Correspondence of Wagner and Liszt, vol 1 | Page 8

acquaintance of one of your countrymen,
who boasted of being your friend; that he had spoken to that gentleman
of me and my plans, and engaged his interest in me to such an extent
that he (the gentleman) of his own accord promised to introduce me to
YOU, as he was on the point of starting for another watering-place,
where he would be sure to meet you.
You observe, dear sir, with what remote and uncertain contingencies I
am obliged to connect my great hope; you observe how anxiously I
cling to feeble possibilities to attain a priceless boon. Was that promise
ever fulfilled, and could it have been? My eternally unlucky star almost
forbids me to believe it. The question, however, I owed to myself, and
all I ask for at present is the honour of a Yes or a No!
With full admiration, your most devoted
RICHARD WAGNER
25, RUE DU HELDER, PARIS, March 24th, 1841.

2.
DEAR SIR,
At last you are within safe reach of me, and I take this long- desired
opportunity to gain you, as far as is in my power, for our scheme of
celebrating Weber's memory by a worthy monument to be erected in
Dresden. You are just on the point of crowning your important
participation in the erection of the Beethoven monument; you are for
that purpose surrounded by the most important musicians of our time,
and in consequence are in the very element most favourable to the
enterprise which of late has been resumed chiefly through my means.
As no doubt you heard at the time, we have transferred Weber's
remains to the earth of his German home. We have had a site for the
intended monument assigned to us close to our beautiful Dresden

theatre, and a commencement towards the necessary funds has been
made by the benefit performances at the Dresden, Berlin, and Munich
theatres. These funds, however, I need scarcely mention, have to be
increased considerably if something worthy is to be achieved, and we
must work with all our strength to rouse enthusiasm wherever
something may still be done. A good deal of this care I should like to
leave to you, not, you may believe me, from idleness, but because I feel
convinced that the voice of a poor German composer of operas,
compelled to devote his lifelong labour to the spreading of his works a
little beyond the limits of his province, is much too feeble to be counted
of importance for anything in the world. Dear Herr Liszt, take it well to
heart when I ask you to relieve me of the load which would probably be
heaped on me by the reproach that I had compromised our dear Weber's
memory, because it was none other than I, weak and unimportant as I
am, who had first mooted this celebration. Pray, do what you can in
order to be helpful to our enterprise, for gradually, as I observe the
vulgar indifference of our theatres, which owe so much to Weber, I
begin to fear that our fund might easily remain such as it is at present,
and that would be tantamount to our having to commence with very
inadequate means the erection of a monument which doubtless would
have turned out better if a more important personality had started the
idea.
I add no more words, for to you I have probably said enough. The
committee of which I am a member will apply to you with proper
formality. Would that you could let us have a gratifying answer, and
that my application might have contributed a little towards it!
With true esteem and devotion, I am yours,
RICHARD WAGNER
MARIENBAD, August 5th, 1845

3.

MOST ESTEEMED FRIEND,
On and off I hear that you remember me very kindly and are intent
upon gaining friends for me; and I could have wished that, by staying
in Dresden a little longer, you had given me an opportunity of thanking
you personally and enjoying your company. As I perceive more and
more that I and my works, which as yet have scarcely begun to spread
abroad, are not likely to prosper very much, I slowly familiarize myself
with the thought of turning to account your friendly feeling towards me
a little, and, much as I generally detest the seeking and making of
opportunities, I proceed with perfect openness to rouse you up in my
favour. There is at Vienna, where you happen to be staying, a theatrical
manager, P.; the man came to me a year ago, and invited me to produce
"Rienzi" at his theatre in the present spring. Since then I have not been
able to hear again from him, but as our "Tichatschek" goes to his
theatre in May for an extensive