Ex Major McGill and his Staff on the Square; And heard ye the bagpipes, their melody sounding, When Donald and a’ the braw pipers were there? Ye should hae seen Donald! nae signs 0’ his failing, Dress’d out in full costume o’ tartan array; Tho’ threescore and ten, yet as brisk as a callan, He danc’d on the green a blithe Scottish strathspey.

“And Donald went through the performance most featly, The reel or the auld Highland fling, on that day;

Few youngsters, when sparking, could trip it more neatly, More nimbly on foot — tho’ his tresses are gray.

Long life to old Donald! may Providence send him A routh 0’ good wind to hold out to the last;

A guardian of grace, in his age to defend him, And music above when his piping is past.”“

By 1864, conditions were ripe for the establishment of the Society’s new image. The Caledonian Club would take more active measures than had its predecessors in preserving the bonds of kinship and the heritage of its members. Still, with the birth of the new club there died a little of the magic and excitement that characterized the earlier years of Scottish activity on the Island. By 1864, patterns had been set; the new con- stitution only seasoned and stylized the aims, objectives, and resolutions of old. The change was to be expected. The club had matured over the years to comply with its own varying needs and the social, economic, and political advances made in the world around it. No longer was the kinship an isolated entity. As the Caledonian Club, it would take its active, rightful place in Prince Edward Island society.

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