Abyssinia, and on his return settled at Coburg, where he wrote a number of novels descriptive of the scenes he had visited. In 1867-1868 Gerstäcker again undertook a long journey, visiting North America, Venezuela and the West Indies, and on his return lived first at Dresden and then at Brunswick, where he died on the 31st of May 1872. His genial and straightforward character made him personally beloved; and his works, dealing as they did with the great world hitherto hidden from the narrow "parochialism" of German life, obtained an immense popularity. This was not due to any graces of style, in which they are singularly lacking; but the unstudied freshness of the author's descriptions, and his sturdy humour, appealed to the wholesome instincts of the public. Many of his books were translated into foreign languages, notably into English, and became widely known on both sides of the Atlantic. His best works, from a literary point of view, are, besides the above-mentioned _Regulatoren_, his _Flusspiraten des Mississippi_ (1848); the novel _Tahiti_ (1854); his Australian romance _Die beiden Sträflinge_ (1857); _Aus dem Matrosenleben_ (1857); and _Blau Wasser_ (1858). His _Travels_ exist in an English translation. Gerstäcker's _Gesammelte Schriften_ were published at Jena in 44 vols. (1872-1879); a selection, edited by D. Theden in 24 vols. (1889-1890). See A. Karl, _Friedrich Gerstäcker, der Weitgereiste. Ein Lebensbild_ (1873). GERSTENBERG, HEINRICH WILHELM VON (1737-1823), German poet and critic, was born at Tondern in Schleswig on the 3rd of January 1737. After studying law at Jena he entered the Danish military service and took part in the Russian campaign of 1762. He spent the next twelve years in Copenhagen, where he was intimate with Klopstock. From 1775 to 1783 he represented Denmark's interests as "Danish Resident" at Lübeck, and in 1786 received a judicial appointment at Altona, where he died on the 1st of November 1823. In the course of his long life Gerstenberg passed through many phases of his nation's literature. He began as an imitator of the Anacreontic school (_Tändeleien_, 1759); then wrote, in imitation of Gleim, _Kriegslieder eines dänischen Grenadiers_ (1762); with his _Gedicht eines Skalden_ (1766) he joined the group of "bards" led by Klopstock. His _Ariadne auf Naxos_ (1767) is the best cantata of the 18th century; he translated Beaumont and Fletcher's _Maid's Tragedy_ (1767), and helped to usher in the _Sturm und Drang_ period with a gruesome but powerful tragedy, _Ugolino_ (1768). But he did perhaps even better service to the new literary movement with his _Briefe über Merkwürdigkeiten der Literatur_ (1766-1770), in which the critical principles of the _Sturm und Drang_--and especially its enthusiasm for Shakespeare,--were first definitely formulated. In later life Gerstenberg lost touch with literature, and occupied himself mainly with Kant's philosophy.