Rather a nasty allusion that to the bagpipe and the bears. It reminds us of the dancing bear, or the organ and the monkey of our own day. Whatever the piper might think of himself, people seemed disposed to think the worst of him, and innumerable petty offences were laid to his charge. In 1570 three St. Andrews pipers were admonished to keep the Sabbath day holy, to attend sermon, and to abstain from playing on the streets after supper or during the night. Playing and dancing on Sunday came so often under clerical censure as to show very plainly the general use of the instrument on the one hand, and on the other its adoption in connection with dancing, particularly in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. In 1574 a great complaint was made by a burgess of Stirling to the Privy Council of an assault “by are namit Edmond Broun, are Highland piper,” when bit to the effusion of blood “by the said pyperis dog.” In 1591 and 1593 George Bennet, piper in the Water of Leith, and James Brakenrig, agreed to abstain from playing on the bagpipes on Sunday; in 1595 and 1596 Thomas Cairns, following the same vocation there, fell under displeasure for playing and dancing on Sunday; and William Aiken pledged himself never to profane the Sabbath day again with the pipes. In 1598 “Duncan Ure and Johnne Forbes, pyper,” were sentenced to imprisonment, and to be fed on bread and water, on confessing that they had sat up all night “playing at the dys quhill iiij hours in the morning,” when they quarrelled. In 1606 Richard Watsone, piper in the Water of Leith, was threatened with censure, and in 1624 James Clark was “fined of xxsh. for having an pyper playing in his house in tyme of sermon, vpoun the Lord his Sabbath.” “William Wallace, pyper,” was sentenced by the kirk session of St. Cuthbert’s “to stand for one day upon the pillar, and thereafter to remove furth of the parochine, ay an quhill he be ane renewit man of his manneris, and to get lief of presbyterie to retourne, after they sie amendiment in his lyf and conversatioun,” and in Galloway there is still the “great well of Larg,” of which it is said a piper stole the offering, but when he was drinking ale, which he intended to pay for with the stolen money, the gout seized on him, of which he could not be cured but at that well and after he had restored the money.