BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Sunday, August 6, 1826

The heat wave finally has broken in Vienna, and the heavy rain this morning causes temperatures to drop precipitously. However, the rain also interferes with the search for Nephew Karl, who disappeared yesterday.

Karl is in Baden bei Wien. Leaving behind his letters of farewell, Karl this morning goes to a rock at the ruined medieval castle Rauhenstein in the scenic Helenenthal where he had often walked with his uncle the year before. An 1805 drawing showing Rauhenstein in the Helenenthal is seen nearby.

Karl has in his pocket a statement confirming that his death is a suicide. Intending to kill himself in this romantically idyllic spot, Karl points the first pistol at his head, pulls the trigger, and, likely unprepared for the force of the discharge, manages to miss completely.

Karl takes out the second pistol, pointing it more firmly at his left temple, and fires. This time, he does not miss, but the wound is not fatal either. Bleeding and with a bullet lodged in his temple, Karl apparently stumbles onto a rock that can be seen from the roadway and collapses in the rain. It is unclear how long he lays there bleeding. He is eventually found by a coachman at around 10:30 a.m. Regaining consciousness, Karl asks to be taken to his mother Johanna in Vienna. The coachman agrees to do so.

[Why does Karl attempt suicide? He will give several different reasons, all of which may enter into his decision. He told his landlord Schlemmer that he had debts that he had accrued over time. He cites his difficult relationship with Uncle Ludwig to unpaid assistant Karl Holz; Schlemmer mentions that Karl frequently ranted about Ludwig. The timing of recent events, right around the time of examinations, suggests the possibility that Karl may have feared that he would fail his exams at the Polytechnic, just as he had at the University, though Karl expressly denies to Holz this was a cause (Conversation Book 118 at 41r.). Was the attempt a classic cry for help? If so, Karl was very lucky, because according to Holz’s later comment, there was so much powder in the original set of pistols that Karl surely would have died if he had tried to use them. Later there is talk of a woman in connection with an abortion. Did Karl get a young woman pregnant? But in any event, Schlemmer’s discovery of the pistol and Karl’s suicidal intentions yesterday forced the issue: Karl had to act now or never.]

Holz goes to see Beethoven, who has of course heard nothing from Karl and must be desperate, completely unaware of what has transpired in Baden. Holz has hired a fiacre for the entire day to look for Karl again. Beethoven asks what he owes Holz for the fiacre; Holz tells him 1 florin for yesterday, and 3 florins for the charge today. They go to see whether Karl has reappeared at his rooms at the Schlemmers, but he has not. Also, there are still 30 kreutzers owed for Karl’s board for August thus far with them.

Holz is afraid there will be trouble because of yesterday. [Holz may mean his going to see Vice-Director Reisser at the Polytechnic Institute.] Ludwig again chastises Holz for letting Karl get away from him. Holz defends himself: “He said to me, What good will it do you to detain me? If I do not escape today, I will at another time, I…” [Here there are one or more leaves torn out of the conversation book. Because the police will become involved, there may have been damaging admissions by Karl that Beethoven wished to conceal.]

Beethoven at this point is still primarily concerned about Karl making up his examinations. Schlemmer says he will unload the gun that he confiscated. “My wife has the second pistol because I was not at home when it was found.” Beethoven, reminded by Schlemmer of Karl’s suicidal intentions, but deprived of his pistols, begins to fear, “He will drown himself.”

Schlemmer says he also asked Holz why he allowed Karl out of his sight once he had caught him. Schlemmer will make an inventory of all of Karl’s things in his rooms and bring them to the Schwarzspanierhaus today.

Beethoven asks whether Karl had not said anything about his intentions to anyone, even Frau Schlemmer, with whom he was friendly? Holz tells him, “If it was his firm intention to kill himself, he certainly would not have told anyone, and least of all a chatty woman.” Holz mentions, “Perhaps even a theater princess,” another indication that a woman may also be tied up in Karl’s troubles.

