The Express.
London, England, 1853-03-23 00:00:00

BRIDONORTH ELECTION.

The farce of the election of a bargees to serve in
parliament, to represent the "free and independent"
of thin notorious little borough, took place yesterday. The
affair pelted Win dumb show: there had been some talk
of as eggneltien t bet notwithstanding the number of per-
sonsvbeans ambitious of a seat in parliament, nobody ap-
pmrs t• have Mies bold enough to attack immaculate
Bridgmetk, with Apley Castle frowning in the distance.
In feet the plain has acquired such a very bad name that
the premat proprietor is likely. to have and to hold it all to
himself until parliament steps in and rescues the unfortu-
nate mten from territorial inflames. Why Bridgnorth
was permitted even under the Reform Bill to continue to
send &couple of members to parliament nobody can tell
the placehas declined in importance, and consequently in
the spirit and independence of its people ever since, though
with the addition of Ironbridge, Coalbrookdelc, Madeley,
and Broseley—all close by—a large and really independent
constituency might have been created. Let us hope that
the new Reform Bill will do something in this way as re-
gards Bridgnorth.
Oa this—the morning of the election—the town was
astir unusually early, the people all intent on the little
fever and bustle incidental to an election. A banker in a
small town has always a great deal of influence in it, as
everybody knows—Bridgnorth has the good fortune to poe-
ms a gentleman of this sort in Mr. John Pritchard, who is
" qualified in every way " and possesses even a larger
amount of claims on the constituency than usually falls to
the lot of a person in his position.
This morning he =Wolin " triumphal entry " into Bridg-
north; it occupied very little time to escort him from the
entrance of the town to the Town-hall, and scarcely more
before he was declared "duly elected."
Mr. T. P. PARTON, banker, proposed, and Mr. 8. H.
RICHARDS, a magistrate of the borough, seconded the nomi-
nation of Mr. Pritchard.

There being no other candidate, "the declaration" fol-
lowed of course.
Mr. PRITCHARD addressed the electors briefly—be
avowed himself a conservative in every sense of the word,
and promised to promote the interests of the borough.
Very little was said about the late petition and exposure
of the bad practices at the last election for the borough,
and the whole affair passed off tamely—more so than some
of the people appeared to like, for the Shropshire folk are
fond of good ale, and we were informed that " there was to
be no treating at this election :" judging by the number of
sober people about the streets—unusually so at an election
is Bridgnorth—probsbly the information we received was
correct.

ANTIQI:ITY OF TILE POLKA.—The description of
the lavolta, in Sir John Davies's poem on dancing, the
" Orchestra " (1.596), shows that it must have closely resem-
bled the dance which we fondly bout of as one of the great
inventions of the nineteenth century. It runs as follows :
" Yet is there one, the most delightful kind,
A lofty jumping, or a leaping round,
Where arm in arm two dancers are entwined,
And whirl themselves with strict embracement/ bound ;
And still their feet an anapest do sound ;
An anapest is all their music song,
Whose first two feet are short, and third is long."
The "anapest " is conclusive ; it points exactly to the
peculiar nature of the polka, the pause ou the third step.
Moreover, it appears, that as there is no especial figure for
the polka, so there was none for the lavolta ; fur it is classed
among those dances
" Wherein that dancer greatest praise has woo,
Which, with best order, can all orders shun ;
For everywhere he wantonly must range,
And turn and wind with tinespe-Ved elionge."
Who can doubt after that I The polka was certainly
danced before Queen Elisabeth.—Flosi " Notes and
Queries."