Dearest and Best! Here we are at Teplitz, the castle hill before our noses, a cow-byre beneath our feet. Here we sit and think of you, of you! Oh, this Teplitz and the country for far around is the fairest thing I know! Mother and Minna have met here for the first time, naturally with the bearing of two people who want to get to know each other. Mother seems very happy in our society. I went to see Albert in Halle and found him better than I expected. Rather too much has been made of his "stage-struck" state in Leipzig. I slept with him two nights and had long and intimate talks with him. He must get a better position in time, that is clear, but one thing somewhat reassured me: he gets his salary all right! One knows what that means. His wife is as beautiful as ever. Johanna is quite a good comedienne and has a voice which, under Albert's training, justifies high hopes.
Richard Wagner
Source: Letters of Richard Wagner, Volume 1, ed. Altmann/Hull (London: Dent, 1927), No. 69