said if the flock +goes to war, the shepherd should not be absent. The result, however, +was that theological candidates are liable to military service, and it +makes a difference of possibly twenty men yearly. It, however, proves +one thing, and that is, the Lower House had got hold of the clerical +gown, and were determined, with bull-dog tenacity, to rend it." + +"A similar question in England," said Hardy, "would have produced the +same result." + +"That I can well believe," said the Pastor; "but with you a +congregation can be sold to the highest bidder, and is. There is no +thought in England of adjusting the payment for church work to the +work done, and so long as this exists it is a dangerous feature." + +"Without doubt," said Hardy. + +Before going to bed, Hardy said to Froken Helga, "Good night," as he +had done on previous nights, without more than a bow; but to his +surprise she held out her hand, and said-- + +"Thank you, Herr Hardy; I have rarely seen my father so interested to +talk with any one, and it is kind of you to interest him." + +"It is the contrary, Froken Helga; he interests me," said Hardy. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + + "Hunting trains up the younger nobility to the use + of manly exercises in their riper age." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +To John Hardy the days passed pleasantly at the little Danish +parsonage. He taught the boys English a short time daily, and their +bright faces and strong desire to learn made Hardy interested in their +progress. If they were inclined to be inattentive, which was rare, the +hint that he should not take them with him fishing secured earnest and +immediate attention. The Pastor saw that the boys made progress in +learning English with Hardy, and he himself taught them several hours +daily, or, if he were absent, he set them work to do, and his daughter +Helga sat in the room until the Pastor returned. + +Hardy accompanied him in his visits to his Sogneborn (literally, +parish children), and he gradually became acquainted with the Danish +farmers, and was known in the parish as Praesten's Englaender, or the +parson's Englishman. He was amused by the habits of many of the men, +in treating him as if he was a harmless idiot, to be humoured and +always answered in the affirmative. Stories were told him of how in +some parts of the river there were trout et Par Alen long (about four +feet), but to amuse the idiot for the moment. + +The peculiarity of knickerbockers received much consideration, and it +was a frequent question if Hardy adopted that dress for a sickness in +his legs. Hardy's knowledge of farming and the management of cattle, +particularly horses, was an unfailing source of conversation. There +are many good horses bred in Jutland for sale in England, Germany, and +Sweden. The original breed appeared to Hardy to be either Hungarian or +Polish. These horses are well adapted for light carriage work; and +many a horse foaled on a Jutland farm has been in a London carriage, +to the considerable profit of the importer. + +The evenings at the parsonage passed in conversation with the Pastor, +who held a sort of tobacco parliament. Hardy was a good listener, and +was anxious to perfect himself in the Danish language. Froken Helga +knitted and listened. The boys learned lessons or played games. The +Pastor liked to hear his daughter sing; but it would be doing that +worthy man strong injustice to say he liked the piano, which was very +old and worse than worthless. It was to Hardy's ear torture to hear it +in contrast with Froken Helga's clear voice. At last he could stand it +no longer, and the matter came to a crisis. + +"Herr Pastor," said Hardy, "when at the exhibition of Copenhagen, of +your national industry, I was much struck by the tone of a piano by a +Copenhagen maker, and I have ordered one, and I shall be much indebted +to you if you will allow it to be sent here until I return to +England." + +"There will be much extra expense attached to that plan," replied the +Pastor, "and, besides, it might get injured here." + +"Those considerations I am fully prepared for," said Hardy; "but if I +may take the leaf from my mouth, as you Danes say, or speak plainly, +your piano is worn out, and is spoiling Froken Helga's ear and taste +for music. Her voice is excellent, and rings as clearly as a silver +bell; but then the jingle of the piano is like the toothache." + +"We are all accustomed to it," said the Pastor; "but I only hear +Helga's voice." + +So the piano appeared, and a man to tune it, and Froken Helga played +it. The tone was good, and the Pastor listened to the old Danish songs +he had heard so many times with delight. + +One evening Helga had to make a visit to a sick woman, and the Pastor +puffed away at his teacup of a pipe, with longer puffs than usual. +Hardy saw there was something in the way, and at last it struck him +that he missed his daughter's song. He had once told Hardy that her +voice was like her mother's. + +Hardy sat down to the piano, and played and sang an English ballad, +and then another. He then sang a plaintive German song, with a manly +pathos and taste, that showed the well-bred gentleman he was. + +The Pastor applauded loudly, and Hardy turned round, and, lo! there +was Froken Helga, with a look on her face that Hardy never forgot, so +intense was her surprise. + +"Helga," said her father, "go and thank Herr Hardy for his singing to +me instead of you; he saw I missed you, my child, and he sang to +divert me." + +"A thousand thanks!" said Helga, using a common Danish expression. "I +never heard so beautiful a song! But why did you not tell us that you +could play and sing before?" + +"Because I preferred Froken Helga's voice to that of Praesten's +Englaender," said Hardy. + +Nothing would induce Froken Helga to sing that evening; her father +almost commanded her, but she would not. At last she said, "I cannot, +father; Herr Hardy sings too well." + +This speech was not forgotten for a long time, and Karl and Axel +teased their sister with perpetual questions as to whether they or she +was not doing something or other too well. If Karl caught no trout, he +explained to his sister that he was afraid of fishing too well. If +Axel had dirty hands, his explanation was that he was afraid of +washing them too well. + +John Hardy had visited the Gudenaa within walking distance, or boating +distance, and he wished to make longer expeditions from the parsonage. +He inspected several of the farms near, and at last arranged with +farmer Niels Jacobsen to rent stabling for three horses. He then wrote +the following letter, addressed to a groom at Hardy Place:-- + +"Robert Garth, + +"I want you to bring Buffalo to me in Denmark. The horse is to be +taken to Harwich, and thence on board the steamer for Esbjerg. The +steamers are fitted up with stables for horses, and there will be no +difficulty. When you come to Esbjerg, take train to Horsens, where I +will meet you. A telegram must be sent me to Vandstrup Praestegaard, to +say when you will arrive at Horsens. Bring two hunting saddles and +bridles, and some of the snaffle bits that I like. + +"Show this letter to the steward, and he will let you have what money +he thinks is necessary for your journey. + +"Yours truly, + +"John Hardy." + +In little more than a week, Buffalo and Robert Garth were in Niels +Jacobsen's stables. + +Buffalo was a good English-bred horse, a good jumper, with a chest +like a wall, and hind-quarters up to weight. Niels Jacobsen and his +neighbours had collected and criticized. + +"Gild bevars! sikken en Hest!" ["God preserve us, what a horse!"] said +Niels, sucking away at his pipe, with a chorus echoing the same words +from his neighbours. There was no doubt of their approval, and Buffalo +had a succession of visitors and admirers for days. + +Hardy had communicated to Pastor Lindal that he intended to have one +of his horses and a groom from England, and had great difficulty in +preventing the Pastor turning out his own small stable to make room +for Buffalo; but this Hardy would not allow. Robert Garth lodged at +Jacobsen's, and Hardy, with that thoughtfulness he always had for +those about him, arranged for his man's meals and sleeping quarters as +nearly as possible to an English groom's notions. + +"Well, Bob," said Hardy, "you will shake down after a bit; but what I +want you to do is, to help me to pick out a pair of light carriage +horses from here. I have seen a lot, and you will have plenty to +choose from. They will suit my mother, and I wish to take them over as +a present to her." + +"I have seen some of them Danish horses," said Robert Garth, "and not +half bad horses either; but it is the infernal lingo. They keep +smoking them big wood pipes, and when they don't smoke they chews, and +then they spits." + +"Where did you see any Danish horses?" asked Hardy. + +"At Sir Charles'; he had a pair, hardly up to fifteen hands, but very +pretty steppers, with a thinish mane, a trifle small below the knee," +said Garth. + +"That's the very thing," said Hardy. + +As soon as it was known that the priest's Englishman wanted to buy two +Jutland horses, plenty offered; and Karl and Axel were intensely +interested in the trial of the horses, which went on in a rough piece +of land close to the parsonage. + +When the horses were brought up, Hardy mounted one, and Robert Garth +criticized. Hardy put the horse through its paces, and if his judgment +was not favourable, it was declined; but if doubtful. Garth rode it, +and Hardy looked on. A couple of horses were thus selected, and both +had Robert Garth's unqualified approval. + +"They are both as handsome as paint, and as sound as bells," said +Garth. + +"Are you a horse-dealer?" asked Pastor Lindal, of Hardy, one evening. + +"No, certainly not," replied Hardy. + +"You have shown every qualification for it," said the Pastor. + +"Possibly," said Hardy. "I see I have done this also too well. I only +wanted the horses for my mother's carriage. She likes an open light +carriage, and it is difficult to procure really good horses in England +of a suitable size. The horses I have bought will suit her exactly, if +we have good luck with them; that is, that they turn out well, and we +have no accident with them. I shall buy a light four-wheel carriage at +Horsens, and my groom will drive them, and we shall then see if it be +necessary to discard either or both, before they are taken to +England." + +"But why did you send for a horse from England?" said Pastor Lindal, +to whom a horse was a horse and a cow was a cow. + +"I fear because I like a good horse," replied Hardy. "Your Jutland +horses are not adapted to the saddle, except for lady's hacks, or +light carriage work; my English horse would jump the ditches that +abound in your Danish fields, and would, for instance, jump your +garden wall." + +"That I am sure no horse can," said the Pastor, decidedly. + +"Does he mean, father," said Froken Helga, "that his horse can jump +our garden wall?" + +"Yes," said Hardy; "it is scarcely five feet. But will you promise, +Froken Helga, that if my horse does jump the wall, that you will not +say that the horse does it too well? It is not me, but the horse that +jumps the wall." + +Helga looked annoyed at the reference made to her saying that he sang +and played too well for any one to follow after him, but she said +nothing. + +Karl and Axel had listened. They too thought it impossible; but they +believed in Hardy. + +"Well, Karl," said Hardy, "don't you believe in me and the English +horse?" + +"No," said Karl. "A horse cannot jump the garden wall by himself, much +more with a man on his back; no horse could do it. But I believe you +can do anything." + +"Well, Herr Pastor," said Hardy, "I have no one who believes in me or +my horse. Froken Helga regards me with suspicion; and no one in +Jutland appears to believe more than they see." + +"Yes; but it is impossible," said Pastor Lindal. + +The next day after breakfast, Buffalo and one of the Danish horses +were taken to the parsonage by Robert Garth. Buffalo had an English +saddle on, and looked fully recovered from his journey to Denmark, and +fit for anything. The Pastor, his daughter, and his two boys came out +to see the English horse. Froken Helga had not seen it before, and it +struck her as being the handsomest horse she had ever seen; and she +observed the respect the English groom showed Hardy. + +"What do you think of the oats, Bob?" said Hardy. + +"First-rate," said Garth, touching his hat; "they have picked Buffalo +up wonderful, and he is fit to go anywhere." + +Hardy mounted his horse. His mother had sent over his hunting +breeches, and when mounted, the Pastor was struck with the manly +figure of the quiet-mannered Englishman. + +"The horse will not take even such a jump as your garden wall," said +Hardy, "in cold blood. I will give him a gallop down the field below, +and then bring him up and jump the wall. You will see the grand spread +of his stride as he gallops." + +Hardy rode like an English country gentleman accustomed to the saddle, +and the great wide strides taken by Buffalo even the Pastor observed +with astonishment. Suddenly Hardy turned and came at the garden wall, +with Buffalo well in hand, who rose to the jump and cleared it easily, +and out through a break in the shrubbery over the wall at the other +side. + +Hardy rode quietly in through the entrance gate and dismounted. It was +clear, by the demeanour of the English groom, that he saw nothing +unusual in what had passed; but it was very different with the Danish +family. The boys cheered, but Froken Helga had disappeared. + +"If you were not accustomed to do this," said the Pastor, "I should +consider it was not right to risk so good a horse and your own limbs. +A fall must be dangerous to you and your horse." + +"Yes; a fall would be, and is," said Hardy. "I have broken my arm and +a collar-bone by falls when hunting." + +"Now, Herr Pastor," added Hardy, "you will see the difference between +my English horse and one of the best horses we could buy here." + +"He can't jump a yard, master," said Garth; "it is no use trying him." + +Hardy mounted the Danish horse, and the difference was apparent in +pace and action. + +"Bob," said Hardy, "they are no use for saddle horses, except for +ladies; but they will do well for what we bought them." + +"Right you are, master!" said Garth, as Hardy remounted Buffalo, and +went for a ride. + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + + "Next, note that the eel seldom stirs in the day, + but then hides himself; and therefore is usually caught by + night, with one of those baits of which I have spoken." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +The two Danish horses were driven by Garth, and, in his hands, soon +grew accustomed to harness and the light carriage John Hardy had +purchased at Horsens. Longer expeditions were made to fish the smaller +Danish streams, and, to the great gratification of Karl and Axel, to +Silkeborg. The lakes at Silkeborg, with their idyllic picturesqueness, +interested Hardy, while the pike and the perch fishing yielded good +sport. Hardy was skilful in spinning a heavy minnow deep in the water, +casting it from a boat, and thus attracting the heaviest perch. A +paternoster also in his hands caught a quantity of perch. Pike were +caught by casting a dead roach, with a rod with upright rings, and +Hardy threw his bait with a length and certainty that the Danish +fishermen were not accustomed to. The bait would fall into a little +spot of water amongst the reeds. A jerk and pull made the dead fish +appear like a wounded live one; when out would rush Herr _Esox lucius_ +from his lair, and, after expostulating in the usual manner, would +come into the boat with the sullen look of +how-I-should-like-to-bite-the-calf-of-your-leg, peculiar to Herr +Esox's genus. + +The Danish fishermen at Silkeborg began to entertain the notion that +John Hardy, if his stay was prolonged, would depopulate the lakes of +both pike and perch; and they hugged the idea with affection that at +least he could not catch eels, with which the lakes abound. + +"Can you catch eels, Herr Hardy?" said Karl. "The fishermen say you +may be able to catch pike and perch, but you do not know how to catch +eels with a line in the lakes." + +"Yes," replied Hardy, "if you and Axel will undertake to take them off +the hooks when caught; it is not an agreeable bit of work." + +"Yes, that will we," said Karl and Axel at once. + +They had then no idea of the difficulty of getting off the slime of an +eel from their clothes, and what very pointed personal remarks would +be made by Kirstin, when they returned to Vandstrup Praestegaard. + +The preparations for catching eels with lines was of immense interest +to the boys. Hardy had several stakes made with sharpened ends. The +stakes were driven into a shallow part of the lake, and a line +attached to each, of about thirty yards' length. The line was a cotton +one, with copper wire twisted in it; and to each line, at the distance +of every six feet, was attached a strong gimp hook, baited with a dead +minnow. The lines were laid down at dusk, with a weight at the end of +about half a pound. A boat was chartered, and the lines visited at +intervals the half part of the night. By drawing the line, it was easy +to detect if an eel was on the line. The result was the constant +employment of Karl and Axel in taking eels off the lines; and the next +day their clothes were white and shiny, with slime from the eels. + +"You are so good to us, Herr Hardy," said Karl, "I wish you would live +always with us." + +"We do not live only to catch fish," said Hardy; "each of us has his +duty and work to do; but there is no reason why we should not enjoy +the beautiful world God has given us, when we do our duty first. My +duty I know; yours you have yet to learn." + +These simple words had a strong impression on the two lads, and were +never forgotten; and when Karl and Axel returned to their father's +house, they told him what Hardy had said, and he never forgot it +either. + +"I think," said the Pastor to his daughter, "that Herr Hardy is as +good as he is kind." + +One little circumstance that now occurred it is necessary to mention. +Hardy had been some time at the parsonage, and he therefore offered to +pay what he had agreed to pay for his board and lodging. + +The Pastor refused to accept payment, "You have come here, and whilst +here have repaid us again and again by your kind ways and manners. My +two boys have grown in a few weeks to be gentle and considerate in +their conduct. They were rough and wild before. You have taught them +English, and their progress has astonished me. I have taught them +daily, but you have succeeded in teaching more in a few weeks than I +have years. I cannot repay this. I can only say I will receive no +money of yours." + +"But I am well able to pay the moderate sum you stated that was your +wish I should pay, and I will pay it with pleasure." + +"That may be," said the Pastor, "but the principle is the same. I +could not honestly take anything from you." + +"Then I must leave," said Hardy; "I could not remain here at your +charge. I see I put you to more expenditure than is usual with you, +and I could not continue to do so." + +"You are, of course, at liberty to leave when you wish," said the +Pastor; "but if you will give way in this, I shall feel I have at +least recognized in the only way in my power what you have done for me +and mine." + +There was no doubt of the sincerity of the Pastor's meaning. His open +face was as clear to read as print. + +Froken Helga was present at this interview, and Hardy looked at her in +the hope of finding in her expression as to what he should do. She was +knitting as usual. He thought there was a feeling that she wished the +matter should drop, so Hardy said-- + +"Well, Herr Pastor, all I can say is that the money is at your +disposition, and if you refuse to take it when I go away I shall pay +it to the Fattigkasse (poor box); and I must insist I have done +nothing more than any Englishman would do." + +"Good, very good!" said the Pastor. "Let us shake hands, and there is +an end of it." + +As Hardy took the Pastor's hand, he thought Froken Helga's face bore +an expression of approval, but her retiring manner made it impossible +to discover what her thoughts really were. + +A few days after, at breakfast, the Pastor said to Hardy, "There is an +invitation for you to go to Gods-eier (landowner) Jensen's. They are +going to celebrate their silver wedding. They have also invited me and +my daughter Helga. Jensen breeds horses, and his reason for asking you +is probably because he has heard of your English horse. Niels Jacobsen +has talked with him about it. He saw him at a market some days ago. +You can, of course, decline; and, at any rate, you can do as you wish. +We shall go because they are friends of ours, and it would be a want +of respect not to go on such an occasion as a silver wedding. There +will be several persons there, and there will be a dinner at about +three, and a dance after, in which the younger people will join." + +"Thank you," said Hardy; "I should like to see more of Danish society, +and I should wish to go for that reason." + +John Hardy did not say that he had a strong wish to see Froken Helga +in society. He had seen her only at home, perpetually knitting and +occupied in the management of the affairs of the parsonage. He +observed, when she expressed a wish, that neither the wayward boys nor +the strong-minded Kirstin had the least thought of acting in +opposition to it, and he felt an interest in the opportunity of seeing +her in society, and observing whether there would be the same +unbending nature. + +The invitation was therefore accepted. + +The distance was about five English miles, and Garth drove the pair of +Danish horses in the neat livery of Hardy Place; and the Pastor and +his daughter sat together, while Hardy sat beside Garth. He did this +because he thought that Froken Helga would rather dispense with his +society. + +"They will do eight miles," said Garth, "but I do not believe they +will do more; they go what you may call pretty, but there is not much +stay in them, and if you drive them out of their pace, they are cut +down at once." + +"Yes, Bob," said Hardy; "but they will suit my mother, and they are +just what she wants and would like." + +"Yes," said Bob Garth, "there is that; but they starves them so much +when they are young, and that does not make sinew or bone." + +Notwithstanding Garth's predictions, the Jensen's mansion was reached +in half an hour from Vandstrup Praestegaard, and Garth drove up with a +flourish that impressed Herr Jensen, who was on the door steps. + +"Are these the horses the Englishman bought a few days ago, Herr +Pastor Lindal?" asked Herr Jensen. + +"Yes," said Pastor Lindal. "But how are you, and how is Fru Lindal and +your family?" + +"They are all right, thank you, Herr Pastor," replied Herr Jensen. +"But I never saw horses so managed! Why, they could be sold in +Hamburgh for a lot of money. They are fit for any carriage anywhere." + +If Fru Jensen had not appeared on the scene, it is possible that her +husband's interest in the horses might have been prolonged +indefinitely; but she conducted Froken Helga Lindal into the house, +introduced herself to John Hardy, and told the Pastor to tell the +English groom where to put up his horses and where to wait until he +should be required to return to Vandstrup Praestegaard. + +Herr Jensen looked at the Englishman with interest, as he stood before +him in his evening dress, broad-shouldered with fine limbs, his +clothes fitting well, and looking like a wedge from his broad chest +down to his feet. + +They went into an assembly-room, where many guests were gathered. +There were several landowners of the district with their families, and +John Hardy's simple manners and unmistakable stamp of gentleman made a +favourable impression. He was introduced to a Froken Jaeger, and was +told he would have to take her in to dinner. Hardy bowed. + +"How old are you?" said Froken Jaeger. + +"Twenty-eight," replied Hardy. + +"What is your profession?" inquired Froken Jaeger. + +"Landowner," replied Hardy. And Hardy was subjected to a +cross-examination that elicited from him that his father was dead +years ago, that his mother lived at Hardy Place, that he was a +magistrate for the English county where he resided, and was also an +officer in the yeomanry cavalry. + +"Then why do you not wear a uniform?" inquired Froken Jaeger, with +some asperity. + +"Because it is not allowed, and I do not wish it, when in a foreign +country," replied Hardy. + +It is to be feared that if the cross-examination had been much longer, +that Hardy would have declined to answer any more questions, and have +exhibited some of that insularity that is so common in Englishmen; but +dinner was announced, and Hardy offered his arm, and Froken Jaeger was +soon occupied in other and more material subjects. She was about +thirty-five, according to Hardy's judgment, and had a long sharp nose +and an equally sharp chin, tending ultimately to form what some people +ungenerously call nutcrackers; but her appetite was good, and it left +an opportunity to Hardy to observe his fellow guests. + +The Pastor sat near his host, and his daughter was paired with a young +Danish landowner, who paid her great attention. Her dress was simple, +with an ornament or two inherited from her mother; but her clear +complexion, her tall figure and clean-cut features impressed Hardy. +She talked with every one with animation, and Hardy could scarcely +realize the comparison between the quiet figure steadily knitting with +ear and eye always at her father's service to the perfect Danish lady +before him. + +There were several toasts proposed during the dinner. The event of the +day had to be particularly recognized, which was done with much +enthusiasm. Then followed other toasts, and Hardy's health was drunk, +to which he had to reply. He rose quickly, and said in Danish that his +knowledge of the language was yet so imperfect that he could say +little more than thanks, but that he would add that he owed a debt of +kindness to the Danes with whom he had been brought in contact, and he +thanked them and his host for their kindness and consideration to a +foreigner. Hardy read in Froken Helga's face that what he had said was +what had her approval, and that he had said enough. + +"You appear to look at Froken Helga Lindal, Herr Hardy," said Froken +Jaeger; "are you engaged to her?" + +"No," said Hardy. + +"But what do you think of her?" + +"That she is an excellent daughter," replied Hardy. + +"And that she would make an excellent wife?" said Froken Jaeger. + +"Possibly," said Hardy, with a determination to say nothing more. + +The dinner party broke up. The elder people of the male sort adjourned +to a very strong tobacco-parliament and cards; the younger went into +the assembly-room, which was now converted into a ball-room. Froken +Jaeger said, "Herr Hardy, I have put your name down in my list of +dances for the first dance, and you will dance with me." + +Hardy went to Froken Helga Lindal, and besought her to deliver him +from Froken Jaeger; but she declined, and said, "You have to dance +with Froken Jaeger; you have taken her in to dinner, and it is our +custom." + +"Then," said Hardy, "let me have one dance with you, a waltz?" + +Helga gave him her list, and he wrote his name down for the first +waltz possible. + +"Is it your father's wish to stay here a long time, Froken Helga?" +asked Hardy. + +"No; but it depends on you," replied Helga. "He will not leave until +you wish, but I know the sooner he is home the better for him. But +Herr Jensen will want to talk to you about his horses." + +"I will see him at once," said Hardy, "and tell him I will ride over +to-morrow to see his horses, and that will, I think, prevent any delay +arising from that cause." + +So Hardy went into the tobacco-parliament, and arranged with Herr +Jensen to see him the following day, and the catechising Froken Jaeger +had to wait while the dance and the waltz she loved so well had begun; +but Hardy's appearance and his good dancing allayed her rising anger. + +"Do you dance much in England?" said Froken Jaeger. + +"No," said Hardy; "I do not like it." + +At length the time came for his dance with Froken Helga Lindal, and as +they stood up the personal beauty of both was remarked. Helga's +elastic movement on Hardy's arm, the ease with which she danced in +perfect time, and her bright manner had its effect on Hardy. He was +not quite sure but that he had just told Froken Jaeger a story, in +saying that he did not like dancing. + +"You dance well, Froken Helga!" said Hardy. + +"I can do nothing so well as you," replied Helga. "But my father would +wish to leave, and if you can arrange it, I shall thank you so much. +You can do what you like; we cannot." + +A short time after, they were sitting behind the trotting horses, and +the Pastor thanked Hardy for his consideration. "They are kind +people," said he, "but they do not think that my duty is never to be +away from my home, so that I can be called at any moment to do what +duty may arise, and which, if I should delay or omit, would be wrong." + +"It is a strict view," said Hardy, "but it is the right one. I cannot +say it is general in England." + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + + "If the prayer be good, the commoner the better. + Prayer in the Church's words, + As well as sense, of all prayers bears the bell." + _The Complete Angler._ + + +The next day after the late breakfast at the parsonage, John Hardy +rode over to the Jensen's on Buffalo, and Garth followed on one of the +Danish horses, and was received with much warmth. Herr Jensen walked +round and round Buffalo, for he loved a horse, and admired the length +of his step as Buffalo walked. He had heard the story of his jumping +the wall at Vandstrup Praestegaard, and his desire to see him perform +in that capacity was so great, that Hardy put him through a gallop and +over a few fences, and Herr Jensen approved loudly. Fru Jensen was +present and her two daughters, Mathilde and Maria Jensen. + +Hardy's quiet manner when he dismounted and made his respects to the +ladies, as if he had just trotted his horse up the avenue, struck +them, and they forgave him on the spot for leaving so early the night +before. Hardy went into the old Danish Herregaard (country house), and +was received with the usual Danish hospitality. The ladies talked +incessantly of the proceedings of the night before, and Hardy had to +bear the result of Froken Jaeger's severe cross-examination to the +fullest particular. She had told all Hardy's answers to her questions, +and they were possessed with Hardy's position in England, so far as he +had chosen to answer Froken Jaeger, and the ladies were ready to +pursue the inquiry further; but, fortunately for Hardy, Herr Jensen +was anxious to show him his farm, and particularly his horses. Hardy +at once assented, and Herr Jensen took him to see his brood mares and +foals, with a few young horses not yet sold, which Herr Jensen was +holding for a higher price than the people he sold to at Hamburgh +would pay him. Garth accompanied them. + +"I have sold horses often to England," said Jensen; "but they will pay +a price upon each particular horse. Some they will pay L40 for, some +they will pay L18 for; and when the horses arrive at Hull, they will +say there is some fault or defect in the higher paid-for horses, and +the consequence is that I prefer selling to the Germans. They pay L25 +to L30 a horse, and take, perhaps, twenty or thirty yearly; and many +of the best go to England after being trained, and the rest are sold +in Germany or elsewhere; but I never hear any complaints of defects or +the like." + +"That I can well understand," said Hardy. "In England, a really good +horse has no price. If he is wanted, any price will be paid; but a +horse with a fault is nowhere." + +"Our horses," said Jensen, "are good horses for light weights; but in +England they are used chiefly for carriages now. I have two horses +here that would make good saddle horses, and I wish you could try +them." + +The two horses Herr Jensen referred to were in a pasture, tethered to +an iron spike driven in the ground, with a rope giving them a range of +a few yards of grass. + +"What do you think of these two horses, Bob?" said Hardy to Garth. + +"Very good park hacks," said Garth, "and just the thing for a lady to +ride." + +"My man will try one of the horses if you like," said Hardy. "He is +accustomed to horses." + +Garth fetched the saddle he had rode over in, and a light snaffle +bridle, and mounted, and, after the usual difficulties that always +occur with colts, he rode the horse, sitting firm and easy in the +saddle, to Herr Jensen's great admiration. + +"He is a good horse," said Garth. "But, master, ask the governor one +question, and that is how he feeds them in the winter." + +"What does he say?" asked Herr Jensen. + +"He asks how you feed your horses in the winter," replied Hardy. + +"That is the difficulty," said Jensen. "We have little to give them in +the winter and spring, and it is hard work to keep them alive. We cut +our grass in the meadows twice yearly; the first hay is good, the +second is not so good by a long way." + +"Our notion is that a horse should always be kept well," said Hardy, +"or his bone and sinew want firmness." + +"There is no doubt of that," said Herr Jensen. "We understand that +very well; but yet what can we do? We breed horses to make money by +them. If we fed them as you say, we could not get the cost back." + +"I have heard the same story in England," said Hardy; "a farmer has to +treat his farm as a business, and, Herr Jensen, you are quite right in +doing so." + +Hardy went over Herr Jensen's farm, and his knowledge of farming in +all its branches so interested Herr Jensen, that it was late when they +returned to the Herregaard. Dinner was ready, and Hardy had to bear a +running fire of criticism from Fru Jensen and her daughters. He had +not, they said, observed the particular merits of many of the Danish +ladies who had been present at the dance of the previous evening, but +doubtless he was preoccupied. + +"No," said Hardy, "I was not preoccupied. My difficulty is that I do +not know Danish well, and Herr Jensen has had the greatest difficulty +to understand me about horses; how, then, could I understand so +difficult a subject as a Danish lady?" + +"Froken Jaeger says, you said that Froken Helga Lindal would make an +excellent wife," said Fru Jensen. + +"Yes," said Hardy. "She asked me, and I said it was possible." + +Hardy said this in so strong a manner that it was even apparent to +Herr Jensen that he did not wish the conversation extended, so Herr +Jensen proposed a cigar and an adjournment to his own room. + +Hardy left at six o'clock, and rode to Vandstrup. On his way thither +an occurrence happened that Hardy never forgot. + +Hardy, followed by Garth, had ridden on to within an English mile of +Vandstrup, when he saw a waggon overturned, and a man lying underneath +it. The horses were kicking in their harness, as they lay in the ditch +by the roadside. The waggon was the same as is usually employed by the +Danish farmer, for his farm work, and was heavy in construction. Hardy +galloped up, and found the man lying under the waggon evidently +seriously injured. He was a workman called Nils Rasmussen, and had +taken a load of turf, in company with another man with a similar load +in another waggon, to a village near Vandstrup. The turf discharged, +there was the opportunity of getting drunk; and the horses of both +waggons were driven hard down a slope in the road by their drunken +drivers, and coming in contact, Nils Rasmussen was thrown out, and the +waggon fell on him, whilst the struggling of the horses every moment +increased the serious injuries he was receiving. + +Garth cut the horses free, and Nils Rasmussen was taken from under the +waggon. Several people came running up, and one of them rode Hardy's +Danish horse for the district doctor. Hardy assisted in carrying the +injured man to his home, and sent Garth to the stables on Buffalo, +with instructions to come to Rasmussen's house for orders. It was +clear the case was serious from the first Hardy undressed the man, and +found that he had more than one limb broken, while from the froth and +blood in the mouth, internal injuries were present. + +When Garth returned, he was sent to the parsonage, with a request for +a pair of dry clean sheets, a bottle of cognac, and some of Hardy's +linen handkerchiefs. Garth returned in a white heat, without the +articles he was sent for. Hardy had supposed that the news of the +accident would have reached the parsonage, and after enumerating the +articles required, he added a request that they should be given to +Garth to take to Rasmussen's. Kirstin read the note, and put several +questions to Garth, which, from his ignorance of Danish, it was +impossible for him to answer; "When suddenly," said Garth, "she +appeared to get into a rage. She rushed at me, beat me about the head, +and shouted at me." + +The district doctor now came in, and Hardy's attention was occupied. +He told him what he had seen of the accident, and the symptoms of +injury internally. The doctor was used to cases either more or less +grave of a similar character, and he showed much cool professional +skill. "I will remain here," e said to Hardy, "until sent for. The +case is hopeless, and all that can be done is to watch by him." + +When the doctor left, Hardy decided to remain, as Nils Rasmussen's +wife and family were incapable of being of the slightest use. He sent +Garth to his lodgings, with orders to come to Rasmussen's at six the +next morning. + +Meanwhile Hardy had been expected at the parsonage, and it grew later +and later. + +"He is stopping with the Jensens," said the Pastor, + +"No, he is not!" burst out Kirstin; "he is at Rasmussen's. He sent +that man of his here a while since for a pair of sheets and a bottle +of the best brandy to take to Rasmussen's, and you can see the writing +he sent by his servant." + +The Pastor took the scrap of paper and read it aloud. + +"It is that bold, bad hussey, Karen Rasmussen!" said Kirstin. + +"How can you know that?" said Froken Helga. + +"Know it!" exclaimed Kirstin; "I am sure of it. No man can be so good +as the Englishman appears to be." + +The Pastor and his family retired to rest with a shock of grief and +pain. "He must leave at once," thought the Pastor. + +Shortly after six the next morning, Garth fetched one of Rasmussen's +neighbours, whom he sent with the following note to the pastor, +written on a similar scrap of paper as his unfortunate communication +of the previous evening, and torn from his note-book. + +"Dear Herr Pastor, + +"Nils Rasmussen, the workman at Jorgensens, is sinking fast. You have, +of course, heard of the accident? The district doctor at once saw the +case was beyond all hope. Will you come immediately? + +"Yours faithfully, + +"John Hardy." + +As the Pastor left his house, he met one after another of Nils +Rasmussen's neighbours coming for him. He heard of John Hardy's +assistance and care, and that he had been the whole night acting as +nurse, as the family were incapable. + +As the Pastor entered, he met Hardy. + +"It is too late, Herr Pastor," said the latter; "the man is dead. But +go in and speak to the wife, and I will wait for you. Here is twenty +kroner, which you can give her; the expenses of the funeral I will +bear, and I can arrange that she shall receive ten kroner weekly, +through the post-office, until they can help themselves." + +In half an hour the Pastor came out, and he said, "Hardy, I thank you +for your attention to this poor man. You have done nothing more than +what was right you should do, and what any one else should have done; +but you have done your duty with a kindliness that does you honour." + +Hardy said nothing, the horror of watching a man dying in agony for a +whole night had unstrung his steady nerves. On reaching the parsonage, +he went to his room, and, wearied out, at last fell asleep. + +The Pastor, after the usual morning prayers with his household, said, +"Stay, Kirstin! You have wickedly cast shame on an honest man; you +have attributed sin to another without cause. You have heard that +Rasmussen is dead, and how he died; but you do not know that the man +you foully slandered had done his utmost for his brother man. When I +came to Rasmussen's house, Herr Hardy's clothes were covered with dirt +and blood. He had tended the dying man the whole night; he had torn up +his linen shirt and under-clothing for bandages; and when I was about +to speak to the widow, he gave me money for present need, and has +ordered it so that she shall not want for the future. And yet this is +the man to whom you would impute sin and shame. Ask forgiveness of +God, and beg Herr Hardy's pardon. Go!" + +The hard-natured Jutland woman was overcome. Froken Helga's eyes +filled with tears, and she went and kissed her father. + +"We