"You have seen by the affair of the Rheingold, that it is much better for Wagner not to mingle with the theatrical world. His first duty is to keep his creative faculty intact, but he is a 'fighter,' and is always tempted to throw himself into the fray."
"Now that I have the joy of knowing him, he will never again be called to battle by me!"
"He will return of himself, only too soon, for repose is not for him," added Cosima, sighing:
"I am curious to read again that letter that you wrote, you two, when you believed me to be a very serious old lady.... Do you remember your surprise, the first time you saw me to find me so different from what you had imagined? You would not be able to write in the same tone now."
"Certainly, the style of your articles does not at all resemble you, and we did not in the least foresee the gamin that you are ... sometimes!"
"Neither could I have known that Wagner climbed trees...."
"But in any case the letter had nothing private in it; it was written to be published."
Cosima had kept a copy of the text, which she found, and we read it together:—
"MADAME,
"You are kind enough to ask me for some details relating to the time of my first stay in France, with the kindly intention of writing an article by their aid, the publication of which shall coincide with my arrival in Paris, which you believe to be near. While thanking you for the interest which you are so kind as to feel for me, permit me to say, Madame, that it is not my intention to go to Paris. I know that I have excellent friends, indeed, even numerous friends there, and I hope I do not need to assure you that I am capable of appreciating the value and the importance of the testimonies of sympathy of which I am the object. Nevertheless my presence and my participation in the representation that is being prepared might very well give rise to a misunderstanding. It would appear as though I were putting myself at the head of a theatrical enterprise with the intention of regaining by Rienzi that which I have lost by Tannhäuser. At least it would undoubtedly be in this way that the Press would interpret my going. Whereas the stage setting of Rienzi at the Théâtre Lyrique has only been an entirely personal question between M. Pasdeloup and me.