Holz and Beethoven take the fiacre to Blöchlinger’s Institute, where Karl was a student before attending the University. They inquire there about the address of his friend, Joseph Niemetz, since he is the most promising lead that they have. Holz suggests that once they have the address, they go straightaway to the district police commissioner so they can summon the young man. Beethoven still does not want to involve the police, if possible.

Holz itemizes complaints about Karl’s conduct. He protested when Uncle Ludwig sent him Christoph Hufeland’s books on Macrobiotics. “His whole behavior towards you was a continuous chain of lies.” It is the blood of the mother coming out in him, Holz grumbles. At Blöchlinger’s, after some delays in which they cannot find anyone available, they are able only to get a vague approximation of an address of the boy; they tell Holz that Niemitz lives at the Landstrasse, about 10 houses from the church. Holz suggests that they go there and make inquiries.

Ludwig has written a letter to Brother Johann informing him of what they know so far. [This letter is not known to survive, or if it was ever sent.] Beethoven asks whether the second pistol, the one found by Frau Schlemmer, was also loaded. According to her, it was. Someone, possibly at Blöchlinger’s, is able to tell them that they saw Karl with a woman [his mother, or another woman?] at the Kärntnertor Theater, on the same day that he was with Ludwig earlier. [Probably Tuesday, August 2, the last time that Karl visited Ludwig for any length of time.]

They find Niemetz’s house with the help of a passerby, but Karl is not there. Holz sees two options left to them: go to Johanna’s and see whether Karl is there, or go to the police. Niemetz is also concerned and would like to come along, but Holz discourages him. After some searching, they find the police district for Schlemmer’s house on the Wieden at 191. They appear to file a missing persons report with the police. Word is sent to the guard stations at the exits of the City to keep an eye out for Karl, and they will send someone to look for him at the coffeehouses. Beethoven asks what time it is; Holz tells him 2:30. He suggests that Beethoven should go home now and have his dinner. From there, he can send a message to Schlemmer, and after dinner they can go together to Johanna’s.

Beethoven apparently opts to go directly to Johanna’s instead. There, they find the injured Karl, who has just been brought there by the coachman.

Karl is conscious and writes, “It is done. Now, only a surgeon who can hold his tongue. [Dr. Karl von] Smetana, if he is here.” Uncle Ludwig begins lecturing Karl, who interrupts him, “Do not plague me with reproaches and lamentations; it is past. Later everything may be set straight.” Ludwig asks whether a doctor has been summoned. Karl says yes, his mother has sent for a doctor, but he was not at home.

Ludwig dashes off a quick note to Dr. Smetana, and has Holz deliver it. “Most reverend Herr von Smetana. A great misfortune has occurred, which Karl accidentally caused himself. Rescue is still possible, especially from you, if you only appear soon. Karl has a bullet in his head; how, you will soon find out — just quickly, for God’s sake, quickly. Beethoven.”

“To help with speed, summon him directly to his mother’s where he is now. The address follows below.” [Adlergasse nr.717. According to the German editors, her address was actually Hafnersteig Nr.717. However, the two streets were connected.]

Brandenburg Letter 2181; Anderson Letter 1495. The letter is held by the Bonn Beethovenhaus, BH 35, and can be seen here:

https://www.beethoven.de/de/media/view/5698040727863296/scan/0

Beethoven asks Johanna, writing in the conversation book so that Karl does not hear, “When did it happen?” She responds in the book, “He has just come. The coachman carried him down from a rock in Baden and has just driven out to get you. B Baaden In the bath in Baden [Johanna is apparently having difficulty making Ludwig understand that Karl was in Baden, not Vienna.] I beg of you to tell the surgeon not to make a report or they will take him away from here at once, and we must fear the worst —”

Beethoven asks her what his injury is. “He has a bullet in his head on the left side,” she tells him.

Holz returns from Dr. Smetana. He told the doctor that he must come soon. “He will be happy to be of service; however, he does not want to compromise Dögl [surgeon Adam Degl], who is very skilled and deserves full trust. Therefore, he will only come if Dögl thinks it is necessary to consult him. But no one has come yet.” Seeing Karl’s wet, bloody clothing, Holz points out that he will need clothes. Also, the coachman who brought him wants to be paid; the cost from Baden is 15 florins W.W. “Already 4 hours.” [This comment may be in response to Beethoven’s question as to how long ago Karl was found.]

