Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/503

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

ANDELYS ANDERSEN 471 abandoned it three years later on account of the'unhealthiness of the climate. After that the group was seldom visited till 1858, when Port Blair on one of the islands was selected as a penal settlement. Here, on Feb. 8, 1872, the earl of Mayo, viceroy of India, was assassinated by a Mohammedan convict, immediately after landing at night for a visit of inspection. ANDELYS, Les, a town of France, in the de- partment of Eure, on the Seine, 18 m. S. S. E. of Rouen. It properly consists of two towns, Grand Andely on the Gambon and Petit An- dely on the Seine; pop. in 1866,5,161. It is the birthplace of Turnebus and Poussin. Near it was the celebrated fortress Chateau Gaillard, and a convent founded by St. Olotilde. ANDENNE, a town of Belgium, in the province of Namur, near the right bank of the Meuse, 10 m. E. of Namur ; pop. in 1866, 6,278. It has a convent of the Beguines, and manufac- tories of pipes and earthenware. ANDERLECHT, a town of Belgium, in the im- mediate vicinity of Brussels, of which it may be regarded as a suburb ; pop. in 1866, 11,663. At Anderlecht Dumouriez defeated the Aus- trians on Nov. 13, 1792. ANDERLONI. I. Pietro, an Italian engraver, born at Santa Eufemia, near Brescia, Oct. 12, 1784, died in Milan, Oct. 13, 1849. After pre- paratory studies under his father, who was himself an engraver, he entered the school of Longhi at Milan, of which he subsequently be- came director. His most admired pieces are portraits of Da Vinci, Canova, and Peter the Great ; his " Moses with the Daughters of Je- thro," afte"r Poussin; his "Virgin," after Ra- phael; and his masterpiece, " The Woman taken in Adultery," after Titian. II. Fanstino, brother of the preceding, an engraver of Pavia, born in 1766, died Jan. 9, 1847. Among his works are a portrait of Herder, a Magdalen after Correg- gio, and a " Holy Family " after Poussin. ANDERSEN, Hans Christian, a Danish author, born in Odense, April 2, 1805. His father was a shoemaker in needy circumstances, but pos- sessing literary taste. Andersen's scanty edu- cation was chiefly acquired at a charity school. At nine years of age he lost his father, and shortly afterward was taken into the house of the widow of a clergyman, where he was en- gaged to read aloud to the family. After a short sojourn in a manufactory, where he was ill-treated by the workmen, whom he had amused by singing and reciting to them pas- sages from Holberg, he returned home, and for a while led an inactive life. He possessed an agreeable voice, and his mother was advised to send him to the theatre. She determined, how- ever, to make a tailor of him, but before his ap- prenticeship commenced he obtained permis- sion to go to Copenhagen and witness the per- formance of a play. Accordingly, in 1819 he found himself in that city with 10 rix dol- lars in his pocket, and sought to get an engage- ment at the theatre in some humble capacity. He was rejected on account of his awkward- ness and ignorance, but soon afterward pre- sented himself to Professor Siboni, director of the royal conservatory, who received him with kindness, and caused him to be instructed as a singer for the stage. At the end of half a year his voice, which was in the transition state, failed him. He then applied for assistance to the poet Guldberg, the brother of a former patron in Odense, by whose aid he was enabled to strug- gle on for a few years, sometimes employed in the theatre and sometimes studying. During this period he wrote some tragedies which excited the attention of Oehlenschlager and others, but which he was unable to have pro- duced upon the stage. Councillor Collin, a benevolent and clear-sighted man, having be- come director of the. theatre, procured his admission free of expense into one of the gov- ernment schools. This was the turning point in Andersen's life ; he embarked in this new career with enthusiasm, was admitted into the royal college of Copenhagen, and while com- pleting his studies there produced in 1829 his first work in print, entitled " A Journey on Foot to Amak," which was received with ex- traordinary favor, and gained him the acquaint- ance of some of the most influential people in Copenhagen. Some volumes of poems which succeeded increased his reputation. Oehlen- schlager, Ingemann, and other friends having procured a royal stipend to enable him to travel, in 1833 he visited Italy, his impres- sions of which he has recorded in his novel, "The Improvisatore," which stands unrivalled as a picture of scenery and manners in southern Europe ; and he has since travelled extensively throughout Europe and the East. His next novel, "O. T.," describes life in the north, and " Only a Fiddler " some of the most striking scenes in his early struggles. Among his other works are " Fairy Tales," " Picture Book with- out Pictures," "Travels in the Hartz Moun- tains," "A Poet's Bazaar," "Ahasuerus," "New Fairy Tales," and some volumes of poetry, dramas, fairy comedies, and texts for operas. In 1846 he visited England,, where Be made many friends, and in 1849 wrote one of his longest works, " The Two Baronesses," in the English language. His works reflect his own kindly and open disposition, and are mark- ed by humor, invention, and a poet's enthu- siasm. His fairy tales for children have been read with delight in every modern language. He is also an admirable public reader of his own works, enjoying in this respect in Den- mark a fame equal to that of Dickens in Eng- land and America. In 1845 he received a royal annuity which placed him in comfortable circumstances for the remainder of his life. The series of translations from his works by Mary Howitt and others has introduced him to a large circle of admirers in England and America. The first complete edition of his works in English was published in 1870-'71 in New York, in 10 vols. 8vo, including "The Story of My Life," an autobiography.