contained the germs of a new tendency which developed during the
period of my activity at Riga, brought me more and more out of
touch with the theatre, thereby causing Director Holtei all the
annoyance which inevitably attends disappointment.

For some time, however, I found no difficulty in making the best
of a bad bargain. We were obliged to open the theatre before the
company was complete. To make this possible, we gave a
performance of a short comic opera by C. Blum, called Marie, Max
und Michel. For this work I composed an additional air for a song
which Holtei had written for the bass singer, Gunther; it
consisted of a sentimental introduction and a gay military rondo,
and was very much appreciated. Later on, I introduced another
additional song into the Schweizerfamilie, to be sung by another
bass singer, Scheibler; it was of a devotional character, and
pleased not only the public, but myself, and showed signs of the
upheaval which was gradually taking place in my musical
development. I was entrusted with the composition of a tune for a
National Hymn written by Brakel in honour of the Tsar Nicholas's
birthday. I tried to give it as far as possible the right
colouring for a despotic patriarchal monarch, and once again I
achieved some fame, for it was sung for several successive years
on that particular day. Holtei tried to persuade me to write a
bright, gay comic opera, or rather a musical play, to be
performed by our company just as it stood. I looked up the
libretto of my Glucktiche Barenfamilie, and found Holtei very
well disposed towards it (as I have stated elsewhere); but when I
unearthed the little music which I had already composed for it, I
was overcome with disgust at this way of writing; whereupon I
made a present of the book to my clumsy, good-natured friend,