Chapter 21

My silence extends to everything else that otherwise I might have told you about myself. If one has to tell such things at all, it is better to be silent about them. As to the Carlsruhe plan you are probably sufficiently enlightened. Devrient has thought it desirable to make an excuse for the bungling and neglectful way in which he has taken up the idea of a first performance of "Tristan" at his theatre, by saying that it is impossible to execute the work. To that ALSO I do not reply. Why should I speak? _I_ know my fate and my position, and remain silent. It is more serious to think of the consequences which the wiping out of my new work from the list of living things will have for my means of subsistence. However, why should I point out those consequences? He who is endowed with five senses must know what my position is. I can complain no longer, for that would mean to accuse, and I do not even want to accuse friend Devrient. I have not said a word to him. You know enough now, and more than will please you.

My wife has arrived here. She is a little better, and I hope things will go on tolerably well. She told me, without complaining, that you had been at Dresden without paying her a visit. I tried to comfort her as well as I could.

Farewell, my dear Franz. Do not misunderstand me; I wanted to write to you, and for a long time did not know how to set about it. Heaven only knows whether I have done it in the proper way. Be always assured that you are dear to me above all else, even if I fail to comprehend many things which determine your action.

Farewell. Greet the Princess, and tell her that her letter pleased me, although I failed to understand it. Greet also Princess H--. May you all think ot me in a friendly spirit.

Farewell.

Your

R. W.

300.

BRUSSELS, March 29th, 1860.

DEAREST FRANZ,

Once more I give you a sign of life. That one lives at all is perhaps the most wonderful case in point, and when one arrives at the end of things, one need not care any longer. Death, which at this moment mows down men so recklessly, leaves us standing in a bare field by a mere whim. One is astonished and a little thoughtful for awhile.

My fate is very odd. While the real thing for which alone I care remains enveloped in the most German mist of impossibility. H.'s diplomatic skill has arranged for me all manner of Paris glories, which float before me mockingly like a "Fata Morgana." Heaven only knows what will come of this "Tannhauser" scheme. In my heart I do not yet believe in it, and for good reasons. It is of more importance to me to perform "Tristan" in Germany, and I am determined to set that old Dresden matter right if any decent concessions are made to me. If I succeed in this, I shall look to Vienna as the theatre which has the best singers, and presents the unique phenomenon of being conducted by a competent musician, with whom one can come to an understanding. This, as you know, cannot be found in the rest of Germany.

Of you, dearest friend, I have heard nothing for a long time, for even H. was unable to tell me anything. The comfort of your visits in Paris, which at one time you promised me so confidently, will not, it appears, be vouchsafed to me. Be not offended, therefore, if today I send you a visitor in order to give you some news of myself on the same occasion. I have been brought here by the absurd illusion of being able, by repeating my Paris concerts at Brussels, to recover some of the money which those Paris excesses had cost me. But of course the only results of this excursion were new expenses and a little propaganda. Amongst the most valuable conquests I have made here is first Herr A. Samuel, who is starting for Germany, and would like to be introduced to you. He has been very amiable towards me, both in deed and word. You will like him, too, and in that belief I recommend him to your welcome.

You also introduced some one to me here. Frau Agnes Street-- Klindworth brought me a letter from you which you had given to her five years ago for London. I have to thank you for the most pleasant acquaintance which you procure to me so unexpectedly and after all that time. I was soon at home with her and Papa Klindworth, and owe the most pleasant memories to these two people. The old man amused me greatly by his incredible wealth of diplomatic anecdote.

I return to Paris today in order to have a closer view of my brilliant misery. M. Royer wants a large ballet for the second act of "Tannhauser"; you may imagine how I relish the idea. My only refuge in the face of such demands is Princess Metternich, who is highly esteemed by Fould, etc. I must see whether I can get rid of this ballet, otherwise I shall of course withdraw "Tannhauser."

