The nearest assimilation to this strange exhibition of the dance in full
career, at all familiar to our minds, is the prancing of the
basket-horses in Mr. Peake's humorous farce of _Quadrupeds_.
An entertaining variety of appearance arose also from the conformity of
the steps to the diversified measure of the tune. The jig measure, which
corresponds to the _canter_ in a horse's paces, produced a strong
bounding up and down of the hoop--and the gavotte measure, which
corresponds to the short trot, produced a tremulous and agitated motion.
The numerous ornaments, also, with which the hoops were bespread and
decorated--the festoons--the tassels--the rich embroidery--all of a most
_catching_ and _taking_ nature, every now and then affectionately
hitched together in unpremeditated and close embrace. To the parties in
action, it is not difficult to suppose these combinations might prove
something short of perfectly agreeable, more especially, as on such
occasions as these, some of the fair daughters of our courtly belles
were undergoing the awful ordeal of a first ball-room appearance, on
whom these contingencies would inflict ten-fold embarrassment.--_The
Ball, or a Glance at Almack's in 1829._
* * * * *
FRENCH PAINTINGS.
General le Jeune has added a new picture to his collection of battle
paintings, exhibiting at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly.
Pages:
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32