My good Minna,
I received your last letter from Schandau last evening. Meantime Pusinelli had written me, and given me another full account of your condition: he considers your health improved on the whole, only you continue so excitable on the smallest occasion, and your heart causes you so much trouble upon any emotion, even that of joy, that he has grave doubts about giving his prompt consent to your journey to me in Paris, where there would be so many excitements again for you. I replied to him thereon at once, and tried to remove his mistake as to the influence which Paris and our own reunion might have upon you. I hope to have sufficiently proved to him that, with me in Paris, you were embarking on a more soothing and beneficial mode of life than you had been leading in Dresden; which latter I couldn't think the least adapted to afford you the needful rest and comfort, were it only for reason of your numerous acquaintances, mostly consisting of women, alas, among whom one might seek in vain for common sense: I instanced Frau P., who has repeatedly made thoughtless and agitating communications to you (only the other day, again, about my Pardon business). Further, the misfortune that you were thrown entirely on your own resources there, and had no reasonable, affectionate and truly considerate husband at your side to restrain you, for example, from too much talking, too much company — for instance on the occasion of performances of my operas. Then you had the peculiar vanity of always forcing yourself to appear to people as if there were nothing whatever the matter with you, which simply upset you the more. In brief, I told him I considered it a great good fortune that you had come under his medical treatment, but a misfortune that this should be in Dresden — if only because of your many acquaintances. I couldn't leave you there any longer, and if there were one human being, apart from the Doctor, who still might exercise a beneficial influence on your mind and your whole system, that person was myself — your husband: on me depended all your weal and woe, and therefore it was I who had to care and decide for you now. In Paris there would be nothing lacking to make your life agreeable and comfortable, whilst I should certainly attend to quiet, soothing company, congenialities etc., as I also needed them myself. In the first place you would be living with me in a very quiet, most comfortable little house, among the familiar surroundings of our own old furniture; you would have a pleasant young lady of good education always about you, who was to act as your reader, take care of you, and obey your every nod; and you were to select this girl entirely after your own fancy. Then you were to live at peace and undisturbed, do no kind of house-work any more, but merely issue orders. I should know how to keep all intrusive visitors at arm's length from you; only a few intimate, cordial friends from days of old should come to us; nowhere would I drag you against your will, but every day you should be able to take a 2 hours' drive, and only go into the noisy city at your pleasure or infrequent need. The abode was situated high and in pure air, in a new and most agreeable quarter, where there were splendid promenades close by. Distraction would be at your command by the handful whenever you required it; but alongside of it such a repose as you couldn't easily find anywhere else, since there would stand at your side a most sensible husband made wise by experience, who had no other thought in your regard than for your welfare, your fostering and thriving. But according to my inmost conviction, this assurance and your untroubled residence with me alone could supplement and complete all that which his own medical treatment had laid the foundations of, and brought about. Neither was he to fear that the performance of my older operas in Paris would usurp my attention to such a point that I should be unable to bestow on yourself the needful tranquillising treatment; that would simply interest and entertain us, and finally afford us joy. — It would undoubtedly be otherwise with an entirely new work, just completed, which I intended to produce for the first time and in by no means quite adequate circumstances. Myself I could only look forward with a shudder to that time at Carlsruhe when I should have to go through all the agitations of such a first production, which I must necessarily conduct myself; of late I had been plainly picturing to myself all the annoyances, the half-despair, success and failure, and their consequences on my irritability: as for myself, why, I was bound to take the plunge, — but to drag you, dear Minna, into that kind of vortex for our very first re-meeting, at a time when the whole of Weimar and all my German acquaintances will be conspiring to inflame my brain — this, I certainly must perceive, would be downright insanity and absolutely inexcusable! And therefore, after due deliberation, I have simply concluded with Pusinelli: To Paris? — Yes! and that as soon as possible. To Carlsruhe? — No! in no case. —
Give ear to this decree, dear Mutz, as a thoroughly sensible woman, and with perfect trust that it's merely in your interest. Since I am now taking your cure into my hands with full responsibility, as the physician to whom your welfare is entrusted I simply order you to strike out Carlsruhe entirely, and come to Paris instead the sooner the better. It must be so; it would be inexcusable of me to allow it to be otherwise. But first let me inform you that Carlsruhe is giving me great anxiety already, which I perhaps do wrong even in imparting to you. In the first place, Devrient is very pedantic and wooden; it can't be drummed into his head that this is a question of an extraordinary performance; on the contrary, nothing lies at his heart except the even tenour of his theatre. I am to content myself with his female singers, just as they are; no other than the voiceless Garrigues for Isolde. Neither is even the latter point quite settled yet; much lies too low for her, as she can only make herself audible in her top notes now. Of the Grand Duke, too, I still can learn nothing; Devrient hasn't seen him for 5 months. At any rate, then, everything there stands in by no means such immediate prospect, and — quite between ourselves — under the rose I'm already looking out for other chances. I have written this very day to Tichatscheck, also, in this sense. —
