Friday, June 16:
With the help of chloral, R. had a tolerable night, “swollen up like a hippopotamus,” as he says. But he cannot attend the rehearsal, which then becomes “a groping in the dark,” to use Richter’s words. In the evening I inform R. of Feustel’s worries; he says the main thing is to get the thing done; if there is a deficit afterward he can turn to the Reichstag and also to the princes. He decides to propose that Bismarck be made a patron of honor, as well as two of the Reichstag deputies who would be most willing to represent his interests.