frequently had occasion to admire his masterly skill both as
conductor and accompanist.

During that winter, apart from the occasions in my young friend's
life already briefly alluded to, there were frequent
opportunities of displaying his capabilities. My acquaintances
used to foregather in my house, and formed quite a little club
for the purposes of mutual enjoyment, which, however, would
hardly have been successful without Bulow's assistance.

I sang suitable passages from my opera, which Hans accompanied
with an expressiveness which delighted me very much. On an
occasion like this I also read aloud extracts from my
manuscripts. For instance, during a series of successive evenings
I read the whole of my longer work, Oper und Drama, written in
the course of this winter, and was favoured by a steadily growing
and remarkably attentive audience.

Now that after my return I had secured a certain degree of peace
and tranquillity of mind, I began to think of resuming my more
serious studies. But somehow the composition of Siegfried's Death
did not seem to appeal to me. The idea of sitting down
deliberately to write a score which should never go further than
the paper on which it was written, again discouraged me; whereas
I felt more and more strongly impelled to lay a foundation on
which it might some day be possible to present such a work, even
though the end had to be gained by roundabout means. To secure
this object it seemed above all necessary to approach those
friends, both at home and abroad, who interested themselves in my
art, in order to expound to them more clearly the problems that