New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-06-14
- vopu n.uv rpmNE SUNDAY s96TIlRTYFOUk rAGEc


aun,e Of his mowers LET me see tree capcr Ha!
i Hisher p HIS '0
n "a not an easy matter to learn how the dances OF
three centuries ago were executed. but everything
tina; IS known Of the gallard indicates that II was
lively boisterous dance. in which such capers as 81
Toby made Sir Andrew cut were very much IN
MACE Its Italian name, "gagliardo.' points in th@
direction, and Old Praetorius, In his oyh'asnia'
published in 1Gl9 distinctly states that tho sai''u
a. the salarello OF the Italians. WnIch III lhe sA
teen:h century. even more than now. was what i'S
name foreshadows-a jumping dance, Ike the
"sprirg-taEz" OF the Germans. This caperlhg OF
"sault raieur" as Mr.. NaylOr correctly remarks
was also a feature Of the "lavclt Ola Nofa) men
toned in "Trolus ard Cress.da, for In tnls' as III
other things. Shakespeare rad so little rear Oh Ill
achronsms that he as readily made ms ureei""
'heel the high avot" Gluck made his dahco d
ch,conre Of the command Of Vestrio So mayhap
when SIR Andrew answered Sir Toby's question:
What Is thy excellence in a galI!ard KNIGHT
with "'Falth, can cut caper," ne gave the p@'-
test of all answers. and that went to the very
marrow OF the inquest.
Concerning the other dances mentioned in Shake
speare's dramas the clnquepace. eoranto ocourante
liz measure, or "passy measure pawn" Cpassa-
mozzo and pavan) canary brawl (branIe), sara
band. hay and norris dance Moorish dance-Mo-
resca) there Is nothing 70 add TO what the hand
books have always contained, though Shake
spearean commentator might have mentioned the
fact which has escaped Mr. Naylor. that the NOR
rls-dancc is supposed TO have been brought TO Eng
land by an august parsonage who figures In one Il
the poets historical dramas. namely, "Old John OF
Gaunt -honorel Lancaster" when he came back
from Spain. about 1872 Concerning the dump, men
toned half dozen times In the plays. Mr.. Nayor
has this ID say:
The dumpc Grom Swedish dialect "dumpa," to
dance awkwardly) was slow, mournful dance
And later:
The character Of the dump has given US the mod
ern expression OF IN lnT u ~ 81 a,csneare
This etymology. it seems to us, Is highly unsatis-
factory And we wonder that since Smetana anc
Dvorak have directed attention to Bohemian music
the much more likely derivation from "dumka mas
not been suggested. There was nothing OF the
ludicrous either in the music or the acton OF the
dump or Shakespeare would not have suggested IL as
IL FOR lovers scrcnade. ne does IN Two Gentle
men OF Verona" Act III. Scene 2 where Proteus.
prJnpting Thuro az TO what to DO to win Silvia
love says:
After your dire lamentlng elcgies,
Nig by night your lady's chamber window.
with some sweet concert 10 their instruments,
Tune dcp!oring dump; the nights dead silence
W.ll well become sucA sweet complaining 5rieV-
aHce
Now "lumka" though a poem OF tho ballad sor;
sung TO instrumental accompaniment in the Ukraine,
Is r. bohemia a slow melody eegiac IN character,
Dyorak uses the form In one Of his symphonies and
some % his chambor-musc compositions in the place
latest publications. for plno-forc IS a SIT of dumkne,
which he Calls "Elcglcs" IN English. How admirable
THAI Pro.sus should suggest - Truro to follow hts
"ilineltlng ecsies' with "a dcporng dump" II
both knew that the music q 'dumka' was eleg.ac
IN character So. too. this derivation adjusts its.t
most exc icntly % the mool Of the lines in The
Rape Of Lucrcce." where also ihe dumps IS re-
fcrrcl T..
'Yc hooking birds" quoth she your tines nton.b
Villain your lolioH-gwe.lirg thered oreJstsi
And ln my herring he you mite lDd dunno
My restless ilrcorb loves no stops nor rests;
\ Nofu. hostess brooks not merry suo';s);
i,o..sn f.ur = mhc notes 20 pleasing cars;
Distress likes dumps when time IS kept With tears.
The suggestion Is submitted with al duo timii.'y
ard modesy 10 the learned In Shakespearean lore.
"Dumka" has surely more TO commend II than
'Humpa." which. are told. means an awkward
dance I'm Swedish dialect. and might even make
better showing than the word allied TO the German
'duupag." Whlrh means dull. damp mniied reek
Ing VIII 0i-irre. musty. bU. HIS nothing 70 Go
with sowrcss % movement or hcayncss Of grief ex
cop; when used 10 describe mute suffering and dun
f..n