Hello Adam,
The Scots Magazine, 1930, described it as “A band of twelve pipers and seven drummers is leading a recruiting party. Behind the files of disciplined soldiers a motley procession of recruits has fallen in — miners, shepherds, gamekeepers, clerks, fishermen, mechanics —all animated by the spirit expressed in the two lines of youthful poetry …..”
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=N4A ... CDMQ6AEwAA
The soldiers are drumming up recruits and every man, boy, and his dog has joined in off the street as part of the fun of it all. Some at the back are struggling to keep up and are clearly either too young or too old to have a hope of joining up.
The strange object looks to me like a custom made canvas or similar bag narrow at one end and with the wide end open with maybe some tape sewn on. The contents are inserted, the end folded over, and tied. The narrow end looks to be tight and twisted. Maybe there is a rifle inside, in which case perhaps the basket is for game.
The fellow with his arm up looks to be more affluent than the others, I thought he was maybe wearing long socks rather than gaiters. My first impression was that he was the local landowner ordering people around, maybe he’s a clerk. He looks as if he’s about to give the fellow in front a push because he has his hands in his pockets.
There’s an interesting read here.
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=3FA ... 22&f=false
All the best,
Alan
