Most honoured Sir and friend,
You will, I hope, permit me to address you in this familiar way since, for my own part, I have heard so much said about the kindness and honesty of your character that I already feel well disposed towards you, to the extent that I shall do everything in my power to earn the name and rights of a friend in return. Laying claim to that status in advance, I have already repeatedly pestered you through my good sister Cäcilie, and the willingness which you have shown in performing a somewhat irksome favour for me is sufficient guarantee that I shall not meet with utter rejection in making the following request, which is the immediate object of this letter. Cäcilie has no doubt already apprised you of my somewhat bold, not to say quixotic, plans for Paris; the impertinence with which I am prepared to face the mass of obstacles that await me there is something which you yourself will be able to judge once you have had the kindness to lend an ear to my news and views in Paris; whereby I reckon chiefly upon the sound advice which I know you will be able to give me and which I would entreat you to communicate to me in advance.
I sailed into London about 12 days ago, following a ghastly and particularly hazardous voyage lasting almost 4 weeks, and was then obliged to spend 8 days - 8 ruinous days - on the city’s gold-paved streets, thanks to the confusion of my captain, who had caused some stupid mix-up with my luggage. I arrived in Boulogne by steamer on the 20th, and immediately rented the cheapest place I could find for the coming few weeks; it is in the country, i.e. less than half-an-hour from the town, and I have chosen it for several reasons; 1. I believe that a number of people who are important for my plans are not in Paris at the moment; 2. I still have another few weeks’ work to do on what I should like to take with me to Paris already complete, so as to be able to begin my machinations the moment I arrive; 3. I should, however, first like to recover from the hardships which I have had to endure, before plunging once again into the hurly-burly which undoubtedly awaits me in Paris. Might I therefore ask you in the mean time to obtain lodgings for me in Paris, bearing in mind the following points: an ordinary room with an alcove is of course quite sufficient for me and my wife; a larger room alone would ultimately do just as well; - obviously it needs to be furnished accommodation, although we do have our own beds and bedding, table-linen, candlesticks, kitchen utensils, since we have more or less brought our entire household with us, only the least transportable items having been sold in Russia. My wife will run the house herself, i.e. buy provisions, cook etc.; for that reason she will not require any extra help, except for a maid to assist her with manual chores. I can of course only rent the lodgings a month at a time, and since, in addition, I have no real idea of the price that one must pay in Paris for such accommodation, I will not stipulate a price here but leave it to the dictates of circumstance and to your kind discretion. That I should of course be delighted to find myself living not too far away from you, is something I scarcely need assure you of. - [...]
Source: Selected Letters of Richard Wagner, trans. and ed. Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington (W. W. Norton & Company, 1988), No. 25