Wednesday, October 13:
R. as always rather worn out when our very close circle is widened. He arranges to meet the children, who have gone for a last swim in the Lido, on the Piazzetta; the fact that the gondola does not arrive there puts him into a great rage; when I beg his pardon and tell him what happened, he says I should always just let him rage, it is a need in him and he can listen to no reason, he is like Othello, whose fury was only made worse by Desdemona's innocence. And in his explanations of his state of mind he is unutterably kind and divine.
In the afternoon we go on an outing in fine weather, and in the evening to the theater, to see Paisiello's Barbiere di Siviglia; the children enjoy it and we are amused by some drastic things in it.