- versational style of the writing. It was quite unlike
the heavy, pompous stuff people were accustomed to at that date. "This is not the way people write," it was said, "this is not grammar." But there were people who saw at once the beauty of these stories, who declared that they would make Andersen immortal.
Andersen himself did not trouble much about it one way or the other; he still thought about the success of his novel, and made plans for writing another with Napoleon as his hero. He would compel people to see what a great dramatist and novelist he was. He wrote and translated many operettas and plays. One was produced at the Royal Theater with great success. It was a poor play but well acted, and containing some noble sentiments; it pleased the honest Danes. But the Fairy Tales went on appearing at intervals, and found their way into most Danish homes. In fact, they were building up Hans Andersen's reputation for him all over the world. Andersen soon found that he had great admirers among children, and there were very few nurseries where they didn't know the stories by heart. Perhaps his own country had not been quite so eager about them as some others—Germany and Sweden, and even England, which is supposed to be slow and conservative about new things, were very enthusiastic. When Andersen visited England at the age of forty-three, he found he was quite a lion. Great ladies would re-
