The sea itself (which one would think DRINK WHILE YOU LIVE. (Translated by Thomas Moore.) To-day I'll haste to quaff my wine, Let us the festal hours beguile With mantling cup and cordial smile; The richest drop on Bacchus' shrine. For Death may come, with brow unpleasant, May come, when least we wish him present, And beckon to the sable shore, And grimly bid us—drink no more! A LOVER'S SIGH. (From Moore's Translation.) THE Phrygian rock that braves the storm Like them to hang, to fade like them. 332 HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN. ANDERSEN, HANS CHRISTIAN, a Danish dramatist, poet, and story-writer; born at Odense, island of Fünen, April 2, 1805; died at Copenhagen, August 4, 1875. He entered the University in 1828; but before that time he had gained considerable reputation by his poems, especially by one entitled "The Dying Child." This was followed, in 1829, by a satirical narrative of "A Journey on Foot from the Holm-canal to the Eastern Point of Amak." He now fairly commenced his literary career, publishing a volume of poems in 1830, and another entitled "Fantasies and Sketches," in 1831. All of his numerous works have been translated into German, and many of them into English, French, and other languages. These translations have given him a far more extended reputation than could have been attained by their issue in their original language, which is understood by comparatively few readers. The German edition of his Complete Works comprises about fifty small volumes. Many of these books were the result of travels in various parts of Europe. In 1844, he received a pension from the Danish Government; and in 1875, upon the seventieth anniversary of his birthday, he was invested with the grand cross of the Order of Dannebrog. Some of his dramatic pieces met with a very favorable reception; but he is best known by his tales and his sketches of travel. Prominent among his works are: "The Improvisatore," which describes in a glowing style his impressions of Italy; "O. T.," a novel depicting life in Northern Europe; "Only a Fiddler," a half-autobiographic story of homely life; "A Poet's Bazaar," a collection of miscellanies; and several series of "Tales for Children." He also wrote "The Story of My Life," bringing the somewhat imaginative narrative down to 1847. This work was continued by Jonas, (1879) down to the time of Andersen's death. THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER. (From "Collected Fairy Tales.") THERE were once twenty-five tin soldiers, who were all brothers, for they were cast out of one old tin spoon. They By permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co. |