Wednesday, January 13:
Arrival of the picture of Schopenhauer, in which Lenbach has wrought a real miracle! He saw Sch. once in Frankfurt, without knowing who he was; when he was later shown a photograph of the great man, he recognized the face, which had made an impression on him, and now he has reproduced its character in a unique way. Resemblance to R.: chin, the relationship of the head to the face, one eye half closed, the other wide open, the sorrowfully acute gaze which is peculiar to all geniuses. But one also finds Sch.’s whole character in it: his energy, purity, even the methodical business sense of the merchant’s son.
The gift downright oppresses me. How am I to repay it?
Spent the morning looking through bills, a dismal look at our tremendous spending. R. drafts a fine circular to the singers. In the afternoon I am invited to a ladies’ party; during that time R. has a conference with Feustel and the lawyer Skutsch. Feustel says he understands that Voltz has sold everything to Batz. When R. tells Feustel about my occasional astonishment over the choice of rogues with whom he always seems to come into contact, F. replies with tears in his eyes that it is probably always the fate of a genius to be abused and deceived; but he declares that R. can rely on him, that he is completely loyal and at R.’s disposal with everything he possesses.
R. is very moved as he tells me this. In the evening, when he is already almost asleep, he says to me, “You have never betrayed me, you are the only one!” A few guests: the D Minor Sonata, E-flat, etc., and Beethoven’s Eroica.