The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1865-07-27
THE LOVES OF BEETHOVEN.

bond.
The Court then adjourned.
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THE LOVES OF BEETHOVEN.
There is prevalent idea that no
man can be. q great poet or a great
musician without having been in love.
As most men have preference some
time in the course Of their lives, there
does not appear to be any reason why
these should form an exception to the
rule, The question whether Beetho.
ven was ever in love, has. it seems,
been warmly disputed by his biogra-
piers. Baron Erneay seems to have
set the question at rest in a recent az
ticle published in the Revue Contem-
poraine, that is, so far as assertion
goes, and if he has not misled by DR..
Wegeler. ..,
His first love, it seems, was jeanette
d. Honrath, of Cologne. The young
lady is described as fair, Of an afiec
tionate character, and endearing man
ners. She used occasionally TO come
to Bonn to visit family there to
whom Beethoven was known, and this
led to his forming an. attachment to
her. -........
Unfortunately for his peace OF mind,
the lady no sooner received the ad-
dresses of captain in the Austrian SER
vice, than she discarded her musical ad-
mlrer; and yet he was not'a man alto
gether unworthy of being regarded
with favor from merely physical point
of view in his younger days. lie had
not then the stern, unattraciive ex-
preston of countenance which charac-
terzes the portraits taken of him in
middle age. Scyfried, who knew him
well in his youth, says ho-was then of
the middle hight, broad shouldered
and fobust--a very model of strength.
Add to this that he had keen, pen
etrating eye, and a characteristic
physiognomy, and we have the pic
ture of man who might reasonably
expect that the course Of true love
would run smooth in his case. But
those who remember and who does
not, the pathetic sonata, "Absencv
and Return" would be surprised than
otherwise to hear that he had escaped
the ordeal which has purified so
many geniuses-that of loving well,
but not wisely. In point of fact, tap
pears that this sonata is connected
with a love passage in his life, which
is referred to in the following letter,
written by him to Dr. Wegeler. In
this letter he refers, in n very despon-
dent tone, to the state Of his hearing,
which, in spite of all The remedies he
had tried, was getting worse and he
was then about to seek new dOctorsi
After describing how hard he was
working, even grudging the time he
was obliged to devote to sleep, to COM
plete work that should do him honor,
he says: ....
"For the last two years have lived
a solitary life. l dare say l am eonsid-
cred a misanthrope, and yet 1 am not
anything of the kind. A motamo--
phosis has been worked in me by
dear and most ravshing glrl, whom |
love and who loves me- | am indobt
ed to her for many happy moments
during these two years, and for the
first time in my life l feel that mar
riago could make me perfectly happy.
Unfortunately our social position is
not the same i X x X and in my stu,
alton l really could not marry x 4 i
l shall have much to go through be-
fore that can be"
Some passages are evidently sup
pressed in this letter; but we can gath
er from it that his life was embittered
by his malady and the obstacle which
the arstocratic prejudices of the Aus
trians placed in the way of his mar
riage, for the lady on whom he had
placed his affections was countess
TO this circumstance perhaps, quite as
much as to any democratic convictions
may be attributed the onslaughts he
uttered so frequently against social
distinctions. ..
This passion, which seems to have
been the first experienced by Beetho-
ven after he had reached manhood,
ended badly for him. The lady alb
ruptly broke off the connection with
him in order to marry ruined count
and, to complete the measure of his
humiliation, a count, who was by pro
fession a musical composer, compo-
ser,of dance music, who subsequently
got ballet of his placed upon the
stage at Paris, where it was over
whelmed. by the condemnation of the
press; and as the scene of'this ballet
was laid in America, one of the critics
remarked that the music was not only
of the new world but OF the other
world. .sqtn.. Ir.;.-V
The effect of this deception on Bee
thoven was most disastrous; it smote
him doubly hard, by wounding his
pride as man and an artist. He ut
tered no complaints; but it was easy
to SEQ that he desired death rather than
life. One Of his great admirers, who
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