Evening star., 1941-07-19

w x&$&8 ing TO sound
~ YS4 Essz proof shelters.
S'S''S@'s Halifax is a
Henry MeLemore. n agnifice mt
place to study the effect Of the
bagpipe on civilized man. Halifax
is the capital of Nova Scotia. and
Nova Scotia means New Scotland"
All of the ault Country's traditions
and customs are as alive here as
they are in Glasgow, Troon or Prest-
wick
Young HallfaXians If that IL toe e.
word are apprenticed to the young
bagplpe just as children Of other
places are directed toward the
harpsichord, the lutte, the Tyre and
the oboe. One of the first steps in
child training in Halifax is the
helping of the youngster to over
come a natural fear of the bag q,
pipe In this city you will see chill.
dren shy away from poodles tabbies
and canary birds. but walk straight
to the bagplpe, much more fearsOnle
object than a hound of the Basker-
villes even, and pat its plump sides.
By the time they are five and
six the children are blowing into a
bagpipe. so from morning until night -
a visitor is never away from the 70
sound of this musical hangover
from the Spanish InquisitiOn. -.
Augmenting the children are their
elders. Once a bagpipe PLAYER al
ways a bagpipe player. 1t gets in
the blood and there is no known
cure. '
At the present time Halifax Is
even more a bagplpe center than 70
usual. There are thousands of -
Scottish soldiers here and apparent
ly each one is equipped with a
bagplpe, just as he is with a rife
and gas mask. When the children
and their parents are not playing.
the soldiers are.
Because of some unWrtten law
the best hours for bagpipe- PLAYING
have been established as in the
morning and any hour of the night
when Jne player feels that those
within sound of his internal ma
chine are asleep.
There is nothing like a bagpipe
for disturbing sleep. p
In comparison a riveting machine
Is a carlton, an alarm clock the
strains of a muted guitar and the
clatter of a milkmans horse on
cobblestones as soothing as a purl-
ing brook purllng over rounded .
stones, One note from a bagpips -
and Rip Van Wrinkle would have
snapped to attention from his
couch and been at the Office with
the windows pulled down at Q
sharp.
For those fortunate enough to
have heard a bagplpe. but whose
maSochistiC streak is wide enough
| to wonder about its sound. I will
try to describe same. Roughly, the
sound is the same as would be
uttered by a banshee if he caught
his thumb in a door or if his feet
were stomped on.
No, that's not right. A banshee
is more nearly human than a bag
pipe. suppose if you crossed the
cry of a hungry timber wolf with
the squeak of a frightened aard-
vark and presented the combination ,
against a background of noises
formed by the union Of a streetCar
rounding a sharp corner, a finger
nail drawn against slate black
board end Senator Wheeler nearing
the end of speaking tour, you'd
have it.
The British have never employed
the bagpipe as a weapon of war. I
believe they should. No one who has
ever heard massed bagpipe bands in
action can imagine a city with
standing for very long q siege by
bagpipers. A bagpipe parachutist
could demoralize a fortifcation be-
fore he was stilled.
Broadcasts of bagpipe music would
tend to shatter an enemy's morale
and bagpipes, played on the decks
of warShipS, would drown out the
sound of motors and make it pos
sible for feet to move within
inches Of an enemy f1otilla before
being detected. One word of expla-
nation to my readers: The chief rea-
son for my dwelling on bagpipes a.
such length is because bagpipes src
Just about the only thing in Canad7
in which the censor has no interesj
The informative article I had pre-
pared for today was given the offici5l
niXeroo, the Of antcay -ohgay.
One must be careful up here not
to even mention that Canada enjcvs.
four seasons-spring, summer, ta!l
and winter. -.-
That comes under the head OF
military secrets.
Don't ask me why, brothers,
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