The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1871-03-17

VOL. VINO. 27.

oeiving it unoccupied, threw down N
hat tucked up my dress, and. bega
dancing. The fayorites of the ba
room followed each other in quick SUI
cession, and these being exhausted,
resorted to the fancy rots. The seer
must have been rather picturesque; m
hight curles falling to the waist, elotht
tucked up to my boot-tops, and for
framework, the old ruined mill. As
knelt in one figure, assuming istenin
attitude, glanced upward and behel
Mr.. Grave, reclining on rafter oVel
head. In confusion, / caught up m
hat to beat hasty retreat when the OF
lject of my discontinue swung himsel
E. down in front of me. ss-srg.r.-
81 am sorry TO have distubed you
Miss Elsie. Do not be displeased
for assure you / shall never forget tn
pleasure you unconsciousiy aforde'
me.
Thus reasstired, 1 could not forbea
Laughing. i
You must have thought me dement,
ed to rush in here, throw down my hat
and set TO dancing as if for wager.
My admiration conquered ever,
other emotion, was his gallant reioin
der.
"WeI, the truth is, the spell was OF
me, and embraced the nrst opportu
nifty for its indulgence. y
T" THANK the fates for allowing me tc
be present. =
t9what were you doing here9 ]
thought the old mill deserted.
$50 it is by others. I came here to
read"
"I regret that 1 disturbed you"
81 am glad. The treat was all the
more acceptable for being une1pect-
ed q n fssr
"Don't you dance, Mr. Grave 2" =
"Not at all.
"Then you must let me teach you,
and we'll begin faoso.
He blushed to the roots of his hair.
e1claiming:-
Oh, no, Miss Elsiel II indeed
You must excuse me. 1t is iDaposSi-
bIe.n q
"Nonsensel You are not conscien-
tiously opposed to it, are you :"
'tYes our sect prohibits 1t. v
1 saw but subterfuge, and resolved
to carry my point.
"Well, if that's so, just sit down
here, and I'll relieve you of all religious
scruples.
Ensconced upon the sill of window
overlooking the dam and watercoruse,
1 began my proselyting.
The prejudices religious people have
against dancing are separately and col
lectively based upon the idea of ercess.
I maintain that those who have good
common sense are the best regulators
Of their own conduct, and those who
have not, will never be benefited by all
the rules In Christendom, sacred or
secular No one can teach an extremist
If he does not dance, he
viii show his propensities in other
things, even more prenicious.
You are evidently yersed In argu-
logic laughed Mr.. Grave. !
Let those laugh who win," L re-
borted; "but to proceed: Dancing I
seems to be as old as the world. All |
history speaks of 1t, and think it |
Tery likely when the morning stars
.ang together at creations birth, they
lanced also. z--A- =-st
But, Miss Elsie, you do not seem {
% be getting to the point. Does not
his amusement, which you are en-
to uphold, feed vanityl ex-
,ose ladies to ill-assorted- company /
iultiyate the taste for dressi for ex-
itementi and, worse than ali, do not /
he exposure and veariness following q
light of revelry unfit its devotees for
he life before them for many subse-
Iuent days, and, in some cases, lead to
'remature death3n u .-1sla4f.
sc Your questions shall be answered
0 the best of my ability. So far as
dRity is concerned, we all have
reater or less share. Since i was four
ears old, / have been dancer, and
be pet of our gay circle, yet 1 am con-
dent, In your Quaker community,
annot be found a young lady near my \
" own age as impervious to hattery
myself, simply because familiarity
reeds contempt, and I will ask you
if, with your knowledge Of
he, you can say I display more vanity
nan the girls with whom you have
cen bred, although they do not
ance 7 -
ssI cannot say that you do, or, in
lct SO much
:. Then for company. No lady
Mould attend a social gathering with
ut being well informed az to those
1e is likely to meet, and any woman
no has not character enough to select
appropriate partners for the dance, can
OF safely be trusted at church fes- 8
val, picnic. or public promenade.
ny woman can draw around her such ]
as she may please, and if
sr inclination is for the fop, 10 is by
D means necessary she should be ,
srsed in dancing to crafty that taste.
ress and excitement are among the
5cessaries of life. Women who have I
1ly home matters to occupy their at
ntion are apt to become fault-fnd- 9
3.
g But surely you do not believe in c
lis extrayagant display so common '
nong the fair sex7 ~ e
&C No, and yes I believe we would
} better without it, but when ones I
'cial standing and influence depend as g
uch upon dress as they now do, I ID
ink il should receive due attention. II
ou know the shabit does not make the !
lest, whether costly or not So far "
dress is connected with dancing, LET '
e tell you that part of my wardrobe
tended for church is far more extraya- {
mt than all my ballroom attires. /
astly, the fatigue and exposure to
hich you refer is not half so dele 4
rious among the wealthy as lack Of G
.ercise and proper excitement is
aong the poor and mediocrity." .
{. s.Then, you approve of this aimless
ie, with its selfish ends; this whirl- q
,ol, which engulfs so many who have {
It the common sense of which you
eak z" II 1e
+" No. cannot say that / do. But 4
N are taking too wide sweep, and,
usual, embrace the excess. Still, I a
approve of dancing, both as an ex-
else and social amusement. To me
is exceedingly inUgorating. l often e
ank theLord that I can dance. 1t is b
more expressive than Ian e
Iage - .sa- d
% You are an odd little creature. /
g Perhaps I am but my field of c
'servation has been large, and it does v
It appear right to me that, because o
=, IL :