were wrong to think evil of another, under any circumstances," +said the Pastor, "or to allow suspicion of evil to grow in our minds." + +Hardy was ignorant of the little episode thus acted in the Pastor's +household, and when he came down from his room some time later, he +found a breakfast waiting for him, the Pastor shook hands with him, +and asked how he was. + +"I feel what I have gone through this night," replied Hardy, "but am +quite well." + +"An honest answer," said the Pastor. + +"But, little father," said Froken Helga, "can you not tell Herr Hardy +that he has been kind and good?" + +Praise from her father's lips for a duty well done was with Helga more +than gold or incense; and how wrong had they not all been towards +Hardy! + +"Your father has already said enough," said Hardy. + +"Then I will speak for myself," said Helga, "and say that I thank you +for your goodness to Rasmussen and his family;" and she took his hand +and kissed it. + +Hardy saw she was governed by a momentary impulse, but it evinced a +warm sympathy for what she considered a good act, and impressed him +the more so as her manner was always towards him cold and retiring. + +At this juncture Kirstin appeared in an unusual state of agitation. + +"I have come," she said, "to ask Herr Hardy's pardon, for what I have +said and done." + +"My servant reports to me that you beat him yesterday," said Hardy, +"and as you did not beat me I have nothing to forgive. I have told my +man, if you do so again, to lay the matter before the authorities. He +will have to come here in acting as my servant; but if you beat him +because you cannot understand him, he must be protected, the more so +as his orders are not to strike you, under any circumstances. The +matter has been brought to the Herr Pastor's knowledge, and that is +enough, and you can go out." + +There was a stern dignity in John Hardy's manner, always present in a +man of his type when accustomed to obedience. + +Kirstin hesitated. "You can go out, Kirstin," repeated Hardy; and she +obeyed. + +Froken Helga's implicit faith in the rigid character of Kirstin was +shaken. + +Rasmussen's funeral took place shortly after, and on the Sunday the +Pastor referred to Hardy's conduct. + +"It may hurt the sensibility of the Englishman who is with us, that I +should refer to him thus publicly; but it is my duty, while the +occurrence of Rasmussen's death has the force of its being recent to +point out, not that it was his simple duty to do what he did, but the +way and manner that duty was done showed a Christian charity that no +one of us could do more than imitate." + +"I question whether you are right, to praise the conduct of an +individual from the pulpit, Herr Pastor," said Hardy. + +"My duty," said the Pastor, gravely, "is to preach the parable of the +Good Samaritan, and the recent occurrence will interest many who would +not be interested otherwise." + +"My father has done what is right," said his daughter, with warmth. "I +should have done the same." + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + + "Oh, how happy here's our leisure! + Oh, how innocent our pleasure!" + _The Complete Angler._ + + +John Hardy received a letter from his mother, dated from Hardy Place. + +"My dearest John, + +"Your weekly letters have become shorter, and I have read between the +lines that you are keeping back something from your mother; but this +doubt has been made a certainty from a letter of Robert Garth's to his +friends here. He writes, so I hear, that the 'governor' is sweet on a +parson's daughter in Denmark. Now, I know, dearest John, that you will +always be the true gentleman your father was; but this has distressed +me, because you say yourself nothing. Do come home to me. I miss the +sound of your footstep, the manly voice that reminds me of your +father, and, above all, your kindly manner to your mother. Write at +once, as my anxiety is more than I can bear." + +There was more in the letter, breathing the same deep affectionate +solicitude a mother alone feels. John Hardy wrote at once. + +"My dearest Mother, + +"If I had anything to tell you, I should have told you long ago. I +have described Pastor Lindal's family to you in my letters, and, I can +only add, my respect for him grows daily. He does his duty with a +simplicity that is difficult to be understood in England, and I have +learnt to look forward to hearing his Sunday sermons, from their +freshness such as single-mindedness alone gives. I feel more the +earnestness of religion and the simplicity with which it should be +invested from the influence of his character. I know you will say that +this has nothing to do with Froken Helga Lindal, his daughter, and you +want to hear of her. All I can say is, that her character is what +would attract you. She does her duty in the Pastor's household with +simple exactness; she assists in visiting the parish, and is of +material use to her father in this respect. She is spoken of +everywhere and by all in praise and regard, and she is like her +father--simple and true. I cannot say that I do not admire so perfect +a nature, but I do not feel now a wish to ask her to be my wife, and +if I did she would say 'no.' Her father is a widower, and his daughter +is his right hand. His two boys, who are really good lads, have to be +considered, and Froken Helga's influence over them is complete. Her +leaving her father would leave him unassisted, and his two sons +without the influence she alone possesses. She knows and sees this, +and would sacrifice her life to her sense of duty. If she cared for +me, there would be no difference; that would be sacrificed too. I can +assure you that I shall never bring any one to Hardy Place that my +mother cannot receive as her daughter. The kind affection and care you +have always shown me is dearer to me than houses and land and wealth +or the strongest feelings of selfishness. + +"I hope, dear mother, that this will set your mind at rest. + +"If you wish me to come home, I will do so; but I wish to stay longer, +and when you see there is no real cause for anxiety, you may have no +objection. The days pass pleasantly here. I teach the two boys English +every day. They fish with me for trout in the river, the Gudenaa, and +we make excursions together, and occasionally we visit a Danish family +in the neighbourhood; and the genuine kindness I receive everywhere +interests me. In the evenings Pastor Lindal is conversational, and his +conversation is like his sermons, always fresh. There is no one +thought harped upon and torn to tatters. To say he is a man of +original thought would not describe him--it is individuality and +simplicity; there is nothing extraordinary or unusual, but a clearness +of colour, like a diamond, which is the more valuable when it has no +colour." + +John Hardy wrote a little more on home affairs at Hardy Place, and +closed his letter. + +In the evening, when the Pastor's pipe was as usual lighted by his +daughter, Hardy asked him as to the superstitions in Denmark, and if +they then were prevalent and had any force. + +"They are endless," said the Pastor, "and in every conceivable +direction. There is no land so full of traditional superstition as +Jutland." + +"When in Norway," said Hardy, "the superstition that struck me most +was that of the Huldr, who in different districts was differently +described. Generally the Huldr was described as a tall fair woman, +with a yellow bodice and a blue skirt, with long fair yellow hair +loose over the shoulders; but she was as hollow as a kneading trough, +and had a cow's tail. She was described as coming to the Saeter farms +on the fjelds, after they were vacated by the Norwegian farmers, with +a quantity of cattle and milking cans; and I have heard the cattle +call sang by Norwegians that they have heard the Huldr sing. I have +spoken with people who have seen the Huldr, and described her to me +with a vividness as if it were a real personage. I have heard people +say they have seen her knitting, sitting on a rock with a ball of +worsted thrown out before her, to entice mortals to take it up, when +they must follow where she would lead." + +"We have not that superstition in Jutland," said the Pastor; "that is +begotten of the lonely life in the isolated farms in the fields in +Norway and their interminable woods and natural wildness of nature. +Our superstitions are, as I said, endless. They consist of historical +traditions of a supernatural character, of traditions attached to +places, as old houses, churches, also of particular men, of hidden +treasure, of robbers, and the like. Then there are the more +supernatural superstitions, as of witches, ghosts, the devil, of +Trolds, of mermen and mermaids, of Nissen, like your English pixey, of +the three-legged horse that inhabits the churchyards, the were-wolf, +the gnome that inhabits the elder tree, the nightmare, or, as we call +it, Maren. There is also the tradition of gigantic dragons or +serpents, called by us Lindorm, in which your story of St. George and +the dragon prominently figures. There are also minor superstitions of +the will-o'-the-wisp, the bird called in English the goatsucker, and +the classical Basilisk." + +"But surely all those superstitions cannot exist now?" inquired Hardy. + +"I do not say they do; but they are hidden to a greater extent in the +recesses of the hearts of the people than you would imagine." + +"Can you relate anything of these superstitions?" said Hardy. "It +would interest me beyond everything." + +"Yes," said the Pastor. "I will give you an example in any one of the +particular traditions I have mentioned, and I will begin with the +historical superstition, as I mentioned that first. + +"When King Gylfe reigned in Sweden, a woman came to him, and she +enchanted him so by her singing that he gave her leave to plough so +much of his land as she could in a day with four oxen, and what she +thus ploughed should be hers. This woman was of the race of the giants +(Aseme). She took her four sons and changed them into oxen, and +attached them to the plough. She ploughed out the place she had +chosen, and thus created the island of Sjaelland. She did this from the +Maelar lake in Sweden; and it is said that where there is a point of +land in Sjaelland there is in the Maelar lake a bay, and vice versa, so +that both the Maelar lake and Sjaelland island have one form, one is +land, the other water. This tradition is common over Denmark, and with +us has become classical. The woman's name was Gefion." + +"I have seen a delineation of the tradition," said Hardy, "at one of +your Danish palaces, on a ceiling at Fredriksborg." + +"Yes, it is there; but you will find it everywhere in Denmark," +replied the Pastor. "Of traditions of churches, they are endless; but +we will take one example, possibly by no means the best. When Hadderup +church, between Viborg and Holstebro, was building, the Trolds tore +down every night what had been erected in the day. It was therefore +determined to attach two calves to a load of stones in a waggon, and +where the calves were found in the morning to build the church. This, +however, did not answer, and at last an agreement was made with the +Trolds that they should allow the church to be built, on the condition +that they should have the first bride that went to the church. This +succeeded, and the church was built. When the first bridal procession +should, however, go to the church, at a particular place a sudden mist +fell upon them, and when it cleared off the bride had disappeared." + +"A very striking tradition," said Hardy. "It has a good deal of +picturesque colouring." + +"Yes," said the Pastor, "and that is why I told you that particular +tradition. But of places there is a tradition of Silkeborg, with +nothing supernatural about it; but as you have been there fishing, it +may interest you to know why it has obtained that name. The story is, +that a bishop wished to build a house there, but he was uncertain +where; so he threw his silk hat into the water as he sailed on the +Gudenaa, and he determined that where his silk hat came to land, that +there would he build his house. The hat came ashore at Silkeborg. The +bishop, however, could not have sailed up the Gudenaa, and the +probability is he must have gone down the lake, as the Gudenaa runs +from the lake through Jutland to the sea at Randers." + +"There is a similar tradition," said Hardy, "in Iceland. When the +Norwegian chiefs were conquered by Harold the Fair-haired, about 870, +they cast the carved oak supports of their chairs, that they were +accustomed to sit in at the head of their tables, surrounded by their +dependents, and decided that where these drove ashore, they would +found a colony; and where they did drive ashore was on the shores of +Iceland. It may possibly have influenced the tradition you relate of +Silkeborg." + +"Possibly," said the Pastor; "but of traditions of places, there are +very many, and, as an example, there was in Randers province an +island, and on the island a mansion; and when the family owning it +were absent, three women-servants determined to play the priest a +trick. They dressed up a sow like a sick person in bed, and sent for +the priest to administer the sacrament to a dying person. The priest, +however, saw the wicked deception, and at once left the island in his +boat. Immediately the whole island sank as soon as he lifted his foot +from the shore of the island. But a table swam towards him, on which +was his Bible, which in his anger and haste he had forgotten to take +with him. Where the island sank can, it is said, yet be seen the three +chimneys of the mansion deep down in the water; and there are some +high trees growing up through the water, to which, when they grow high +enough, will the enemies of Denmark come and fasten their ships." + +"This story is only one of a class to the same effect," continued the +Pastor. "It has many variations to a similar effect. You have heard of +Limfjord in North Jutland. It derives its name after our tradition to +the following: At the birth of Christ a Trold woman was so enraged at +the circumstance of his birth that she produced a monster at a birth, +and this monster gradually took the form of a boar; and it is related +that when the boar was in the woods, its bristles were higher than the +tops of the trees. This boar was called Limgrim, and rooted up the +land so as to create the inlet of the sea that we call Limfjord; the +name originally was Limgrimsfjord, since abbreviated to Limfjord." + +"What is your view of the origin of these traditions?" asked Hardy. + +"They are to me," said the Pastor, "an evidence of the continuous +change the world undergoes, has undergone, and will undergo. The older +the tradition, the more antagonistic it is to the known laws of +nature; the later the tradition, the less improbable it is. We have +seen how heathenism, with its unreasonable and wild vagaries, gave way +to the early Christian Church. Then arose the ultramontane Church, +which was succeeded by the purer light let in by Morten Luther; and +changes are taking place, and will take place; and the use of these +old traditions is to teach us that change must be. Age succeeds to +age, and generation to generation. The science of geology teaches the +same lesson. As we learn more of it, and more accurately of it, we +gradually grasp the thought that endless ages have wrought changes, +and will continue to work at the discretion of the Great Power that we +feel and know exists. We can only say that the works of the Lord are +wonderful, and trust in him." + +"Have you heard of the religion of Buddha?" said Hardy. "With all our +present researches into it, we know comparatively little; but, taken +broadly, it is a doctrine of slow development. A life exists, and +gradually earthly passion ceases, and a state of perfect rest is +reached, but through an endless series of change." + +"Yes," replied Pastor Lindal; "but it is a religion of the +imagination. It has a certain beauty and a poetic charm, while the +Christian religion has the reality of the principle that kindliness is +the real gold of life, which I have learnt from you." + +Hardy felt that in his letters to his mother he had correctly +described Pastor Lindal. + +Froken Helga had continued knitting as usual, but that she listened to +every word her father uttered was clear to Hardy; and when he rose to +go to his room for the night, she said, "Thank you, Herr Hardy; you +have interested my father to speak in the way he only can." + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + + "But he that unto others leads the way + In public prayer, + Should do it so, + As all that hear may know + They need not fear + To tune their hearts unto his tongue." + _The Complete Angler._ + + +The next day, as soon as signs of the tobacco parliament were apparent +by Froken Helga filling and lighting her father's pipe, Karl and Axel, +who had been interested in listening to the conversation on traditions +the previous evening, besought Hardy to lead Pastor Lindal to the same +subject. + +"The many ancient burial places existing all over Jutland," said +Hardy, "must have given rise to traditions of hidden treasure. Our +English word for these tumuli is barrows." + +"And ours," said the Pastor, "is Kaempehoi, or Kaempedysse, meaning a +fighting man's burial place; the verb to fight is kaempe, and present +Danish. It was, however, a custom to bury treasure in secluded places, +and to kill a slave at the place that his ghost might guard the +treasure. There is a tumulus or barrow between Viborg and Holstebro. +It is related that this barrow was formerly always covered with a blue +mist, and that a copper kettle full of money was buried there. One +night, however, two men dug down to the kettle, and seized it by the +handle; but immediately wonderful things happened, with a view of +preventing them from taking away the kettle and the money--first, they +saw a black dog with a red hot tongue; next, a cock drawing a load of +hay; then a carriage with four black horses. The men, however, pursued +their occupation without uttering a word. But at last came a man, lame +in one foot, halting by, and he said, 'Look, the town is on fire!' The +two men looked, and sure enough the town appeared to them to be on +fire. One of them uttered an exclamation, and the kettle and the +treasure sank in the earth far beyond their reach. There are many of +these stories, but the principle inculcated is, that when digging for +treasure it must be carried out in perfect silence. You will have +observed that a great many of the tumuli you have met with in Denmark +have been opened. This has chiefly been done by the hidden-treasure +seekers; but it has had one good result, and that is, it has enriched +the museums in Denmark, especially that of Northern Antiquities in +Copenhagen. You have probably seen the museum in Bergen, Norway. You +will have seen precisely the same type of subjects there as in +Copenhagen; and in the tumuli in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, what has +been found is, _coeteris paribus_, identical in type." + +"You said just now that a slave was killed at places where treasure +was hidden," said Hardy; "is there much belief in that direction?" + +"Yes; the belief in ghosts was very strong," replied the Pastor, "and +still exists. The general view was that if a man's conduct was +criminal in a high degree, that within three days after he 'walked;' +that is, his ghost appeared at the places he had been attached to when +in life, attended by more or less supernatural attributes. This, of +course, arose from our Saviour's resurrection on the third day; but as +to this, I will tell you a tradition that is an exception. There was +once a man who was exceptionally wicked and bad; he was a thief and a +robber, never went to church, and committed all manner of crimes. When +he died and was buried in the churchyard, and the people who had +attended the funeral had returned to the man's house to drink the +Gravol--that is the beer that was specially brewed for consumption at +a funeral--lo! there was the dead and buried man sitting on the roof +of the house, glaring down on all those who ventured to look up at +him. The priest was sent for, and he exorcised the ghost, and ordered +him to remain, until the world's end, at the bottom of a moss bog, and +to keep him there had a sharp stake driven through him; but, +notwithstanding, the ghost rises at night, but as he cannot, from the +exorcising of the priest, assume human form, he flies about in the +likeness of the bird we call the night raven until cock crow." + +"In English," said Hardy, "the night jar. It was the practice in +England to bury suicides with a stake driven through their bodies at +four cross-ways. It is possible that this arose from a desire to +prevent the ghost of the dead person from troubling the living, and +being at a four cross-ways, that it should not know which direction to +take." + +"It may be so," said Pastor Lindal; "but in discussing these things we +are apt, as in philology, to assume our own comparisons to be correct. +We have also the traditions of spectral huntsmen, with the +accompaniment of horses and hounds with red-hot glowing tongues; and, +singularly enough, the tradition often occurs that their quarry was +the Elle-kvinder, that is women of the elves, but who are described as +of the size of ordinary women. The spectral huntsmen have often been +seen with the Elle-kvinder tied to their saddles by their hair." + +"Your traditions of witches," said Hardy, "appear to be similar to +ours. You appear to have burnt and thrown them into ponds to drown +after the same cruel custom as in England." + +"True," replied the Pastor, "and the description in Macbeth of witches +answers to our traditions. On St. John's night witches were supposed +to fly to Bloksberg, a mythical place in Norway, upon broomsticks and +in brewing tubs. There they met Gamle Erik, the evil one, who entered +their names in his ledger, and instructed them in witchcraft, and, +after executing the witches' dance, they returned to their respective +homes in the same fashion. This tradition is common to other +countries, but in Jutland the belief was that the favourite form a +witch adopted was that of a hare, which evaded the huntsmen, and could +not be shot except by a piece of silver, which must have been +inherited--a piece of silver purchased or given had no effect. The +witch was then found in the person of some old woman with a wound, who +was forthwith dealt with in the cruel fashion then the rule. The +gypsies, or, as they are called with us, Tatarfolk, from their eastern +origin, drove a good business by professing to cure the effects of +witchcraft; they generally managed to cause the ill effect, however, +before they cured it. They would give a drug to a farmer's cow, and +call a few days after and offer to drive away the witch that possessed +the cow. They would take with them a black furry doll tied to a +string. A hole was dug several feet deep in the cowhouse; suddenly the +black furry thing was at the bottom of the hole, just sufficient for +some of the people to see it when it disappeared. That was the witch; +the cow was, of course, cured by an antidote." + +"The gypsy is common enough in England," said Hardy; "but they do less +in telling fortunes or in thieving farmyards then formerly was their +custom. They appear to do a good business in small wares, as brushes +and mats, which they take about in vans." + +"The gypsy," said the Pastor, "where superstition exists, trade upon +it, and in old times in Denmark this brought them a rich harvest. They +persuaded the farmers' wives that they must have inherited silver, or +they could do nothing against evil influences, and acquired thereby +many an old-fashioned heirloom. With us they have never pursued, as +you suggest, a steady trade." + +"Have you not a tradition of a book called Cyprianus?" asked Hardy. + +"The idea of the book is from the Sibyll's books of Roman history," +replied Pastor Lindal. "The contents of Cyprianus is very differently +described. It is related of it that it is a book of prophecy of +material events, that is not in a religious sense. Also, it is +described as containing formula for raising the devil, or a number of +small devils, who immediately demand work to do, and whom it is fatal +not to keep employed. There are many stories based on this, chiefly +related of persons who accidentally find a Cyprianus and read some of +it, when the hobgoblins appear, and the difficulty of the situation +increases until some person versed in the use of the book applies the +formula that sends the hobgoblins to their proper places." + +"The devil I have always heard in Norway as taking the form of a black +dog," said Hardy. + +"It is the same in our traditions," said Pastor Lindal. "An +extraordinary belief was that a carriage at certain times and places +would not move, and that the horses could not draw it. The remedy then +was, for those who knew how, to take off one hind wheel of the +carriage and put it in the carriage, when the devil would have to act +as hind wheel to the end of the journey, much to his supposed +discomfort. There are many stories of this." + +"Hans Christian Andersen's stories have made us acquainted with +Nissen, or the house goblin," said Hardy. + +"There is little more to tell you then," said the Pastor, "except that +Nissen's description is defined by our traditions in Jutland to be a +little fellow with sharp cat-formed ears, and to have fingers only, +and no thumb. He is supposed to inhabit particular farm-houses and +their range of buildings, and, when there is a scarcity of fodder, +will steal from another farm; and if there be another Nissen there, +they will fight each for the interests of the farm he frequents. He +will play tricks on the people working at the farms, particularly so +if every Thursday night his porridge is neglected to be put in its +accustomed place, generally in the threshing barn." + +"But have you no traditions of underground people?" asked Hardy. + +"The stories of underground people are more abundant than any other +class of tradition," replied the Pastor. "We call them Underjordiske, +which means underground people; but by it is included Elle folk or +elves, Trolds or goblins, and Bjaerg folk or hill people. Their homes +are chiefly placed by tradition in the tumuli or barrows to which we +have before referred; and at times a tumulus is seen as standing on +four pillars, while the Underjordiske dance underneath and drink ale +and mead. At times it is related that they come out of their dwellings +in the barrows with their red cows, or to air their money, or clean +their kitchen utensils. Through all these stories the manner of life +of the Underjordiske is the same as that of the Danish Bonde or +farmer. They are not, however, always supposed to live in the barrows, +as several stories exist of the Bjaerg folk coming to a Bonde and +asking him to shift his stable to another place, as the dung from his +cattle falls on his (the Bjaergmand's) dining-table, and it is +disagreeable. If the Bonde obeys, he is promised prosperity, and +everything thrives on his farm. They can also, however, be revengeful, +and are dangerous generally. Their particular aversion is church +bells, and it is generally attributed to their influence that there +are so few Underjordiske seen nowadays." + +"Can you relate any stories of them?" asked Hardy. + +"Very many," replied the Pastor. "There are several collections of +these traditions, and although each collection is generally the same +in character, yet the details and stories themselves widely differ. +But I will tell you two of the stories. A Trold lived in a barrow +between two church towers, about a mile from each other. This Trold +had a wife, who was of Christian folk. It was necessary to get the +services of a midwife, and the Trold fetched the nearest, and gave her +for her services what appeared to be two pieces of charcoal; but the +Trold's wife told her to take them home, but warned her that as soon +as she put one foot outside she should suddenly jump aside, as the +Trold would cast a glowing hot-iron rod at her. She followed the +advice and went home, when the charcoal turned to silver money. The +two women, however, became friends, and the midwife often spun flax +for the Trold; but she was forbidden to wet her fingers with Christian +spittle, and they brought her a little crock to hold water for her to +wet her fingers in. This continued for some time, when at last the +Trold wife came to the midwife and said, 'My husband, the Trold, will +stay here no longer. He says he cannot bear the two ding-dong danging +church towers.' So they left, flying, it is said, through the air on a +long stick, with all their belongings." + +"A story with some imagery," said Hardy. + +"The next, however, is more so," said the Pastor. "On a St. John's +night, or, as we call it, Sankt. Hans. Nat, the Bjaerg folk and Elle +folk had collected to make merry. A man came riding by from Viborg, +and he could see the assembled Underjordiske enjoying the feast. An +Ellekone, or elf wife, went round with a large silver tankard, and +offered drink to every one, and came at last to the horseman. He +pretended to drink, but threw the contents of the tankard over his +shoulder, put spurs to his horse, and galloped off. But the Ellekone +was after him, and came nearer and nearer; her breasts were so long +that they fell on her knees and impeded her. She therefore threw them, +one after the other, over her shoulders, and continued the chase with +renewed speed. Fortunately he was close to the river, and dashed +through it. The Ellekone caught the hind shoe of his horse, and tore +it off; but she could not go over the water. The tankard was said to +be the largest ever seen in Denmark." + +"The story is a common one to many countries, but it scarcely exists +with so much clear and distinct imagery as in your recital, Herr +Pastor," said Hardy. + +"I think now we have had enough of traditions for one evening," said +the Pastor. + +"What is your opinion of the effect of these traditions on the minds +of the people generally?" asked Hardy. + +"It is difficult to say," said the Pastor; "we can but guess at their +effect. As education and civilization progress, they lose their +superstitious influence and interest and amuse. There is a wild +picturesque imagery that must appeal to the most educated mind. They +afford subjects to painters; but I have never seen a picture yet based +on these traditions that grasped the graphic thought of the recital of +the tradition. In a religious sense they do no harm; they excite the +imagination of the people only to prepare their minds for the +simplicity of the Christian faith, at least they assist to do so. When +I visit my Sogneborn (literally, parish children), I tell the children +these traditions, and when they grow older they like to hear anything +I have to say; it assists me in suggesting religious thought when +their minds are ripe for it." + +Froken Helga, who had all the evening knitted and listened to her +father, dropped her knitting and went to him and caressed him. "Dear +little father," she said, "you are always good and thoughtful." + +"I think so also," said Hardy. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + + "But I am the most pleased with this little house + of anything I ever saw: it stands in a kind of peninsula too, + with a delicate clear river about it. I dare hardly go in, + lest I should not like it so well within as without, but by + your leave I will try." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +The next day John Hardy received a letter from Prokurator Steindal of +Copenhagen. + +"Your honoured instructions as to Rosendal I have attended to. The +price they will sell for I have approximately arrived at, but I cannot +advise you to buy. The value of Rosendal is not so great as the price +asked, and it appears to me that you should hesitate before making a +purchase that will pay you so little income. I feel it my duty to say +that whatever your instructions may be, that I cannot act on them +without a personal interview. If you wish, therefore, to pursue the +matter further, you should come to Copenhagen and discuss it with me. +I cannot advise a client to make a purchase to his prejudice; if I did +so, I should not only acquire a bad reputation, but it would not be +right for me to do so. I await, therefore, the honour of your reply." + +John Hardy went to Copenhagen, and returned in a few days to Vandstrup +Praestegaard. + +The next day the Pastor had received the _Jyllands Post_, the local +newspaper. When Hardy appeared at the breakfast table, he said, +"Rosendal is sold to Prokurator Steindal of Copenhagen, and it is +extra-ordinary that I have received a letter from him to say that I +and my family have leave to visit Rosendal when we wish to do so, and +that my two sons, Karl and Axel, have leave to catch all the pike in +Rosendal lake. There is the usual notice of the sale in the _Jyllands +Post_, and from the letter from Steindal, it must be true." + +"I have no doubt of its truth," said Hardy. "I would only suggest that +we at once went to fish for the pike at Rosendal lake; my servant can +bring the carriage, and I can ride my English horse, so that Froken +Helga can enjoy another visit to Rosendal." + +"But," said the Pastor, "the permission to fish does not extend to +you, Herr Hardy." + +"That may be," said Hardy, "but that is no reason why my advice should +not be rendered as to how to catch the pike." + +Robert Garth brought the carriage and drove, and Hardy rode his horse +Buffalo. The weather was pleasant, and the drive was enjoyable. + +When they came to Rosendal, the respectful demeanour of the bailiff +towards Hardy struck the Pastor. Hardy placed his forefinger across +his lips. The bailiff told Hardy that if they wished to have lunch in +the mansion they could do so, after a walk in the beechwoods and by +the lake and rosary. + +"The boys are so intent on the pike fishing," said Hardy, "that I will +go with them. We shall try and catch a pike, and send it up to the +bailiff's wife to be baked, and will then leave our lines and join +you." + +"But, Herr Hardy, you have no permission to fish; it only extends to +Karl and Axel," said the Pastor, with some firmness. + +"Then I think I must leave the boys to their own devices," said Hardy; +"but I fear no pike will appear for our lunch." + +"It is better so than we should trespass on a stranger's kindness," +said the Pastor. + +So Hardy walked with the Pastor and his daughter through the +beechwoods and by the lake. + +"I think now in the summer-time, with the beech trees in full leaf, +and the reeds by the lake, and the grass in the meadows in full +growth, that Rosendal is nearly at its best," said Froken Helga. + +"It has its beauty always," said her father. "I have seen it in +spring, and in summer, and in autumn, and in winter; it has a charm of +its own. It appeals to us with its idyllic nature." + +"You are right, little father," said Helga; "it has always its +peculiar beauty. There is no place I love so much." + +Hardy, who had bought Rosendal, felt as if he was deceiving the open +and kindly natures of the Pastor and his daughter, and he determined +to keep the secret no longer. He would but wait an opportunity to +clear the matter up. + +When they returned to the mansion of Rosendal, Garth and the bailiff's +wife had prepared the refreshments they had taken with them. Garth +waited at table. The bailiff's wife, however, appeared disquieted, and +the Pastor asked what was the matter. + +"Only that the owner of Rosendal should sit at the head of the table, +instead of between two boys," replied she. + +"The owner of Rosendal!" exclaimed the Pastor. + +"Yes. There he sits!" said the bailiff's wife, pointing at Hardy. + +"How do you know I am the owner of Rosendal?" asked Hardy. + +"Because the Prokurator Steindal has written my man to say so," said +the bailiff's wife, "and we have expected it all along." + +"If that be the case, Herr Pastor, you might have allowed me to catch +a pike for lunch," said Hardy; "for the boys did not." + +"But have you bought Rosendal, Herr Hardy?" asked Froken Helga. + +"I did so when in Copenhagen," said Hardy. "Is there any reason why I +should not?" + +"But why have you not said a word to us?" asked Pastor Lindal. + +"Because it was so uncertain, and because I wished, as a surprise to +you, to say that any enjoyment of Rosendal stands at your disposition +and your family's," replied Hardy. + +They all looked at Hardy, but there was no doubt of the sincerity of +his meaning. + +"And may we come here and catch the pike?" asked Karl, with some +anxiety. + +"Yes, if you can, every fin of them," replied Hardy; "and we will, if +the Pastor will now allow me, catch some this afternoon. I dare say +Rasmussen's widow would like as many as we can catch. We will set a +lot of lines and leave them, and roam about the place and visit them +later, and the chances are, if there be pike, we shall catch a few." + +They wandered through the grounds and over the house and buildings +with renewed interest. + +"Do you understand the management of such a property, Hardy?" inquired +Pastor Lindal, who, since the Rasmussen incident, rarely addressed him +otherwise than by his name simply. + +"I understand farming and the management of landed property in +England," replied Hardy; "and it does not appear to me so very +difficult to manage so small a place as Rosendal, with common sense +and the assistance of so good a class of people as are already on the +estate. I shall not, for instance, begin to cut down the beech trees, +or drain the lake, although in an economical sense both would pay to +do. The lake could be drained to a good meadow; draining at the same +time the meadows adjoining, while the beech trees could be sold, and +the land they occupy turned into tillage. The house is a poor +residence and out of repair, so are the farm-buildings; but the place +has its peculiar charm, which I should not interrupt." + +Pastor Lindal regarded the practical self-possessed Englishman with +surprise. + +Hardy observed a look of displeasure in Helga's face at the thought of +so pretty a situation being turned into a practical farm, so he said-- + +"I have not possession yet, and shall not have until after I leave +Denmark this summer, and I could do nothing now; but my intention is +to consult a professional English landscape gardener, with the view of +increasing the attraction of Rosendal. He would do nothing that would +appear inconsistent with the natural beauty of the place." + +"But he will cut it up and make all sorts of changes!" said Helga, in +a disappointed tone. + +"Yes," said Hardy; "and I see you think that it would not be the same +old Rosendal to you again; but you have not seen how pretty the +surroundings of our English homes are made by these means, and the +exercise of judicious taste." + +"But it would not be the same Rosendal to me," said Helga, +unconsciously uttering the very thought Hardy had read in her handsome +face. + +"Possibly not," replied Hardy; "but your first exclamation would be +that you could not have believed Rosendal could have been made so +beautiful. A natural gem must be polished to exhibit its full beauty." + +"That may be; but the thought of seeing Rosendal changed, Hardy, is +what strikes us," said the Pastor. + +"Well, Herr Pastor, there is one thing I will do," said Hardy, "and +that is, before I do anything the plans shall be submitted to your and +Froken Helga's judgment." + +"Which, I fear, we shall not understand," said the Pastor. + +"Yes, you will, because you will have the plan of the estate, as it +now exists, before you as well as the plan of the proposed +alterations; but, as far as I myself can see, no striking change would +be desirable, or would be suggested." + +"But why have you bought Rosendal, Herr Hardy?" asked Helga, looking +full at him. She had all a woman's curiosity, and it was inexplicable +to her what motive Hardy could have had for his purchase. + +"I will tell you when my mother comes here next year," said Hardy. + +"You have bought it for a residence for your mother, then?" said +Helga, inquiringly. + +"I cannot say I have," replied Hardy. + +They had come to the shores of the little lake, where the two boys had +been anxiously watching the trimmers that Garth had assisted them in +setting round the reeds; but although they saw several fish were on, +Garth would not let them take the boat to the lines until his master +came. Hardy saw the situation, and said-- + +"Don't wait, Bob; take the lads to the lines, and let them pull them +up." + +Several pike were brought ashore, but none of any size. It had been +the habit of the former owner of Rosendal to use nets, and take out +the largest fish, so as not to allow a few monsters to tyrannize over +the rest of the fish in the lake. The boys had seen similar tackle to +the English trimmers, but neither so neat nor effective. + +"We do not consider this method of fishing a fair way in England," +said Hardy; "it is adopted by