It is to be inferred from this, that the first volume was published, at the latest, this year; but the corrections were not sent to Thomson until September, 1814. The songs were originally printed in numbers. Thus of the first volume of the Scotch Songs, principally by Koželuch and Pleyel, the First, Third, and Fourth Sets, now before the writer, contain 25 songs each. It may be assumed then that at least a part of the Irish Songs came from the press in 1813. The song “Der Bardengeist” was published as a supplement to the “Musenalmanach” of Joh. Erichson for 1814. The preface of the almanac is dated November 20, 1813, and the book was doubtless published before New Year’s Day, 1814. FOOTNOTES: [109] Thayer is writing from the point of view touching Beethoven’s love-affairs which was justified by all the evidence that had been discovered up to the time of his writing and, in fact, up to the time of his death. He thought that the object of the love-letters, which he insisted in placing in 1806, was “in greatest probability” Countess Brunswick; he knew that Beethoven had proposed marriage to Therese Malfatti, but plainly thought the passion for her neither profound nor lasting; he was inclined to believe that the broken marriage engagement of 1810, was with the Countess Brunswick and that she dropped out of his life with the failure of his marriage project. The discovery of the letter of February, 1811, from Therese to her sister in which his letter to her about the portrait is quoted, shows Thayer to have been in error in this. In his revision of the chapter before us, Dr. Riemann proceeded from an entirely different point of view. In his belief the love-letters were written in 1812, and to Therese Brunswick. In place of the opening passages which the English Editor has thought proper to retain, he substituted the following: