ceive my present explanation. I expect,
however, certainly to wait on Y.R.H. to-morrow.

[K.]

161.

TO THE MESSRS. BIRCHALL,--LONDON.

Vienna, Nov. 22, 1815.

You will herewith receive the pianoforte arrangement of the Symphony in A.
"Wellington's Battle Symphony," and "Victory at Vittoria" were sent a month
since, through Herr Neumann, to the care of Messrs. Coutts; so you have no
doubt received them long ere this.

In the course of a fortnight you shall have the Trio and Sonata, when you
are requested to pay into the hands of Messrs. Coutts the sum of 130 gold
ducats. I beg you will make no delay in bringing out these works, and
likewise let me know on what day the "Wellington Symphony" is to appear, so
that I may take my measures here accordingly. I am, with esteem,

Your obedient

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.

162.

TO RIES.

Vienna, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 1815.

MY DEAR RIES,--

I hasten to apprise you that I have to-day forwarded by post the pianoforte
arrangement of the Symphony in A, to the care of Messrs Coutts. As the
Court is absent, few, indeed almost no couriers go from here; moreover, the
post is the safest way. The Symphony ought to be brought out about March;
the precise day I will fix myself. So much time has already been lost on
this occasion that I could not give an earlier notice of the period of
publication. The Trio in [??] and the violin Sonata may be allowed more
time, and both will be in London a few weeks hence. I earnestly entreat
you, dear Ries, to take charge of these matters, and also to see that I get
the money; I require it, and it costs me a good deal before all is sent
off.

I have lost 600 florins of my yearly salary; at the time of the
_bank-notes_ there was no loss, but then came the _Einloesungsscheine_
[reduced paper-money], which deprives me of these 600 florins, after
entailing on me several years of annoyance, and now the total loss of my
salary. We are at present arrived at a point when the _Einloesungsscheine_
are even lower than the _bank-notes_ ever were. I pay 1000 florins for
house-rent: you may thus conceive all the misery caused by paper-money.

My poor unhappy brother [Carl v. Beethoven, a cashier in Vienna] is just
dead [Nov. 15th, 1815]; he had a bad wife. For some years past he has been
suffering from consumption, and from my wish to make his life less irksome
I may compute what I gave him at 10,000 florins (_Wiener Waehrung_). This
indeed does not se