poachers, to steal fish from private +ponds, and it is not popular with anglers. The approved method is to +troll for pike." + +"Very interesting to the fish, if they only knew it," said the Pastor. +"I fear when on the hooks they would scarcely appreciate the +distinction. For my part, I do not like the mode of fishing you have +just practised, as a little fish is kept in misery until the pike +chops him with his teeth, or it dies on the hook." + +"You are quite right to condemn it in that way," said Hardy; and, +turning to Karl and Axel, added, "You hear what your father says; so +when you wish to fish here you must troll, as you saw me do at +Silkeborg; and as only one can troll in the boat at one time, I will +give you my trolling-rod and gear, so that you can fish when you +like." + +"Thank you, so much, Herr Hardy," said the boys at once. "You are +always good, and think so much about us." + +"You are kind. Hardy," said the Pastor; while Froken Helga looked as +if she did not understand Hardy. + +As they walked up to the mansion from the lake, they went through the +valley of roses, which has before been described as giving the name to +Rosendal. + +"What do you say, Froken Helga, to this place?" asked Hardy. "Is there +no room for improvement here? There are a few ragged rose bushes +widely distributed, and in the whole valley of roses scarcely a dozen +roses in bloom at a time of the year when there should be abundance." + +"More roses might be planted, Herr Hardy," said Helga; "but your view +would be to plant a straight row of standards, with a gravel walk down +the middle." + +"You are like Kirstin, always imputing evil to me," said Hardy. "Such +a walk would destroy the natural effect of the valley, and would be a +sin to do." + +Helga started. She did not know that Hardy was ignorant of Kirstin's +conduct towards him. The Pastor, with his delicate instinct, at once +saw that Hardy was ignorant of Kirstin's tale of shame, or he would +not have referred to it. + +"Whatever Hardy does, Helga," said the Pastor, "will be thoughtfully +done." + +"No doubt of it," said Helga; "he is a cool and calculating +Englishman." She was vexed at the illusion to Kirstin. + +When they came close to the mansion, Hardy said, "Now, here the +grounds do not require alteration, provided they were always covered +with snow, which, however frequent, is not what we can fall back upon +in a summer residence, which Rosendal is. There is the straight drive +up to the door steps, a clump of bushes each side of a bit of meadow +grass, and that is all; and there is a straight view from the house to +the lake, there is no break or change, nothing catches the eye except +the tethered cows. It is like the toy houses made at Leipsic for +children to play with. Surely a change that introduces a thought of +beauty in the landscape would not be destructive to Rosendal, Froken +Helga." + +"You appear, Herr Hardy, to find fault with everything Danish," said +Helga, sharply; "our horses are inferior, our houses are, and even our +gardens are." + +"But I never said you were," broke in Hardy, with a laugh. + +"No; but I see you think it," retorted Helga. "You have heard me say +that I like Rosendal as it is, and you exhibit your English ideas to +show how uncivilized and wanting in taste I am." + +"But are you not imputing evil," said Hardy, "like Kirstin, the +grossly suspicious?" + +Helga blushed and said nothing, and Pastor Lindal determined to tell +Hardy what Kirstin had imputed to him. + +As Garth brought round the horses and a man led out Buffalo, Karl was +struck with a great wish to ride the English horse. He asked Hardy +hesitatingly. Hardy told him to ask his father, who looked at Hardy. + +"The horse is likely to give him a fall," he said, "and he might get +an awkward fall; but boys should learn to ride, and I have no +objections if you have not." + +The Pastor assented, the stirrups were shortened, and Karl mounted. + +"Don't pull at his mouth," said Hardy; "he does not like a stranger +interfering with his mouth." + +"And might I jump him over a ditch on the way home?" begged Karl. + +"You may; but I think you had better leave that alone," said Hardy. + +Garth drove, and Hardy chatted with the Pastor, but kept his eye fixed +on Karl. Buffalo went along at a smooth trot after the carriage--so +far, so well; but when they came to the meadow running down to the +Gudenaa, Karl rode into the meadow and galloped at a water ditch in +the same manner as he had often seen Hardy do. Buffalo stretched out +and took the ditch like a bird, making a longer jump than was at all +necessary. There was a loud splash and a scream from Froken Helga, and +Buffalo, with an empty saddle, was galloping away. + +Hardy took the reins from Garth, as he said coolly, "Pick the lad out +of the ditch, and catch the horse. There is nothing to fear, Herr +Pastor." + +Garth called the horse, which stopped. He then assisted Karl out of +the ditch, who was covered with peaty slime, wiped the mud from his +face and mouth, and pointed to the carriage. Garth then crossed the +ditch on a plank bridge and caught Buffalo, and rode him over the +ditch, coming to the side of the carriage. Karl looked foolish. + +"There, is nothing to be ashamed of, Karl," said Hardy. "I had many a +fall before I learnt how to stick on. It is what we all have to go +through. Come up by the side of me, little man; you would make your +father and sister in a mess." + +The Pastor and his daughter were, for the moment, much frightened by +the incident; but Hardy's manner of treating it as a matter of course +reassured them. + +"There was no cause for alarm, Herr Pastor," said Hardy. "Karl can, if +he will, assure you that the mud at the bottom of the ditch was as +soft as eider down. Garth, ride on; I will drive up to the parsonage, +and thence to the stables." + +"Thank you for a pleasant day, Hardy," said the Pastor, as he went +into his house. + +"Stop, Herr Pastor! here are the pike that were caught in the lake. +Take what you like, and I will send the rest to Widow Rasmussen." + +The pike cooked that day for dinner was, Hardy thought, a fish with as +strong a flavour of mud as any fish could possibly possess. The +horse-radish sauce, and the sage and bread with which it was stuffed, +availed nothing, and Hardy formed a resolution with regard to the lake +that afterwards had the result of its being stocked with trout instead +of pike. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + + "_Piscator._--I love such mirth as does not make + friends ashamed to look upon one another the next + morning."--_The Complete Angler._ + + +When the tobacco parliament began the evening after the excursion to +Rosendal, Pastor Lindal said, "I have told Herr Hardy the nature of +Kirstin's imputations against him, and what he said to-day to you, +Helga, was in ignorance of that. I am quite sure that he would never +have referred to Kirstin in the way he did had he known everything. +His only thought was that Kirstin was generally suspicious and that +was all. He had no idea that when you criticized his treatment of +Rosendal that he was comparing your conduct with what was bad." + +Helga looked puzzled; but after a while she rose up from her seat, and +extended her hand to Hardy. "I hope you will forgive me, Herr Hardy, +if I have not understood you." + +"Thank you," said Hardy. "I had hoped that my character was so simple +that it left nothing to the imagination or to construction. It appears +to me to be a work of time to acquire the approving confidence of any +one in Jutland." + +"I begin to think you are true," said Helga. "You have said no single +word which has not been borne out; but your opinions differ from ours, +and that widely." + +"There is, of course," said Hardy, "the difference of nationality, but +in the wide world what is best is best, and if anything I do or say +differs from your national feeling, yet if it be right and best it is +best." + +"Good, very good," said the Pastor. "We are all in the hands of a +Higher Power, and we have to obey it. It is not for us to criticize +and doubt, but to obey." + +"But it is not a question of religion," said Helga, "if we Danes +differ in opinion from the English or if our customs are different." + +"Just so," said the Pastor; "but God is over all. Nation may call to +nation and generation to generation; but, as Herr Hardy suggests, +nationalities may differ, but what is best in thought and deed will +come to the front." + +"But why should he despise us?" asked Helga. + +"Herr Hardy despises nothing," replied her father. "He sees and +appreciates what is good in us, and sympathizes with the stability of +the Danish character, but he naturally values the broader thought in +everyday life of the English people." + +"That is because he is an Englishman," retorted Helga. + +"You forget, Helga, that Herr Hardy is present," said her father, "and +what you have said would pain him. If he be an Englishman he cannot +help it, and if he should be English in thought and character it is +not what you should condemn. He is only true to himself. Since he has +been with us, what has his conduct been?" + +Helga knitted in silence; she felt the justice of her father's reproof +and her injustice to Hardy. + +Hardy, to change the conversation, said to Karl, "Well, Karl, you have +not told us how soft you found the ditch that you went to the bottom +of." + +"I do not know how I fell off," said Karl. "I was suddenly under water +in the ditch." + +"You fell off as Buffalo was about to jump. He checked his stride +before he jumped, and then you tumbled off," said Hardy. + +"What should I have done?" asked Karl. + +"Stuck on," replied Hardy. "You have to learn the motion of the horse +when jumping, which only practise gives." + +"It was like the Damhest," said the Pastor, "which is a legendary +horse that comes out of mill-dams, ponds, or lakes, at night, and +entices people to ride it, when it jumps into the water. The best +story of it is from Thisted, a little to the north-west of this. Three +tipsy Bonder (farmers) were going home, when one of them wished for a +horse, that they might ride home, when, lo! there appeared a +long-backed black horse, on whose back they all clambered, and there +appeared room for many more. As the last man got up he exclaimed-- + +'Herre, Jesu Kors +Aldrig saae jeg saadan Hors.' + +'By the Lord Jesu's cross, +Never saw I such a horse.' + +Instantly at that holy name the horse disappeared from under them, and +the three Bonder were lying on the ground. The Danish word for horse +is 'hest,' but the Jutland people use the word 'hors,' in their +dialect." + +"There is a similar legend in the Shetland Islands; but, then, it is a +little horse that jumps into the sea, with the unfortunate person it +has enticed to mount it," said Hardy. + +"There is also a similar legend in France," said the Pastor. "The +horse is called 'Le Lutin.' We have another legendary horse, that is +said to abide in churchyards, and has three legs. The legend has +arisen from the practice in old times of burying a living horse at the +funeral of a man of distinction. This horse's ghost is called the +'Helhest.' If any one meets it, it is a sign to him of an early death. +It is a tradition of the cathedral at Aarhus, that such a horse is +occasionally seen there. A man whose window looked out to the +cathedral exclaimed one day to a neighbour, 'What horse is that?' +There is none,' said his neighbour. 'Then it must be the Helhest,' +said the other, who shortly after died. It is said that in the +cathedral at Roeskilde, there is a narrow stone on which, in old +times, people used to spit, because a Helhest was buried there. The +word 'hel' is from 'hael,' a heel, because the horse lacked one hoof or +heel. The legend appears to have existed in the Roman times, as they +called it Unipes, or the one-footed." + +"The pronunciation of 'hel' in Danish is as if it were spelt in +English as 'hael'" said Hardy. "I certainly never heard that legend +before." + +"There are other legends of animals," said Pastor Lindal. "There is +the Kirkelam, or the church lamb. This arose from the practice, when a +church was founded, to bury under the altar a living lamb, to prevent, +it was said, the church from sinking. This lamb's ghost was called the +Kirkelam, and, if at any time a child was about to die, the church +lamb was supposed to appear at the threshold of the door. In +Carlslunde church tower there is a bas-relief of a lamb, to show that +a living lamb was buried there when the church was built. It is +related that a woman was sent for to nurse another woman who was very +ill; as she went through the churchyard, she was aware of something +like a dog or a cat rubbing itself against her clothes. She stooped +down to look at it, in the half light of the evening, when, lo! it was +the church lamb. The sick woman died at the very same instant, so runs +the legend." + +"The legend of the Kirkelam," said Hardy, "is distinctive, insomuch as +it appears symbolical, and not based, as most legends are, on the +fancies and wild imaginations of the people." + +"In the olden times of Christianity," said Pastor Lindal, "it was +found necessary to employ symbols, and to take measures to occupy the +attention of an ignorant people, and it is possible that thus the +practice arose to be followed by the legend." + +"It was a heathen practice to bury living creatures," continued the +Pastor, "to avert the plague, when sometimes they buried children, or +for other fantastic reasons. Thus, there is the legend of the Gravso, +meaning the buried sow. The reason for its having been buried alive is +lost. The sow is supposed to appear in the streets of towns, and when +it appears is an omen of bad luck or death. Sometimes it is said that +it runs between people's legs, and takes them on its back, and leaves +them in strange places." + +"You said just now that children were buried to avert or stay the +plague, when it visited Denmark," said Hardy; "does there exist any +authentic record of such, or does it rest entirely on tradition?" + +"I fear we must admit it to have occurred," replied Pastor Lindal. +"The records of it are too many and consistent to doubt the truth of +the practice. There is a tradition of a place in Jutland where all the +inhabitants died of the plague, and the inhabitants of an adjoining +town averted the spread of the pestilence by buying a child of a +gypsy, and burying it alive, which tradition says had the desired +result. There is also a tradition that on the east side of a certain +church in Jutland no one is buried, because a child was buried there +to stay the plague. At another place, two children were purchased of +very poor parents, and were buried alive in a sandhill, to stay the +pestilence then raging in the district. The people gave them some +bread and butter, to induce them to go into the living grave prepared +for them; and when the first spadeful of sand was thrown into the +hole, one of the children cried out, 'Mother, they are throwing sand +on my bread and butter!' Comparing this with the treatment of witches, +or women suspected of witchcraft, at the same epoch, it is not at all +impossible that such senseless and cruel customs prevailed. The +stories of robbers that may be well attributed to the same period have +all a cruel tinge." + +"Can you tell us any?" asked Hardy. + +"A very great many. One story has been adopted and embellished, and +has appeared in many lands, and it is possible that you may have heard +it, so wide has the same story spread. The story is that a rich man +had an only daughter, and amongst many suitors was a young stranger of +singularly bold manners, and she accepted him with her father's full +consent. But, as it happened, she went out for a walk in a wood near, +and she came to a cave. She was astonished to find that this cave was +inhabited and divided into rooms. There were chairs and a table and +kitchen utensils in the first room, in the second room there was much +old silver plate and costly articles, but in the inner room of all +there were portions of dead bodies. She was terrified, and would have +fled from these horrors, but she heard steps at the entrance of the +cave, and the robbers entered. She hid herself under a bed, and, to +her horror, she saw the man she had promised to marry bring in a +woman, whom he brutally murdered; and as he could not get a gold ring +off that was on her finger, he chopped it off with an axe, with such +violence that it rolled underneath the bed where she was. The robber +could not find it, and gave up the search. At night, the robbers all +departed on a plundering expedition, when she hastened home. She said, +however, nothing of what had happened. The wedding-day was fixed, and +the wedding guests assembled; but when the festivities were at the +highest, she produced the finger of the dead woman, with the ring on +it! The bridegroom turned pale, and, after being put to the torture, +confessed many murders, and was, with his band, executed with the +cruelty then practised; that is, their entrails were cut out by the +executioner, the bodies severed into pieces, and hung up to rot on a +gallows." + +"The whole story is a very cruel picture," said Hardy. + +"So the stories of robbers all are," said the Pastor. "There is a +story of a robber called Langekniv, or 'long knife.' His practice was +to kill people by casting a heavy knife at them, with a string +attached to it, so that he could possess himself of the knife again +with celerity. He committed many murders. But one day a pedlar was +going across a lonely heath, when he saw Langekniv coming. The pedlar +fell down at first with fright, but afterwards pretended to be nearly +dead from illness; and when Langekniv came up, he said, 'Take my pack +and my money, and fetch a doctor; I am dying.' Langekniv thought that +with a man who could be so easily robbed, it was not necessary to do +more than he was asked; but as soon as he turned to go away, the +pedlar struck him with his staff a blow on the ankle, that disabled +him from running. He then ran for assistance, and Langekniv, after +making it very hot for his captors by casting his long knife, was +seized, and bound, and put in a cart, and was executed. When his +entrails was being cut out by the executioner, he was asked if it +hurt, and Langekniv replied that it was not so bad as the toothache. + +"There is one robber story, however, that illustrates the +extraordinary manner in which a clue to a murder can sometimes be +acquired. A pedlar was passing in a lonely hollow of a road on a heath +in Jutland, when two robbers attacked him, and killed him under +circumstances of great cruelty. A flock of wild geese was flying over +head, and the pedlar said the birds of the air shall witness against +you of my murder. Years went by, when, one day, the people were +waiting in the churchyard for the priest to come to service. A flock +of geese was flying overhead, when a horse-dealer from Holstein, a +stranger to the place, said, 'There goes the pedlar's witnesses.' +These words excited attention. The man lost all control over himself, +and confessed the murder." + +"A very extraordinary story," said Hardy, "but a very possible one. +But have you not traditions of very supernatural things, as the story +of the Kraken?" + +"There is the tradition of the Basilisk, as we call it, and that of +the Lindorm. The legend of the Basilisk is, of course, of classic +origin. It is that when a cock becomes very old, it lays an egg, and +the heat of a dungheap hatches it, and a Basilisk is produced. It is +so hideous a monster, that whoever looks on it can no longer live, but +melts away. It is also said that the Basilisk inhabits wells, and that +it is dangerous to look down a well, as to encounter the gaze of a +Basilisk would be to turn the beholder to stone. There is also another +variation of the legend. The egg when laid by the cock must be hatched +by a toad; but when the Basilisk is hatched, if it be first seen by a +human being, it at once dies, but if the contrary, the beholder dies." + +"There is a novel written by Sir Walter Scott," said Hardy, "under the +title of 'Count Robert of Paris' in which he describes the Varanger +guard. It is possible that as such a body of men did exist, that such +legends were brought back by them." + +"It may be," said Pastor Lindal; "but in all such matters we may +dogmatize, and be very wide of the mark, although we cannot deny the +possibility." + +"But what about the Lindorm?" asked Hardy. + +"The Lindorm is a legendary serpent," replied the Pastor. "Your +English story of St. George and the dragon is a contest with a +Lindorm, and we have many variations of the story. The principal +incidents, however, coincide with your English story. One story of a +Lindorm is, that a girl went out to milk her master's cows, and as she +went over the fields she saw a little spotted snake. It appeared so +pretty that she took it home and kept it in a box. Every day she fed +it with milk and what else she could get that it would eat, but it +became at last so large that it could not be kept in the box any +longer. It ran after the girl wherever she went, and drank out of the +milk-pails, as she milked the cows. This the house mother (the +farmer's wife) objected to, and she said the snake should be killed to +prevent further mischief; but the snake was not killed, and further +mischief did occur. It became so big that it was not satisfied with +what was given it, but seized the cattle, one after another, and ate +them. It soon became the terror of the district. A wise woman, +however, advised that a bull calf should be reared with fresh milk and +wheat bread, to destroy the Lindorm. Meanwhile it had attained such a +size, that every day a cow had to be given it, or an old horse, to +prevent its taking the more valuable cattle. When, however, the bull +calf was three years old, it was strong enough to combat the Lindorm, +and killed it; but when the combat took place, the snake struck a +large stone with its tail, and cut thereby a furrow in it, and the +stone is shown to this day as a proof of the legend." + +"A very interesting legend," said Hardy. "Are there more?" + +"There is a remarkable one," replied Pastor Lindal, "as one of the +legends of the old cathedral at Aarhus. Many years ago, it was +observed that the bodies buried in the churchyard, then belonging to +the cathedral, were taken away, no one knew how. At last, it was +observed that a Lindorm had its habitation under the cathedral, and +came out every night, and devoured the corpses. As it was feared that +not only this would continue, but also that the foundations of the +cathedral might be undermined by the excavations made by the Lindorm, +it was determined to seek means to destroy it. At this time a glazier +came to Aarhus, and when he heard the danger in which the cathedral +was placed, he promised to help the town councillors to get rid of the +Lindorm. He made a box of looking-glass so large that he could himself +go into it, and to which there was only one opening, and which was not +larger than that he could use his sword with effect. He had this box +taken into the cathedral by daylight, and when midnight came he +lighted four wax candles, which he placed in the four corners of the +box. When the Lindorm came up the aisle of the cathedral and saw its +reflection in the looking-glass, it thought that it was another +Lindorm, with whom it could pair, and was so occupied in its +contemplation that the glazier had the opportunity of cutting its +throat with his sword, and it died of the wound thus given. The +poisonous nature of the blood that flowed from the Lindorm, however, +caused the glazier's death." + +"That is certainly a striking legend," said Hardy. + +"There is also a legend of a Lindorm that encircled a church and +devoured the people as they came out, as it appeared only after their +being in it. It had its head at one entrance and its tail at the +other, and destroyed the people with both. The people then made a hole +in the church wall, through which they escaped. Another legend is that +a Lindorm bathes once a year in a lake, which after has a green film +on it. This, however, you may have observed in the lakes at Silkeborg +this summer, arising from the quantity of weed growth during the +hotter weather." + +"I have observed what you mention," said Hardy, "and I should expect +it is not the first time that an ordinary natural occurrence has been +attributed to supernatural causes." + +"That applies," said the Pastor, "also to what you call in England +will-o-the-wisp. We call this in Danish, Lygtemaend, or men with +lanterns. The tradition is that they are spirits of wicked people, +particularly of men who have measured land falsely, and so acquired an +advantage over their neighbours. They are supposed to desire to +mislead the traveller, and entice him into bogs and swamps. It is said +that the best means to prevent being thus deceived is to turn one's +hat, so that the back part should come to the front; care, however, +must be taken not to point at a Lygtemaend, as he is then dangerous. +Such is the tradition." + +"Your legends, this evening, have been more than usually interesting, +Herr Pastor," said Hardy. "It would appear as if, with such a mass of +legendary lore, you would have men growing up and becoming authors of +the richest fancy." + +"Hans Christian Andersen is an instance," said the Pastor, "so is +Ingemann, and, of late, Carl Andersen, the curator of Rosenborg +palace. There are others also. It is no doubt that the human fancy, +when led into extraordinary lines of thought, is influenced to produce +them." + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + + "Who hunts, doth oft in danger ride; + Who hawks, lures oft both far and wide; + Who uses games, shall often prove + A loser; but he who falls in love + Is fettered in fond Cupid's snare. + My Angle breeds me no such care." + _The Complete Angler._ + + +An idea had occurred to Godseier Jensen which had filled the mind of +the worthy proprietor and horse breeder. He had discussed the idea +with his neighbours in all its branches, and had appealed to his +paternal Government to assist him. The idea was a horse race, after +the English model. Tentative advertisements appeared in the Danish and +Swedish papers, and the replies in the support of the idea came in +from all sides. A few Swedish noblemen owned race-horses, and they +gave in their adhesion and support. The local horse-breeders and +dealers were eager in its support, and the Government expressed their +intention of assisting, in the hope that it might encourage the +breeding of better class horses. + +John Hardy was early consulted in the movement, and heard a great deal +of good advice and well-intentioned talk on the subject of horses and +horse racing in particular. A prominent feature in the idea was +naturally where the races should be held, and on this point John +Hardy, at one time, thought the whole affair would fall through. + +A field was, however, found that gave a course round it of one and a +quarter English miles, the soil was light, and the field did not make +the best racing ground; but there was no better to be secured for the +purpose, and the consequence was it was determined on. A grand stand +was erected, and the course staked out, the day fixed, and the entries +for the races were anxiously waited for by Herr Jensen, who acted as +honorary secretary. They at last were able to arrange several flat +races, a hurdle race--the hurdles rather low--a trotting match, a +steeple-chase, and a consolation race. The steeple-chase course was +down a sharpish incline, with a water jump at the bottom, and some +fences specially erected, and about the middle of the course a stone +wall of loose stones. This course was well in view of the grand stand, +as well as from the middle of the flat-race course. + +John Hardy was implored by proprietor Jensen to enter Buffalo for the +steeple-chase, but he declined, on the ground that he preferred to +look on, and did not like risking so favourite a horse in a +steeple-chase race. Herr Jensen was in despair; he himself and all his +friends and acquaintances felt more interest in the steeple-chase than +all the rest put together. The only entries for the race were some +horses belonging to a cavalry regiment, but of these there were only +four. The pressure that was brought to bear on Hardy was so great, +that he saw he should give serious offence if he did not let Buffalo +be entered for the steeple-chase. He, however, explained to proprietor +Jensen that his servant, Robert Garth, would ride, but that his orders +would be to ride carefully, avoid the other horses, and not press +Buffalo. Now a fresh difficulty arose. The cavalry horses were entered +by the subalterns of the regiment, who would ride the horses +themselves, and the Englishman was going to send his servant to ride +against them. There was the insular pride and bad taste of the English +exemplified, and, in the end, John Hardy had to ride his own horse, +very much against his will. + +The auspicious day dawned, and crowds attended, bearing positive +testimony to the popularity of Herr Jensen's idea. + +The Pastor declined to go; he said he thought it was no place for him. +"It is a day of amusement where a black coat and the notion of a +sermon appears out of place." + +The Jensens insisted on taking Froken Helga and her two brothers, who, +since they had heard that Hardy was to ride, were intensely excited. + +"I have prayed that you will win, Herr Hardy," said Axel, who was +always a quiet lad in manner, and had become more so since his +acquaintance with Hardy. + +"I am going to take care of my good horse, Axel," said Hardy. "I do +not intend to risk his being injured by throwing him down or letting +the other horses get too near, and, besides, I should not like to +win." + +"And why not?" said Helga. "I cannot understand a man riding in a race +and not doing his best to win it." + +"Your sympathies are with the cavalry officers, and I should please +you best by not winning," said Hardy. + +"There is your professed superiority again," retorted Helga; "you say +you are going to let the others win, suggesting that you could win the +race if you chose to do so. I do not believe you can, and think you +are afraid to ride hard. You speak of taking care of your horse, which +means yourself." + +John Hardy looked her full in the face, with a stern expression he +sometimes had. What she had said would have galled any man, and Hardy +felt it keenly. + +The races began, and were well ridden, and ridden to win. There was no +betting that John Hardy heard of. He and his servant Garth were asked, +on the horses being trotted out, as to the probable winners, which +they were able to indicate from their knowledge of what is and is not +racing condition in a horse, and they were generally correct. + +The trotting match was a failure; there were several entries, but only +one horse trotted both heats round the course, the others had not been +trained properly or sufficiently. The hurdle race yielded much +amusement; many horses had entered for that race, and several refused +to jump at all, and there were many falls, to the delight of the +populace, and only three horses went through the race, which was won +by a neck, the three coming well in together. + +When the steeple-chase race was prepared for, Garth brought up +Buffalo, looking, as he always did, a grand horse, and amongst the +more horsey of the Danes there was much praise of him. John Hardy +mounted; he had taken off his coat, waistcoat, and braces, and Garth +had tied a blue silk handkerchief on his head. There was a quiet look +of efficiency about John Hardy that was a contrast to the heavy +mustachios cultivated by the cavalry officers and their rather weedy +steeds. There was trouble in getting a start from the restiveness of +one of the cavalry horses and the difficulty his rider experienced in +managing it, but once away they swept down the slope, Buffalo two +horse lengths behind. The water jump reached, the cavalry horses +rushed into it, and Hardy had a difficulty in steering clear of the +floundering men and horses and letting Buffalo fly the water jump. The +water jump had been specially prepared, and was very shallow, and +Danish horses appeared to have considered it was best to gallop +through it. As it was the rule of the race that the jump must be +taken, they were, by that rule, out of the race. They, however, kept +on and rode well, taking the fences and wall, with Buffalo going wide +of them in the rear. When they came to the rising ground again, +corresponding to the slope they had ridden down, the Danish horses +began to show signs of being ridden out of hand, and Buffalo passed +easily in a canter, taking his fences as quietly as if at exercise, +and came in an easy winner. The course had been about four to five +English miles, a little too long, thought Hardy, for the Danish +horses. Proprietor Jensen came forward to congratulate Hardy, and to +thank him for enabling the race to be made interesting to them all. + +The prize was a silver cup, but Hardy declined to accept it, to the +astonishment of stout proprietor Jensen and his friends. + +"What in the name of the devil's skin and bones does the man mean?" +said Herr Jensen, with some heat. "Why, you have won it, and rode so +well that it has been a pleasure to us all to see you." + +"The race has not been a fair one," said Hardy; "my horse has been +specially trained for this sort of work, the horses I rode against +have not, I therefore wish the cup given to the second horse." + +The Danish officers pressed Hardy to take the cup, but Hardy was firm. +They spoke to him in that manly way habitual with Danish gentlemen, +and Hardy liked them. They went up to Buffalo, which Robert Garth was +leading up and down to cool; and Hardy induced one of the officers to +try Buffalo at one of the small fences erected for the hurdle race; +and when he came back, the Danish cavalry officer said, "Why, you +could have ridden away from us from the first!" + +"No doubt," said Hardy. + +"And you did not, because you did not wish to let the race appear a +hollow one," said the officer, "and it would disappoint so many." + +"I only entered my horse for the race," said Hardy, "under great +pressure, not until I saw I should give offence to Godseier Jensen and +many others who have been kind to me. They wanted to see my horse +race. I intended to have let my servant ride, but when I heard I +should have to ride against Danish gentlemen, I rode myself." + +"What a charger he would make!" said one of the cavalry officers. + +"He is too light in bone," said Hardy. "I am an officer in the +yeomanry cavalry of my country, and use a bigger framed horse as a +charger." + +"We will take the cup because it is your wish, Herr Hardy," said the +officer, "but you must come and dine with some of us to-morrow, and +bring your horse, and let the other men of our regiment see it. We are +much obliged to you. You have taught us what we have heard of, and +that is a hunting-seat. Cavalry men cannot go well across country, +riding, as we do, with a cavalry seat. We dine at three. Ask for Baron +Jarlsberg." + +Hardy accepted, and went up to the grand stand where Fru Jensen and +her daughters were and Froken Helga Lindal. He had changed his clothes +for a black morning coat and tweed trousers. The last race was being +ran. + +"Herr Jensen has sent me to see you to your carriage, Fru Jensen," +said Hardy; "he is much occupied with his duties of honorary +secretary, and settling the usual disputes that arise." + +"And was that you with a blue handkerchief round your head and nothing +on but a flannel shirt?" asked Fru Jensen. + +"Yes," said Hardy; "but I had other garments on than a flannel shirt." + +"Of course," said Fru Jensen, "of course; but if I were your mother, I +should be afraid of your catching cold." + +"But when, Fru Jensen, we ride a race, we have to be dressed for it, +and the less clothes we have the better." + +"And you have won the race, I hear," said Fru Jensen; "but I did not +know who won, and I see it is a silver cup. It will be something to +take back to England. Your father, Helga, will be glad to hear Herr +Hardy is to have a silver cup." + +Helga had perception enough to see that she had wounded Hardy in the +early part of the day and that he had not forgotten it. He said +nothing to her, but gave Fru Jensen his arm, and conducted them to the +Jensen's carriage, a heavy four-wheeled conveyance, arranged to carry +eight, by seats placed one after the other in a sort of four-wheeled +dogcart with a long body. + +It had been a great desire of proprietor Jensen to have a dinner of a +public character after the races, but this it was found not +practicable to carry out within anything like a reasonable hour, +according to Danish notions, and the consequence was Herr Jensen had +to content himself with asking as many of his own friends and his +friends' friends as he could to his own Herregaard. He was in the best +possible humour. The races had gone off without a hitch, and every one +had congratulated him. He had been told he had made a great hit with +his Englishman, as the officers of the Danish cavalry regiment were +delighted with him. It was, however, positively necessary that the +worthy proprietor should return home to receive his friends. + +"Where is the Englishman?" he inquired, as he came to the carriage. + +"Here," said Hardy. "The ladies are waiting for you, and the carriage +is ready to start." + +John Hardy was going to sit by the side of one of Herr Jensen's +daughters, but he would not have it. The proprietor must talk over the +races with Hardy, and he did, so volubly that Hardy could scarcely +understand him. "I never saw anything so smart as the way you took +those fences after passing the other horses! It was grand to see your +horse going easily over about a foot above them; and the way you came +in past the judges was splendid. I must say I did not like your +refusal to take the prize; it was only a cup that cost us about L5 of +your money, but it was the prize for all that, and was well won. If it +was the smallness of its value," said the worthy proprietor, carried +away by his enthusiasm, "I would give you a dozen such. They lost the +race at once by not taking the water jump and galloping their horses +through it without jumping it. I saw you were in a difficulty, but the +way you held your horse and took the water jump was good. I did like +the way also in which you spoke to the cavalry officers and letting +one of them ride your horse over one of the hurdle jumps, and so let +him see that they had been nowhere, and that you could have beaten +them at any point of the race. After all, I think you were right to +give up the cup with such a superior horse, but very few men would +have done it, but the way you did it is what has made such a good +impression. Come and stay with me as long as you like! There is a +little river through my property with trout in it, you may catch them +all if you like." + +"Thank you, Herr Jensen," said Hardy, "but I return to England +shortly. I will, however, come over, with your permission, and fish +your river, which is a little tributary to the Gudenaa, and I hear has +some good trout in it. We have not liked to ask your leave, because +you might have other friends for whom you would wish to reserve the +fishing." + +"If I had," said the proprietor, "I would give it you; nothing would +give me greater pleasure than to return your kindness to me. You gave +up your own wishes about the racing only to oblige me; you did not +wish to ride or risk your horse, but you did it to oblige me." + +"Thank you very much," said Hardy. "May I take Pastor Lindal's two +sons, Karl and Axel, with me to fish? They will not depopulate the +stream." + +"You may take anybody," said Herr Jensen, warmly. + +Froken Helga heard this conversation, and it showed her how +differently Hardy had acted from what she had suggested to him in the +morning before the races. Herr Jensen's unqualified praise had let her +see how good Hardy had been, and how considerate for others, and she +had accused him of being a coward and only caring for himself. + +When they came to proprietor Jensen's Herregaard, Hardy jumped out of +the carriage, and assisted Fru Jensen and her daughters out, but to +Froken Helga Lindal he only extended his arm, so that she might rest +her hand on it on her descending from the carriage. She would have +spoken, but Hardy was gone. + +The dinner at proprietor Jensen's was a very lively affair. Early in +the dinner he proposed the Englishman's health, and Hardy responded +briefly; and then came many other toasts, and the ultimate conclusion +was there was nothing like horse-racing, and as the evening wore on, +so did the fogginess of the subject. Hardy had sent Garth to his +stables with Buffalo after the race, and told him to fetch them at +Herr Jensen's Herregaard at an early hour with the carriage, and Hardy +drove himself, talking to Garth, who sat beside him. Karl and Axel had +preferred to stay to see the last festivities of the races and to walk +home, consequently Froken Helga sat by herself in the carriage, and +Hardy, after seeing her safely in and well cared for, did not address +a word to her. They drove to the parsonage, and Hardy drove to the +stables with Garth, to see Buffalo after his extra work that day, and +Hardy walked back. + +The Pastor was smoking his pipe, listening to the events of the day as +described by Karl and Axel. "You won your race. Hardy," said Pastor +Lindal; "and the boys say easily." + +"Yes, I won the race I rode," said Hardy. + +"And, father, he would not take the cup, that is the prize he won; he +said his horse was a better horse, and gave it to the man who came in +second, and a long way behind he was," said Karl. + +Froken Helga knitted, but did not look up. + +"And did you not see the race, Helga?" + +"Yes, father," said Helga; "and I saw Herr Hardy win it." + +"But what is the matter, Helga?" asked her father, with some hardness. + +"Father, I have been wrong," said Helga. "Herr Hardy said he did not +wish to risk his horse, and that he did not wish to win the race, but +that he could easily if he chose. I did not like his professing to be +so superior over us Danes, and I told him so, and that he was afraid +to ride his horse, and that he knew he would not win. I now know that +what he said was quite true, and that he has behaved well." + +"You should have heard how they cheered him when he came in," said +Karl. + +"I do think, Helga, if you made so insulting a speech to Herr Hardy," +said the Pastor, with some asperity, "that it should be withdrawn. To +tell a man that he is a coward and has false pride is too galling, and +when not a single ground for it exists the more so. You might thereby +have tempted him to risk his life, to say nothing of his horse." + +Helga burst into tears. + +Hardy rose and held out his hand to her. "I hope," he said, "you will +think no more of this; I shall not. Your saying what you have to your +father is enough for me. I do hope you will believe me when I say that +after so frank an admission that I shall only respect the strong +national feeling that prompted you. I admit a Danish gentleman can do +all I can and possibly more." + +"You are a gentleman, Hardy," said the Pastor. + +Helga took Hardy's hand coldly, and left the room. She had made a +mistake and had atoned, that was all. + +The next day Hardy rode Buffalo, attended by Garth on one of the +Danish horses, to the quarters of the cavalry regiment, and was +received with much kindness. A dinner had been arranged at a hotel +near, and the men and officers of the regiment regarded Buffalo with +much interest. One after the other asked leave to mount him and ride +him a short distance over a bit of grass adjoining the cavalry +barracks. Hardy let them inspect the horse to their hearts' content. +His winning the race so easily the day before had its special value. +Hardy's knowledge of cavalry accoutrements and horses was another +point of common interest. He rode several of the best horses of the +regiment, but preferred changing their heavy military bridles to his +own light snaffle, and the effect was marked, and was noted by the +cavalry officers. + +At dinner, the cup of the day before was produced, and Hardy had to +drink out of it. + +"It is your cup and fairly won, but we appreciate the feeling that +gives it to us," said Baron Jarlsberg, "and we shall keep it in the +regiment as a memento of an English horse beating the best horses in a +Danish cavalry regiment." + +Hardy rode to the parsonage, after a very pleasant time, with many +expressions of good feeling from the Danish officers. