The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-05-05
Copyright. 1897. by Gilbert Parker.l
PART l.


PART /.
McGilvray has been dead for over q
hundred years. but there is parish In
Quebec where his tawny-haired de-
scendants still live. They have the
same sort of freckles on their faces as
their ancestor. the bandmaster of An
struther's regiment, and some Of them
have his taste for music, yet none OF
Them speak his language or with his
brogue, and the name of McGilvray has
been gallieised 10 Magille.
In Pontiac one OF the Magilles. the
fiddler of tho parish, made the following
verse Ia English as a tribute of admira'
ton for an heroic deed OF his ancestor
OF which the cure OF the parish, the
good NJ Fabre. had told him.
'P.Gl poum, ka-zoon. ka-zoonr'
That Is the way OF the organ tune
And the ships are save that day!
piff, poum! kazoon. kazoon
Ard the Admiral light his pipe and say
"Bully for ia. we are not kill!
Who IL IL make the organ play?
Make Il say zoon-kazoon9
You with the oorunet come this way
You are the man. Magillel
Now. this is the story of McGilvrny
the bandmaster:
II was at the time OF the taking OF
Quebec. the summer of 1889. The Eng
lish army had lain at Montmorenci, at
the Island OF Orleans, and at Point
Lewis; the English fleet in the basin op.
posite the town. since June of thai
IL tir,r
bombarding and besiegng, TO no great
purpose. For within the walls of the
city. and on the shore Of BEAUFORT. pro.
tected bv it's mud flats--n splendid
moat-the French more than held theii
own.
In all the hot months of that summer
when parishes were ravaged with fire
ard sword, and the heat was an excust
for almost any lapse of virtue, McGil
vray had not been drunk once--noi
once. IL was almost unnatural. Pre-.
vious 10 that. McGilvray's career ha6
been checkered. No man had received
SO many punishments in the whole
army. none had risen so superior te
them as had he, none had ever been
shielded from wrath present and tc
conc as had this bandmaster OF An.
struther's regiment. He had no rivals
for promotion in the regiment-perhap
that was one reason; he had a gooo
temper and an overwhelming spirit OF
fun-perhaps that was another.
lie was not remarkable to the vision
scarcely more than five feet four;
with an eye like n gimlet, red hair tied
in queue, a big mouth. and a chest
thrown out like the breast Of part.
iridge-as fine figure OF man in minia.
ture as you could see. When intoXi
4eated his tongue raped eHt fun atte-
fury like triphammer. Alert-mindeo
drunk or sober. drunk he was light
ning-tongued. He could play as well
drunk as sober. too. but more thar
once a sympathetic officer altered the
tactics that McGilyray might not be
compelled to march, and so expose his
condition. Standing still he was quit:
fit for duty. He never got really drunk
"at the top" His brain was always
clear. no matter how useless were his
legs.
But the wonderful thing was that fol-
six months McGilvray's legs were as
<iendy rs his head was right. Al first
the regiment was unbelicving. and his
resolution 70 drinl, no more was scoffcd
al in the non-com. mess. lie stuck 10 il
however. and then the cause was
searched for--and not found. lie had
rot turned religious, he YVES not fanati.
cal. he was OF sound mind--what was
il? When the sergeant major suggest.
esl Il vcman. they howled him down, for
McGilvray had not made love TO women
since the day or his wcaning. and had
drunk consistently all the time.
Yet il was woman.
\ fortnight or SO after Wolfe's army
aud Saunders feet had sat down he
fore Quebec. McGlvray. having been
told l,y sentry AT Monimorcnci where
regiment vos camped
that Freach girl on the other side OF
the stream had kissed her hand 10 him
and sung across in laughing irsoience:
"4ialbrouk sen va ten guerre."
he hnd forthwith set ont to hail this
daughter of Gaul. if perchance she
might be seen again.
~ more than ordinary peril he
crossed the river on n couple OF logs,
dashed together, some distance above
The spot where the picket had seen
mademoselle. 1t was moonlight
night. ard be might easily have been
picked of 10y bullet, if a wary sentry
had been so alert and murderously in
clincd. But the truth was that many OF
these pickets on both sides were in no
wise unfriendly TO each other, ard
more than once exchanged tobacco and
liquor across the stream. As IL chanced,
however. no sentry saw McGilvray. and
presently. safely landed. he made his
way down the river. Even at the dis
tance he was from the falls, the rumble
of them came up the long walls of frs
and naples with a strange. half-moan-
ing sound--all else was still, most still.
lie came down until no was opposite
the spot where his English picket was
posted. and then hehalted and surveyed
his ground.
kofhfru ht,y,a,, -.