San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-05-09
A DEER DANCE.
Amusements of an Evening at Queen Vic
toria's Highland Home.


After days successful deer-shoot-
ing, one of the sights of the season at
Balmoral or Abergeldie castle, but
chiefly at the latter, is a deer dance,
wherein the deer do not dance, bnt lie
impressive and dead enough, head and
tail, in numbers of two, three or more,
at the chief entrance. After the royal
dinner-and the darker the night the
better-long heavy torches, called
"sownacks," made of splints of dry bog
fir bound together with green birchen
withes, are lighted and held aloft by
q number of stalwart killed Highland
ers, n piper or two, splendidly radiant
in tartan and silver, strike up march,
and the royal sportsmen, accompanied
by all the princesses, ladies, and gen.
tlemen of their suite, come forth into
the lurid circle to view the trophies of
the day. After inspection and re-
marks, a torch is handed to each of the
princes, invariably dressed in full
Highland costume, four or more Of
whom take their places at the head of a
long line of jagers, keepers, foresters
and gillies, each with a flaming torch,
to dance reel. The piper manipulates
a strathspey and reel from his drones
and chanter, and all foot the light fam
tastic Highland Fling" with whoops
and yells and wild hurrahs. To the
quick pulsations of '8fonymusk" and
"Hulachan," tartan kits and plaLds,
brawny limbs, and jeweled belts and
dirks, fit and whirl in wild yet meas
ured confusion beneath the lines of
scintillating flame. But the powers of
muscle and lung soon flag on the dull,
gravelly surface that serves for dancing
floor. A bonfire is made of the 'sown-
ack" stumps, amid chorus of cheers
that resound far through the dark well
kin. Jingling glasses are charged with
the "Strong wine" of the country, and
emptied to toasts, by the dancers; then
royalty seeks it's bedchamber, the
great clock overhead chimes forth some
hour near midnight, and the grand spec
tacular display is over-for a night.
All the royal family are fond of dane
cling, and among the events" of their
sojourn in the Highlands, balls, to
which tenantry and servants are all
invited, have held prominent place.
As might be expected, life is gayer at
Abergeldie than at Balmoral. At these
balls all social distinctions are disre-
garded. The one fiat is dance" which
the Highlanders are not slow to do.
Their dancing is characterized by much
vigorous leaping, kicking, swinging,
reeling, thumb-cracking and interjec-
tional "wooChs."
Another occasion of merrymaking
that comes with birthdaylike regular
ity is the great Scottish festival night
of Halloween, celebrated on the 31st of
October of each year. The mystic rites
of that evening, so graphically por-
trayed by Burns, are somewhatina oey-
ance at Balmoral, but instead the High
land custom Of robbing witch-spells of
their terrors through the cleansing
agency of fire may here be witnessed in
all it's pristine glory. Blazing "sown-
aclxs," carried ro1nd the castle literal
ly in hundreds after sunset, constitute
the purifying media, and form, espe-
GltlllN dJ d ulSCSlLICS, u SleS uI NAIeiN iN0h ~
seen to be fully appreciated.
All these amusements are varied by
the attendance of frst-class concert
and dramatic companies. There is no
monotony. The tone of everything SAID
and done, grave as well as gay, is de-
cidedly healthy. Life goes merry as
marriage BELL" whose chimes bring to
recollection the fact that Balmoral has
ever afforded idyllic facilities for court
ship. Besides the imperial prince of
Germany. here the grand duke of Hesse