Sunday, June 12:
R. slept well. A letter from Seidl brings news of Herr Neumann, unfortunately in a rather brutal way, and in consequence R. writes to Herr Forster. At lunch he says how embarrassing he finds such relationships, when he is obliged to write to untruthful, narrow-minded, phrase-making people who are nevertheless devotees.
Over coffee he reads aloud his letter, in which he complains in particular about Herr Neumann’s stage directing and demands changes in it; he laughs about it, saying he knows of no single person whom he could recommend.
The weather clears up; we go out on the summerhouse turret, and before our evening meal R. sits in the garden with the children and Jouk. After the meal we chat together, discussing our relations with the neighboring house, which was with us today in pleno for lunch. R. recalls how this whole family, through the enthusiasm of the son, literally following his star, settled here without making any difficulties, and how one is under a genuine obligation to them, which makes it easy to overlook their lack of charm.