to
his face an expression of being inspired. Gloomily abstracted as he
would be at times, when possessed by some absorbing train of ideas,
nothing could have been more cordial or more winning than the smile
which lighted up his face at the sight of a friend. With a mass of
dark hair surmounting a high and broad forehead, and the quick,
penetrative glance which shot from beneath the large overhanging
eyebrows, Beethoven's face must have struck the observer with a sense
of its strong individuality. Nevertheless, only a few of the portraits
have succeeded in conveying a true likeness of the man who was so
unlike every one else. His hands were hairy, and the fingers 'strong
and short, and pressed out with long practising.' He was very
particular about the position of his hands when playing, and as a rule
he kept his body quite still. When conducting, however, his movements
were constant and curious. At a _pianissimo_ passage 'he would crouch
down so as to be hidden by the desk, and then, as the _crescendo_
increased, would gradually rise, beating all the time, until at the
_fortissimo_ he would spring into the air with his arms extended, as
if wishing to float on the clouds.'[19]

It was one of the most striking of Beethoven's characteristics that he
dearly loved a joke. Ever since the time when he played off the rather
unkind joke on the singer Heller the passion for joking had grown upon
him to such an extent that evidence of its ruling force appears in
every chapter of his life. He occasionally introduced a joke into his
compositions. Thus, in the 'Pastoral Symphony,' we come across a trio
between a nightingale, a quail, and a cuckoo. Again, in other works,
such as the No. 8 Symphony, the bassoons are brought in unexpectedly,
in such a manner as to produce a humorous effect. He never missed an
opportunity of playing off a joke upon any of his friends, both in
season and out of season, and he always showed his appreciation of the
victim's discomfiture by roars of laughter. His letters are full of
puns, and he bestows uncomplimentary nicknames upon his intimates. One
day his brother Johann, who had acquired a small property in the
neighbourhood of Vienna, called upon him in his absence, and left his
card, bearing the inscription, 'Johann van Beethoven, Gutsbesitzer'
(Land proprietor). Beethoven was so tickled with the conceit of this
designation that he could not resist returning the card to his
brother with the followin