You must
remember that this letter was written by a boy of fifteen.
"I have been to--guess whom?... to the master, Richard Wagner! Now
I will tell you all about it, just as it happened. I will copy the
words down exactly as I wrote them in my note-book.
"On Thursday, 9 December, at half-past ten, I saw Richard Wagner
for the second time at the Hotel Imperial, where I stayed for half
an hour on the staircase, awaiting his arrival (I knew that on that
day he would conduct the last rehearsal of his _Lohengrin_). At
last the master came down from the second floor, and I bowed to him
very respectfully while he was yet some distance from me. He
thanked me in a very friendly way. As he neared the door I sprang
forward and opened it for him, upon which he looked fixedly at me
for a few seconds, and then went on his way to the rehearsal at
the Opera. I ran as fast as I could, and arrived at the Opera
sooner than Richard Wagner did in his cab. I bowed to him again,
and I wanted to open the door of his cab for him; but as I could
not get it open, the coachman jumped down from his seat and did it
for me.
Pages:
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237