Year: 1878




gross and brutal outrage on peaceable


and innocent Scotchman. The attall
was, perhaps, almost too horrible to be


told in family newspaper, but as 1T IL


lustrates the stern fidelity with which


justice is administered in Scotland, ii


may carry useful lesson to our courts


An English commercial traveller AS


it is the fashion in this country to call


that charming class of persons better
known in England as bagmen-recently
went to Edinburgh, and, as he intended


to make some stay in that city, hired
lodging He was not we'll acquainted
with the manners and customs of the
Scottish people, and was, moreover, little
better in Scottish eyes than Romanist,
being a member of the Church Of Eng,
land. While he was not, so far as known,
a thief or a drunkard he was, neverthe-
less. openly addicted to playing on the
piano and to singing worldly songs.
Doubtless, he would never Lave been able
to procure lodging in respectable part
of Edin burgh had it been known that he
was guilty of these vices. AS will be
seen, as soon as his true character was
discovered, he was transferred to lodg-
ings more appropriate for persons of his
peculiar habits.


The next room to that occupied by
IHlS ullSSTdUlo was
by a sturdy and upright Scotchman, and
on the first Sunday afternoon after the
arrival of the commercial traveller, the
good Scotchman was inexpressly shocked
to hear the sound of piano in his neigh
| boris room. The Scotchman was particu-
larly earnest in his conscientious opposi-
ton to musical instruments, and had
seeded from two different kinds of Pres
byteran churches, because in one an
organ and in the other violin had been
introduced to accompany the singing of
psalms. When he heard piano on the
Sabbath day he naturally felt outraged,
and determined to drown the wicked
noise by singing Sternhold & Hopkins
psalms in his loudest voice. Accordingly,
he took up his psalm book and made the
furniture vibrate with his strident sing
ing, but he could neither drown the piano
nor disconcert the musician.


After half an hour of this sort of effort,
the Scotchman's throat grew excessively
sore and he turned off his voice. About
the same time the traveller, in his turn,
began to sing. The perspiration stood
on the brow of the Mortified Scotchman
as he recognized the riotous strains of
annie Laurie" and similar ribald melo-
dies. He tried to read a sermon of unu-
sual weight and length but he could not
fix his mind upon what he was reading
He tried to deaden his sensibilities by
repeating the Westminster Catechism
but he found himself defining original
sin as Saving grace whereby
committing other errors, which convinc-
ed him that music and the Catechism do
not mix we'll together. Finally, he de-
cided that there was but one course left
for him as an humble and consistent
Covenanter. and, removing his coat he
walked, with a firm and rapid step, to
the commercial travellers room, postpon-
ing the ceremony of knocking until he
reached the wretched culprit.


There is no doubt that the singer was
exceedingly astonished, for he instantly
stopped singing. Almost any man who,
while sitting at piano, is suddenly
knocked down by a large and silent
Scotchman would be somewhat aston
ished. However, the Englishman was
bold man, although of light weight, and
he instantly rose from the floor and fell
upon his assailant with great vigor.
There was no one within hearing to in
terfere, and the combatants fought with
undiminished ardor for nearly an hour.
Beginning at the piano, which stood on
the west side of the room about three
feet from the window, they fought all
around the ROOM and fell over immense
quantities of furniture. The strength of
the Scotchman was almost matched by
the agility of the Englishman, and at one
time, when the latter had forced his
enemy's head into the coal-scuttle, it
really looked as if the Englishman was
to be the victor. In the last round, how
ever, the musical miscreant was knocked
against the corner of the piano and tenn
porarily stunned. When he regained
L,
upon him and awaiting the arrival of a
policeman.


When the combatants were brought
before a magistrate, they did not present
very creditable appearance. There
were but two available eyes among them,
though, by way of compensation, they
each had an enormous quantity of nose.
The Scotchman charged the Englshman
with having broken the Sabbath by sing
ing profane songs, and the latter charged
his adversary with an unprovoked assault
and battery. Each told his own story,
and told it truly The Englishman said
that he was singing annie Laurie,
when a sanguinary lunatic burst into his
room and tried to murder him. The
Scotchman said that, hearing wretch in
the act of violating the Sabbath, he felt
that it was his duty to prevail upon him
to stop. The magistrate, after duly
weighing the evidence, committed the
commercial traveller to Jail for disturbing
the peace and breaking the Sabbath, and
then discharged the Scotchman, with a
warm commendation of his noble con-
duct, assuring him that the whole COM
munity would applaud his energy in pre-.
serving the Sabbath from desecration.


Strange as it may seem. the English
press does not agree with the Scottish
IL ID III
disingenuously hints that rough and
tumble fight is quite as much a violation
of the Sabbath as is the singing of annie
Laurie" But it is useless to try to satisfy
Englishmen. In this case horrible out
rage was perpetrated upon an estimable
Scotchman, and yet the English press
seems to think that the aggressor ought
not to have been punished. What is the
use of arguing with people who are stupid
enough to hold such an opinion as this
80 Lo 81