Denmark | Page 5

his toy
theatre. Soon he varied this employment by reading plays and also
writing some himself. His mother, though secretly rejoicing in her son's
talent, soon saw the necessity for his doing something more practical
with his time and assisting her to keep the home together. So at twelve
years of age Hans was sent to a cloth-weaving factory, where he earned
a small weekly wage. The weavers soon discovered that Hans could
sing, and the men frequently made him amuse them, while the other
boys were made to do his work. One day the weavers played a coarse
practical joke on poor sensitive Hans, which sent him flying home in
such deep distress that his mother said he should not again return to the
factory.
Hans was now sent to the parish school for a few hours daily, and his
spare time was taken up with his "peep-show" and in fashioning smart
clothes for his puppets. His mother intended to apprentice her son to
the tailoring, but Hans had fully made up his mind to become an actor
and seek his fortune in Copenhagen. After his Confirmation--on which
great occasion he wore his father's coat and his first new boots--his
mother insisted on his being apprenticed without further delay. With
difficulty he finally succeeded in persuading her to let him start for the
capital with his few savings. His mother had married again, so could
not accompany him; therefore, with reluctance and with many
injunctions to return at once if all did not turn out well, she let him go.
Accompanying him to the town gate, they passed a gipsy on the way,
who, on being asked what fortune she could prophesy for the poor lad,
said he would return a great man, and his native place would be
illuminated and decorated in his honour!
Hans arrived in Copenhagen on September 5, a date which he

considered lucky for ever after. A few days in the city soon saw an end
to his money. He applied and got work at a carpenter's shop, but was
driven away by the coarseness of his fellow-workers. Hans made a
friend of the porter at the stage-door of the theatre, and begged for
some employment in the theatre; so occasionally he was allowed to
walk across the stage in a crowd, but obtained scanty remuneration, and
the lad was often hungry. Starving and destitute, the happy idea
occurred to our hero to try and earn something by his voice. He applied
to Siboni, the Director of the Music School, and was admitted to his
presence whilst the latter was at dinner. Fortunately for Hans,
Baggersen the poet and Weyse the celebrated composer were of the
party, so for their amusement the boy was asked to sing and recite.
Weyse was so struck by the quality of his voice and Baggersen with his
poetic feeling, that they made a collection among them there and then
for him, and Siboni undertook to train his voice. Unfortunately, in six
months' time his voice gave way, and Siboni counselled him to learn a
trade. Hans returned to the theatre in the hope of employment, and his
persistence finally gained him a place in a market scene. Making a
friend of the son of the librarian, he obtained permission to read at the
library, and he wrote tragedies and plays, some of which he took to the
director of the theatre. This man became Andersen's friend for life, for
the grains of gold which he saw in his work, marred though it was by
want of education, roused his interest. The director brought Andersen
to the notice of the King, and he was sent to the Latin school, where he
took his place--although now a grown man--among the boys in the
lowest class but one. The master's tongue was sharp, and the sensitive
youth was dismayed by his own ignorance. The kindness and
sympathetic encouragement of the director was the only brightness of
this period of Hans' life. University life followed that of school, and
Andersen took a good degree. He now wrote a play, which was
accepted and produced at the theatre with such success that he wept for
joy. Soon his poems were published, and happiness and prosperity
followed. Later the King granted him a travelling stipend, of forty-five
pounds a year, and travelling became his greatest pleasure. Andersen
visited England two or three times, and reckoned Charles Dickens
among his friends. He was the honoured guest of Kings and Princes,
and the Royal Family of Denmark treated him as a personal friend.

Though his "Fairy Tales" are the best known of his writings, he wrote
successful novels, dramas and poems. Andersen's tastes were simple,
and his child-like, affectionate nature made him much beloved by all.
His native