New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-09-06
Composers ID e ath
While Sto r m
Raged-His Last
Words-An Ex.
traordinary
Funeral.
Nv H E. KREHBIEL.

RSs,boSen." oy permission OF Charles
Scrtbner's SonS.l
The consultations between Beetho-
ven and his legal advisers, Bach oreun-
inc and others, concerning the proper
disposition Of his estate by WILL when
had begun soon after Karl's departure
for Islau. had not been brought to
conclusion when it became apparent TO
All that il was high time that the doeu-
ment formally be executed. DR.. baeh
does not seem to have been consulted
Al this crisis; haste was necessary, and
on March IS Brsuning made draft OF
= will which, free from unnecessary
verhiage, set forth the wishes OF the
testator in three lines of writing BEE
thoven had protested against the prop
osjtion of'nis friends that provision De
made that Karl should not be able 10
dissipate the capital or surrender any
norton Of 1t to his mother. 10 TINS
cnd = trust was to be created and Kari
US IN have the income for life, the
reversion being to his legitimate heirs.
with this Beethoven at length declared
himself satisfied, but when Breunlng
placed the draft before the dying man.
Who had Welded unwillingly, he copied
IL laboriously, but substituted the word
"natural" for Legitimate" SCHNEIDER
saws the copying was labor, and when
Beethoven finished il and appended his
signature he said: There; now III
write no more!" Breuning called his
attention 10 the fact that controversy
would ensue from his change In the
text. but Beethoven insisted that the
words meant the same thing and there
should be no change. "This," says
SCHNEIDER, "was his last contradiction"
Killers description Of the last visit OF
Hummel pictures the condition of the
dying man on this day. and Sehindler's
statement that it was laborious Tor
Beethoven to copy even the few words
of the will is pathetically verified by
the photography of the document which,
rcr5. Ct lit, is as follows;
Mein Neffe Karle Soil slliniger
Erbe sewn, das Kapital meines Mach
lasses soil jedoch Semen natulichen
oder characterization Erben zu-
fallen.
Wien am 81: MARI. 1927.
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN, mp.
According to Gerhard Won Breuning
signatures were necessary TO several
documents will, the transfer of
the guardianship of the nephew to Won !
Breuning and the letter of January ),
which also made a testamentary dispo-
sition of Beethoven's property. These I
signatures were all obtained with great /
difficulty. The younger Won Breuning
places the date on March "a. After Won /
Breuning, SCHNEIDER and the dying /
mans brother had indicated to Beetho-
ven, who lay in half stupor. that his |
signature was required, they raised him /,
as much as possible and pushed pillows !
under him for support. Then the doc /
uments, one after the other, were laid 4
before him and Won Breunlng put the /
mixed pen in his hand. "The dying /
man. who ordinarily wrote boldly IN I
lapidary style, repeatedly signed his .
immortal name, lsboriously, with trem- !
bling hand, for the last time still leg T.
IDLY indeed, but each time forgetting 1
one of the middle letters-once an H.
another time an e."
"THE COMEDY is ENDED
On the day which saw the signing Of
the will Beethoven made an utterance
cminently characteristic Of him, but ]
which, because of an Interpretation
which IL has received, has caused no !
small amount of comment. The date |
is fixed as March % by Schindler's let
ter Of March - to Moscheles, in which |
he SAYS: Yesterday he said to me and !
BreuninR, 'PldWditC. dmtCi, cOmoedtd |
dnitG est" Though the phrase does |
not seem to be literal quotation from |
any author known to have been IA I
milisr TO Beethoven, 1t is obviously
paraphrase of something which he had
read. According to SCHNEIDER and Ger
he
uttered in q tone OF sarcastic humor.
SCHNEIDER and DIR. Wawruch Though
the latter WAS not presently agree in
saying that he made the speech after
receiving the Viaticum, and it is this
Circumstance, coupled with the deduc-
ton that the dying man referred to
the sacred function just performed:
which greatly disturbed the minds OF
some Of his admirers, especially some
who were devout children OF the
Church. II needed not have done so.
The phrase Is almost q literary COM
monplaee 1T closes the opera "Pagli-
acciS), and its significance has never
been In question. Something OF its
history may be learned from the pref
ace 70 the English translation of the
life of Rabelais. by Philip Motteux end
Sir Thomas Urquhart, where we read:
DYING HUMOR OF RABELAIS.
Rsbelais being very sick, Cardinal
du Bellay sent his page to him TO
have an account of his condition.
His answer was, TELL my Lord in
what circumstances thou findest me;
I am going to leap into the dark.
He is up in the eockloft; bid him
keep where he is. As for thee,
thoult always be a fool; let down
The curtain, the farce is done;
An author (Thoy. His de
Jean ClopineD. who styles Rabelsis
man Of excellent learning, writes
that he, being importuned by some 70
sign a viii whereby they had made
aim bestow on them legaeies that
exceeded his ability, he, to DE no
more disturbed, complied at last with
their desires; but when they came
TO ask him where they should find
fund answersble to what ne gave:
AS for that" replied he, you must
do ike the spaniel, look about and
search" Then, adds that author,
having said DRAW the curtain, the
farce Is over" he died. Likewise,
monk p. de st. Romuald Rel, Feuil-
lRnt), not only tells Us that he end
cd his life with that jest, but that
he left q paper sealed up wherein
were found three articles as his last
will, 81 owe much, have nothing,
give the rest 70 the poor" The last
story, or that before it, must un-
doubtedly be false; and perhaps both
are so, as well as the message by
the page; though Fregius (Comeht.
IN Ordt. &C. tom. ~ relates also
that Rabelais said when he was
diving, "Draw the curtain" etc. But
II he said so many great men have
u 4 -. NhVHu A az al