ESSAYS OF ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON SELECTED AND EDITED WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY WILLIAM LYON PHELPS M.A.(HARVARD) PH.D.(YALE) PREFACE The text of the following essays is taken from the Thistle Edition of Stevenson's _Works_, published by Charles Scribner's Sons, in New York. I have refrained from selecting any of Stevenson's formal essays in literary criticism, and have chosen only those that, while ranking among his masterpieces in style, reveal his personality, character, opinions, philosophy, and faith. In the _Introduction_, I have endeavoured to be as brief as possible, merely giving a sketch of his life, and indicating some of the more notable sides of his literary achievement; pointing out also the literary school to which these Essays belong. A lengthy critical Introduction to a book of this kind would be an impertinence to the general reader, and a nuisance to a teacher. In the _Notes_, I have aimed at simple explanation and some extended literary comment. It is hoped that the general recognition of Stevenson as an English classic may make this volume useful in school and college courses, while it is not too much like a textbook to repel the average reader. I am indebted to Professor Catterall of Cornell and to Professor Cross of Yale, and to my brother the Rev. Dryden W. Phelps, for some assistance in locating references. W.L.P., YALE UNIVERSITY, _13 February 1906_. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION BIBLIOGRAPHY I ON THE ENJOYMENT OF UNPLEASANT PLACES NOTES II AN APOLOGY FOR IDLERS NOTES III AES TRIPLEX NOTES IV TALK AND TALKERS NOTES V A GOSSIP ON ROMANCE NOTES VI THE CHARACTER OF DOGS NOTES VII A COLLEGE MAGAZINE NOTES VIII BOOKS WHICH HAVE INFLUENCED ME NOTES IX PULVIS ET UMBRA NOTES INTRODUCTION I LIFE OF STEVENSON Robert Louis Stevenson[1] was born at Edinburgh on the 13 November 1850. His father, Thomas, and his grandfather, Robert, were both distinguished light-house engineers; and the maternal grandfather, Balfour, was a Professor of Moral Philosophy, who lived to be ninety years old. There was, therefore, a combination of _Lux et Veritas_ in the blood of young Louis Stevenson, which in _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ took the form of a luminous portrayal of a great moral idea.