slow to recognise, by the unpleasant scenes that again became
daily occurrences in our married life, at what point the shoe
pinched that I had good-naturedly put on again at his request.
However, when one day I reminded him that in coming hack to
Zurich I had other objects in view besides the longing for a
quiet domestic life, he remained silent. But I saw that there was
another peculiar reason for his uneasiness; he took to coming in
late for meals, and even then he had no appetite. At first I was
anxious at this, fearing he might have taken a dislike to our
simple fare, but I soon discovered that my young friend was so
passionately addicted to sweets that I feared he might eventually
ruin his health by trying to live on large quantities of
confectionery. My remarks seemed to annoy him, as his absences
from the house became more frequent, I thought that probably his
small room did not afford him the comfort he required, and I
therefore made no objection when he left us and took a room in
town.

As his state of uneasiness still seemed to increase and he did
not appear at all happy in Zurich, I was glad to be able to
suggest a little change for him, and persuade him to go for a
holiday to Weimar, where the first performance of Lohengrin was
to take place about the end of August.

About the same time I induced Minna to go with me for our first
ascent of the Righi, a feat we both accomplished very
energetically on foot. I was very much grieved on this occasion
to discover that my wife had symptoms of heart disease, which
continued to develop subsequently. We spent the evening of the
28th of August, while the first performance of Lohengrin was