Cosima's Diaries

Diary Entry of June 21, 1877

Overview

The children spent the morning with R. before returning to work with the diarist, and a patron visit brought talk about German politics and the difficulties of making progress in that sphere. Later, more discouraging developments arrived, including rumors of published private letters, renewed talk of America, and R.'s growing withdrawal from correspondence and engagement.

Content

Thursday, June 21:

Daniella and the children spend the whole morning in the pump room with R., then they return to do some work with me. Visit from one of our nicest patrons, Count Pourtalès. Conversation about the Germans; the National Liberal party, which is making difficulties for Bismarck! ... It is indeed difficult to make any progress with the Germans!

In the evening Herr Heckel arrives. R. thinks he has come in order to make a report to him, to put forward proposals; but no: nothing is happening, and the party, feeling powerless to help, relapses into inactivity. R. is very depressed.

Friday-Saturday, June 22-23:

R. leaves Herr Heckel to me, since he wants to draft his reply to the King. I go for a walk with our friend, and the good man tells me, among many other disagreeable things, that the Neue Freie Presse is now advertising that it has bought up some letters from R. to a milliner and intends to publish and annotate them. When R. now talks about emigrating to America, I no longer have the courage to speak against it. Unfortunately I have finished copying out Parsifal, which for me kept the whole real world at bay. Visit from Herr Voltz; R. declares that he is unwilling to receive any further letters from Herr Bate.