Under Prince Nicolaus a new order of things began, and his generosity was at once illustrated. The salaries of all the musicians were increased, Haydn's four hundred florins being increased to six hundred and shortly after to seven hundred and eighty-two, or about three hundred and ninety dollars of our money. The force of the Capelle was enlarged to seven singers and fourteen instrumentalists, and rehearsals took place every day. By this time, a knowledge of Haydn's music existed outside his own country, and his works were beginning to be known in London, Paris, and Amsterdam, and five years after he had been at Eisenstadt, the official journal of Vienna, the _Wiener Diarium_, alludes to him as "der Liebling unserer Nation." His industry was unrelaxing, for he had already composed, under the Esterhazys, some thirty symphonies and cassations, several divertimenti in five parts, six string trios, a concerto for French horn, twelve minuets for orchestra, besides concertos, trios, sonatas and variations for the clavier. His vocal compositions were a Salve Regina for soprano and alto, two violins and organ; a Te Deum; four Italian operettas; a pastoral, "Acis and Galatea," written for the marriage of Count Anton, eldest son of Prince Nicolaus; and a cantata in honor of the Prince's return from the coronation of Archduke Joseph as king of the Romans. In none of these works did Haydn rise to any high power. The greater Haydn was yet to develop.
To go through, in detail, his life at Eisenstadt would be only to repeat what has been already said, and to give a catalogue of his compositions in the order in which they were written. We shall therefore pass in rapid view the events of his career and leave a consideration of his works until we reach the point when it becomes necessary to estimate the musician rather than the man. It may, perhaps, be interesting to describe Haydn as he appeared personally to his contemporaries. He wore a uniform of light blue and silver, knee breeches, white stockings, lace ruffles and white neckcloth. His biographer, Dies, states: "Haydn was below the middle height, and his legs were somewhat too short for his body, a defect which was made more noticeable because of the style of attire he affected and which he obstinately declined to change as the fashions changed. His features were regular, his expression was spirited and at the same time temperate, amiable and winning. His face was stern when in repose, but smiling and cheerful when he conversed. I never heard him laugh. In build he was firm; he was lacking in muscle." He had a prominent aquiline nose disfigured by a polypus which he refused to have removed, and he was heavily pitted by small pox. His complexion was dark, so dark, in fact, that he was playfully called "The Moor." His jaw was heavy and his under-lip was large and hanging. Lavater described the eyes and nose of Haydn as something out of the common; his brow noble and good, but his mouth and chin "Philistine." Haydn's own opinion was that he was ugly, and he took pleasure in reflecting that it surely was not for his personal beauty that so many women were attracted to him. That he tried to make himself attractive to the opposite sex by extreme neatness of attire, suavity of manner, and flattery, in which he was an adept, is certain; and that he never lacked for warm admiration and even devoted love from women is no less well-established. He was very fond of fun, even that which was not wholly refined, and a predilection for rough practical joking abided with him to the last. He was sincere and unaffected in his piety and looked upon his talent as a gift from God, to be used dutifully in His service. It was seldom that he began to pen a composition without writing at its head, _In Nomine Domini_, and at its end, _Laus Deo_. Now and then he merely used the initials L.D., or S.D.G. (_Soli Deo Gloria_) and sometimes he wrote B.V.M. (_Beatæ Virgini Mariæ_). This custom was retained not only in his works for the church, but in those for the orchestra and even for the stage; and the most elaborate dedication of all is that to his opera "L'Infidelità Delusa," which he closes with _Laus omnipotenti Deo et Beatissimæ Virgini Mariæ_.