a poor
man--still was he compelled to earn a living by the hated drudgery of
teaching. 'You happy man,' he said to a young musician who was leaving
for a tour in Italy; 'as for me, I am off now to give a lesson to earn
my bread.' The desire to visit England was once more uppermost in his
mind, and when the Emperor, with a view to retaining him in Germany,
appointed him Kammer-compositor at a salary of eight hundred gulden
(about eighty pounds sterling), it must have occurred to many besides
Mozart himself that such a 'beggarly dole' but poorly represented the
value which his Majesty professed to set upon the composer's services
to art. This feeling was accentuated in Mozart when he discovered how
trivial were the requirements of his royal master in connection with
the position. 'Too much for what I produce, too little for what I
could produce,' were the bitter words which he penned on the official
return stating the amount of his salary.

The 'beggarly dole,' indeed, brought small relief to the domestic
anxieties which now more than ever oppressed Mozart and his wife. The
latter's ill-health necessitated frequent change of air, and in this
way tended to increase their embarrassments. Applications to friends
for assistance became more and more numerous. 'I am still most
unfortunate,' he writes in one of these appeals. 'Always hovering
between hope and anxiety.' Repeated attempts were made at reform.
Mozart even commenced to keep strict accounts of their expenditure,
but they came to nothing, for the want of management was always
apparent in every detail of his domestic life. Yet, despite all, the
merry side of Mozart's nature refused to succumb to the stress of
adversity; amidst his difficulties he retained the sunshine of his
boyish days, being as merry-hearted, and full of jokes, and as open as
a child. One winter day an old friend found him and his wife dancing
madly about the room; knowing Mozart's fondness for this pastime--his
favourite of all forms of amusement--the friend expressed his pleasure
at finding them so light-hearted, when Mozart, pointing to the empty
stove, explained that they were dancing in order to keep themselves
warm, as they had no money to purchase fuel. Horror-struck, the caller
darted from the house, and returned in a few minutes with his arms
laden with logs.

To some extent a natural leaning to extravagance may be held
accountable for Mozart's embarrassments, for he was extremely fond of