was wrecked by the decisive defeat of the Austrians
at Wagram in July.

Broken by these successive disasters, Kleist again fell seriously ill; for
four months his friends had no word from him, and reports of his death
were current. In November, 1809, he came to Frankfort-on-the-Oder to
dispose of his share in the family home as a last means of raising funds,
and again disappeared. In January, 1810, he passed through Frankfort
on the way to Berlin, to which the Prussian court, now subservient to
Napoleon, had returned. He found many old friends in Berlin, and even
had prospects of recognition from the court, as the brave and beautiful
Queen Louise was very kindly disposed toward him. Again he turned to
dramatic production, and in the patriotic Prussian play, _Prince
Frederick of Homburg_, created his masterpiece. Fortune seemed once
more to be smiling upon the dramatist; the _Prince of Homburg_ was to
be dedicated to Queen Louise, and performed privately at the palace of
Prince Radziwill, before being given at the National Theatre. But
again the cup of success was dashed from the poet's lips. With the
death of Queen Louise, in July, 1810, he lost his only powerful friend
at court, and now found it impossible to get a hearing for his drama.

[Illustration: SARCOPHAGUS OF QUEEN LOUISE IN THE MAUSOLEUM AT
CHARLOTTENBURG _Sculptor, Christian Rauch_]

Other disappointments came in rapid succession. _Kitty of Heilbronn_,
performed after many delays at Vienna, was not a success, and Iffland,
the popular dramatist and director of the Berlin Theatre, rejected
this play, while accepting all manner of commonplace works by inferior
authors. The famous publisher Cotta did print _Penthesilea_, but was
so displeased with it that he made no effort to sell the edition, and
_Kitty of Heilbronn_, declined by Cotta, fell flat when it was printed
in Berlin. Two volumes of tales, including some masterpieces in this
form, hardly fared better; the new numbers in this collection were
_The Duel, The Beggar Woman of Locarno_, and _Saint Cecilia_. Again
the much-tried poet turned to journalism. From October, 1810, until
March, 1811, with the assistance of the popular philosopher Adam
Mueller and the well-known romantic authors Arnim, Brentano, and
Fouque, he published a politico-literary journal appearing five times
a week. The enterprise began well, and aroused a great deal of
interest. Gradually, however, the censorship of a government that wa