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to all the sights and pleasures of the city. They traded coquettish love letters, acting like giddy teenagers. But despite Therese’s obvious affection for Rosenbaum, her mother, Theresia, had not given up on the idea of a title for her daughter, and she saw that she had to take action lest her grand plan be derailed. She began to circulate all manner of rumors about Rosenbaum’s character and prospects, repeatedly trying to wreck Therese’s impression of him; in one pointed exchange Theresia told Rosenbaum loudly in Therese’s presence that he should not bother to buy the girl any more presents because once he lost his job he would have to ask for them all back. But the suitor was not deterred, and mother Gassman soon saw that her whisper campaign was not enough. She needed someone powerful to break this attraction, and so for the second time in her life she went to royalty on behalf of her daughter.
    It was well known that the Esterhazy princes generally preferred not to have their employees married, fearing divided loyalties; anyone in the service of the prince needed his permissionbefore he or she could marry. So when Therese’s mother decided that she needed to stop the marriage, it was to the prince that she went. She explained her dilemma, telling the prince that there was simply no way that one of the brightest stars on the Viennese stage—who might yet be courted by counts and barons—could be allowed to marry a midlevel clerk. The prince was swayed and made it clear to the young Rosenbaum that he was not likely to approve any marriage anytime soon.
    What had seemed a sure thing was quickly slipping from Rosenbaum’s grasp, and he turned to his friends for aid. He asked for advice and support, called in all the favors to which he had a claim, even requested that the dowager princess put in a good word for him. And then he turned to Joseph Haydn.
    Rosenbaum and Haydn, both members of the court staff, saw each other regularly—Rosenbaum often came to the composer on business matters and stayed to discuss Haydn’s latest work or theatrical gossip. Haydn liked the young man for his earnestness and palpable love of music. Rosenbaum had an unerring sense of taste, and his enthusiasm and sensitivity naturally endeared him to musicians like Haydn, whom Rosenbaum recognized as of a special distinction. Only a few weeks after Therese’s mother began her intrigues, Rosenbaum and Therese made separate entreaties to Haydn for his assistance and asked him to intercede; this, Rosenbaum happily reported, Haydn “faithfully promised to do.” 29
    Haydn was of course a great asset in one’s corner. With the court’s cultural and moral investment in symphonic music, the composer had become something like a saint in Vienna. E. T. A. Hoffman is one of many writers who singled Haydn out as the most romantic of artists in the most romantic of arts: “His symphonies lead us into a boundless, green glade amid a lively, jovial throng of happy people,” Hoffman wrote. “Young men and women swing past in round dances, and laughing children, eavesdropping behind trees and rose bushes, throw flowers teasingly at one another.” 30 But even such a saint did not succeed on Rosenbaum’s behalf. On numerous occasions Haydn tried to convince the prince not to listen to the vicious rumors circulating about Rosenbaum and to persuade him of the young man’s worth. But to no avail.
    For two years this courtship dragged on. Despite all the rumors and obstacles, Rosenbaum continued to court Therese, spending as much time as he could with her. A year after they first met he took her to Franz II’s wonder cabinet. Rosenbaum noted in his diary, “There are so many pretty things that one could entertain oneself very interestingly for weeks.” One exhibit in particular stood out for him: “I especially liked Angelo Soliman who stands there stuffed, next to a Moorish