" " writes that the appearance and enigmatic identity of " reminds him of the tale of , who appeared in Nuremberg in the spring of 1828 with a very odd story as to his origins.
At the time, Hauser's claims that he was raised in an isolated cell by a man whose face he never saw stimulated much public debate and hypothesis.
Famed French poet Paul Verlaine was inspired to write a , and included it in his volume Sagesse (1881):
Kaspar Hauser Sings:
A quiet orphan, I came forth,
rich only in my tranquil eyes,
to men of the great towns of earth:
they've found me neither shrewd nor wise.
When I was twenty a new care,
the flames of love, set me aglow,
and I thought every woman fair:
but they have not found me so.
Although not being brave at all,
with neither king nor country, I
yet wished in some great war to die:
but death passed up a thing so small.
Born too early or too late,
what have I on earth to do?
My misery is deep and great:
pray for poor Kaspar, all of you!
(translated by C. F. MacIntyre)
Hauser died of a stabbing wound in 1833, but directed authorities towards a pouch at the scene of the crime. Inside was a note, allegedly from Hauser's early caretaker, yet curiously folded exactly as Hauser was known to fold his notes.
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