Among the passengers on board this vessel were Mr. Stadling, one of the members of the Andrée expedition last year, and already known to the reader. He will remain with us henceforth, but there being no room on board the _Svensksund_, Stadling will take up his residence at Pike House. The little sloop _Express_ was returning from its voyage northwards to Mossel Bay; three steamers had met in Virgo Bay, and gave the place an aspect of cheerfulness and animation rarely observed there. The _Lofoten_, which had started from Hammerfest on the 23rd of June, brought us some letters and papers. Unhappily some of the Swedish journals contained the sad news of the death of Baron Dickson, the generous Mæcenas of M. Andrée, who, on the eve of our departure from Gothenburg, invited all the members of the expedition, and was most profuse in his words of encouragement to the bold explorers. We take this opportunity of testifying our respect for the great man, the philanthropist, the _savant_, snatched away from his friends before he had seen the achievement of the grand work with which he had associated his name. Let us offer to his memory the tribute of our respectful admiration and gratitude. VI The Last Preparations—Anticipations _June 28th._—The balloon had now been inflated for more than five days; it had undergone a loss of gas which may be approximately estimated at 5,297 to 5,956 cubic feet, or a mean loss of 1,059 to 1,236 cubic feet every twenty-four hours. When the tests which we were making, and which were to be continued as far as the equator of the balloon, should be concluded, it would have become still more air-tight, and the balloon would then be in excellent condition. The _Lofoten_ left us this morning at six o’clock, firing off four salutes from her guns, and with reiterated cheering. From the top of the balloon I watched the evolutions of the graceful vessel as she described a parabola round the _Svensksund_; her flags were raised and lowered, and then the _Lofoten_ rapidly glided away. [Illustration: THE INFLATED BALLOON IN ITS SHED, THE NORTHERN PART OF WHICH HAS BEEN REMOVED IN ORDER TO FACILITATE ITS DEPARTURE.] The work of looking for escapes was concluded on this day. The cover for protecting the balloon from snow and rain was placed over the dome. Andrée has finished adjusting the hoop to the car; the systems of pulleys, tackle, rigging attachments, etc., had all been most carefully prepared. _June 29th._—The hoop was then disconnected in order to be fastened to the rigging of the net. This operation being effected, we fixed on this hoop, horizontally, a bamboo pole; to this mast the sails, which already hung from the ropes, were to be fixed. A system of pulleys and tackle was arranged to effect the various manipulations required between the car and the hoop.