"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.