New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-03-04
PEc0LLEcIl0NS or WIGNER.

Fy0Bi The LOi,J0it Times
Even at home in hts Villa Wahnfgied. Wagner
| couid never quito unhcud. lie expected every
| risitOr 10 offer hun a tribute OF welcomed COM
piimeuts; he would, indeed, weigh the words
! counted ont to HIM. and lot you Know M a tone Of
gentle reproOt If he thought tnat the rlbut2 fell
! short Of what his due. But once you had
paid up in mi he could, while dong the hOu0rs OF
! Ms house, make himself very gracious. lie was 4
magnificent host. for he loved TO dazzle and saw no
/ reason why his table should not be as sumptuOusV
served 40 D kings. When Ac travelled, the courier
who preceded INN engaged if possible those suites
OF artmeuts IN trst-rate hotels which are gener
/ ally reserved Tor crowned heads. some years ago.
Intending to settle IN Vienna, Wagner rented pal
Occ and ordered 1t To be furnished IN such costly
stylc that he found himself unable 10 pay the mp
hoisterer. and had to depart from the city, At mis-
! villa IN Bayrcuth ho had collected an amazing
quantity of tine things presented to him by his ad
miTers, and not the least singular among these TO-
kens Of affection was a haze mausoleum IN gray
granite, which adorned corner OF MS garden, and
buro his names engraved IN deep letters shall
10 hniied there Wagner usel u say " The gran
and the monuments m - snr s or onr hes
workmen Of Bayreuth. who woGH ape 80 nav
for 50 doing In speaking OF his tomb Wagner
often alluded 20 d RrandIose marc1 winch he had
composed Tor his own obseqnles, put 1t was net TO
lee performed unless it could be rehearSed during
his lifetime And how can 10 he rthearsed,' he
said. without overwhelming my wife ant chill
dren with griefW Wagner WAS a very tender hug
hand and father and his homo was a happy one
In the companiOnlhp of his gifted WIFE OF his boy
Segired. and of his four bright daughters, Daul-
ellis, Elsa, Eva ard lsOde. VINO all wOrshipped
Tor the mtny disappolntments mat were inter
sper,ed with the trIumphs OF his ife
One OF his greatest dlsapD0ntments was that OF
being unable 20 obtain the title OF DrectOrGeDeral
OF German Music u Court appointment which had
been held bv Moyerhecr and vas IN the gift OF the
German Emperor. But the Kaiser could never
forget that Wagner had been - reyolutiontNt and
even when his Majesty was persuaded TO attend tho
Wagnor Festival at Bayreutb he treated the con-
poser with marked GOODNESS that 1t bore the
look OF a premeditated aifrOnt The strangely OK
ceptiunal patronage with which wagner Was IA
yored by King Louis ii. may have had something 10
do with this a. 10 Is well known that the Bayarian
Kings meomanIa has not been pleasing TO other
GermIn severe gns. owing 10 the public comments
which IL has provoked. 10 was not quite so gr my
ing TO Wagner himself as has been generally sup
posed--tbat l. 10 say. that some of its manifesto
tons were at times rather embaTi asSiuG. hen
the King shut himself up With wagner at HOheu-
,chwaugen. refusing 10 see his Ministers; when he
oJ derod midnight performances OF LOhengrin" az
the Theatre ROYAL for hnNelt alone, wagner VINO
had an ear fOI the murmurs OF the multitude must
have unused uncOmfortably on thosfate which Is apt
10 oyertake Royal taNorlteS IN times OF popular
rommOti0n. Baron Won Pretz, liner the Premier
and Minister of the Kings Household once wrote
20 him peTenptorly must see the King this
afternoon so arrange the matter without fail" but
Wagner had no more power to con:rINe an audience
with the King tnan he had 10 bestpw = locG vi the
mouarchs nair. A little adventure which once
cost him bad ducking, and might have mad sui
worse results, illustrates the srlous footing on
which fayoritss stand with a sovereign highy SEN
sitve "a to his dignity. A water marty by moon-
hight had been OrgaulZed on the lake near King
Louis's summer palace. and celebrated LrimG
donna had been invited 20 einG some OF the duets
from Tristan and Isolde with the King. Wag
ner In his fancy dress, and page, who sculled.
completed tue quartet III the Royal boat. IL was
all very poetcal and the lady, carried away by tho
romance of the occasion, made so bold as TO admin
lister gentle caress to tue King, who resented this
breach of etiQuetts by pu,h which sent her over
board. Wagner plunged after the soprano. whose
tuneful vuiee was being raised 10 rare force, and
succeeded in rescuiug her; but it was doeful
party that presently stepped on shore-ls0lde sob
singer creaking IN his shoes. Tristan murmurng rs
no stalked away with an injured air. and the page
no doubt laughing in his sleeve, after the manner
of his irrevertnt kind. Wagner used to say that
the King had always gvon him more than he
should have dreamed of asking but that he had
been cured of profierng REQUESTS by the significant
tone in " hcn his Majesty said "Nein" the first
time lie was asked for something which it did not
SUIT him TO grant.