May Your Most Reverend Electoral Grace, graciously permit the presentation of this humble _supplicando_, how for many years I have served Your Highness faithfully and industriously on the “Duc saahl” and the theatre, and also have given instruction in various _supjecta_ concerning the aforesaid service to the entire satisfaction of Your Electoral Grace, and am engaged now in study to perfect myself to this end. My father also joins in this _supplic_ in his humble capacity of the _theatri_ and will participate in the gladness should Your Electoral Grace graciously grant the favor; as it is impossible for me to live on the salary of 100 th. graciously allowed me, I pray Your Electoral Grace to bestow upon me the 100 th. left at Your gracious disposal by the death of Your court musician Philip Haveck; to merit this high grace by faithful and diligent service shall be my greatest striving. Your Electoral Grace’s most humble Joannes Bethof, Court Musician. In answer to this there came the following decree: Whereas we, Max. Frid. p. on the death of Court Musician Philipp Haveck and the submissive petition of our court musician Philipp Salomon bestowed upon him the grace of adding 50 fl. for his two daughters to the salary which he already enjoys out of the salary of the above mentioned Haveck per year; we confirm the act hereby; wherefore we have graciously issued, this decree, which our Electoral Court Exchequer will humbly observe and make all necessary provisions. Attest, p. Münster, 17th 9bris 1769. (On the margin:) “Gracious addition of 50 fl. for the court musician Philipp Salomon” and, besides Brandt and Meuris, also “_in simili_ for Court Musician Joann Bethoff 25 fl.” There need be no apology for filling a few more pages with extracts from documents found in the Düsseldorf archives; for now a period has been reached in which the child Ludwig van Beethoven is growing up into youth and early manhood, and thrown into constant contact with those whose names will appear. Some of these names will come up many years later in Vienna; others will have their parts to play in the narrative of that child’s life. Omitting, for the present, a petition of Johann van Beethoven, we begin them with that of Joseph Demmer, of date January 23, 1773, which first secured him his appointment after a year’s service and three months’ instruction from “the young Mr. van Beethoven.” Most Reverend Archbishop and Elector, Most Gracious Lord, etc., etc. I have been accepted as chorister in the cathedral of this city at a salary of 80 th. per year, and have so practised myself in music that I humbly flatter myself of my ability to perform my task with the highest satisfaction.