Volume I Part 15 (1/2)

ENGE, ZURICH, February 18th, 1851

56

DEAR WAGNER,

By the date of these lines you will sufficiently see in what grief and sorrow I have been living for months I was, it is true, in Weymar for three weeks, but immediately after the birthday of the Grand duchess (February 16th) I returned here, where unfortunately I found the Princess still very ailing and in bed On the 7th I have to be back in Weymar to conduct Raff's opera; the work is too iht of that journey, while my whole soul, my whole faith, and all my love must remain here at the sick-bed, is terrible to etting you, and, if possible, still less of being angry with you Forgive me that I did not sooner thank you cordially for B and R's Gerrin” article Your letter especially has pleased and flattered hly That you are satisfied with my conception of that splendidrich reward Immediately after my return to Weymar I shall have it printed (perhaps the ”Illustrirte Zeitung” will publish it in one number), and shall send you the proof, which I ht to Weber as quickly as possible

R can carefully read the article in one day, and send it to Leipzig by return of post

As to the French original, I shall probably publish it as a separate paether with my article on the Herder festival, and without the alterations and omissions made by Janin in the ”Journal des Debats” of October 22nd The title will be ”Fetes de Herder et Goethe a Weymar, 25 et 28 Aout, 1850”

Froether the h hitherto it has been, with the exception of soain to protest absolutely against a performance of your works under any direction but your own The first condition you should iement of the theatre is that they call you to Brussels In that sense I shall answer in case they apply to s in a half-and-half way, but you had better think them out for yourself Let me speak French, and don't repeat it

B is a nobleood-for-nothing If he had possessed or acquired the necessary talent, he would in that direction have made himself a position as a nobles on one side and getting dry in his water on the other He has shown me the letter you wrote to hiained by explanation They are not wanting in the good where the better would be required, and it is generally more advisable to be cautious with theht have been satisfied with thanking hirin,”

however aard and badly argued certain passages may have been

Apropos of this, have you read the articles on ”Lohengrin” in the ”Frankfort Conversationsblatt”? They are certainly better ht, I think, appropriately write a few lines to the author, who is a very decent man and one of your sincere and enthusiastic proselytes Enclose the lines to him in the first letter you address to me at Weymar, and I will forward them to hiether with my manuscripts and scores As soon as my valet returns I shall send you ”Wiland” at once, but I a to call in a common, prosaic locks forward to your book Perhaps I may try on this occasion to comprehend your ideas a little better, which in your book ”Kunst und Revolution” I could not e very well, and in that case I shall cook a French sauce to it

Brockhaus published a few days ago my pamphlet on the Goethe foundation (”De la Fondation Goethe a Weymar”) I shall send it you on the first opportunity Of my articles on Chopin in the ”France Musicale,” which I ah fifteen nuinal at Weymar Farewell, be happier than I, and write soon to

Your truly devoted friend,

F LISZT

EILSEN, March 1st, 1851

57

BEST OF FRIENDS,

Cordial thanks for your letter, which was a sure sign of your continued interest in me Your domestic troubles have alarenuine syrief that may befall you I hope this letter will find you in an easier state of ard to the health of your very dear friend

If only my wish could contribute to this! But necessity coh your ry

The communication of your plans in my favour last summer roused in me a hope as to which I must nohether I aether You told rin” you intended to make use of the presumably friendly disposition of the Grand duchess, with a view to inducing her to allowthe coiven up all thoughts of setting the opera to fried” to the printer in order to place it before the public in the fored ed to you at the tiratefulthe poem, and prepared myself for the composition instead For the co, partly in order, first, to get rid of ive you ti out your kind intention without hurry For the winter I chose a literary work, for which I had plenty of htby it This work, a book of four hundred to five hundred pages, small octavo, entitled ”Oper und Drama,” has been ready these six weeks; but as yet none of the publishers to whom I wrote about it has replied, and ain fro the whole of sixthe honorariurin” at Weimar, I have lived entirely by the assistance of Frau R in D, because latterly I have not been able to earn anything beyond a s two of Beethoven's symphonies at the miserable concerts here I know that my Dresden friend has for the present exhausted herself, because the family is not wealthy, but has only just a sufficient inco to some aard complications with Russia, is at present placed in jeopardy I am therefore compelled to try and make money at any price, and should have to abandon a task like the cofried,” which in a pecuniary sense is useless If I were to have any inclination for a task undertaken for the sake of money, it would have to be so-called ”aesthetic literature,” and in order to get money for such literature I should have to spend all azines at so

If I am to undertake an important artistic task, my immediate future--say for the current year, at least--must be secured; otherwise I shall lack the necessary cheerfulness and collectedness If I a myself to artistic labour without interruption, I must, as I said before, be without anxiety for my immediate subsistence

Necessity, as the proverb says, breaks iron, and therefore I put this question to you once more simply, so as to be sure as tohas turned out unfavourably for your plan of helping me The Grand duchess was ill, and could attend only the third perforrin;” soon afterwards you left Wei the Grand duchess for your plan in a proper and dignified manner

All this I know, and therefore no blaree Only I must knohere I am For that reason I pray you with all s are, I stillor not, so that I ly; uncertainty is the worst of tortures One request I further make without hesitation If you are compelled by the state of affairs to tell me that your plan cannot now be realized, and that therefore I must not hope for any further assistance in favour of the cofried,” then kindly see at least whether you cannot get me at once SOME money, were it only as ainto my altered plan It is very sad that I have to trouble you with this ugly request