I humbly take the liberty of asking for an attentive hearing in the interests of an institution the fate of which, as a source of honour and utility to the country, now hangs in the balance. What I have to say will occupy an hour, and the question is whether it would be possible for you to give me this hour either to-morrow (Wednesday) or some time during Thursday at latest. If so, I must also venture to ask you to be so kind as to persuade the Minister of State, Herr Dr. von der Pfordten, to be present at the hearing granted me, as I am a little uncertain to which Government department the affairs I desire to discuss really belong, and should like to submit the decision in this matter to the personal judgment of the Minister of the Interior and of Religion. Special circumstances have rendered the matter so pressing that I feel it my duty to ask most urgently for the honour of a speedy reply.
Richard Wagner
Source: Letters of Richard Wagner, Volume 1, ed. Altmann/Hull (London: Dent, 1927), No. 137