Your Imperial Highness!
When you were in town a few days ago, this chorus again occurred to me [Anderson footnote: “According to KHV. 322 this was Beethoven’s setting of Goethe’s poems ‘Meeresstille’ and ‘Glückliche Fahrt’ for four voices with orchestral accompaniment….”]. I hurried home to write it down. But I delayed over it longer than I first thought that I should, and thus to my very great grief I missed Y.I.H. – The bad habit I formed in childhood of feeling obliged to write down my first ideas immediately, apart from the fact that they certainly have often come to nothing, let me down on this occasion also – So I am sending Y.I.H. my own indictment and my apology and hope to receive your gracious pardon – I shall probably be able to betake myself soon to Y.I.H. in order to enquire about your health which is so precious to all of us –
Your Imperial Highness’s
Faithful and most obedient
Ludwig van Beethoven