I had not omitted the smallest detail that could give this plot its proper colouring, and had drawn on all my knowledge of the tales of the old knights, and my acquaintance with Lear and Macbeth, to furnish my drama with the most vivid situations.  But one of the chief characteristics of its poetical form I took from the pathetic, humorous, and powerful language of Shakespeare.  The boldness of my grandiloquent and bombastic expressions roused my uncle Adolph’s alarm and astonishment.  He was unable to understand how I could have selected and used with inconceivable exaggeration precisely the most extravagant forms of speech to be found in Lear and Gotz von Berlichingen.  Nevertheless, even after everybody had deafened me with their laments over my lost time and perverted talents, I was still conscious of a wonderful secret solace in the face of the calamity that had befallen me.  I knew, a fact that no one else could know, namely, that my work could only be rightly judged when set to the music which I had resolved to write for it, and which I intended to start composing immediately.

I must now explain my position with respect to music hitherto.  For this purpose I must go back to my earliest attempts in the art.  In my family two of my sisters were musical; the elder one, Rosalie, played the piano, without, however, displaying any marked talent.  Clara was more gifted; in addition to a great deal of musical feeling, and a fine rich touch on the piano, she possessed a particularly sympathetic voice, the development of which was so premature and remarkable that, under the tuition of Mieksch, her singing master, who was famous at that time, she was apparently ready for the role of a prima donna as early as her sixteenth year, and made her debut at Dresden in Italian opera as ‘Cenerentola’ in Rossini’s opera of that name.  Incidentally I may remark that this premature development proved injurious to Clara’s voice, and was detrimental to her whole career.  As I have said, music was represented in our family by these two sisters.  It was chiefly owing to Clara’s career that the musical conductor C. M. von Weber often came to our house.  His visits were varied by those of the great male-soprano Sassaroli; and in addition to these two representatives of German and Italian music, we also had the company of Mieksch, her singing master.  It was on these occasions that I as a child first heard German and Italian music discussed, and learnt that any one who wished to ingratiate himself with the Court must show a preference for Italian music, a fact which led to very practical results in our family council.  Clara’s talent, while her voice was still sound, was the object of competition between the representatives of Italian and German opera.  I can remember quite distinctly that from the very beginning I declared myself in favour of German opera; my choice was determined by the tremendous impression made on me by the two figures of Sassaroli and Weber.  The Italian male-soprano,