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + + "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. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + + "Good God, how sweet are all things here! + How beautiful the fields appear! + How cleanly do we feed and lie! + Lord, what good hours do we keep; + How quietly we sleep! + What peace! what unanimity! + How different from the lewd fashion + Is all our business, all our recreation!" + _The Complete Angler._ + + +Froken Helga had filled the porcelain pipe with Kanaster one evening, +when she said to her father that he should relate to Herr Hardy what +he knew of Folketro. + +"What is Folketro?" asked Hardy. + +"It is the belief in supernatural subjects; for instance, the belief +in the merman is a Folketro." + +"I know the beautiful old ballad that is sung in Norway of the merman +king rising from the sea in a jewelled dress, where the king's +daughter had come to fish with a line of silk. He sings to her, and, +charmed with his song, she gives him both her hands, and he draws her +under the sea." + +"Yes, we all know that ballad," said the Pastor; "it is known to all +Scandinavians. We have, however, in Jutland, a tradition founded upon +it. Two poor people who lived near Aarhus had an only daughter, called +Grethe. One day she was sent to the seashore to fetch sand, when a +Havmand (merman) rose up out in the sea. His beard was greener than +the salt sea, but otherwise his form was fair, and he enticed the girl +to follow him into the sea, by the promise of as much silver as she +could wish for. She went to the bottom of the sea, and was married to +the Havmand ('Hav' is a Danish word for the sea), and had five +children. One day she sat rocking the cradle of her youngest child, +when she heard the church bells ring ashore. She had almost forgotten +what she had learnt of Christian faith, but the longing was so great +to go to church that she wept bitterly. The merman at length allowed +her to go, and she went to church. She had not been there long before +the merman came to the church and called 'Grethe! Grethe!' She heard +him call, but remained; this occurred three times, when the merman was +heard loudly lamenting, as he returned to the sea. Grethe remained +with her parents, and the merman is often heard bitterly grieving the +loss of Grethe." + +"The same tradition occurs in many lands," said Hardy. + +"Yes, but that is the one we have here in Jutland," replied Pastor +Lindal. "There is a story that comes from the neighbourhood of +Ringkiobing, which may have a similarity with traditions elsewhere +also; but the Jutland story is as follows: For a long time no ship had +been wrecked on the west coast of Jutland, and consequently the +Havmand had been a long time without a victim. So he went on land and +threw a hook at the cattle on the sand hills, whither they frequently +wandered from the farms, and dragged them into the sea. Close to the +sea lived a Bonde, who had two red yearlings, which he did not wish to +lose; so he coupled them together with twigs of the mountain ash, over +which the Havmand had no power. However, he threw his hook at them, +but could not drag the yearlings down to the sea, as they were +protected by the virtue in the mountain ash. His hook stuck in its +twigs, and the yearlings came home with it, and the Bonde hung it up +in his house by the chimney. One day, when his wife was at home alone, +the Havmand came and took away the hook, and said, 'The first calves +of red cows, with a mountain ash couple, the Havmand could not drag to +the sea, and for want of my hook I have missed many a good catch.' So +the Havmand returned to the sea, and since then has never taken any +cattle from that part of the coast." + +"It is very possible that the cattle were stolen by people landing +from the sea," said Hardy. + +"Probably," said the Pastor. "There is another story of a Havmand's +body being washed up by the sea, close to the church, and it was +buried in the churchyard. But the sea every year washed away so much +of the sandy coast that the people were afraid the church would be +washed away; so they dug up the Havmand, and found him sitting at the +bottom of the grave, sucking one of his toes. They carried him down to +the sea, for which he thanked them, and said that now the sea should +ever cast up as much sand as it washed away, and both the church and +churchyard should never suffer from the encroachments of the sea." + +"A story with more apparent improbability than usual. But the +impression appears to exist that these supernatural beings could never +really die. Is it not so?" inquired Hardy. + +"It would appear so," replied the Pastor; "but in the case of Trolds +or Underjordiske, their deaths are occasionally referred to in the +traditions about them." + +"But are there no legends of mermaids?" said Hardy. + +"Many," replied the Pastor. "The Danish word is 'Havfru,' or +sea-woman. On the Jutland coast a mermaid or Havfru was accustomed to +drive her cattle up from the sea, so that they could graze in the +fields ashore. This the Bonder did not like. They, therefore, one +night, surrounded the cattle, and secured both them and the Havfru in +an enclosure, and refused to let them go until they had been paid for +the grass the sea cattle had consumed from their fields. As she had no +money, they demanded that she should give them the belt that she wore +round her waist, which appeared to be covered with precious stones. To +ransom herself and cattle, she at length consented, and the Bonder +received the belt; but as she went to the sea-shore she said to the +biggest bull of her herd, 'Root up,' and the bull rooted the earth up +that was over the sand in their meadows, and the consequence was the +wind blew the sand so that it buried the church. The Bonder, +therefore, had small joy of the belt, particularly when they found it +was only common rushes." + +"There is a ballad," said Hardy, "that I met with in Norway of Count +Magnus and the Havfru. She promised him a sword, a horse, and a ship +of miraculous powers; but he was true to his earthly love." + +"The people often sing it here," said the Pastor, "and a good ballad +it is. It is, however, well known in England. There was a common +belief that there were cattle in the sea, and it is related that a man +once saw a red cow constantly in the evening feeding on his standing +corn. He asked his neighbours' assistance, and they secured it. It had +five calves whilst in the man's possession, and each of them cow +calves; but they gave him so much trouble from their unruly nature +that he beat them frequently. One day he did so by the seaside, when a +voice from the sea called the cattle, who all rushed into the sea. + +"There is a very common story of a fisherman, on the west coast of +Jutland, seeing a Havmand riding on a billow of the sea, but shivering +with the cold, as he had only one stocking on. The fisherman took off +one of his stockings and gave it to the Havmand. Some time after, he +was on the sea fishing, when the Havmand appeared, and sang-- + + + 'Hor du Mand som Hosen gav. + Tag dit Skib og drag til Land, + Det dundrer under Norge.' + + 'Listen, you man, who gave the stocking. + Take your ship and make for land, + It thunders under Norway.' + + +The fisherman obeyed, and a great storm ensued, and many people +perished at sea." + +"It is common to observe that where the natural disposition of the +people is a kindly one, there exists in their legends instances of a +similar character, where a kindness is recollected and rewarded," said +Hardy. + +"It occurs often," said Pastor Lindal, "in the legends of the +Underjordiske." + +"Hans Christian Andersen has a story about the elder tree, but it is +not very clear what position the fairy of the elder tree bears in +tradition," said Hardy. + +"There is supposed to exist in the elder tree a supernatural being, a +gnome or fairy, called the Hyldemoer, or fairy of the elder tree," +replied the Pastor. "She is said to revenge all injury to the tree; +and of a man who cut an elder bush down, it is related that he died +shortly after. At dusk, the Hyldemoer peeps in through the window at +the children, when they are alone. It is also said that she sucks +their breasts at night, and that this can be only averted by the juice +of an onion." + +"Is there any distinct legend of the Hyldemoer?" asked Hardy. + +"Not that I know of," replied the Pastor. "There is a saying that a +child cannot sleep if its cradle is made of elder tree, but there is +no story with any incidents, that I am aware of. A cradle of elder +tree is not likely to be often made." + +"The legend of the were-wolf is very general in all Europe," said +Hardy. "Does the tradition exist with you?" + +"It is called the Varulv with us," replied the Pastor. "It is said to +be a man, who changes into the form of a wolf, and is known by a tuft +of hair between the shoulders. When he wishes to change himself from +the human form to a wolf, he repeats three times, 'I was, I am,' and +immediately his clothes fall off, like a snake changing its skin. It +is said that if a woman creeps under the caul of a foal, extended on +four sticks, that her children will be born without the usual pains of +childbirth, but that the boys will be Varulve, and the daughters +Marer, or mares. The superstition about the latter, I will tell you +presently. The man, however, is freed by some other person telling him +he is a Varulv. In the other traditions on the subject elsewhere, the +Varulv is supposed to attack women near their confinement; and it is +related that a man, who was a Varulv, was at work in the fields with +his wife, when suddenly a wolf appeared, and attacked her. She struck +at it with her apron, which the wolf tore to pieces. Then the man +reappeared, with a torn piece of the apron in his mouth. 'You are a +Varulv,' said the woman; and the man said, 'I was, but now you have +told me so I am free.' This is the Jutland legend of the were-wolf." + +"What is that of the Marer, or mares?" asked Hardy. + +"Marer is the plural of Mare," replied the Pastor. "It is a woman, +who, like the Varulv, changes to the form of a mare. It is the +nightmare, which, as we all know, is dreadful enough. A woman who is a +Mare (the final e is pronounced as a) is known by the hair growing +together on her eyebrows. It is a very old superstition. It occurs in +Snorro's 'Heimskringla,' where King Vauland complains of a Mare having +ridden him in his sleep. There are several stories based on the +superstition. A Bondekarl--that is, a farm servant--was ridden every +night by a Mare, although he had stopped up every hole to prevent her; +but at last he discovered that she came through a hole in an oak post, +which he stopped with a wooden pin, as soon as he knew she was in the +room. As the day dawned, she assumed her human form, having no power +otherwise. The man married her, and they lived together very happily. +One day, the man asked his wife if she knew how she came into the +house, and showed her the little wooden pin, which yet stood in the +oak post. His wife peeped through the hole, and as she stood and +looked, she suddenly became so small that she could go through the +hole. She disappeared and never returned. There is also a story of a +certain Queen of Denmark, who was very fond of horses, but she liked +one horse far beyond the others. The groom observed that this horse +was always tired in the morning, with the appearance of its having +been ridden all night. He at length suspected that it was ridden by a +Mare. He, therefore, one night took a bucket of water and threw it +over the horse, when, lo! the queen sat on the horse's back." + +"The superstition is evidently an ancient one," said Hardy. "There is +no doubt that people had the nightmare very badly in old times, from +their habits of life and sudden and violent changes taking place in +their circumstances." + +"There is a method of catching a Mare," said the Pastor; "and that is +by putting a sieve over her when she is acting a nightmare. It is said +she can then be caught, as she cannot come out until she has counted +all the holes in the sieve." + +"There are difficulties enough attending that," said Hardy. "But +surely this must exhaust all the subjects you call Folketro?" + +"By no means," said the Pastor. "We have a very dangerous coast on the +west of Jutland, and I have heard sailors say of our sandy coast that +they prefer rocks to sands to be wrecked on. There has consequently +arisen a superstition as to omens, and these are called Strandvarsler, +or omens from the sea-shore or strand. Varsel is an omen, Varsler is +the plural of the word. In old times it was said to be dangerous to go +on the roads or paths near the coast, as the Strandvarsler were often +met. They were ghosts of people who had been drowned and still lay +unburied in the sea. It is related that one evening a Strandvarsel +jumped on a Bonders back and shouted, 'Carry me to church!' The Bonde +had to obey, and went the nearest way to the church. When he came +close to the churchyard wall, the Strandvarsel jumped over it; but the +Kirkegrim, of whom I will speak directly, seized the Strandvarsel, and +immediately a combat took place between them. When they had fought a +while, they both rested to take breath. The Strandvarsel asked the +Bonde, 'Did I hit him?' 'No,' said the Bonde. So they fought again, +and again they rested, and the Strandvarsel put the same question. +'No,' said the Bonde. They fought again, and they rested, and the same +question was put by the Strandvarsel. 'Yes,' said the Bonde. 'It was +lucky for you that you said "Yes,"' said the Strandvarsel, 'or I would +have broken your neck.' The legend goes no farther. There is, however, +another story, but of the same character in its bearing. A +Bondekone--that is, a farmer's wife--went out to milk her cows. She +saw that a corpse had been washed up by the sea, and there was a purse +of money on its waist. As there was no one near, she took the money, +which she thought she could have as much need of as any one else. But +the next night the Strandvarsel came and made so much noise outside +her window that she came out, and he said she must help him. There was +nothing to do but to obey, she thought; so she said farewell to her +children, as she expected death, and went out to the Strandvarsel. +When she came out, he told her to take him by his leg and drag him to +the nearest churchyard, which was three English miles distant. When +they came to the churchyard, the Strandvarsel said, 'Let me go, or the +Kirkegrim will seize you.' This she did; but as soon as the +Strandvarsel was in the churchyard, the Kirkegrim rushed at the +Bondekone, and seized her by her skirt; as this was old, it gave way, +and she escaped. But she had a good time of it after, with the money +she had taken from the corpse by the sea-shore." + +"These legends are fresh and interesting," said Hardy; "thank you very +much. But is there no story where an omen had effect?" + +"There are several," replied the Pastor, "and the people on the west +coast have the reputation of having what is called a clear sight of +the future in this respect. There was a man who stated that a ship +would be wrecked at Torsminde, which would be laden with such heavy +timber that it would take four men to carry each of the pieces of +timber. He said he had the warning from a Strandvarsel. A year passed, +when a ship was wrecked, with such heavy railway iron that it took +four men to carry each rail. It was certainly a mistake for the omen +to say it would be timber when it was iron; but as it was correct +about four men having to carry each piece of railway iron, and the +ship did wreck at Torsminde, it was considered a true warning or +omen." + +"But that brings the superstition down to quite recent time," said +Hardy. + +"I have already told you that these superstitions yet live in the +hearts of the people; they do not confess them openly, but they do +exist here and there." + +"What is the superstition about the Kirkegrim?" asked Hardy. + +"The Kirkegrim," replied the Pastor, "is a spirit or gnome that +inhabits the church, and revenges any injury to it or the churchyard. +That is all; there are no stories about it, beyond what I have +related, that I know of." + +"It is, in fact, a spiritual churchwarden," said Hardy, "after our +English notions. It is to be regretted we have not them in England." + +"I think, little father, you have talked a long time, and you are +tired," said Froken Helga. + +"You are right, Froken," said Hardy. "Thank you, Herr Pastor, for a +series of interesting legends. I can only say how sorry I am that I +must go to England shortly. My mother wishes to have me at home, as +she is lonely without me, and I cannot bear she should be so any +longer." + +"And when, Herr Hardy, do you propose to leave?" inquired Helga. + +"In about a week, Froken," replied Hardy, to whom he thought it +appeared a matter of indifference whether he went or stayed. + +"My father will miss you much, and so shall we all," said Helga. "You +have been good and kind, and there has nothing happened about you that +we have not liked." + +Hardy looked at her. It was clear that, as usual, she said nothing but +what she meant. + +"If you come here again, you will go to Rosendal?" said the Pastor. + +"Yes," replied Hardy. "My intention is to go to Rosendal in May, next +year, and I hope to bring my mother with me; but, meanwhile, I have +told the bailiff that the place is at your disposition, and Karl and +Axel can catch all the fish in the lake they can; and as it is my +intention to clear the lake of pike and put in trout instead, I hope +they will use their best endeavours. My rods and tackle I will leave +to assist them." + +"You are so good to us, Herr Hardy!" said Karl. + +"Yes; but I am afraid I have a proposition to make with regard to you, +Karl, which may interrupt the fishing." + +"And what is that?" asked the Pastor. + +"Your present view with regard to Karl is that he should go to +Copenhagen and be a legal student. Now, my proposition is that he +returns with me to England, that he resides at Hardy Place and learns +English, during the winter. I will get a tutor in the English curate +with the English rector of my parish. I will, meanwhile, inquire if I +can find him a place in an English house of business in London, and, +if I can, it will be a better future for him than that of a legal +student in Copenhagen. At any rate, the experiment can be tried; and +there is another reason--it will cost you, Herr Pastor, nothing." + +"It is kind," said the Pastor. "I will think of it, and I thank you, +Hardy." + +"I have much to thank you for, Herr Pastor. I have learnt much here," +said Hardy, "and as you will take nothing from me for the cost I have +put you to during my stay here, it will give me the opportunity of +repaying in part my debts to you." + +The Pastor rose up and extended his hand to Hardy, and said, "I cannot +say how much I thank you. I accept it, Hardy." + +His daughter had knitted as usual, but her head was bent over her +work. + +"Helga," said the Pastor, "why do you not speak?" + +"Because, father," said Helga, "Herr Hardy is so good I do not know +what to say. He is better than other men." + +When Hardy said "Good night" to her, before he went to his room, she +said, "Good night, sir!" in English, but would not take the hand Hardy +held out to her. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + + "_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." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + + "The trout and salmon being in season have, at their + first taking out of the water, their bodies adorned with + such red spots, and the other with such black spots, as give + them such an addition of natural beauty as I think was never + given to any woman by artificial paint or patches." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +John Hardy had tied a couple of casting lines with the flies he +usually fished with on the Gudenaa, and came down a little before +three the next day. + +Karl and Axel yet slept, but their sister called them, and after the +accustomed cup of coffee and rusks they went out to fish on the +Gudenaa. Of late Hardy had hired a flat-bottomed boat, and a man +called Nils Nilsen rowed or punted it with a pole, as on the Thames, +or he went ashore on the towing-path and pulled it up the river with a +towing rope, while a minnow was cast from the boat. + +Hardy had taken a travelling rug for Helga to sit on, and Nils Nilsen +towed the boat up the river, while Hardy fished with a minnow and +caught a few trout. When they reached the shallows, which Hardy +usually fished with a fly, he sent the boys on land to cast from the +bank, and Nils Nilsen took the pole to punt the boat slowly down the +stream. The trout rose freely for about an hour, and Helga had charge +of the landing-net, and lost for Hardy several good fish, to Nils +Nilsen's great disgust. She saw the long casts Hardy made, the light +fall of the fly on the water, while a slight motion of the line threw +the flies repeatedly on the surface of the river like real flies, and +as soon as a trout rose the line was tightened with a sudden motion, +and the trout drawn gradually to within reach of the landing-net. + +"May I try, Herr Hardy, to throw the line for the Fish?" asked Helga. + +"Certainly," replied Hardy, and he shortened the line to allow her to +do so. + +Her first attempt was to hook Hardy's cap; her next was to hook Nils +Nilsen by the ear. + +"It seems so easy to do," said Helga, as she handed Hardy the rod, who +showed her how to cast the line as well as he was able. + +"You will fish better from the bank, where it is not necessary to cast +such a long line," said Hardy. "We will try a little lower down." + +Helga followed his instructions, and at length hooked a trout, which +Hardy picked out with the landing-net. + +"I do so like this sort of fishing," said Helga; "it is the way a lady +should fish, if she fished at all." + +"Many English ladies are good fly fishers," said Hardy; "and I have +seen them catch salmon in Norway. I will, with pleasure, leave my rods +and tackle here, if you would like to fish with Axel; he can show you +how to attach the flies to the line, and anything else necessary." + +"Thank you so much!" replied Helga; and as she raised her eyes to his, +with her handsome face lit up by exercise, Hardy saw how beautiful she +was. Her manner towards him had changed. She talked freely to him now, +and without reserve. + +"We will put a mark on the trout you have caught," said Hardy, "that +we may know it again after it has been in the frying-pan. The Herr +Pastor does not often eat fish of his daughter's catching. It weighs +just half an English pound." + +"How can you tell?" asked Helga. + +"I guess it to be so; but we will soon see," replied Hardy, as he took +a little spring balance out of his pocket, and held it up to her with +the trout on it. "That little line is the half-pound, and the fish +pulls the spring to that line." + +"What a pretty thing to weigh with! Is it silver?" asked Helga. + +"Yes, it is silver," replied Hardy. "I will leave it with you, with +the rest of the fishing gear, on the condition that the first time you +catch a trout weighing one pound you write and tell me all about it." + +"Yes, that I will!" said Helga. "I write my father's letters, and +shall have to write to you for him about Rosendal." + +At breakfast, Helga described to her father all the little incidents +of the morning, and her bright fresh look testified to the benefit of +early morning exercise. + +"I think, Helga," said the Pastor, "that when Karl is gone, you had +better go fishing in the morning with Axel; you look the better for +it." + +When the tobacco parliament was opened that evening, and the Pastor +had finished puffing like a small steam launch to get his porcelain +pipe well lit. Hardy asked him if there was anything in the +superstitions of Jutland, corresponding to those of the sea, about the +rivers. + +"Yes," replied the Pastor. "Our Danish word for river is 'Aa' +(pronounced like a broad _o_). Thus, the Gudenaa is the Guden river. +The tradition is that each river has its Aamand or river man, who +every year craves a life; if a year passes without a victim, he can be +heard at night saying, 'The time and hour are come, but the victim is +not yet come.' Sometimes the Aamand is called Nokken." + +"That is the Norsk name," said Hardy. "In Scotland they have a +superstition as to changelings; that is, a human child is stolen and a +child of the Trolds substituted. This is referred to by Sir Walter +Scott in one of his poems. Does anything of the sort exist in your +Jutland traditions?" + +"There are several varied stories," replied Pastor Lindal. "One is of +a couple who had a very pretty child; they lived near a wood called +Rold Wood. The Trolds came one night and stole the child, leaving one +of their own in its place. The man and his wife did not at first +notice any change, but the wife gradually became suspicious, and she +asked the advice of a wise woman, who told her to brew in a nutshell, +with an eggshell as beer barrel, in the changeling's presence, who +exclaimed that it had lived so many years as to have seen Rold Wood +hewn down and grow up three times, but had never seen any one brew in +a nutshell before. 'If you are as old as that,' said the wife, 'you +can go elsewhere;' and she took the broom-stick and beat the +changeling until it ran away, and as it ran he caught his feet in his +hands and rolled away over hill and dale so long as they could see it. +This story has a variation that they made a sausage with the skin, +bones, and bristles of a pig, and gave the changeling, who made the +same exclamation, with the result as I have before related. There is +also another variation, where the changeling is got rid of by heating +the oven red hot and putting it into the oven, when the Trold mother +appears and snatches it out, and disappears with her child." + +"The superstition would appear to have arisen from children being +affected with diseases which were not understood," said Hardy. + +"We can only speculate," said the Pastor, "in these subjects; the +origin is lost in the mists of time. There is one story of a +changeling that has some graphic incidents. When a child is born, a +light is always kept burning in the mother's room until the child is +baptized, as the Trolds may come and steal it. This was not done at a +place in North Jutland, because the mother could not sleep with the +light burning. The father therefore determined to hold the child in +his arms, so long as it was dark in the room, but he fell asleep; +shortly after he was aroused, and he saw a tall woman standing by the +bed, and found that he had two children in his arms. The woman +vanished, but the children remained, and he did not know which was his +own. He consulted a wise woman, who advised him to get an unbroken +horse colt, who would indicate the changeling. Both children were +placed on the ground, and the colt smelt at them; one he licked, but +the other he kicked at. It was therefore plain which was the +changeling. The Trold mother came running up, snatched the child away, +and disappeared." + +"The advice of the wise woman was clever. It is, as you say, a graphic +story," said Hardy. "But who were the wise women?" + +"There were both men and women. They were called Kloge Maend and Kloge +Koner, or wise men and wise wives. They pretended to heal diseases, to +find things lost or stolen, and the like. They were often called white +witches, as in England. There was a man called Kristen, who pretended +to have wonderful powers. A certain Bonde did not believe in him, and +one day told him that he had a sow possessed with a devil. The sow was +simply vicious. Kristen at once offered to drive the devil out of the +sow. He instructed the Bonde and his men not to open the door of the +stable in which the pig was, even if they saw him (Kristen) come and +knock and shout, as the devil would take upon him his appearance, to +enable him to escape better. Kristen went into the stable and began to +exorcise. The sow, however, rushed at him and chased him round the +stable, and every time Kristen passed the door, he shouted to the +Bonde and his men to open it, but they, pretending to follow his +instructions, would not. At last, when Kristen was nearly dead with +fatigue, they opened the door. Of course, Kristen never heard the last +of that sow." + +"That is not a bad story," said Hardy. + +"You have read Holberg's comedies?" said the Pastor. "In one of them +you will recollect a thief is discovered from amongst the other +domestics of the house, by their being ranged behind the man who had +been asked to discover the thief, and who tells them all to hold their +hands up. He asks if they are all holding their hands up, as his back +is towards them. They all reply, 'Yes;' and the man then asks if the +person who has stolen the silver cup is holding up his hand. The thief +replied 'Yes,' thus discovering himself. There is a story of a watch +being stolen in a large household in Jutland. The white witch was sent +for, and he discovered the thief by ranging the domestics round a +table and making each domestic put a finger on the table, over which +he held a sharp axe. He asked each if they had stolen the watch, as +the axe would fall and cut off the finger of the one who had. He +detected the thief by his at once removing his finger." + +"Verily a wise man," said Hardy. "In Norway I used to meet with the +word 'Dvaerg,' as applied to supernatural beings. + +"Dvaerg is dwarf in Danish," replied the Pastor; "but there are many +stories of them, and in a superstitious sense. Dvaerg are analogous to +Underjordiske, or underground people. The tradition of their origin +is, that Eve was one day washing her children at a spring, when God +suddenly called her, at which she was frightened, and hid two of the +children that were yet unwashed, as she did not wish Him to see them +when dirty. God said, 'Are all your children here?' and she replied, +'Yes.' God said, 'What is hidden from Me shall be hidden from men;' +and from these two children are descended the Dvaerg and Underjordiske. +The most striking story of a Dvaerg is that in the Danish family Bille, +who have a Dvaerg in their coat of arms. There was, many hundred years +ago, such a dry time in the land that all the water-mills could not +work, and the people could not get their corn ground. A member of the +family of Bille was in his Herregaard, and was much troubled on this +account. A little Dvaerg came to him, who was covered with hair, and +had a tree in his hand plucked up by the roots. 'What is the matter?' +said the Dvaerg. 'It is no use my telling you' said Bille; 'you cannot +help me.' The Dvaerg replied, 'You cannot get your corn ground, and you +have many children and people that want bread; but I will show you a +place on your own land where you can build seven corn-mills, and they +shall never want water.' So Herr Bille built the seven mills, and they +have never wanted water, winter or summer. The Dvaerg gave him also a +little white horn, and told Herr Bille that as long as it was kept in +the family, prosperity would attend it. This legend belongs to +Sjaelland." + +"I suppose there are many traditions in families in Denmark?" said +Hardy. + +"Very many," replied the Pastor. "There is a story of Tyge Brahe, or, +as you call him in England, Tycho. He was at a wedding, and got into a +quarrel with a Herr Manderup Parsberg, and it went so far that they +fought a duel. Tyge Brahe lost his nose. But he had a nose made of +gold and silver, so artistically correct that no one could see that it +was any other than his own nose, and of flesh and blood; but to be +sure that it should not be lost, he always carried some glue in his +pocket." + +"I never heard that story of the great astronomer," said Hardy. + +"There is a story also of a Herr Eske Brok, who lived in Sjaelland. He +was one day walking with a servant, and was swinging about his +walking-stick, when suddenly a hat fell at his feet. He picked it up +and put it on, when he heard an exclamation from his servant Then said +Brok, 'You try the hat;' and they found that whoever had the hat on +was invisible to the other. After a while, a bareheaded boy came to +Brok's house and inquired for his hat, and offered a hundred ducats +for it, and afterwards more. At last, the boy promised that if he gave +him the hat none of his descendants should ever want. Brok gave the +hat to the boy; but as he went away he said, 'But you shall never have +sons, only daughters.' So Eske Brok was the last of his name." + +"That boy must have been a Dvaerg," said Hardy. + +"Quite as probable as the story," said the Pastor. "There is, however, +another impossible story of a Herr Manderup Holck of Jutland. He was +taken prisoner by the Turks, and his wife contrived his escape by +sending him a dress of feathers, so that he could fly out of his +Turkish prison and home to Jutland. She, with very great prudence, +collected all the bed-clothes in the parish, that he should fall soft +when he alighted in Jutland." + +"The story is so improbable that it must be very old indeed," said +Hardy. + +"I think the tradition about the Rosenkrands' arms is older," said +Pastor Lindal. "The date attached to it is given as A.D. 663. The son +of the then King of Denmark went to England to help an English king, +whose name is given as Ekuin, in his wars. He secretly married the +daughter of the crown prince, and by her had a son. She placed the +child in a box of gold, and placed a consecrated candle and salt in +the box, because the child was not baptized. One day, her father, +Prince Reduval, rode by and saw the child, and as it was in a gold box +he concluded that it came from a noble source. He brought it up under +the name of Karl. King Ekuin died, and Prince Reduval succeeded, and +he was the first Christian king in England. He desired to marry Karl +to his daughter, who was his own mother; but when the marriage should +take place, she confessed that the bridegroom was her own son. The +king therefore wanted to burn her at the stake, but Karl arranged +matters so that his father should be married to his mother, who for +nineteen years had been separated from her. Karl had painted on his +arms a white cross, to show he was a Christian, then white and blue, +to show he was both an English and a Danish prince. In one quartering +he had a lion painted white with a crown, to signify Denmark, and in +another quartering a lion, to signify England, and then a design like +a chessboard, to betoken the long separation of his father and +mother." + +"I think the story rather clashes with history," said Hardy; "but +Rosenkrands means a wreath of roses." + +"Yes, it does," said the Pastor. "One of them went to Rome, and the +pope gave him a wreath of roses; hence the name." + +"You will miss Herr Hardy, little father," said Helga. "In two days he +leaves us. Cannot he stay longer?" + +"No, I cannot," said Hardy. "My mother wishes me to return. She is +anxious to see me, and I am anxious to tell her my experiences in +Denmark; but whatever my own wishes are, I must obey hers." + +"What sort of person is your mother?" asked Helga. + +"The best and kindest," replied Hardy, as he took a photograph out of +his pocket-book and handed her, which Helga looked at with evident +interest. + +"I feel what you say of her is true," said Helga. "Little father, it +is a noble face." + +"It is like you, Hardy," said the Pastor. "She must have been +handsome." + +"Yes, but she is," said Hardy. "Here is a photograph of her picture at +twenty-two;" and he handed the Pastor another photograph. + +Helga looked over her father's shoulder. "It is lovely!" she said, +with warmth. "It is more like you, Herr Hardy, than the other." + +"As you like the photographs, Froken," said Hardy, "keep them; it is +seldom a compliment is so well uttered." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + + "_Viator._--That will not be above a day longer; but + if I live till May come twelvemonth, you are sure of me again, + either with my Master Walton or without him." