Haydn's life at Eisenstadt, as it was at Esterhaz, to which Prince Nicolaus and his household removed in 1766, was one of almost complete seclusion from the outer world and of unflagging work. The quantity of music he wrote was enormous and the rapidity with which he poured it forth was astonishing. At Esterhaz he was obliged to provide for two operatic performances and for one or two formal concerts each week, in addition to the daily music. It was here that Haydn wrote nearly all his operas, the greater number of his arias and songs, and the bulk of his orchestral and chamber music. The vast quantity of music he wrote and the rapidity with which he produced it has given rise to the belief that he composed quickly; but such was not the case. His work was always carefully thought out, and whenever an idea occurred to him that he thought of musical value and worth elaborating, he pondered long over it and only began to write it out finally after he was, as he said, "fully convinced that it was as it should be." He was now in receipt of a salary of one thousand florins, or about five hundred dollars, and it is stated that he nearly doubled this by the sale of his compositions. His operas, of which he was specially fond, brought him the least profit. The extravagance of his wife, however, kept him constantly embarrassed in his money affairs, and an attachment he formed for one of the singers in the chapel, Luigia Polzelli, did not mend matters. [Illustration: SILHOUETTE OF HAYDN. Probably suggested by the miniature portrait]