It not only increased his opportunities for study, but,
his mind being free from care, he was enabled to profit more by his
studies. The Lichnowskys were older than Beethoven and were childless.
He was allowed to do as he pleased; a privilege of which he availed
himself without hesitation. They entertained considerably and their
social position was unexceptionable. They maintained a small orchestra
for the performance of the music he liked and for his own compositions.
He was always the honored guest, and met the best people of Vienna. The
devotion of the Princess, in particular, was always in evidence.
It can be readily understood that with such an original character as
Beethoven, headstrong and impatient of restraint, a pleasant smooth life
was not to be expected. The arrangement would seem to have been an
excellent one for him, but he did not so regard it. Already at odds with
the world, misunderstanding people and being misunderstood, he soon came
to realize that a life of solitude was the only resource for a man
constituted as he was.
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