o
his great advantage, put all his publishing arrangements (as he had
already put his private business) into the hands of his friend Mr.
Baxter. Meantime he was managing them himself; and an occasional
lapse of memory or attention betrayed him once or twice into
misunderstandings, and once at least conflicting agreements with two
different publishers, both his friends. He was the first to denounce
the error when he became aware of it, and suffered sharply from the
sense of his own unintentional fault. The next two letters, and some
allusions in those which follow, relate to this affair.

[_Saranac Lake, November 20 or 21, 1887._]

MY DEAR MR. SCRIBNER,--Heaven help me, I am under a curse just now. I
have played fast and loose with what I said to you; and that, I beg you
to believe, in the purest innocence of mind. I told you you should have
the power over all my work in this country; and about a fortnight ago,
when M'Clure was here, I calmly signed a bargain for the serial
publication of a story. You will scarce believe that I did this in mere
oblivion; but I did; and all that I can say is that I will do so no
more, and ask you to forgive me. Please write to me soon as to this.

Will you oblige me by paying in for three articles, as already sent, to
my account with John Paton & Co., 52 William Street? This will be most
convenient for us.

The fourth article is nearly done; and I am the more deceived, or it is
_A Buster_.

Now as to the first thing in this letter, I do wish to hear from you
soon; and I am prepared to hear any reproach, or (what is harder to
hear) any forgiveness; for I have deserved the worst.--Yours sincerely,

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON.

TO E. L. BURLINGAME

This is the first of many letters, increasing in friendliness as the
correspondence goes on, to the editor of Scribner's Magazine.

[_Saranac Lake, November 1887._]

DEAR MR. BURLINGAME,--I enclose corrected proof of _Beggars_, which
seems good. I mean to make a second sermon, which, if it is about the
same length as _Pulvis et Umbra_, might go in along with it as two
sermons, in which case I should call the first "The Whole Creation," and
the second "Any Good." We shall see; but you might say how you like the
notion.

One word: if you have heard from Mr. Scribner of my unhappy oversight in
the matter of a story, you will make me ashamed to write to you, and yet
I wish to beg you to