speak to
him.

The nervous strain on his friends in witnessing this struggle between
life and death, in which but the one issue was possible, must have been
great. It was, no doubt, a relief to Schindler and Von Breuning to leave
the master in Huettenbrenner's charge on the afternoon of the 26th of
March, and go to Wahring in order to secure a burial-place. While on
this necessary errand, a terrific storm arose, which prevented their
return until night. Meanwhile, Huettenbrenner, left alone with the
master, endeavored to ease his position by sustaining his head, holding
it up with his right arm. His breathing had been growing perceptibly
weaker, carrying the conviction that the end was near. The storm was of
unusual severity, covering the glacis with snow and sleet. The situation
of the building was such that it was exposed to the full fury of the
tempest. No sign was given by the master that he was conscious of this
commotion of the elements. With the subsidence of the storm at dusk, the
watcher was startled by a flash of lightning, which illumined
everything. This was succeeded by a terrific peal of thunder which
penetrated even Beethoven's ears. Startled into consciousness by the
unusual event, the dying man suddenly raised his head from
Huettenbrenner's embrace, threw out his right arm with the fist doubled,
remained in this position a moment as if in defiance, and fell back
dead.

The two friends returned some hours after all was over. The master died
at a quarter before six o'clock on the evening of March 26, 1826. He was
in his fifty-seventh year.

The funeral took place on March 29 at 3 P.M. from the church of the
Minorites and was attended by many of the most prominent people of the
city. Eight musicians bore the coffin from the house to the church,
while thirty-two torch-bearers followed it, among the number being
Czerny and Schubert. This was followed by a choir of sixteen male
singers, and four trombones, which alternated in singing and playing.
The music consisted of two equali composed by Beethoven many years
before, arranged for this occasion by Seyfried, to the words of the
_Miserere_ and _Amplius_.

Notwithstanding the immense concourse of people assembled at the
obsequies, estimated at twenty thousand, there was but one relative to
occupy the position of mourner, and that was Johann.

On April 3, Mozart's Requiem was sung at the church of the Augustines,
and shortly thereafter, Cherubini's Requ