to assure her that he was nothing like Phillip II. He didn't go to the office and scornfully rules out ever going there again. Marchember 86. Between day and night. Poprishchin records that today he was summoned to the office since he hadn't been in for three weeks. He had sat serenely at his desk, amused at how shocked everyone would be if they knew who was in their presence. Work was put in front of him, but naturally he ignored it. Eventually the director himself appeared and Poprishchin was given a special document to sign: he wrote "Ferdinand VIII" in bold letters and a reverential silence had ensued. He then left and made his way to the director's house, forcing his way in and going straight to Sophie's dressing room where he had told her that at last they would be united, despite their enemies' treachery, and that unimaginable happiness awaited her. He had then departed. He has discovered that woman loves only one thing: the devil. The devil is behind everything that attracts a woman's attention, and in the end she marries him. He concludes that it is all ambition, and the reason is a tiny worm that lives in a blister under the tongue, which is constructed by a barber in Bean Street, and a midwife, who are seeking to spread the Islamic faith. No date. The day had no date. He went for a walk "incognito", feeling it beneath his dignity to be recognized in the world when he had not yet presented at court. He realized that he needed a royal cloak, but since the tailor he consulted proved an incompetent ass, he decides that he will make it himself. He later reports that he has succeeded in making the cloak out of his office uniform and that Mawra cried out when he put it on. He impatiently awaits the arrival of the Spanish deputation so that he may present himself. The 1st He is astonished at the delay in the arrival of the Spanish deputies. That morning he had gone to the post office to inquire whether they had arrived yet. The "blockhead" of a postmaster told him that they had not, but that he would be happy to forward a letter to them if desired. Madrid. February 30th. He is in Spain. The Spanish deputies had arrived early that morning and, with extraordinary