vom braven Casperl und der schönen Annerl' (The Story of Good Casper and
Pretty Annie) and his fable of 'Gockel, Hinkel, und Gackeleia,' both of
the year 1838, are still an indispensable part of the reading of every
German boy and girl.

Like his brilliant sister, Brentano is a fascinating figure in
literature. He was amiable and winning, full of quips and cranks, and
with an inexhaustible fund of stories. Astonishing tales of adventure,
related with great circumstantiality of detail, and of which he himself
was the hero, played an important part in his conversation. Tieck once
said he had never known a better improvisatore than Brentano, nor one
who could "lie more gracefully."

When Brentano was forty years of age a total change came over his life.
The witty and fascinating man of the world was transformed into a pious
and gloomy ascetic. The visions of the stigmatized nun of Dülmen,
Katharina Emmerich, attracted him, and he remained under her influence
until her death in 1824. These visions he subsequently published as the
'Life of the Virgin Mary.' The eccentricities of his later years
bordered upon insanity. He died in the Catholic faith in the year 1842.

THE NURSE'S WATCH

From 'The Boy's Wonderhorn'


The moon it shines,
My darling whines;
The clock strikes twelve:--God cheer
The sick both far and near.