Wednesday, February 18:
Today R. told me his dream: how he had been in a theater box and it had suddenly seemed like a precipice; to his horror Minna had suddenly come in and, reproving him in a friendly way, helped him in his peril; as they tried to walk down the steps, a series of cows’ heads appeared, ever more and more, until he woke up.
Much domestic trouble, a wretched governess; on top of that, R. is not well - he cannot work. He spent the morning reading Daumer’s new book attacking the Old Catholics, Strauss supporters, etc., a defense of miracles. We thought we might find something profound in it, but found ineptitude; in his polemics against the others he is quite right, but in positive matters he is very superficial, even childish. On all these subjects Schopenhauer alone is profound and acute.
The new copyist, the Macedonian, visits me and tells me what disgraceful opinions about R. prevail in the Munich Conservatoire; he also tells me about Brahms, how this gentleman at first spoke against the propagation of W.’s music, but when he saw that the young musician was a Wagnerian, he simply observed that this music was too difficult for young people!
I am foolish enough to talk to R. about this, and it brings him back to the subject of the decoration. He wonders how he can make his opinion about this known.
Friend Feustel writes from Munich that there are no difficulties in the way of the guarantee - only that another formulation is being demanded. Worries that maybe there will be an insistence on keeping to the year ’75, or, after the performances, some hold over the works. In this case, R. says, he must do everything to ensure that not a cent is paid out of the King’s purse!