Saturday, 9 May 1874

What a lot of trouble before leaving! Packing all my things! Easy to say! So many papers, marked newspapers -- I have the sorry habit of writing everything and everywhere. So I had no little difficulty gathering my manuscripts. In a separate box I locked up my diaries.
Tired, I go out at six o'clock; there is no sun. I am bored.
I hope that tomorrow at nine o'clock we leave.
I pray God the journey is not postponed.
At the moment of leaving, I feel regret -- I miss my lessons, my books, Prater, especially Prater; he looked at me so sadly today, poor creature, that my heart tightened. I miss my aunt and Papa very much, even Walitsky -- everyone and everything, in a word. Why do I have such an ugly character? I wish I could regret nothing, love nothing.
"I want to stay and I want to flee; how is this going to end?"