, 1885-02-06
IRISH BoHEMIANIsM.
WANDERING MiNsTRELs WHO TRAVEL
FROM HAMLET TO HAMLET.
The Modern Piper and His Dancing Com
p~anion-Th Street Ballad slngsr-A
Song nd-Dsnce Man on the
f1inty sEaeadHm-

49,"
portion to the population, very large, and
the shifts Of tho member 10 exc out a live
lihood very amusing. Tho doings aud shout
ings Of tho wandering minstrel are never
ending 80 rces OF amusement to a visitor
from lands were the terrible hand-organist
Is monarch OF all sidewalk he can survey.
The b~arrui-organ Il, happily, not an es-
tahiished favorite in ireland, though in my
wanderings thro 1gh the green isle l have
seen several thrifty Savo-yards e~ndeavoring
to attune the native ear 10 its discord.
Their efforts seemed TO mo to DO misdi-
rectct aud Improbable, for while tho olive
hued foreigners could never attract more
than a listles doz IA OF small boys and the
village buffoon, the visit Of a native piper
invariably received an GRAFTON.
Tho cloak Of the great Carolan, who lives
deathless In the Irish minstrelsy. would
smother the modern piper, who is but a
vagabond trudging from hamlet to hamlet
Ia quest Of the few coppers that keep him
from the drudgery Of breaking stones by the
roadside, or eating the degrading bread OF
idlenoss in an almshouse. He Is generally
accompanied by a dancing girl, who makes
a lavish display OF her accomplishments, and
literally speaking. dances all over a hamlet
in half an hour and through a town in an
afternoon.
The leading hotel casts a copper TO She
dnnssuse, or some swell standing on the por-
tico may raise her days earnings to mag
niacent proportions by the contribution OF a
threepenny bit % cents or a sixpence ~
centsl- Such an act Of generosity calls for
an extra tune and dance and a solo Of un-
usually patriotic character, regardless OF
the feelings of the object OF the serenade,
who Is generally the reverse Of patriotic.
The leading grocer always casts his mite to
the wandering bard, as does tho leading
draper and the village doctor. This list Of
notables exhausted, the minstrel and his bal
let have TO look for remuneration to the de-
sultory h~alfpence OF plebian lovers OF music
The distance covered by ono OF these wan
dering pipers IN a week is prodigious
A far more common type of wandering
bard in Ireland is the street ballad singer.
or this genus there are many varieties,
which one soon learns to classify. They all
repay observation. Few OF them ave the
slightest pretensions to vocal ability, and the
subject matter is marked by a sameness that
makes their inability more apparent The
majority OF them are merely beggars mas
querading In the garb Of trouhadours. or
this class there are two varieties. the profess
sional mendicant and the amateur unfor-
tunate.
The wandering minstrel Il a prime favor
its and wins n large and appreciative au-
dience the moment his untamod baritone
voice is heard on tho boundary line OF the
village. He never pauses, but sings himself
and his partner right through the town, dis
daining to stop and solicit aims, like the
bards OF inferior merit who cannot keep art
and m~endicancy separate. He IA generally
a deep-chosted, strong-limhed fellow, who
could guide a pillow or a plano with great
advantage to agriculture and trade, but he
Is too independent TO bind himself to the
despised tasks hat bring only a pittance,
without distinction The pittance,
with perfect Independence and public up
probation as a man OF talent, are more TO
his liking. His songs are a study, and, l
think, are generally written by himself, for
IL would hardly pay anyone else to string
such compositions togothor. An Of his effu-
sions are permeated by strong patriotic feel
ing-a rebellious sentiment an English sti-
pendiary magistrate would call It His
favorite theme is the departure Of some dis
tressed exile to America, where the wander
ing son OF Erin becomes moro rebollious than
over and louder i'm his denunciatlons of Brit
ish misrule.
A very different type OF the wandering
bard is tho song-and-dance man you may see
dancing a Ab~roak-downn on as fine a ma
cadamized road as one could find in the
world. At the end OF every verso OF his
song he twirls his shillalah and then pro
ceeds with his iron-bound brogans to knock
sparks out of the macadam In this pur-
suit Of vocal and terpsichoroan art he
performs six times as much real physical
labor as the hardest worked farm hand in
the country, but that fact never directs his
ambition to honest toll. He Is a oonstitu-
tional idlor In the commercial sense OF the
term and probably comes by his proclivities
l~egitimately from a line OF ancestors who
had not drudged In 100 years In ireland
caste does as much TO making a man a yaga-
bond as a gentleman, or a goodman. The
itinerant s~ong-and-dance artist II. Ireland
enjoys only a moderate share Of popularity.
He is considerably above the grade OF the
old family ballad singers but incidentally
inferior to the wandering piper
as a drawing star. The song-and dance
stalwart generally unites some other calling
to his profession and thus manages to main
tain the position Of a man Of family, for It
is an irretrievable disgrace TO DO without a
helpmate and a flock OF children in ireland.
Another type Of ballad singer in Ireland
and one who differs In most respects from
all those hat l have described, is the pro-
f~sssional vocalist who relies solely on his
merits for a living. He also Is a family man
and his wife is generally a songstress ofsome
capacity.