The Washington times., 1895-06-30

we would express il now. Farmer Mavo
was a worldly man, fond of his grog. n
great adIhlreF Of pretty women and an
expert dancer In fact, he was looked nm
TO Dy hls aTistocratic neighbors as a sort
OF king OF terpSichore, and attended all the
uahclng parties as an hOnored guest.
Now, as the leg end goes Farmer
Mayo was down at the riverside ono moon.
Iight night, resretfUlly surveying his waste
lands on and near the Pint when sud-
denly there was a rustling in the bushes
ana De was confronted by a tall dignified
looking stranger, atured in a full dress
SUIT, including the old-fashioned swallow
tailed coat with bright brass buttons.
AFTER making q most graceful sal,an,
tue new conner entered at once into most
dgreeaDe Conversation. He sympathiZed
wlth Mayo upon the fact that at high tide
the waters of the Potomac swept over his
point and encroacbed upon his farm. and
remarked bow nice it would be if the
peninsula were bluff instead of a swamp.
Yes, remarked Mayo, Il would al
most give my soul if il was
- Not SO bad as that replied tho nuent
stranger. Teach me the art Of dancing to-
night, and before noon tomorrow Mayo's
Point VIII rear its head high above the
ripping, sDlashing river ="
Who are We who makes me this offer?'
said the astonished Mayo.
/ am Satan. / do not want your
soul, for by being a good dancer I can
gam many thousand souls without much
effort by thus gaining entry into good
society. You are an expert at the ternsi-
chorean art. Nearly all the young men
and women dance. Teach me how. that I
may enter their society with greater ease,
ana your river front Will make you wealthy
yet. VIII raise IL into a bluff
compact was entered iuto and there
under the moonlight, with the waving trees
shadows chasing each other into obscuritv.
the tall, 1.-The Satan aud graceful Farmer
Mayo spent the remaining hours OF thenight,
the latter a instructor, the former as an
apt pupil
DANCING WITH THE DEVIL.
The stately figure of the minuet blended
into the old-fasbioned reel or waltz, and
the foliage fairly Tustled with expectancy.
while the cotillions merged into the queer
flgures of the maZurka, al S our great grand
fathers used 10 dance it. This continued
until gray streaks in the East told of the
approach OF day, when his Satanic majesty
suddenly tookhis departure, leaving Farmer
Mayo alone upon the brink of the river.
The old folks down that way say when
Satan disappeared there was a great
flutter in the surrounding bushes as myraids
OF his inpS took their flight with their
fearful master. They had been silent
Spectators OF the wierd moonlight scene.
Tradition also says that on the following
day Mayo's Z int had been raised from the
river bid and was, as it is to-day, about
twelve feet high On his deathbed some
months later, Mayo told of how lie had
taught the devil to dance, aud from that
day to this the peninsula has borne the
sobrquet, Dancing Point
This is the legend as it was related by old
Capt. Spalding, who is himself venerable
landmark on the Potomac, and as il is re-
cited and believed by the superstitious boat
men aud farmers OF the locality in which
Satan is reputed TO have learned the fan
tastic art of dancing. The gnarled willow,
the legend also relates, marks the exact
spot where man aud devil played dancing
master and dancer.