ABSTRACT
The year 1819 opened with one of the regularly recurring squabbles, followed by litigation, between Ludwig van Beethoven and his sister-in-law concerning young Carl, who had run away from his uncle to his mother. An episode of interest to English readers occurred in 1820. Among the very earliest of Beethoven enthusiasts in England was William Gardiner, a Nottingham stocking manufacturer, over whose activities as musical amateur and writer on art, natural history and other subjects one would like to dwell did space permit. Among his musical dabblings at this period was a curious compilation entitled "Judah", an oratorio made up of extracts adapted from various composers, eked out by passages from his own pen. It is pleasant to know that Gardiner, who began his Beethoven-worship so early, lived to round it off by being present—an octogenarian— at the unveiling of the monument to the composer at Bonn in 1848.
