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ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
FAMOUS SCOTS SERIES
_The following Volumes are now ready:--_
THOMAS CARLYLE. By HECTOR C. MACPHERSON.
ALLAN RAMSAY. By OLIPHANT SMEATON.
HUGH MILLER. By W. KEITH LEASK.
JOHN KNOX. By A. TAYLOR INNES.
ROBERT BURNS. By GABRIEL SETOUN.
THE BALLADISTS. By JOHN GEDDIE.
RICHARD CAMERON. By Professor HERKLESS.
SIR JAMES Y. SIMPSON. By EVE BLANTYRE SIMPSON.
THOMAS CHALMERS. By Professor W. GARDEN BLAIKIE.
JAMES BOSWELL. By W. KEITH LEASK.
TOBIAS SMOLLETT. By OLIPHANT SMEATON.
FLETCHER OF SALTOUN. By G. W. T. OMOND.
THE BLACKWOOD GROUP. By Sir GEORGE DOUGLAS.
NORMAN MACLEOD. By JOHN WELLWOOD.
SIR WALTER SCOTT. By Professor SAINTSBURY.
KIRKCALDY OF GRANGE. By LOUIS A. BARBE.
ROBERT FERGUSSON. By A. B. GROSART.
JAMES THOMSON. By WILLIAM BAYNE.
MUNGO PARK. By T. BANKS MACLACHLAN.
DAVID HUME. By Professor CALDERWOOD.
WILLIAM DUNBAR. By OLIPHANT SMEATON.
SIR WILLIAM WALLACE. By Professor MURISON.
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON. By MARGARET MOYES BLACK.
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
BY MARGARET MOYES BLACK
FAMOUS SCOTS SERIES
PUBLISHED BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
NEW YORK
PREFACE AND DEDICATION
In so small a volume it would be somewhat hopeless to attempt an
exhaustive notice of R. L. Stevenson, nor would it be desirable. The
only possible full biography of him will be the _Life_ in preparation by
his intimate friend Mr Sydney Colvin, and for it his friends and his
public look eagerly. This little book is only a reminiscence and an
appreciation by one who, in the old days between 1869 and 1880, knew him
and his home circle well. My earlier and later knowledge has been
derived from his mother and those other members of his mother's family
with whom it was a pleasure to talk of him, and to exchange news of his
sayings and doings.
In the actual writing of this volume, I have received most kind help for
which I return grateful thanks to the givers. For the verification of
dates and a few other particulars I am indebted to Mr Colvin's able
article in the _Dictionary of National Biography_.
It is dedicated, in the first instance, to the memory of Mr and Mrs
Thomas Stevenson and their son, and, in the second, to all the dearly
prized friends of the Balfour connection who have either, like the
household at 17 Heriot Row, passed into the 'Silent Land,' or who are
still here to gladden life with their friendship.
MARGARET MOYES BLACK.
_August_ 1898.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
Page
HEREDITY AND ANTECEDENTS 9