Haydn saw with surprise a butcher call upon him one day, who being as
sensible to the charms of his works as any other person, said freely
to him, “Sir, I know you are both good and obliging, therefore I
address myself to you with full confidence;—you excel in all kinds of
composition; you are the first of composers: but I am particularly fond
of your minuets. I stand in need of one, that is pretty, and quite
new, for my daughter’s wedding, which is to take place in a few days,
and I cannot address myself better than to the famous Haydn.”—Haydn,
always full of kindness, smiled at this new homage, and promised it
to him on the following day. The amateur returned at the appointed
time, and received with joyful gratitude the precious gift. Shortly
after, the sound of instruments struck Haydn’s ear.—He listened, and
thought he recollected his new minuet. He went to his window, from
whence he saw a superb Ox, with gilded horns, adorned with festoons
and garlands, and surrounded by an ambulating orchestra, stopping
under his balcony. Haydn was roused from his reverie by the butcher,
who made his appearance in his apartment, and again expressed his
sentiments of admiration, and concluded his speech, by saying, “Dear
Sir, I thought that a butcher could not express his gratitude for so
beautiful a minuet better than by offering you the finest Ox in his
possession.”—Haydn refused—the butcher entreated, till at length Haydn,
affected at the butcher’s frank generosity, accepted the present, and
from that moment the minuet was known throughout Vienna by the name of
the Ox Minuet, and has lately been introduced as a musical curiosity in
England.