We now know that in spite of his power and his good will, the king was not able to attain to the realization of all his desires.
The Archangel could not subdue the dragon, so covered by the impenetrable breastplate formed of human imbecility.
The sword dulled itself against that thick shell, the crown narrowly escaped being shattered thereon: the hatred and fury of the Philistines against an artist of genius increased this time to the point of riot. They howled in the streets, they broke the windows of the Master's house, until at last, fearing some misfortune for the royal friend who persisted in defending him, he feigned to separate himself from him, and quitted Munich.
If the king as chief of the State was unhappily forced to give way before the popular tempest, as friend he did not concede a single point, and remained true to his faith.
In that dear retreat of Tribschen which Wagner then found, forever delivered, thanks to the royal friend, from the sordid troubles which bedim the spirit, he had no longer any but lofty cares, and, in retirement and peace, he finished the "Meistersinger" and recommenced work on the "Ring of the Nibelung."
[1] Author of "The Physiology of Taste."
[2] Kingdom of Bavaria.
II
The train puffed and panted as it laboured up the slope which rises without interruption from Lindau to Munich. We were' already very high up, for occasional mists of cloud drifted across our carriage. Wonderful landscapes opened before us; far away peaks tearing the mist into ribbons, glimpses of deep valleys soon lost to sight, forests of pines, hills of a fresh velvety green which undulated to the sky, and at the stations of the infrequent hamlets and villages which we passed, the blue and white of the royal escutcheons always reappeared upon the gates and arches.