Doctor Degl arrives. Karl says that he trusts him; Smetana does not have to come.

Ludwig continues to harangue his nephew. How could he do this? Karl begs Uncle Ludwig to stop his reproaches. Holz tells Ludwig, “He intended to shoot himself in the Helenenthal on the Rauhenstein at a rock.” Did he not write a letter explaining himself? “He wrote another one; perhaps it is already at your apartment.”

Degl says the police will need to be informed. [Again, attempted suicide is a crime in Austria at this time.] Holz says he will report it himself after dinner at the station in the Wieden, and they will see what negative consequences it may have for Karl. Perhaps there will only be a subpoena to appear, or an oral reprimand.

Holz questions Karl further about what happened after Karl disappeared yesterday. “Yesterday, he went away from me and went directly into the city and bought new pistols, then he went to Baden.” Ludwig thought that Karl would not try again with pistols after the first pair had been found and taken away from him. “If he had still had the old ones, he would certainly have been dead now, for they were charged to about the middle.”

Karl sees he has no future in business. He would like to join the military. Uncle Ludwig objects, but Holz agrees with Karl and tells Ludwig, “Here you see the ingratitude clear as day; why do you still want to restrain him? Once with the military, he will be under the strictest discipline, and if you still want to do something for him, you only have to send him a small monthly allowance.” What will he eat in the military? “Commissary bread. He really has to harden himself.” Let him become a soldier at once. Efforts to make him something else would all be in vain.

Karl has apparently written some kind of letter or declaration that was on his person. Holz reads it and shows it to Ludwig. There is no doubt that he meant to commit suicide. “It is a remarkable document.” [This document, like many of the papers associated with this suicide attempt, no longer exists.]

Ludwig and Holz return to the Schwarzspanierhaus. Holz tells Ludwig he will send the maid to Schlemmer to fetch Karl’s clothes. “The mother [Johanna] kept saying: What will the good Niemetz say about this?”

Holz also has rebukes for Karl, who “snatched my letters because I wrote about his behavior.” Holz thinks that it would be for the best if Ludwig were to give up the guardianship of Karl. “The Magistrate must give him another guardian.” That will be easy, and Holz thinks it will have a positive effect on Karl. “As soon as you do this, you will have no obligations towards him any longer, and it will be up to your own free will to decide whether you still want to do something for him or not. Had he learned how much you were willing to spend, he might already have been provided for.”

When Uncle Ludwig left the room, Karl said, “If only he wouldn’t let himself be seen any more.” It is no wonder that Ludwig needed so much money every year, Holz thinks. Ludwig has no idea of what tricks Karl has been playing, and probably started even before Holz began assisting Ludwig. Ludwig offers money to help pay for Karl’s care. Johanna doesn’t want to accept, but Karl tells her at once, “Just take it, he shall just give you what he has.” Paying off Karl’s debts probably will mean getting Brother Johann involved, bargaining again with Ludwig’s works as compensation for advancing the necessary funds. He already has bargained with the Overture [Consecration of the House, op.124.]

Ludwig bemoans how much he has sacrificed for his nephew, to come to this. Holz agrees, “Not only I, who could see it more easily, but the whole city knew how much you have sacrificed for him.” Karl mentions that he would have liked to have been with someone [Niemetz? Uncle Ludwig? Later, in court Karl will testify that he got worse because his uncle wanted him to be better.], but only if he were as bad as Karl. Ludwig does not understand. Holz explains, “In other words, it means: I would have liked to be with him, if he were as bad as I. It is a very bad sign if you cannot stand better people.”

Ludwig berates himself for not being firm enough with Karl. Holz cannot agree: “If your good nature had not so often get the better of your firmness, you would have driven him away long ago. What are fathers often doing in less serious cases.”

Beethoven asks what is for supper; Holz tells him that there is duck. There were several, and housekeeper Marie Stiegel reserved one of them for this evening.

