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Haydn's life in Vienna during the eighteen months which
intervened between the two London visits was almost totally
devoid of incident. His wife, it will be remembered, had written
to him in England, asking for money to buy a certain house which
she fancied for a "widow's home." Haydn was astute enough not to
send the money, but on his return to Vienna, finding the house
in every way to his liking, he bought it himself. Frau Haydn died
seven years later, "and now," said the composer, speaking in
1806, "I am living in it as a widower." The house is situated in
the suburb of Vienna known as Gumpendorf. It is No. 19 of the
Haydngasse and bears a marble memorial tablet, affixed to it in
1840. The pious care of the composer's admirers has preserved it
almost exactly as it was in Haydn's day, and has turned it into
a kind of museum containing portraits and mementoes of the master,
the original manuscript of "The Creation," and other interesting
relics.
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