good-will, but no loofe hope or wild imagination. The true art in this case is, To make the mind and body improve together; and if posfible, to make gefture follow thought, and not let thought be employed upon gefture.

N° 67. Thursday, May 17, 1711.

R*.

Saltare elegantiùs quàm neceffe eft probe, SALLUST. Too fine a dancer for a virtuous woman.

L

UCIAN in one of his dialogues, introduces a Philofopher chiding his friend for his being a lover of DANCING, and a frequenter of Balls. The other undertakes the defence of his favourite diverfion, which he says, was at first invented by the goddefs Rhea, and preferved the life of Jupiter himself, from the cruelty of his father Saturn. He proceeds to fhew, that it had been approved by the greatest men in all ages; that Homer calls Merion a Fine DANCER; and fays, that the graceful mien and great agility which he had acquired by that exercise, distinguished him above the reft in the armies both of Greeks and Trojans.

He adds, that Pyrrhus gained more reputation by inventing the Dance which is called after his name, than by all his other actions that the Lacedemonians, who were the braveft people in Greece, gave great encouragement to this diver

By STEELE. See final Note to No6.

fion, and made their Hormus (a Dance much refembling the French Brawl) famous over all Afia: that there were ftill extant fome Theffalian ftatues erected to the honour of their best Dancers: and that he wondered how his brother Philofopher could declare himself against the opinions of those two perfons, whom he profeffed fo much admire, Homer and Hefiod; the latter of which compares Valour and Dancing together, and fays, That " the gods have bestowed "Fortitude on fome men, and on others a Difpofition for DANCING."

Laftly, he puts him in mind that Socrates, (who, in the judgment of Apollo, was the wisest of men) was not only a profeffed admirer of this exercise in others, but learned it himself when he was an old man,

The morofe Philofopher is fo much affected by thefe and fome other authorities, that he becomes a convert to his friend, and defires he would take him with him when he went to his next Ball.

I love to shelter myself under the examples of great men; and, I think, I have fufficiently fhewed that it is not below the dignity of these my Speculations to take notice of the following letter, which, I fuppofe, is fent me by fome substantial tradesman about 'Change.

• SIR,

Idustry in the world have acquired enough

AM a man in years, and by an honest in

to give my children a liberal education, though

. I was

I was an utter ftranger to it myself. My ⚫ eldest daughter, a girl of fixteen, has for fome time been under the tuition of Monfieur Rigadoon a dancing-mafter in the city; and I was prevailed upon by her and her mother to go laft night to one of his Balls. I must own to you, Sir, that having never been to any 'fuch place before, I was very much pleafed and furprised with that part of his entertainment 'which he called French-DANCING.

There 'were feveral young men and women, whofe ⚫ limbs feemed to have no other motion but purely 'what the mufic gave them. After this part was over, they began a diverfion which they call Country-D'ANCING, and wherein there were alfo fome things not difagreeable, and divers • Emblematical Figures, compofed as I guess, by ' wife men, for the instruction of youth.

Among the reft, I obferved one, which, I think, they call Hunt the Squirrel, in which while the woman flies the man purfues her; but as foon as fhe turns, he runs away, and she ' is obliged to follow.

The moral of this Dance does, I think, very aptly recommend modefty and difcretion to the female fex.

But as the best inftitutions are liable to corruptions; fo Sir, I must acquaint you, that very great abuses are crept into this enter'tainment. I was amazed to fee my girl handed by, and handing young fellows with fo much familiarity; and I could not have thought it • had been in the child. They very often made Cc 4 'ufe

ufe of a moft impudent and lafcivious step called Setting, which I know not how to defcribe to you, but by telling you that it is the very reverse of Back to Back. At last an impudent young dog bid the fiddlers play a ⚫ dance called Moll Pately, and after having made two or three capers, ran to his partner, locked his arms in hers, and whisked her round cleverly above ground in fuch a manner, that I who fat upon one of the loweft benches, faw further above her fhoe than I can think fit to 'acquaint you with. I could no longer endure thofe enormities; wherefore just as my girl was going to be made a whirligig, I ran in, 'feized on the child, and carried her home.

Sir, I am not yet old enough to be a fool, I fuppofe this diverfion might be at first invented to keep up a good understanding_between young men and women, and fo far I am not against it; but I fhall never allow of thefe things. I know not what will fay to this cafe at prefent, but am fure that had you been with me, you would have seen matter of great Speculation. I am,

you

• Yours, &c.'

I must confefs I am afraid that my correfpondent had too much reafon to be a little out of humour at the treatment of his daughter, but I conclude that he would have been much more fo, had he seen one of those Kissing DANCES, in which WILL HONEYCOMB affures me they are obliged to dwell almost a minute on the fair

one's

one's lips, or they will be too quick for the mufic, and Dance quite out of time.

I am not able, however, to give my final sentence against this diverfion; and am of Mr. Cowley's opinion, that fo much of Dancing at least, as belongs to the behaviour and an handfome carriage of the body, is extremely useful, if not abfolutely neceffary.

We generally form fuch ideas of people at first fight, as we are hardly ever perfuaded to lay afide afterwards: for this reason, a man would wish to have nothing difagreeable or uncomely in his approaches, and to be able to enter a room with a good grace.

I might add, that a moderate knowledge in the little rules of Good-BREEDING, gives a man fome affurance, and makes him eafy in all companies. For want of this, I have seen a profeffor of a liberal science at a lofs to falute a lady; and a moft excellent mathematician not able to determine whether he fhould ftand or fit while my lord drank to him.

It is the proper bufinefs of a dancing-master to regulate these matters; though I take it to be a juft obfervation, that unless you add fomething of your own to what these fine gentlemen teach you, and which they are wholly ignorant of themselves, you will much fooner get the character of an affected fop, than of a well bred

man.

As for Country-DANCING, it must indeed be confeffed that the great familiarities between the two fexes on this occafion may fome

2

times