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +The next morning, John Hardy was up early, studying the excellent map +of Jutland by Oberst Mansa. It gives the roads and by-ways with much +care and correctness. The idea had occurred to him to drive the +hundred and odd English miles from the parsonage to Esbjerg. The +horses must be sent there to meet the steamer; the weather was +settled, and as it was early in August, the early mornings and +evenings were pleasant He accordingly sketched out the route, with the +distances from one little Jutland town to another, and it was clear a +good deal could be seen and the drive would be enjoyable. + +Hardy came down to the little reception-room, where breakfast was +usually served, and opened out Mansa's map on the table. Froken Helga +was there, and her two brothers, Karl and Axel. + +"I want to speak to your sister, boys," said Hardy; "you will hear all +about it by-and-by, if you will go out for a while." + +The boys left. Helga looked a little startled. Hardy said, "I have an +extraordinary proposition to make; but you must not look so +frightened." Helga had turned pale, her knitting dropped. "I only want +your attention to this map of Jutland," added Hardy. He saw her face +was now full of colour; but what about the map of Jutland? Hardy, an +inconsistent man for the moment, was thinking of who else in the world +but Kapellan Holm, and his being at Vandstrup Praestegaard all the +winter, and that was not the map of Jutland. Suddenly it flashed +across his mind that Pastor Lindal had told him about Kapellan Holm, +and that Karl had repeated what Mathilde Jensen had said about his +buying Rosandal. As he sat thinking, he looked all the time at Helga. +At length he said, "I am going home to my mother, Froken, but I hope +to be here in May; earlier I cannot come, because it would be cold for +my mother to travel." + +"We shall be glad to see you, Herr Hardy; and I long to see your +mother," said Helga. + +Then Hardy knew that Kapellan Holm was nowhere, and his face grew +bright, and he was ready for the map of Jutland. + +Hardy explained his idea of driving to Esbjerg, and the extraordinary +proposition was that he proposed to take not only Karl, but Helga +Lindal herself and Axel. + +"I should so like it," said Helga, "but----" + +"I know," said Hardy, "that there are likely to be several 'buts.' The +serious one is that the Pastor would not like to leave his parish for +five days. Can this be arranged? Can he get any one to come here?" + +"He will write the Provost" (the dean), replied Helga. "But he has +already arranged to go to Esbjerg to see Karl off to England, and as +we thought you might go to England earlier, a Hjaelpe-praest is ready to +come here at any time; a day more or less will make no difference." + +"The next 'but' is, whether the Herr Pastor would like it," said +Hardy. + +"That I am sure he will; but he must consider the expense," replied +Helga, "and there would be the extra railway expense of my returning +here." + +"Then we leave at midday for Silkeborg," said Hardy. "Will you, +Froken, tell your father about it? he is in his study; and now we can +tell the boys;" and he called them, sent Axel for Garth, and told Karl +to be ready at midday. + +The Pastor immediately bustled in. "What a scheme you have hatched!" +he said. + +"Yes; but you cannot have had time to have heard it," said Hardy, +"much more to condemn it." + +"Helga came into my study and said, 'Little father, Herr Hardy wants +to drive us all by stages to see Karl off; can we go?' Now, is that +the scheme?" + +"Certainly," replied Hardy. "We want you to send our heavy luggage to +the station for Esbjerg, and a telegram to Silkeborg to order dinner +at five and beds, and leave here at midday. The next day we can get to +Horsens, and then to Veile, or farther. I have taken out the different +places and distances by Mansa's map, which you can check. Here is also +the English guide-book for Jutland. We can have a row on the lake at +Silkeborg this evening, and as I have been your guest so long, I +invite you to be mine to Esbjerg. I must leave now, or we should miss +the steamer." + +Hardy's quiet self-possession overcame the scruples the Pastor was +about to make. He had been bound to his parish for years, and not even +his youngest son would enjoy the drive to Esbjerg more. + +"Honestly said," the Pastor spoke, addressing Hardy, and using a +familiar Danish phrase, "I should enjoy it more than I can say." + +Helga liked Hardy's way of treating the money difficulty. It was done +with such tact that it seemed as if Hardy was receiving a favour. + +Axel came in with Robert Garth. + +"Bob," said Hardy, in English, "we shall drive to Esbjerg by stages; +clear everything, and get ready to start at twelve." + +"Thank you, sir," said Garth, and was gone. + +"What did you say." said Helga, whose knowledge of English was slight. +Hardy explained. + +The man's ready obedience struck her, and lingered in her mind long +after. She was not accustomed to the prompt execution of such an order +by a servant, and attributed it to Hardy's personal character and +influence. + +After breakfast, during which much conversation arose on the proposed +drive, Hardy came down with his fly-rods, books, and reels, and the +precious little spring balance. + +"There," he said, "Froken Helga, is all the fly-fishing gear; the +flies in the small book are best for the Gudenaa. I hope you will +break all the rods and smash all the tackle, to give me the pleasure +of bringing you fresh ones from England." + +She thanked him in the Danish manner that Hardy liked so much in her. + +At twelve they left for Silkeborg. Hardy drove, and Garth rode +Buffalo. The Pastor sat by Hardy's side, and told many an interesting +anecdote of the places they passed. The circumstances of the Danish +families, the tradition of a Kaempehoi or tumulus, and the social +condition of the people were all known to him. Hardy drove slowly, as +the day was warm, and he wished to spare his horses, and it was not +until a little after five that they reached the hotel at Silkeborg. +Hardy had been there before, with Karl and Axel, and they knew him, +and obeyed his telegram to the letter. + +"I have a proposition to make," said Hardy, "but I will leave it to my +guests to do as they please, I propose we have a row on the lake this +evening, but not for long; but to-morrow that we rise at six and +charter one of the wheel boats, that is the paddle-wheel boats that +are worked by hand, and visit Himmelbjerg, and have breakfast there, +and the carriage can meet us at the foot of the hill, at a point to +the south of it, and we can drive on to Horsens." + +"Excellent!" said Helga, using a Danish expression. "But it will be a +long day for my father." + +"We should get to Horsens at six, and we can telegraph to the hotel to +be ready to receive us at that time," said Hardy. "But the next day is +only nineteen English miles to Veile, and would be less fatiguing." + +"I like to be tired, Hardy, by outdoor exercise," said Pastor Lindal. +"Your plan is excellent, and is just what I should not only like, but +enjoy." + +The row on the lake was very pleasant. The Pastor told the story of +Bishop Peter applying to the pope to decree a separation of all the +married priests from their wives, and how the three sisters of the +priest there drew lots who should go to Rome to get a dispensation for +their brother to keep his wife. The lot fell on the youngest, and she +went to Rome and got the pope's permission; but on the condition that +she should have cast three bells, which she shipped at Lubeck, one +bell was lost in the sea, and the two others were placed in two +churches near Aarhus. + +The view from Himmelbjerg has the strong charm of great variety. The +lakes are spread out below, amongst woods, heaths, meadows, and +cultivated land. The early morning gives the view at its best. There +are views and views, but the variety of prospect from Himmelbjerg +impresses. Juul So, the lake at the foot of the Himmelbjerg, is at +times lovely. + +Axel was, however, very hungry. The view might be good, but a growing +boy's appetite is good also. He asked his father if he might go to the +restaurant in Himmelbjerg and get a bit of Smor-brod (bread and +butter). Karl said he wanted to go, too. There had been the long row +up the lakes, the walks about Himmelbjerg, and even Froken Helga +looked hungry. As soon as they came to the restaurant, the waiter told +them that breakfast was waiting for them. + +"Waiting for us!" said the Pastor; "it is more likely we shall have to +wait for our breakfast." + +"I thought that you might prefer that the breakfast should be ready, +and I ordered it yesterday. I sent a note up last night," said Hardy. + +The breakfast was the more enjoyed from Hardy's thoughtfulness, so +much so that when the inevitable porcelain pipe was filled, it was a +difficulty to get the Pastor down the Himmelbjerg. When they at last +reached the carriage, which a man from the hotel at Silkeborg had +driven, as Garth had charge of Buffalo, the Pastor decided to go in +the carriage, and not by Hardy's side. Helga, after seeing her father +comfortable, got up by Hardy, and talked to him unreservedly. + +The bright ripple of Helga's talk was pleasant to hear in its clear +transparency. She told Hardy of her father so long as she could +recollect, and the great sorrow that fell upon him when her mother +died, and how difficult it was to keep him from the bitter memory of +his loss; that she was with him at every spare moment, and how at +times it was beyond her power to cheer him; but that since Hardy had +been with them, her father had scarcely shown a sign of the sorrow +they knew was always at his heart. + +"It is the way you listen," said Helga, "that my father likes. You +cannot, he says, speak Danish as well as we Danes, but your manner of +listening is perfect, and that there is a respectful attention +impossible to describe." + +"I can describe it," said Hardy, laughing. "The fact is, I know Danish +not very perfectly, and my whole attention is necessary to grasp what +is said." + +"I told him so," said Helga; "but he said there is more than that--it +was true politeness." + +"Well," said Hardy, "you have now explained that you have not so good +an opinion of me as your father." + +"No," said Helga; "that's not my meaning. I only related what passed, +and I am not able to judge any one like my father." + +"I have heard, however, that you have differed from your father in +judging a particular person," said Hardy, "and a man whom your father +speaks well of." + +"That is Kapellan Holm," said Helga, quickly, "My father has told you +about him?" + +"Yes," replied Hardy; "but I do not wish you to tell me any more about +him, and to prevent your thoughts being occupied by the Kapellan, +would you like to drive a few miles?" + +"Gladly," replied Helga, using the pretty Danish phrase that so well +expressed her meaning. + +She insisted on taking off her gloves to drive, and said she could not +feel the reins so well, and disliked wearing gloves in hot weather. + +Hardy showed her how to hold the reins so as to feel the horses' mouth +slightly. She appeared to like to hear the quick sound of the horses +trotting. + +"How easily they go! There is no difficulty in slackening or +quickening their speed, and they obey the least touch on the rein," +said Helga. + +"We have been training them for my mother to drive, and Garth drives +well," said Hardy. + +"I should so like to learn to ride!" said Helga, carried away by her +admiration of the horses. + +"That is what I once offered to teach you," said Hardy, "and you +replied in the negative so decidedly that I did not like to refer to +the subject afterwards." + +"Yes; Kirstin said it was not womanly to ride, and that I was not a +Bondetos" (a peasant girl), replied Helga. "But I do not see that it +is different in that respect to driving a horse in a carriage, and if +horses are kept, I think that it is useful to be able to ride them. +There was also another reason why I did not wish you to teach me to +ride, that I cannot tell you." + +"Then do not tell me," said Hardy. "But supposing I am at Rosendal, in +May, next year, will there be any objection then, if your father has +none?" + +"No," said Helga, involuntarily. + +"Then I will recollect to bring over an English lady's saddle," said +Hardy. + +The Pastor, overcome with his walk, his breakfast, and the warmth of +the day, had fallen asleep, and woke up to the situation that his +daughter was driving the carriage. + +"Stop!" he cried; "you will upset the carriage, Helga. You must not +drive; you will throw down the horses." + +"She has driven for the last ten miles, Herr Pastor," said Hardy. + +The worthy Pastor, however, was so decided, that Hardy had to take the +reins and drive into Horsens. He had telegraphed and ordered dinner at +six, and drove into the hotel yard, but was scarcely prepared to find +so many people collected there. They had simply come to see Buffalo, +whose reputation had risen after the horse-race. They smoked, spat, +criticized, and praised. "Sikken en Hest." + +As they came in, Hardy gave a very necessary order to his servant, +Robert Garth, namely, to get the horses' feet well washed, as the +roads are so sandy. + +The dinner was well served, and much praised by Pastor Lindal, who of +course had a legend to relate, of Holger Danske, whose sword was +buried with him near Horsens. The sword was so heavy that, when it was +taken from the Kaempehoi, or tumulus, twelve horses could not draw it. +The walls of the house in which it was placed shook, and so much +unhappiness occurred that the sword was restored to its resting place +in the tumulus, and on its return journey two horses could draw it +easily. Holger Danske was so big a man, that when he had a suit of +clothes made, the tailors were obliged to use ladders to take his +measure; but one day an unfortunate tailor tickled him in the ear with +his scissors, and Holger Danske thought it was a flea, and squeezed +him to death between his fingers." + +"There were giants in those days," said Hardy. + +"There is in the Kloster (cloister) Church at Horsens a hole in the +wall, across which is an iron cross. Behind this a nun was walled up +alive. She had, it was said, been confined of a dog. There is a stone +in which a dog is figured, to preserve the recollection of so very +extraordinary a circumstance, and a place is shown where her fingers +marked the stone of the wall in her last agony." + +"The practice of walling people up," said Hardy, "was very general in +Denmark, was it not?" + +"Yes, if tradition be true," said the Pastor, "which, as you know, we +must receive _cum grano salis_. There is a story of a man walling up +his woman-servant, because she cooked a cat for his dinner. He had +caught a hare, but a dog had stolen it, so she cooked a cat instead. +This enraged her master, and he walled her up alive." + +"Thank you, Herr Pastor, for your legends," said Hardy; "but I should +like to walk through the little town, and I dare say Karl and Axel +would too, if we may leave you and Froken Helga." + +"By all means," said the Pastor, "and Helga will go too." + +"No, little father, I will stay with you," said Helga. "You will have +no one to fill your pipe, and will feel lonely." + +As John Hardy went out, he gave Karl and Axel some money. The boys +asked what it was for. + +"To buy anything you like, as far it will go," said Hardy. + +The boys, however, would not take it; they were sure their father +would not wish it, after the expense Hardy had already been put to on +their account. + +"Your father would be quite right," said Hardy; but he recollected it, +and this small circumstance, told him that Karl could be trusted, and +assisted him more to get Karl a situation of trust than Hardy's +influence and that of his friends. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + + "_Viator._--Methinks the way is mended since I had + the good fortune to fall into your good company." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +Horsens was explored the next day, but Hardy had a purpose in view. He +knew his mother would like to see photographs of his Danish friends. +The chief reason for a walk the night before was to ascertain the +photographer's shop. This he discovered, and proposed that they should +all be separately photographed. + +"You want to show your mother our photographs," said Helga. + +"I do," said Hardy. "You have all been so kind to me that it would +interest her." + +"I should like to see the photographs before they are sent you," said +Helga. + +"That you can," said Hardy. "They shall be sent you, and if you do not +like them, do not send them to me." + +"Nonsense," said the Pastor; "they shall of course be sent you. I can +understand that if you have a photograph it will describe more than +any description, and we will send them, or rather the photographer +shall; it is not that we should wish to appear other than as we really +are. If the photographs are not what is called successful, you can +explain that, if you like, but I, for my part, would rather not be +favoured by any artificial process." + +"You are right, little father," said Helga; and they were all +photographed separately, except Hardy and Karl, as the Pastor objected +to the latter. "They will see Karl himself, and there is no need of +the expense," he said; "and Hardy we shall not forget." + +They left Horsens a little after midday for Veile, a distance, as +before stated, of about nineteen English miles. Pastor Lindal sat by +Hardy as he drove, and as they passed by Engom, he told the story of +how Ove Lunge had sold himself to the evil one, "Ove Lunge made a +bargain with the owners of the land near to acquire as much land as he +could ride a foal just born round, whilst the priest was preaching a +sermon in the pulpit at Engom Church. They assented readily; but the +foal ridden by Herr Ove Lunge went like a bird, and two black boars +followed, rooting up the line the foal took, so as to enclose the +land. On his way, Herr Ove Lunge met a Bonde with an axe, and he was +obliged to turn aside, as the evil one has no power against an edge of +steel. Therefore there were many irregularities in the foal's course. +The Bonde who had thus sought to interrupt Herr Ove Lunge, rushed to +the church at Engom, and besought the priest to vacate the pulpit, who +did so, and thus saved much land passing into Herr Ove Lunge's +possession. As Herr Ove Lunge had sold himself to the evil one, he can +of course find no rest, and his ghost is seen, followed by his hounds, +as he hunts at night over the property thus acquired." + +"Are their many legends relating to Veile?" asked Hardy. + +"A few," replied the Pastor, "and some historical, Gorm den Gamle, +that is Gorm the old and his Queen Thyra, are buried in two tumuli, or +Kaempehoi, at Jellinge, near Veile. At Queen Thyra's tumulus there was +once a spring of water which sprung up, it is related as evidence of +her purity. One day, however, a Bonde washed a horse that had the +glanders at the spring, when it at once dried up. + +"At the same place, Jellinge (the final e is pronounced like a), in +the year 1628, a priest called Soren Stefensen was suspected by the +Swedes of being in correspondence with the Danes, when the Swedes were +invading Jutland, and had occupied Jellinge, The messenger who went +with his letters was taken, and a letter was found in a stick he +carried. The Swedes hung him up to his own church door by his beard to +a great hook, and he is said to have hung there a long time; but at +last they took him down, and hung him on a gallows. He was priest at +Veile, and the governor of the Latin school there, from 1614 to 1619." + +"In Shakespeare's play of 'Hamlet'" said Hardy, "it is described of +Hamlet's father that he smote the sledded Polaks on the ice." + +"Our story of Amlet, not Hamlet, is as follows," said the Pastor. "At +Mors, a place in Jutland, there was a king called Fegge. He had a +tower at a place which is now called Fegge Klit ('klit' is a +sand-hill), and from thence he sent his ships to sea, in the Western +sea, that is your North sea. He and his brother Hvorvendil took turns +to rule at land or at sea, so that one should be at sea three years, +and the other on land three years. Fegge, however, became jealous of +Hvorvendil's power and good luck, and killed him and married his wife, +which murder was avenged by Amlet, her son, who slew Fegge, whose +grave is yet shown at Fegge Klit. The word 'sledded,' is bad Danish +for driving in a sledge. Polak is a Pole, and near Veile they +committed great atrocities. They killed women and children, and stole +the Bonder's cattle; and a man had often to buy his own bullock, and +the price went down to such a degree that the price at last reached +about 2d, (English) for a cow. They were hired by the Swedes to +plunder Denmark. They came to a Praestegaard, near Veile, and stole and +plundered; but a man in the priest's service, called Hans Nielsen, +told the priest's wife to give them all the drink she could. They all +got drunk. Hans Nielsen took away their arms. He then bound them one +by one, and made one of them shoot all the rest, one after the other. +This man confessed he was a Dane, but had joined the Swedes. So Hans +Nielsen killed him with a sword, for being a traitor. The Poles were +all buried in a hole, which is now called Polakhullet, or the Pole's +hole. They committed such devastation in the very district we are now +passing, that a man from Thy met a woman from Skaane, in Sweden, and +she at once offered to marry him in the dialect of the time. + + + "'Aa vil du vaere min Mand? + Saa vil a vaere din Kone; + Du er fod i Thyeland, + Og a er fod i Skaane.' + + "'Oh, will you be my man? + So will I be your wife; + You are born in Thyeland, + And I am born in Skaane.' + + +This is a nursery rhyme to this day. There is also a weed called +Charlock in England, the seed of this was brought by them with the +fodder they had with them, and it is now all over Denmark." + +"What you have told me about Shakespeare's play would, I fear, excite +some controversy amongst persons who make Shakespeare their study in +England," said Hardy. + +"I can only say," rejoined the Pastor, "that the tradition is as +related by me." + +"We shall soon be at Veile," said Hardy, turning round to Froken Helga +Lindal. She had heard that her father talked incessantly to Hardy, so +was satisfied that all went well. + +"I wish it was double the distance away," she said; "I enjoy +travelling like this so much!" + +Veile is a pretty little Jutland town, and as they drove up to the +hotel Hardy had selected and telegraphed to, they determined to have a +walk in the neighbourhood at once, and postpone dinner a little later. + +"There was a fire once in Veile, in the year 1739," said the Pastor. +"A woman who was thought out of her mind, at Easter visited a +neighbour, who showed her the clothes she had made to wear at Easter; +but the woman said, 'What will this avail, when the whole street will +be burned in eight days; but although I shall perish in the flames, +yet my body will be laid out in the town hall before I am buried?' The +next Sunday, a boy in firing off some powder he had put in a door key, +set fire to a house. The mad woman, as she was called, had forgotten +some things in the house, and went in for them; but her clothes caught +on fire, and she died from the burns she received. She was taken to +the town hall as the nearest place, and the street she indicated was +burnt. + +"There is another story of an old monastery near Veile. The name of +the abbot was Muus (mouse). He was so hostile to the king that it was +determined to suppress the monastery. The force commissioned to +execute the king's order sent word to the abbot that he could leave +the monastery, if not, they should be obliged, in execution of their +orders, to arrest him. This message was given the abbot when he was at +dinner, and he replied that the mouse must have time to eat his dinner +in peace. The commander of the force replied not longer than the cat +will permit, and took the place by force. It is said this happened in +the thirteenth century." + +"The place appears to bristle with legends," said Hardy. "Are there +more?" + +"Many more; but I will not tell you any more until after dinner." + +"That is right, little father," said his daughter, who always feared +that he might get too tired before he retired to rest. + +The dinner at Veile was excellent. The host had asked Hardy what they +would like, and Hardy had replied that he would leave it to him to get +as good a dinner as he could. The consequence was that the host did +his best. The Pastor was greatly pleased at Hardy's simple manner of +ordering a dinner, but that it should be successful was a greater +success still. + +The tobacco-parliament continued to be held, although for the time at +Veile. The journey had a good effect on Pastor Lindal, whose +temperament was naturally cheerful. He talked on subjects that Hardy +had no idea he had any knowledge of in natural science. He had studied +Darwin, and had even read a book of Sir John Lubbock's. At last Hardy +interrupted. + +"There are no more legends or traditions of Veile, are there?" he +said. + +"As I have said before, there are many," was the reply, "and here is +one. Once there were two brothers living near Fredericia, one was +rich, the other was poor. The place they lived at wanted a church. The +rich brother would contribute nothing, and his brother said that if he +were so rich he would build the church himself. The next night he +dreamt that on a bridge at Veile, called the southern bridge, he would +hear of something to his advantage. He went to Veile, and walked up +and down it all day. At last an officer passed and repassed him, and +asked him what he wanted. He told him he had dreamt he would find a +treasure on Veile bridge. The officer replied, 'I dreamt that I should +find a treasure in a barn near Fredericia,' belonging to a Bonde he +named. It was the man's own name. He found the treasure. One day he +was out looking round for a place to build the church on when he met +his brother, who did not know what had happened. He said, 'I am going +to build the church, and I am looking round to find the best site.' +'Indeed,' said the rich brother; 'if you build the church, I will give +the bells.' But when he saw the church would be built, it vexed the +avaricious man so much to have to give the bells, that he went and +hung himself. + +"There is an authenticated story of a priest, as we are generally +called," continued the Pastor, "at the time of the plague, in 1654. It +was brought by a ship to Copenhagen, and spread rapidly. The priest at +Urlev Praestegaard had some clothes sent him belonging to his +relatives, who had died of the plague at Copenhagen. His name was +Soren Pedersen Prip. As soon as he saw the plague had occurred in his +household, his only thought was how to prevent its spreading in his +parish. He forbade all intercourse; and as his servants, wife, and +children died one after the other, he hoisted a flag, as a signal when +he wanted a coffin, which, as he had no one to send to fetch it, he +managed to convey on a wheelbarrow, and he himself buried all his +household. But that the people should not be without hearing God's +word, he preached to them from a stone in the churchyard, which is yet +shown. There is said to be also a carved wooden basrelief of him in +the church." + +"He might have said, 'Exegi monumentum aere perennius'" said Hardy. +"Such a man exhibits one side of your national character that the +world has honoured and will honour. You say the stone can be pointed +out. It is a matter of surprise to me that the stones used in many +places in your old walls about churchyards and old buildings are so +varied in character: there are, for instance, red and grey granite, +syenite, the older sandstones, but all of the older geological +formations. The side, for instance, of Viborg Cathedral is like a +piece of old-fashioned patchwork from this cause, and has not a good +effect." + +"In the glacial period these stones were brought down by the ice and +stranded on Jutland," said the Pastor; "they are scattered over the +whole country more or less. There is a legend of a giant who lived at +Veile, who threw these stones at Graverslund Church; but he was a bad +shot, and this accounts for the stones being found everywhere. His +name was Gavl; but it was the ice of the glacial period that was the +giant." + +"It will not be possible to visit Kolding," said Hardy, "because it +would make us too late for the steamer. We shall have a longer run +than usual to-morrow, and reach Esbjerg midday the day after, and the +steamer leaves at night. Are there any traditions of Kolding, Herr +Pastor?" + +"A number, and, of course, attached to Koldinghuus, which was erected +in the thirteenth century," said the Pastor. "The oldest story is that +of the bloodstains in Koldinghuus. It is said that a king lived there, +who had an only daughter. For some reason he determined to kill her, +and decided that as she was fond of dancing she should be danced to +death. He therefore, amongst his officers, sought out the toughest for +the work; but his daughter danced with nine of them without signs of +giving way. The king was enraged. He danced with her himself, and then +cut with his dagger the belt she wore, which had sustained her, so +says the legend. Her mouth filled with blood, and she died in her +father's arms. Nothing could wash the stain of her blood out of the +floor. + +"As to Kolding itself, there are several stories," continued the +Pastor. "There is more than one about the church clock, which never +keeps time, the reason is that the men in an adjoining town, not far +from Kolding, had in a time of scarcity borrowed seed from the men +from Kolding, and had pledged a neighbouring meadow, which should +belong to the men of Kolding if the value of the seed was not paid on +a certain day and at a certain hour. When the time came, the men of +Kolding induced the clock-keeper to alter the clock; and when the +borrowers came to repay the loan, it was too late, and the meadow was +adjudged to belong to the men of Kolding. There is a variation of this +story, that the widow of Henning Limbek borrowed the money and pledged +the meadow with the same result. She was on the bridge and heard the +clock strike twelve and she at once returned home and surrendered the +meadow to the men of Kolding. There is another story of a rich man who +lived near Kolding, and they offered him a large sum for the meadow, +and the terms were settled at a feast. The rich man, however, had a +horse, and he affirmed that the horse would gallop from his house to +Kolding by a certain time. This the men of Kolding denied as possible. +He then offered to wager the meadow against a considerable sum that +the horse would. The horse performed the journey within the time +stated, but the clock had been altered. Ever since, the church clock +has never been correct." + +"Not very correct of the men of Kolding," said Hardy, "and, I fear, +not a good side of the Danish character." + +"I cannot deny that such principles occur with us," said Pastor +Lindal; "possibly we have learnt it from the English." + +"We shall have to start at six to-morrow, Herr Pastor, to reach +Hoisted," said Hardy. "The hotel there is moderate, and we can only +expect what we can obtain. We shall have to break our longest journey +where we can, to give the horses a little rest." + +"Therefore, we should go to bed early," said the Pastor. + +"But I cannot go to bed without thanking you, Herr Hardy, for your +goodness to my father," said Froken Helga. "I have never seen him so +bright, and I thank you." She thanked him in her Danish manner by +shaking hands. + +"There is little need to thank me," said Hardy. "I have learnt much +from your father, and am thankful for it; but I hope with time to win +the same kindly trust from him as you already possess, and I think +deservedly." + +Helga never forgot these words. They echoed in her recollection +through the winter months, and Kapellan Holm was nowhere. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + + "_Piscator._--Come, sir, let us be going; for the + sun grows low, and I would have you look about you as you + ride, for you will see an odd country, and sights that will + seem strange to you." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +John Hardy, before he retired to rest, had arranged with the hotel +manager at Veile to telegraph to Baekke, where he designed to have a +late breakfast, or rather lunch, and to a little inn, a few English +miles further on, where they could pass the night. Thus the horses +could rest at Baekke, and then go further to a station that would leave +them but a little distance to reach Esbjerg. + +It was eleven before they reached Baekke, travelling over not the best +of roads, and when they got there Hardy's forethought in telegraphing +was apparent. The Pastor was tired, but as conversational as ever. +Karl and Axel were obviously hungry, and as there was nothing to be +had but fried eggs, and the usual indigestible _et ceteras_, Hardy was +anxious to get on to their destination for the night. The Pastor went +into the carriage, and Helga got up by Hardy's side, but her father +had specially stipulated that she was not to drive the horses. This, +of course, had to be obeyed, as the Pastor's wish once expressed was +enough for Helga. The direction was over by-roads, and it was perhaps +best the Pastor had been so decisive. + +Helga talked as before, unreservedly, and the ring of her clear voice, +with its transparent truth, was a pleasure to hear. + +"Travelling like this is such a pleasure," she said; "the sound of the +step of the horses even has its effect, as we feel they go easily to +themselves. There is the succession of change of place and scene, +fresh green meadows after dry and dusty roads, and, after a dull bit, +there comes a pretty prospect of a country house, with its woods and +lake. The coming also to a fresh place every night has its interest. I +cannot think of a more pleasant way of travelling. Do you, Herr +Hardy?" + +"Yes," said Hardy. "I like a fresh breeze blowing in the wished-for +direction, and an English sailing yacht, as a means of travelling. You +do not go so fast as you appear to sail, but it is pleasant to see the +bright wave flashing by, and to feel the yacht rushing through the +sea." + +"But, then, there is not the varied change of scene as in travelling +as we now do, Herr Hardy," said Helga. + +"There is nothing like yachting for variety, if there be favourable +winds, but on that it is dependent," said Hardy. "For instance, the +Mediterranean can be explored in a winter, and places in Spain and +Portugal visited on the way to Gibraltar, and then Italy and the +Ionian Islands and Greece." + +"It must be a great drawback to be so dependent on the wind," said +Helga. + +"Yes; and particularly so in yachting on the coast of Norway, amongst +the Danish islands, or up the Baltic," said Hardy; "but this +difficulty is got over by the use of steam, and steam yachts are +becoming the rule." + +"Have you a yacht, Herr Hardy?" asked Helga. + +"I am having one built," replied Hardy. "My mother likes the sea, and +I am having one built so that she may be as comfortable as possible. +It is a steam yacht, and we shall be at sea in a fortnight, and I +shall take Karl, if he wishes." + +"He likes the sea, and when we go to Copenhagen from Aarhus in the +steamer, we enjoy the journey," said Helga. + +"There is one small matter which has struck me with regard to Karl," +said Hardy, "and that is, you Scandinavians are liable to what you +call Hjemve (home sickness). I wish you would ask your father to say +to him that he goes to England to try to get on in life, and that it +is childish to be afraid of meeting strange people, but to look to the +future and not be occupied with the present." + +"Thank you very much, Herr Hardy; you are very thoughtful. Karl has +been very quiet the last two days, and you have anticipated what I had +thought," said Helga. + +They had arrived at Hoisted, where they had to pass the night. The +modest little inn did its best for them, and the Pastor was glad to +rest; but after dinner his enjoyment of his pipe was great. It is not +understood in England that such is good or necessary. _Tot homines +quot sententiae_. The question is in England, Is it wrong for a parson +to enjoy his pipe? The answer is, "No," with some people, "Yes," with +others; but the question whether it is good for him is very generally +answered in the negative. + +"You have but few stories of the people, or, as you call them, +Eventyr?" asked Hardy. + +"There are very many," replied the Pastor. "But in Norway you will +have found an even richer store. The grandness of nature there has +influenced the imaginations of the people. Their legends, traditions, +and stories are more romantic and weird. Their traditions of the Huldr +are exquisitely fantastic and picturesque to a degree. Their +Folke-Eventyr is rich in colour. There is a depth of thought and of +the knowledge of human nature as it is that fills the mind with +astonishment. There is in them all a sense of justice, a feeling of +appreciation of what is good and true, as if the thought had been +inspired. Nationally, the Norwegians are honest, and their +Folke-Eventyr has contributed to form the character of the people. It +has engendered a respect for what is good and true. There is also an +idea of rough justice and humour; and I will tell you a story which +will illustrate this. There was once a priest who was very +overbearing. When he drove in the roads, he shouted to the people he +met, 'Out of the way, I am coming; out of the way!' He did this so +often that the king determined to check his pride, and drove to the +priest's. As he was coming, he met the priest, who shouted as usual. +The king drove as he should do, as king, and the priest had to give +way. When the king was at the side of the priest's carriage, he said, +'Come to me at the palace to-morrow, and if you cannot answer three +questions I put to you, I will punish you for your pride's sake.' This +was treatment the priest was not accustomed to. He could bully the +Bonder, but answering questions did not suit him. So he went to his +clerk and told him that one fool can ask more questions than ten wise +men could answer, and that he must go up to the palace to the king and +reply to his questions. So the clerk went in the priest's gown. The +king was in the balcony with his crown and sceptre, and was dressed in +such a costume that he looked a king." + +"'So you have come,' said the king. + +"'Yes,' said the clerk. It was quite certain that he was there. + +"'Tell me' said the king, 'how far the east is from the west?' + +"'A day's journey,' answered the clerk. + +"'How can that be?' said the king. + +"'The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and generally does +it in a day,' answered the clerk. + +"'Good,' said the king. 'But tell me now how much money I am worth?' + +"'Well,' replied the clerk, 'Christ was sold for thirty pieces of +silver, and I should put you at twenty-nine.' + +"'A good answer,' said the king. 'But tell me now what I am at this +moment thinking about?' + +"'That's easy to answer,' replied the clerk. 'The fact is, you think I +am the priest, but I am only the clerk.' + +"'Then go you home and be priest, and, let the priest be clerk,' +commanded the king." + +"A very excellent story," said Hardy, "and, as you say, shows a strong +sense of rough justice and humour." + +"There is a child's story," said the Pastor, "with its humour; but it +is very simple, as all stories of the people should be. A boy found a +pretty box in a wood, but he could not open it, for it was locked. A +little further he found a key. The question was whether the key would +fit the box. He blew into the key and put the key into the lock, when +lo! it fitted, and the box opened. But can you guess what was in the +box? No, of course not. There was a calf's tail in the box, but if the +calf's tail had been longer, so would this story be." + +"But that is a Norwegian story," said Hardy. "Are there none +essentially Danish?" + +"They are related to some extent in H. C. Andersen's stories, and they +have been translated into English. There is a story, however, that may +not have been translated. A king and queen had no children; but a +beggar came to her and said, 'You can have a son, if you will let me +be his godfather when he is christened.' The queen assented. The queen +had a son, but the king had to go to war to quell a rebellion. The +king made her promise that she would nurse the child herself, and not +trust to nurses and other people. The queen did so, and the beggar +stood godfather. The beggar bent down over the child, and said that +everything it wished for it should have. This the king's attendant +heard. He was accustomed to attend the king when hunting, and he +thought that such a child was worth possessing. The queen, however, +watched the child night and day. One day she was in a summer-house and +had fallen asleep, with the child in her lap; when she woke the child +was gone. When the king returned, he had a tower built in a wood, and +he walled the queen up in it, as a punishment for losing the child. +The attendant brought the child up as his own, and there was no +suspicion. He took the child, when grown up, out hunting when the king +went, and taught him to wish for such and such a head of game, and if +he shot an arrow at it, he always hit. The king could not understand +how so young a hunter could always be so successful, but the attendant +assured him that it was only a sure hand and eye. The attendant had +meanwhile become very rich, by getting the king's son to wish him to +be so. The attendant had taken a girl into his service, who grew up to +be very beautiful. She had suspicions that all was not right, and +asked the attendant; but he would not tell her. At last the attendant +told her the boy must be killed, and she must do it, and cut out his +tongue, to show him that she had murdered him. She, however, killed a +hind, and cut out its tongue, and showed the attendant the tongue. The +attendant thought she had done as she was told, and told her the +story, which the king's son heard from a place where she had hid him. +The king's son immediately wished the attendant should be a +three-legged dog, that must always follow him. He wished the girl to +be a rose and put her in his button-hole. The king's son then attended +the court, as the king wished to go hunting. 