````"Where lives the man that hath not tried
````How mirth can into folly glide,
`````And folly into sin!"--Scott.=
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he conversation I have given in the last chapter is faithfully
reported--it is exact in spirit very nearly so in letter; we may surely
believe that the clergyman from whom I have quoted some pages back, was
honest in his statements, and I think that there can be no man who has
mixed among his sex in the ballroom and not heard similar remarks made.
All this is, it seems to me, ample proof of the fact which I set out to
demonstrate, namely, that the lechery of the waltz is not confined to
the males, but is consciously participated in by the females, and if
further evidence be needed, then, I say, take the best of all--watch the
dancers at their sport--mark well the faces, the contortions of body and
limb, and be convinced against your will. But even over and beyond
this, I shall now lay before you a kind of testimony which you will be
surprised to find brought to bear on the case.
Shortly after I had determined to publish a protest against the
abominations of the waltz, it became plainly apparent to me that I must
if possible obtain the views on the subject of some intelligent and
well known lady, whose opinion would be received with respect by all the
world. With this end in view, I addressed one of the most eminent and
renowned women of America. I could not fortell the result of such a
step, I certainly did not expect it to be what it is, I hardly dared to
hope that she would accede to my request in any shape. But I knew that
if she did speak, it would be according to her honest convictions, and I
resolved in that event to publish her statement whatever it might be.
This lady freely and generously offered me the use of her name, and as
this would be of great value to my undertaking, I had originally
intended to print it; but upon consideration I have concluded that it
would be a poor return for her kindness and self-devotion, to subject
her to the fiery ordeal of criticism she would in that case have to
endure, and for this reason, and this only, I withhold her name for the
present. But I do earnestly assure the reader that if ever the words of
a great and good woman deserved respectful attention, it is these:--"You
ask me to say what I think about 'round dances.' I am glad of the
opportunity to lay my opinion on that subject before the world; though,
indeed I scarcely know what I can write which you have not probably
already written. I will, however, venture to lay bare a young girl's
heart and mind by giving you my own experience in the days when I
waltzed.
"In those times I cared little for Polka or Varsovienne, and still less
for the old-fashioned 'Money Musk' or 'Virginia Reel,' and wondered
what people could find to admire in those 'slow dances.' But in the soft
floating of the waltz I found a strange pleasure, rather difficult to
intelligibly describe. The mere anticipation fluttered my pulse, and
when my partner approached to claim my promised hand for the dance I
felt my cheeks glow a little sometimes, and I could not look him in the
eyes with the same frank gaiety as heretofore.
"But the climax of my confusion was reached when, folded in his warm
embrace, and giddy with the whirl, a strange, sweet thrill would shake
me from head to foot, leaving me weak and almost powerless and really
almost obliged to depend for support upon the arm which encircled me. If
my partner failed from ignorance, lack of skill, or innocence, to arouse
these, to me, most pleasurable sensations, I did not dance with him the
second time.
"I am speaking openly and frankly, and when I say that I did not
understand what I felt, or what were the real and greatest pleasures I
derived from this so-called dancing, I expect to be believed. But if my
cheeks grew red with uncomprehended pleasure then, they grow pale
with shame to-day when I think of it all. It was the physical emotions
engendered by the magnetic contact of strong men that I was enamoured
of--not of the dance, nor even of the men themselves.
"Thus I became abnormally developed in my lowest nature. I grew bolder,
and from being able to return shy glances at first, was soon able to
meet more daring ones, until the waltz became to me and whomsoever
danced with me, one lingering, sweet, and purely sensual pleasure, where
heart beat against heart, hand was held in hand, and eyes looked burning
words which lips dared not speak.
"All this while no one said to me: you do wrong; so I dreamed of sweet
words whispered during the dance, and often felt while alone a thrill
of joy indescribable yet overpowering when my mind would turn from my
studies to remember a piece of temerity of unusual grandeur on the part
of one or another of my cavaliers.
"Girls talk to each other. I was still a school girl although mixing so
much with the world. We talked together. We read romances that fed our
romantic passions on seasoned food, and none but ourselves knew
what subjects we discussed. Had our parents heard us they would have
considered us on the high road to ruin.
"Yet we had been taught that it was right to dance; our parents did it,
our friends did, and we were permitted. I will say also that all the
girls with whom I associated, with the exception of one, had much the
same experience in dancing; felt the same strangely sweet emotions, and
felt that almost imperative necessity for a closer communion than that
which even the freedom of a waltz permits, without knowing exactly why,
or even comprehending what.
"Married now, with home and children around me, I can at least thank God
for the experience which will assuredly be the means of preventing my
little daughters from indulging in any such dangerous pleasure. But, if
a young girl, pure and innocent in the beginning, can be brought to feel
what I have confessed to have felt, what must be the experience of a
married woman? _She_ knows what every glance of the eye, every bend of
the head, every close clasp means, and knowing that reciprocates it
and is led by swifter steps and a surer path down the dangerous,
dishonorable road.
"I doubt if my experience will be of much service, but it is the candid
truth, from a woman who, in the cause of all the young girls who may be
contaminated, desires to show just to what extent a young mind may be
defiled by the injurious effects of round dances. I have not hesitated
to lay bare what are a young girl's most secret thoughts, in the hope
that people will stop and consider, at least before handing their
lillies of purity over to the arms of any one who may choose to blow the
frosty breath of dishonor on their petals."
And this is the experience of a woman of unusual strength of
character--one whose intellect has gained her a worldwide celebrity
and earned for her the respect and attention of multitudes wherever the
English language is spoken. What hope is there then for ordinary women
to escape from this mental and physical contamination? which=
````"Turns--if nothing else--at least our heads."=
None whatever.
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