I heard of your indisposition with great regret. As for myself, I am often in despair, and almost tempted to put an end to my life, for all these remedies seem to have no end. May God have compassion on me, for I look upon myself to be as good as lost! I have a great deal to say to you. That this servant is a thief, I cannot doubt--he must be sent away; my health requires living at home and greater comfort. I shall be glad to have your opinion on this point. If my condition is not altered, instead of being in London I shall probably be in my grave. I thank God that the thread of my life will soon be spun out.
In haste, your
BEETHOVEN.
N.B. I wish you to buy me a quarter of a yard of green wax-cloth, green on both sides. It seems incredible that I have not been able to get anything of the kind from these green people here. It is far.... [illegible].
[X. brought the Trio in C minor (Op. 1, No. 3) to show to Beethoven, having arranged it as a quintet for stringed instruments (published by Artaria as Op. 104). Beethoven evidently discovered a good many faults in the work; still, the undertaking had sufficient attractions to induce him to correct it himself, and to make many changes in it. A very different score was thus of course produced from that of X., on the cover of whose work the genial master, in a fit of good humor, inscribed with his own hand the following title:--
A Terzet arranged as a Quintet,
by Mr. Well-meaning,
translated from the semblance into the reality of five parts, and exalted from the depths of wretchedness to a certain degree of excellence,
by Mr. Goodwill.
Vienna, Aug. 14, 1817.
N.B. The original three-part score of the Quintet has been sacrificed as a solemn burnt-offering to the subterranean gods.][1]
[Footnote 1: This Quintet appeared as Op. 104 at Artaria's in Vienna.]