Ludwig van Beethoven, Billet an Karl Holz, Wien, möglicherweise Anfang Februar 1826, Autograph

Beethoven asks his friend Holz to come to see him, so that he can help him with some household affairs. The behaviour of his housekeeper had irritated him so much that he had not dared to go out and visit his friend Breuning. Beethoven had great problems with his servants, particularly in the last years of his life. He was continually suspicious of his servants and always thought they wanted to deceive him and rob him. This was mainly caused by his hardness of hearing, which left him helpless and vulnerable. In addition he considered his employees to be beneath his station and not least because of this he thought they would only do wrong. Often friends had to step in as intermediaries. Beethoven's servants changed frequently, as he either fired them or they left of their own accord.