In 1767 he married a young widow, Maria
Keverich, a woman of warm affections and depth of sentiment, whose
life was bound up in the care of her gifted son. The tender love
between Beethoven and his mother was a bright spot in his early years,
in many ways so sordid and unhappy. Unfortunately she was delicate, of
consumptive tendencies, and died when Ludwig was but seventeen. "She
has been to me a good and loving mother," he writes, "and my best
friend." As we ponder on such facts and then consider for what
Beethoven stands, we can only exclaim, "God works in a mysterious way,
his wonders to perform." It was early seen that the young Beethoven
had unusual ability, and so the shiftless father, with the example of
Mozart's precocity before him, submitted the boy to a deal of enforced
drudgery in the way of harpsichord and violin practice. He had one
good teacher however, Neefe, who records that the boy of thirteen
played the harpsichord with energetic skill and had mastered the
Preludes and Fugues of the Well-Tempered Clavichord. Beethoven's
general education was sadly neglected, and when he was thirteen
practically ceased. These deficiencies were a source of mortification
all his life. He spelled atrociously, was never sure of his addition
and subtraction and so was often involved in altercations with
landlords and washerwomen. By nature Beethoven was of strong, eager
intellect. He became an omnivorous reader, and later in life acquired
a working facility in Latin, French, Italian and English. The first
period of his life ends with his departure in 1792 for Vienna, whither
he was sent by the Elector to study with Haydn. In summing up its
special incidents we are struck first by the vivid and lasting
impression which Beethoven, in spite of his lowly origin and
deficiencies in education and cultivation, made upon wealthy and
refined people of distinction, simply through his extraordinary
personality and unmistakable sincerity. Two of these friends were the
von Breuning family, including the charming daughter Eleanore--one of
Beethoven's early loves--and the cultivated and influential Count
Waldstein, in whose companionship he became acquainted with the German
poets and with the dramas of Shakespeare. For a vivid picture of these
boyish years the student is recommended to the Romance, _Jean
Christophe_ (by Romain Rolland) which, though somewhat idealized, is
mainly on a historical basis. Two of Beethoven's most unique
charac