Volume II Part 26 (1/2)

245

ZURICH, July 9th, 1857

My DEAR FRANZ,

I forgot to ask you so At Zurich I told you that that poor devil Rockel was longing to see one of ain reminded me of it, therefore I repeat old” for six or eight weeks His wife, who lives at Weiladly undertake to send him the score He is a clever fellow, and I should like to count hist those who occupy themselves with my recent works It will cheer hiradually becoht if you were to add copies of all, or some of your symphonic poems I have drawn his attention to theht let hiry withyou with this

How are you, and have you any co news of the Princess for me?

The Grand Duke of Baden recently wrote ly amiable and friendly letter, which is of real value to n of a breach in the timid or courtly etiquette hitherto observed towards me The occasion was a little attention which I showed to the young Grand duchess, and for which he thanksmanner in her name and his own

Eduard Dervient stayed with uest-chahly approved of it, but was against Strassburg, and undertook, although generally a careful and tie about its first performance at Carlsruhe under ot wind of soh Devrient, for in one passage of his letter he pointedly alludes to his confident hope of seeing me soon at Carlsruhe

Well, as God wills This much I see, that I must, once more, perform a little miracle to make people believe in ine, in a state of great and continual excitement

Let it be settled that I have you in Septereetings to your dear home

Ever thine,

RICHARD WAGNER

246

DEAREST RICHARD,

At your reco the Correspondence between Schiller and Goethe Your last letter found reatest happinesses of my existence that I live to see the completion of these works, that they fall into the period of my activity, and that I am enabled to drink at this pure fountain The beautiful relation existing between us constitutes a kind of religious duty on my part toto the purest mirror of the spirit which lives in this body, and to deserve by that her sense of the word”

(p 163, vol i)

I en” Cannot the great ”Ring” free you of all the little chains which surround you? You have certainly enerally observe silence on the point I feel it none the less sadly In many quarters I a more, but it would be foolish to abandon all hope A more favourable hour will come, and must be waited for, and in the meantime I can only ask you not to be unjust to your friend, and to practise the virtue of the mule, as Byron calls patience ”Tristan” appears to me a very happy idea

You will, no doubt, create a splendid work, and then go back refreshed to your ”Nibelungen” We shall all coarde d'honneur for you I hope to see you at the beginning of this autuh I am not yet able to settle on a definite plan The Princess is still confined to her bed, and her recovery is, as yet, in a bad way

I, for my part, shall be compelled after all, and in spite of obstinate resistance, to use the baths of Aix-la-Chapelle, which is very unpleasant to o to Berlin for a few days, and froh the cure froust 14th I shall be back in order to receive the coard to the festivities in September The excavations which have been made for the monuerous settlement of the soil near the theatre, and the two ”fellows” may possibly not be able to find a secure position in Weyram has been sent to Rietschel in order to decide in what er can be prevented Perhaps they will order me to make no more ”Music of the Future,” so as not to ruin the city from the bottom In that case I should have to fly to Zurich in order to produce the ”Faust” symphony and my last symphonic poem, Schiller's ”Ideals,” at your villa The foring the last eight lines of the second part, the Eternal Feminine

It is still very doubtful whether the Princess will be fit for travelling this year, and the Child will, in any case, not leave her mother If both are able this autumn to perform the Swiss journey, which they missed last year, I shall of course stay with them at the Hotel Baur Your wife, in that case,me excellent coffee and a practicable coffee e which is served at the hotel as coffee is as disgusting to me as a piece de salon by Kucken, etc, and e hours

By what ot at HM the Ehts to send you the Rose Order set in brilliants, although you do not care about flowers or orders

Rosa Milde is going to give a few performances at Dresden, and has asked for Elizabeth as her first part If the voice of Frau Meyer does not improve I advise you to choose Frau Milde as Isolde I believe you will be satisfied with her, although our FRIEND Hiller praised her so much

Your faithful

F L