Esteemed Lady ! God will guard you henceforth from my rudenesses ; for you certainly perceive by now that it was no idle whim of mine when I often dreaded accepting your kind invitations lest my nasty temper might torture my good friends as much as it torments myself. If in the future, also, I become more abstinent in this regard — and ought I not to end by being so, after experiences like those of yesterday? — rest assured that it is simply to earn your pardon through presenting myself to you in a better light. I hope to hear from your husband to-morrow at Basle that at least your precious health has suffered no ulterior harm through my unruly tongue.* With this heartfelt wish your kind indulgence is besought by Richard Wagner. Zurich, March 17, 1853.
Richard Wagner
Source: Richard Wagner to Mathilde Wesendonck, translated by Ellis, No. 4