Cosima's Diaries

Diary Entry of January 14, 1876

Overview

Letters dominated the day, including a good report from Standhartner, a kind message from the King, and a gloomy one from Councilor Dufflipp about the royal treasury. R. sent a telegram after deciding not to press the matter further, having learned that the emergency was less severe than feared and that a rebuff from the Reichstag would damage the whole undertaking. The evening closed with Doughty’s history of the Arabs and R.’s remark that they felt less congenial to him than Christian heroes.

Content

Friday, January 14:

Letters: a very good one from Standhartner with an account of the royalties, then a nice one, as always, from the King, and a sad one from Councilor Dufflipp, complaining of the difficulties of the royal treasury.

R. sends a telegram saying he has decided not to ... Yesterday, with Feustel and the mayor, it did in fact turn out that the emergency is not such a dire one, and that a rebuff from the Reichstag would discredit our whole undertaking — Bismarck probably only too anxious for this rebuff, in order to justify his own behavior.

In the evening finished Dozy’s History of the Arabs: Motamit! — R. says they are less congenial to him than the Christian heroes of Castile.