Year: 1875

1t is doubtful il any writer ever lived
who, during his own lifetime, won the low
ing admiration of 80 many readers in diff
ferent countries as the Danish story teller
who has just died. He said himself, in
letter recently published in this country,
81 am child OF fortune. Ny life is the
most beautiful tale." His life is indeed
romance, almost a poem. The son of a
p,or shoemaker, he was left an orphan at
nine yeaI s of age, and was ever ailer de-
pendent on the kindly offices ofothers, un-
til the fruits of his own genius made him
Independent of all the world. His mother,
good, honest woman, wished 10 apprentice
him TO a tailor and give him the means of
obtaining an honest and respectable liveli-
hood. An industrious tailor might lead a
very com Portable life and be respected by
himself and his neighbors. The poor boy,
sensitive and imaginative to the very Nerge
of superstition, could know no reason why
he should not be tailor, though his soul
must have loathed the thought. Heaven
knows he had no prospect OF becoming a
scholar or great literary man in his con-
tracted life in the little town of Odensee,
luOuSu scdu GOulu lay
on with avidity, and wrote pieces of his
own, which were naturally but boyish inn
itations of what he read. He worked for a
while in a factory, aud, having a musical
voice, timidly recited and sung to some of
his coarser companions, but they laughed
at him and made jest of his poetical am
bition, and so he LEFT them, we venture to
say, not without tears and sad swellings of
his tender heart.


Being allowed to go to Copenhagen to see
play, he conceived a passion to become
an actor. This came nearest to satisfying
the yearnings Of a soul full of poetry and
tender sentiment of anything that seemed
possible TO him, but even here he could
find no encouragement and had to work
about the theater at vulgar jobs, with little
poetry or literature in them. Then he
went TO the Royal Conservatory and want
ed 10 become a singer, and Professor Sibo-
nj received him kindly, but his boyish
voice was changing and it did not come
out a musical one, and he had to give up
this hope, too. He struggled on for year
or two, hapless child of fortune, refusing
to learn trade and enter upon a life that
would be hateful TO him, and trusting that
somehow a kind Providence would open a
way TO satisfy his longings. At last good
friend appeared for him in Councillor Col
lin, who, noticing his brightness and his
eagerness to learn, and seeing in poem
he had written some promise of undeVel-
oped genius, had him admitted, free of ex-
pense, to the Royal College of Copenhagen.


He was now a young man OF twenty
three, and life seemed opening for him at
last. He studied hard aud was ambitious.
A little book which he wrote, "a Journey
on Foot TO Amak," exhibited his powers
and won him many useful friends. After
that he wrote his many charming books,
his fascinating fairy tales and his novels OF
travel. He travelled over Europe and
dwelt in many lands, and his soul was so
near the great heart of nature and so in
sympathy with the hopes and loves of all
mankind, that his books were translated
and read everywhere. To children he was
very Wizard from the North with tales OF
wonder, and to the old he was an ever fresh
snd fascinating companion. For years
the world has known and loved him, and
in his latter days he enjoyed the homage
of many thousands whom he never saw.
One little testimony of the esteem in which
! he was held in this country was the Christ