DANCE AND MUSIC. 
137 
manual display of the passions in moments of triumph or festi¬ 
vity, becomes a mere pastime of polished society, and a vehicle 
for female grace. 
The Georgian dance, to which I was then a spectator, con¬ 
sisted of feats of activity, and many strange, and far from elegant, 
contortions of the limbs ; such as twisting-one leg over the other, 
knocking the knees together, and hopping along on their hunkers: 
but, I fear, the generality of my readers will not understand that 
provincial word of the north of England ; it is, however, the only 
one which occurs to me, descriptive of the grotesque action, 
which happens to be, also, a sport amongst children of the lower 
orders, in our northern counties; and it is done, by sitting down 
on their heels, and hopping about in that position. The Geor¬ 
gians, after several other bodily freaks of the kind, completed 
their exploits by capering on their toes. To give a proper spirit 
to the performers, the national music had been procured, which 
bore an equal rank, in points of civilisation and elegance, with 
the graces it was to inspire. However, it seemed to animate the 
motions of the brave inhabitants of Caucasus, in like manner 
with the influence of the bag-pipe on the vigorous limbs of our 
own gallant Highlanders; for feet, hands, and head, all moved in 
active response to the strains of their native Orpheuses. The 
instruments, and the strains, are difficult to describe ; but I make 
the attempt, in saying, that the first consisted of an assemblage 
of small double-drums, in shape and size not much larger than a 
couple of slop-basons united; these were beat continually, in 
concert with five or six instruments in the form of guitars, 
played upon with a bow. Their harsh scrapings, mingling in¬ 
cessantly with the monotonous thumping of the drums, sent forth 
a noise, I could only compare to that of a water-mill, without its 
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