While he was living in London, Ferdinand Ries found English publishers for several of Beethoven's compositions. In this letter Beethoven informs him that the Violin Sonata op. 96 as well as the Piano Trio op. 97 were already in the post on their way to England. He reminds Ries about reimbursement of the substantial costs for copying and postage incurred when he had sent Wellingtons Sieg (Wellington's Victory) op. 91 to the publisher Birchall.
In connection with the death of Johann Peter Salomon - Ries was apparently his executor - Beethoven also talks of the death of his brother. He briefly mentions the difficulties with regard to the guardianship, but stressesg how comforting it is to have "saved a poor innocent child from the clutches of an unworthy mother."
