Sunday, September 7:
Eva’s reawakening! She returns to us after an absence of four weeks! R. is not satisfied with the enthusiasm of the other children; they seem to him too casual about their reunion. But he was pleased in the morning to be able to take his bath with Fidi, who told him of a dream in which, while swimming, he rescued several people from the water!
Nice letter from Lusch with all sorts of details regarding that curious incident in Munich. In the afternoon R. invites Rub., Wolz., Jag. for beer (Angermann’s at Wahnfried) and discusses with Herr Jag. his latest engagement for a guest performance in Munich.
In the evening R. feels tired and heavy, desires neither music nor reading, but calls for whist. Herr Rub. played parts of the first act of Tristan. These sounds echo inside me like an irresistible call from and to my homeland: “Know’st thou where my homeland is?” People talk about the magical attraction of the eyes, through which snakes draw birds to them; it is just such a fascination these sounds exert over my heart - I feel as if I were following some secret power without knowing whither it is leading me. When it suddenly falls silent, a desert opens, and life returns, for which I have again to summon up my strength. But this is something I cannot speak about.