'Where is the attendant?' +asked the king. 'He is here close by,' said the king's son. The king +was satisfied with the answer, and went out hunting. The king's son +led the hunt to the tower where the queen was walled in, and wished +that the tower might fall down and the queen be found in it yet +living. This happened, although she had been there seventeen years. +The prince then took the rose out of his button-hole, and married the +girl who had so well served him." + +"A graphic story," said Hardy, "and has the same tendency that you +attributed to the Norwegian stories of the people, or Folke-Eventyr." + +"There is a story more peculiarly belonging to Jutland," said Pastor +Lindal, "and that is of a Trold who lived in a wood in a large +Kaempehoi, or tumulus. He was an old grey-bearded Trold, and the people +in the district were afraid of him. There was an old woman who lived +near with her son. They had a cow, and it was difficult to get grass +for it, particularly in the winter. The boy took the cow and grazed it +on the Trold's Kaempehoi. The Trold came out and objected, and +threatened, and drove the boy and the cow away. The boy, however, got +a piece of soft cheese from his mother, and stole a bird sitting on +its eggs in a nest, these he put in his pocket; so the next day he +took the cow to the same place, and the Trold came out and threatened. +The Trold took up a stone and pressed it in his hand, so that water +came from it, to show how he could crush him. The boy said that is +nothing, and took the cheese from his pocket and pressed it, so that +it appeared as if he was squeezing more out of a stone than the Trold +could. So the Trold said, 'I will throw a stone up, and you can count +until it comes down. The boy did so, and counted up to one hundred and +thirty-one. 'That is good!' said the boy. 'But now count for the stone +I cast;' and the Trold counted, but the boy threw the bird up in the +air, and of course it flew away. The Trold was astonished, and asked +the boy if he would come into his service. The first thing was to +fetch water, as the Trold wanted to brew. The Trold had a large bucket +to fetch water, which the boy could not even lift; so he said, 'This +will not do at all; we had best fetch in the river.' But this the +Trold could not do. The boy behaved in the same way with fetching turf +and fuel; and when the Trold went out to pick nuts, he picked up +stones and gave the Trold to crack. This gave him the toothache, but +the boy advised him to fill his mouth full of water and sit on the +fire until it boiled. This did not succeed, and so the boy continued +to tease the Trold until he compassed his destruction, and taking all +the Trold's gold and silver, he went home, and had enough to live on +all his days, with his mother." + +"I have heard a parallel story from many lands," said Hardy. + +"That is true enough; it is a story very widespread, with different +incidents and features," said the Pastor. + +The next day they drove into Esbjerg, and Garth and Hardy put the +horses on board the steamer for England. It would leave in the +evening, when the tide would allow it to get out of dock. + +The Pastor had arranged to stay the night at Esbjerg, to see the very +last of his son Karl on his leaving for England. + +As they left, Hardy said, "I shall be at Rosendal in May, and I hope +my mother will be with me; but you will hear from me many times before +then, and I dare say Karl will write you more frequently than I do." + +Helga said simply, "I thank you, Herr Hardy, for your kindness to us." + +The steamer left that night, and the next day Pastor Lindal went to +the railway station at Esbjerg to take three tickets to the station +nearest his parsonage. Three tickets were handed to him, and the +Pastor expostulated. + +"They are first-class tickets, and----" + +"Yes," said the station clerk; "but they are already taken and paid +for." + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + + "_Piscator,_--But, look you, sir, now you are at the + brink of the hill, how do you like my river, the vale it winds + through like a snake, and the situation of my little + fishing-house?"--_The Complete Angler._ + + +As John Hardy drove up to the front of Hardy Place, the young Danish +lad was struck with the beauty of the lawns and shrubberies. + +"This is by far prettier than Rosendal, Herr Hardy," he said. + +Mrs. Hardy had evidently been waiting some time for the sound of +wheels on the carriage drive, and as her son alighted, she received +him with warm natural affection. + +"John, my own boy, I am so glad to see you again," she said; "you have +been too long away from your mother." + +"You will have me all to yourself until next May, mother, and then you +will have me with you at Rosendal," said her son. "But here is Karl +Lindal, son of Pastor Lindal, of Vandstrup Praestegaard, Denmark." + +The tall, fair-haired lad, with his honest blue eyes, favourably +impressed Mrs. Hardy, who could see beyond outward appearance and +awkwardness of manner. + +"Welcome to Hardy Place, Mr. Karl Lindal," she said, taking the lad's +hand kindly. "You can have no better introduction here than as my own +boy's friend." + +Karl bowed. He saw a tall elderly lady, dressed in good taste and +perfect neatness, strikingly like her son. They entered the inner +hall, where Mrs. Hardy had been sitting, and tea was served, and she +and her son talked to each other with that kindly confidence not so +frequent nowadays. Karl looked at the old portraits on the wall, and +observed the quiet taste of the decorations and furniture, with its +appearance of comfort, so conspicuous in an English home. + +Mother and son had much to say to each other; but at length John Hardy +observed a tired look on the young Dane's face, and he took him up to +the bedroom Mrs. Hardy had directed to be prepared for him, near her +son's rooms. + +"Karl," he said, "here is your room, and everything you are likely to +want ready. If you want anything, press that nob, which rings a bell, +and a man-servant will answer it; but as he may not understand you, +come for a moment into my dressing-room, and I will show you where my +things are, and if you want anything, take it." + +There was a strong contrast between Hardy's rooms in his own home and +the single little room he had occupied in Denmark, and Karl said so. + +"Yes," said Hardy; "you will find a good deal of difference between +England and Denmark, but you will find me the same John Hardy." + +"I have not dressed, mother," said Hardy, as he came down just before +the gong was struck for dinner; "my young Danish friend is not +supplied with evening dress, and I thought he might feel a trifle less +strange, where everything must strike with the force of novelty a lad +of seventeen, if I appeared as he has usually seen me." + +"You are the same thoughtful, considerate old John," said his mother, +proud of her son's kind heart; "but I do think, John, you look better +than when you left." + +"I am better," said John. "The fare at the little Danish parsonage was +simple and good. At first I missed a few things that I was accustomed +to here, but the excellence of the quality of everything at the +Pastor's soon made me forget them. I think, too, my mother, I have +learnt much. The simplicity with which the Danish Pastor did his work +with exact conscientiousness interested me. There was never a thought +of postponing a duty under any circumstances. There was never a +thought that a duty done was a sacrifice of self, but his duty was +done with a serious singleness of purpose and thorough trust in God, +that had a strong influence on his parishioners. They saw he was +sincere and true." + +"You are drawing a good picture of the Pastor, John," said his mother; +"but," she added in a whisper, as John took her into dinner, "what +about the Scandinavian princess?" + +"I will tell you all about her after you have seen her photograph," +said John. "I will give it you when you go into the library after +dinner. I will give Karl Lindal some English to read, as he must lose +no time in acquiring the language." + +Karl Lindal felt awkward and uneasy at dinner. The novelty of +everything so occupied him that he was the more gauche in manner. This +Mrs. Hardy observed, and said little to him. It was best the lad +should be left to get over the change that had impressed him. + +When John Hardy joined his mother in the library, he found her with a +large reading-glass, looking at Helga Lindal's photograph. "It is a +good face, John, like her brother somewhat, and fine features," said +his mother. "Is she tall?" + +"About five feet eight, mother," replied John. "She is like her father +in character--simple and true, and with common sense." + +"But you wrote me, John, that if you did propose to her that she would +not accept you, on account of her father wanting her assistance and +relying so much on her," said Mrs. Hardy. + +"I did, mother; but her father wished her to become engaged to a +curate of his called Holm," said John. "She refused Holm, as she did +not like him, and I think her father would wish her to marry any one +she did like. His view appears to be that she owes a duty to herself, +and he would think it his duty to prevent her sacrificing all her +young life even to him." + +"Why, the man is right, John, and his photograph says as much!" said +Mrs. Hardy. "But, John, answer me plainly--have you said anything to +her?" + +"No," replied Hardy. "I do not feel certain of myself without you, +mother. I want you to see her." + +"Have you led her to expect that you might speak to her John?" asked +his mother. + +"When I went there first, she behaved towards me as if she disliked +me," replied John; "but her manner changed. I had offered to teach her +to ride: she declined in a very decided way; but in driving to +Esbjerg, she said she should like to learn, and that her objection, +whatever it was, did not exist longer. I said I would teach her when I +came again to Denmark. One evening, I sang the German song you have +heard me sing so often, and I turned round suddenly and saw her face; +she looked at me as if she loved me with all her heart, but possibly +so simple a nature as hers was carried away by the song's influence. I +turned away my face, that it might reflect nothing to her." + +"Did anything else occur, John?" asked his mother. + +"Yes," replied John. "A few evenings before I left, I showed her +father and herself your photographs; she exhibited a warm interest in +them, particularly that one of the picture. I gave her the +photographs, and she thanked me as if I had given her something she +had a great wish for." + +"It is a long way for an old woman, John," said Mrs. Hardy; "but I +would go to the end of the earth to see you happily married. I like +her face," added she, looking at Helga Lindal's photograph; "it is +good and firm of purpose for so young a woman. Is she ladylike, John?" + +"Her manner is simple and sincere," he replied; "and I never saw +anything that you, mother, would not approve of; but, living as she +does, and has, she has not seen much society, or acquired any +artificial manner. Her management of her father's house is practical, +and the obedience to her wishes and orders as complete as they ever +are in Denmark. Their servants are not as ours are." + +"Why you do like her, John," said his mother. + +"I do, but I do not feel certain of myself," said John. "The time I +have known her is short, and it may be only a passing fancy; and what +I want, mother, is your help in knowing my own mind, but, above all, +hers. You will understand her instantly." + +"But why did you buy Rosendal, John?" asked his mother; "in all your +letters you never gave a reason." + +"I bought it on an impulse," replied John, "but I did think I might +want it at the time. It is a place you can live in, mother, until you +are tired of it, but from which you can help me." + +"I do not think you need fear, John, her being carried off by any +one," said Mrs. Hardy, to whom the idea of any woman not being in love +with her son was impossible. + +"I must risk it," said John, "but I could not do other than I have +done. If I had spoken a word to her when a guest in her father's +house, it would have been wrong. But I wanted to talk with you, my +mother. I have no secrets from you; and John kissed her, and wished +her 'Good night.'" + +A few weeks at Hardy Place made a great change in Karl Lindal. He +talked English better, and his manners were not so boyish. He felt +also the influence of the good people about him, and had lost his +home-sickness. + +The experimental trip in the new steam yacht that Hardy had had built +(and which he had christened the _Rosendal_) was a great delight to +the young Dane, who was naturally fond of the sea. The yacht made a +few short trips in the English Channel, and was then laid up for the +winter. Karl made himself useful on board the yacht, and his greatest +pleasure was to do anything for John Hardy or his mother. The lad's +thankfulness for the kindness he received was thorough, and Mrs. Hardy +liked the lad. + +"Is your sister Helga like you, Mr. Karl Lindal?" asked Mrs. Hardy, +one day, when her son was not present. + +"She is more clever in everything than I am," replied Karl, "and she +is so good to me and Axel, and gives up everything for us. She is four +years older." + +At last a letter came to John Hardy, from Vandstrup Praestegaard. + +"Herr Hardy, + +"My father desires me to say that they are proceeding with the work at +Rosendal, and that there is nothing specially to report at present, as +there is nothing being done contrary to your wishes, and there is no +room for complaint on what is being done. + +"My father also desires me to express his thanks for your kindness +about the tickets from Esbjerg. It was a matter that surprised us all, +except me, and it was my fault in saying that my coming back from +Esbjerg would be an additional cost to him; I understood the +completeness of your kindness at once. I felt you would not let it be +a burden to my father on my account and Axel, and that when you were +taking the tickets that you might as well include my father's also; +but to take first-class tickets was not necessary, and what we did not +wish. + +"I promised to write if I caught a trout that weighed one pound, +English, by your measure. I have fished many times, and caught one by +the bend in the river just below the tile works. Axel got it into the +landing-net, and my father has seen it weighed, and it is just a +little heavier than the line that marks the one pound English. I thank +you also for your consideration in this. My father is pleased to see +me looking fresh and well after going out fishing, and he says no fish +are so good as those Helga catches. I thank you, Herr Hardy, for your +thinking that this would also please my father. + +"We all send you friendly greeting from here, and our best affection +to Karl. + +"Helga Lindal." + +John Hardy translated the letter for his mother, and gave it to her +with the original. + +"Her handwriting is ladylike, John," said his mother, "there is no +doubt of that; and she writes such a beautiful, simple letter! I like +her, John! If you love her, do not lose her for the world." + +John Hardy was touched. + +"Bless you, my mother," he said; "your heart is as mine; you love +again with your son's love. But I know it is best to wait until May, +when we can go there." + +Karl Lindal wrote to his father in Denmark. + +"My all-dearest Father, + +"The kindness I receive from Herr Hardy and his mother is great. They +are most kind. I feel it not possible to express my thanks; but I am +always trying to be useful, to show how thankful I am. They are so +different from Danish people. I cannot say how beautiful Herr Hardy's +house is. It is far prettier than Rosendal. I learn English every day +with an English Kapellan; he is very kind, and he teaches me the +English games of cricket and lawn tennis. Mrs. Hardy, that is Herr +Hardy's mother, is beautiful. She touches my cheek with her hand, and +she asks if Helga is like me. I answer that Helga is better, and she +seems to be pleased to hear me say so. Herr Hardy has taken me out in +his yacht, that is a pleasure vessel with steam power; he has called +it the _Rosendal_. + +"I have been out with Herr Hardy shooting partridges. He has had many +gentlemen down to shoot, but they none of them shoot so well as Herr +Hardy. A flock of the birds get up, and Herr Hardy, who shoots with a +double-barrelled gun, always gets two. His gamekeeper, or Jaeger, told +me that they always could depend on the governor, as they call Herr +Hardy. + +"Herr Hardy took me to London, and I went to the Zoological Gardens, +where there were a great many rare animals, and to the Haymarket +Theatre, which is like the Royal Theatre at Copenhagen. I was measured +for clothes by a tailor in London, and Herr Hardy has given me many +more things than necessary; but he is so kind I do not know what to +say or do. I send my best love to you and Helga and Axel. + +"Your son, + +"Karl Lindal." + +Another letter came from Vandstrup Praestegaard. + +"Herr Hardy, + +"My father desires me to say that the work at Rosendal is nearly +finished, and that the land where the trees are to be planted is +prepared for them. There is nothing that he sees neglected, or that he +should bring to your notice. + +"We have received many letters from Karl, and we are interested in +them. He writes and describes your house, and repeats again and again +your goodness to him. He describes your mother as very kind. We have +no doubt but this is you. My father says if you do anything, you do it +always in the kindest way. I do not doubt but that this is so, and we +all thank you gratefully, and greet you kindly. + +"Helga Lindal." + +John Hardy translated this letter for his mother. She read it, and +said-- + +"John, the letter is a letter to keep for all time! I feel so proud of +you, my own boy, that such a letter should be addressed to you. I +never read so beautiful a letter; so short, and yet so exquisite in +its simplicity! You can trust your future to her, John." + +"Thank you, my mother," replied her son. "I know I can trust her, if +she will trust me." + +"Why, John, you can offer her wealth, position, and influence," said +Mrs. Hardy. + +"All which would be nothing with her," said John "She would be as +content to marry me on a bare subsistence as if I had a larger income +than we have. Position is nothing to her, because she scarcely +understands it; and as for influence, she has more influence for good +in her father's parish than any person in it." + +"A faint heart, John," suggested his mother. + +"Yes, I know that; but my heart is not faint," said John. "I only wait +to be sure of it, and your approval, mother." + +Karl Lindal made progress in learning English and Hardy made inquiries +for a berth for him with a foreign broker. In reply to the question as +to Karl's character, Hardy told the story of the young Dane's refusing +taking any money from Hardy in their driving tour to Esbjerg. This +slight matter made a favourable impression, and the young Dane entered +on his duties. Hardy procured lodgings for him in London, with a young +medical man who had recently married, and had began to keep house, and +whose relatives resided near Hardy Place. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + + "Only a sweet and virtuous soul + Like seasoned timber, never gives + But when the whole world turns to coal, + Then chiefly lives." + _The Complete Angler._ + + +The interior of Rosendal had been painted, and sketch plans of the +different floors and rooms had been submitted to Mrs. Hardy. +Lithographed drawings of Danish furniture had been procured in +Copenhagen, so that she could select what furniture she thought +necessary for their stay at Rosendal during the summer, and this was +purchased for John Hardy by Prokurator Steindal, and sent to Rosendal. + +The planting and improvements in the grounds had been carried out. + +Robert Garth and a manservant were sent with the horses, a carriage, +and the heavy impedimenta to Esbjerg by steamer, late in April, to +prepare for the occupation of the mansion at Rosendal. + +Then came a letter from Vandstrup Praestegaard. + +"Herr Hardy, + +"We have heard that your servants are preparing Rosendal for your +mother's residence there. It has occurred to my father that everything +may not be at first ready for her, and he has directed me to write and +say that if she will come here on her arriving in Jutland, that we +will do our best to make her stay a pleasant one. We are all so +grateful for your goodness to Karl, that it would gladden us to do +anything for your mother. + +"We send respectful greetings to her and to yourself. + +"Helga Lindal." + +John translated the letter to his mother. + +"Accept it, John," she said. "My maid can be driven over by Robert +Garth, the two miles you say that Rosendal is situated from the +parsonage, if she would be in the way there." + +"No, my mother," said Hardy; "you do not know the language. I will go +to Rosendal, and you can certainly take your maid with you. Pastor +Lindal knows a little English, and so does his daughter. It will be a +good sign if she has been learning it in the winter; I left my +Danish-English books there, but I suggested nothing to her in this +direction." + +"How simply to the point her letter is, John!" exclaimed Mrs. Hardy. +"There are no phrases about their accommodation not being so good, or +that their means are narrow; she simply says they will do their best, +and that they would be glad to do it. It is not possible to doubt +her." + +"It is like her manner," said John. "I can fancy I hear the words she +writes." + +Towards the middle of May, Mrs. Hardy, her son, and two women-servants +travelled overland to Jutland, from Flushing. + +Robert Garth met them at the railway station, and drove them to the +parsonage. + +Parson Lindal was at the door, and welcomed Mrs. Hardy with much +old-fashioned politeness. "Welcome, and glad to see you," he said in +English to her, while he warmly greeted Hardy in Danish. + +Helga was standing by her father, regarding their visitor with great +interest; she had shaken hands with John Hardy, and welcomed him back +to Jutland. The Pastor introduced his daughter to Mrs. Hardy, who held +out her hand to Helga, and drew her closer and kissed her, as if she +had been her daughter. + +"You are a beautiful edition of your brother Karl, Miss Lindal," she +said. "He has become a great favourite of mine, and you will be glad +to hear he is well spoken of in London." + +Robert Garth drove one of the servants to Rosendal, and had orders to +fetch John Hardy in the evening, at the parsonage. + +The Pastor had time for a word with Hardy, as his mother went to +change her travelling dress. + +"I am glad to see you, Hardy; but what a trick you played us about the +tickets from Esbjerg! I did not like it at first, but when I thought +of your friendly intentions, I forgave you; but I cannot thank you +enough for your goodness to Karl, and your wisely placing him in +lodgings with the chance of good influence. That is good of you, +indeed." + +"Where is Axel?" asked Hardy. + +"He is at Copenhagen, at a school for a time," replied the Pastor. "He +will be home in the summer for a holiday." + +"What about Rosendal?" asked Hardy. + +"It is much improved; in a month or six weeks it will be lovely," +answered the Pastor. "The plan was excellent that you adopted, and, as +you have been written, it has been executed well." + +When Mrs. Hardy appeared, perfectly well dressed, as she always was, +John could see that the Pastor observed her well-bred manner. "Your +parsonage, Herr Pastor," she said, "has a look of calm contentment and +quiet that strikes me in coming from busy England." + +"That is near the reality, Mrs. Hardy," replied he; "but it is not the +fact with all our Danish parsonages, men vary here as they do +elsewhere." + +"That may be; but you have the greater opportunity for attaining the +actuality of what is simple and true," said Mrs. Hardy. + +"Possibly we have," replied Pastor Lindal; "but I fear we are all +liable to neglect opportunities which suggest only." + +John Hardy had been obliged to assist at this conversation as +interpreter, when Kirstin announced dinner was served. Hardy rose and +shook hands with Kirstin. + +"It is an old servant, mother," said Hardy; and Mrs. Hardy rose and +shook hands with Kirstin, and then the Pastor took Mrs. Hardy in to +dinner. + +Mrs. Hardy's ladylike tact soon enabled her to get on with the +Pastor--she used the simplest English words, and Hardy was able to +talk to Helga. + +"I have brought the side saddle," he said. + +"I have seen it at Rosendal; and your man Garth has been exercising +the horses with a skirt daily, to make them more accustomed to a lady +riding them," said Helga. + +"Well?" said Hardy, inquiringly. + +"I shall be glad to learn to ride, Herr Hardy, if you will kindly +teach me," said Helga. "Your man has told us that the horses and +carriage were at our disposal until your mother came. We have not +often used them, as my father said that if I wished to learn to ride, +I had better wait until you came, as you understood horses, and that +he was afraid some accident might occur." + +John Hardy had apprised Mrs. Hardy of the inevitable porcelain pipe, +which, as she did not like tobacco smoking, her son asked the Pastor +to hold his tobacco-parliament in his own study, where he went to keep +him company. + +Thus Mrs. Hardy was alone with Helga for some time. She found that +Helga could speak a little English, and Mrs. Hardy led her to speak of +the management of the little household at the parsonage, and then of +her father, which with Helga was an inexhaustible theme. She told +Mrs. Hardy of John's gift of the piano, which she said she had +accepted because her father liked to hear her sing. + +"I feel it was wrong to have accepted it," she said, "but I did so on +the impulse of the moment; my father had been listening to my singing, +and it seemed to draw his mind away from his great sorrow, and I +thought any feeling of my own should be sacrificed to that." + +"Why, what a dear child you are!" said Mrs. Hardy, led away by Helga's +earnest blue eyes, and she kissed her affectionately. "You talk a good +deal better English than I expected," she added. + +"Perhaps so," replied Helga. "Mr. Hardy left his books here for Axel, +and I have been learning all the winter, in the hope of being of use +to you; I knew you would want some one to speak English, as your son +might not always be at hand. Karl has written with such gratitude of +you, that it is the only way that occurred to me that I might really +be useful to you." + +"You are a dear, sensible girl, Miss Lindal," said Mrs. Hardy, +caressing her; "and so it will be. And will you come and stay with me +as long as your father can spare you, at Rosendal, and help me to get +the house in order?" + +"I will do anything for you, Mrs. Hardy," replied Helga, earnestly. + +John Hardy came in to wish them "Good night," before he left for +Rosendal. + +"I shall drive over in the morning to see if you wish to go to +Rosendal, mother," he said. + +"Certainly I do, John," replied his mother, "But I have a message for +you;" and she whispered, "I like her already, John; she is perfectly +good and true." + +John Hardy was right when he said that his mother's influence on his +own thoughts would crystallize them. + +The next few days were occupied in settling down at Rosendal. +Mrs. Hardy was charmed with the place. Its natural beauty was what +such a mind as hers could recognize, and she praised Rosendal to +Helga, to the latter's great satisfaction. + +Helga was assiduous in learning English, and daily became more useful +to Mrs. Hardy, The Pastor often came to dinner, and the days passed +pleasantly. + +"John," said Mrs. Hardy, one day, when she was alone with her son, +"you have asked me to ascertain what Helga Lindal's feelings are to +you, if I possibly could. I cannot. All I can say is, marry her, and +you will never regret it. Ask her. She is the best and truest woman I +ever met." + +"Very good, mother," replied John. "I will." + +That day Pastor Lindal came to dinner, and his daughter was to return +with him in the evening, to remain at home. + +John Hardy asked Helga to walk through the grounds, while her father +was conversing with Mrs. Hardy, They went to a particular place that +John recollected, and he said-- + +"Froken, do you remember your asking me at this spot why I bought +Rosendal?" + +"Yes, perfectly," said Helga, frankly; "and you said you would tell me +when your mother came." + +"My reason is, and was, because you said there was no place you should +like to live at so much as Rosendal." + +"Do you mean you will give it to us?" asked Helga. + +"My meaning is that I will give it to you, Helga. I want you to be my +wife." + +"I will, if you will wait. Hardy; my father cannot live without me +now." + +"Wait!" cried Hardy; and he looked into her blue eyes. "Why, you have +loved me a long time, and never told me so! I have been in doubt and +fear." + +"You never need doubt it more. Hardy," said she, saying "du" to him +for the first time. "When you came here first, I tried not to like +you; then I tried to disgust you with me, and you were so good and +manly that I loved you with all my heart. I thought," she added, "you +would have spoken to me when you proposed the driving tour to Esbjerg, +and I was so frightened." + +"Yes," said Hardy, "it was in my mind, but I was a guest in your +father's house, and I had to ask my mother's blessing and support. But +tell me one thing, what was the reason that you would not tell me +about your refusing to learn to ride?" + +"My reason was that I did try not to like you, and then I refused." + +"I see," said Hardy, kissing what he thought the most beautiful mouth +in the world. + +When they returned to the house, Mrs. Hardy saw her son's bright face, +and knew he had been accepted. + +"Dear mother," said John, caressing her, "she's won." + +Mrs. Hardy embraced Helga warmly, and the Pastor saw how the matter +stood, and held out his hand. + +"I have understood you all along, Hardy, and you are a noble fellow. +You have my consent, willingly." + +Helga was preparing to return with her father, but Mrs. Hardy +interposed. + +"You can have John, Herr Pastor," she said; "but I must have my +daughter here, that I may get to know more of her. John shall go with +you, but I must have her for to-night." + +The Pastor had to give way, and John Hardy went with him, and they +held a tobacco-parliament, and John slept in his old room at the +parsonage. + +Mrs. Hardy, when they were gone, said, "Tell me all about John, my +darling, all you know;" and Helga told her. + +"He is like his father," said Mrs. Hardy; "he was so true and good a +gentleman, that I feel the same interest as if it were my own marriage +over again, and my son has been my all for years. He has told me so +much about you, that before I came it was the holding up the mirror to +memory; all what he said, and had dwelt in my mind, came back." + +Helga told her that she could not marry until her father was too old +to attend to his duty; that he could not, and would not, give his duty +up until pronounced unfit. + +"I will arrange all that," said Mrs. Hardy, "You shall be married to +John this summer, and you must say no more; you must leave that to me. +Your father's greatest happiness will be to see you happily married, +and he has told me so." + +A few days after, John Hardy and his mother and Helga Lindal called at +the Jensens'. John frankly told them the story of his engagement, and, +as he was going to be married in Denmark, asked the two Froken Jensens +if they would be bridesmaids. Helga wished it. + +Mathilde Jensen reminded Hardy that she had said he bought Rosendal +because he wanted to marry Helga Lindal. + +"Yes," said John; "I thanked you for so disposing of me." + +The worthy proprietor was delighted that John Hardy would be his +neighbour for some time of the year, and thanked him for the mare +Hardy had sent over from England to improve his breeding stock. John +Hardy had made him a present of it. + +"She is," said the proprietor, "as handsome as can be; but she has a +temper." + +"She is Irish," said Hardy. "But you will find the horse foals easy to +manage; the mares may give a little trouble, but they will go like +birds." + +The Jensens pressed them to stay to an early dinner, and Mrs. Hardy +thought they had best do so. The well-bred English lady made a strong +impression on the Jensen ladies, and the genuine Danish hospitality +appealed to Mrs. Hardy. + +The result of this visit was a return visit to Rosendal. The exact +service and the excellent arrangements of everything had its effect on +the Jensens, and the consequence was that numerous calls were made at +Rosendal. + +Helga had returned to the parsonage, when John Hardy one day came to +his mother with a telegram. The steam yacht Rosendal was at Aarhus. + +"Let us go to Copenhagen, John," said Mrs. Hardy, "and take Helga with +us. She is fond of the sea, and I enjoy her society. It is the perfect +truth that is in everything about her that I love." + +"She will not go if I ask her, mother," said John; "but if you do she +may." + +"Telegraph to them to have steam up, John," said his mother, "and I +will drive to the parsonage." + +His mother left, and, to John's astonishment, Helga returned with her, +ready to go anywhere. + +"The Pastor insisted on her going," said Mrs. Hardy, "and I promised +to bring back his youngest son, who is at school at Copenhagen. The +Pastor is a sensible man. He said to his daughter, 'Why should you not +enjoy the kindness your future husband can show you?' and there was an +end to her objections." + +They hurried to the station, and got on board the Rosendal after a +short railway journey. + +"You had better go below and get your dress changed, Helga; my mother +will show you where your berth is. What you want is a warm woollen +dress that a little sea water will not hurt. There are several +belonging to my mother on board." + +When Helga came up, they were at sea. The pilot was steering. +Mrs. Hardy was sitting on a wicker chair on deck. Some one in a +sailor's dress placed a chair for her. + +"When you are tired of sitting here," said Hardy, for he it was, "you +can go into the deck-house and lie down. We shall have dinner at six. +There is Samso, and before you rise to-morrow we shall be at +Copenhagen, I shall have to be up all night." + +The yacht delighted Helga. The dinner was served so well that it +surprised her; and when they came on deck, it was a pleasure to see +the distant lights in the fine summer's night, and to feel the yacht +rushing through the smooth sea. + +"I do like this. Hardy," she said. "Must I go to my berth? I would +rather be on deck and hear your voice now and then." + +"No," said Hardy; "because you must not draw off my attention. We have +to look after the pilot, and I am the only man on board that knows +Danish;" and Helga went at once. + +Mrs. Hardy, who had heard what had passed, was pleased to see her +rapid compliance with what was necessary. + +When Helga came on deck the next day, they were at anchor near the +Custom House at Copenhagen. Mrs. Hardy was already up, and they had +breakfast. + +Hardy gave some necessary orders as to coaling, and they went ashore +and saw the Museum of Northern Antiquities, Thorwaldsen's Museum, and +much else, and lunched at the Hotel d'Angleterre in the King's New +Market, or Kongens Nytorv. + +"Now, Helga, what is there more to see?" asked Hardy. + +"There is the picture gallery in Christiansborg Slot, but there are so +many steps up to it that it will fatigue Mrs. Hardy; but, if we might, +I should like to call and see Axel, and arrange about his coming back +with us," said Helga. "To-morrow you could see Rosenborg, which is +certain to interest you; we have to give notice to-day to the +curator." + +"I shall be henpecked, mother," said Hardy. "She orders everything +already." + +"No, you will not," said Helga, who understood him, although he had +spoken in English. "I shall give my life to you, and my will too." +There was no mistaking the look in those blue eyes. "You might be +interested," she added, "in going to the Royal Theatre. The play +to-night is one of Holberg's comedies, 'Den pantsatte Bondedreng,' +that is, 'The Farmer's Boy left in Pledge.' It is a good play and +popular. I can tell the story of the play to Mrs. Hardy before she +goes, as you. Hardy, already know it." + +"I give myself entirely in your hands, Helga. You shall be obeyed +before marriage, and obey me after," said Hardy, laughing. + +"It is not a question of obedience," replied Helga. "I am yours +altogether when I am your wife." + +As she had said this in Danish, Hardy explained to his mother. + +Mrs. Hardy said, "She is a jewel, John, and without price;" and rose +from her seat and kissed her on the parting of her hair. + +"Don't do that, mother," said John; "you make me wish to kiss her head +off." