e. Retain what money you require;
anything you want shall be purchased for you when I come in. I embrace you,
and hope you will be my good, studious, noble son.

Now as ever, your attached

FATHER.

I should like to know that you received the money safely. Did the
Correpetitor come?

425.

TO HIS NEPHEW.

MY DEAR SON,--

I send you herewith the 90 florins. Get a written receipt from the landlady
to prevent all mistakes afterwards; this is the invariable custom with
those still under the control of guardians. My wafers are done; cannot you
manage to send me a box in some way or other? Acknowledge the receipt of
the money at once. God bless you! Do all you possibly can to rid me of that
old demon.

Do not involve yourself in any clandestine doings with my brother; above
all do nothing clandestine towards me; towards your attached father.
Goodnight. Farewell! farewell! The old witch and Satan and I?!

426.

TO HIS NEPHEW.

I rejoice, my dear son, that you take pleasure in this new sphere, and such
being the case you must zealously strive to acquire what is necessary for
it. I did not recognize your writing; I indeed look only to the _sense_ and
_meaning_, but you must now attain some outward elegance also. If it is too
hard a task for you to come here, give it up; but if you can by any
possibility do so, I shall rejoice in my desert home to have a feeling
heart near me. If you do come, the housekeeper will settle that you leave
Vienna at five o'clock, which leaves you ample time for your studies.

I embrace you cordially.

Your attached

FATHER.

P.S. Don't forget to bring the "Morgenblatt" and Ries's letter.[1]

[Footnote 1: A letter from Ries of this date, in the _Fischhof'sche
Handschrift_, is of sufficient interest to be given here at full length:--

Godesberg, June 9, 1825.

Dearest Beethoven,--I returned a few days ago from Aix-la-Chapelle, and
feel the greatest pleasure in telling you that your new Symphony [the 9th]
was executed with the most extraordinary precision, and received with the
greatest applause. It was a hard nut to crack, and the last day I rehearsed
the _finale_ alone for three hours; but I in particular, and all the
others, were fully rewarded by the performance. It is a work beside which
no other can stand, and had you written nothing but this you would have
gained immortality. Whither will you lead us?

As it will interest you to hear something of the performance, I wi