cherished boon of
Heaven, my art and the Muses. I hope, however, to be able to finish the
Mass[2] so that it can be performed on the 19th--if that day is still
fixed. I should really be in despair[3] were I prevented by bad health from
being ready by that time. I trust, however, that my sincere wishes for the
accomplishment of this task may be fulfilled. As to that _chef-d'oeuvre_,
the variations of Y.R.H., I think they should be published under the
following title:--

Theme or Subject
composed by L. van Beethoven,
forty times varied,
and dedicated to his Instructor,
by the Illustrious Author.

The inquiries about this work are numerous, and yet, after all, this
excellent composition may be ushered into the world in mutilated copies,
for Y.R.H. yourself cannot possibly resist giving it first to one person
and then to another; so, in Heaven's name, together with the great homage
Y.R.H. now publicly receives, let the homage to Apollo (or the Christian
Cecilia) also be made public. Perhaps Y.R.H. may accuse me of _vanity_; but
I do assure you that precious as this dedication is to my heart, and truly
proud of it as I am, this is certainly not my chief object. Three
publishers have offered to take the work,--Artaria, Steiner, and a third
whose name does not at this moment occur to me. So of the two I have named,
which is to have the variations? I await the commands of Y.R.H. on this
point. They are to be engraved at the cost of either of those publishers,
according to their own offer. The question now is whether Y.R.H. _is
satisfied with the title_. My idea is that Y.R.H. should entirely close
your eyes to the fact of the publication; when it does appear, Y.R.H. may
deem it a misfortune, _but the world will consider it the reverse_. May
Providence protect Y.R.H., and shower down the richest blessings of His
grace on Y.R.H.'s sacred head, and preserve for me your gracious regard!
[On the cover] My indisposition must be my excuse with Y.R.H. for this
confused letter.

[K.]

[Footnote 1: The Emperor Francis had sent the new Archbishop of Olmuetz,
Archduke Rudolph, the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Stephen.]

[Footnote 2: The Mass for the solemnities of the Archduke Rudolph's
enthronization in Olmuetz (March 20, 1820) was not completed by Beethoven
till 1822.]

[Footnote 3: Beethoven had, however, no cause for despair on the subject.
The kind-hearted Archduke showed the utmost indulgence to him on this
occasion as