In this watering-place I acted an heroic character, badly studied; and being a novice on such a stage, I forgot my part before a pair of lovely blue eyes.

Belles lettres
Chamisso's earliest writings which include a verse translation of the tragedy Le Compte de Comminge in which "heilsam" is used in place of "heilig" show a 20 year old still struggling to master his new language and a number of his early poems are in French. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation Cham. It was written partly to divert his own thoughts and partly to amuse the children of his friend Julius Eduard Hitzig.