resented by the omnipotent Meyerbeer meant
nothing--absolutely nothing. Every one received him with the greatest
politeness; every one appeared to promise great things; no one did
anything. At the opera he had not the remotest chance, of course,
being young, unknown, a German, and without social influence. The
Renaissance speedily shut its doors, being bankrupt. Through Habeneck
he learnt to understand the Ninth Symphony even better than he had
understood it before; for the Conservatoire orchestra had rehearsed it
until, almost unconsciously, they discovered the real melody, or what
Wagner calls the melos. This is a question I shall go into later when
dealing with Wagner's own conducting; for the present it suffices to
mention the bare fact, as we can trace directly to these
performances--or, rather, rehearsals--the _Faust_ overture which
Wagner soon afterwards composed. Habeneck gave a performance of his
_Columbus_ overture; and in no other way was the acquaintance of any
value. So, as his little money was speedily gone, he had to live for a
while on what his relatives and friends could give him, and afterwards
by what he could earn by writing for Schlesinger's _Gazette Musicale_.
This is what Meyerbeer's introductions were worth.

II

However, he found and made friends, some, though not all, as poor as
himself. Laube, his crony of earlier years, was there and introduced
him to Friedrich Pecht, a student of painting, and to Heine. This last
was very suspicious of Wagner at first, because he did not believe
Meyerbeer would exert himself on behalf of any one possessing the
slightest ability. It is obvious that he soon discovered that he was
both right and wrong. Wagner had ability, and Meyerbeer, far from
helping him, had ingeniously dug a trap to keep a possible rival
quiet. Wagner made the acquaintance of Berlioz, and promptly uttered
the criticism he adhered to always--one that I humbly subscribe
to--that Berlioz, with all his imagination, energy and wealth of
orchestral resource, had no sense of beauty. Berlioz, he remarked,
lived in Paris "with nothing but a troop of devotees around him,
shallow persons without a spark of judgment, who greet him as the
founder of a brand-new musical system, and completely turn his head."
To a certain degree this judgment came home to roost in Wagner's later
years in Bayreuth; but he was saved by the fact that, being a great
musician, he also drew genuine musicians to him. If Bay