In 1816 he afforded a home to his friend Karl Wilhelm Salice-Contessa (1777–1825), himself a poet, who had met with serious reverses of fortune; Contessa lived with Houwald, assisting and stimulating him in his literary work, for eight years.

[2] He is remembered as the author of several so-called "Fate tragedies", of which the best known are Das Bild, Der Leuchtturm, Die Heimkehr, Fluch und Segen (all published in 1821).

They have, however, small literary value, and Houwald is seen to better advantage in his narratives and books for juvenile readers, such as Romantische Akkorde (publ.

by W Contessa, Berlin, 1817); Buch für Kinder gebildeter Stande (1819–1824); and Jakob Thau, der Hofnarr (1821).

Minor, Die Schicksalstragödie in ihren Hauptvertretern (Frankfurt, 1883), and "Das Schicksalsdrama" in Kirschner's Deutsche Nationalliteratur, vol.