on a novel undertaking. It was, however, only novel in the sense of
being rather out of Haydn's special "line." He had already been employed
on work of the kind for the collection of William Napier, to which
he contributed the accompaniments of 150 songs. Later on, too (in
1802-1803), he harmonized and wrote accompaniments for sixty-five airs,
for which he received 500 florins from Whyte of Edinburgh. The extent of
his labours for George Thomson we shall now proceed to show.

Song Accompaniments

Thomson addressed his first letter to Haydn in October 1799. There is no
copy of it, but there is a copy of a letter to Mr Straton, a friend of
Thomson's, who was at this time Secretary to the Legation at Vienna.
Straton was to deliver the letter to Haydn, and negotiate with him on
Thomson's behalf. He was authorized to "say whatever you conceive is
likely to produce compliance," and if necessary to "offer a few more
ducats for each air." The only stipulation was that Haydn "must not
speak of what he gets." Thomson does not expect that he will do the
accompaniments better than Kozeluch--"that is scarcely possible"(!); but
in the symphonies he will be "great and original." Thomson, as we now
learn from Straton, had offered 2 ducats for each air (say 20s.);
Haydn "seemed desirous of having rather more than 2 ducats, but did not
precisely insist upon the point." Apparently he did not insist, for the
next intimation of the correspondence is to the effect that thirty-two
airs which he had just finished had been forwarded to Thomson on June
19, 1800. They would have been done sooner, says Straton, but "poor
Haydn laboured under so severe an illness during the course of this
spring that we were not altogether devoid of alarm in regard to his
recovery." Thomson, thus encouraged, sent sixteen more airs; and Straton
writes (April 30, 1801) that Haydn at first refused to touch them
because the price paid was too low. But in the course of conversation
Straton learnt that Haydn was writing to Thomson to ask him to procure
a dozen India handkerchiefs, and it struck him that "your making him a
present of them might mollify the veteran into compliance respecting
the sixteen airs." Straton therefore took upon himself to promise in
Thomson's name that the handkerchiefs would be forthcoming, and "this
had the desired effect to such a degree that Haydn immediately put the
sixteen airs in his pocket, and is to compose the accompaniments as soon
as