Cosima's Diaries

Diary Entry of August 7, 1880

Overview

Wagner took bromine and spent the day focused on departure preparations while Cosima went once more with the children to the vineyards. A storm drove them home to an extraordinary final view from the terrace, where Naples, Posillipo, Capri, the sea, and the clouds glowed in impossible colors even as sadness lingered under the shadow of erysipelas.

Content

Saturday, August 7:

R. again took bromine. Apart from that, concerned only with packing. I go once again with the children to the vineyards; overcast sky, sudden violent thunderclap, and heavy rain, we rush home, there to find a most wonderful sight. R. calls me out to the terrace, Naples completely green, the Posilipo colored pink, Capri in a pale-blue light, the sea red, and before us golden clouds. Indescribable, and we so sad, the phantom of erysipelas constantly before our eyes! (R. sends picture and poem to Prof. Schön.)