My dear Herr Brahms,
May I ask you to return my manuscript of the reworked second scene of Tannhäuser, which I need for an edition of the revised version of the full score? I admit that it has been reported to me that, on the strength of a present which Peter Cornelius made you of it, you now claim right of ownership to this manuscript; but I do not believe I need comply with this claim, since I had only lent the manuscript to Cornelius, and certainly never gave it to him, so that there can be no question of his ever having been in a position to relinquish it to a third party, and, indeed, he assured me in the most solemn terms that he never did so.
It will presumably not be necessary for me to remind you of this circumstance, nor should it require any further explanation on my part to persuade you to be so kind as to return this manuscript to me, since it can only be of value to you as a curiosity, whereas it would be a precious keepsake for my son to own.
I am, Sir, your most respectful and obedient servant,
Richard Wagner.
Source: Selected Letters of Richard Wagner, trans. and ed. Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington (W. W. Norton & Company, 1988), No. 430