Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-06-06


Dooin low 10 the company, wy his leather
apron on, WY sleeves rowed up to The
shoulders, an a Kilmarnock c0wl on his
head, an bis face an bis naked arms were
blaek and grimy WI smuddy coomb.
:" Then the Duke says. You're good
hddler, hear. Now, here are some gem
uemen who are good fiddIcrs, too, and
would like that you should bear each other
play
"But hoo the English gentry an the fine
foreign fiddlers grinned, as they saw the
clumsy.lookin, blacksmith, WI brawny
Arms an hands black wi co1l dust.
VIII you play p said the Duke.
al dinna mind tryin', your grace said
the blacksmith; sbut Pm some fiey't to be-
gin afore the strangers WI sic grand lookin'
fddles. Maybe they'll play spring irst.'
"Weel, the Duke noddit TO the foreign
ers. and they took up their iddles an
played their best wi mony quirk an
eantrip, and wonderful tirly-wirlies, M
dooi, an the blacksmith stude and listened.
'Could you do anything like that said
one Of the English gentlemen TO the black
smith. Il dipna ken, but IN try said the
blacksmith; and WI that he steppit forrit
to take up apc o. the bonnie fiddlcs; hut
The owner OFT wbuppit II up, saying;
Friend, | scarcely care to trust my instrll-
mont to such hands as yours. Have you
not violin OF your ownl'
"'Bring nv fiddle here cried the Duke.
II was brocht and placed in the backsmith's
hands, but what twistin' aud scrapin' he
had wit afore he could get it In tune, and
then he gied twa or three scrauchs W.T. the
bow that set their vera teeth on edge, and
the English gentlemen thOct the hummer
2uincas rs good as won, but the next mo-
ment the blacksmith strauchtened himselfup
and began 10 play sue saft and sweetly TINT
IN q wee while the tears were runGin'
down their checks. Then. on sudden, he
sent the bow across the strings In different
fashion az he played spring after spring,
till cen begoud TO sparkle an thoombs to
crack. and in wee while they were a
.boochin' and dancin' like mad through the
room, at least the Scotch PART o. the com.
pany. At ony rate they o. agreed that the
blacksmith had won the day. and the Duke
bis wager, and daursay ye dinna need to
Toe tent that the blacksmith was just MIR
shall in Disguise. the Duke was sac wecl
pleased wi the way Marshall bad perform.
cd bis PART that he had his picter ta'en WI
the fiddle In his hand as ye saw"
In these days, when music in all us
forms has become familiar 10 The Scottish
ear. and new musical compositions now
out on the public In endless and eyer-in-
creasing stream, II may bethought extraya'
CART TO claim remembrance and praise for
a man who wrote Strathspeys q century
ago. We fear. indeed, that hisb-1ying
artists and professors would deny any
merit AZ all 20 the Strathspeys rs q music II
composition. But by your leave. most
learned cOntrapuntIs, there IL a higher law
than YOURS that assigns its true value To
work Of art. The final award rests in the
general sentiment OF race or people.
which the most acute and accomplished
critics often miserably misapprehend. The
simple ballad OF some unknown minstrel.
and the sublime carnations OF Shakspeare's
genius. live and endure because they have
a quality IN common, however different in
degree. They address themselves to the
popular intelligence, they awaken direct
echo in the human bosom, they stand IN
need OF no Interpreter, they have that indie
Enable something which Sir Joshua Rey-
mods, when looking at picture where he
could perceive no fault, yet which did not
satisfy him. could only express by saying.
" II wants that" Swapping his finger and
thumb. IL Is Of no use to plead
for work that II Il constructed ac-
cording TO the most approved rules
a ant, or to estimate 1t by the measure
Of labor or ingenuity bestowed upon il.
II IL wants the vital essence which no labor
can give. however il may please and dazzle
for time, it will pail and perish in the eud.
The floods Of light literature and music
which daily roll into public notice roll Just
Us fast out OF il, never 10 return. But the
best Strathspeys are As popular to- day among
Sc0tchmen ~ they were a hundred years
ago, and It seems almost certain that they
will live as long as Scottish nationality lives.
II is only the narrow pedant who would At
tempt TO sneer down form OF music which
commends itself TO 4 race whose history
and whose literature attest their possession
Of those qualities TO which the highest
forms Of music are thought to appeal
depth and ardOr OF feeling, and that sus-
ceptibility 10 the ficrcest or tenderest emo
tons implied in the perJerUid,Gm inJen;nm
!ScOtOT7ffn Of old. The Strathspey or reel,
for the difference between them Is slight,
is the distinctive form OF Scotch mu-
sic. We have much melody welded
TO our old songs that Is sweet,
quaint, and pathetic, and OF world
wide appreciation-but it cannot be called
characterised Scotch. Indeed, much OF
il Is Of doubtful parentage. some OF 1t GER
tainly English. and some Of 1t Irish. But
the Stratbspey Is indigenous to the soil
racy OF it as its whiskey and its heather.
To the Scottish ear II conveys something
more than NEE melody and measure. IL
breathes a spirit. life, contagious ele-
ment. which kndles and quickens the
blood, and arouses emotions which no
mere scnSuous 1ow Of dulcet sound could
ever excite. TO have achieved excellence
in q style OF music so popular and so
n?tonal j. no mean boast. and Mar
shal's claim 20 be the composer Of our best
Strithspeys is scarcely contested. Burns
calls him "tbc first composer OF Strath-
speys of the age" Another notice OF him
saws: "Thc correctness Of his ear was un-
riyallod. ard his style Of playing reels and
Straihspeys lively and inspiring. while his
fine taste and peculiarly touching manner
cf executing The slow and more plaintiye
Scottish airs and melodies delighted all who
heard him."
HIS best Strathspeys are contained in the
original publication, which appeared in
1872. lie issued some time afterwards
supplement in which the tunes are OF in
lCricr melit.