THE WALTZ.

265

k° damsel faints when rather closely press’d,more caressing seems when most caress’d;superfluous hartshorn, and reviving salts,

■Uoth banish'd by the sovereign cordial “ Waltz.”jj,Seductive Waltz!—though on thy native shorev^ e n Werter's self proclaim’d thee half a whore;

Y erter—to decent vice though much inclined,

*et warm, not wanton ; dazzled, but not blind—though gentle G-enlis, in her strife with Stael ,J^ould e’en proscribe thee from a Paris ball;

*Uee fashion hails—from countesses to queens,

^u.d maids and valets waltz behind the scenes:. v ide and more wide thy witching circle spreads,turns—if nothing else—at least our heads ;

. v hh tiiee even clumsy cits attempt to bounce,f ‘hd cockneys practise what they can’t pronounce.j?°d! how the glorious theme my strain exalts,

rhyme finds partner rhyme in praise ofWaltz!

-Blest was the time Waltz chose for her debut;

court, the Regent, like herself were new ;*

A e w face for friends, for foes some new rewards;

ornaments for black and royal guards;

’ e ^ laws to hang the rogues that roar’d for\t bread;

coins (most new) to follow those that fied;fvictories—nor can wo prize them less,

Qough JenkyJ wonders at his own success ;wars, because the old succeed so well,what most survivors envy those who fell;

mistresses—no, old—and yet 'tis true,

Y. ^ugh they be old, the thing is something new :

new. quite new — (except some ancientv tricks),§

white-sticks, gold-sticks, broom-sticks, all•ty. new sticks!

* itq vests or ribbons deck’d alike in hue,

^ ro °P e, s strut, new turncoats blush in blue,

^aith tlie muse: my-, what say you VII

uc h was the time when Waltz might best main

jj tain

Su^ ne ' v preferments in this novel reign;j, c h was the time, nor ever yet was such;

°°ps are no more, and petticoats not much;

Morals and minuets, virtue and her stays,

And tell-tale powder—all have had their days.

The ball begins—the honours of the houseFirst duly done by daughter or by spouse,

Some potentate—or royal or serene—

With Kent's gay grace, or sapient Gloster’s mien,Leads forth the ready dame, whose rising flushMight once have been mistaken for a blushFrom where the garb just leaves the bosom free,That spot where hearts were once supposed to

bo,ir

Round all the confines of the yielded waist,

The stranger s hand may wander undisplaced;

The lady's in return may grasp as muchAs princely paunches offer to the touch.

Pleased round the chalky floor how well theytrip,

One hand reposing on the royal hip;

The other to the shoulder no less royalAscending with affection truly loyal!

Thus front to front the partners move or stand.

The foot may rest, hut none withdraw the hand;And all in turn may follow in their rank,

The Earl of—Asterisk, and Lady—Blank;

Sir—Such-a-one—*with those of fashion’s host,

For whose blest surnames -vide Adorning Post(Or if for that impartial print too late,

Search Doctors’ Commons six months from mjdate).

Thus all and each, in movements swift or slow,The genial contact gently undergo ;

Till some might marvel, with the modest Tur’-,

If nothing follows all this palming work ?" **True, honest Mirza!—you may trust my rhyme—Something does follow at a litter time;

The breast thus publicly resign’d to manIn private may resist him-if it can.

0 ye who loved our grandmothers of yore,Fitzpatrick, Sheridan, and many more !

And thou, my Prince! whose sovereign taste andwill

It is to love the lovely baldames still!

Thou ghost of Queensbury! whose judging spriteSatan may spare to peep a single night,

thp An anachronism-Waltz and the battle of Austerlitz are before said to have opened the ball toge -tho ’ tke bard means (if ho means anything), Waltz was not so much in vogue till the Regent attaineda rl ac m6 °f his popularity. Waltz, the comet, whiskers, and the new government, illuminated heavenoth earth , in all their glory, much about the same time, of these the comet ouly has disappeared; the.three continue to astonish us still.— Printer's Devil.thl, others a uew ninepeuco—a creditable coin now forthcoming, worth a pound, m paper, at

+ barest calculation.

+ Jenkinson. . .

Oh that right should thus overcome might!" Who does not remember tnc delicate investigation”me Merry Wives of Windsor

be —Bray you, come near: if I suspect without cause, why then make sport at me: then let me

^your jest, I deserve it. How now ? whither bear you this ?

—What have you to do whither they bear it?—you were best meddle with buck-

gentle, or ferocious, reader may fill up the blank as ho pleases—there are several dissyllabicag ? es a t his service (being already in the Regent’s); it would not be fair to back any peculiar initialthe alphabet, as every month will add to the list now entered for the sweepstakes:—a distin-consonant is said to be the favourite, much against the wishes of the knowing ones.aii .. • 6 bawe changed all that,” says the Mock Doctor—’tii all gone—Asmodeus knows where. AfterdistrM 18 no great importance how women’s hearts are disposed of; they have nature’s privilege toto ^ fbem as absurdly as possible. But there are also some men with hearts so thoroughly bad, asto v us of those phenomena often mentioned in natural history; viz. a mass of solid stone—onlyof ho5 °P^ e d by force—and when divided, you find a toad in the centre, lively, and with the reputation

** T g J enomous -

by a P • ke y a pertinent, here an impertinent and superfluous question—literally put, as in the text,•Persian to Morier. on seeing a waltz in Pera.— Vide Morier's Travels.