The age-herald., 1898-01-29

Bangor, Me-, Jan. 2S.-A cold wave pre-
 ........-....-
 bought such beautiful sets of bagpipes for
 sock their hobby and disposed ot their in
 struments at loss, or laid them in the garret along with the old spinnet ana the once-fashionable banjo.
 But now presto something has happened. It has happened a long way on-out In India, in faet-but it has given such a hllip to the popularity of the bagpipes that at this moment of writing their fame is
 gerater-infinitely greater-than at any
 time since the ''bonny skirl O The Cock O
 the North swept proudly OCT the bloody
 plain of Waterloo"
 Who cares whether the story of the gall
 lant piper at the recent charge of Dargai
 is true? Who dares to say it is notA Are
 there not at 300 music halls in London and
 the provinces twice 300 pipers nightly en- acting the scene as it was described by Reuters correspondent-to the intense en- thusiasm of the audiences and of all En- glishmen-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 Liverpool, Glas-
 gow, Manchester and Birmingham-has its
 piper at some hour of the day. They have
 come to Carmelite street early in the ev- ening to fret the souls of the long-dead tTldrS anu lO set DedtilS lue puISeS oi thC scribes-Caledonian and otherwise-whose ears are flogged by the raucous vail h. deed many of the most trenchant columns | of the Daily Mail'' have been conceived and writ to the tune of Annie Laurie or the "Girl I Left Behind Me-" Our sport ing editor has found in Scots Wha Hae' a most fecund inspiration; and our lead
 ing article was yesterday composed to
 the air ofS''When Jamie Gangs Ava"
 But 1t takes two pipers to do the thing
 naA Aff fharfr n nj down playing the instrument Cor is 1t a machine D, while another accompanies him, handling sheathed sword. The bearing of both performers is proud and martial and Scotch. Anybody could tell they were Scotch--even a Saxon infant in arms. One old gentleman in Finsbury circus was so pleased by the aspect of one of these bag pipe couples . day or two since that he gave them each sixpence, saying: "Ich, 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 suddenly with expressing pains In the pit of his stomach.
 "Whatcher talkn' abart. govnor? Me an my mite buyed this ere arm orgn an this ere rig out down tn Ditch when the bagpipe boom come in. It's lot better'n shovin' a bloomin' barrer tryin' to sell | oranges when the people has got too many | of 'em at home already. Oh. tine business | ain't so bad, 'cept for the chi'b'ames you | gets on your knees. and when the kids 1 don't stick pins in the biler O the engin'. | Me an my mite. we do wish. though. when | people give us coin, they wouldn't go iawin' l of us in bloomin' turin langwldge" "But, good heavens. how di you learn? ? l How do you manage to play?
 "'Ow? Easy enough. Nobody amt complaincd yet. Yer jest soueezes the old balloon an lets Ger suueal herself sick An. LOT bless you, the sicker she squalls Blimey, there aia't no accountin' for tastes, but me an my mite makes quid a dye. an that's all we knows"