Well, you have now a good insight into the joy of my existence. Do not delay communicating to me a fragment of your life. The only thing that makes our position towards this misery of world and life tolerable is the growing contempt for world and life; and if one can arrive at that in a good humour, things are all right for a little while. But when one perceives how few things hold water, when one observes the terrible superficiality, the incredible thoughtlessness, the selfish desire for pleasure, which inspire every one, one's own earnestness appears often in a very comic light. This consideration is to me, at least, the only one which sometimes puts me in a tolerable mood.

A thousand cordial greetings to you, my dearest Franz; with Mamma I get on very well. The old lady quite touches me by her love and sympathetic insight. Farewell, and remember lovingly,

Your

R. W.

301.

Depeche Telegraphique.

WEYMAR, le 22 Mai.

Deposee sous le no. 93 a 12 heures 31 minutes s. Expediee a domicile le 22 a 2 heures 15 minutes soir.

RICHARD WAGNER,

RUE NEWTON, 16, CHAMPS ELYSEES,

CHEMIN DE VERSAILLES, PARIS.

Cordial wishes for your birthday from your

FRANZ LISZT.

302.

Your letter, dearest, unique friend, is to me more beautiful than the most beautiful balmy May day. May you rejoice in the joy which it has given to me.

I wish I could telegraph myself to Paris. Where could I be more happy than with you, in the magic circle of "Rhinegold", the "Valkyrie", "Siegfried", "Tristan" and "Isolde"--all of them the objects of my longing? But I must not think of this for the present, although I shall certainly come as soon as I can.

Your photograph has been announced to me by an amiable hand, but has not made its appearance so far. I told you before that your little bust stands on my writing-desk as UNICUM. The photograph will find its place in the same room, which otherwise contains nothing ARTISTIC. Beethoven, Weber, Schubert, and others of that stamp keep company to your portrait (that with the motto, "Du weisst wie das wird") in the ante-room. HERE I want to have you alone together with my St. Francis, whom Steinly has designed for me splendidly. He stands on heaving ocean-waves, his outspread cloak on, firmly, unmovedly. In his left hand he calmly holds burning coals; the right is extended in the act of blessing; his gaze is turned upwards, where the word "charitas" glows, surrounded by an aureole.

The great life-question of the Princess has been finally and favourably settled. All the villainous and subtle intrigues which were spun for a number of years have been dispelled.

After the return of the Princess from Rome (where she arrived last Sunday, and will probably stay till the end of July) all will be arranged. I wish I could soon have the pleasure of seeing you CHEZ NOUS.

Through Fraulein Hundt (whom, together with her friend Ingeborg Stark, you received so amiably) I heard a good many things about your way of life in Paris. "Tannhauser", with ballet, and a contest of translators as well as of minstrels, are immediately before you. It will be a tough piece of work for you, and I advise as many walks and cooling baths as possible. Fips should teach you a little philosophic patience during the rehearsals. Frau Burde-Ney told me lately when she was "starring" here, that she intended to go to Paris for a few days, in order to study Isolde with you. She has the necessary stuff ("Wupptich" they say at Dresden) for it.

A thousand thanks for the score which Hartel has sent me. You know best how all this is sung from my very soul. Let me know when convenient what you consider most desirable in regard to the performance of "Tristan." At Carlsruhe it seems impossible, and Devrient was inclined to bet that "Tristan" could not be performed anywhere else either, unless you consented to considerable alterations. This is by no means my opinion, and as often as Devrient said NO, I replied YES. His stage experience is, no doubt, older than mine, but nevertheless I have perfect confidence in my opinion of such things. You know for what reasons I did not, at the time, beg "Tristan" for Weymar, and you will approve of my passive attitude. If, as I should not like to think, no favourable chances for the speedy performance of this marvellous work turn up, and if, for the present, you will be satisfied with a performance here, I firmly believe that I can arrange it for next season (1861). Let me know your views when you write again. Meanwhile I remain, with all my heart,

Your own

F. LISZT.

WEYMAR, May 31st, 1860.

