Your Imperial Highness!
I wanted to deliver this letter to you myself, but at the moment I should probably be a nuisance to you if I were to come in person. So I take the liberty of asking you once more to grant the request to Y.I.H. which this letter contains – It would be very nice too if Y>I>H> would send me back the manuscript in my own handwriting of the last sonata [Opus 90]. Since I must publish it, it is surely not necessary for me to have it copied for you, for in a short time I shall have the pleasure of sending you an engraved copy – I will call on you in a few days. My desire is that these joyful times may have a wholly beneficial effect on your precious health.
Your Imperial Highness’s
Most obedient and most loyal
Ludwig van Beethoven