This letter is directly related to the one written the day before (HCB Br 145, BGA 1891), in which Beethoven had been worried about his lost nephew Karl. Karl has in the meantime arrived safe and sound in Baden. Beethoven was very relieved "which is why I had 17 and a half cannons fired". He had been very worried, not least because he was afraid that his nephew's mother might exert her influence over him again.
A brief play on words concerning Max Stumpf follows (according to the BGA he probably means Johann Andreas Stumpff, who was staying in Vienna) as well as the assurance that before long Haslinger will receive a diploma as "Preserver of the great seal". Further humourous suggestions and an invitation to Baden close the letter.
