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Fischer, George Alexander

"Beethoven"

This large sum tempted him strongly,
placing him, so to speak, between two fires. The character of his nephew
was such that he could not be left behind, while his education would be
interrupted if he took him along. His entries in his journal show with
what dread and apprehension he faced the ordeal of going among
strangers. The project never would have been considered but for his
desire to provide for Karl's future. The journey was never undertaken,
but the project was never abandoned. It occupied his thoughts even in
his last illness.
The scores of the Mass and Symphony were sold to Messrs. Schott of
Mayence, one thousand florins having been obtained for the Mass, and six
hundred for the Symphony. This put him in easy circumstances for a
while, although the money question was a source of anxiety to him, more
or less, for the remainder of his life. The ten thousand florins
invested in Bank of Austria shares in 1815 was almost intact. He had
drawn on it once or twice when matters had come to an extremity with
him, but to touch it in any other case seemed to him like betraying a
trust, since it had been set aside as a provision for his nephew.


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