4 A HUNDEED YEARS 



men in the native costume — their nether garments being 

 like the most voluminous of knickerbockers — and the 

 women with their wonderful coiffes. Dancing was in 

 full swing to the music of thebiniou,the Breton bagpipes, 

 and the music and dancing were certainly first-cousins 

 to our Highland bagpipe music and reels. 



After a struggle I managed to make my way through 

 the crowd to the side of the old piper, and during the 

 short intervals between the dances I carried on a brisk 

 conversation with him in French on the subject of 

 bagpipes. I informed him that we had nearly the same 

 kind of pipes in the North of Scotland, and that we also 

 spoke an ancient language related to the Breton. He 

 suddenly brightened up and became quite excited. 

 Talking of J^cosse, he said, reminded him of days long 

 gone by, when he was a lad, and there was a Monsieur 

 Ecossais living in the Chateau de Talhouet not far away, 

 a big gentleman with reddish hair and whiskers. 

 Whilst monsieur was there, a baby son was born and a 

 dance was given, for which he was hired as musician. 

 My mother could well remember that dance being 

 given and the hiring of the piper, and here was the 

 very man who had played all night in honour of my 

 birth ! 



Another curious coincidence I must mention here in 

 connection with the Chateau de Talhouet, which was in 

 olden times the seat of a great Breton nobleman, the 

 Marquis de Talhouet. About two years ago, during the 

 late war, when Lochewe was a naval base, a French 

 warship came in, and as none of the naval officers stationed 

 at Aultbea happened to be very fluent in French and 