Why has Karl been deceiving him for so long, Beethoven wonders. “Secretiveness and sometimes embarrassment. His thoughts are in 10 places at a time; one has to use tricks to untangle one’s self.”

Stiegel has prepared a tub for Beethoven, but he is not interested. Holz says it will be taken away.

[One or more pages are missing here.] Holz continues that Karl was making a pretense that he was not in contact with his mother. “Unfortunately, he knew your good nature too well, your indulgence. He pushed for that. I honestly admit that I now fear for him.”

“Can the life of one’s neighbor be sacred to someone who so indifferently throws away his own life? I came here when he grabbed your chest,” Holz recalls, and Beethoven asks where that was. “Outside, by the door as he was leaving.”

Perhaps Niemetz has more information, Ludwig wonders. “Until the facts are gathered, when the police learn about this deed they will not refrain from tracking down Niemetz. Our police are famous for that.” Beethoven’s name carries great influence. “When I said: Herr v. Beethoven, everyone fell on their knees.” But Karl himself is ridiculous by comparison: “I told Reisser yesterday that pistols had been found with him. ‘That rascal,’ he said, ‘that comedy hero!'” Holz continues his rant, “When the mother is a public whore, and the son a criminal suicide, who will make himself a laughingstock to the world, how much further should one be concerned about the comfortable existence of a scoundrel.”

Beethoven wonders whether this was a sudden change in Karl. Holz thinks not, “It had been his intention for a long time.”

After they reported that Karl was missing, the police sent messages to the exits at the city limits. “They said that is their duty, such is the law.” [Apparently Karl was already within the City walls at that point, and they in any event would have been looking for someone trying to leave the City, not enter it.]

Ludwig begs Holz not to say too much in the police report. Holz assures him, “I will be quite brief and dry.”

They go to Karl’s rooms at the Schlemmers’. They make arrangements for shirts, pants, handkerchiefs and scarves, nightwear and socks to be sent to Johanna’s. In speaking with Schlemmer, they learn that Karl had also gone to Baden 8 days ago, along with two officers. Schlemmer says that at least in the beginning, Ludwig must let Karl express his feelings. “Schlemmer had a lot of trouble with him because Karl ranted so much about you.”

Holz says he will check in on Karl’s condition tomorrow morning [Monday, August 7] and let Ludwig know how he is. The clothes should go to Karl soon. Holz then makes his way to the police station to make the obligatory report.

A fair amount of time later, Holz reports back to Beethoven (whether at Schlemmer’s or more likely at the Schwarzspanierhaus). The police “could not stop wondering how he could betray his good uncle so carelessly.” Ludwig asks Holz again why Karl did it. Holz tells him that it will be discussed later, when Karl has to admit to the police the cause for his actions.

Beethoven asks why Holz took so long; he says he walked half the way. [The fiacre was apparently dispensed with along the way]. Beethoven wonders whether any more is known about Niemetz and his role in all this. Holz tells him that he was always going around with Karl. Was this a sudden decision by Karl, Ludwig wants to know. Holz thinks not. “The decision was already made before the affair on the Glacis occurred.” [What this “affair on the Glacis” was remains unknown, but presumably it was some public altercation between Ludwig and his nephew.] Ludwig is hurt by a remark that Karl made; Holz thinks he says this only in order to offend his uncle even more. “What is to be expected?” It’s getting late, and Holz has to leave. He will report back on Karl’s condition tomorrow morning.

Conversation Book 116, 34r-54v.

Probably later tonight, an anxious Beethoven writes a short undated note to Holz. “Read this — if possible, speak only to the doctor. Take a fiacre. See you tomorrow for dinner. Yours truly, Beethoven.”

Brandenburg Letter 2182; Anderson Letter 1495. The original is held by the Bonn Beethovenhaus (H.C. Bodmer Collection, and can be seen here:

https://www.beethoven.de/de/media/view/4877765861965824/scan/0

On the reverse side of the letter is a note for a shopkeeper. “Beethoven requests: 1 pound ordinary cast candles — 2 Soap.”

Brandenburg Letter 2177. The note for the shopkeeper probably was written a day or two earlier, but every scrap of paper was important so Beethoven reused it to write this note.