Wednesday, September 7:
Violent fever, I have to stay in bed, the doctor comes and thinks it is smallpox, since I have a bad headache. Under R.’s heavenly care I spend the day in great pain, without seeing the children. R. finishes his Beethoven.
Cosima's Diaries
Diary Entry of September 7, 1870
Overview
Cosima is seized by violent fever and severe headache, and the doctor fears smallpox. Separated from the children, she spends the day in pain under Wagner's devoted care. Against this bodily crisis, Wagner completes his Beethoven essay, marking a major artistic milestone amid illness.