Thursday, May 6:
Loldi still unwell and Lusch also indisposed, which means that I do not make them work, but let them spend Ascension Day in the garden. I with the little ones, embroidering, more or less all day.
Walked with R. in the garden morning and evening, splendid view of the fields and trees. He tells me he was listening to the birds in the early morning and had composed something based on them that he thought very beautiful, but now he sees it was nothing.
A program arrived from Boston; in a grand musical festival to celebrate peace the Tannhäuser Overture is to be played, the "Pilgrims' Chorus" sung at the end! R. dreams of it and that I come to it with Eva, and he is beside himself at not having the appropriate dreams for my reception.
A letter from Flaxland, the publisher, with 3,000 francs from Jenny. In the evening Frederick the Great again; recommending movement to d'Argens, he says, "La Nature parait nous avoir plutot destine au metier de postilion qu'a celui de philosopher."
After lunch R. played me several passages from the Beethoven symphonies and promised to conduct one of them for me in the fall, either in Paris or in Milan.