Hansen’s birthday; I make it a day of inward recollection. I work with the children; fasting, a visit to my grave, a solemn vow to accept all that is heavy and grievous as justly ordained! …
We walk to the theatre, meet Brandt and Brückner above, R. also comes there, and we drive home together; in the evening we choose the curtain for the Gibichungen Hall. The only cheering thing is this occupation with artistic matters! …
R. continues reading in the “History of the Arabs” and relates delightful stories from it. He also speaks of the difference when suddenly the Christian spirit enters; the death of Saint Ferdinand [1]—how touching! How homelike it feels to us! It is the humility therein which so deeply moves us. I fall asleep with tender thoughts of Hans.
[1] Ferdinand (1402–1443), Infante of Portugal, fell into the hands of the Moors and, since the Cortes was unwilling to ransom him, remained in captivity until his death; he was beatified in 1470. Here, however, the reference is more probably—as may also be inferred from the entry of 14 January—to Ferdinand III the Castilian, called “the Saint” (1199–1252), who brought the Reconquista to its conclusion, united the Castilian realm, and was canonised in 1671.
Revised English translation by Jo Cousins [© Jo Cousins | WAGNER Salon]