Uppsala, April 1, 1870. [-] I’m still on the third act of “Erik”; the first scene is set here in the Castle park with the Castle in the background. The reason I’ve taken a week off is the following: While in Stockholm I started, as you know, a one-act comedy, In Rome, which was never finished. One day I read it to a friend. He became enthusiastic and urged me to complete it. I set about to do so, rewrote it entirely, and now it's finished, in 600 rhyming verses [-].

Uppsala, October 13, 1870. [-] At present I am working on a five-act tragedy, “Sven the Sacrificer,” perhaps the greatest subject in the whole of Swedish history. If nothing comes of it, it will at least be a study! However, I am giving myself heart and soul to my subject. Among other things, I am doing some preparatory reading in Icelandic, and every day I discover new lodes of ore in its literature. My model is Oehlenschläger. I shall finish Act II tomorrow. [-]

Hermione is now in the hands of eighteen wise men. God be with her! [-]

Uppsala, September, 1871. [-] You know I believe in you and you’ll be great [-] but don't be angry if I say this: Don't overact! Understand me. Your spectator is [-] entertained by hints. This is how it works: If you make a slight gesture, a mere nuance of a facial expression, he’ll understand it well enough [-]. Thus his vanity is flattered and he has a good time. The pleasure is often denied him when an actor either delivers a pointed aside with such emphasis that it comes over as “look at this, you devils, and see what I mean!” or else is afraid his gesture will be misunderstood and makes it so grand it becomes unsightly. [-]