The 17th.--I now write early in the morning to say that my cousin
is pretty, intelligent, lovable, clever, and gay, probably
because she has lived so much in society; she was also some time
at Munich. We do, indeed, exactly suit each other, for she too is
rather inclined to be satirical, so we banter our friends most
merrily together. [The Mozart family were both well known and
dreaded for their somewhat sharp tongues.]



67.

Augsburg, Oct. 17, 1777.

I must now tell you about the Stein pianos. Before seeing these,
Spath's pianos were my favorites; but I must own that I give the
preference to those of Stein, for they damp much better than
those in Ratisbon. If I strike hard, whether I let my fingers
rest on the notes or lift them, the tone dies away at the same
instant that it is heard. Strike the keys as I choose, the tone
always remains even, never either jarring or failing to sound. It
is true that a piano of this kind is not to be had for less than
three hundred florins, but the pains and skill which Stein
bestows on them cannot be sufficiently repaid. His instruments
have a feature of their own; they are supplied with a peculiar
escapement. Not one in a hundred makers attends to this; but,
without it, it is impossible that a piano should not buzz and
jar. His hammers fall as soon as they touch the strings, whether
the keys be held down by the fingers or not. When he has
completed an instrument of this class, (which he told me