The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-01-24

UTuucnInR Unerv. nus ndnu upon his
crooked sword, he watched me as II he fain
would spring forward and cleave me on the
spot. His hideous countenance and glitter
ing eyes fascinated me as the serpent fasci-
mates the fluttering bird it is about to de-
stroy. My tongue was frozen. With a
tingling sense Of innocence and wrong in
every atom Of my being could not utter a
word in self defense or vindication. could
do nothing but gaze enchanted upon the
devil which had so suddenly confronted me
in the form Of a man.
Fortunately Abou Kuram had thoughts
and a mind of his own. He made no reply
to the minister's suggestion. Perhaps, be
ing human he pitied me In spite of my bad
character, for l must have presented pic
ture of utter distress; perhaps after the
fashion of the great he loved the idea of
absolute power At any rate, he made a
diversion, which set my heart leaping with
tumultuous hope A small thing you will
generally notice is OF great effect in an ex-
trenity,
What is that instrument on which thou
madest musicP" he asked. "Nay, rather"
he added quickly, ION which thou madest
witches and genil screech."
With palpitating haste answered 1t was
named bagpipe in my country, that it
put the spirit of victory into warriors and
the fieetness of fear into the heels of their
enemies.
II said it was the scream of demons" he
remarked, with chuckle Then suddenly
his expression became one of deep thought;
he seemed to be trying to recollect some
thing. II have it; have it," he cried, sit
ting up with a beam Of intelligence "In
thy country arc the men naked about the
legsf"
Partly, my lord" answered in aston
ishment.
They have been to Egypt, have they
notP" he said eagerly. "To Cairo, Alexan-
dria-they have looked on the desert and
shifted its sands. They have likewise been
to India They have pulled down princes,
established empires, upreoted ancient laws
and made new ones, said prayers in a
strange tongue that no man could under
stand and gone to battle with great cries.
Have they not done all this."
My lord spcaketh the TRUTH" | said,
more and more amazed.
"They are calledn- He pressed his brow
as n man will to aid his memory.
"Hishlanders," l shouted, beside myself
with excitement.
Nay, nay, not that. That Is not it.
will remember; yea. have it. Dost thou
not recall the tale of that Egyptian?r turn
ing to his minister. "'Naked Scottish devils
that was it, They leap like lions and roar
like bulls of Bashan; yea, they have the
VI .e of the wild ass, and their tread is like
an army of horsemen that naketh the
earth to tremble."
MY lord is right again" l cried.
"Wert thou naked when Said Achmet
took thee inP'' he asked
No, my lord"
lie seemed disappointed at this, but his
face lighted up again as he said:
"At any rate thou hast the screeching de-
mons with thee We have leisure this
morning Thou shalt give Us some Of the
wer music of thy land"
''lf my lord will cause room to be made
for me-" said joyously
cause room TO be made for theel Why,
dost thou swell with playingg
Nay, my lord, but the piper must walk
to and fro to play we'll, +"
Thou callest thyself n piper. | have
heard of the company of prophets with
pipe and tabret. Perchance we shall have
thee prophesying." Saying this, he waved
his hand with laugh as a signal TO the
soldiers to clear space.
Make room," he called "Hearken to
the music that putteth courage in the
hearts of the naked Scottish devils.n
The next instant the wondering people
were being hustled back, and the pipes
were squealing in the process of tuning up.
You may be sure that II ever piper played
with all the zeal and skill that were in him
1t WIS then. Tho consciousness of the
great prize at stake wus difiused like an
electric current through lips and lungs and
fingers, through head and feet and all that
lay between, giving fiery energy and ardor
to both I he soul and body of the performer
Yet In spite of this earnestness and
the acute sense of momentous issues hang
ing in the balance. could not help being
tiekled by the righteousness of the stu
alton. Very absurd 1t was to me, an Arab
in garb, a highlander In feeling, to go
sailing about in flowing skirts. burstingmy
cheeks for the favorable verdict of judges
who had never seen or heard a bagpipe in
their lives, who did not know one tune
or note from another and who would be
quite likely to decide with overwhelming
unanimity that all my merits were faults
and all my faults merits and who were
prejudiced and incensed against me.
1t was like putting Harlequin on a trial
of skill before man who had never seen a
play, who detested the theater and its ira
ditlons and above all feryently hated the
performer. Yet | gave them the music of
my native hills with all my might-all the
marches. strathspeys, reels, pbrochs, cor