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + + "Oh, ye valleys! oh, ye mountains! + Oh, ye groves, and crystal fountains! + How I love, as liberty, + By turns to come and visit ye!" + _The Complete Angler._ + + +Axel's joy at the unexpected pleasure of seeing his sister and Hardy +was unbounded, but when he heard he was going on board the yacht for a +cruise, and then to return home, he was wild with delight. + +They went to the theatre that evening, and to Rosenborg the next day, +and the yacht left in the afternoon for Elsinore, and anchored for the +night. + +Mrs. Hardy preferred being at sea to staying longer at Copenhagen. The +theatre with its excellent acting interested her, but the knowledge of +the language was wanting, and detracted from her enjoyment of +Holberg's dramatic genius, which for so many years has interested the +Danish public. Rosenborg, with its rich and varied treasures for four +hundred years, was a greater enjoyment to her, and is alone worth a +visit to Copenhagen. + +"We have supplies and coal on board, mother," said Hardy, "and we can +run up the Swedish coast to Gothenborg and see the falls at +Trollhaettan, by starting early, and can then cruise down the Danish +coast." + +"I think, John," said Mrs. Hardy, "I would rather go up to +Christiania; we can write Pastor Lindal from Elsinore that we shall do +so. We can lay to during the darker hours at many places, or, as we +take a pilot from here to Christiania, can run on. The weather is +calm." + +Helga had heard what Mrs. Hardy had said, and, as Hardy looked at her, +she said, "Where your mother pleases." + +The next day, at breakfast time after English fashion, the yacht was +fifty miles from Elsinore, and sea life began. The decks were clean +and everything in order. The fore-staysail was set, as well as the +fore and main sails, to catch the wind from the westward, and the +yacht ran steadily, to the comfort of all on board. + +Hardy had every arrangement made for his mother's comfort, her chair +and wraps and footstool were all placed on deck, as he knew she liked, +and Helga watched him doing this with pleasure. + +"I think, Helga," he said, "it may interest you to inspect the yacht. +Axel has been everywhere except up the masts." And Hardy showed her +the engines, the many contrivances for economizing space, the compact +little cooking-galley, and the berths for his own use and friends, as +well as the little library they had on board, the stores and pantry. +"And now," he said, "as the sea air will make you hungry, and you are +not accustomed to an English breakfast, what would you like for lunch? +There is a list of soups, also preserved meats, and a lot of things +sent from Hardy Place." + +"I will have anything that has come from Hardy Place," said Helga; and +Hardy gave directions accordingly, to her subsequent approval. + +They walked up and down the deck, and Hardy pointed out the different +places on the coast on the chart, stopping at times to speak to +Mrs. Hardy. + +"I think this is the most delightful way of travelling. Hardy," said +Helga, "and I recollect that you said so when you drove us to Esbjerg. +There is more living interest at sea; the changes and contrasts are +greater, that is, in natural features." + +"You are right, Helga, except that you call me Hardy. Now, my name is +John, positively John." + +"I cannot pronounce it as you do," said Helga, "and I am afraid you +will laugh at me. The name with us is spelt 'Jon,' pronounced 'Yon.' +We have also 'Johan,' pronounced 'Yohan.'" + +"I am aware of the learning you exhibit, Helga; but, notwithstanding, +my name is John, and if you do not call me so, I shall be obliged to +kiss you until you do, and my mother will say I shall be quite +justified in taking that course." + +Helga went and sat down by Mrs. Hardy. + +"He is teasing me," she said, as she laid her head on Mrs. Hardy's +lap. + +"John," said Mrs. Hardy, as she touched Helga's cheek, "you do not +take care of your Scandinavian princess; her skin is so thin and +clear, that this little cheek is at fever heat with the action of the +sun and wind. Tell my maid to bring the lotion I use, and a sponge." + +"Thank you, Mrs. Hardy," said Helga, "but I do not mind the sun +burning me; it makes my face a little warm, that is all." + +"She does not know how handsome she is, John," said Mrs. Hardy, in +French; "but her beauty lies in this, that there is nothing so +beautiful as what is true." + +After lunch, John Hardy told one of his men to fetch some rope quoits, +to amuse Axel, and cleared part of the deck for the purpose. Helga, +however, joined in the game with the zest of a child; her clear voice +and laughter and natural grace made conquests of the yacht sailors. + +"Uncommon neat about the spars!" exclaimed an old salt; "a smart craft +when she's got all her sails bent, I'll be bound." + +"Well, pilot," said Hardy, "where can you put us in for shelter for +the night? We want to go up the Christiania Fjord by daylight, and +when the ladies will be on deck. It has, besides, been a long run for +the engineers." + +"We shall have Frederikstad abeam at ten tonight, if she goes as she's +going, and we can lay off there until the morning," replied the pilot. +"There is no anger in the weather, and it will be a fine night. In +fact, there will be no night; we are close on St. Hans' night, the +longest day." + +"We will keep the fires banked, anyway," said Hardy, "and set a +watch.'' + +"Yes, better weigh," said the pilot. "The chances are the custom-house +officers will board, and you had best keep your burgee and ensign +flying, as then they may not trouble you." + +At six the wind fell, and the sails were taken in, and the sea was +soon without a ripple. Mrs. Hardy and Helga sat on deck after dinner, +enjoying the changing beauty of the shore and the soft tints that rest +on the northern lands at close of day. Hardy had wraps brought up from +below, to keep the dew off his mother and the Scandinavian princess, +and chatted with them. + +When they determined to go below, Helga, in her Danish manner, shook +hands with Hardy, and said, "Tak for i dag" (thank you for to-day). "I +have never enjoyed life so much." + +"Mother," said John, when Helga had gone, "you surprised me when you +said you would rather go up to Christiania; you did so that I might +see my princess for a few days when her mind is animated by what is +strikingly novel to her, so that the bright transparency of her +character should be more apparent. Thank you, my mother!" + +"We have one heart, John," replied his mother. + +John Hardy went on deck, anything but disposed to sleep. "Pass the +word to get up for drift-lines and two men to go in a boat fishing." + +The night, or rather the softer daylight, was favourable for catching, +Pollock and one man rowing. John Hardy worked two lines and the other +man two. They pulled in round the islands and soon caught many fish, +which made a welcome addition to the breakfast-table the next day. + +At eight they were under weigh, steaming up the grander scenery of the +Christiania Fjord. Helga had come on deck, and Hardy saw she was +interested in the scenery they were passing. + +"We are in the Christiania Fjord," he said. + +"How lovely and lake-like!" said Helga, when the breakfast-bell rang. +"Must we go below, John?" + +"There is no need whatever, now that you have called me, John;" and he +directed her breakfast and his own to be brought on deck, and that his +mother should be informed they were having breakfast on deck, which +brought Mrs. Hardy up with them. + +"We are making progress, mother," said Hardy, "and, for the first +time, I have been called John; but only under desperate threats." + +"You will not let him tease me, Mrs. Hardy?" said Helga, with an +appealing look and earnest tone. + +"Do you wish me to punish him?" said Mrs. Hardy, smiling. "Shall I +have him thrown overboard, or put in irons?" + +"No, no!" cried Helga, who was doubtful how far the maternal authority +might extend amongst the English. + +"Then we will both of us forgive him this time?" said Mrs. Hardy. + +"Yes, I will, Mrs. Hardy," said Helga, with an earnestness that left +no doubt. + +"Now then," said John, "as I have been condemned and pardoned, let us +have breakfast. I was afraid to go to sleep last night, so went +fishing, to catch some fish for breakfast, and here they are." + +"Why, John, were you afraid to go to sleep?" asked Helga, anxiously. + +"Because I knew I should dream of you, Helga," replied Hardy, "and +have not been in bed all night because of that, and because I went +fishing. Moreover, I suspect you of being a 'Mare,' your eyebrows grow +together, and I dread the nightmare." + +"My eyebrows do not grow together," replied Helga, firmly. + +"Let me see," said John; and he took her face between his hands, and +added, "I am not certain, I must look closer;" and kissed her between +the eyes. + +"It is time for me to interfere," said John's mother; and she rang a +small handbell in the deckhouse. + +"Oh, don't, mother!" said John, with a piteous look. + +"Oh, Mrs. Hardy! what are you going to do with Him?" asked Helga, with +concern. + +"First, he shall have no more breakfast, because he has finished," +said Mrs. Hardy; "and then I will condemn him to----" + +"No, no!" said Helga, beseechingly. + +"I must," said Mrs. Hardy. + +The great black-bearded steward came in to take away the breakfast +things. + +"Do go away; you are not wanted!" said Helga; and she pushed him out, +and shut the door of the deck-house. + +Mrs. Hardy got up and embraced her affectionately. + +"Why," said she, "I was only going to condemn him to love you always, +all his life, and with all his heart. You must not mind if he teases a +little, all men do; but he is as good as gold, and as true as +yourself." + +"Now, Helga," said John, "let the steward clear away, and have a walk +on deck. I will not tease you any more until next time. But where is +that boy Axel?" + +Axel had become a favourite with the men, for English sailors like a +quick lad. He had an undying interest in knots and the contrivances on +board the yacht, and the men liked the little Dane, as they called +him. John Hardy sent a man to find him. + +"He is down in the fok'sle, sir, learning knots off the men," said the +man, touching his cap. + +"Axel is trying to learn our English way of tieing knots, Helga," said +Hardy, "and my men have taken him in charge. They will be kind to him, +and would teach a lad no harm." + +"When you were with us last year, you were so thoughtful of every one, +and you were so kind; but when you tease me, I think you love me +less," said Helga, slowly; "and I see you are thoughtful still. But +why do you tease me?" + +"Because I love you so; I do not know how to behave wisely," replied +John. "You called me a cool and calculating Englishman; but if you +knew how it hurt me when you said so, you would not have said what you +did." + +Mrs. Hardy had come on deck, and Helga went to her. Mrs. Hardy saw she +was agitated, and was alarmed, but waited for Helga to speak. + +"I know now he loved me from the first time we went to Rosendal," said +Helga, "and I have been so bad to him. What I have said and did was +hard." + +"He understands it all, Helga, and there is no need for grief when you +are so happy in the certainty of John's truth," said Mrs. Hardy. + +"Thank you; thank you!" said Helga. "I feel so weak against his +strength." + +"Go and tell him so," said Mrs. Hardy, "if you feel so, and enjoy the +beautiful scenes he is taking you through." + +"There is not the weirdness in the scenery here, Helga, as further +north, on the west coast of Norway. The hills here are rounder in +form, as if by the action of ice ages ago," said Hardy. "Your father +has often explained to you the action of glaciers, and how the large +stones or boulders found in Jutland were conveyed by the ice and left +where the ice grounded." + +"It is lovely to pass a fresh prospect every minute," said Helga, "and +to sail so easily through the still waters. The sun is hotter here +than I think with us; it scalds more." + +"Pass the word to get the awning up," said Hardy to one of his men; +and presently half a dozen willing hands had done it. + +"How pleasant!" said Helga. "The draught of air under the awning makes +it feel so delightfully fresh. The colour of the foliage, the grass, +the rocks, and sea appear distinct in effect of colour, John; how is +that?" + +"It is one of the many phases of nature," replied John. "The air is +very clear here, and it may be that the summer being so short, nature +paints in fresher colours." + +"When shall we reach Christiania?" asked Helga. + +"About three, as the yacht is going; the order I have given is, to run +forty revolutions, that is a little more than half speed," replied +Hardy. "If you wish to reach Christiania earlier, I will give the +order for full speed." + +"You must do what your mother wishes, John," said Helga. + +"I am," replied John; "her wishes are that I should consult yours. +Now, for instance, we shall get to Christiania at three; what would +you like to see this afternoon?" + +"Oscarshall," said Helga, "and Tidemand's pictures is what I long to +see; but we had best go there to-morrow. We can take a walk this +afternoon." + +"And come back to dinner and go to the theatre?" added John. + +The New Palace came in view about two, and then Akershuus Castle, and +the yacht was put in her berth by the pilot. + +Mrs. Hardy declined to go ashore, as she said she should be too +fatigued to go to the theatre, and John had a walk with his princess. +He tried to inveigle her into saying that she wanted something, that +he might get it for her; but his sly ways were detected. + +At the theatre a French Vaudeville was acted, which John thought his +mother was greatly tired of and would have left, but Helga's interest +at being in a foreign theatre, and seeing so many strange faces, was +so apparent that Mrs. Hardy would not leave. The night when they came +out of the theatre was beautiful, and John, at his mother's wish, +steered the yacht's gig a little out of the harbour before they joined +the yacht. + +The next day was Helga's birthday, her twenty-first, and at eight +o'clock, Norsk time, the yacht was dressed with bunting. + +Before Helga had finished dressing, Mrs. Hardy's maid came into her +state-room, with a small packet, containing a handsome turquoise ring +from Mrs. Hardy, and a leather case from John Hardy, with the initials +"H. H." There was a slight blush on her cheek as she remarked this. +Her name was to be Helga Hardy. + +"Mr. Hardy has directed me to show you the contents of the +dressing-case, as you may not understand how to open the secret +drawer," said Mrs. Hardy's maid. "This is a little gold key, and opens +the dressing-case; there is scent, tooth-powder, and soap, and the +whole is ready for use. And this is the way the jewel drawer opens; +you press this knob, and it flies open, and is filled with the +jewellery Mr. Hardy thought you might like. When you wish to shut the +drawer, you push it so, and it closes with a spring." + +Mrs. Hardy's maid opened the jewel drawer again, and left it for Helga +to examine its contents. The initials were engraved as a monogram on +different articles, even the ivory brushes had them. Mrs. Hardy had +told her that light blue suited her, and there was a turquoise +bracelet in good taste, and several rings, some of which did not fit +her, as John Hardy when he bought her betrothal ring in Copenhagen had +not been able to get them altered, as his stay in Copenhagen was +short. Her first impulse was to decline such a costly present, next +she thought, "He cannot have told his mother." The breakfast bell +rang, and she went into the saloon where breakfast was served, and +kissed Mrs. Hardy, whose present she wore and thanked her warmly. John +Hardy wished her many happy returns of the day in a kindly Danish +phrase. + +"But how do you like John's present, my child?" said Mrs. Hardy. + +Helga looked at John. She saw at once that his mother not only knew +all about it, but had probably suggested it. "I thought it too costly +to accept," said Helga. + +John put his hands on her two shoulders and shook her gently. "You +must not," he said in Danish, "be stiff-necked on your birthday. My +mother bought what I have given you in London, and the jewellery was +sent to Copenhagen for us to select from. It is all my mother's +choice." + +"In the winter?" said Helga. + +"Yes, my child, in the winter. I understood John, although he had so +many doubts and fears. He told me so much about you that I ordered the +dressing-case, which John has paid for," said Mrs. Hardy, "and if I +were you I would thank him." + +She thanked him in the pretty Danish manner that so well became her, +and said, "Thank you, Mr. Hardy; you are so good to me." + +If the black-bearded steward had not come in at this moment, it is to +be feared that John would have run the risk of being summarily +adjudicated upon as before described. + +"Where is Axel?" asked John. + +"He is out fishing, sir; been out since six o'clock, with one of the +men forard," replied the steward. This was explained to Helga, and +breakfast proceeded. + +"I think," said Mrs. Hardy, "that Helga should write her father, and +say that we have arrived here and shall leave to-morrow evening; and, +John, you could ask him to meet us at Aarhus when we arrived. I fear +the worthy Pastor may think you have carried off his daughter, John." + +"The very course I intend to take, mother, and in which you have aided +and abetted, and I bless and thank you for it," said John. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + + + "Come, live with me and be my love. + And we will all the pleasures prove, + That valleys, groves, or hills, or field, + Or woods and sleepy mountains yield." + _The Complete Angler._ + + +Helga wrote her father as follows:-- + +"My All-dearest Father, + +"You were written to that we were going to Christiania from Elsinore. +I did not know that it was so far, but the steamship Herr Hardy has +sails as fast as the steamer from Aarhus to Copenhagen, and everything +is so clean and nice, and seeing fresh places, has been a great +pleasure. Mrs. Hardy has been, as Karl said, as kind as any one could +be, and I cannot say how grateful I am to her. We are to go to +Oscarshall to-day and many other places in Christiania; and Mr. Hardy +has asked me to write and say that we shall leave here to-morrow, and +shall call at Fredrikshavn and telegraph to you from there the time we +may expect to be at Aarhus, and they think you might like to come and +see the steamer, and stay the night on board, and return home the next +day with us. Herr Hardy has written a letter, which I enclose, as he +said you might wish to hear from him to say how glad his mother would +be to see you on English ground, as an English ship is as English +land. If you can come, dear little father, I should be so glad! I hope +Kirstin has managed everything for you in my absence. She said I was +wrong to go away from you, and perhaps I am, and it is a sad thought +to me; but it is not for long, and if I have been led away to do what +is not fitting, you will tell me, and I will do what you say. Axel is +very happy on board. Herr Hardy is very good to him, and his men are +so friendly and teach him how to tie knots and go fishing with him, +that he is very happy all day long. + +"Mrs. Hardy greets you kindly, and Herr Hardy says I must say that he +thanks you for teaching him to love what is good and true. Live well, +little father. + +"Your daughter, + +"Helga Lindal." + +John Hardy gave directions that the yacht should fill up with coal and +supplies; and in the two days they were at Christiania, a good deal +was seen. There is much to see, and much of natural beauty in +Christiania, and Helga was interested. When they got under way and +steamed down the Christiania Fjord and saw the effect of the sun +setting, which then had its special beauty, Helga thought she had +never seen anything so lovely. + +"No! not even Rosendal?" asked John. + +"Rosendal has its own charm," replied Helga; "there can be other +places that have their singular beauty." + +"I am so glad that you say that," said Hardy. "You may even come to +think that the place where my fathers have lived in England has its +charm;" and he held her face in his hands, and looked into her eyes. + +"I have promised to marry you, John," said Helga, "and it is not +whether your house is beautiful or not; wherever you live I will give +my life to you." + +"Bless you, dearest," said John, "I will never forget what you say;" +and he never did. + +When the yacht had cleared the Christiania Fjord, the night was fine +and clear, but a breeze sprang up from the westward, and grew fresher +towards morning. This had the effect of sending the yacht along under +sail and steam, and at eight o'clock the next day the pilot was sent +ashore at Frederikshavn with a telegram for Pastor Lindal, that they +hoped to arrive at Aarhus at six in the evening. + +"When are you going to marry your Scandinavian princess, John?" asked +Mrs. Hardy, when she was settled in her usual place on deck. + +"I am afraid to say anything, mother, to Helga," replied her son. "I +see there does exist a doubt in her mind as to whether she is not +doing what is wrong in leaving her father for this cruise, much more a +cruise for life. I fear to approach the subject with her, as it may +lead to her entertaining a fixed determination not to marry until her +father's death." + +"There is no selfishness about Pastor Lindal," said Mrs. Hardy, "and, +moreover, he is a sensible man. He is certain to desire that his +daughter should be well and happily provided for; besides, he has seen +enough of you, John, to value you, and I see he likes you. I think you +are right not to speak to Helga on the subject; leave it to me and +Pastor Lindal." + +"Thank you, mother, a thousand times," said John. "I understand you +perfectly well, and I will do anything you think best or shall +arrange." + +"What I have thought of, John, is this," said his mother: "you can be +married, say, the first of August, and remain at Rosendal for your +honeymoon, and then come home to Hardy Place." + +"And what will you do, mother?" asked John. + +"I see you do not want your own mother in the way during the +honeymoon," said Mrs. Hardy, smiling. "You can send the yacht round to +Esbjerg, and I will meet it by rail as soon as you are married, and +return home in the yacht to Harwich." + +"What! go home alone, mother?" said John. "I cannot let you do that!" + +"Well, you can see me safely off at Esbjerg, John," said Mrs. Hardy, +"But this is the way that will please me best, and I wish to give you +a welcome home with your wife, and I long to see her at the head of +the table at Hardy Place." + +"You are the same good mother, ever;" and John took his mother's hand +and kissed it. + +As soon as the entrance of the outer harbour at Aarhus could be made +out, John Hardy went on the bridge with his binocular, and +distinguished Pastor Lindal's head appearing over the parapet wall at +the pierhead. + +"Your father is on the pier, Helga, and you can see him with this +glass," said Hardy, handing her his binocular. This she found +difficult to do, as there were so many other heads appearing; but all +doubt was at an end as the yacht glided past the pierhead of the outer +harbour, for there was the worthy Pastor himself. + +The yacht was soon brought to, and Pastor Lindal stepped on deck, to +be met with much affection from his daughter and Axel. It was clear to +Mrs. Hardy that Helga's attachment to her father was one of simple +trust in each other, the same as existed between herself and her own +boy John. + +The Pastor was ceremoniously polite to Mrs. Hardy, but he greeted John +Hardy with much warmth and thanks. He was pleased with the yacht and +its many clever contrivances for saving space and arriving at comfort, +and at dinner was, for him, merry. He was delighted to see his +daughter with such a fresh and healthy look, after the cruise to +Christiania. Axel, usually a quiet and retiring lad, talked +incessantly; he had so much to relate of all that passed since leaving +Copenhagen, that at length the Pastor stopped him; but Hardy +intervened, "Let him run on, Herr Pastor; he is describing very well. +He will come to an end with what he has to say, shortly." + +The Pastor had thus, from Axel's point of view, the whole history of +the cruise from beginning to end. + +"And what do you say, Helga?" asked the Pastor. + +"I never thought that life could be made so pleasant and so happy, +little father," replied Helga. "Mrs. Hardy is kinder than I can say." + +"And Hardy was not?" said the Pastor, smiling. + +"He is like his mother, little father; their natures are the same," +replied Helga. "But he is a man, and men are never so good as women." + +John Hardy laughed, and, as the conversation was in Danish, told his +mother what Helga had said. + +"It is her simple naturalness that makes her say that, John," said +Mrs. Hardy. "She sees in me what she thinks a perfect woman, although +I am an ordinary Englishwoman; while she does not understand the +rougher nature men possess. Her thorough truth in thought and feeling +is her greatest charm." + +Axel, however, put his oar in. "Why, father how can Helga say Herr +Hardy is not as good as Fru Hardy? He gave her a toilet box with +costly things in it." + +"Yes, little father, it is true," said Helga; "but it was too costly a +present, and I did not like to accept it." + +When dinner was over, Mrs. Hardy told her son to go on deck, and take +Axel with him. She then asked Helga to show her father the +dressing-case John Hardy had given her. The Pastor started when he +read the initials, "H. H." His quick apprehension realized the +position. + +"Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy, "our children leave us as we grow +older; and is there any better wish for them than that they should +have a happy future?" + +Mrs. Hardy held out her hand, and Pastor Lindal grasped it. He +understood her, and, with the ceremonious politeness habitual to him, +raised her hand to his lips. + +"I think," said Mrs. Hardy, "they can be married on the first of +August. There is no reason to delay the happiness of their young life. +They can remain near you at Rosendal for a month, and come to England +for the winter, and return to you in May." + +Helga was present, and heard all Mrs. Hardy had said. She put one hand +on her father's shoulder. + +"Father," she said in Danish, "I will wait your wish and time." + +"Mrs. Hardy is right, Helga," said her father, "I shall miss you, but +it will be a joy to me to lose you to Hardy. He is the one man I like, +and I hope he is the one man you love." + +"I can never forget how we wronged him, when Rasmussen was injured and +died, and how noble he has always been!" said his daughter. "I have +been unkind and bad to him, and I now know pained him with what I +said. Little father, what you say I should do that will I do." + +"Mrs. Hardy," said the Pastor, "my daughter assents to what you +propose, and I assent. You can order the matter as you will." + +"I will promise you. Pastor Lindal," said Mrs. Hardy, "that all the +time she can she shall be in Denmark, and that I will be to her as her +own mother." Mrs. Hardy held out her hand to the Pastor, and the +compact then made ever after was adhered to. + +Mrs. Hardy rose, and kissed Helga on her flaxen hair. "Will you tell +John, or I?" she asked. + +"I cannot," replied Helga, earnestly. + +"Then, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy, "we will go on deck, and I +should like a walk about Aarhus, if you will take me, and John can +take his wife that is to be." + +When Mrs. Hardy came on deck, she said to her son, "The first of +August, John; it is so settled." + +John Hardy lifted his mother from the deck, and positively kissed her +in the sight of his own men and a numerous crowd of curious Danes, who +had collected to see the yacht, and f Helga had not jumped ashore, it +was not at all improbable but that she might have shared the same +fate. + +The trust and confidence the mother and son had in each other was a +comfort to the Pastor. It was the best guarantee for Helga's future. + +"It is late," said the Pastor; "but I know the clerk at the Domkirke +(cathedral), and you can possibly see it." + +The advantage of seeing the Domkirke with the Pastor was obvious to +Mrs. Hardy, and they were much interested in the details he gave of +the old vestments preserved in the Domkirke and the ancient folding +pictures at the altar, the date of which is 1479, but the pictures are +Italian and older. + +"The old church tradition," said the Pastor, "is that the patron +saint, St. Clement, after suffering martyrdom, came ashore after +floating about the sea for eleven hundred years, bound to a ship's +anchor, which circumstance is delineated in more than one place in the +Domkirke. One of the stories of the Domkirke is recorded on a stone," +continued the Pastor. "It is the figure of a woman with a hole in her +left breast. She was shot by a rejected lover, as she went to the +Domkirke to attend the church service of the times. The stone must +have been once in an horizontal position, as it is worn as if it had +been placed at the entrance of the Domkirke, as is believed to be the +case, and much trodden on." + +"Are there more stories connected with the Domkirke?" asked +Mrs. Hardy. + +"Yes, many," replied the Pastor. "There is the story of the monks +being killed by bricks falling on them from the arched roof, when +playing cards behind the altar. There is also the story of a large +hunting horn, which is said to be now preserved in one of our museums, +which horn was used at the evening service before Good Friday, in +catholic times. It was blown through a hole in the roof of the +Domkirke, and the words shouted as loud as possible, 'Evig forbandet +vaere, Judas' (For ever may Judas be accursed). There is also the +monument of Laurids Ebbesen who had been unfaithful to the king, who, +when he visited the Domkirke, cut the nose off the monumental figure +with his sword. The ship which is hung up in the Domkirke, is a model +which Peter the Great of Russia had made in France, and it was sent by +a French vessel from Toulon, which was wrecked at the Scaw, or, as we +call it, Skagen. The cargo of the ship was sold by auction. A seaman +of Aarhus bought the model, which is that of a ship of war with +seventy-four cannon, and gave it to the Domkirke, at Whitsuntide, +1720." + +"Thank you very much, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy. + +It must, however, be recorded that notwithstanding the interest John +Hardy had in such lore as the Pastor possessed in such rich abundance, +he was very much interested in another direction. At length, after +much absorbing contemplation, he said, "I never saw such blue as there +is in your eyes, Helga!" + +The next day they returned to Rosendal, and Pastor Lindal to his +parsonage with Helga. He had been pleased with his berth on board the +yacht, and the comfortable opportunity the deck-house afforded for +holding a tobacco-parliament, which Mrs. Hardy bore with much +patience. + +As the yacht was at Aarhus, Mrs. Hardy wished to make a tour amongst +the Danish islands before sending it to Esbjerg. + +"I think, John," she said, "that to-morrow we will invite Pastor +Lindal and Helga to dinner, and we will talk over the arrangements for +your wedding. I should not offer to give her a wedding outfit, as I +think she would not like it. I should give her a good watch and chain, +as a wedding present, and lockets to the two Miss Jensens. It is clear +that the quieter the wedding is the more likely to meet the Pastor's +wishes and his daughter's." + +"I think," said John, "that you are right, but I should wish to let +Helga know that I would bear any expense they wished. I should be so +glad if you would say so to her, mother. When we were at Christiania, +I wanted her to let me get her gloves or anything else she might wish +for, and she said 'You need not try to buy my goodwill, John; you +possess it' but she used a Danish word which 'goodwill' does not +translate." + +"I had better ascertain their wishes, John," said his mother, "and say +we only wish to further them; and this once settled, you must come +with me on board the yacht, so that your mother may have her own boy +with her for a while. It will be better for you, as here you would be +restless; and as to your plans for teaching Helga to ride, you can do +so after you are married and are staying here." + +John caressed his mother and assented. + +Helga had filled the porcelain pipe after dinner, and Mrs. Hardy and +Pastor Lindal sat in a garden seat in the grounds at Rosendal, the day +following the decision of Mrs. Hardy's views for her son's wedding. + +"We should wish to obey any wishes you may have, Herr Pastor, as to +the wedding," said Mrs. Hardy, after a general conversation with him. + +"John will remain at Rosendal for a month, and then go to England for +the winter, and come to you again in May." + +The Pastor took several long pulls at his pipe and created a cloud of +smoke. At last he said-- + +"I have not thought of it, Mrs. Hardy." And it was plain he had not. + +"I will, then, say what I think," said she. "The wedding should be at +your church; and will you marry them?" + +"Certainly; it is my intention," he replied. + +"The wedding to be as quiet as possible," continued Mrs. Hardy, "and +proprietor Jensen's daughters to be bridesmaids; and John has an old +college friend who will come here to be his best man, and will return +with me to England in the yacht, from Esbjerg." + +Mrs. Hardy's practical common sense impressed the Pastor; he assented +sadly. + +"There is nothing to mourn over or regret, Herr Pastor, and you will +feel the constant joy of knowing that she is happy with the man of her +choice, and that as long as I live I will watch over her as my own; +also the pleasure of looking forward to her stay in Denmark every +summer will occupy and interest you." + +The Pastor smoked in silence, but his heart was sad. + +It was fortunate that John and Helga appeared, the latter laden with +blooms gleaned in the valley of roses. Her face was bright with +happiness. + +"Mrs. Hardy," she said, "John has persisted in picking rose after +rose, holding them up to my cheek and telling me that I am the fairest +rose, and that I am going to be the rose of Rosendal, and has teased +me dreadfully." + +"I think John is right to say so, and to say so to you," said +Mrs. Hardy, smiling kindly at her. + +The Pastor felt what Mrs. Hardy had once said, that we should love +with our children's love, and the sadness left his face. He began to +share his daughter's love for Hardy. + +Mrs. Hardy rose from her seat, and drew Helga away, and John had to be +content to follow her with his eyes only. + +"Your father, Helga, last year, went for a tour with John; can he do +the same now? On Monday, I am going with John in the yacht for a +cruise amongst the Danish islands," said Mrs. Hardy, "do you think he +would like to go with us? It would allow of his being better +acquainted with us, and would distract his thoughts from dwelling on +your leaving him." + +"Nothing could be better or kinder, Mrs. Hardy," replied Helga. "I +will write for the priest who generally does my father's duty in his +absence, at once." + +"Stay," said Mrs. Hardy, "if your father leaves with us, it will +enable you to get ready for your wedding in his absence; it will be +better so. And here is a little packet. It will meet any expense; it +is not from John, it is from me;" and Mrs. Hardy kissed her +affectionately and was gone. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + + + "_Piscator._--But, my worthy friend, I would rather + prove myself a gentleman by being learned and humble, valiant + and inoffensive, virtuous and communicable, than by any fond + ostentation of riches." + --_The Complete Angler._ + + +Pastor Lindal accepted the invitation to join the yacht. He was +anxious to know more of Mrs. Hardy, in whose hands he felt so much of +his daughter's future lay. + +Mrs. Hardy had, as she had done before every Sunday, attended the +parish church, and Helga thanked her for the contents of the packet of +Danish bank notes. It was more in amount, she said, than she wanted, +and would return Mrs. Hardy three-fourths of it. + +"It is very kind," said Helga; "but I can only accept what is +positively necessary, and I accept that because it would relieve my +father from an expense that he cannot well bear, and because John +might wish to see me well dressed when I am married to him." + +"Would you not like to make Kirstin and your father's other servants a +present when you are married?" said Mrs. Hardy. + +"Yes, I shall; but I cannot use your money to do that, Mrs. Hardy. I +shall give them what I have of my own, and what they know I have +valued; it is not much, but they would like it best." + +This conversation had ended when they reached the parsonage, where +Robert Garth was waiting with the carriage to drive Mrs. Hardy and her +son to Rosendal. + +"John," said Mrs. Hardy, as they drove away, "she is worthy of your +best affection. There is not a day passes but that something arises +which makes me love her more and more." Mrs. Hardy loved again with +her son's love. + +"Mother," said John, "she is so dear to me; there is nothing that is +not truth with her." + +"You are right, John," said his mother. "Give her all your heart, and +she will give you hers." + +"I know it, mother," said John. + +Pastor Lindal accompanied them to Aarhus, and when they came on board +the yacht, John Hardy spread out the chart of the Danish islands +before him. + +"We can reach Nyborg to-night, Herr Pastor," said he, "and call and +stop at Svendborg, and run round Moen's Klint to Copenhagen, and +passing Elsinore to Aarhus again, stopping at any place on the way." + +"But the time?" asked the Pastor. + +"A week," replied John; "or you can land at any place, and return by +rail in a few hours." + +"No, Herr Pastor," interposed Mrs. Hardy, "you must not bind us to +time. We shall see if the cruise is a benefit to you, and if so, you +must prolong it." + +The Pastor always surrendered when challenged by Mrs. Hardy. + +Whilst they were at lunch, the _Rosendal_ steam yacht was passing +Samso. + +"This island," said John Hardy, "appears from the chart to be a sand +bank washed up by the sea." + +"So is all Denmark," said Pastor Lindal. "The legends and traditions +belonging to Samso, however, are not as old as those of Jutland, and +it would therefore appear not to have been inhabited at so early a +period. There is an historical tradition that in 1576 a mermaid +appeared to a man of Samso, and directed him to go to Kallundborg, +where King Frederick II. was then staying with his court, and tell him +that his queen would have a son, which would become a mighty ruler. +The king questioned the man, who stated that the mermaid's name was +Isbrand, and that she lived in the sea, not far from land, with her +mother and grandmother, and that it was the latter that had foretold +the birth of Queen Margrethe, who united the three Scandinavian +kingdoms under one crown. King Frederick sent the man home, and +commanded him not to come to the court again. + +The king's son was Christian IV., under whose rule Denmark attained +its zenith of power. Once, when Christian IV. was driven ashore by a +storm on Samso, he saw the priest's man ploughing. The king took the +plough and ploughed a furrow, and told the man to tell his master that +the king had ploughed for him." + +"A good way to acquire popularity in those times," remarked +Mrs. Hardy. "But are there any more stories of the kind?" + +"There is the story of the Church of the Holy Cross. There is a tablet +said to be yet in the church, on which there is an inscription," +replied the Pastor. "This states that a gilt cross in the church was +washed ashore bound to a corpse, but that when they would take the +corpse to a particular churchyard, that four horses could not move the +waggon in which it was placed. They then tried to draw the waggon to +another churchyard, with the same result; but at last they directed +the horses to the church at Onsberg, and then two horses could easily +draw it; so the corpse was buried in the eastern end of the church, +and the church afterwards called the Church of the Holy Cross. The +date is given as 1596. There is also a story of the Swedish war of +1658, when a party of Swedish cavalry took a tailor prisoner, and set +him at work on a table in a farm-house, while they fired at a mark on +the door, the balls passing close to his head. It is said the door yet +exists, with the bullet marks in it." + +"We have an island in sight, on the starboard bow, called Endelave; +are there any traditions existing there?" asked Hardy. + +"There is only the story of a giant who threw a stone from thence to +Jutland, which was so large that two girls saved themselves from a +bull by climbing to the top of it. There is, however, the variation +that it was thrown by a giantess from Fyen (Funen) with her garter. I +know of no special legend from Endelave." + +"There is a town marked Kjerteminde on the chart; is that in +recollection of anything specially historical, as would appear from +the name?" asked Hardy. + +"When Odin built the town called Odense," replied the Pastor, "the +other towns were envious of its better appearance and condition, and +particularly the town now called Kjerteminde, and complaint was made +to Odin, who was angry, and replied, 'Vaer du mindre' (literally, 'be +you less'); this was that they should continue to be smaller towns +than Odense. In time the name from Vaer du mindre became altered to its +present name of Kjerteminde. There is also the variation that the name +is from St Gertrude's minde (memory) contracted to Kjerteminde. She +was the sailors' patron saint." + +"There is more to be said of Odense, as it was founded by Odin," said +Mrs. Hardy. + +"What I can tell you of Odense," said the Pastor, "is history, +chiefly. There is the story that a rich man called Ubbe gave his +property to St. Knud's (Canute) Church under singular circumstances. +His relatives wanted him to leave his property to them, and they +placed a woman in his household, if possible, to influence him in +their favour, and she did not. Ubbe had become blind. He directed some +tripe to be cooked, possibly because his teeth were gone. The woman, +however, having no tripe, cut up an old felt hat and gave him. This he +chewed and chewed, when a little child told him what it was. He was +angry at the deceit, and gave his property to the Church; and the name +of a portion of his lands was changed from Ubberud to Kallun (tripe). +Odense is the birth-place of Hans Christian Andersen, whose stories +have been translated into English," continued Pastor Lindal; "but, +like other translations, they lose immeasurably by translation." + +"What is the chief historical interest connected with Odense?" asked +Mrs. Hardy. + +"The death of St. Knud," replied the Pastor. "He was the grand-nephew +of Canute the Great. He was killed in the church of St Albanus, in +1086, by his rebellious subjects. He wanted to make war on England, as +he claimed the English throne, and they resisted; so far it is +history. The story is that he was pursued, and fled to the church, and +prayed for his enemies. He saw a Jutland man looking at him through a +window of the church, and the king asked for water. The man ran to a +stream and fetched water in a cup; but as he reached it to the king, +another man struck the cup with his spear, and the water was spilt, +and the king was killed by a stone thrown at him. The man who had +prevented the king getting the cup of water went out of his mind, and +had always a burning thirst, and on going to a well to drink fell +down, and stuck in it over the water, which he could not reach, and so +perished. The king was canonized, but is said to occasionally visit +the church, where he was buried, from his place amongst the angels. +This church he had just commenced to build. There is a story that when +the tower was building, an apprentice told his master he was as good a +builder. The master-builder went out of the tower on the scaffolding +and stuck an axe into it, and told the apprentice to go and fetch it, +if he could. The apprentice went, but called out that an adjoining +village was approaching the town of Odense. 