The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1870-12-01

supposed 10 entertain tender attacn-
ment for an unknown lady. be
adopted his sole remaining nephew,
Charles Beethoven educated him.
and made him his heir. The Wild
ness Of the youth was a source OF
many sorrows to him, which he bore
with wonderful patience.
Beethoven possessed robust con-
stitution; he was Of middling stature,
and his lin oSsshad the apEe rance OF
great muscular power. TOWARDS the
clcse OF the year 1926, however, syInP-
toms Of drOpsey had become 50 ag-
gravated a. 10 leave but little hope
that the life Of the great artist could
be longer spared. His nephew,s r.
regular conduct had caused the latter
TO be banished from Vienna. Beet
hoven resolved to enlist him IN a reg
iment. aud undertook a journey for
the purDOse. The severe weather
which he encountered caused an in
fiammation o. the lungs. This attach,
added 10 the painful operations reu-
dered necessary by his previous dis
ease, resulted in his death, which took
place on the 18th of March, 1877, in
his fifty-seventh year. In his last i'll
ness he showed greatserenity Of mind,
and when free from pain, read much
especially the works Of Homer, and
the romances of Walter Scott, Of
which he was passionately fond. The
interest which this great man inspir-
ed was never so manifest as during
his last illness. Every cOuntenance
wore an anxious aspect; a large crowd
Obstructed the doors Of his house TO
get the latest news Of his condition,
and persons Of the highest rank call
ed to visit him. The news Of his dan
ger had reached Weimar, where
Hummel was residing. The latter
betOOk himself with all speed to the
sick mans bedside TO be reconciled;
for they had quarreled. On entering
the chamber, Hummel burst into
tears, Beethoven extended his hand,
and they were made loving friends.
More than thirty thousand persons
followed his body to the grave; eight
chapel-masters, among them Hum
mel, Weigl, and Seyfried, were his
pall-bearers. Torches were borne by
thirty-six artists, among them the
poets Grillparzer and Castelli. Mo-
zart's Requiem was sung i'm the
Church of the Augustines, and his re-
mains were deposited in the ceme-
terry near Vienna. Shortly after, a
monument was raised over his tomb.
The earlier compositions Of Beet
hOven, with all the original thoughts
and exquisite beauties which they
contain, still bear the marks of imita-
ton; and one cannot fail to see in
them the influence which Mozart had
upon his mind, particularly in his
method of treating a musical idea.
In his SiqfOnjG ErOicd opus 55, his in
stands out in all its i'm
posing majesty, and the work is the
type of a new era in the history of
art During the ten years subsequent !
to the production of this symphony, |
he undoubtedly wrote his finest works, /
and his genius expanded to its full
vigOr. But after this time, when, 1
what is usually considered the third |
epoch in his career, commenced, his |
compositions threw off more or less |
the fetters of established forms; his |
harmOnies are often discOrdant, and |
his ideas reach an enormous depth, |
at times unfathOmable. A distin- |
guislied feature in all his works, Is 1
the freshness of those episodes by |
which he suspends the interest he has
already awakened, only to substitute /
equally lively and unexpect-
ed. Notwithstanding the beauties of
his opera 'FEdeljO,' the exquisite ten
ierness of his 'AdeIdide,' and the
grandeur of his sacred choral works,
yet it is specially in his instrumental
particularly in those nine
natchless symphonies, that he makes
rs bow in profound veneration of his
mighty genius, and acknowledge him
IS the composer of the world.