My poor dear Frau Uhlig,
How can I possibly console you for the terrible loss you have suffered, since I, too, am so sorely affected by it that I can scarcely conceive of its magnitude! However long I live, I shall always have cause to regard the loss of this one particular friend of mine as irreparable - I feel very much as though I have been robbed of half my very soul! What he was to me you certainly know: what I must feel at his death I certainly have no need to describe to you! Nor, indeed, would I be capable of pouring out my feelings at present!!
But when I compare your loss with my own, my immediate feeling is a fervent desire to receive from you some indication as to how I may best show my sympathy. If there is any wish that I may be able to help you fulfil, I would entreat you most beseechingly to tell me what it is.
What will become of the child, my godson - Siegfried? If only I might see your children; if only I could take the place of their father - at least for one of them! - I entreat you, whatever you decide for your own future and that of your family, please remember me too: if you do so, I shall always be certain that you are acting according to the wishes of my dear departed friend!! I now beg you with all my heart to lighten my cares and send me word soon about your state of health and an answer to all my questions! - My wife - who truly esteemed Uhlig and loved him - similarly feels the sincerest sympathy for you: she bids me assure you most sincerely of this, and asks you - in the event of your finding it difficult to address yourself to me directly - to turn to her for help.
Kindly remember us to your children, and send word soon to reassure
Your most devoted servant
Richard Wagner.
Source: Selected Letters of Richard Wagner, trans. and ed. Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington (W. W. Norton & Company, 1988), No. 157