So — let us leave Carlsruhe entirely out of our plans for the present, but hold all the firmer to Paris. And so I'm of opinion that you should unconditionally follow Pusinelli's advice of a grape-cure now; but I recommend you to come direct to me in Paris as soon as that cure is ended; which I fancy may be in about 3 or 4 weeks. All the rest shan't worry us at all; you'll be with me then, and — my coddling of you, rest assured, is bound to suit you. But you must assist me in it, i.e. you must accord me full authority and unconditionally comply with my wishes; since those wishes have no other object than to prepare for you good oft-tested wife an agreeable, tranquil, cheerful and unconcerned existence, in reward for your many trials. To this end, dear Minna, I forbid you in the very first place to bother in the slightest about the furnishing and all the concomitant upset. All these petty cares must now be absolutely non-existent for you (at least for as long as you still are so ailing); and if I were still in the position to have to burden you with them, I should regard it as my bounden duty rather to keep you still away from me. Thanks to the great repute I've won (!) however, I can relieve you of all that now. You shall enter your house only to find comfort and rest there, not to worry and upset yourself again at once. So you must accustom yourself in advance to an entirely new order of things in this respect; you're only to be the convalescent now, the coddled, and thereby alone can you react composingly in turn upon myself. It will cost me no sort of exertion; all my measures are taken already. I promise you that whatever may have to be procured afresh shan't be luxurious, but simply sufficient, neither silk upholstery nor damask curtains; set your mind at rest on that. Moreover, everything is so easy to get here, and will be well and easily attended to. I am expecting the furniture soon, and must beg you to forward me the keys at once: everything will have to be opened at the Customs here; but for all that, I shan't go rummaging in your belongings. Regarding Therese, I ought to be able to count on a definite answer soon: let her plead illness of her parents, and come quick. If I only had her address! I ought to know about this soon, and wish I could have saved you that trouble also. Unfortunately I have been unable to get my Berne lackey, but I have been recommended quite a smart young fellow here instead, likewise a Swiss (from Fribourg), whom I mean to take on trial for the present; which is very easy here, as one can give a week's notice and discharge. He is to enter my service on the 15th inst., and I hope he will answer, also not displease yourself. As I must vacate my present furnished lodging, I shall move into the new abode as early as the 15th; in case our furniture doesn't stand at my disposal by then, I shall simply hire the few articles I need for a week (à la Herwegh!). How I should like Therese to come soon, then; but I can manage in the meantime with my man.
Yes, my good Mutz, that's how things stand, and how you're being disposed of. Does it strike you as comic? Well, get accustomed to it, and imagine it's a fairy-tale: in any case you shall enjoy it. But have no fear at all about finances; we shall live quietly and modestly, without any waste, but we must be quiet and well-served. At all events this style of life cannot cost more than, if as much as, the past 14 months; and I pulled off that in the end, you see, even without Paris. But Paris now is coming on, and undeniably great successes stand before me here, provided I remain here. As to that, only thus much: I am run after, people come to my house, I don't have to go and seek them; the whole of my operas are displayed in the music-shops. The bringing out of Tannhäuser this winter depends on nothing but its translation, and for that itself I have the best offers. So far I've mixed with none but Frenchmen; when I have expressed myself as still indifferent to the undertaking, they've answered me, "But do you realise that it's a matter of an annual income of 60,000 fr. for you?" And even if one discounts that a little, so much is certain, Mutz: we shall pull along, and probably also be able to lay something by. So courage and trust! and — obedience to your good husband, to whose care you are now to entrust yourself! —
In conclusion, a word about N. Your decision equally with N.'s letter, affected me. Once again I deplore her not having been able, of all people, to prevail on herself to be a faithful, genial nurse to you for ever; but it's a question here of qualities of temperament which plainly are not to be changed. The Berne project annoyed me in particular because of the special and expensive pension; such pensions, moreover, are really only meant for inexperienced young girls. Then, why on earth to Switzerland, when exactly the same thing as is learnt there may also be learnt anywhere else from a middle-aged person of sense? So let N. adhere to her wish to get trained for a governess; but let her gratify it at home. I should be sorry if, for mere sake of the small cost of living, she re-entered the crude milieu of Zwickau; you found it repellent, dear Minna, yourself. Consequently I wish N. to remain in Dresden and take a room at the Schiffner's, or near her, when she must arrange with the Schiffner for board. Then let her look about her for good tuition: for geography and other elementary instruction she should hunt up some good school; she must learn French properly at last, and take lessons in English; beyond which, thorough pianoforte lessons, hiring a piano for her room. All this she must try and get as cheap as possible, but not too cheap for the instruction to be of any value: for the piano I recommend Blassmann. Whatever all this costs, I will defray it, and that until N. gets a situation to maintain her completely. Consequently she is in any event to devote a few years now to learning something thorough; it will be of benefit to her entire future, and raise her to a better lot. Should an opportunity of marriage present itself, and the marriage appear impossible for simple reason of her poverty, I hereby pledge myself not only to provide her with a good trousseau, but also to allow N. 200 thaler a year for life, which ought to suffice a decent husband for her dowry.
Consequently from this day forth I assume all care for N., so she may know that she's fully provided for and has to depend on no one any longer in this world except myself.
At your departure from Dresden I shall also remit you what N. will require to begin with, whilst I shall shortly expect the preciser account of what she'll need according to my plan.
So my greeting to N., and tell her to make her mind easy.
And so farewell, my good Minna. May this letter, too, have none but a reassuring effect on you. Don't let yourself be influenced by anything, by any further care, than that to reassure myself; and that you'll do if you vouchsafe me unconditional trust, worry yourself about nothing, and unquestioningly conform to my advice and wishes, which aim at nothing save your greatest welfare, such as should indeed be granted you after so many hardships!
Farewell, and take a thousand salutations from
Thy Richard.
So: 16. Rue Newton, Avenue des Champs Elysées, Paris.
Source: Richard to Minna Wagner: Letters to His First Wife, trans. William Ashton Ellis, Vol. 2 (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1909), No. 194