'Then God have mercy on +your soul' said the master-builder. The apprentice fell to the ground +and was killed. There is, however, a variation of this story, which +localizes it in Copenhagen at Our Lady's Church there, and that the +apprentice cried out that he saw two axes. The result was the same." + +"Thank you very much, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy. "You must try and +keep up the practice of speaking English." The Pastor was in the habit +of falling back on his own language when he had a difficulty, for John +Hardy to interpret. + +"I think we should have but one language all over the world," said the +Pastor, "and that language should be English." + +"There is not much to see at Nyborg, mother," said John, "and the +pilot says if we leave early to-morrow that we had best anchor outside +the harbour, clear of the course of the steamers from Korsor. We shall +have the anchor down at six, and we can go ashore and have dinner a +little before eight, and then the Pastor can hold his second +tobacco-parliament before we turn in. We shall also have to engage +another pilot, as it is difficult navigation to Svendborg; and if we +start at six, we shall be there at eight to-morrow, which will enable +us to see Svendborg and its pretty neighbourhood, and in the evening +can anchor under shelter of Vaeiro, an island, so as to reach +Vordingborg early to-morrow." + +Mrs. Hardy followed her son's explanation on the chart. He was himself +the registered owner of his yacht, and acted as his own skipper when +on board; and as his men had been with him in other yachts, of which +he had been the owner, they had confidence in him, as they had seen +his courage and seamanship again and again put to the proof. + +"You are always self-reliant, John," said his mother. + +"Yes; but Pastor Lindal has taught me on whom reliance should be +placed," said John. "The simple trust he has and the simple faith of +which he is convinced are in his life and practice. No sermon can have +such influence as to be with him one day in his parish when he visits +those he sees it necessary to visit. It is the simplicity of perfect +truth about him that has made his daughter a pearl without price." + +"I believe every word of what you say, John," said his mother. "She +has now my heart as completely as she has yours." + +There is not so much to see in Nyborg. The walk in the wood is pretty +with its thoroughly Danish prospect, and there is little else to +interest. Pastor Lindal was tired when they reached the yacht, but +revived with the tonic effect of a good dinner. They adjourned to the +deck-house, and Hardy essayed to fill the porcelain pipe with +Kanaster, but failed. The pipe was too hard pressed with tobacco and +would not draw, and it was not John Hardy only who missed Helga. + +"Is there anything to relate about Nyborg, Herr Pastor?" asked Hardy. + +"There is not much specially," replied the Pastor. "There is the story +of the monkey taking Christian II. out of his cradle when there was a +royal residence at Nyborg, and jumping out of the window with him, and +taking him upon the roof, so that it was with difficulty that they got +him down again. There is also the story of the ghost of Queen Helvig, +who was married to Valdemar Atterdag. She is said to have appeared for +years to the sentry on the ramparts, and to have always left a dollar +under a stone, which he collected; but one day, he was sick, and told +a comrade to fetch the dollar, but no dollars were placed under the +stone after. Queen Helvig was imprisoned there for a long time, under +a charge frequently preferred in those days." + +"Had you not particular days called Maerkedage, to which particular +importance was attached?" asked Hardy. + +"They were principally the greater festivals of the Church, or on New +Year's Day," replied the Pastor. "Thus, for instance, if the sun shone +out so long on New Year's Day that a horse could be saddled, it was a +sign of a fruitful year; also, if a girl or a young man wished to know +whom she or he would marry, they write the names of suspected persons +on different pieces of paper, and put them under their pillows on New +Year's Eve, and the one thus dreamt of is the one selected; also, if a +turf is cut from the churchyard New Year's Eve, the person who puts it +on his or her head can see who will die in the year, as their ghosts +will appear in the churchyard. There is also another means to the same +end, and that is when people sit at a table New Year's Eve; those that +will die in the year cast a shadow, but without a head. Tyge Brahe has +particularized many days in the year as being unlucky, on which to +attend to any business or to do anything important, but they are so +numerous that they are not regarded." + +"Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy, "you are tired with your walk about +Nyborg, and your speaking so much in English; I wish to suggest a +subject that will give you something to think of." + +"What may that be?" asked the Pastor. + +"I have thought," said Mrs. Hardy, "that you might like to see us at +home in England before the winter. John will leave at the end of +August, and you might go with him. What I feel is, that I should like +during the winter you should feel that your daughter is well cared +for." + +"I will go," said the Pastor; and he held out his hand to Mrs. Hardy +in his Danish manner, and the matter was at an end. Mrs. Hardy's +kindly tact always overcame him. + +The visit to Svendborg entailed so much to see and explore, that it +was not until late in the evening that the yacht was reached. The +Pastor was, however, fresher than the evening before, possibly because +they had not walked so much, but had driven. + +"What we have seen at Svendborg, Herr Pastor, is very pretty," said +Mrs. Hardy, "but it differs from an English landscape; and it is only +by seeing both that you can realize the contrast." + +"That is very possible," replied Pastor Lindal. "The same landscape +painted by different artists would make each their impression; how +much more, then, would nature, with influences we cannot understand, +produce different effects?" + +Mrs. Hardy looked as if a fresh field of thought was opened to her, +and her son observed his mother's look of surprise. + +"I have been often astonished," he said, "to hear from Pastor Lindal +and Helga a similar cast of thought that has given me something to +think of for long after. I think it is the outcome of a natural +singleness of thought we do not often meet." + +"I believe you are right, John," said his mother. "But possibly Herr +Pastor can tell us a tradition of Svendborg;" and she raised her voice +and addressed him. + +"There is the tradition of St. Jorgen," he said, "or, as you call it +in English, St. George and the dragon. The features of the story, of +course, are the same; with us the tradition runs as follows:--There +was a temple inhabited by a dragon, who issued from it and laid waste +the country. Each day the monster craved a human life, until at last +lots were drawn as to who should be the victim, and from this neither +the king nor his family were exempt, and the lot fell on his only +daughter. The king offered half his kingdom to any one who should +destroy the dragon. A knight called Jorgen attempted to do so, by +putting poisoned cakes in the dragon's way; but that availed nothing. +He then attacked it, and the monster retreated to Svendborg; but it +again came forth, and a combat between the knight and the dragon +ensued. The dragon was slain, and where its poisonous blood poured out +no grass will grow. The combat is said to be delineated on the church +bells. It is very probably only an echo of the Greek story of Perseus +and Andromeda. You will observe the dragon in our tradition is said to +have issued from a temple. We had no temples, the Greeks had. + +"There are not many special traditions connected with Svendborg. There +is the story of a noble lady who was murdered at Svendborg, but the +murderers were men of rank, and the whole town agreed to pay +blood-money, and some farms were apportioned to the murdered woman's +relatives and a wooden cross set up over her grave; and it was agreed +that when the wooden cross fell into decay, whoever first repaired it +should possess the farm so apportioned. The consequence was that a +wooden cross was always kept ready to repair the original cross. This +story has many variations and is differently localized." + +"Are there not many proverbs with regard to the weather, or the like, +in Denmark?" asked Hardy. + +"There are, but they are identical with the English," replied the +Pastor. "There are some that may be new; for instance, we say that +there is always some sun on a Saturday, that the poor may dry the +clothes they wash. The farmers also say that if the priest takes his +text from St. Luke in preaching his Sunday's sermon, it is sure to +rain. Also, that a southerly wind is like a woman's anger, it always +ends in weeping. Of days in the week we say, that if it rains on a +Sunday and a Monday it will rain the whole week. Again, we say-- + + + 'Sondags Veir til Middag + Er Ugens Veir til Fredag.' + + 'Sunday's weather to midday + Is the week's weather to Friday. + + +There is another of the same character: + + + 'Tirsdag giver Veir til Torsdag, + Fredags Veir giver Sondags Veir, + Lordag har sit eget Veir, + Mandag enten vaerre eller bedre.' + + 'Tuesday's weather is Thursday's weather, + Friday's weather is Sunday's weather, + Saturday has its own weather, + Monday is either worse or better. + + +The same, I believe, exists in England," continued the Pastor, "or at +least very nearly allied to it." + +"It is so," said Hardy. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + + + "Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright, + The bridal of the earth and sky." + _The Complete Angler._ + + +The yacht had anchored for the night to the east of Vaeiro, an island +and lighthouse. The pilot and steward had gone ashore to purchase +fresh milk. The morning was without a breath of wind, and the yacht +was motionless. + +"What a sense of calm and peace!" said Mrs. Hardy, as she came on +deck. "There is not a fish coming to the surface of the still water, +or a bird in the air, or a boat visible. It is almost desolation." + +"We are out of the track of vessels," said Pastor Lindal, "and there +are few fish just here, consequently no sea-birds in pursuit of them." + +"You will soon see more life, mother," said Hardy, "From our position +we are seventeen knots to Vordingborg, which we shall reach shortly +after breakfast. We shall have to take another pilot there, for the +difficult channel by Gronsund out to the Baltic, as our present pilot +is not allowed to go beyond Vordingborg." + +"Your pilots, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy, "appointed by your +Government, appear men well selected for their duty. They are all +experienced men and well-conducted. We have been yachting on many +shores, but the pilots we have taken in Denmark have been all men that +have given me a feeling of confidence." + +"There is much employment for pilots on some parts of our coast," said +the Pastor, "and the men soon acquire experience." + +When they came on deck after breakfast, the yacht was half-way to +Vordingborg. + +"What is the land on the starboard bow?" asked Mrs. Hardy. + +"Falster," replied the Pastor, "and to the south is Laaland. One of +the chief towns is Mariebo; it is so called from the special wish of +the Virgin, as evidenced by a shining light having been seen there +every night. Queen Margrethe bought the site for a church, from the +owner, Jens Grim, and the place was called Mariebo. The termination +'bo' is present Danish for an abode or dwelling, as it was supposed +the Virgin had been there. 'By' is present Danish for a town. In the +church there is the figure of a monk on one of the pillars pointing at +another pillar, where it is said a treasure is buried. A Danish +antiquary is said to have found in the Vatican a paper stating that +when the monks were driven out of Mariebo, they had hid their +documents in a pillar of the church. It is not known to me whether any +search has been made. The owner of the site, Jens Grim, was attacked +by people from Lubeck; they besieged his two fastnesses. They +succeeded in taking one of them by a very simple stratagem. Jens Grim +had lost his knife, which the Lubeckers found, and took it to the +fastness, where they knew he was not, and said they had come to take +possession by Jens Grimes order, and produced the knife. They were +admitted and took the place." + +"What do you propose to do at Vordingborg, John?" asked Mrs. Hardy. + +"We are close to it, mother," replied John. "It is likely to be a +similar place to Svendborg." + +"There is not much to see at Vordingborg. There are the ruins of King +Valdemar's castle; the portion most prominent is called the Goose +Tower, because the figure of a goose was used as a weathercock," said +the Pastor. "If I might suggest, a drive in a carriage in the +neighbourhood would, I think, interest you. The scenery is the same +type as at Svendborg." + +The Pastor's suggestion was followed, and he poured forth much +historical learning connected with Vordingborg. + +"Is there no legend?" asked Hardy. + +"Yes," replied the Pastor; "but it is one common to a great many +places. It is this. A giantess wished to remove a tumulus or Kaempehoi +from Vordingborg to Moen. She put it in her apron; but there was a +hole in it, and the Kaempehoi fell into the sea near the coast, and +formed what is called Borreo, or Borre Island. That is the only legend +I know, or can recollect at present, particularly attached to +Vordingborg. But do you not propose an excursion to Moen's Klint?" + +"That we do, as it is different from any other place in Denmark," said +Hardy. "The difficulty is, if it should come on to blow hard in the +eastern sea, as you call the Baltic, the yacht would have to run back +to Gronsund, or go to Copenhagen." + +"Then," said the Pastor, "why not leave the yacht at Gronsund? You can +get a carriage and a pair of horses to drive through the whole of +Moen, about sixteen English miles, and return the same evening to the +yacht." + +John Hardy laid Mansa's map and the chart before his mother, who +assented. + +"Where can we get horses?" he asked. + +"At Phanefjord, I expect," replied the Pastor. "They could be ordered +to be ready at the ferry at six in the morning, and in three hours we +could reach Liselumd, from whence Moen's Klint can be explored on +foot." + +"Is it too much for you, mother?" said Hardy. "It will be a long day; +but the next day, weather permitting, we should be under weigh for +Copenhagen, and you would have rest." + +"It will be a long day, John," replied his mother, "but not too long. +I like Pastor Lindal's plan." + +"What is the meaning of the name Phanefjord?" asked Hardy. "Is it +derived from the Greek?" + +"There was a giant called Gronjette, or the Green Giant; he gave his +name to the fjord, which is called Gronsund. He was married to a +giantess called Phane; hence Phanefjord. They are said to be buried at +Harbolle, and their graves are one hundred yards (English) long. He +was accustomed to ride through the woods with his head under his left +arm, with a spear, and surrounded by hounds. The Bonder always left a +sheaf of oats for his horse, so that he should not ride over their +freshly sown fields, when the Jette or giant went on his hunting +excursions. There is even an epitaph on Gron and Phane:-- + + + 'Nu hviler Gron med Phane sin; + Som traettede rasken Hjort og Hind. + Tak, Bonde, god! den dyre Gud, + Nu gaar du tryg af Sundet ud.' + + +Literally-- + + + 'Now rests Gron and his Phane; + They followed the quick buck and hind. + Thank, peasant, the good God, + That now you can safely go through the fjord.' + + +There is a story of Gron. He halted one night and knocked at a Bonde's +door, and told him to hold his hounds by a leash. Gron rode away, and +was absent two hours. At length he returned, but across his horse was +a mermaid, which he had shot. This was before the time of powder. Gron +said to the Bonde, 'I have hunted that mermaid for seven years, and +now I have got her.' He then asked for something to drink, and when he +was served with it he gave the Bonde some gold money; but it was so +hot it burnt through his hand, and the money sunk in the earth. Gron +laughed, and said, 'As you have drank with me, you shall have +something, so take the leash you have held my hounds with.' Gron rode +away, and the Bonde kept the leash, and as long as he did so all +things prospered; but at last he thought it was of little value, and +threw it away. He then gradually grew poorer and poorer, and died in +great poverty." + +"A very good legend, and thank you, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy. + +"There is an old ballad," continued the Pastor, "called 'The Pilgrim +Stone,' which opens with a mother calling her three daughters to go to +the early Catholic church service of the times, and then the water was +so shallow between Moen and Falster that they could jump over it. The +three daughters were attacked by three robbers and killed by them. +They put their bodies in sacks; but they were seized by the father and +his men, and then it appeared that the three robbers were brothers to +the murdered girls, having been stolen, when they were very young, on +their way to school. The two eldest were hung, and the youngest made a +pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and when he returned he lived a few years +at Phanefjord, and was buried where the pilgrim stone marks the place. +The ballad is of the simplest character and incomplete; but such is +the story. Under different conditions it is recited in other places in +Denmark; but it is dramatic in all cases." + +"It is indeed dramatic," said Mrs. Hardy. "The stories of giants +appear to have had their origin from natural forces, as ice, or the +heat of summer, but have been blended with human attributes." + +The drive to Moen's Klint from Gronsund was full of interest from +Pastor Lindal's knowledge of the past history of so many places. + +"There are not so many traditions in the low part of Moen as in Hoie +Moen; that is where the cliffs are," said the Pastor. "The cliffs are +chalk, with layers of flint, and were supposed to be peopled with +Underjordiske or underground people, the chief of whom was called the +Klinte Konge, or cliff king. Klint is the Danish word for cliff. His +queen is described as being very beautiful, and she resided at the +place called Dronningstol, or the queen's throne or chair, and near it +was her sceptre, in old times called Dronningspir, but now called +Sommerspir. The Klinte Konge was supposed to reside at Kongsberg. He +was always at war with another Klinte Konge, at Rygen, and there is an +old ballad on the subject. It is said that when Denmark is in danger, +the Klinte Konge and his army can be seen ready to resist the invader. +There are very many variations of this superstitious story, more or +less picturesque." + +"Are there any stories of communications between the Underjordiske and +mortals?" asked Mr. Hardy. + +"There is such a story. A woman called Margrethe Skaelvigs was going to +Emelund to borrow a dress of Peer Munk's wife, to be married in, when +an old woman met her, and asked where she was going. Margrethe told +her. 'When you pass here on Saturday, I will lend you a bridal dress;' +and she gave Margrethe a dress of cloth of gold, and told her to +return it in eight days; but that if Margrethe saw no one when she +brought it back, she might keep the dress. No one appeared, and +Margrethe kept the dress." + +"The conjecture might be that the dress was given her by her intended +husband," said Hardy, "who adopted this method of giving her a dress. +I should like to impose on Helga in the same way." + +"Don't talk nonsense, John," said Mrs. Hardy, who feared that it might +not be agreeable to Pastor Lindal; and, to turn his thoughts in +another direction, asked him if there were not other legends of a +different type. + +"Yes; there is one very commonly repeated," he replied. "A Bonde had +twenty pigs ranging through the wood by Moen's Klint. He lost them, +and after searching for a whole year, he met Gamle Erik (the devil; +literally, Old Erik) riding on a pig and driving nineteen before him, +and making a great noise by beating on an old copper kettle. The pigs +were all in good case, except the one Gamle Erik rode, which bore +traces of bad treatment. The Bonde shouted and called, and Gamle Erik +was frightened, and dropped the copper kettle, and let the pigs be +pigs. So the Bonde had not only his pigs, but a copper kettle to +recollect Gamle Erik by." + +Mrs. Hardy was much pleased with the scenery about the cliffs, and the +contrast of the dark blue sea against the white chalk, and the varied +prospects in the woods. + +The drive had been full of interest, and Mrs. Hardy thanked Pastor +Lindal for his suggesting it, and the pleasure of hearing his +narrations on the very places with which they were connected, and +added-- + +"I shall come again another year, Herr Pastor, on purpose to enjoy +your society, if you will act as guide." + +"God willing, it will be a pleasure to me," said he; "but these few +days have had their effect on me. I appear to see things with a +clearer view, that at home have been difficult to me. Travelling +develops the mind, and gives it a broader cast of thought. You, who +have travelled so much, Mrs. Hardy, appear to have been influenced by +the process." + +"Thank you for your compliment, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy. "It is +well put." + +At eight the following day, the yacht was passing Moen's Klint, at +sea, bound for Copenhagen. There was a stiff breeze from the westward, +and in passing Praesto Bay the yacht was in a short rough beam sea, +that made things very lively to all on board, except possibly the +Pastor, as his ears gradually assumed a greenish tint. + +John Hardy consulted the pilot, and the yacht was brought up and +anchored under Stevn's Klint, in shelter, much to Pastor Lindal's +comfort, who appeared at lunch fully recovered from his sea-sickness. + +"Praesto," said he, "is so called after a priest called Anders; he was +a monk at the time of the Reformation, but adopted the reformed +religion. He had only a small copper coin, which always returned to +him when he spent it, and received no other payment for his services. +In the arms of the town of Praesto is a man in a priest's dress, +supposed to be in his memory." + +"Were there any Underjordiske in the cliff at the yacht's bow?" asked +Hardy. + +"There was fabled to be an Elle Konge," replied Pastor Lindal, "or +king of the elves, and he occupied not only Stevn's Klint, but also an +adjoining church, where a place in the wall is shown as his residence, +and is called Elle Kongen's Kammer, or the king of the elves' chamber. +In the neighbourhood of this church are the remains of an oak wood. +The trees therein are said to have been trees by day, but the soldiers +of the elf king by night. The church referred to is Storehedinge, and +was built by a monk against the wishes of the great man of the +locality, who, when the church was built, cut off the monk's head. The +figure of a monk's head is on a stone in the wall by the altar. + +"The church a little to the south of the lighthouse is called Hoierup, +and was built in fulfilment of the vow of a seaman when in danger. As +the cliff crumbles away, the church is said to go a cock's footstep +back on the mainland every Christmas night." + +"What is the meaning of 'rup' as a termination to so many Danish +places?" asked Hardy. + +"It is your English 'thorp,' or Swedish 'torp,' or German 'dorf,' a +village," replied the Pastor. "Vandstrup, for instance, is 'the +village by the water,' as the Danish word for water is Vand. It is, as +you know, close to the river." + +The pilot had predicted that the wind would lessen at four o'clock in +the afternoon, and the yacht got under weigh, and, carrying plenty of +sail and full steam, made a rapid passage across Kioge Bay, so +disturbing sometimes to the breakfast of the Kiobenhavner, who trusts +himself to a pleasure excursion on its waters. + +Off Dragor, the jack was again hoisted for the Copenhagen pilot, and +the Rosendal steam yacht was at anchor off the Custom House at +Copenhagen, before a late dinner, that evening. + +"We must fill up with coal and water, mother, and it had better be +done here," said Hardy; "it would give us time for an excursion to +Roeskilde to see the Domkirke, or elsewhere." + +"No, John," said Mrs. Hardy. "I want to purchase many articles that +you will want at Rosendal after you are married, that you would never +think of; and I must leave something for the Pastor to tell me next +summer." + +"But what shall I do with Pastor Lindal tomorrow?" asked John Hardy. + +"He will like to be left to himself, to go where he wishes," replied +his mother; and she was right. As the yacht left Copenhagen a day or +so after, Mrs. Hardy refused to visit the beautiful vicinity of +Copenhagen. "No, John; and no, Herr Pastor," she said. "I must keep +something to see for other years, and something to look forward to and +wish to see. I even decline to hear the story of the soldier who shot +from Kronborg Castle a cow with a cannon in Sweden, and that although +he did not hurt the milkmaid. The Herr Pastor must keep something to +tell me another season." + +"But, mother, we can anchor at Elsinore, and you could see Kronborg +Castle," urged her son. + +"So I will another year, John," she replied. "Get your mud-hook up, as +you call it, and let me have my way. I hope not only to visit more of +Denmark, but also of Sweden and Norway, and hope not only the Herr +Pastor will be with us, but his daughter." + +"Thank you kindly," said the Pastor, shaking hands with her in the +manner frequent in Denmark. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + + + "Come, live with me and be my love, + And we will some new pleasures prove. + Of golden sands and crystal brooks. + With silken lines and silver hooks." + _The Complete Angler._ + + +When Pastor Lindal arrived at his parsonage, he was received by his +daughter with much affection. She saw he was benefited by the cruise +in the yacht, and was in good spirits. + +"Little father," she said, "you look so well. Thank you, Mrs. Hardy, +for taking him with you; it will give my father so much to talk of, in +the winter, to Axel; and thank you, John, too." + +"I am glad there is a word for me," said Hardy, using, as he often did +with her, a Danish phrase. "I was beginning to think I was not to be +spoken to at all." + +"I think," said Mrs. Hardy, "that the Pastor and Helga might come to +us to-morrow, John, and that, as you are so impatient for a +tete-a-tete interview with Helga, you can have a ramble in your woods +at Rosendal, while I discuss the matters that have to be arranged with +the Pastor." + +John thought this a very excellent arrangement; but Pastor Lindal +declined. He had much to see to in his parish, and he could not, he +said, after the absence of a week, return to his parish and not visit +it. He explained that he felt it to be his duty to feel the pulse of +his parish, to see what changes of thought occurred and what +circumstances had arisen that might influence his Sogneborn (children +of his parish). This, he said, guided him in what he preached. + +"I agree with every word you say, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy. +"There can be no better view of what your duty is. The shepherd should +always watch;" and, as she read disappointment in her son's face, she +added, "You can, however, spare us Helga to lunch with us at Rosendal; +John can drive over for her, and she shall return early." + +Pastor Lindal assented, and John Hardy drove over as early as he +thought advisable, and in returning to Rosendal insisted on Helga's +driving and telling him everything that had occurred in his absence at +sea. + +It was a pleasure to Mrs. Hardy to see their happy faces as they drove +up at Rosendal. + +"Bless you, dear mother!" said John. "It has been so sweet to hear the +thankfulness with which she speaks of every little attention we showed +her father when at sea. It was your considerate goodness that +suggested it all." + +"You must let me have your princess, John, for a few minutes," said +his mother. "You have to consider her, and that there are subjects +that we can discuss better without you." + +"I agree to five minutes, and no longer," said John, with some warmth. +"For goodness' sake, mother, do not be unreasonable, and keep her an +unconscionable time." + +"There is no doubt of his affection for you, Helga," said Mrs. Hardy, +"and it is a joy to me to see it; but come into my sitting-room, and +tell me what you have done about your wedding-dress." + +"Here is the money you kindly gave me," replied Helga. "I have thought +it over, and I think that John would rather marry me just as I am than +that I should appear any different; and my father, I feel, would wish +it so." Mrs. Hardy recollected the cloud on the Pastor's open face +when her son had referred to giving Helga a wedding-dress. "I have, +therefore, not used any of the money, Mrs. Hardy," added Helga; "but I +am very grateful for your considering me as if I were your daughter." + +"I will always act a mother's part to you, Helga," said Mrs. Hardy; +"your freedom from selfishness, as well as honesty of feeling, make me +love and respect you. It is not money, or money's worth, that is +everything. I have always taught my son that kindliness is the real +gold of life." + +"When John came here first," said Helga, "he said that, and my father +has liked him from that moment." + +"But you did not, Helga?" said Mrs. Hardy, as if asking the question, +and smiling. + +"I did, really," replied Helga; "but I thought it was wrong to think +of him, and I treated him in a manner of which I am ashamed. I would +give anything to recall what I said to him." + +John Hardy came bustling in. "Mother!" he exclaimed, "I really cannot +let you take up all Helga's time with discussions." + +"What we have discussed, John, is yourself," said his mother, "and I +can wish for nothing better for you than Helga's golden truth and +love. You can take her for a walk in the woods until lunch, but mind, +John, to be back punctually at one." + +"Why, that is only an hour, mother," protested John, who was becoming +quite unreasonable and impatient. + +"And twelve times as long as you would let your mother speak to her +daughter that is to be," said Mrs. Hardy. + +"Now, Helga," said John, "I recollect you called me a cool and +calculating Englishman. I shall take you down to the lake, where it +will be cool, and there I shall find a Smorblomst, or a buttercup, and +by placing it to your chin, I shall be able to calculate the +transparency of your complexion from the reflection of colour." + +"Don't tease me, John, about what I said to you last year," said +Helga, imploringly. "If I said anything that pained you, I am sorry +for it; but do not always keep it alive against me." + +"There is the rose of Rosendal, mother, and the jewel of Hardy Place," +said Hardy to his mother, on his unpunctual return to lunch. "She is +so good and single-minded that it is impossible to invent ways of +teasing her." + +"Then I should not try, John," said his mother. + +A few days before John's marriage, his friend and neighbour, Sir +Charles Lynton, arrived at Rosendal. + +"It is a lovely place, John," said his friend; "but, I suppose, +nothing to be compared with the loveliness of your Scandinavian +princess?" + +"Don't quiz," said Hardy; "but come out and try a cast for an hour or +so for the Danish trout. We can also visit a landowner near, who +breeds good Jutland horses, and I know that is in your line." + +"By all means," said his friend. + +The stout proprietor, Jensen, was pleased with their visit, and the +opportunity of hearing another Englishman's opinion as to his stock of +horses. + +"They want bone," said Sir Charles, "and to be kept better through the +winter." + +"Then it would not pay to breed horses," said the proprietor. "A +big-boned horse would be more expensive to keep up, and would not +stand the cold and wet of our climate. We have no market for very +high-class horses; that is, we might sell one now and then, but not +many." + +A short tobacco-parliament on horses was inevitable, and hints were +exchanged and thoughts expressed very valuable in their way, but not +necessary to be recorded here. + +The wedding took place in the little Danish church at Vandstrup, and +was witnessed by a large number of Hardy's Danish acquaintances and +the Pastor's friends. The Pastor made a long discourse, for his heart +was full. + +Mrs. Hardy would not hear of her son's accompanying her to Esbjerg. +She left with Sir Charles Lynton, for Horsens, to continue the journey +the next day to Esbjerg, where the yacht had been sent to meet them. + +It was not until the middle of September that John Hardy and his wife, +with Pastor Lindal, left Denmark by the overland route for Hardy +Place. The time of their arrival at the station for Hardy Place was +therefore known some time before, and confirmed by a telegram from +Hardy on their reaching England. + +Mrs. Hardy was on the platform, with a tall young man Pastor Lindal +did not know. + +"It is your son Karl, Herr Pastor," said Mrs. Hardy. + +A year's residence in England had made a great change in the Danish +lad, and he appeared so English that the Pastor hesitated before he +spoke to him in Danish. Karl's reply assured him that if he was +changed outwardly, there was no change that he could regret. + +Mrs. Hardy welcomed the Pastor and her son's wife warmly. Two +carriages had been prepared, and John Hardy and his wife went in the +first, and Mrs. Hardy, the Pastor, and Karl in the second. When they +reached the entrance to Hardy Place, there was a considerable crowd of +well-wishers, who cheered lustily. There was an arch with the words-- + + "Saxon and Dane are we, + But all of us Danes + in our welcome of thee." + +"It is kindly meant," said the Pastor, to Mrs. Hardy; "and I like the +full ring of the English cheer." + +At the door at Hardy Place there was another crowd, and amid more +English cheers the fair Dane John Hardy had brought home as his wife +alighted at Hardy Place. + +Mrs. Hardy took possession of Helga, and left her son to speak to his +friends and thank them for their reception, and entertain them. + +"I have only asked Sir Charles Lynton to dinner, John," said +Mrs. Hardy. "I was afraid Helga might not be at her ease with a party +of perfect strangers the very first day she is here." + +The Pastor was delighted with Hardy Place. "I see now," he said, "how +you knew how to deal with Rosendal. Your English landscape gardening +is good. I never saw so beautiful a place! The impression on me is +that of neatness and taste." + +"Sir Charles Lynton comes to dinner, Herr Pastor," said Hardy; "and +you shall go and see his place to-morrow--it is only eight English +miles from here--and then you must tell me what you would like to see +or do during your very short stay in England. I dare say Karl can +suggest something. He must go to his work in London to-morrow." + +Mrs. Hardy brought Helga down to the drawing-room before dinner, +dressed in her neat Danish dress, and a flower in her hair. She shook +hands with Sir Charles Lynton, and thanked him for his coming to her +wedding in Denmark. + +"Now," said Mrs. Hardy, "I shall take her in to dinner and place her +at the head of your table, John, as the new mistress of Hardy Place, +and a better there cannot be." + +Helga did not clearly understand, and John explained in Danish. "My +mother," he said, "wishes to instal you in the position she has +herself so long occupied as mistress here." + +"No," said Helga, decidedly. "I am her daughter, and will serve her +gladly. You surely would not wish me to usurp your mother's place, +John, and that to-day?" She had said this in Danish, and she added in +English, "No, Mrs. Hardy; you are housemother here, and I am your +daughter and owe you a daughter's duty." + +It had been Mrs. Hardy's dream that when her son brought his wife +home, the latter should occupy her seat, and rule as Mrs. Hardy of +Hardy Place. As Helga put it, she had got a daughter, and that was +all. Helga took Mrs. Hardy's hand and kissed it. + +"What a trump she is, John!" exclaimed Sir Charles Lynton. "She will +be the greatest joy and comfort to your mother all her life. I shall +advertise in the Danish papers for a wife." + +"Let Helga sit at your side, mother," said John, "and the Pastor at +your right." + +The Pastor did not appear to think what had passed was unusual in his +daughter's conduct, but this little episode prepared the way for young +Mrs. Hardy of Hardy Place acquiring many friends. + +During Pastor Lindal's short stay in England, John Hardy did his best +to interest him in English life and manners. The Pastor's wish was to +visit an English country church, and to see the whole working of an +English parish. His disapproval of the gift, or, worse still, the +sale, of a cure of souls was utter and complete. + +"Your system of selling or giving livings is bad," he said. "No actual +sympathy can arise between the clergyman and his parishioners unless +they are interested in his selection." + +When he had attended the parish church on the Sunday, Hardy questioned +him. + +"The perfect neatness and order in the church," said the Danish +Pastor, "leave nothing to be desired; what is wanting is the warmth of +human sympathy and life. The service is cold and lifeless, the sermon +like dead leaves. The congregation hear, but they do not listen. There +is a want of harmony created by your system; it produces a barrier +between your clergyman and his flock; it prevents their working well +together, as a rule. In a few cases you will have exceptional men that +will get over any difficulty, and will do their duty well if you bind +them with chains; but it is not in that direction you should look, but +to a Christian bond of sympathy and common interest, as a rule." + +"You are a keen observer, Herr Pastor. It is so," said Hardy. + +"It is not necessary to be a keen observer to see it," replied Pastor +Lindal. "It lies so near the surface that it is not seen, when deeper +causes are looked for and ascribed as producing results they are far +from effecting." + +"Your criticism is hard on the English country parishes," said Hardy; +"if you were here longer, you might alter the decisive character of +your opinion." + +"It is possible, but the contrast strikes me," said Pastor Lindal. "I +speak as I see." + +"That I do not doubt," said Hardy; "and I think the impression of +contrast between your own parish and that of mine is wide." + +"There is but one principle, and that is that 'charity suffereth long, +and is kind,'" said the Pastor; "and when you came to Denmark and said +that kindliness is the real gold of life, there was nothing struck me +so much. It was my very thought in a phrase. I cannot therefore +understand why it should not be a more active principle in your +churches." + +"It is in the hearts of a great many English people," said Hardy. + +"It may be," said Pastor Lindal, "but it is not apparent to a stranger +in your parish church. But there is another matter cognate to us if +not to you, and that is the relief of the poor. Your system is costly, +but it creates the evil. You assist the poor to be paupers; we assist +the poor not to be so, and it costs us less. You train up children in +your work-houses to look to the poor rate or poor box, as we call it, +in after life as something to fall back on, in case of need, or +without need. The system is bad, as it creates more claimants on your +poor rate. This we prevent by teaching the children to earn a living. +The interest your clergy have in this is indirect, and it appears to +me they have little power to be of use, if they had the wish to be so, +which with many men must be a strong wish." + +"It is so;" said Hardy, "and it does not appear to me so extraordinary +that you should observe it, as the contrast between what exists with +you and in England is so marked." + +The Pastor left for Harwich to meet the Danish steamer, and John Hardy +and Helga accompanied him. Helga was cheerful until her father had +left, but for a long time wore a sad expression on her face. John +Hardy and his mother did their best to comfort and allay, but without +success. At last came a letter from her father, and her sadness +vanished. The good man wrote of Hardy and Mrs. Hardy, and how worthy +they were of her affection, and it was her duty now to give them her +gratitude and love; and she became bright at once. John Hardy's +friends called, and Helga mixed in English society and gradually +became accustomed to her new home, and no one was so popular as young +Mrs. Hardy of Hardy Place. + + +FINIS. + + + +PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's A Danish Parsonage, by John Fulford Vicary + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A DANISH PARSONAGE *** + +***** This file should be named 30617.txt or 30617.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/6/1/30617/ + +Produced by Jim Adcock from images obtained from the Internet Archive. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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