MOST WORTHY AND MOST EXCELLENT ELECTOR !
MOST GRACIOUS LORD !
A
few years ago Your Electoral Excellency was pleased to retire my father,
the Court tenor van Beethoven, and by a most gracious decree to allow
me
out of his salary 100 Rheinthalers so as to enable me to have my two
younger
brothers clothed, fed and educated and also to discharge the debts which
our
father had incurred.
I was about to present this decree to
Your Excellency's Landrentmeisterei
when my father earnestly besought me not to do this lest he should be
publicly
regarded as incapable of supporting his family by his own efforts. He
added
that he himself would pay me the 25 Rheinthalers every quarter; and
this was
always punctually done.
After his death, which took place in December
of last year, I wanted to
avail myself of your most precious favour by presenting the aforementioned
most gracious decree. I was horrified, however, to find that my father
had
done away with it.
Hence with the most dutiful reverence
I beg Your Excellency graciously to
renew this decree and also to instruct Your Excellency's Landrentmeisterei
to send me the previous quarterly amount which fell due at the beginning
of
February.
Your
Electoral Excellency's
most
humble and most faithfully obedient
Ludwig
van Beethoven,
Court
Organist