Wednesday, December 12:
R. works. He spent quite a tolerable night, though he had to get up once. A conversation about the events in Munich, his departure at the King’s request, causes him to remark, “It was better it should have happened like that.” I: “Yes, it left me with an unconquerable faith.” R.: “Faith in what is good and genuine; that stands firm, nothing can affect it, it is there, whatever else happens.”
Walk with R. in the palace gardens, during which he guides me along the most wonderful paths, so that we walk for three-quarters of an hour in this small space without ever using the same path twice. A letter from Herr Eiser in the evening arouses unpleasant feelings: the concert in Frankfurt ended with a deficit of 3,000 marks; yet people will persist in dallying with these useless activities, which gives them a kind of importance. We finish Hoffmann’s tale, which we find very entertaining.