aha....

24．He Stole the Wife from His Friend


Richard Wagner was equally unscrupulous in other ways．An endless procession of women marched through his life． Hisfirst wife spent twenty years enduring and forgiving his infidelities． His second wife had been the wife of his most devotedfriend and admirer， from whom he stole her．And even while hewas trying to persuade her to leave her first husband he was writingto a friend to inquire whether he could suggest some wealthywoman— any wealthy woman— whom he could marry for hermoney．


He was completely selfish in his other personal relationships．His liking for his friends was measured solely by the completeness of their devotion to him， or by their usefulness tohim，whether financial or artistic．The minute they failed him－even by so much as refusing a dinner invitation— or began tolessen in usefulness，he cast them off without a second thought．At the end of his life he had exactly one friend left whom he hadeven known in middle age．{W