Robert Louis Stevenson so many irons in the fire". He wrote "The Beach of Falesa", "Catriona" (titled "David Balfour" in the US), "The Ebb-Tide", and the "Vailima Letters" during this period. Stevenson grew depressed and wondered if he had exhausted his creative vein, as he had been "overworked bitterly" and that the best he could write was "ditch-water". He even feared that he might again become a helpless invalid. He rebelled against this idea: "I wish to die in my boots; no more Land of Counterpane for me. To be drowned, to be shot, to be thrown from a horse — ay, to
Lewis Balfour translated to Colinton parish, south-west of Edinburgh and remained there for the rest of his life. From 1850 onwards his young grandson, Robert Louis Stevenson was a frequent visitor. He died at Colinton Manse on 24 April 1860. He is buried in an open vault on the north side of Colinton Parish Church, between James Gillespie and Admiral John Inglis. On 26 April 1808 he married Henrietta Scott Smith (1787-1834), third daughter of Rev George Smith of Galston, East Ayrshire (1748-1823). Galston is close to Sorn. Their thirteen children included James Melville Balfour, George William Balfour and Margaret Isabella Balfour