her, all wore wreaths of the choicest flowers, and were dressed
in white, with their hair flowing loose, in the stile of
wood-nimphs. On this occasion, there was always a great croud
of spectators; and the joy that appeared in each parent's eye,
when their daughters were applauded, made no small part of the
entertainment. As garlands, and wreaths of flowers composed the
principal ornament of the persons who performed in this dance,
such a respect was had for it by the people in general, that
they abstained from gathering any flowers, till after this
festival was over.

I have myself seen a drawing of this rural dance, in which I
counted no less than sixty performers.

The celebrated Pilades is mentioned to have been the great
improver of this dance. He excluded from it all jumping or
capering, for fear of violating or of disfiguring the graceful
regularity of the whole, which he considered as the most
essential towards preserving a pleasing effect.

Not less than two months were the usual time of preparation for
this dance, to which there was always a confluence of persons
from all the neighbouring parts. But none were allowed the
liberty of dancing, except persons of the first rank and
distinction in the country; the whole being regulated by some
person acting in quality of _choragus_, or director of the
dance.

The reign of Augustus Caesar was undoubtedly the epoch, of the
establishment in Rome, of the art of dancing in its greatest
splendor. Cahusac, an ingenious French author, in his historical
treatise of this art, assigns to that emperor a deep political
design in giving it so great an encouragement as he undoubtedly
did; that of diverting the Romans from serious thoughts on the
loss of their liberty; especially in fomenting a dissention
among them, about so frivolous an object as the competition
between those two celebrated dancers, Pilades and Bathillus.
That something of this sort might be the design of that emperor,
is not to be doubted; but Cahusac, over-heated, perhaps, by his
subject, exagerates the importance of it beyond the bounds of
cool reason. So much however is true, that those two dancers
were extremely eminent in their art, and may be esteemed the
founders of that theatrical dancing, or pantomime execution, for
which it is not sufficient to be only a good dancer, but there
is also required the being a good actor; in both which lights,
these two artists were allowed to excel, Pilades in the