The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1875-09-15

,socialsS ,iis"&personsi. bittswereexs
ceedingly careless, not to say repulsive;
he was not agreeable as next neighbor, or
as observed from over.the-way, at din
ner. table. for he ate voracionsly, and was
decidedly dirty feeder he had no notion
of time, and as pertinaciously required
every one to be at his beck and call as
any curled darling in the nursery, who is
at once the plague and the joy of the
household. lie mad not an idea of self
restraint of propos, and his intense ego.
tism was nourished by everybody and
everything. Itnever occurred to him that
he was not the center of every ones life
and thought. He once entered a room,
shook hands all round, and then descry-
ing stranger-a young English lady
just arrived at Copenhagen-he went up
to her, took both hands, addressed her
as s'the English Rose, who had come to
Denmark to see great poet;' added,
Gail your friends will be happy that you
are with Anderson, and went off to fetch
photograph of himself, which he bestow.
ed on her with much emphasis. The ad
miring circle perceived nothing either alb
surd or blamable in this, or any other
manifestation of Andersen's vanity; and,
indeed, it's frankness, it's simple reliance
on every ones absolute admiration, pre-
served it from ridicule or censure; it was
so childlike. He never conserved the no.
ton of satire, he did not fear it therefore !;
and though his vanity was easily hurt,
and he would pout and sulk like an offend
ed child, until coaxed with good humor
again, he never suspected shade Of ridl-
cu]e of him in any ones manner OF mind.
Wherever he was, he was invariably serv-
ed first at table, and he was deeply ag'
grived at a departure from this custom
On the occasion of ''the English Roses
arrival at the house, near Copenhagen,
where he was. Their staying, lie became
silent, sulked, would'not eat, and disap-
peared early in the evening. The next
morning their hotess came to the English
guest and asked her if she would mind not
being helped first, lit made dear And sen
so unhappy. He went to the kitchen and
told the servants he could see they no
longer loved him, since they thought more
Of the English lady than Of him.
When he wanted to go cut to walk,
every one must go; if he changes his mind
and sat down to write. every one must
stay at home, for presently he would come
into the room and read 'hat he had writ.
ten, and would be much ruff1ed at the alb
sence of an auditor. He would walk up
to a stranger and say: They write in
such and such paper that have such
thoughtful eyes; do you think my eyes
so thoughtful?' or Every one in the
world knows me all the kings in Europe
have embraced me, severeigns come to meet
me at their door, and all this as frank.
~ as child would ask You to admire it's
new frock. He never forgot his origin, nor
did he ever boast of it; he would say sim
ply. ut was very good of God to have
given poor cobbler's son great genius,
to have made me great poets The
harsh Danish tongue admits mo foritu.
so poetical, he clothed them always in the
most direct and downright words, and he
never had any idea that there was any
thing ought not to be said. He spoke
very little English, and was no Judge of
the rendering the Danish into that
language; so that Mary Howltt's fiat,
bald, almost literal translation of his
novels-if they may be so called-and
stories pleased him : he could understand
them, he said. His voice was exquisitely
melodious ; his reading of his own stories,
which he half acted, so expressive was his
gesture, was indiscribably delightful. He
held one spell.bound, seeing, hearing
nothing but him, and his telling was
ohor
ton he had none it was difficult to dis
cover on what subjects he really did
know anything, for he never conversed !;
he brought every topic that was started
back to himself, to the cloud-land in which
he lived, to the point in which his inter-
est entered. His talk was always like that
of an ideally.gifted child question, mar
rative, fancy, but never meeting, or going
with, or borrowing, from other minds.
tie would begin to tell astory-after a few
minutes distracted gazing at some little
object, straw, pebble, no matter what
most commonly a toy or a aower--and
pour out its fancies in the plain, unador,4-
ed forms Of the Danish, his voice exquisi-
tely modulated with every emotion Or
meaning, and lis great, ugly, ape-like
hands. which looked as if nothing that
they touched could escape sullying or
destruction, deity cutting out the quaint
est designs in paper, with wonderful rap.
idlty and delicacy as he spoke. Fairy.
scenes, dances, lovers seated under trees,
groups Of flowers and plants; these and
countless other objects would drop from
his curling, twisting, shipping scissors, as
fancy after fancy came from his lips.
Nothing was soulless to the man with
child's soul, great imagination, and also
child's untroubled belief. He did not
seem to have any difficult creed, and he
attended no place of worship; he had no