And those were such stairs!
Northern people praise the bagpipes, and your genuine Highlander would sooner die than own it was not the “pravest” music ever made. He will tell you that to hear it to perfection you must have it on the mountain side, or away upon some glorious Scottish loch. This is the truth, for undoubtedly the bagpipes are then at their best, and the farther off upon the mountain, or the wider the loch, the better.
But Max was hearing the music in a bare-walled, echoing chamber, and, but for the fact that there was hardly any roof, there is no saying what might have been the consequences. For Donald blew till his cheeks were as tightly distended as the bag, while chanter and drone burred and buzzed, and screamed and wailed, as if twin pigs were being ornamented with nose-rings, and their affectionate mamma was all the time bemoaning the sufferings of her offspring, “Macrimmon’s Lament” might have been the old piper’s lamentation given forth in sorrow because obliged to make so terribly ear-shrilling a noise.
But, like most things, it came to an end, and with a sigh of relief Max sprang up to exclaim, as if he had been in a London drawing-room, and some one had just obliged,—
“Oh, thank you!”
“She’s a gran’ chune,” said Donald, pressing forward, and as it were backing poor Max into the seat from which he had sprung. “Noo she’ll gie ye ‘Ta Mairch o’ ta Mackhais.’”
Max suppressed a groan, as the old man drew himself up and produced half a dozen sonorous burring groans from the drone.
Then there was a pause, and Donald dropped the mouthpiece from his lips.
“She forgot to say tat she composed ta mairch in honour of the Chief hersel’.”
Then he blew up the bag again, and there came forth a tremendous wail, wild and piercing, and making a curious shudder run up and down Max’s backbone, while directly after, as he was debating within himself whether he might not make some excuse about Kenneth waiting, so as to get away, the old man marched up and down, playing as proudly as if he were at the head of a clan of fighting men.