On reading this letter, admiration for the fearless courage of Wagner grows upon one. A whole concert devoted to his own works! He little knew with whom he was dealing. Wagner’s temper was quick, and I feared to irritate him by conveying the certain refusal of the directors, but it had to be done. It was a difficult and delicate matter to prevent friction between Richard Wagner, possessed with the exalted notion of his mission, on the one hand, and the steady-going time-serving directors on the other. I saw Mr. Anderson. Timorous of the leap in the dark he and his colleagues had made in engaging Wagner, they feared hazarding the reputation of their concerts by the devotion of a whole evening to Wagner’s works, but a compromise--that some selections should be given--was readily effected. The conveyance of this news to Wagner brought from him the following letter:--
My best thanks to you for so amiably taking such trouble. That you sounded the directors of the Philharmonic as to the question whether they would fill up a whole evening with selections from those of my operas which I have arranged specially for concert performances, although fully authorized to do so, produced a somewhat disagreeable effect upon me. Heaven knows how strange it is to me that I should force myself upon any body, and originally, I only wished your opinion whether I had any chance to have one concert set apart for my works, for in such case I should have held back the various selections. I had a similar intimation from Hogarth, to whom I briefly answered that I would conduct the classical works only, and that if the directors later on wished to perform any of my compositions, they might tell me so, when I should select such as I deemed most appropriate, for which contingency I should bring the orchestral parts with me, some of which, no doubt, would require additional copies, the expense of which, in London, could not be of much account. I am quite satisfied with this arrangement, and the people will learn to know me there. On the whole, I have really no special plan for my London expedition, except to essay what can be done with a celebrated orchestra, and further, a little change for me is desirable, but under no circumstances can London even be a home for me. As you open your hospitable doors to me, I shall avail myself of your kindness, and if you will let me stay until I have found a suitable apartment, I shall be grateful to you, and shall heartily beg pardon of your amiable wife for my intrusion. I shall be in London in the first days of March. I sincerely repeat to you that I have no great expectations, for really I do not count any more upon anything in this world. But I shall be delighted to gain your closer friendship. The English language I do not know, and I am totally without gift for modern languages, and at present am averse to learn any on account of the strain on my memory. I must help myself through with French. Now for mutual personal acquaintance,