Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1853-12-22
Communication.
Dancfng

prOach upon thOse Nho seeA itldA"Huh anu iN9'
from the cares Of lie, in the genial and exciting
pleasures Of The dance. With the request con.
tanned in that communication l shall with your
consent, to some extent comply. Although
not skilled in the mysteiics.of The art dsPu-
tation, the guantlet thus bravelJ thrown down
shall not remain uunoteed or unaccepted
and there shall one at least be found who will
feht to "the last ofhis blsod and hi breath in
the defence of this harmless and christian a.
To every Daton and condition OF
men the dance is source of happiness and de-
|, rht. The staid and serious Englishmen, un
der its genial influence, fOrgels the turmoil o
business and the sorrows Of life, and soar S
away, in Imagination to land of continued e.
lieitv. The volatile Frenchman and the yet
more enervated and luxurious Italian, finds in
its mazes perpetual round Of pleasure and de-
LIGHT. The gloomy and disconsoated slave
LEAPS gaily DER the beautiful fields OF the sun
nv South" and remembers not his task, his
chains and misery; but in fancy's magic fight
is borne away in his own native Africa where
his forelathers danced gaily to the sound o!
merry music Sadly means the winter wind
o'er the ice fields of Greenland but the rude
Esouinaux feel it not for in their subterran can
huts the marriage dance goes merrily on
But most dear OF all is the dance to the care
won inhabitant of our. own America .the land
of the free, and the home Of the brave" For
worn with labor and toll, in the dance alone
may he find repose and recreation. Merrlly
our forefathers danced when the Mayhowtr
had safely bufIetted the waves OF the ocean
and brought them to peace to the land OF free
dom they had sought. Then it was that in
the glowing language of Mrs. Hemans, ''the
sounding aisles Of the dim woods range to the
anthems Of the free," and the dance thus en-
deared to the patriots heart has been and will
ever be his greatest delight and most loved "a
nusement, Since thus rendered sacred to the
American migrate and traitor should be, if
neglecting to WELD my feeble pen in its sup
port this glorious custom should fall into dis
repute. Then. without farther introducto lot
us proceed at once to the examination and an
swer of the questions submitted by our friend
MFR. Mitchell. OF all these we take the sfir-
native, and shall endeaypr to sustain our po'
sidon by argument. "Truth is mighty and
will prevail" The first question proposed is
rs follows as the modern pleasure dance
promotive Of the spiritual and eternal welfare
of those who engage in ?" We are proverS
ialy money making and moneyloving peo'
'ple. Even the hours of sleep are often cur.
tailed that we may, with less interruption " or
ship the "almighty dollar" Indeed, the
minds Of the greater portion of the inhabitants
Of the United States are SO englosSed with tht
business of amassing wealth that they neither
care for, nor regard any other interests what
ever From Monday morn to Saturday eve
they labor an uDremittingly and the Sabbath
unwelcome rest being passed, engage with
fresh ardor sgain in the busy scenes OF life
Trade and traffic, buying and selling, occupy
all their thoughts and all else is, alas, too of
forgotten and disregarded And thus It is,
that whatever tcnds to disengage the mind
Of the man Of business from the chains VIII ich
have bound him down to earth becomes to him
the messenger Of joy, the herald which an
nounce the approach oflong desired happiness
The exhilerating dance by It's benign and kind
ly influence, banishes the gloomy thoughts
which have saddened his soul aad its him to
receive hopes and desire Of a higher nobler
and more glorious nature. Elevated almost
to the delighs of the tabled Elysium, as the
gentle music falls upon his ear, sweet and beau
tiul perceptions lllf his heart with glsdess and
he is by degrees, changed to a gentle and
truly virtuous man and thus the "pleasure
dance" prsv's beneficial to the spiritual and
eternal interests of man"
The second question proposed reads as fol.
lows: "Is it (the doncs) prOmOtve of solid
mentel improvement ?"
There are two classes of persons that COM
pose society IN every instance. The first COM
prisas those vino make literature or rather
the scquisiiisa t khowlcdge the business Of
their lives the learned and accomplished. The
second class is made up ofthe ignorant and un.
learned To the frst the dance is beneficial, in
- n
the rigor and severity of study and prepares
them tC enter again with renewed strength and
zest upon the pursuit Of knowledge. To the
second it becomes "promove Of solid mental
improvement" by causing those who compose
it to be brought in contact with the great, the
wise and the prudent. from the spirit of the
first they imbibe energy determination aud
true nobility Of character From the second