The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson for Boys and Girls

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considerable interest.... We had beside, romps in plenty. Puss in the
Corner, which we rebaptized, in more manly style, Devil and Four
Corners, was my favorite game; but there were many who preferred
another, the humor of which was to box a person's ears until he found
out who cuffed him."

The voyage, which lasted ten days, was uneventful except for some rough
weather when Stevenson found his cabin most stuffy and uncomfortable. He
was not really ill, however, and spent much of the time finishing a tale
called "The Story of a Lie," while his table played "Bob Jerry with the
ink bottle." On his arrival in New York the story was sent back to
London with the following letter to Sidney Colvin:


"On Board S.S. Devonia an hour or two out of New York, Aug., 1879.

"MY DEAR COLVIN: