Dear, good Friend Heckel!
Only have courage! And all will be well!—The matter has been arranged with His Majesty; the undertaking in which you are taking such a serious and splendid part is now assured. More details soon!—. . . I knew that all of that would be in vain; a “wise fool” is necessary for my cause!—but who is foolish nowadays?—This in haste! More soon!
With my whole heart,
Yours,
Richard Wagner.
Source: The Story of Bayreuth as Told in the Bayreuth Letters of Richard Wagner, trans. and ed. Caroline V. Kerr (Small, Maynard and Company, 1912), No. 53