CanÌƒon City record. [volume] (CanÌƒon City, Colo.) 1883-192?, 1898-03-31
A BOOM In BAGPIPEs.
The Heroism of a Piper Sets q
Fashion in London
wheesy windbags Are Popular as
Parlor Ornaments-The "Hee-
land" BroRae to
the Fore.

Fifteen months and more ago there
was recounted in these columns the
genesis and growth of a threatened
bagpipe boom. For a time the craze
flourished and promised to do much;
then it languished, and the young la
dies and gentlemen who had bought
such beautiful sets of bagpipes forsook
their hobby and disposed of their instru-
ments at loss, or laid them in the gar
ret along with the old spinnet and the
once-fashionable banjo.
But now. presto, Something has hap
pened. II has happened long way of
out in India, in faet-but it has given
such flip to the popularity of the
bagpipes that at this moment of writ
ing their fame is greater-infini,ely
greater-than al any time since the
''bonny skirl 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 recen; charge of
Dargai is true? Who dares to say il is
not? Are there not at 500 music halls
in 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-
pardon-Great Britons and Irishmen
throughout the civilized world?
When shall the glory of the bagpipes
die? Nearly every side street-nof
only in the grea, metropolis. but in Liv-
erpool. Glasgow. Manchester and Bir-
minghsm-has its piper at some hour of
the day They have come to Carmelife
street early in the evening to fret the
souls of the long-dead friars and to Sc:
beating the pulses of the scribes-Cale-
donian and otherwise-whose ears are
fogged by the raucous wall. Indeed.
many of the most TRENCH ut columns of
the Daily Mail have been coaeeived and
writ to the tune of "Anaie Laurie" or
the Girl I Left Behind Ne" Our
sporting editor has found in Scots Wha
Hae" 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
COR is il machine y, while another ac-
companies him, handling sheaihed
sword. The bearing of both PERFORM
ers is proud and martial and Scotch.
Anybody 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 day or two since that
ne gave them each sixpence. saying:
''Eh. mon, do We 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 Scotchmau looked a; him in
surprise. The second was taken sud-
denly with engrossing pains in the pi;
Of his stomach.
"Whatcher talkin' abart, cov'nor?
Me an my mite buyed this ere arm or
i'm an this ere rig out down III Ditch
when the bagpipe boom come in. Its
lot better'n shown hloomin' barrer
tryin' to sell oranges when the people
has got too many of 'em at home al
,eady. Oh, the business amt so bad.
'eept for the chilblames you gets on
your knees. and when the kids don't
stick pins in the b'iler o. the engin'. Ne
an my mite. we do wish. though. when
people give us coin. they wouldn't go
jawin' of us IN bloomin' furrin lam
gwidge."
But, good heavens, how did YOU
learn? How did you manage to play -
"'ow9 Easy enough. Nobody amt
complained yet Yer just sqneezes 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. Blimey, there amt no ac-
countin' for tastes, hu; me an my mite
makes quid a dye. an that's all we
knows!"-London Mail.