ter which we had peace for
the remainder of the day." "Come Friday or Sunday," he writes Holz.
"Better come on Friday, as Satanas in the kitchen is more endurable on
that day." This advice to come on Friday when purposing to dine with
him, is repeated in a subsequent letter to Holz. "If I could but rid
myself of these _canaille_," he writes to another person, when
complaining of the hostility and insolence of his servants.

That his own mode of life helped largely to bring about this state of
things, did not make it any easier to bear. As stated, system was out of
the question in this household. There was no regular time for meals,
often no meals were thought of by the master while occupied with his
work. When hungry, if nothing were forthcoming at home, he sought a
restaurant. Careless in general as regards his food, abstemious to a
degree in this respect, he was particular only on one matter, his
coffee. He delighted in making it himself, often counting the beans that
were required for each cup.

"My house resembles very much a shipwreck" is a remark attributed to him
by Nohl. Even under favoring conditions, discipline was not to be
expected, but matters were further complicated by Karl's mother, who
made a practice of bribing the servants to get information about the
young man. There is no doubt her influence tended to increase the
discomfort and disorder that would have existed in any event. "Some
devils of people have again played me such a trick that it is almost
impossible for me to mix with human beings any more," he said in a
letter to Madame Streicher, which remark Mr. Kalischer (_Neue
Beethovenbriefe_, Berlin, 1902), attributes to intrigues against him by
his sister-in-law.

To illustrate the slight regard his servants had for Beethoven and their
absolute ignorance of the value of his work, an incident related by
Schindler about the loss of the manuscript of the Kyrie of the Mass in D
is in point. On reaching Doebling in 1821 on his annual summer migration,
he missed this work and the most diligent search failed to bring it to
light. Finally the cook produced it; she had used the separate sheets
for wrapping kitchen utensils. Some of them were torn, but no part was
lost. No copy had yet been made, and its loss would have been
irreparable.

The difficulties which he experienced with the world in general existed
with his copyists and engravers to an exaggerated degree as may be
supposed, since proofreading