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At once to heav'n he foars in lofty odes,
And fings alone of heroes and of gods;
But if he, trembling, fears a flight so high,
He then defcends to fofter elegy;
And if in elegy he can't fucceed,

In past'ral he may tune the oaten reed.

So fhall the dancer, ere he tries to move,

"

With care his ftrength, his weight, and genius, prove;
Then, if he finds kind Nature's gifts impart
Endowments proper for the dancing art;
If in himself he feels, together join'd,
An active body, and ambitious mind;
In nimble Rigadoons he may advance,
Or in the Louvre's flow majestick dance.
If these he fears to reach, with easy pace
Let him the Minuet's circling mazes trace.
Is this too hard-this, too, let him forbear,
And to the country-dance confine his care.

Would you in dancing ev'ry fault avoid,
To keep true time be your first thoughts employ'd;
All other errors they in vain shall mend,
Who in this one important point offend:
For this, when now united hand in hand,
Eager to start the youthful couple ftand;
Let them awhile their nimble feet reftrain,
And with foft taps beat time to ev'ry strain.
So, for the race prepar'd, two courfers ftand,
And with impatient pawings fpurn the fand.

In vain a master fhall employ his care,
Where Nature once has fix'd a clumfy air;
Rather let fuch, to country fports confin'd,
Pursue the flying hare, or tim'rous hind:
Nor yet, while I the rural fquire despise,
A mien effeminate would I advise;

With equal fcorn I would the fop deride,
Nor let him dance-but on the woman's fide.

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And you, fair nymphs, avoid with equal care,
A ftupid dulnefs, and a coquette air;
Neither with eyes, that ever love the ground,
Afleep, like fpinning-tops, run round and round;
Nor yet, with giddy looks, and wanton pride,
Stare all around, and skip from fide to fide..
True dancing, like true wit, is best exprefs'd
By nature only, to advantage drefs'd.
?Tis not a nimble bound, or caper high,
That can pretend to please a curious eye i
Good judges no fuch tumbler's tricks regard,
Or think them beautiful, because they're hard.
'Tis not enough, that ev'ry ftander-by
No glaring errors in your steps can spy:
The dance and mufick muft fo nicely meet,
Each note fhould feem an echo to your feet;
A nameless grace muft in each movement dwell,
Which words can ne'er exprefs, or precepts tell;
Not to be taught, but ever to be feen
In Flavia's air, and Chloe's easy mien.
"Tis fuch an air that makes her thousands fall,
When Fielding dances at a birth-night ball;
Smooth as Camilla fhe fkims o'er the plain,
And flies, like her, thro' crowds of heroes flain,
Now, when the Minuet, oft repeated o’er,
(Like all terreftrial joys) can please no more ;
And ev'ry nymph, refufing to expand
Her charms, declines the circulating hand;
Then let the jovial country-dance begin,
And the loud fiddles call each ftraggler in;
But ere they come, permit me to difclofe,
How firft, as legends tell, this paftime rofe.

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In ancient times, (fuch times are now no more)
When Albion's crown illuftrious Arthur wore,
In fome fair op'ning glade, each fummer's night,
Where the pale moon diffus'd her filver light,

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On the foft carpet of a graffy field,

The sporting fairies their affemblies held :
Some lightly tripping with their pigmy queen,
In circling ringlets mark'd the level green;
Some with foft notes bade mellow pipes refound,
And mufick warble through the groves around.
Oft lonely fhepherds by the forest fide,
Belated peasants oft their revels spy'd,
And home returning, o'er the nut-brown ale
Their guests diverted with the wond'rous tale.
Inftructed hence, throughout the British ifle,
And fond to imitate the pleafing toil,

Round where the trembling may-pole's fix'd on high,
And bears it's flow'ry honours to the fky,

The ruddy maids and fun-burnt swains resort,
And practise ev'ry night the lovely sport:
On ev'ry fide Æolian artists stand,

Whose active elbows fwelling winds command;
The swelling winds harmonious pipes infpire,
And blow in ev'ry breaft a gen'rous fire.

