People take care to give me plenty of diversion.  From the enclosed letter, which please seal before you forward it to the person in question, you will see that in addition to other troubles I have been robbed.  The thief is near you at Jena, where he has had to go for a short time on military duty.  You will, I hope, find no difficulty in finding a person attached or semi-attached to the police, who could deal with E. W., late waiter at the hotel here, in the manner indicated by the letter.  I think it will be best to frighten the fellow into restoring the money.  If we were simply to put him in prison he would deny the charge in order to save himself, and it is always difficult to prove a money robbery in legal form.

Show me your practical wisdom as a police agent.  But it must be done very quickly, as the fellow will stay at Jena or Weimar for a little time only.  As I start the day after tomorrow, and shall therefore not be in Paris when he comes back, it would be difficult to lay hold of him here.  So much for today.  I hope I shall find time to write you a rational letter from Paris.  A thousand thanks for your faithful love.

Your

R. W.

The money, if recovered, should be sent to Zurich.

258.

If it were given to me, dearest friend, to give you comfort and strength, I should joyfully make any sacrifice.  From Dresden nothing much can be expected as yet, but I shall make another attempt soon.  At Carlsruhe they are well inclined towards you, and the day before yesterday I had a long conversation about your sad position with the Grand Duchess of Baden, who, like the Grand Duke, seems to take a lively interest in you.  Do not neglect your “Tristan.”  For the first performance I should advise you to choose either Carlsruhe or Prague.  Weymar would of course follow at once; for the moment, however, I think it more advisable that another stage should take the initiative, and have spoken in that sense to Thome in Prague.  In any case I shall not fail to attend the first performance, and you will oblige me by sending me the score as soon as you have finished it.  I intend to lay the work before the Grand Duke, and to ask him earnestly that he may get you from Dresden the permission of conducting the opera here.  May God grant that this step will, at last, lead to a favourable result.

“Rienzi” cannot be given here this season.  Frau von Milde is expecting her confinement, and has not been singing these two months, besides which, we are at present unable to fill some other parts properly, and must wait till the end of the year, when several new engagements come into force.  I had, as you know, proposed “Rienzi” as gala opera for February 16th; but a light opera was preferred, and, as such, your tribune of the people would scarcely pass.

You are probably in direct correspondence with Eckert concerning the performance of “Lohengrin” at Vienna.  He informed me that the work would be given this autumn.  The principal parts will be splendidly cast:  Ander (Lohengrin), Meyer (Elsa), and Csillagh (Ortrud), and if Eckert throws his heart into the thing, a great success is beyond all doubt.