PUERISQUE, his first book of essays, is crowded with happy hits and
subtle implications conveyed in a single word. 'We have all
heard,' he says in one of these, 'of cities in South America built
upon the side of fiery mountains, and how, even in this tremendous
neighbourhood, the inhabitants are not a jot more impressed by the
solemnity of mortal conditions than if they were delving gardens in
the greenest corner of England.' You can feel the ground shake and
see the volcano tower above you at that word 'TREMENDOUS
neighbourhood.' Something of the same double reference to the
original and acquired meanings of a word is to be found in such a
phrase as 'sedate electrician,' for one who in a back office wields
all the lights of a city; or in that description of one drawing
near to death, who is spoken of as groping already with his hands
'on the face of the IMPASSABLE.'

The likeness of this last word to a very different word,
'IMPASSIVE,' is made to do good literary service in suggesting the
sphinx-like image of death. Sometimes, as here, this subtle sense
of double meanings almost leads to punning. In ACROSS THE PLAINS
Stevenson narrates how a bet was transacted at a railway-station,
and subsequently, he supposes, 'LIQUIDATED at the bar.' This is
perhaps an instance of the excess of a virtue, but it is an excess
to be found plentifully in the works of Milton.

His loving regard for words bears good fruit in his later and more
stirring works. He has a quick ear and appreciation for live
phrases on the lips of tramps, beach-combers, or Americans. In THE
BEACH OF FALESA the sea-captain who introduces the new trader to
the South Pacific island where the scene of the story is laid,
gives a brief description of the fate of the last dealer in copra.