The Athletes and Athletic Sports of Scotland

BAGPIPE PLAYING. 101 factors that have servedto maintain the popularity of the great Highland bagpipe the first is its being used in connection with the Highland regiments, each of which has six pipers, the leader of whom is sergeant piper (formerly pipe-major). It is well known that on more than one occasion English officers have tried to get the bagpipessuperseded by instruments more in ac­ cordance with their owntastes. When the regiment raisedby Lord M'Leod in 1778, called the 73rd or M'Leod's Highlanders, was in India, where they werefrom 1780 to 1798, GeneralCoote thought at first that the bagpipe was "a useless relic of the bar­ barous ages, and not in any manner calculated for disciplined troops. But the distinctness with w ich the shrillsounds pierced and made themselves heard throughthe noise ofthe battle,and the influence they seemed to excite, effecteda total change in opinion. At Porto Novo in1781 Sir Eyre Coote, with 8000 men, of which the 73rd was the onlyBritish regiment, attacked and defeated Hyder Ali's army of " 25 battalions of infantry, 400 Europeans, from 40,000 to 50,000 horse, and above 100,000 matchlock men, with 47 cannon." The 73rdwas on the right of the first line, leadingall the attacks, to he fullapprobation of General Coote, whosenotice wasparticularly attracted by one of the pipers, who always blew up his most warlike sounds when­ ever the fire became hotter thanordinary. This sopleased the General that he cried aloud—" Well done, my brave fellow, you shall have a pair of silver pipes forthis." The pipes when pre­ sented bore a suitable inscription, testifying the General's high opinion of the soldiersthey had so inspirited. "At the battle of Assaye the musicians were ordered to attend tothe wounded. Oneof the pipers laidaside his pipes to engage in this duty, for which he was afterwards reproached by his comrades. Flutes and hautboys, they thought, could be well spared, but for the piper, who should always be in the heat of the battle, to go to the rear with the whistlers was a thing altogether unheard of, ihe unfortunate piper was quite humbled. However, he soon hadan opportunity of playing off this stigma,for in the advance