Whatever his religious convictions may have been after he reached man's estate, he wrote to his father, on hearing of his illness, as follows: "As death, strictly speaking, is the true end and aim of our lives, I have for the last two years made myself so well acquainted with this true, best friend of mankind, that his image no longer terrifies, but calms and consoles me. And I thank God for giving me the opportunity of learning to look upon death as the key that unlocks the gate of true bliss." The man as seen in his life and letters was simple, true, averse to flattery and sycophancy, generous, and eminently lovable.
[Illustration: Fac-simile of a letter from Mozart to his publisher, Hofmeister]
[Illustration: MONUMENT TO MOZART IN VIENNA CEMETERY]
[Illustration: Chorus by Mr. Wolfgang Mozart 1765.
Leopold Mozart brought his children Wolfgang (aged 8) and Maria Anna (aged 13), in April, 1764, to London, on a concert tour. The exhibition of these wonder-children lasted till July, 1765. Before leaving, the party visited the British Museum, which was opened to the public six years before (on the 15th January, 1759). On this occasion Wolfgang was requested to leave the Institution some manuscripts of his compositions. Mozart complied, and among the manuscripts left was this, his first effort in Choral-writing, and the only one composed on an English text. The father received the following acknowledgment:--
SIR:--I am ordered by the Standing Committee of the Trustees of the British Museum, to signify to You, that they have received the present of the Musical performances of Your very ingenious Son, which You were pleased lately to make Them, and to return You their Thanks for the same.
M. MALY, _Secretary_. British Museum, July 19, 1765. ]
Painted by his brother-in-law Lange in 1791. The head is finished, but not the coat.]