I., which is interesting in its
reference to the "Barbier"; and, in Vol.
II., a kind letter of
introduction which the Master gave me for Madame Tardieu, in
Brussels; one letter to Walter Bache, and one to the London
Philharmonic Society (Nos. 370A and 370B); one of these, it is
true, is partially quoted in a footnote by La Mara, but at this
distance of time there is no reason why these letters should not
be inserted entire, and they will prove of rather particular
interest, both to my brother's friends, and also as having
reference to that never-to-be-forgotten episode - Liszt's last
visit to England.
This visit, which took place in 1886, a few months before the
Master's death, was for the purpose of his being present at the
performance of his Oratorio of St. Elizabeth (see Letter 370 and
subsequent letters).
More than forty years had elapsed since Liszt's previous visit to
our shores; times had changed, and the almost unknown, and wholly
unappreciated, had become the acknowledged King in a realm where
many were Princes. Some lines embodying in words England's
welcome to this king - headed by a design in which the Hungarian
and the English coats-of-arms unite above two clasped hands, and
a few bars of a leading theme from the St. Elizabeth - were
written by me and presented to Liszt with a basket of roses
(emblematic of the rose miracle in the Oratorio) tied with the
Hungarian colors, on his entrance into St. James's Hall on April
6th, 1886.
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