The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson for Boys and Girls

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"In these latter which made for years the chief of my diet, I very early
fell in love (almost as soon as I could spell) with the Snob Papers. I
knew them almost by heart ... and I remember my surprise when I found
long afterward that they were famous, and signed with a famous name; to
me, as I read and admired them, they were the works of Mr. Punch."

Two old Bibles interested him particularly. They had belonged to his
grandfather Stevenson and contained many marked passages and notes
telling how they had been read aboard lighthouse tenders and on tours of
inspection among the islands.

After he was thirteen his health was greatly improved and he was able to
enjoy the comradeship of other lads, though he never cared greatly for
sports. He was the leader of a number of boys who used to go about
playing tricks on the neighbors--"tapping on their windows after
nightfall, and all manner of wild freaks."