Beethoven refers to a letter from Giannattasio del Rio which has not survived. He is prepared to send Karl to his boarding school at any time, but would like to wait until the Monday after the examination. In addition he thinks it would be good to completely remove the child from Vienna at a later date and to send him to Melk (or some such place) so that he is far away from his mother's influence.
From 1816 Beethoven had taken on the guardianship of his nephew Karl, the son of his dead brother. Karl's mother kept trying to get in contact with her son, and Beethoven wanted to prevent this at all costs as he thought her unworthy and good-for-nothing.
