recovery and my life.  Not long after that Holtei left our theatre and Riga for ever; his occupation there, with ‘the far too respectable conditions,’ as he expressed it, had become intolerable to him.  In addition, however, circumstances had arisen in his domestic life (which had been much affected by the death of his wife) which seemed to make him consider a complete break with Riga eminently desirable.  But to my astonishment I now first became aware that I too had unconsciously been a sufferer from the troubles he had brought upon himself.  When Holtei’s successor in the management—­Joseph Hoffmann the singer—­informed me that his predecessor had made it a condition to his taking over the post that he should enter into the same engagement that Holtei had made with the conductor Dorn for the post which I had hitherto filled, and my reappointment had therefore been made an impossibility, my wife met my astonishment at this news by giving me the reason, of which for some considerable time past she had been well aware, namely, Holtei’s special dislike of us both.  When I was afterwards informed by Minna of what had happened—­she having purposely kept it from me all this time, so as not to cause bad feeling between me and my director—­a ghastly light was thrown upon the whole affair.  I did indeed remember perfectly how, soon after Minna’s arrival in Riga, I had been particularly pressed by Holtei not to prevent my wife’s engagement at the theatre.  I asked him to talk things quietly over with her, so that he might see that Minna’s unwillingness rested on a mutual understanding, and not on any jealousy on my part.  I had intentionally given him the time when I was engaged at the theatre on rehearsals for the necessary discussions with my wife.  At the end of these meetings I had, on my return, often found Minna in a very excited condition, and at length she declared emphatically that under no circumstances would she accept the engagement offered by Holtei.  I had also noticed in Minna’s demeanour towards me a strange anxiety to know why I was not unwilling to allow Holtei to try to persuade her.  Now that the catastrophe had occurred, I learned that Holtei had in fact used these interviews for making improper advances to my wife, the nature of which I only realised with difficulty on further acquaintance with this man’s peculiarities, and after having heard of other instances of a similar nature.  I then discovered that Holtei considered it an advantage to get himself talked about in connection with pretty women, in order thus to divert the attention of the public from other conduct even more disreputable.  After this Minna was exceedingly indignant at Holtei, who, finding his own suit rejected, appeared as the medium for another suitor, on whose behalf he urged that he would think none the worse of her for rejecting him, a grey-haired and penniless man, but at the same time advocated the suit of Brandenburg, a very wealthy and handsome young merchant.  His fierce indignation at this double repulse, his humiliation at having revealed his real nature to no purpose, seems, to judge from Minna’s observations, to have been exceedingly great.  I now understood too well that his frequent and profoundly contemptuous sallies against respectable actors and actresses had not been mere spirited exaggerations, but that he had probably often had to complain of being put thoroughly to shame on this account.