Monday, July 2:
Promenade in spite of the rain, then a rest; R. is now reading a book by Maxime Ducamp about Paris, and the chapter on the malfaiteurs amuses him.
In the evening the Reichstag deputy Windthorst; he comes with the volume of the collected writings which R. had lent him under his arm, and talks with acuteness and sense both about this and about other political matters. He seems to belong to the Catholic party only as a politician and has a free outlook on affairs generally, but probably the party is too powerful for him not to be led in directions he does not wish to go. R. was eager to talk to him, became heated about the war between the Russians and the Turks, since our guests were not on the side of Russia, for whom R. advocates the possession of Constantinople; but the conversation calms down and remains very interesting.