102 The island otf naNtl + ck:eT. 



The second version is from the novel " Miriam 

 Coffin," whose author has seen fit to change mate- 

 rially the original. Those words which are italicized 

 in the lines that follow will show what liberties have 

 been taken. 



" The Rays and Russells coopers are, 

 The knowing Folgers lazy, 

 A lying Coleman very rare, 

 And scarce a learned Hussey. 



"The Coffins noisy, fractious, loud, 

 The silent Gardners plodding, 

 The Mitchells good, the Barkers proud, 

 The Macys eat the pudding." 



The last verse being entirely omitted. 



The reader will perceive that the Macys, in both 

 versions, "get the pudding," and that the Husseys are 

 the " under dogs " in the fight; while in one case the 

 Colemans are fools, and in the other they are gener- 

 ally honest. Both agree, however, that the Folgers 

 are a learned but lazy set, and the Coffins noisy and 

 loud, with the addition of being fractious or boisterous 

 as it suited the fancy of the writer. They agree also 

 that the Rays and Russells are coopers, and the Gard- 

 ners silent, but seem to differ as to whether they are a 

 hard-working, painstaking family, or a scheming and 

 contriving one. The Barkers and the Mitchells have 

 the best of it anyhow, and these families should have 

 intermarried. 



Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, Baronet 

 Col. Hart, in his novel of " Miriam Coffin," has taken 

 advantage of the license granted to story-tellers and 



