If by tomorrow evening between six and seven o’clock the corrected copy of the sonata [Opus 90] which I handed to Tobias Haslinger, who is Adjutant to the L[ieutenant] G[eneral], together with another copy in which there are no more mistakes (so that it is evident that the mistakes have been corrected in the copperplates), that is to say, the versions corrected (by me) and the faultless copies are not in my hands, we have decided to adopt the following measures: For the time being the L[ieutenant] G[eneral] will be suspended, his Adjutant T[obias] H[aslinger] locked crosswise; -- our Chief Provost Marshal Diabolus Diabelli will be authorized to carry out these punishments – Only the most punctual execution of the order issued above can save the offenders from punishment already deserved and recognized as just.
The G[eneralissim]o
(in thunder and lightning)