Thus taught, at firft the country-dance began,
And hence to cities and to courts it ran;
Succeeding ages did in time impart
Various improvements to the lovely aṛt:
From fields and groves to palaces remov❜d,
Great ones the pleasing exercise approv❜d.
Hence the loud fiddle, and fhill trumpet's founds,
Are made companions of the dancer's bounds;
Hence gems and filks, brocades and ribbands, join,
To make the ball with perfect luftre fhine.

So, rude at first, the tragick Mufe appear'd,
Her voice alone by ruftick rabble heard;
Where twisting trees a cooling arbour made,
The pleas'd spectators fat beneath the shade;
The homely stage with rushes green was ftrew'd,
And in a cart the frolling actors rode :

Till time at length improv'd the great defign,
And bade the scenes with painted landfcapes fhine;
Then art did, all the bright machines difpofe,
And theatres of Parian marble rofe; g
Then mimick thunder fhook the canvas sky,
And gods defcended from their tow'rs on high.
With caution now let ev'ry youth prepare,
To chufe a partner from the mingled fair.
Vain would he hear th' inftructed Mufe's voice,
If the pretended to direct his choice.

Beauty alone by fancy is exprefs'd,

And charms, in diff'rent forms, each diff'rent breast:

A fnowy skin this am'rous youth admires,
Whilft nut-brown cheeks another bofom 'fires;
Small waists and flender limbs fome hearts enfnare,
While others love the more fubstantial fair..

But let not outward charms your judgments sway;
Your reafon rather than your eyes obey:
And in the dance, as in the marriage noose,
Rather for merit than for beauty chuse.

Be her your choice, who knows with perfect skill
When she should move, and when she should be still;
Who, uninftructed, can perform her share,

,་་་.

And kindly half the pleafing burden bear.
Unhappy is that hopeless wretch's fate,
Who, fetter'd in the matrimonial state
With a poor, fimple, unexperienc'd wife,"
Is forc'd to lead the tedious dance of life: L
And fuch is his, with fuch a partner join'd;
A moving puppet, but without a mind.

Still muft his hand be pointing out the way,
Yet ne'er can teach so fast as fhe con ftray;
Beneath her follies he must ever groan,
And ever blufh for errors not his own.

But now behold, united hand in hand,

Rang'd on each fide, the well-pair'd couples ftand!

Each

Each youthful bofom beating with delight,
Waits the brisk fignal for the pleafing fight:
While lovely eyes, that flash unusual rays,
And fnowy bubbies pull'd above the stays,
Quick bufy hands and bridling heads declare
The fond impatience of the ffarting fair.
And fee the sprightly dance is now begun!
Now here, now there, the giddy maze they run;
Now, with flow fteps they pace the circling ring;
Now, all confus'd, too fwift for fight they fpring:
So, in a wheel with rapid fury tofs'd,

The undistinguish'd spokes are in the motion loft,
The dancer here no more requires a guide;
To no ftrict fteps his nimble feet are ty'd ;
The Mufe's precepts here would useless be,
Where all is fancy'd, unconfin'd, and free:
Let him but to the mufick's voice attend,
By this inftructed, he can ne'er offend;
If to his fhare it falls the dance to lead,
In well-known paths he may be fure to tread;
If others lead, let him their motions view,
And in their steps the winding maze pursue.
In ev'ry country-dance a ferious mind,
Turn'd for reflection, can a moral find;

In Hunt the Squirrel, thus the nymph we view,
Seeks when we fly, but flies when we pursue.
Thus, in round-dances, where our partners change,
And, unconfin'd, from fair to fair we range,
As foon as one from his own confort flies,
Another feizes on the lovely prize:
Awhile the fav'rite youth enjoys her charms,
Till the next comer fteals her from his arms.
New ones fucceed, the laft is ftill her care;
How true an emblem of th' inconftant fair!
Where can philofophers, and fages wife,
Who read the curious volumes of the fkies,

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