408 LETTERS FROM THE ANDREE PARTY. 



started and a little after that give interesting information regarding it 

 and its members. We print liere the important parts of these letters, 

 no ijortion of which has been published before : 



"On Saturday [May 8] we have a few of Mls's friends for dinner to 

 say good-bye. But we are not able to have Audree with us, because 

 his mother died a few days ago from paralysis of the heart, and he is 

 now down to her funeral." 



"Mis was calm all the time [May 15] except when he was leaving 

 the house, when he burst out weeping for a few moments. He is 

 indeed a man, for he left the dearest he has on earth [his fiancee] to 

 carry out a great idea, and therefore I do think we shall see him back 

 again, after a successful trip. Andree was as calm as a summer sea." 



"It was so strange [when a picture of the ascension reached them]; 

 all the time one could imagine the 'Ornen' soaring away over the ice 

 and snow toward the unknown — to land where? and when? and how? 

 ♦ And then?" 



"The day after Anna [Miss Chaslier, Strindberg's fiancee] accom- 

 panied me into the city to meet Svedeuborg. Of course it was inter- 

 esting to hear eyewitnesses relate the story, although not much was 

 told that had not been in the papers. Both Anna and myself had let- 

 ters from Nils written the morning of the ascension day; calm and 

 sure as always. It was jSTils who called out, 'Long live old Sweden' 

 when the balloon rose out of the house. The last words Andree 

 was heard to utter were 'What was that?' when the balloon caught 

 somewhere for a moment. Svedenborg had saved, and presented to 

 Anna, the sand bag Nils cut off at the start. I got another. Anna 

 also got the pigeon, in a small cage, with the message. It was 

 brouglit out in the country and well cared for; but when we moved to 

 the city, she followed my advice and had it killed and stuffed — and 

 soon she will have it back in flying position as a iDermanent souvenir 

 from the dearest she has, jjoor thing." 



'•And so one has to go on and hope for a year at least; and even 

 after that don't draw too unfavorable conclusions, for they may have 

 long distances to walk before they reach inhabited places." 



"At present I read Hansen's book with great interest, and in my 

 thoughts I i^lace 'the three' in the same or similar situations. Since 

 they have rifles and suificient ammunition and the necessaries for a 

 journey over the ice and a stay over the winter, I suppose they can do 

 it, although with difficulties to overcome." 



"Andree and Mis, whom I know best, are such characters that, if 

 possible, they make the impossible possible; and they have surely 

 intelligence enough to figure out the best way of getting out of their 

 emergencies. Andr^e's ideas and ISTils's Anna are two mighty levers 

 and self-protections, and the love of life will help along, too." 