I shall remain here till the return of the Princess. Whether Berlioz will reply to your letter, couched in the barbarous French of Genius, in OUR sense, appears somewhat doubtful. The more's the pity.

303.

PARIS, June 15th, 1860.

Can you induce Herr D. to send me a prompt reply to my last letter? The question at stake is whether or not I shall be able to do something for the health of my wife this summer in accordance with the doctor's prescription. I MUST know this. At the same time I must declare that I shall not accept less than 1,000 francs.

I do not want to encroach upon you, but what you can do without injuring yourself, do please, as soon as possible.

If they think me worth that sum at Weimar I shall expect the bill of exchange by return of post.

Adieu.

Your

RICH. WAGNER.

16, RUE NEWTON, CHAMPS ELYSEES.

304.

DEAREST FRANZ,

According to a letter just received, D. thinks it necessary to refuse me the thousand francs I had asked for, and offers me thirty louis d'or instead.

This puts me in an awkward position. On the one hand I am, as usual, greatly in want of money, and shall decidedly not be able to send my wife to Loden for a cure, unless I receive the subvention I had hoped for. On the other hand, I must despair of ever prospering if, compelled by necessity, I have to yield on every occasion. I have explained my view of the question of honorarium to D. quite openly and without any brusqueness, and have finally insisted upon my first demand.

I should like to let my wife start as soon as possible. The worst turn which this affair could take at Weimar would be, if my demand were simply refused, and if I had nothing at all to give to my wife.

You now know my position exactly. If your diplomatic genius could find a middle course (in case my demand cannot be carried) you would oblige me greatly. I suppose that you are on sufficiently good terms with D., and hope that, at the worst, you will discover such a middle course. Therefore kindly look after this trumpery matter. I am unfortunately surrounded by nothing but trumpery things.

Let me hear from you soon.

Adieu.

Your

R. W.

305.

Concerning the "Rienzi" honorarium, I could effect nothing beyond what D. had offered to you. Pardon me, dearest friend, for not having written to you at once, but I am very tired this week and as unwell as the normal state of my health will allow me to be. It is not of any consequence, and a few days' rest will set me right again. In the meanwhile I must unfortunately advise you to accept D.'s proposal. The G. D. is not here, and no other course is open until the performance actually takes place. After that I hope to get you a few hundred francs more. D. tells me that "Rienzi" is to take the place of the "Prophet" next season. Five (say 5) new decorations have been ordered, and are in preparation. Meffert will sing the title part, and the other characters will be decently represented, while the chorus will be increased by soldiers. Let it therefore take its course until we can do something better. Patience, says Byron, is the virtue of mules, but he who does not possess it remains a miserable ass.

I shall write to you in a few days about several things not connected with business. Most cordially

Your

F. L.

June 24th (birthday of the Grand Duke, who is not expected back here before eight or ten days. From Baden he has gone to Switzerland with his wife).

Your photograph has arrived at last, and lights up my room.

306.

MOST UNIQUE OF MEN,

Madame Kalergi's intercession in your concert affair gives me great joy. Beautiful and noble traits of that kind are, unfortunately, seldom met with. Will you kindly forward the enclosed lines to my gracious lady protectress? I do not know her present address. You are once more in the old "Tannhauser" birth throes. Much luck! You will have to suffer much at the rehearsals, and have perhaps never undergone so hard a trial of patience as the re-writing and studying of this work, which to you is partly "ein uberwundener Standpunkt," as friend Brendel says. Through means of the "Presse Theatrale", which is kindly sent to me, I remain au courant of your exertions. Be not too much annoyed at being an immortal poet and composer; there is nothing worse in this world to which one should apply the following modified version of Leibnitz's well-known axiom: Tout est pour le mieux, dans un des plus mauvais mondes possible!

