Only
yesterday I told you that I would not accept your ticket. You ought
to know me better than to think that I should be capable of robbing
one of my friends of a pleasure in order to give that pleasure to
somebody else. I abide by what I said and I herewith return the
ticket to you; and I am glad that I am not so fickle has to have
a different opinion every other moment, but that I hold steadfastly
to what I say.
You
seemed to be offended with me yesterday, perhaps because I declared
rather heatedly that you had acted wrongly in giving away the ticket.
But if you bear in mind that the day before yesterday I wrote two,
I repeat two, letters about this, one to L[ichnowsky] and one to
the Princess, in order to secure one ticket, then you will not be
surprised. Besides, I am not as cold-hearted as you are; and moreover
I realized that the pleasure I wanted to give someone with this
ticket was not to be. However I immediately forgot my disappointment;
for what cannot be altered should not be made the subject of a quarrel.
I
am willing to admit the value of your bonhomie. But my complaint
to heaven is that it is difficult for a friendship to thrive under
such conditions.
Yet
I am not less than I ever was
your friend
L.
v. Beethoven
I
am sending you the ticket so very late, because early this morning
I had to send off yours, or else it could not have been used. And
I have only now received mine which I am sending to you at once.
Even if I had received no ticket, yet you would have been sent one
in any case.