At any rate I started for Mayence, which I reached on the 4th February, and found the whole place flooded.  Owing to the early breaking up of the ice, the Rhine had overflowed its banks to an unusual extent, and I only reached Schott’s house at some considerable risk.  Nevertheless, I had already arranged to read the Meistersinger on the evening of the 5th of that month, and had even made Cornelius promise to come from Vienna, and had sent him a hundred francs from Paris for that purpose.  I had not received any answer from him, and as I now learned that the floods had spread to all the river districts of Germany, and impeded the railway traffic, I had already ceased to count upon him.  I waited until the last moment and—­in fact, just as the clock struck seven—­Cornelius appeared.  He had met with all sorts of adventures, had even lost his overcoat on the way, and reached his sister’s house in a half-frozen condition only a few hours before.  The reading of my libretto put us all into excellent humour, but I was very sorry I could not shake Cornelius’s determination to start on his return journey the next day.  He wished me to understand that his sole object in coming to Mayence was for this one reading of the Meistersinger, and as a matter of fact, in spite of floods and floating ice, he left for Vienna on the following day.

As we had already arranged, I began in company with Schott to search for a residence on the opposite bank of the Rhine.  We had had Biebrich in our mind’s eye; but as nothing suitable seemed to present itself there, we thought of Wiesbaden.  At last I decided to stay at the ‘Europaischer Hof’ at Biebrich, and continue my search from there.  As I had always been most particular to keep aloof as far as possible from the noise of music, I decided to rent a small but very suitable flat in a large summer residence newly built by the architect Frickhofer, and situated close to the Rhine.  I was obliged to await the arrival of my furniture and household effects from Paris before I could get it in order.  At last they came, and at endless trouble and expense were duly unloaded at the Biebrich custom-house, where I took possession only of those things which I required most.

I kept only what was absolutely necessary in Biebrich, intending to send the greater part to my wife in Dresden.  I had already informed Minna of this, whereupon she immediately assumed that with my clumsy unpacking I should lose half the things or ruin them all.  About a week after I had fairly settled down with my newly arrived Erard grand, Minna suddenly appeared in Biebrich.  At first I felt nothing but sincere pleasure at her healthy appearance and untiring energy in the practical management of affairs, and even thought the best thing I could do was to let her remain with me.  Unfortunately my good resolutions did not last long, as the old scenes were soon renewed.  When we went to the custom-house, intending to separate her things from mine, she could not contain her anger