Alas! I lately again had a great misfortune. One of my few friends, the bravest and most self-sacrificing of all, is dead. Her name was Clara Riese, and she lived as pianoforte teacher at Leipzig, where, on Tuesday, I accompanied her to her last place of rest in the old Johannes cemetery.

Up to the last day I was in hopes that her incredible strength of character would keep her alive; but in vain.

Excuse this mournful message, but I am still so full of her death that I cannot help thinking of it.

Nothing is happening here. D. showed me your letter about "Rienzi", and I am thankful to you for having behaved in so accommodating and generous a manner. The opera will be taken in hand at the commencement of the season (September), and after the first performance I intend to have some conversation with His Serene Highness. Before that it would be useless.

Have you heard anything from Seebach? Madame Kalergi will be the best and most useful intercessor you could employ in this matter.

May everything succeed to your heart's desire.

Your

F. LISZT.

From the Princess I continue to have very good news; she will probably remain in Rome for some time to come.

In October Hartel will publish the last two of my twelve Symphonic Poems, "Hamlet", and "The Battle of the Huns." As soon as I have an opportunity I shall send you my medley of songs to Paris.

307.

MY DEAR RICHARD,

It will be quite right and proper for you to pay a call of thanks to the Princess Regent at Baden-Baden. Considering the well-known favour in which you stand with the Princess, and the sterling quality of her sympathy, she will not fail to have a favourable influence on the course your circumstances will take in the immediate future. Your presenting yourself personally to her is most likely to increase, if possible, her interest in your works. All this is right, and as it should be; on the other hand, it is a pity that I shall not be able to come to Baden. Excuse me from mentioning my reasons; you would perhaps think them miserable, but they determine me categorically. Although I do not think that you will return to Paris as early as Saturday, the hurried character of our meeting, especially in the landscape surroundings of Baden, would be painful. I had made arrangements to start to-night, and the resolution of resigning the pleasure of seeing you again costs me much. Nevertheless, I think it preferable to wait for an opportunity more favourable to both of us, which, I hope, will occur soon.

B. was with me when your letter of August 10th arrived. He came from Wiesbaden, where they were expecting you for a performance of "Lohengrin" (with Niemann). By-the-bye, there will be no lack of "Tannhauser" and "Lohengrin" performances in these regions. Be a little lenient and longsuffering with regard to their defects. Do not misinterpret my stopping at home for the present; there is not an atom of laziness or egoism in it--mats tout bien considere je dois faire ainsi, parceque cela vaut mieux pour vous--and I feel convinced that, later on, you will agree with me.

Your

F. L.

WEYMAR, August 14th, 1860.

My gracious master, the Grand Duke, spoke of you lately with the most lively interest, and expressed his wish to see you here, to which I replied, that for that a SPECIAL occasion would be necessary. You should not forget, however, that he has more than once interceded for you with the King of Saxony by word and by letter.

308.

PARIS, September 13th, 1860.

At last I find time and the proper mood for writing to you in a more collected manner than is usually the case. My late brief letters left a debt to you unpaid.

The letter I received from you at Baden quite satisfied me, and I felt quite ashamed at having proposed so hurried, and to you so inconvenient, a meeting. The matter simply came to this:--

A longer excursion to Germany was on my part quite out of the question, and I had to abandon all hope of the long-desired proper visit to you for this year. A brief interruption of my anything but pleasant stay in Paris was, on the other hand, very desirable to me. I had promised my wife to fetch her, if possible, from Loden. The Rhine I had never seen. I was told at the Prussian Embassy that the Princess of Prussia would shortly arrive on the Rhine, and the Saxon ambassador told me that he would be very pleased, and that it would be agreeable to the King of Saxony also, if I were to thank the Princess for the interest she had taken in the decision finally made in my favour. These various motives I developed into the plan of a very short tour to the Rhine, such as suited my limited finances. One or two days more would have caused the most painful embarrassment to me. I could of course not have thought of staying a day in Frankfort without thinking of the possibility of embracing you, but as you were unable to come, I was unable to wait at Frankfort; you understand why. Therefore, I ventured to ask you to follow me to Baden, where my narrow financial circumstances compelled me to go. I fully understand the reasons which prevented you from coming there. Pardon me for having attempted to smuggle, so to speak, our meeting into another plan. The temptation to such an attempt was too great.

