The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-06-30
A QUEER LONDON SIGHT.
How People OF All Grades Enjoy q" o'-
casIonaI Harmless Street Dance

LONDON. June f0.-The strangest sight
that have come across i'm London Is one
that don't think could bc duplicated
anywhere in the world. and you will see
il every fair evening in nearly all parts
of London. from Rag Fair to Regents
park. and in fact in almost every street.
About shutdown, as the stores and bust
ness houses begin to close, the hand or
cans arc out in full force, and no police
man hustles them along or otherwise III
treats them. and they stand along by
tho smoothest stretch Of pavement they
can find and begin toplay. They all play
one tune. II is a sort Of jig tune or
country dance and quite catching.
Hardly will the man start the crank
when you will see the nearest four per
sons stop and begin TO dance n rather
pretty and quito complicated step. and
then they will take hold Of hands by
twos. advance, retreat, cross over and
balance, all in perfect timo and with
evident enjoyment.
Ninety-nine times out of hundred
the people who dance are utter strangers
10 each other, and they are for the most
part respectable people, clerks, shop
Girls. milliners, etc. and often | have
seen women dance with little babies in
their arms. Sometimes there WI be
three or four "sets' dancing ooether,
but more often only one. Few stop to
4. L., at.It - 81 enpaplpn
1t appears as if this was a recognized
custom. and that it was quite proper, for
it excited no comment. and as soon
rs the four had danced out their fig
ure they went their way with scani
ceremony In the way Of leave taking. 1t
was but bit Of harmless amusement,
and no one thought it in any way wrong,
neither dancers nor spectators. and no one
presumed upon the fact of dancing as a
vis-a-yis 20 try TO force 4 further ac-
quaintancc.
Sometimes the dancers would be all
girls: often quite elderly persons, both
men and women, and they would each
and an fall into q set no once without the
slightest ceremony and dance with vim
and gusto that only equaled their grace,
for the dance Is very pretty and graceful
One evening, just before dark, had
hccn short distance to post some let
tiers. and ON my way back came to where
q man was playing the familiar tune,
and there were three girls all impatiently
tapping their feet. l saw that they eX-
pected me to Join, and hurried by, look
ing about for acquaintance; and seeing
none, | joined them, but the step was
beyond my power, and had to give
it up.
know Lady IL Mary Dufliu-Har-
dyl. WHO is we'll known in America. and
she and her pretty daughter danced four
ornve figures. as they called them, with
a couple Of shop girls right in Oxford
street one evening, after which they en-
tered their carriage and drove away.
Another time | saw jolly faced old
Englishman, q real type Of the English
gentleman as we read Of him, take his
place and dance with pleasure within a
stones throw of the British museum.
Aftcrward | saw him in Westminster,
where he was pointed ont TO me as q
prominent member Of parliament Mac
Donald Cameronl | should not bo a bio
astonshcd TO know that his royal high
ness and perhaps her royal highness
Joined in one of these innocent sidewalk
dances. and, i'm fact, feel sure that his
ROYAL highness has. But imagine. viii
you, n Fifth avenue girl dancing on the
sidewalk with the first person She meets
10 the music of q hand organ! Tho skies
might fall. but that would never happen,
and yet il is a harmless amusement and
"a little pleasure in ugly London.
MARY Brennan.