Wednesday, January 18:
Letter from E. Ollivier, who is living in isolation near Turin. R. says, "He is a good and intelligent person, but shares his country's insolence, which robbed him of his senses and forced him into war." Our groom, Friedrich, is being taken from us; he has to go as a soldier to the border, where fighting has been going on for the past two days, Werder and Bourbaki.
Icy roads, but I go with Richter to meet Richard; he brings me a letter from the musical director Weitzmann, who reports that an American wants to translate the Beethoven essay into English and at the same time assures us that the whole younger generation is full of enthusiasm for R.
From Leipzig R. receives an anonymous card of congratulation with the assurance that Leipzig is proud of R.; at the same time newspaper articles praising Die Meistersinger. R. says he undoubtedly owes this to his passage on Leipzig in the Jewish pamphlet.
In the evening read Hoffmann's Die Konigsbraut with much enjoyment. My eyes are trying me sorely.