Dear little Marie,
I shall be returning home again next Wednesday, arriving at Vienna North station at 7.30 in the evening. Tell Franz to bring the carriage and to be there on time, and he should also prepare whatever is necessary for the trunk. Now, my darling, prepare the house for my return, so that I can relax there in comfort, as I long very much to do. Everything must be clean and tidy, and well-heated. See that the best room is really welcoming for me: when you have heated the stove, open the door, so that the temperature in the room warms up. And plenty of perfume: buy the best bottles, so that it smells really sweet. Heavens! how I’m looking forward to relaxing with you again at last. (I hope the pink drawers are ready, too???) - Yes, indeed! Just be nice and gentle, I deserve to be well looked after for a change. We’ll have a tree for Christmas and I’ll light the candles on it: everyone will be given presents, including yourself, my darling! Not everyone needs to be told of my arrival until later. But tell Franz to instruct the barber and hairdresser to present themselves on Thursday morning at eight-thirty. And so: Wednesday, at 7.30 in the evening in Vienna, and soon afterwards in Penzing. I leave it to you whether you wish to meet me at the station. But it would be nicer if you welcomed me back in the heated rooms at home. I shall probably need only the coupé. And so, kind regards to Franz and Anna. Tell them to make everything nice for my return. Love and kisses to my darling! Until we meet again!
R. Wagner.
Source: Selected Letters of Richard Wagner, trans. and ed. Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington (W. W. Norton & Company, 1988), No. 292