Thursday, 5 May 1881

Dinner at the Grand Hôtel as a party — Papa, Maman, my aunt, Dina, myself, the old Prince, Alexis, and du Sautoy. Alexis is very agreeable and we talk, but this boy, quite apart from his being of no great significance, gets drunk very easily — and then, while remaining more or less decent... it is tiresome. I have a horror of this deliberate stupefaction. He says it makes him forget his misfortunes... repugnant. After that we go to see Le Petit Duc¹ at the Renaissance.

I fall asleep — I do not care for operetta. There are a few that are bound up with childhood memories and very early youth and which remain amusing, but everything done since Bluebeard, La Belle Hélène, Orpheus and Giroflé-Girofla² is insipid.