364. UNIVERSAL ERUDITION^ 



with more propriety, perhaps, than is common- 

 ly imagined, that all her fteps were fentiments. 

 Every minuet forms a kind of pantomime, 

 which defcribes to the eyes an amorous intrigue. 

 Two lovers falute, they amouroufly regard each 

 other, they give their hands, they feparate, they 

 reproach, renew their love by prefenting their 

 open arms, they at laft give their hands, and 

 again ialute in token of reconciliation. It is the 

 fame of all other noble and graceful dances. 

 There is in French a charming little treatife, 

 known by the tide of " Characters of the dance 

 and of the lovers," where poetry, mufic, and the 

 dance, very happily concur to exprefs the va- 

 rious characters and fentiments of thofe who are 

 under the dominion of love. 



VII. Modern dancing is divided into that of 

 the theatre and that of fociety. Theatric dan- 

 cing confifts, i . of the performance of a fingle 

 dancer : 2. of dances by two, three, four, &c. 

 3. of complete ballets, where the chief dancers 

 fometimes perform alone, and fometimes with 

 the chorus of figure dancers : 4. a dance of 

 two, three, &c. with a pantomime ballet ; by 

 which is exprefled fome fact in real or fabulous 

 hiftory , or fome other defign, by the dance 

 and by ge flu res. We have feen chefs d'<euwes 

 of this kind in the ballet of Pygmalion, or the 

 animated itatue ; in the ballet of the Rofe -, in 

 that of Boreas and Zephyrus, and in many other 

 highly ingenious dances. The invention anc} 



com,- 



