New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-08-16
BEETHOyEN's DRINKING HABITS.


BEETHOvEN'S DRINKING HABITS.
Wawruchs remarks here about
Beethoven's prediction for spirituous
liouors formed the basis for Schindler's
charge, which has already been men
toned, that the physician had slandered
Beethoven and had tried to create the
impression that he had contracted
dropsy by inordinate use of alconolc
drinks. The account OF the benehciai
effect of Malfatti's coming, no less than
the treatment prescribed, is reasonable
enough. Beethoven, no doubt, IN the
warm glow Of recovered friendship:
gave the physician full measure OF
confidence and hailed IN him muen
more than the ordinary professional
leech. 1t is also safe TO assume that
Malfatti knew from the beginning that
a cure was impossible and stroye at
once for temporary relief, which in
Beethoven's case was the suresc OF
means for cheering him up and reani-
mating hope within him. By admins
tering iced punch he stimulated the
iaded organs more successfully than
Wawruch had succeeded in doing; at
the same time he warned against ex-
cess in it's use and forbade the patti
taking il in liquid form But this was
only at the beginning. When he saw
the inevitable end approaching he
waived all injunctions as to quantity.
SCHNEIDER says:
The quantity Of iced punch permit
ted in the first weeks was not more
than one glass a day. Not until after
the fourth operation February 27th),
when il was seen that the case was
homeless, were all restrictions re-
moved. The noble patient. feeling the
marked effects OF a doubled, and even
trebled, allowance, meanwhile thought
himself already half saved, and want
ed to work on his tenth symphony,
which was allowed in a small meas
ure. From these days, so eXtraordl-
nary in the sight of the friends VINO
surrounded him, the last lines are
dated which he wrote to me on March
I7-nine days before his death-the
very last page which the immortal
master wrote with his own hands:
"Miracles, Miraclesl Miracles! -
the repetition of the words is indicat-
ed bv the usual musical sign-"The
highly learned gentlemen are both de-
feated! Only through Malfatti's sci
ence shall be saved. 1t is necessary
that yor come to me for moment
this forenoon"
There is no date TO this writing in
Beethoven's hand, but SCHNEIDER in
dorsed it: "Beethoven's last lines TO
SCHNEIDER on March II, 1921" The in
dorsement is of q later date, and marks
another error Of memory. 1t is not pos
sible that Beethoven wrote the latter
after he had himself abandoned all
/ hone of recovery, as he had before the
date affixed by SCHNEIDER. Most oDyl-
| ously the pathetic document is an out
hurst of iubilation on feeling the exhll-
aration consequent on MalfattTs pre-
scription, as mentioned in Wawruch' s
report. SCHNEIDER says that the Learned
gentlemen" referred to were Wawrucn
and Seibert. Wawruch says that Bee
/ tboven abandoned hope after the fourth
tappine; Johann van Beethoven records
tbet the physicians declared him lost
on March Ia. SCHNEIDER, in his blogra-
phv. describes letter written IN FEB
mary as the last letter actually written
by the composer.
Gerhard Won Breuning, prejudiced as
he was against DR.. Wawruch, was yet
far from unqualified in his praise OF
Malfatti. He says:
But the usually brilliant physician
seems to have been little inspired in
the presence of Beethoven. The iced
punch which he prescribed to restore