The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1880-04-01

OI~D-FAsu1osEp DASCEs.-The minuet
was the great dance OF the eighteenth cen
tury. 1t had both grace and gailantry.
The initial and terminating bows have been
immortalized by Burke in a passage III
which he speaks Of that generous loyalty
to rank and sex, that proud submission
that dienitied obedience. The mlnuet was
the real test of gr~acetu!ness. All balls De,
gan with it. and 1t was such q universal
study that the very sentiment OF It. II mas
been declared, inspired the nation and gave
something Of the tone which characterized
society in that age. Or take the country
dances-the cushion dance, for instance
who ever hears of the cushion dance now !
Yet there must be some old people who re-
member the figures and the Steps-the eX-
change between the top and bottom couples
the throwing down the cushion as an ex-
cuSe for a kiss-the flight and pursuit and
the Joyous action ofthe whole Of the dan
GERS? These dances dwell in the memory OF
the old-a tast-vanishing race-and make
their youth a happy time to recall. VIII
our waltzes and galops do as much tor us
Should you be spared into old age, what
impressions should you preserve OF the e
dances you have danced III your youth !
Where be the old heartiness, the merry,
spontaneous laugh, the admirable decorum.
the calm grace. the keen enjoyment?
Alack the cushion dance has become the
dance of death. When we grow old we
shall have to angle for bright recollectlons
of our youth in other wells than where our
ballroom experiences lie sunk.
Perhaps the only ald-fashioned dance that
survives is the cotillion. This dance is full
of Spanish grace. In South America they
introduce some old tricks into their dane
ing. Ladies fill empty egg shells with eau
de cologne and carry them to the hall
there they break them upon the heads of
the gentlemen. 1t is meant as a challenge.
The gentleman who receives the moist til
butte is bound in gallantry to find out the
lady and return the compliment. Another
trick is for a young man to 60 behind a
girl. place his sombrero directly ever her
head, letting it fall over her eyes. and then
to spring back among the dancers. If the
girl throws off the hat it means that she
can dispense with INV attention the gentle
man would like to pay her, and he is obliged
to pick it up amid a general laugh. If the
hat is retained, then at the end Of hedance
the owner claims it from the lady and with
it her hand for the rest Of the evening.
The c%otillion is clearly based on fancies Of
this kind. The introduction Of the chair,
the seating Of a lady. the presentation of a
gentleman, the blind folding of a gentle
man, with a lady on either side Of him, and
is hazardous choice of one of them as a
partner, are distinctly Southern elements,
giving graceful life and laughter to the
Waiting accom- paniment. This survives,
but the other dances are ended. Whether
they are worth reviying is a question for
girls to decide. At al events, one may be-
lievc that a girl could never look more pic
turesque than when engaged in one of these
old fashioned dances, just as it is certain
that a girl is never seen to worse advan-
ia ges than when she has released herself
from the grip of a man, after a long, pam
ting and pcrspiring waltz, as this dance is
now performcd.-IaN Mall Ga=ete.