Young Langham had taken a guitar from one of the musicians and pressed it upon MacWilliams, with imperative directions to sing such and such songs, of which, in their isolation, they had grown to think most highly, and MacWilliams was protesting in much embarrassment.
MacWilliams had a tenor voice which he maltreated in the most villanous manner by singing directly through his nose.He had a taste for sentimental songs, in which ``kiss'' rhymed with ``bliss,'' and in which ``the people cry'' was always sure to be followed with ``as she goes by, that's pretty Katie Moody,'' or ``Rosie McIntyre.'' He had gathered his songs at the side of camp-fires, and in canteens at the first section-house of a new railroad, and his original collection of ballads had had but few additions in several years.MacWilliams at first was shy, which was quite a new development, until he made them promise to laugh if they wanted to laugh, explaining that he would not mind that so much as he would the idea that he thought he was serious.
The song of which he was especially fond was one called ``He never cares to wander from his own Fireside,'' which was especially appropriate in coming from a man who had visited almost every spot in the three Americas, except his home, in ten years.MacWilliams always ended the evening's entertainment with this chorus, no matter how many times it had been sung previously, and seemed to regard it with much the same veneration that the true Briton feels for his national anthem.
The words of the chorus were:
``He never cares to wander from his own fireside, He never cares to wander or to roam.
With his babies on his knee, He's as happy as can be, For there's no place like Home, Sweet Home.''
MacWilliams loved accidentals, and what he called ``barber-shop chords.'' He used a beautiful accidental at the word ``be,'' of which he was very fond, and he used to hang on that note for a long time, so that those in the extreme rear of the hall, as he was wont to explain, should get the full benefit of it.And it was his custom to emphasize ``for'' in the last line by speaking instead of singing it, and then coming to a full stop before dashing on again with the excellent truth that ``there is NO place like Home, Sweet Home.''