Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-12-31
IDIOTIC' CAV0RTING.
A DispassIODate Opinion or Male
Walters.

A DisPassIODate Opinion OF Male
Waltzers.
New York Heraldl
Some young ladies are passion
ately fond Of waltzing. We do not
remember to have heard of many
specific cases Of the abandonment
of the fascinating excitement on
the part of its fair votaries in con-
sequence of the publication Of the
sprightly little volume called ''The
Dance of DEATH" which received
SO many Endorsements from many
fashionable ladies, like Mrs. Sher-
man, as well as from clergymen of
every denomination. We can par
don a gay, blooming girl for ador-
ing the waltz, with its fascinating
music, its blood-stirring exercise
and its pleasant degree of depend
ence on the strong arm and ample
chest of a male partner. There is
something delightful, no doubt, in
the tickling of the masculine beard
as it plays with the cheek conf
IDENTIFY nesting beneath it. EN-
presses and peasants, heiresses and
sewing girls, seem to enjoy round
dances with equal zest. Even the
staid and prudent Desdemona, who
never gave the unreasonable Moor
any real cause for jealousy, was an
inveterate waltzer; at least we have
right to judge so from the words of
0thello:
Sir, she can turn, and turn, and yet go on
And turn again.
We do not look with quite so
favorable an eye on walters of the
opposite sex. The man who is
"such a love of a Walter" we
somehow associate with the idea of
the young gentleman who sells
laces and tapes behind a linen
drapers counter. We should at no
time be surprised to find him dane
ing with a yard-measure down his
back to keep his figure straight. Of
course there are young men of
wealth and good family connections
and position and all that who waltz,
and if they were not to be found
at our society balls of course the
ladies would be in despair. Talk
about home without a mother,
what would a ballroom be without
its nice young man who is such a
beautiful dancer /? Such youths
are harmless, too; for the nimble-
ness of their feet is generally bal
anced by want Of activity in the
brain. A prudent mother should
always rather trust her young
daughter with a finished, fnikin
waltzer than with rough, awk-
ward fellow, who only knows
enough to take her in his arms, and
is compelled to raise her off her
feet and to stop dozen times dur
ing the dance to make apologies for
treading on her dress. A male
waltzer-that is to say an ordinary
male waltzer - may therefore be
tolerated on the score of conven-
ience. But what can be said of the
whirling, twirllng, cavorting idiots
who waltz against time, kicking up
their heels and turning round and
round for eight, ten or twelve
hours, just to exhibit their powers
of endurance? And yet this is the
latest phase Of athletic insanity
that has turned up in New York.
We refer to the challenges and per-
formances of Professor Cartwheel
and Professor Barrenhead, with
which the papers have been filled
recently.
We can understand why a hum
ming top, if it were a reasoning
creature, might love to spin round
on its peg, because it makes a
dreamy, soothing noise while so en-
gagged, looks pretty and can ego to
Sleep when it pleases. But why a
sane human being should find a
pleasure in twirling himself round
like a madman, catching up first
this partner and then that, now
seizing upon a male, now upon
female, and now "going it alone"
until his brain is dizzy and his feet
weary, we are at a loss TO conceive.
Certainly no good can be accom-
plished by such a senseless exhibi. |