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And sometimes they would play Sunday afternoons too; and Parson were terrible put about, and wrote to the Colonel to say as how the music took the folk away from church, and likened it to the worship of the golden calf, when `the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up again to play. But Colonel never took no notice of it, and when 'twas a fine evening there was a mort of people trapesing over the Downs, and some poor lasses wished afterwards they'd never heard no music sweeter than the clar'net and bassoon up in the gallery of Wydcombe Church.
Oh, we'll be doing it grand," said Pete, blowing over the rim of his saucer. "John the Clerk is tremenjous on the trombones, and there's no bating Jonaique with the clar'net the man is music to his little backbone. The town will be coming out too, and the fishermen shouting like one man. We're bound to let the Governor see we mane it.
"We was a clar'net and a fiddle and a bass viol," he said reflectively. "Never kept time the bass viol didn't. Couldn't never get it into his head. He wasn't never any shakes of a player and he was a good feller too." "Did they play at your wedding?" asked Lilac. "They did that," he answered; "in church and likewise after the ceremony. Lor'! to hear how the bass viol did tag behind in Rockingham.
Clar'nets were not made for the service of the Lard; you can see it by looking at 'em, I said. And what came o't? Why, souls, the parson set up a barrel-organ on his own account within two years o' the time I spoke, and the old quire went to nothing." "As far as look is concerned," said the tranter, "I don't for my part see that a fiddle is much nearer heaven than a clar'net. 'Tis further off.
"It's thirty years ago," he said, speaking in a jerky voice so as not to interfere with the comfort of his pipe, "since I had a fowl for dinner and I mind very well when it was. It was my wedding-day. Away up in the north it was, and parson gave the feast." "Was that when you used to play the clar'net in church, Uncle?" asked Lilac. Joshua nodded.
An icicle o' spet hung down from the end of every man's clar'net a span long; and as to fingers well, there, if ye'll believe me, we had no fingers at all, to our knowing." "I can well bring back to my mind," said Mr. 'Joseph, I said, says I, 'depend upon't, if so be you have them tooting clar'nets you'll spoil the whole set-out.
Uncle Joshua's solo almost brought tears to her eyes, partly of affection and pride and partly because he extracted such lovely and stirring sounds from the clar'net. It made her think of her mother and the cottage, and of so many dear old things of the past, that she felt sorrowful and happy at once.
"Why, you'd better fall in too with the clar'net, Mr Snell," suggested Mr Dimbleby. "That'd make a fine thing of it with four instruments." Joshua shook his head solemnly. "Mine's a solo," he said. "A sacred one: `Sound the loud timbrel o'er Egypt's dark sea. That'll give a variety."
Already it was so cold, that although it was earlier than usual Miss Ellen said they must begin to think of warming the church, and to do this they must have some money, and therefore the yearly village concert must be arranged. "It was the new curate as come to me about it," said the cobbler to Mr Dimbleby one evening. "`You must give us a solo on the clar'net, Mr Snell, says he."