6 August 1917 – 12 August 1917

E---- and I were very modern in our courtship. Our candour was mutual and complete--parents and relatives would be shocked and staggered if they knew.... You see I am a biologist and we are both freethinkers. Voilà!... I hate all reticence and concealment.... There is a good deal of that ass, Gregers Werle, in my nature.

My Gastrocnemius I become dreadfully emaciated. This morning, before getting off the bed I lifted my leg and gazed wistfully along all its length. My flabby gastrocnemius swung suspended from the tibia like a gondola from a Zeppelin. I touched it gently with the tip of my index finger and it oscillated.