Who is it that hath made this lay,
Hath sung it, and so on?
That, in Vienna in Austria,
Three maidens fair have done.



ELISABETH BRENTANO (BETTINA VON ARNIM)

(1785-1859)

No picture of German life at the beginning of this century would be
complete which did not include the distinguished women who left their
mark upon the time. Among these Bettina von Arnim stands easily
foremost. There was something triumphant in her nature, which in her
youth manifested itself in her splendid enthusiasm for the two great
geniuses who dominated her life,--Goethe and Beethoven,--and which, in
the lean years when Germany was overclouded, maintained itself by an
inexhaustible optimism. Her merry willfulness and wit covered a warm
heart and a vigorous mind; and both of her great idols understood her
and took her seriously.

[Illustration: ELISABETH BRENTANO]

Elisabeth Brentano was the daughter of Goethe's friend, Maximiliane de
la Roche. She was born at Frankfort-on-the-Main in 1785, and was brought
up after the death of her mother under the somewhat peculiar influence
of the highly-strung Caroline von Günderode. Through her filial intimacy
with Goethe's mother, she came to know the poet; and out of their
friendship grew the correspondence which formed the basis of Bettina's