4. In order that I may be enabled to occupy myself at once uninterruptedly with composing those large symphonies, the Philharmonic Society binds itself to pay 150 guineas of the above sum in advance, so that I may procure without delay a travelling carriage and other travelling equipments.

5. The conditions proposed by the Philharmonic Society as regards my non-appearance in any other public orchestra than its own, about not conducting the orchestra, and about suchlike matters for the advantage of the Society, I consent to unreservedly. My feeling of honour would have dictated them to me as a matter of course.

6. I dare to hope that the Philharmonic Society will oblige me with its assistance in the preparation and promotion of one benefit concert, or perhaps more....

7. I must beg that the conditions, or the agreement to the above, shall be written in the English language, signed by three Directors of the Philharmonic Society in the name of the Society, and forwarded to me."

Failing health prevented Beethoven from undertaking the journey. The Philharmonic Society, believing him to be in want, which was far from being the case, in a delicate way presented him with £100. Indeed, Beethoven had every reason to feel gratified by the generous attention shown to him by those Englishmen who were able to appreciate his merits. In the year 1817, some of his London admirers gave him great pleasure by sending him a new grand-piano of Broadwood's manufacture; and in 1826, the kind-hearted Mr. J. A. Stumpff, in London, a German by birth, and a harp-maker in by no means affluent circumstances, made him a present of Arnold's edition of Handel's works, in forty volumes folio,—a gift which was taken to the bedside of the dying composer, and which soothed his last days of suffering.

Also Haydn received from England touching marks of veneration. Some instances of homage offered by enthusiastic amateurs, must have caused him amusement on account of their singularity, if for no better reason. The worsted-spinner W. Gardiner, of Leicester, forwarded to him a present of six pairs of cotton stockings in which he had worked the notation of some popular melodies by Haydn,—such as the air "My mother bids me bind my hair;" the theme of the Andante in the Surprise Symphony; the tune of the Hymn "God preserve the Emperor," etc. W. Gardiner was himself a musical composer, his mode of composing being that of the Bavarian prince Joseph Clemens, who set about it "like the bees which extract honey from the most beautiful flowers, and mix it together."[40] Thus W. Gardiner "composed" a whole oratorio, which he made up of choruses and airs borrowed from various masters, and more or less distorted to suit them to their new place. Only the overture was wanting. He wrote to Beethoven to induce him to compose one for this oratorio, and offered to pay 100 guineas for it. Beethoven never answered the letter.[41] Had he been really as greedy of gain as in his correspondence with Birchall he appears to be, he would probably have accepted the offer, which was rather liberal. Nevertheless, had he accepted it, the result would very likely have proved the manufacturer a more practical man than the composer. Be this as it may, it is quite comprehensible that to Beethoven an attempt to associate him with musical jobbery must have been especially repulsive.

Perhaps no opera composer had a better chance of becoming a rich man than had Carl Maria von Weber. The success of 'Der Freischütz' was immense. The fascinating melodies of this opera were sung, played and whistled everywhere, by musical and unmusical people. It would be difficult to point out a civilized country in which 'Der Freischütz' has not been performed and listened to with rapture. Before the popularity of the opera was fully established, Weber offered the pianoforte score to the publisher Schlesinger, in Berlin, for sixty Frederick-d'ors (£51). Schlesinger thought the demand exorbitant, and offered two hundred and twenty thalers (£33), which Weber accepted.[42] Nevertheless, in consequence of the many performances of 'Der Freischütz' in various towns on the Continent, from which the composer derived some pecuniary advantage, the opera proved rather lucrative to him. Still, it was more remunerative indirectly than directly, inasmuch as its universal success induced Charles Kemble, the manager of the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, to engage Weber to compose 'Oberon,' and to visit London for the purpose of conducting the new opera. Thus Weber had an excellent opportunity of exercising his aptitude for business. How he acquitted himself of the task, may be gathered from his rejecting at the outset the terms offered by Kemble,—which were £500, and all his expenses paid,—and proposing his own terms, which, with the help of some one acquainted with the English language, he had penned as follows:—

"At my arrival at London I will first of all preside at the piano in six representations of the 'Freischütz'; for the first five you will give me every night a pecuniary compensation of two hundred pounds, and the sixth as a benefit for me. During this time we will prepare 'Oberon' and I will preside at the piano also the first six representations at the same conditions. I must be assured that all this be settled in three months, otherwise I should claim an adequate indemnification. The music of 'Oberon' (Partition, and adapted by me for the Piano) is then your property for Great Britain. The poem and the music are mine for all the rest of Europe."

According to this proposal Weber would have realized in the course of three months £2,400. But he soon experienced that one may also be too practical. His shattered health rendered the journey to England exceedingly fatiguing, and the trouble, excitement and disappointments connected with the rehearsals and representations of 'Oberon,' and with the necessary preparations for his concerts, accelerated his dissolution. He died in 1826, when he had been about three months in London, and the proceeds of his toil during the time amounted to about £1,100, or less than half the sum which he at first demanded from Kemble.

The musical student, in perusing the master-works in his art, has continually occasion to admire the careful consideration which the composers have given to every bar so as to produce great effects by simple means, interesting variety in unity, thus achieving as nearly as possible a perfect work of art. Also, their remarks upon their compositions show how thoughtfully they laboured, considering and reconsidering every step they took. It is unnecessary to illustrate this fact by quotations, as instances will probably occur to the reader. Suffice it to notice a remark by Mozart, which shows how cleverly he contrived to make concessions to the popular taste, in as far as he could accomplish this without deterioration to his compositions as works of art. In a letter to his father, which he wrote from Paris, he thus describes the performance of a new symphony, which he had been requested to compose for the Concert Spirituel:—