[April 1858.] I'm doing tolerably. How does the zealous lady-pupil of de Sanctis ? t conducted that evening himself — thereby "increasing his catarrh'' (see no. 45). As he held a rehearsal on the 27th, he cannot have been absent more than three days; so that the allusion to "der heilige Gotthart" sounds like some private joke — a pun on " catarrh " ? — Tr. t Francesco de Sanctis (1818-83), an Italian scholar, then professor at the Zurich Polytechnic. Thanks for the Cervantes meanwhile. It will tune me gradually for work again. The second act is beckoning me.*, Shall we see one another to-day ?
Richard Wagner
Source: Richard Wagner to Mathilde Wesendonck, translated by Ellis, No. 48