(Vienna, March 21, 1785, to Anton Klein. Madame Lange was Aloysia
Weber, with whom he was in love before he married her sister
Constanze.)

117. "The gentlemen of Vienna (including most particularly the
Emperor) must not be permitted to believe that I live only for
the sake of Vienna. There is no monarch on the face of the earth
whom I would rather serve than the Emperor, but I shall not beg
service. I believe that I am capable of doing honor to any court.
If Germany, my beloved fatherland, of whom you know I am proud,
will not accept me, then must I, in the name of God, again make
France or England richer by one capable German;--and to the shame
of the German nation. You know full well that in nearly all the
arts those who excelled have nearly always been Germans. But
where did they find fortune, where fame? Certainly not in
Germany. Even Gluck;--did Germany make him a great man? Alas,
no!"

(Vienna, August 17, 1782, to his father. Mozart's answer in 1789,
when King Frederick William II of Prussia said to him: "Stay with
me; I offer you a salary of 3,000 thalers," was touching in the
extreme: "Shall I leave my good Emperor?" Thereupon the king
said: "Think it over. I'll keep my word even if you should come
after a year and a day!" In spite of his financial difficulties,
Mozart never gave serious consideration to the offer. When his
father advised him against some of his foreign plans he answered:
"So far as France and England are concerned you are wholly right;
this opening will never be closed to me; it will be better if I
wait a while longer. Meanwhile it is possible that conditions may