him on errands, probably with
reference to his agility.

Such incidents as the quarrels with Breuning, his dismissal of
Schindler, Schuppanzich, and Count Lichnowsky during the preliminary
work of the testimonial concert, his suspicions of his friends at the
second concert when he invited them to a dinner, and then charged them
with an attempt to defraud him,--these at first glance, especially if
considered apart, lead to the conclusion that Beethoven was not intended
for friendship. This was not the case however. His deafness and
preoccupation with his work, led him to keep aloof to some extent from
others, but it is undeniable that he greatly valued this sentiment and
actively fostered it. Perhaps, like Thoreau, he expected too much from
it, and could find no one to respond to the measure of his
anticipations. He was probably disappointed one way or another, with
every friend that came to him, but to the end kept alive his faith in
humankind, and managed always to maintain intimate and friendly
relations with one or more persons. There is no interval from his
twentieth year up to his death, of which this cannot be said. He was
essentially gregarious and recognized the need of friendship. That he
was unlike his fellow human beings--essentially different--he knew. He
often sought to bridge these differences, in order to make friendly
intercourse with others possible.

Among the friends of this period may be mentioned Huettenbrenner,
Schubert's friend. Schubert himself would have prized Beethoven's
friendship in the highest degree, but he was too modest to bring it
about. The junior by twenty years, and in Beethoven's lifetime unknown
to fame, it devolved on him to take the initiative in this matter. A
meeting could easily have been arranged as both dined at the same
restaurant, and Huettenbrenner could have managed to bring them together.
Beethoven was generally approachable when not at work, and was always
well disposed toward young musicians of talent, but the habitually
modest estimate which Schubert placed on himself, coupled with the
regard amounting to reverence which he entertained for Beethoven, was
sufficient to deter the younger man. He indeed attempted a meeting in
1822, but the result was a fiasco owing to his extreme diffidence.
Having composed some variations on a French air (opus 10) he desired to
dedicate them to Beethoven and prevailed on Diabelli to arrange a
meeting, as well as call with him on the