verted versions of the poem out of pure admiration for its classical
lines and the bold portrayal of a grewsome story. These letters have
increased since _The Scoop_ of the Press Club of Chicago printed the
correspondence [See "The Unpublished Letter"] addressed to _The New
York Times Book Review_. _The Scoop_ continued its interesting
discussion of the poem in the issue of October 24, under a caption of
"Yo-ho-ho!" and incorporated a communication from "our Bramleykite
Pilling" on chanties in general, submitting also a criticism of
Allison's sea-faring knowledge of the consistency of mainsails and the
size of hawsers. If anything were needed to prove that "Derelict" is
not "of the sea," this in itself would be sufficient. _The Scoop_
article is worthy of production in toto:

YO-HO-HO!

In an annoying discussion of Young Allison's "Derelict" and the
origin of the chanty beginning "Fifteen men on the Dead Man's
Chest," _The New York Times_ quotes Robert Louis Stevenson as
saying "Treasure Island came out of Kingsley's 'At Last,' where I
got 'The Dead Man's Chest.'" That is interesting, and apparently
authentic, but it has nothing to do with Allison's poem. The
development of that poem, as related by C. I. Hitchcock in _The
Scoop_ two weeks ago, is as clearly established as the similar
process out of which emerged Smith's "Evolution," and is abundantly
attested. Allison's chanty is one of the best, if not the very
best, in its class, and _The Scoop_ is glad to have been given a
chance to so accredit it.

Taking up the subject matter, our Bramleykite Pilling, a retired
mariner now enjoying his otium cum dignitate at the town of Athol
in the state of Massachusetts, writes this letter:

"In the days when sailing ships and sailors were on the
deep, chanties were used with every heave or pull.

"Fifteen or twenty men trailing onto a rope, fitting each
other like spoons, as the sway-back pull induced whatever
was at the other end to give way.

"Nothing ever was broken, as it was seen to that such a
possibility did not exist; hence the command 'Break
something, break something.'

"A chanty contained one verse or line only, the rest
depending on the composition of the man who sang the verse
or line. The pull was always at the accent of the chorus,
as follows: