42 THROUGH KUBAN TAHTARY, 
chap. a n th e dances of northern nations. The first 
v — ' consisted in hopping upon one foot, and in 
touching the ground with the heel and toe of 
the other alternately. The second, in hopping 
on one foot, and thrusting the other before it, 
so as to imitate the bounding of a stag : from 
this animal the motion was originally borrowed, 
as it actually bears its name among the wild 
Irish at this day. A due attention to national 
dances frequently enables us to ascertain the 
progress made by any people towards refine- 
ment. The exercise itself is as antient as the 
human race ; and, however variously modified, 
the popular dances peculiar to ages the most 
remote, and to countries the most widely sepa- 
rated, may all be deduced from one common 
origin, having reference to the intercourse of the 
sexes ; and therefore more or less equivocal, in 
proportion as the state of society has been more 
or less affected by the progress of civilization 1 . 
Circassian 
Language. 
In different parts of the great chain of 
mountains bearing the general appellation of 
Caucasus, the languages are as various as the 
(l) An inquiry into the antiquity and origin of National Dances, 
ns connected with the history of mankind, would form a very curious 
subject of discussion. The author once collected materials for that 
purpose, but it would require more leisure than is now granted to 
him to prepare them for the Public. 
