The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-05-17

| leader the ladies of the inner couples cross
| right hands, move entirely round and turn
| into places by giving left hands to their
| partners. At the same time the outer
| couples waltz half round to opposite
| places. At another signal the inner
| couples waltz entirely round and finish
| facing outward. At the same time the
| outer couples chase croise and tarn at
| corners with right hands. then dechasse
| and turn partners with left hands. Valse
generate with Wis Wis.
"Le Cavalier Trompe" is another favor
| lite figure. Five or SIX couples perform a
tour de yalse.n Thev afterwards place
| themselves in ranks of twos, one couple
behind the other. The lady of the first
| gentleman leaves him and seeks gentle
| man of another column. While this is go.
| ing on the first gentleman must not look
behind him. The first lady and the gen.
tleman whom she has selected separate
and advance on tiptoe on each side of the
column in order to deceive the gentleman
at the head and endeavor to join each
other for waltz. If the first gentleman is
fortunate enough to seize his lady he leads
of in waltz; if not he must remain at
his post until he is able to take lady.
The last gentleman remaining dances with
the last lady
up is called Lies Drapeaus." Five or six
duplicate sets of small flags of national or
fancy devices must be in readiness. The
leader takes a flag of each pattern--his lady
the duplicates. They perform ''tour de
valse." The conductor then presents his
flags to five or six ladies, his partner
presenting hers to the gentlemen. The
duplicates and with them perform the
tour de valse, waving the flags as they
dance.
To give german in a private house a
lady has all the furniture removed from
her parlors, the floor covered with crash
over the carpet and a set of folding chairs
for the couples to sit in. The carpet and
crash are very bad. 1t is better to have a
bare wooden floor, il possible.
1t Is considered that all taking part in a
german are introduced 10 one another,
and on no condition whatever must a lady
so long as she remains in the german re-
fuse to speak or to dance with any gentle-
man whom she may chance &c receive as a
partner. Every American should learn
that he can speak TO asyGie whom he
meets at a friends house The roof is an
introduction and for the purpose of max
ing his hostess comfortable the guest
should at dinner party and dance speak to
his next neighbor.
The laws of the german are so strict and
to many so tiresome occasionally that a
good many parties have abjured it, and
merely dance the round dances, the Ian
GERS and quadrilles, winding up with Sir
Roger de Coverly or Virginia reel.
The leader of the german must have a
comprehensive glance, quick ear and eye
and great beliefin himself. Gen. Edward
Ferrero, who made a good general, de-
clared that he owed all his success in the
war to his training as dancing master.
With all other qualities the leader of the
german must have tact. 1t is no easy
matter to get two hundred people into all
sorts of combinations and maZes and then
to get them out again, to offend nobody
and to produce that elegant Kaleidoscope
called the german.
The term "tour de valse" is used techni-
cally, meaning that the couple or couples
performing it will execute the round dance
designated by the leader once around the
room. Should the room be small, they
make second tour. After the introduce
tory ''tour de yalse" care must be taken
by those who perform it not to select
ladies and gentlemen from each other but
from among those who are seated. When
the leader claps his hands to warn those
who are prolonging the valse, they must
Immediately cease dancing.
The favors for the german are often fans,
and this time-honored historic article
grows in beauty and expense every day.
And what various memories come in
with the FAM 1t was created in primeval
ages. The Egyptian ladies had them of
lotus leaves; and lately breakfast was
given all in Egyptian fashion Except the
eating). The Roman ladies carried i'm
mense fans of peacock's feathers. They
didn't open and shut like ours; that is a
modern Invention. The flabillifer or fan
bearer, was some young attendant, gener-
ally male, whose common business it was
to carry his mistress fan. There is a
Pompeian painting of Cupid as the fan
bearer of Ariadne and lamenting her de-
sertion of Theseus. In Queen Elizabeth
day the fan was usually made of feathers,
like the fan still used IN the East. The
handle was richly ornamented and set
with stones. A fashionable lady was
never without her fan, which was held
to her girdle by jeweled chain. That
fashion with the large feathers has re-
turned in our day. Queen Elizabeth
dropped a silver handled fan into the moat
at Arnstead hall, which occasioned many
madrigals. Sir Francis Drake presented
to his royal mistress a fan of feathers,
white and red enameled with half moon
of mother of pearl. Poor Leicester gave
her as his New Years gift in 1914 fan of
white feathers set in a handle of gold,
garnished on one side with two very fair
emeralds and fully garnished with rubies
and diamonds, and on each side white bear
(his cogniZance) and two pearls hanging, a
lion romping and white-muzzled bear at
his foot Just before Christmas in 1895
Elizabeth went to Kew, dined at my Lord
Keepers house. and there was handed her
a fine fan with handle garnished with
diamonds.
Fans in Shakespeare's time seem to have
been composed of ostrich feathers stuck in
handles.
Gentlemen carried fans in those days,
and in one of the later figures of the ger
man they now carry fans. According to
an old Ms. in the Ashmolean museum,
Sir Edward Cole rode the circuit with a
prodigious fan which had long stick with
which he corrected his daughters. Let us
hope that that will not be reintroduced.
The vellum fans painted by Vatican and
the lovely fans of Spain enriched with
Jewels are rather too expensive for favors
for the german. But one very rich enter
tainer gave away tortoise shell fans with
jeweled sticks two years ago at belmont
cos.
Fans of silk, egg-shaped, painted with
birds, were used for an Easter german.
Ribbons are, however, very much used
in the german, being called lies rubans."
Six ribbons about yard in length and of
various colors are attached to one end of a
stick about twenty-four inches in length !:
also duplicate set of ribbons attached to
another stick must be in readiness. The
first couple perform a tour de valse and
then separate. The gentlemen takes one
set of ribbons and stops successfully in
front of the ladies whom he desires to Sc
lect TO take part in the figures. Each of
these ladies rises and takes hold of the
loose end of ribbon. The first lady takes