Excerpt from The True History of Alexander, John, and Patrick, and of the Great Mercantile and Manufacturing Concern Carried on by Them, Under the Firm of "John, Alexander, and Co;" John's property was large and fertile; and the tenants upon it had always prided themselves on their good living. Patrick's again, though not quite so large, was equally fertile: it was very favourably Situated, too, surrounded by water, and so beautiful that it was styled, by poets, The Emerald Isle, and by orators, the First Gem of the Sea. Sandy, on the other hand, had been left by his ancestors, so many acres of mountains, covered with heather, so many of barren moor, covered 'with a plant named the thistle - - supposed to be very emblematic of his 0wd character - and a remnant only from which craps might be reared. John's property was fairly cultivated, and very much ornamented. Sandy's was admittedly very romantic and beautiful, and, where this was possible, quite a model of farming and improvement; while Patrick's remained almost in a state of nature. Such were their land estates. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.