Of Bagpipes, Bogles, and Banshees

To the delight of 300 enthusiastic onlookers, Master Charles W. Dunn yesterday stood in the Quincy House courtyard, waved the gold-headed cane of former Harvard President Josiah Quincy in the air three times, and proclaimed the House's deliverance "from the malevolence of all banshees, bogles, and kindred evil spirits."

Dunn--gaily clad in a green plaid kilt, green tweed jacket, green knee socks, and black bonnet--then yielded to the 15-member Stuart Highland Pipe Band of Bedford, which piped old favorites like "Scotland the Brave" and "We're No Away to Bide Away" to complete the ceremony.

The exorcism was the third in Quincy's history. Dunn, who began the custom when he became Housemaster in 1966, said at the afternoon ceremony that the annual banishment of banshees is now "tied inextricably into the walls of Quincy House," and that he will continue it. After the exorcism, however, Dunn reminded one student that evil spirits still exist in droves outside the perimeter of the House--even as close as Mill St., which borders Quincy on the South, where former Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara addressed an impromptu rally two years ago.

But politics were far from the minds of yesterday's crowd, which broke up slowly as the amateur bagpipers and drummers--who during the week come down to earth to be truckdrivers and lawyers--made their way to the Quincy House roof to ward off any lingering banshees.

A banshee is a female Celtic spirit "a kind of half-witch," Mrs. Dunn explained to one student. The boy, a sophomore who was clearly a bit astounded by his first Sunday in a Harvard House, sighed and remarked, "It sure feels good to get rid of them."