You are quite mistaken, however, in thinking that a "special occasion" would be necessary for inducing me to pay a visit to Weimar. Believe me that I abide by what I told the Grand Duke at Lucerne years ago, when he asked me whether I should be inclined, in case of an amnesty, to stay at Weimar now and then. I told him that the chief reason which would attract me to Weimar would be your society, and that, therefore, I should pay frequent visits to Weimar as long as you were there. You will understand that in my relations to Weimar no change whatever has, fortunately, taken place; on the contrary, I may hope that I shall no longer be obliged to pay for the boon of your society by my participation in insufficient artistic doings (I am speaking of the opera). Be assured that I am joyfully looking forward to the day when I may set sail for Altenburg.

My position in Germany is still far from satisfactory. As you know, I am neither amnestied nor has my sentence been remitted. All I have obtained is the promise that the claim to extradition will be abandoned whenever, for the purpose of performing my works, I wish to enter a German territory, the government of which has given its consent, and asked permission of the Saxon Government. Even my six days' journey to the Rhine I could not have extended to Weimar without previously complying with those conditions, for otherwise I should have offended the Saxon Government at the very outset. Our German potentates cannot enter into direct communication with me, for I am still a political outlaw, neither must I hope for important or sufficient measures in my favour at any court, and the plans for the performances of my last works have not been advanced much. This is all the more evident, as the condition of our largest operatic theatres is most disappointing. Of Berlin I could not think at all without first contemplating the possibility of a complete revolution of affairs, both as regards the theatre and the management. I was not bold enough to approach the Princess of Prussia with any hope of producing a profound impression in that sense. I was quite satisfied with meeting in her the SPIRITUELLE, intellectual, lively woman I had pictured to myself, and I limited myself to acknowledging and thanking her for the uninterrupted sympathy she had shown for my works without being in the least tempted to communicate to her any plan or wish of mine.

It remains therefore a perfect mystery where my "Tristan" is to see the light of the world. The birth would probably be most easy if I were to trust the King of Hanover with the delivery. Niemann declares that the King would engage any singer, male or female, whom I should require for the model performance of my work as long as that performance took place at Hanover. This might lead to something; that King appears liberal and magnificent in his passion for art, and nothing else will suit me. Let us hope that my political situation will be no obstacle.

For the present my Paris enterprise occupies me altogether, and mercifully obscures my view of future German misery. I do not know what rumours are current with you as to the difficulties placed in my way. They may be well intended, but they are false. NEVER YET HAS THE MATERIAL OF AN EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE BEEN PLACED AT MY DISPOSAL SO FULLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY as has been done at Paris for the performance of "Tannhauser" at the Grand Opera, and I can only wish that some German prince would do the same for my new works. This is the first triumph of my art which I personally witness. I owe it to the success of my works in Germany, which has gained me such warm admirers, that the Emperor, on the strength of their word, has issued a truly imperial COMMAND, which makes me master of the whole material, and protects me from all intrigues. A translation, as excellent as could have possibly been expected, is another earnest of general success. I have secured the best singers that are to be had, and the preparations in every department are made with a zeal and a care to which Germany has little accustomed me. All the leading people go with pleasure to a task which offers them a more interesting occupation than is usual. I also take the matter seriously. I am removing such weak points as I have discovered in the score. I take great delight in the re-writing of the great Venus scene, and hope to improve the effect thereby. The ballet scene also will be executed on the larger scale designed by me.