to E. L. Burlingame

October 8th, 1891.

MY DEAR BURLINGAME,—All right, you shall have the Tales of my Grandfather soon, but I guess we’ll try and finish off The Wrecker first.  À propos of whom, please send some advanced sheets to Cassell’s—away ahead of you—so that they may get a dummy out.

Do you wish to illustrate My Grandfather?  He mentions as excellent a portrait of Scott by Basil Hall’s brother.  I don’t think I ever saw this engraved; would it not, if you could get track of it, prove a taking embellishment?  I suggest this for your consideration and inquiry.  A new portrait of Scott strikes me as good.  There is a hard, tough, constipated old portrait of my grandfather hanging in my aunt’s house, Mrs. Alan Stevenson, 16 St. Leonard’s Terrace, Chelsea, which has never been engraved—the better portrait, Joseph’s bust has been reproduced, I believe, twice—and which, I am sure, my aunt would let you have a copy of.  The plate could be of use for the book when we get so far, and thus to place it in the Magazine might be an actual saving.

I am swallowed up in politics for the first, I hope for the last, time in my sublunary career.  It is a painful, thankless trade; but one thing that came up I could not pass in silence.  Much drafting, addressing, deputationising has eaten up all my time, and again (to my contrition) I leave you Wreckerless.  As soon as the mail leaves I tackle it straight.—Yours very sincerely,

Robert Louis Stevenson.