286 THE HOME, FARM AXD BUSINESS CYCLOPEDIA. 



Side couples back to places. Double chahie des dames, and galopade all 

 round. Then side couples repeat figure as usual, and galop all round in 

 conclusion. 



It is requisite to keep correct time and step in this quadrille, which 

 would otherwise become much confused. 



THE POLKA, 



The origin of this once celebrated dance is difficult to ascertain. It is 

 believed by some to be of great antiquity, and to have been brought into 

 Germany from the East. Others affirm that its origin is of more recent 

 date, and its birthplace considerably nearer home. An authority on these 

 matters remarks : " In spite of what those professors say who proclaim 

 to have learned the Polka in Germany, or as being indebted for it to an 

 Hungarian nobleman, we are far from placing confidence in their asser- 

 tions. In our opinion, Paris is its birthplace, and its true author, un- 

 doubtedly, the now far-famed Monsieur Cellarius, for whom this offspring 

 of his genius has gained a European celebrity." 



Whatever we may be inclined to believe with regard to this disputed 

 question, there can be no doubt of the widespread popularity which for 

 many years was enjoyed by the Polka. When first introduced in 1843, it 

 was received with enthusiasm ; and it effected a complete revolution in 

 the style of dancing which had prevailed up to that period. A brisk, 

 lively character was imparted even to the steady-going quadrille ; the old 

 Valse a Trois Temps was pronounced insufferably " slow " ; and its bril- 

 liant rival, the Valse a Deux Temps, which had been recently introduced, 

 at once established the supremacy which it has ever since maintained. 

 The galop, which had been until this period only an occasional dance, 

 now assumed a prominent post in every ball-room, dividing the honours 

 with the valse. 



Perhaps no dance affords* greater facilities for the display of ignorance 

 or skill, elegance or vulgarity, than the Polka. The step is simple and 

 easily acquired, but the method of dancing it varies ad infinitum. Some 

 persons race and romp through the dance in a manner fatiguing to them- 

 selves and dangerous to their fellow-dancers. Others (though this is more 

 rare) drag their partner listlessly along, with a sovereign contempt alike 

 for the requirements of the time and the spirit of the music. Some gen- 

 tlemen hold their partner so tight that she is half-suffocated ; others 

 hold her so loosely that she continually slips away from them. All these 

 extremes are equally objectionable, and defeat the graceful intention of 

 the dance. It should be performed quietly, but with spirit, and always 



