Fouque'

foo-ka', Friedrich Heinrich Karl, Baron de la Motte (1777-1843), a German poet and novelist. He was the grandson of Heinrich August Fouque', Baron de la Motte, a Prussian general whose published correspondence with Frederick the Great is of interest. The "Younger Fouque'" served as lieutenant in the campaign of 1792. He is the author of many poems, but his short stories have won him fame. The best known of these is Undine. This story has been translated into every European language. It was founded on a tale told by Paracelsus in his Treatise on Elemental Sprites. Undine is a beautiful water spirit who, according to the laws of her race, can win a soul only by wedding a mortal. Should her husband prove untrue, she is forced to destroy him. Fouque's tale is told simply, but it is full of a dreamy beauty and weird charm which will ever make it a favorite.