Fidi’s birthday! R. came to my chamber at four, though today the sunrise was but meagre; yet R. hears the bird. At midday, a toast; in the afternoon, an outing of the children to the Hermitage, the weather clears, Fidi’s sun breaks through. — “He shall be a Chevaux légers.”[1] — In the evening, a few friends. R. takes up the A major symphony with two of his disciples, to the delight of us all.
[1] Light cavalryman.
Revised English translation by Jo Cousins.