You have sent me a piece of your life and long shall you wait ere it is reunited to you. So, to make an end of the matter, come here as soon as you can. Affairs stand with Columbus as when last I wrote to you; Ludwig Maier will be here at the New Year—he must be given the part of "Vincent e Pinzon"—so we will wait to distribute the roles till he is present. Listen now—by New Year's Day—that is next Thursday—you too must be present, for it will no doubt amuse you to hear performed a "Festspiel," composed by me and written by Schmale. I am so busy over it now that I hardly know what to begin on next. There are five numbers in all, a big overture, which I did in 1½ hours, and choruses and allegorical pieces, which I composed in a morning, for I did not get my commission till the day before yesterday. So, badly as it ought to turn out, I have fumed over it so that it has turned out well. I have now only the instrumentation to do. Please come then for New Year's Day; you will find it amusing here and you might, perhaps, be bored where you are.
Source: Letters of Richard Wagner, Vol. 1, selected and ed. Wilhelm Altmann, trans. M. M. Bozman (J. M. Dent & Sons, 1927), No. 15