CHAPTER V. The Year 1824--The Symphony in D Minor--Its Technical History--The Choral Finale and Schiller’s “Ode to Joy”--First Performance of the Work and Portions of the Mass--An Address to Beethoven--Laborious and Protracted Preparations for the Concert--A Financial Failure--Beethoven’s False Accusations against Friends and Helpers Drive Them from the Dinner-Table 144 CHAPTER VI. Incidents and Labors of the Year 1824--A Truce with the Hated Sister-in-Law--The Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde’s Oratorio--Bernard’s Libretto--The Society Forgives Beethoven His Debt and Elects Him an Honorary Member--Book of “The Victory of the Cross”--Summer Sojourn at Penzing Interrupted by Curious Visitors--The London Philharmonic Society Receives the Symphony in D Minor--Further Negotiations for the Mass--New Publishers--Probst--Schott and Sons--A Visitor from London--Beethoven’s Opinion of His Predecessors--The Quartet in E-flat, Op. 127--Trip to England Determined Upon 170 CHAPTER VII. The Year 1825. The Invitation from the Philharmonic Society of London--The Ninth Symphony Performed at Aix-la-Chapelle--Mass and Symphony Delivered to Schott and Sons--Unpleasant Results of an Attempted Joke on Haslinger--Beethoven and a Copyist--The String Quartet in E-flat Taken Away from Schuppanzigh after a First Performance--Karl Holz--Beethoven Authorizes Him to Write the History of His Life--Early Biographers--Visits of Rellstab, Kuhlau, Smart and Others--Sir George Smart’s Recollections-- Dedication of the Mass in D--Stephan von Breuning--Wegeler asks Beethoven to Defend the Honor of His Mother--The Quartets in A Minor and B-flat 186 CHAPTER VIII. A Year of Sickness and Sorrow--The Last String Quartets--Wolfmayer Commissions a “Requiem” and Pays in Advance--Many Works _in petto_--Controversy with Prince Galitzin and His Son--The Fugue in the B-flat Quartet--“Muss es sein?”--Dedication of the Ninth Symphony--The King of Prussia and His Gift of a Dubious Diamond--Abbé Stadler--Beethoven Defends Mozart’s “Requiem”--Friedrich Wieck--Beethoven Goes to His Brother’s Summer Home--Life at Gneixendorf--Relations with His Brother’s Family--Young Oxen Thrown into a Panic Fear--The Quartet in F and a New Finale for the Quartet in B-flat--The Year 1826--Beethoven’s Last Compositions 218 CHAPTER IX. Karl van Beethoven--A Wayward Ward and an Unwise Guardian--Beethoven and his Graceless Nephew--An Ill-advised Foster-father--A Profligate Youth--Effect of the Guardianship on Beethoven’s Character--An Unsuccessful Attempt at Self-destruction-- Karl is Made a Soldier 247