Monday, December 10:
Anniversary of Daniel's death. Herr Eckert, the conductor, wrote yesterday to say that Herr v. Hülsen wants Die Walküre and would also like to make some cuts in the second act. R. decides not to hurry with his reply. The corrected proofs of Parsifal arrive, and the whole thing looks much better than it did, so that R. decides to put up after all with the “elegant” roman type.
We continue with Dozy in the evening. Fine winter weather. R. walks around the house in the evening - “like Gloster,” he says - and returns saying that he has never composed an “opera” under such conditions. “This should bring us in a lot of money!” he adds with a laugh. The memory of Daniel's death arouses violent anger in him against the people whom he sees, not without justice, as having been responsible for his death; he deplores the fact that one still remains on good terms with these people; feelings are weak, he says.