, 1874-02-15
HANS CHRiSTlAN ANDERSEN.
An Extract from His Autob1og-
raphy.

From ~ Tie Story of My Lift."

me- that there was no decent inn here for sew
ersl miles; that it was necessary for mo to en-
gage servant; in short, that should live IN
better style than my purse would allow To
write to King Christian VIII, who had kindly
offered to support me, could not bring myself
to do. % had verbally declined to accept that
favor, and now weeks would pass before could
Get an ansvcr It was real tortured wrote &
letter home told them how was, and that
thought it best for me to return homo, as also
did, but Was obliged thereby to refuse various
invitations which received from some OF Scot
land. wealthy nobility to visit their homea.
was deprived Of the pleasure OF seeing Abbots-
ford, to which place had letter of introduc-
tion, Walter 6cott's son-in-law, Lockhart,
whose guest had been in London, had received
me very kindly and affentonntely. His daugh-
ter, the grandfather darling, had told me OF
hor dear grandfather. At her houEe had soen
relics which had belonged to the great poet.-
his magnificent life~like picture, as he sits with
his dog Mazda, gnzing On NC. Mlea Lockhart
presented me fac-slmue OF him who once was
called the Great Unknown. Abbotsford had to
bo given up, as also Looh Laggan, mud return
ed Aomeward detected, leaving Glasgow TOR
Edinburgh.
must tell an event, in itself very insignificant,
but to me new hint OF that fortunate star
WHICH 6ulueH uFEE "4hk ID 44AkA0 l<9 h0A4 80
great. During my last stay in Naples I had
bought plain cane made OF palm, which had
accompanied me on my travels, and thus tn
Scotland also; when I drove with Hambro's
family over the heath between Loch Katrina and
Loeb Lomond, one OF the boys had taken my
cane to play with, and, when VIC camo within
sight Of Loch Lomond, he lifted it up In the air
aud exclaimed: palm, do you see tho highest
Scotch mountain? Do you see there the wide
aea?" and 80 on; and promised that the cane,
~ ,1,r ", x-uif
should tell his conrades about the land Of mist.
whern the spirits OF Ossian lived of the land
where tho red thistle-dower waa honored, set
sparkling in the hcraldic arms for people and
laud. The steamboat arrived sooner than we
Ind expected, and We wore called upon in {.
hurry to come on board. " Where is my cana I"
I asked It had been left behind in the inn;
when The boat which brought na to the north
end Of the lake returned, requested Mr. pug-
gard, when lie went ashore, to take tho cane
With him to Denmark. I arrived IN Edinburgh,
and in the morning stood upon the platform ut
the depot waiting to 60 from there to London,
wien the train from the north arrived few
minutes before the departure OF our trnin. Tho
know me, md delivered me my cane, whi1a no
emilinsly said, sit Aas travelled very well
alons" 4 little label was attached to it, with
the inscription, "The Dnnieh poet, Hans Chris
thu, Andereen!" and they had taken such care OF
it that the cane had passed from hand to hand,
first with the steamboat on Loch Lomond, then
with An omnibua-conductor, after that BY steam
boat again, aud now by railway traln, only BY
means Of its little address-label; 1t reached my
hnnde just as the signal was given TO starr. l
Am still under obligation to tell the adventures
of the cane; wish might some time do it as
well as it made it's journey alone!
I went southwark by way Of Newcastle and
York. In the carriage met tho English anthor
TINT all the Scotch newspapers had mentioned
my stay with tho oueea ~, who had never been
there at all! The newspapers knew it, and QUO
of them snid that l hnd read aloud my stories,
vet not word Of it was true. bought at one
Of the stations tho most recent copy o. f1neh
remark about q foreigner, poet from abroad,
being honorod BY an invitation from the Queer,
that had never been bestowed on any English
author. Tint aud various other reports of
Speaking Of that witty paper: Punch, one Of my
fcllow-travclers said, That it was aign OF
great popularity to be spoken Of in it, ana that
many an Englishmnn would pay his pounds to
come to that!" ! would rather prefer to be e. =.
the publicity 1 arrived at London almost sick:
/ remained couple Of days in London. had
etill not seen anything there but high life, and
! several Of the country's most excellent mon and
women; galleries, muscums, and al such things
were on the contrary new to mo; had not even
had time to visit the Tunnel. Early one morn
ipc decided to 70 to see it I Was advised to
20 by ono OF the many small steamers which arc
running up md down the Thames through the
city, but felt so i'll just as started out that |
gave up the long excursion to the Tunnel, and
It may be that my life Was saved thereby for on
the same day, and at the very hour was to have
gono On bonrd, one Of tho steamers, the Cricket,
was blown up with 100 passengers. The report
OF tue disaster was Immediately spread over all
London. and, although it was not at all certan
that should have gone by just this boat, still
tho possibility. even the probability, WAS so near,
that became solcmnly and gratefully i'm
| pressed and thanked my God for tho illness that
oyercame me shortly before the moment when 1
should have gone Oh board.
Society had now left London, tho opera WAS
closed most Of my best friends had left for dif-
ferent watering-p1aces or for the Continent.
longcd for Denmark, and for my dear ones
there but before I took leave Of England
| was invited to spend a few days more in the
country. at "Beyen Oaks" at tho house of my
publisher Mr.. Richard Bentley. That little
town, near by Knowles renowned park, ia sit
uated not far from the railway to the English
| md agreeable visit to make Oh my way home. I
had been before at Seven Oaks, which is pref
| ty little town. This time went by railway to
| Iunbridge, where Bentley's carriage was sent
for me. Danish nature was al about ?1' me tho
country Was varied with beautiful hills on which
| here mud there stood many old trees, that rem
dcred the whole landscape like park; hedges
or an iron fence formed the boundary. Elegant
| and comfortable rooms, roses and evergreen IN
! the garden, cloge by the celebrated knowlo
| Park whose old castle belongs to the Earl OF
| Amherst One Of the possessor's ancestors was
| a poet, and in Ills honor one OF the saloons 1s
| called the poet-6aloon hero is the portrait OF
that old, right honorable Lord, the poet, IN 1nll
| length and the portraits Of other famous poets
adorn the other walls al if for company for the
! reiening poet. In one Of the neighboring
houses was costumer-shop, just like the Old
| Curiosity Shop which Dickens bag painted for us
Tt.nj y la11~ e+ur,I