FROM HILDA TO LARS MAGNUS, AUGUST 14 1881
Stockholm, 14 August 1881
My deeply loved little Hubby!
Sincere thanks for your letter I received Friday. You can not imagine how happy I was. Well, not some bubbly happiness, but one that is always expressed in quiet tears that lighten my breast so much.
Thursday evening I wrote a little to you in pencil, but did not send it before I got your letter the next day, which is why it will stay at home as well. Your letter tells me that the exhibition opened on the announced day. You will not leave Paris until everything is completely ready? so you can see the whole show in full glory.
Friday Ida was at the hospital since she has a pain in the right hand and the doctor said it was something wasting that appeared in that form. However, it was very unfortunate since it will probably last long and now it has even begun to hurt in the whole body, especially the legs.
As you see by the baptism of fire, they seem to be satisfied in Gefle (at least the newspaper). As you can see by the other note, Malm has no workers, which is why the table for Westerås cannot be made ready at his workshop.
Andersson left for Norrköping yesterday evening and will return early tomorrow. He had several reasons for going, one that Linden had asked him to come down one day, the last table was as good as the first, so there was no problem, but there seemed to be some plug holes he did not understand. It had been explained to him earlier, but apparently cannot understand it.
Another [reason] was that he should order the Westerås table. Perhaps you know that someone from Norrköping (I do not know who) had been at the workshop and offered to deliver both cabinet and table on site at the same price as Malm. And there was another errand as well he thought might bring in some money, which we could use since, well, maybe I should not mention it for Eriksson though that it would worry you unnecessarily, but do not worry for business will probably succeed very well. However, we have not yet received any money from Gefle.
Wholesaler Andersson wrote and promised payment on a definite day, but the day after we got a card from him saying that he was about to send the funds to us when Sundberg came and said no, because first he wanted to have or definitely know if he could have the signal thingies that were missing and he claims he agreed on a price of 2 kr each for them.
Andersson has started on the pieces so they can ready any time now if they turn out to be needed. But Anders wrote to Sundberg that when it comes to those, nothing could be done before you return.
Naturally Andersson wrote a friendly, if pointed letter to Sundberg at once, since he (Sundberg) had been rather exacting and overbearing, probably thinking that now the Ericsson is gone, I can handle the others as I want to. Yes, Nilsson is even rather annoyed at him, for the telephone line is still not fully approved.
Do not worry yourself about this at all for Eriksson thinks that when the time is ripe he probably will write more clearly and sensibly about everything than I have been able to, since I am not down there, nor do I read either the incoming or outgoing letters.
Day before yesterday we got paid from Göteborg (I do not remember his name, but you probably know who it is). He also wrote in his letter that he was travelling to Paris on Tuesday, so my letter arrives one or two days before he does. You might get a roommate, since he is said to have asked if you have had one before or have one now.
I have tried very hard not give the letter a feeling of missing you since I feel it would not be good either you or me and as you can understand, your wifey still waddles round, but how it will be by the time the letter reaches you I can not be responsible for since I hope that everything is different. My highest wish is to be really good-humoured for your homecoming seems to go amiss as it depends on how soon you return. Tell me a few days before you leave Paris so I will know about when you, “the one longed for” is expected.
Andersson and Eriksson send greetings, as do Father and Mother and everyone else.
In order to get some air I will take the letter to the station on the tram. As many letter kisses as you can handle are sent from you little devoted Hilda.
Author: Hilda Ericsson, original manuscript.