s induce him to resume the performance.

It was often a matter of some difficulty to get him to play,
especially when he was not in the humour. On such occasions he would
preface the performance by striking the keys with the palm of his
hand, or draw his finger along the keyboard from end to end, roaring
with laughter, and in other ways behave like a spoiled child. He would
not bear being pressed beyond a certain point. Once, it is related, he
was asked to play before strangers at the country-house of one of his
rich patrons, and flatly refused to comply; whereupon the host
jokingly threatened that, if he would not play, he should be confined
as a prisoner in the house. Beethoven on this jumped up and ran out of
the mansion, and though it was night, he walked three miles to the
next town, and thence posted to Vienna. The next day a bust of this
patron which stood on Beethoven's bookcase fell to the ground, and was
shattered to pieces![18]

His views as to the superiority of mind and character over everything
else were certainly borne out by his actions. One day, when he was
walking with the poet Goethe near Uplitz, the Imperial family were
observed to be approaching. Goethe at once stood aside and removed his
hat, at the same time plucking his friend by the sleeve, to remind
him that they were in the presence of royalty. Beethoven, however,
seemed to regard this as a fitting opportunity for illustrating his
views on the independence of art, for, shaking off the hand that
detained him, he buttoned up his coat in a determined manner, planted
his hat firmly on his head, and, folding his arms behind him, marched
straight into the ranks of the Imperial party! If Goethe felt dismayed
at his friend's lack of respect, he must have been astonished to note
the result; for the Archduke Rodolph not only made way for Beethoven
to pass, but removed his hat, whilst the Empress was the first to bow
to him.

In appearance Beethoven was short, broad, and strong-looking. His face
was not prepossessing. 'He was meanly dressed, and very ugly to look
at,' wrote a lady who knew and admired him, 'but full of nobility and
fine feeling, and highly cultivated.' It must have been difficult to
describe a face which was subject to such frequent changes of
expression, but its forcefulness must have been apparent to every
beholder. The eyes were black and bright, and they had a way of
dilating when the composer was buried in thought so as to impart