the wonderful order, he was greeted with great jubilation by the loyal audience that filled the theatre on the evening of the festival concert.  His overture to Yelva was also received with a perfect uproar of enthusiastic applause, such as had never fallen to his lot; whereas the finale of the first act from Lohengrin, which was produced as the work of the youngest conductor, was accorded only an indifferent reception.  This was all the more strange as I was quite unaccustomed to such coolness in regard to my work on the part of the Dresden public.  Following upon the concert, there was a festive supper, and when this was over, as all kinds of speeches were being made, I freely proclaimed to the orchestra, in a loud and decided tone, my views as to what was desirable for their perfection in the future.  Hereupon Marschner, who, as a former musical conductor in Dresden, had been invited to the jubilee celebrations, expressed the opinion that I should do myself a great deal of harm by holding too good an opinion of the musicians.  He said I ought just to consider how uncultivated these people were with whom I had to deal; he pointed out that they were trained simply for the one instrument they played; and asked me whether I did not think that by discoursing to them on the aspirations of art I would produce not only confusion, but even perhaps bad blood?  Far more pleasant to me than these festivities is the remembrance of the quiet memorial ceremony which united us on the morning of the Jubilee Day, with the object of placing wreaths on Weber’s grave.  As nobody could find a word to utter, and even Marschner was able to give expression only to the very driest and most trivial of speeches about the departed master, I felt it incumbent upon me to say a few heartfelt words concerning the memorial ceremony for which we were gathered together.  This brief spell of artistic activity was speedily broken by fresh excitements, which kept pouring in upon us from the political world.  The events of October in Vienna awakened our liveliest sympathy, and our walls daily blazed with red and black placards, with summonses to march on Vienna, with the curse of ‘Red Monarchy,’ as opposed to the hated ’Red Republic,’ and with other equally startling matter.  Except for those who were best informed as to the course of events—­and who certainly did not swarm in our streets—­these occurrences aroused great uneasiness everywhere.  With the entry of Windischgratz into Vienna, the acquittal of Frobel and the execution of Blum, it seemed as though even Dresden were on the eve of an explosion.  A vast demonstration of mourning was organised for Blum, with an endless procession through the streets.  At the head marched the ministry, among whom the people were particularly glad to see Herr von der Pfordten taking a sympathetic share in the ceremony, as he had already become an object of suspicion to them.  From that day gloomy forebodings of disaster grew ever more prevalent on every side.  People even went