d been in time
of yore his pupils, or were actually so at the very moment; so that,
independent of his cares as conductor of the festivities, he had also
the _amour propre_ of one who saw his own triumphs reflected in the
success of his disciples.

[Illustration: 325]

At last the dances were arranged. A certain kind of order was
established in the party; and Mr. Harkin, standing in the fifth
position, with all his fingers expanded, gave three symbolic claps of
his hand, and cried out, 'Begin!' Away went the band at once, and
down the middle I flew with my partner, to the measure of a quick
country-dance that no human legs could keep time to. Two others quickly
followed, more succeeding them like wave after wave. Nothing was too
fat, nothing too short, nothing too long, to dance. There they were, as
ill-paired as though, instead of treading a merry measure, they had been
linked in the very bonds of matrimony--old and young, the dwarf and the
brobdingnag, the plump and the lean, each laughing at the eccentricities
of his neighbour, and happily indifferent to the mirth he himself
afforded. By-the-bye, what a glorious thing it would be if we
could carry out this principle of self-esteem into all our
reciprocity-treaties, and, while we enjoyed what we derive from others,
be unconscious of the loss we sustained ourselves!

Unlike our English performance, the dance here was as free-and-easy a
thing as needs be. Down the middle you went, holding, mayhap squeezing
your partner's hand, laughing, joking, flirting, venturing occasionally
on many a bolder flight than at other times you could have dared; for
there was no time for the lady to be angry, as she tripped along to 'The
Hare in the Corn'; and besides, but little wisdom could be expected from
a man while performing more antics than Punch in a pantomime. With all
this, there was a running fire of questions, replies, and recognitions,
from every one you passed--

'That's it, Captain: push along! begad, you're doing it well!'--
'Don't forget to-morrow!'--'Hands round!'--'Hasn't she a leg of her
own!'--'Keep it up!'--'This way I--turn, Miss Malone!'--'You'll come to
breakfast!'--'How are ye, Joe?' etc.

Scarcely was the set concluded, when Miss Bellew was engaged by another
partner; while I, at her suggestion, invited her cousin Mary to become
mine. The ball-room was now crowded with people; the mirth and fun grew
fast and furious. The country-dance occupied the whole len