Page:Rolland - Beethoven, tr. Hull, 1927.pdf/33

 mist-capped poplars, their bushes and their willows and the fruit trees whose roots are steeped in the rapid silent stream. And all along lying gently on the banks, strangely soft, are towns, churches, and even cemeteries, whilst away on the horizon the blue tints of the Seven Mountains show in wild jagged edges against the sky, forming a striking background to the graceful, slender, dream-like silhouettes of old ruined castles. His heart remained ever faithful to the beautiful, natural surroundings of his childhood, and until his very last moment he dreamt of seeing these scenes once again. My native land, the beautiful country where I first saw the light of day; it is always as clear and as beautiful in my eves as when I left it." He never saw it again.

In November, 1792, Beethoven removed to Vienna, the musical metropolis of Germany. The Revolution had broken out. It threatened to spread over the whole of Europe. Beethoven left Bonn just at the moment when the war