Daily camera., 1898-03-16
BOOM In BAGPIPEs.
The Heroism Of a Piper Sets a
Fashion in London.
Nheexy Windbags Are Popular a.
Parlor Ornaments-The 'tHee-
land" Brogue to
the Fore.

Fifteen months and more ago there
was recounted in these columns the
genesis and growth of a threatened
bagpipe boom. For time the craze
fourished and promised to do much;
then it languished, and the young la
dies and gentlemen who had bought
such beautiful sets of bagpipes forscok
their hobby and disposed of their instru-
ments at loss, or laid them in the gar
ret along with the cid spinnet and the
once-fashionab,e banjo.
But now, presto! Something has hap
pened. 1t has happened long way off
out in India, in fact-but it has given
such a flip to the popularity of the
bagpipes that at this moment of writ
ing their fame is greater-infinitely
greater-than at any time since the
"bonny sl1irl o The Cock o. the North
swept proudly DER the bloody plain Of
Waterloo"
Who cares whether the story of the
gallant piper at the recent charge Of
Dargai is true? Who dares to say it is
net? Are there not at 500 music halls
If London and the provinces twice 500
pipers nightly enacting the scene as it
was decribed by Reuters correspondent
Ito the intense enthusiasm of the au-
diencesr and OF all Eng,shmen-we beg
pardon-Great Britons and Irishmen
throughout the civilized world?
When shall the glory Of the bagpipes
die? Nearly every side street-not
only in The great metropolis, but in Liv
crpool, Glasgow, Manchester ard Bir-
mingham-has its piper at some hour Of
tie day. They have come to Carmelite
street early in the evening to fret the
souls of the long-dead friars and to set
beating the pulses of the scribes-Ca.e-
donian and otherwise-whose ears are
fogged by the raucous wall. Indeed,
many of the most trenchantcolumns of
the Daily Mail have been conceived and
writ to the tune of 'Amaie Laurie" or
the "Girl l Left Behind Me-" Our
sporting editor has found in Scots Wha
Haze" most fecund inspiration; and
our leading article was yesterday COM
posed to the air of when Jamie Gangs
Ava"
But it takes two pipers to do the.
thing properly. One of them marches
UP and down playing the instrument.
(or is it machine y, while another ac-
companies him, handling a sheathed
sword. The bearing of both perform
ers is proud and martial and Scotch.
could tell they were Scotch
even Saxon infant in arms. One old
gentleman in Finsbury circus was so
pleased by the aspect of one of these
bagpipe couples a day or two since that
he gave them each sixpence, saying:
''Eh, mon, do ye prefer playing the
music O. the bonny hame land in musty
Lunnon streets to marching across the
heather WI the wind in your teeth?"
The first Scotchman looked at him in
surprise. The second was taken sud-
denly with engrossing pains in the pit
of his stomach.
''Whatcher tatkin' abart, gov'nor?
Me an my mite buyed this ere arm or
gin an this 'ere rig out down tn Ditch
when the bagpipe boom come in. It's
a lot better'n shown bloomin' barroT
tryin' to sell oranges when the people
has got too many of 'em at home al
ready. Oh, the business amt so bad
'cept for the chilblames you gets on
your knees, and when the kids don't
stick pins in the bier O. the engin'. Me,
an my mite, we do wish, though, when
people give us coin, they wouldn't go
jawin' of us i'm a bloomin' furrin Ian
gwidge."
But, good heavens, how did you
learn? How did you manage to play?"
"'Ow? Easy enough. Nobody amt
complained yet. Yer just squeezes the
old balloon an lets 'er squeal herself
sick. An, Lor' bless you, the sicker she
squeals herself the more people seems
to like it. Biimey, there amt no ac-
countin' for tastes, but me an my mite
makes a quid a dye, an that's all we
knows si"-Toudon Mail