wed. A letter of thanks was sent to
the Society, dictated by the master, but he was too weak even to sign
it.

Schindler relates that Beethoven on nearing middle-age, was wont to
indulge himself in day-dreams of a prosperous future, in which he could
have sufficient means to enable him to live in comfort, keep his
carriage like brother Johann, and have leisure for the refinements of
life. This illusion, maintained by most workers, no doubt brightened his
prosaic, solitary life. Pity that he could not have realized it in some
measure: after the heat and burden of the day, in which he had so well
acquitted himself, it would seem fitting, had he had an evening of life
such as was vouchsafed Wagner, with opportunity for completing his
life-work in peace and contentment.

One result achieved by the master as a consequence of his visit to
Gneixendorf would have afforded him great satisfaction could he have
known it. The matter of making suitable provision for Karl in event of
his own death had lain on his conscience for some time before this
visit, as already stated. While there, he begged his brother Johann to
make a will in Karl's favor, which eventually came to pass.

The army appointment, of which mention has been made, became an
established fact early in December, and the young man soon after left
Vienna to join his regiment. Beethoven never saw him again. He by this
time concurred with his friends in the opinion that the discipline of
military life might be beneficial to him, and was resigned to the
separation.

The great C sharp minor Quartet is indelibly associated with Karl,
through its dedication to Baron von Stutterheim, through whom the
appointment came. The decision to dedicate this work to the Baron, was
arrived at only two weeks before the master's death. The work had been
for some time in the hands of the publishers, Messrs. Schott of Mayence.
Beethoven, finally becoming aware that no more works could be produced
by him, and wishing to reward the Baron in the only way possible,
dictated an urgent letter to Messrs. Schott on the subject. "The
Quartet," he said, "must be dedicated to Field-marshal von Stutterheim,
to whom I am under great obligations. Should the first dedication by any
possibility be already engraved, I beg of you, on every account, to make
this alteration. I will gladly pay any extra expense connected with it."

The last Quartet, opus 135, is dedicated to Johann Wolfmayer, a merchant
of V