Cosima's Diaries

Diary Entry of May 6, 1874

Overview

R. is troubled by a dream that turns intimate history into a test of trust, and the household day is complicated by political visitors and persistent practical troubles. She is comforted by the children’s happiness in the new surroundings, but the atmosphere remains tense, with concern for their position and the government’s hostility hanging over them.

Content

Wednesday, May 6:

R. tells me he dreamed I had told him that I had been seduced in my youth; at first he had not wanted to hear about it, but then it had preyed on him and he had tormented me to tell him about it, but I had said: “You didn’t want to listen!”

In the morning a visit from the Bavarian deputy Georg Kolb and wife; he tells us that the government really hates Bayreuth, etc. Both make a good impression on us. Constant housekeeping difficulties. I write to my father. Delight in the children’s life here.

In the evening, The Two Gentlemen of Verona.