shrewd sense and
mother-wit in his brains, and a fine, indirect way of hitting the nail
on the head with a side-stroke, was questioned in a neighboring village
as to the facts of the case. "Yes," he said, surlily, "the young folks
had a party, and got up a dance, and the minister was mad,--and I don't
blame him,--he thinks nobody has any business to dance, unless he knows
how better than they did!" It was a rather different casus belli from
that which the worthy clergyman would have preferred before a council;
but it "meets my views" precisely as to the validity of the objections
urged against dancing. I would have women dance, and women only,
because it is the most beautiful thing in the world. And I think my
views are Scriptural, for I find that it was the VIRGINS of Israel that
were to go forth in the dances of them that make merry. It was the
DAUGHTERS of Shiloh that went out to dance in dances at the feast of
the Lord on the south of Lebonah.

From my window overlooking the green, I was led away into some one or
other of the several halls to see the "round dances"; and it was like
going from Paradise to Pandemonium. From the pure and healthy lawn,
all the purer for the pure and peaceful people pleasantly walking up
and down in the sunshine and shade, or grouped in the numerous windows,
like bouquets of rare tropical flowers,--from the green, rainbowed in
vivid splendor, and alive with soft, tranquil motion, fair forms, and
the flutter of beautiful and brilliant colors,--from the green,
sanctified already by the pale faces of sick, and wounded, and maimed
soldiers who had gone out from the shadows of those sheltering trees to
draw the sword for country, and returned white wraiths of their
vigorous youth, the sad vanguard of that great army of blessed martyrs
who shall keep forever in the mind of this generation how costly and
precious a thing is liberty, who shall lift our worldly age out of the
slough of its material prosperity in to the sublimity of suffering and
sacrifice,--from suggestions, and fancies, and dreamy musing, and
"phantasms sweet," into the hall, where, for flower-scented summer air
were thick clouds of fine, penetrating dust; and for lightly trooping
fairies, a jam of heated human beings, so that you shall hardly come
nigh the dancers for the press; and when you have, with difficulty, and
many contortions, and much apologizing, threaded the solid mass,
piercing through the forest of fans,--wh