eople who strive to struggle upwards! My dear
friend, pray lose no time in bringing the work before the notice of the
public, and write to me soon, that I may know whether by my delay I have
entirely forfeited your confidence for the future. Say all that is civil
and kind to your partner, Kuehnel. Everything shall henceforth be sent
finished, and in quick succession. So now farewell, and continue your
regards for

Your friend and brother,

BEETHOVEN.

22.

TO HERR HOFMEISTER.

Vienna, June, 1801.

I am rather surprised at the communication you have desired your business
agent here to make to me; I may well feel offended at your believing me
capable of so mean a trick. It would have been a very different thing had I
sold my works to rapacious shopkeepers, and then secretly made another good
speculation; but, from _one artist to another_, it is rather a strong
measure to suspect me of such a proceeding! The whole thing seems to be
either a device to put me to the test, or a mere suspicion. In any event I
may tell you that before you received the septet from me I had sent it to
Mr. Salomon in London (to be played at his own concert, which I did solely
from friendship), with the express injunction to beware of its getting into
other hands, as it was my intention to have it engraved in Germany, and, if
you choose, you can apply to him for the confirmation of this. But to give
you a further proof of my integrity, "I herewith give you the faithful
assurance that I have neither sold the septet, the symphony, the concerto,
nor the sonata to any one but to Messrs. Hofmeister and Kuehnel, and that
they may consider them to be their own exclusive property. And to this I
pledge my honor." You may make what use you please of this guarantee.

Moreover, I believe Salomon to be as incapable of the baseness of engraving
the septet as I am of selling it to him. I was so scrupulous in the matter,
that when applied to by various publishers to sanction a pianoforte
arrangement of the septet, I at once declined, though I do not even know
whether you proposed making use of it in this way. Here follow the
long-promised titles of the works. There will no doubt be a good deal to
alter and to amend in them; but this I leave to you. I shall soon expect a
letter from you, and, I hope, the works likewise, which I wish to see
engraved, as others have appeared, and are about to appear, in connection
with these numbers. I look on your statemen