3 Halkin Street, Grosvenor Place, London. 4th Dec., 1867.
Dear Hr. Andersen,
I wrote to you same little time ago, through Hr. H. S<;:harling, but not having heard either from him or you, in reply, I fear my letter ean never have reaehed its destination.
The volume of Eventyr containing "The wills o'the wisp are in town", "The windmill", "The Silver Coin", "The Golden Treasure", etc. etc., I translated and took to Mr. Bentley, who was in a great hurry to get it. But when he saw, how small a volume the tales would make, he hesitated about publishing them. When I at last got them back from him, it was too late to get them published by any other firm. I then thought that I would send to Copenhagen for your last volume of Eventyr, with "The Porter's Son", "The Flitting Day", "The Snow Drop", etc. Mr. Bentley having again declined them as too small a volume, I took them to Mr. Routledge. I intended to have. added the Tales of both years together, but found, to my great annoyanee, that the Eventyr of 1866 had been brought out, along with several of your old tales, many of these translated by myself and published by Mr. Bentley - in a thick volume with miserable illustrations by two brothers ealled Dalziel, who, it seerns, are painters and engravers. A German translates for them, and a very bad translation he has made af your poor tales. The Germans, having now no light literature of their own, seize on your works immediately to translate into German, and some Germans, here in London, bring out from them, their garbled translations. The publishers are afraid of being eut out by these interlopers, and don't venture to take anything of yours that is not quite new. I offered your tales to 3 respectable publishers, and that was the answer I received. Mr. Warne has agreed to publish your last volume, but he wishes some more added to them. Therefore I should be very glad if you would kindly send me over any new Tales you may have written for the approaching New Year.
It is not to make money by your stories that I ask this, for I make nothing worth mentioning by translations. I make a great deal more by originat tales wmch I write for a popular Magazine etc. etc.; but I do not like to see your charming little Eventyr given to English readers so badly translated. The Anglo-German translators leave out what they please - for instance, all the little hits at the Germans in "The Wills o'the Wisp", are pointedly omitted in the edition brought out by the Dalziels, and published in the name of Routledge.
I met at Routledge's place a Mr. Morgan, who looks af ter the literary matters of the Concern. He told me he had had the pleasure af meeting you same years ago, at Mr. Charles Dickens, when that gentleman resided near Sevenoaks. He begged me to be remembered to you. Mr. R. Bentley met with a sad accident a few weeks ago on a railway in Wales; he is getting better, but is still confined to his house. 1 think your idea of "Death's Omnibus" is most beautiful.
We all unite in kindest regards to you, and I am, dear Mr. Andersen, Yours very sincerely,
A. S. Bushby.
