Preparations for departure; visit to Menzel, whose brother-in-law greets us with notes from “Götterdämmerung”; looked through portfolios. At one o’clock, lunch at the hotel with Lothar Bucher, much laughter about Mommsen, and the dishonest actions of him and other scholars regarding the Lauenburg affair.[1]
We talked about the Prince, whose politics are virtually paralyzed by the intrigues of the Empress (for example, before Paris, it was not possible to attack because the bomb did not arrive; it turned out that the trains were occupied by food supplies for Paris, thanks to the Empress and Princess Victoria!). Matters of the highest importance must be postponed because they are causing the Emperor such distress that the doctors fear a stroke. Bismarck is completely worn out, sick. –
Several more visits followed, and at five o’clock, dinner at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I demand that the “Kladderadatsch” newspaper stand up for Bayreuth.
At 7 o’clock, departure; the two concerts raised about 6000 Thalers, which is a lot considering the very unfavorable conditions. We traveled through the night, happily and cheerfully entering Bavaria once again.
[1] Until 1864, Lauenburg was a sovereign member of the Danish state; it was transferred to Prussia in the 1865 Gastein Treaty, and in 1871, the domain of Lauenburg (Sachsenwald) was granted to Bismarck as a personal endowment. In June 1876, Lauenburg was incorporated as a constituency of Prussia.
Revised English translation by Jo Cousins.