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A distinguished German poet and novelist; born at Kreuzburg in Silesia, July 13, 1816; died at Wiesbaden, April 30, 1895. His first dramatic composition was "The Bridal Tour", a comedy (1844); it was followed by a little one-act tragedy, "The Savant" (1844), and by a small volume of poems "In Breslau" (1845); after which he produced "The Valentine" (1846), "Count Valdemar" (1847), and "The Journalists" (1853). Among his works outside of the drama may be mentioned his great novel of social life "Debit and Credit" (3 vols., 1855; 40th ed. 1893), followed by another novel of social life, "The Lost MS". (1864; 23d ed. 1893). His next work, "Ancestors", is a cycle of six stories portraying the German civilization from the beginning of historic times.