November 25, 1958
Dear George—

I just cabled in reply to your urgent request for ‘irrevocable!
decisions about our taavel plans. I Mppose we are giving you as
much trouble as all the rest of your Nowel laureates put together,
barring only Pasternak, and I am sincerely apologetic for this on
your account. We should have realized that you have many delieate
items of protocol to cope with, matched against which our ordinary
human faiblesses are as nothing. MWHK But as of last week, we were
30 discouraged about coping with our ordimary business here that
Esther was quite seriously thinking of relinquishing the journey;
however, we have since both taken heart, and in so far as human
capacity is concerned (D.V.) we will bothx arrive on SAS flight 502
from Londom, at 2150 Sunday December 7; anticipating departure on
Saturday Dec. 13, at 1130 on SAS 974.

I do have to ask your help to see about renting a suitable formal
outfit(s): my measurements, in American iaches are:

Coat (chest perimeter) 44 Weight 102 kg.

sleeve 33 Hat qi/2 (US size)

waist 42 length 29

shirt: 17 (or 17.5) neck; sleeve length 33.

shoes (if more than plain black are requisite): gi / 2 EEE (extra wide).
Believe me, I am very mech ohliged to you far this help.

Tam sure you could not have received my aerogram dated Nov. 22
before sending your cable. Ignore any part of that letter which conflicts
with the above.

Tne one bright spot in this is the hope of having at least a few
seconds of inform) reunion: please do what you can to preserve this.

For the rest, I feel that I mst have been mistaken for some Aristocrat
whose plave 1 am taking in the procession to the guillotine.

As ever