Diary Entry of October 9, 1871
Wet weather keeps all five children constantly around Cosima while Wagner works to the edge of exhaustion. He humorously declares he will compose no more that day even if Cosima begs, underscoring the pressure of work and crisis. Foundation stone plans, domestic staffing, family relations, finances, and the missing Tristan manuscript all feel suspended at once, before the evening returns to Carlyle.
Monday, October 9:
Wet weather; the five constantly around me. R. works; around noon I hear him cry, “And if Cosima should fall begging at my feet, I shall not compose another note today.”
Everything now in the balance: foundation stone, domestic arrangements, relations with my father, Rothschild, Tristan manuscript, etc. R. writes to his brother-in-law Avenarius, who has lost his son Max. In the evening Carlyle.