AT last, after so many years, I have the pleasure of re-introducing you to ‘Prince Otto,’ whom you will remember a very little fellow, no bigger in fact than a few sheets of memoranda written for me by your kind hand. The sight of his name will carry you back to an old wooden house embowered in creepers; a house that was far gone in the respectable stages of antiquity and seemed indissoluble from the green garden in which it stood, and that yet was a sea-traveller in its younger days, and had come round the Horn piecemeal in the belly of a ship, and might have heard the seamen stamping and shouting and the note of the boatswain’s whistle.
(Mrs. Adulfo Sanchez, of Monterey)
AT last, after so many years, I have the pleasure of re-introducing you to 'Prince Otto,' whom you will remember a very little fellow, no bigger in fact than a few sheets of memoranda written for me by your kind hand. The sight of his name will carry you back to an old wooden house embowered in creepers; a house that was far gone in the respectable stages of antiquity and seemed indissoluble from the green garden in which it stood, and that yet was a sea-traveller in its younger days, and had come round the Horn piecemeal in the belly of a ship, and might have heard the seamen stamping and shouting and the note of the boatswain's whistle. It will recall to you the nondescript inhabitants now so widely scattered:-the two horses, the dog, and the four cats, some of them still looking in your face as you read these lines; - the poor lady, so unfortunately married to an author; - the China boy, by this time, perhaps, baiting his line by the banks of a river in the Flowery Land; - and in particular the Scot who was then sick apparently unto death, and whom you did so much to cheer and keep in good behaviour.
You may remember that he was full of ambitions and designs: so soon as he had his health again completely, you may remember the fortune he was to earn, the journeys he was to go upon, the delights he was to enjoy and confer, and (among other matters) the masterpiece he was to make of 'Prince Otto'!
Well, we will not give in that we are finally beaten. We read together in those days the story of Braddock, and how, as he was carried dying from the scene of his defeat, he promised himself to do better another time: a story that will always touch a brave heart, and a dying speech worthy of a more fortunate commander. I try to be of Braddock's mind. I still mean to get my health again; I still purpose, by hook or crook, this book or the next, to launch a masterpiece; and I still intend - somehow, some time or other - to see your face and to hold your hand.
Meanwhile, this little paper traveller goes forth instead, crosses the great seas and the long plains and the dark mountains, and comes at last to your door in Monterey, charged with tender greetings. Pray you, take him in. He comes from a house where (even as in your own) there are gathered together some of the waifs of our company at Oakland: a house - for all its outlandish Gaelic name and distant station - where you are well-beloved.
R. L. S.
Skerryvore, Bournemouth.
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson (13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. His most famous works are Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. A literary celebrity during his lifetime, Stevenson now ranks among the 26 most translated authors in the world. (Excerpt from Wikipedia)
A collection of essays about writing: "On some technical elements of style in literature", "The morality of the profession of letters", "Books which have influenced me", "A note on realism", "My first book: 'Treasure Island'", "The genesis of 'the master of Ballantrae'" & "Preface to 'the master of Ballantrae'".
Any reader who has spent some time with Robert Louis Stevenson's body of work won't be surprised to learn that the Scottish author was an inveterate traveler and world explorer from early adulthood. Later in life, the chronically ill author lived in locales around the globe in an attempt to find a home that was amenable to his ailing health. The collection Essays of Travel brings together some of Stevenson's finest essays, short memoirs, and other works that detail his thoughts on travel and foreign lands.
Across the Plains, with Other Memories and Essays by Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson (13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. His most famous works are Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. "St. Ives: Being The Adventures of a French Prisoner in England" (1897) is an unfinished novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was completed in 1898 by Arthur Quiller-Couch. The plot concerns the adventures of the dashing Capitaine Jacques St. Ives, a Napoleonic soldier, after his capture by the British. (Excerpt from Wikipedia)
“You belong to me! Lisa, every fucking part of your body is mine!” Trey growled hoarsely, as his hands around Lisa’s waist tightened. “No, I’m not!, let go of me!!” Lisa said, pushing Trey on the chest. “I hate you!” After receiving divorce papers from her husband, six months after their marriage
She was a world-renowned divine doctor, the CEO of a publicly traded company, the most formidable female mercenary, and a top-tier tech genius. Marissa, a titan with a plethora of secret identities, had hidden her true stature to marry a seemingly impoverished young man. However, on the eve of th
Stella Richard married Rene Kingston in the place of her sister Sophia due to some reasons. But from the beginning, she knows that her marriage was just a time-limit contract and once the time was up she had to go. For RK, this marriage was just a burden but for her, it was a gift from God. Because
"On the way to escape, a stranger took away her virginity. She didn’t expect that the stranger was Jasper Milton, who was rich and powerful, as well as ruthless and cold. It was said that he didn’t love woman. However, it was not true. She was suffering from a sore back after having sex with him eve
Everyone was shocked to the bones when the news of Rupert Benton's engagement broke out. It was surprising because the lucky girl was said to be a plain Jane, who grew up in the countryside and had nothing to her name. One evening, she showed up at a banquet, stunning everyone present. "Wow, she'
After a devastating divorce with the man she had been married to for over three years, Rachel thought her life was over. Her family disowned her, they wanted nothing to do with her anymore and she couldn't blame them. She had just divorced David Hart, one of the top successful bachelors in the cou
To Nelly Van De Grift
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Book I— Prince Errant Chapter I In which the Prince Departs on an Adventure
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Chapter II In which the Prince Plays Haroun-Al-Raschid
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Chapter III
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Chapter IV In which the Prince Collects Opinions by the Way
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Book II— Of Love and Politics Chapter I What Happened in the Library
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Chapter II
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Chapter III The Prince and the English Traveller
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Chapter IV While the Prince is in the Ante-Room . .
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Chapter V . . . Gondremark is in My Lady’s Chamber
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Chapter VI The Prince Delivers a Lecture on Marriage, with Practical Illustrations of Divorce
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Chapter VII The Prince Dissolves the Council
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Chapter VIII The Party of War Takes Action
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Chapter IX The Price of the River Farm; in which Vainglory Goes Before a Fall
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Chapter X Gotthold’s Revised Opinion; and the Fall Completed
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Chapter XI Providence Von Rosen Act the First She Beguiles the Baron
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Chapter XII Providence Von Rosen Act the Second She Informs the Prince
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Chapter XIII Providence Von Rosen Act the Third She Enlightens Seraphina
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Chapter XIV Relates the Cause and Outbreak of the Revolution
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Book III— Fortunate Misfortune Chapter I Princess Cinderella
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Chapter II Treats of a Christian Virtue
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Chapter III Providence Von Rosen Act the Last In which she Gallops off
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Chapter IV Babes in the Wood
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Bibliographical Postscript to Complete the Story
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