Tell me, dearest Franz, how would you feel if you were in my position? I have repeatedly asked you to send me your new works as they appear. The Ideals has appeared, but you are silent on the subject. Now I read the publisher's announcement of the appearance of Dante. How would you feel if this happened to you? Do you still harbour your strange illusions about me? That surely is impossible. The weather is bad; I am absolutely alone, and seldom in the right mood for work. So I drag on amidst mists and thoughts. Let me hear, let me see.
Richard Wagner
Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #4234, Correspondence of Wagner and Liszt — Volume 2, No. 288