Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1886-12-17
9ai19@ eagle
THE ISLE OF ROSES.

Danish island of Bornholm. tits little known
to the world, and the profusion of wild rose'
indigenous to the place has acquired tor Il
the sobriquet of the isle of roses.
The environs OF the little town of Allinge
ON the northwest, are especially picturesque
and remarkable for the peculiar wildness 81
their formation. We are here, suddenly aid
without any prelude, confronted with mag
nifcent natural panorama.
Making Allnge my starting point | used
often 10 visit the old castle The road at first
lies along the strand then winding to the left
commences an ascent; after half an hour
spent in scranbling among the rocks the
"Vale of Paradise" is attained. Through the
heart of the dell encircling the castle extends
a promenade whose perfection Of scenery
challenges Imagination itself. The path on
both sides is bordered with lilacs and roses in
thick hedges, which grow to a sufficient
height to form species of vaulted alley, rich
in fragrance, retaining its grateful shade and
GOODNESS during the prevalence of extreme
heat
4 few PAGES through this Eden brings the
wand rer before the deep, placid languor of
the ocean. Masses of rock, cleft in rugged
wildnesS, form at once a small bay and fit
ting frame for so glorious prospect.
/ sought my favorite haunt one day when
the fierce heat of the suns rays was untem-
pered by breath of air; but the rough
hewn bench under the gnarIed oak, whence
the view extended to the distant sea, COM
manding the course of passing Ships was
occupied.
a girl busted with needlework was sitting
there. In my first surprise | fancied that l
beheld some apparitiOn or wood nymph. 1t
was, however, no unreal mockery," for the
figure arose to its feet when my footsteps be-
came audible. Standing there in all her mar
Vicious beauty, in a flood of sunbeams, she re
sembled some goddess of the northern myth
Ology. The garb of the country developed
freely the graceful symmetry of her tall,
slender figure, and lent peculiar charm to
her appearance. The most striking feature
in this vision was, however, the nobly mod
eled head, the expressive countenance encir-
cled by profusion Of light, wavy hair, the
eyes shaded by dark lashes, blue and fathom-
less as the ocean, their gaze now fixed upon
The intruder.
We stood silent for moment, confronting
each other in mutual surprise, for neither of
us had dreamt of finding this solitude invaded
by another human being. Should | pass on
my way placidly or seek to enter into CONVEX
L hcSittOCu LNtI lOIH VI
which first occurred to me seemed bold and
inappropriate; should have preferred to con-
tent myself with gazing at her and listening
to her voice. As it was necessary, however,
to put an end to the situation one way or
another, and vainly endeavoring to combat
the ascendancy of the girls charms, Inquired
my way to the little fishing village of Wang,
which [ had long intended to visit
"a Won Spaal- Danish - ha ohcarvaJ yvit,
a friendly smile, for she had at once set me
down a foreigner. And then, with all the
charm of natural affability which character
ICES her compatriots, she explained that the
way led Inc across the rocky strand. noted
anew in her a popularity of the Bohemian
folk. Avoiding all use of the expression right
or left, they refer invariably to the points of
the compass She accompanied me to a point
from which | could not miss my way, and
wished me pleasant walk at parting. This
meeting gave me food for reflection during
the rest of my ramble.
What had caused me to take SO much in
terest in this girl! Surely not her rare beauty
alone. | pondered and pondered, and at
length believed had found n cew. | had q
dim recollection of some tragic feature in her
face, such as nature bestOwS i'll many human
beings, and now my minds eye deserted it
clearly and distincAy defined in the graceful
lines of her mouth. Besides this, her ewes
had a gaze full of dreamy thoughtfulnesS, as
though the soul of the posSesSor dwelt in the
far distance. At all events, this maiden had
something unusual about her
At Wang entered the cabin of q fisherman
TO partake of refreshments, as there was no
inn there, and mentioned my encounter ask
ing, after giving description of the girl, if
anybody knew her At once came the reply:
"Of course, that was our lovely Gudrun;
everybody on the island knows her \ good
girl, but klarsynet "a clairvoyant1, which,
however, is not unusual among our women"
"Ah!' thought |, "a clairvoyant That ac-
counts for the dreamy look in her eyes, And
the weather beaten sailor added:
'She has occasioned her father, old Capt
Torstensen, much grief already from this
cause. She wanderS at night to the ruins OF
Hammershuus and talks with the spirits there.
But she will be married soon She is engaged
to Gunnar, the pilot who is due home shortly
in the Russian East Indiaman the Nautilus
On my departure the old man refused nv
protier of uneration-convincing proof of
the hospitality of the islanders. He accepted.
however few cigars, thanking me heartily
with grip of the hand which felt for some
DAYS after
Ny interest in the girl increased Did she
really, then, possess the gift of second sight?
And how did it find vent. Musng over this
set ont on my return
Thinking TO shorten my journey | took a
bypath. When reached the old castle night
had already fallen. | found that had lost
my way, and WAS soon utterly at fault.
wandered about among the rocks for n good
hour, and ct last, III the distance deserted 4
light which made my beacon. 1t led me to
an isolated house. | knocked. with the inten-
ton of asking the Way. The door was
opened, and before me >,ood-my beautiful
acquaintance of the afternoon.
This second meeting 50 surprised me that |
was ct first unable to utter a word At last
L explained my dilemma to Gudrun. who
kindly invited me to enter. Il was her fathers
house. The latter, tall man Of -. easily
recognizable as Il sailor. who had seen mach
of the world, gave me friendly reception.
set some rctreShmontS before me. and pro-
posed to accompany he until | should regain
my road. Thus, for the second time. had
asked the way of GudrIn She referred to
this herself with some graceful Jest. which
lent fresh charm To her naturally thought
ful counteuance.
After tins our meetings were more fire
Quent; sometimes at the house Of her father
who at times accompanied me in my Iambles:
sometimes walking near the old castle One
day We visited the ruins in company We
clanbercd about over the ancient walls. Gul-
run proving herself an entor.aiuiuE guide.
She was well acquainted with tn, history Of
the castle, which had been the ancient strong .
hold Cf Bornho,m.
1t was another lovely afternoon. Lor-