Bach's Passion Music will be performed this evening, which will account for my extraordinary notepaper. I have forwarded your letter to the D. of C., and he has replied in a very friendly and amiable manner. Finally he says to me, On verra ce qu'on pourra faire pour lui plus tard, and this point I shall not fail to discuss with the D. on occasion. You have of course not the slightest doubt as to my view of this matter; otherwise, my dearest friend, I should have to think that you had gone out of your mind. Excuse the word! You could not possibly have seen the matter in any other light from what you have done, and for the same reason I had to remain perfectly passive and neutral.
For heaven's sake, keep as well as you can, and do not be annoyed by the inevitable stupidity and malice which are opposed to you so frequently from different quarters. The affair at Prague appears to me somewhat complicated. Laub, who has taken Joachim's place in our orchestra, wrote to me from Prague yesterday that the prohibition of Tannhäuser must be a theatrical trick of St.'s, the director of police, President Sacher having informed him that he knew nothing of that prohibition. I have asked Laub in consequence to investigate the matter carefully and to ask St. to write to you or me plainly and precisely. Before taking an official step, one must know by whom and in what manner the prohibition has been issued, and on whom the withdrawal of it depends. I mentioned President Sacher to you as the director of police in Prague because in the Austrian monarchy similar orders are made by that official. If he declares that he knows nothing about it, I know still less where the difficulty lies and at what door I should have to knock. On April 4th the Tannhäuser overture will be played at Prague, and until then I wait for further information from Laub. In the meantime I think it advisable that you should write a friendly letter to St., asking him in what manner Tannhäuser has been prohibited at Prague, and to whom one would have to apply in order to get rid of this difficulty. It is of course far from my wish to inspire you with suspicion against St.; but it is necessary for us to sift the matter thoroughly, and after so many experiences it may be permitted to anticipate different and even contradictory possibilities.
Franz Liszt
Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #3835, Correspondence of Wagner and Liszt — Volume 1, No. 103