When I had once returned, the only thing that could have made me happy would have been to start at once on my great work.  For the present, however, I saw that it would be seriously interrupted by my appointment with Liszt, who was to be in Bale at the beginning of October.  I was restless and annoyed at being so unsettled, and spent the time in visiting my wife, who, thinking that I would be away longer, was taking the waters at Baden am Stein.  As I was easily prevailed upon to try any experiment of this kind if only the person who recommended it were sufficiently sanguine, I allowed myself to be persuaded into taking a course of hot baths, and the process heightened my excitment considerably.

At last the time for the meeting in Bale arrived.  At the invitation of the Grand Duke of Baden, Liszt had arranged and conducted a musical festival in Karlsruhe, the aim of which was to give the public an adequate interpretation of our respective works.  As I was not yet allowed to enter the territory of the German confederation, Liszt had chosen Bale as the place nearest to the Baden frontier, and had brought with him some young men who had been his devoted admirers in Karlsruhe, to give me a hearty welcome.

I was the first to arrive, and in the evening, while sitting alone in the dining-room of the hotel, ‘Zu den drei Konigen,’ the air of the trumpet fanfare (from Lohengrin) announcing the King’s arrival, sung by a strong though not numerous chorus of men’s voices, reached me from the adjacent vestibule.  The door opened and Liszt entered at the head of his joyful little band, whom he introduced to me.  I also saw Bulow again, for the first time since his adventurous winter visit to Zurich and St. Gall, and with him Joachim, Peter Cornelius, Richard Pohl, and Dionys Pruckner.

Liszt told me that he was expecting a visit from his friend Caroline von Wittgenstein and her young daughter Marie the next day.  The bright and merry spirit which prevailed at that gathering (which, like everything that Liszt promoted, in spite of its intimate nature, was characterised by magnificent unconventionality) grew to a pitch of almost eccentric hilarity as the night wore on.  In the midst of our wild mood I suddenly missed Pohl.  I knew him to be a champion of our cause through having read his articles under the pseudonym of ‘Hoplit.’  I stole away and found him in bed suffering from a splitting headache.  My sympathy had such an effect upon him that he declared himself suddenly cured.  Jumping out of bed, he allowed me to help him dress hurriedly, and again joining our friends we sat up till the night was far advanced and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.  On the following day our happiness was complete when the ladies arrived, who for the next few days formed the centre of our little party.  In those days it was impossible for any one coming into contact with Princess Caroline not to be fascinated by her bright manner and the charming way in which she entered into all our little plans.