"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?"