ON board a steamer I once met an elderly man，with such a merry face that， if it was really an indexof his mind， he must have been the happiest fellowin creation; and indeed he considered himself so，for I heard it from his own mouth. He was a Dane，the owner of a travelling theatre. He had all hiscompany with him in a large box， for he was theproprietor of a puppet-show. His inborncheerfulness， he said， had been tested by a member of the Polytechnic Institution， and theexperiment had made him completely happy. I did not at first understand all this， butafterwards he explained the whole story to me; and here it is：—
“I was giving a representation，” he said， “in the hall of the posting-house in the little townof Slagelse; there was a splendid audience， entirely juvenile excepting two respectablematrons. All at once， a person in black， of student-like appearance， entered the room，and sat down; he laughed aloud at the telling points， and applauded quite at the proper time.This was a very unusual spectator for me， and I felt anxious to know who he was. I heardthat he was a member of the Polytechnic Institution in Copenhagen， who had been sent out tolecture to the people in the provinces. Punctually at eight o'clock my performance closed， forchildren must go early to bed， and a manager must also consult the convenience of thepublic.
“At nine o'clock the lecturer commenced his lecture and his experiments， and then Iformed a part of his audience. It was wonderful both to hear and to see. The GREater part of itwas beyond my comprehension， but it led me to think that if we men can acquire so much，we must surely be intended to last longer than the little span which extends only to the timewhen we are hidden away under the earth. His experiments were quite miracles on a smallscale， and yet the explanations flowed as naturally as water from his lips. At the time of Mosesand the prophets， such a man would have been placed among the sages of the land; in themiddle ages they would have burnt him at the stake.
“All night long I could not sleep; and the next evening when I gave another performanceand the lecturer was present， I was in one of my best moods.
“I once heard of an actor， who， when he had to act the part of a lover， always thoughtof one particular lady in the audience; he only played for her， and forgot all the rest of thehouse， and now the Polytechnic lecturer was my she， my only auditor， for whom alone Iplayed.
“When the performance was over， and the puppets removed behind the curtain， thePolytechnic lecturer invited me into his room to take a glass of wine. He talked of mycomedies， and I of his science， and I believe we were both equally pleased. But I had the bestof it， for there was much in what he did that he could not always explain to me. For instance，why a piece of iron which is rubbed on a cylinder， should become magnetic. How does thishappen? The magnetic sparks come to it，—but how? It is the same with people in theworld; they are rubbed about on this spherical globe till the electric spark comes upon them，and then we have a Napoleon， or a Luther， or some one of the kind.
“ ma used to cry thirty years ago. But I make them shorter， for the youngsters don't likelong speeches; and if they have anything mournful， they like it to be over quickly.” The wholeworld is but a series of miracles，' said the lecturer， 'but we are so accustomed to them thatwe call them everyday matters.' And he went on explaining things to me till my skull seemedlifted from my brain， and I declared that were I not such an old fellow， I would at oncebecome a member of the Polytechnic Institution， that I might learn to look at the bright side ofeverything， although I was one of the happiest of men.
“ One of the happiest! said the lecturer， as if the idea pleased him; are you reallyhappy?
“ Yes， I replied; for I am welcomed in every town， when I arrive with my company; but Icertainly have one wish which sometimes weighs upon my cheerful temper like a mountain oflead. I should like to become the manager of a real theatre， and the director of a real troupeof men and women.'
“ I understand， he said; you would like to have life breathed into your puppets， so thatthey might be living actors， and you their director. And would you then be quite happy?'
“I said I believed so. But he did not; and we talked it over in all manner of ways， yet couldnot aGREe on the subject. However， the wine was excellent， and we clanked our glassestogether as we drank. There must have been magic in it， or I should most certainly becometipsy; but that did not happen， for my mind seemed quite clear; and， indeed， a kind ofsunshine filled the room， and beamed from the eyes of the Polytechnic lecturer. It made methink of the old stories when the gods， in their immortal youth， wandered upon this earth，and paid visits to mankind. I said so to him， and he smiled; and I could have sworn that hewas one of these ancient deities in disguise， or， at all events， that he belonged to the raceof the gods. The result seemed to prove I was right in my suspicions; for it was arranged thatmy highest wish should be granted， that my puppets were to be gifted with life， and that Iwas to be the manager of a real company. We drank to my success， and clanked our glasses.Then he packed all my dolls into the box， and fastened it on my back， and I felt as if I werespinning round in a circle， and presently found myself lying on the floor. I remember thatquite well. And then the whole company sprang from the box. The spirit had come upon us all;the puppets had become distinguished actors—at least， so they said themselves—and I wastheir director.