This is just in case anyone has the same problem that I did, and is also cursed with the same fits of silliness that I am afflicted with -
4 months after my last post (in which I had given up on the musketeer) I returned to the file the other day, and decided to give it one final attempt before I wiped the file of my pc forever...
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that DOSbox or VDMsound made no difference at all (thay both work fine for this by the way

k: ) all I had needed to do was check the option for display settings compatibility - to 256 colours and 640 x480 screen resolution. Then it all sprang into action...Silly me.
Surgeon General warns : Do not let ridiculous things like default compatibility options (found in properties of course) interrfere in joyful gaming, particularly for nearly half a year.