ain the
delays seemed interminable; his letters, especially those to Fischer
and Heine, are packed with inquiries about the fate of his opera--he
could get no answer at all for a long while, and after it was
definitely accepted the usual troubles occurred through the whims and
caprices of singers. Even his idol and divinity, Schroeder-Devrient,
great artist though she was on the stage, played the very prima
donna--which is about as bad a thing as can be said of any woman--off
the stage so far as _Rienzi_ was concerned. Being a prima donna first
and an artist afterwards, she thought nothing of dashing Wagner's
hopes by expressing a desire to appear in some other opera before
_Rienzi_; and as the delay meant a prolongation of the actual misery
and possible starvation at Paris we can picture Wagner's impotent
rage and despair.

On October 14, 1841, we find him writing to Heine:

"... Herr von Luettichau has definitely consented to my opera
being put on the stage after Reissiger's. That is all very good;
but how many questions does not this answer suggest! For
instance: does the general management propose to place my work
upon the stage with the outlay indispensable to a brilliant
effect? On this point W----writes me: 'The general management
will leave nothing undone to equip your opera in a suitable
manner.' You will understand how terribly terse this seems to
me! I am not greatly surprised at receiving no letter from
Reissiger since last March: he has worked for me--that is the
best and most honourable answer; besides, it would be foolish on
my part to expect that Reissiger, now that his own opera must be
fairly engrossing his attention, should be much occupied about
me. But what alarms me is the absolute silence of our Devrient!
I think I have already written a dozen letters to her: I am not
exactly surprised at her sending me no single line in answer,
because one knows how terrible a thing letter-writing is to many
people. But that she has never even indirectly sent me a word,
nor let me have a hint, makes me downright uneasy. Good heavens!
So much depends upon her--it would really be a mere humanity on
her part if she, perhaps through her lady's-maid, had sent me a
message to this effect: 'Make your mind easy! I am taking an
interest in your affair!'--certainly everything which I have
learnt here and there about her behav