Diary Entry of February 1, 1876
A small dinner gathered Staffs, Kiinsberg, and others, and afterward R. tried to skate but found he could no longer manage it. The evening offered little besides Don Quixote, which had become their main consolation. Even so, his mind kept drifting back to future music, with Varyival and Gurnemanz lingering in his thoughts.
Tuesday, February 1:
A small dinner party in our house, with Staff and Künsberg, etc.; afterward R. attempts to skate, but he can no longer do it. In the evening Don Quixote, our only source of pleasure at the moment.
Yet now and again R. thinks of Parsifal; the name Gurnemanz keeps coming into his mind.