[...] Lüttichau notified me very recently that he has it in mind to appoint me Kapellmeister on a salary of 1800 thalers, only I should first have to serve a probationary year as musical director on a salary of 1200 thlr. I have written to him this very afternoon to tell him that I cannot & will not accept the post. What he will decide now, I do not know: but what is certain is that I shall give up my freedom only in exchange for a very important position. I know of course that in the short term I shall be exposing myself to yet more cares & worries: but that should not deter a person such as myself. Although my operas will gain only slowly in popularity - just as everything in Germany moves only slowly - they cannot fail in time to make their way across the whole of Germany, since my local success has caused such a stir. Rienzi will be given first in Prague & Hamburg, - and then, next spring, in Brunswick too. Apart from my Dresden fee, however, I have not yet received a penny, but time will change all that. Publishers are all still hesitating to make me any offers, no doubt because they want to wait & see whether my operas catch on elsewhere: for my own part, I have no intention of demeaning myself by making the first move; again, it is a question of waiting. I continue to hope for better things, but in the mean time it has been extraordinarily important for me to have found someone - without looking - who is willing to lend me 1000 thalers in cash on the sole security of my honest face & the promise that I shall repay the debt as soon as my situation improves. This person is none other than - Devrient: she learned of my circumstances, my commitments & my debts, & on several occasions offered me the 1000 thalers, of her own accord, until I finally accepted the sum. It is extraordinary, - & I confess that, even if all this had not come about, I would still respect & admire her unreservedly. She is a truly noble and warm-hearted woman. She has also found a place in her heart for Minna: she gave us both presents at Christmas: Minna has received the most lavish gifts from her: everything she could have wished for has been given her. About half the sum that Devrient has lent me is destined for Paris: I shall write to Eduard more fully on the matter. With the other half I shall attempt to pay off my old debts from Magdeburg. It will not be easy, since the people concerned are out for blood & threaten at every moment to compromise me in my present honourable position. If I were to pay them everything they demand, including costs & interest, they could demand 657 thalers from me. Of the 1000 thalers I shall not spend a groschen on myself. -
This is more or less how things stand with me at present: - you can see that things are improving; & if you, dear Cecilie, & Eduard were to visit us here, you would, I hope, find that our situation has taken a turn for the better. Rienzi is now to be divided into two halves & performed on two separate evenings, since too much had had to be left out on account of its length; all these passages will now be restored so as not to deprive the audiences of a single note. You will gather from this how popular the opera is! In Prague, too, I expect they will perform the opera over 2 evenings. It is to be hoped, my dear Cecilie, that you will have an opportunity to see my operas here, - simply try to get here soon. - We have now made up our minds about Natalie, if you will be so kind as to bring her here at our expense, you will then be rid of her, & she may go & stay with her sister in Zwickau, which is the best place for her.
[...]
Source: Selected Letters of Richard Wagner, trans. and ed. Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington (W. W. Norton & Company, 1988), No. 53