h the place and the people.
The Danes are exceedingly genial in their manners, distinguished alike
for their simplicity and intelligence. There is no trouble to which
they will not put themselves to oblige a stranger. In my rambles
through the public libraries and museums I was always accompanied by
some professor attached to the institution, who took the greatest
pains to explain every thing, and impress me with a favorable idea of
the value of the collection. This was not a mere formal matter of
duty; many of them spent hours and even days in the performance of
their friendly labors, omitting nothing that might contribute to my
enjoyment as a stranger. The visitor who can not spend his time
agreeably in such society, surrounded by such institutions as
Thorwaldsen's Museum and the National Collection of Scandinavian
Antiquities, must be difficult to please indeed. The Tivoli or the
Dyrhave, an evening at Fredericksberg, or a trip to "Hamlet's Grave"
at Elsineur, would surely fill the measure of his contentment. Whether
in the way of beautiful gardens, public amusements, charming
excursions, or agreeable and intelligent society, I know of no
European capital that can surpass Copenhagen. Our excellent minister,
Mr. Wood, with whom I had the pleasure of spending an evening at
Elsineur, speaks in the most complimentary terms of the Danes and
their customs, and expresses some surprise, considering the general
increase of European travel from our country, that so few American
tourists visit Denmark.

I could not do myself the injustice to leave Copenhagen without
forming the personal acquaintance of a man to whom a debt of gratitude
is due by the young and the old in all countries--the ramblers in
fairy-land, the lovers of romance, and the friends of humanity--all
who can feel the divine influence of genius, and learn, through the
teachings of a kindly heart, that the inhabitants of earth are

"Kindred by one holy tie"--

the quaint, pathetic, genial Hans Christian Andersen. Not wishing to
impose any obligation of courtesy on him by a letter of introduction
or the obliging services of my Danish friends, I called at his house
unattended, and merely sent in my name and address. Unfortunately he
was out taking his morning walk, and would not be back till the
afternoon. By calling at three o'clock, the servant said, I would be
very likely to find him at home. I then added to my card the simple
fact that I was an American