ms, or to play charades,
as interesting in a social way as these innocent amusements may be. The
fact that one will go to this extreme in keeping late hours to attend
the dance, and will not keep such late hours for any other form of
amusement, proves that the dance, as an institution, is at fault in
producing such irregularities. And then who ever heard of one having to
dress in a certain way to attend a purely social gathering. But let a
young lady attend a fashionable ball or a regular round dance of any
note, whatever, and if she wears the civil gown she will be thought tame
and snubbed. She must dress for this occasion, and thus, from a health
point of view, so expose her body that after the excitement and heat of
a prolonged round she takes her place in a slight draught of air, and a
severe cold is contracted. And this exposure is further increased by
the sudden change from a close, hot room to the damp, chilly air of the
early morning, on her journey home. It is possible to guard against all
of this, but are those persons who attend such exercises likely to be
cautious in such practical matters. At least, this risk of exposure for
men and women is peculiar to the dance, and it is certain that many
are physically injured in this way. The modern dance poisons the social
nature. The chief exercise at the modern dance is dancing. Those who
have attended dances, as a social recreation, have complained that they
never have an opportunity to get acquainted with one another. Such a
luxury as a complete conversation on any theme is out of the question.
It is a form of amusement that stultifies the communicative faculties,
and fosters social seclusion. Some one might say this may be a good
thing, since every grade in moral and social standing are represented.
Yes, but this only acknowledges the lack of opportunity for social
fellowship. It is not true that the dance, as an institution, is not
patronized by the most capable in conversation and companionship?
Certainly this is true in the so-called higher society, among those
whose sole ambition is to excel in formal manners and in personal
appearance at the gay function, and at the social ball. To be
communicative one must have something to communicate, and this means a
cultivation of the mind and heart. True social fellowship is one of the
sweetest pleasures of life and always has its source in the culture of
the soul. Whatever may be said for or against the modern dance, it