Dancing.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXI, Issue 3898, 16 May 1899, Page 4

Dancing.

(By the Bey F. Quintbell). (Continued.) THE DIFFERENT SEXES do not intermingle in those indecorous sports.” This brief historical outline ■hows that ancient dancing was generally either a religious or a military practice, and that when it was indulged in as an amusement as with Herodiae before Herod, it sometimes led to disastrous consequences, that the aneient and noble Romans despised it, that it was performed by a few professionals, was sometimes indecent, that the sexes were kept apart and that the passion is most strongly marked in savages. I ask, is it a record calculated in civilised communities to fill a noble breast with pride, or to inspire the ignoble with lofty ideals of thought or urge them to deeds of purity and valour ? MODERN DANCING, though less demonstrative, is in some respeots, more objectionable than the ancient forms. Look at it first from a physical or bodily standpoint. PHYSICAL ASPECT. It is sometimes urged that dancing helps to give healthy development to the body. In regard to public dances, at least, this cannot be upheld. The facts point the other way. Dances ordinarily are begun from 7.30 to 10 o’clook in the evening and are continued until the early hours of the following morning, often until daylight. Out of the twenty four hours of the day, we require about. seven or eight hours’ sleep, aocording to our constitution and the work we have to do. But many persons work all day ; in some cases they work hard, then go to the danc-ing-room when they ought to be in bed. Once there, the brilliant light, the genial warmth of the atmosphere, and the jovial society of friends, male and female, for a time re-animate retiring and drooping nature, and as he enters into the whirl of the dance to the sound of lively'music, the dancer forgets his sleepinesß and nature’s call for rest. Hour after hour passes, no doubt pleasantly enough, until daylight peeps in at the windows at, say four o'clock in the merning. He has to be at work at 8 a.m.; perhaps he has a distance to travel to his work and must be up at half-past six, or seven at the latest. He has robbed nature, or himself of his natural rest. But nature will soon extort the penalty; no man can cheat her in this way for any length of time. Next day he has to apply

WHIP AND SPUR to his exhausted body to do the work for whioh he has been unfitted during the night. This has the same result in his case as the application of whip and spur to a horse which is made to work beyond the proper limit of its strength. In both cases, in a short time, the body is completely worn out and useless for further work. But, not only does the man himself suffer ; he cannot possibly do justioe to

HIS EMPLOYER, Another fact to be carefully noted is the great risk of contracting serious illness. The great exertion he makes and the heated atmosphere of the room bring up the temperature of the body. The pores of the skin are all open to reoeive the slightest cold and in this condition the man or woman goes out into the cold, frosty air of the early morning to go home. Colds are consequently of frequent occurrence and for a time may be successfully thrown off, but not always. Then the foundations of consumption are laid, or inflammation takes its victim off quiokly, even in the pride of youth Physical exercise if required, would be of infinitely more value if taken in the open air, and taken regularly an hour or two every day. Dancing in heated rooms is not only of no use but is positively and seriously injurious to health. MENTAL ASPECT. There is scarcely anything that can be said in favor of dancing from the mental standpoint. Does it require a slight exercise of memory to remember the different steps or attitudes ? But this is not worth serious consideration for the benefit, if any, is infinitesimal. It does not and cannot develop any healthy mental function. Even if it provided mental exercise, that would mean wasted energy as long as dancing serves no useful, practical purpose. But it is more to the point to remember that dancing absorbs the attention and occupies the time whioh should be given to other and more helpful pursuits. What are our young people generally doing for their future ? What are their tastes and whither do they tend? How many young men and women can you get to attend a good leoture, a night school, or even to read carefully a really helpful book. Compare this with the mania for cycling, football, horse racing, dancing, etc. Physical development of course is a necessary thing, but is it more neoessary than the cultivation of the intellectual and moral natures ? Where are our lawyers, physicians and statesmen of the future to oome from, and where our wise and good fathers and mothers? TIME. The matter of time is also very important to young people. In all pursuits requiring mental culture, there is now so much competition that unless a young man devotes much of his spare time to good, useful books he is certain to be left far behind in tbe

race for poiition and wealth. The man who does not study must almost of necessity in this age, be either a drudge or a pauper. This prospeet is not alluring but is it not well that ;roung men and women should face it ? Responsible and lucrative positions are not likely to be given to your son or daughter with ordinary education and talent, when for every such position open there are at least a dozen specially qualified persons ready to step in. Don’t let us deceive ourselves in this, or when too late we shall be rudely and sorrowfully undeceived. And it is astonishing to note the progress that can be made by close application. Many men bate risen to eminence purely by persistence or plodding and often against circumstances. Now, oan a man expect to rise, without this oonstant perseverance, even though tutored and coached for years. Mnoh of his work, the real hard work must and can be done by no one but himself. It is the price every man must pay for his education. But when summer evenings are spent in cyeling and the winter nights in dancing; when the attention is absorbed by these sports and others of a similar nature, it is simply impossible to store the mind with the product of the beat intellects, and o«r knowledge is therefore superficial and connected only with a few subjects whioh aie not by any means of vital importance. If half the time spent in what we may call physical sports, were devoted to mental culture we should have men well balanced, thoughtful, and oapablo, and the character of our New Zealand youth conld not be described as a “ oake not turned.”

MOBAL ASPECT. The influence of dancing from a moral standpoint can only be hinted at here, for very obvious reasons. The constant whirl of the dancers to the sound of spirited music and with the sexes intermingled is not, surely cannot be, conducive to elevating thought and action. Not for a moment do I think that all who dance are evilminded persons. That notion I would repudiate with scorn—l know it is not true. But is there not a dissolute dance, and may there not be in any company of dancers at least a few unreliable characters ? This then is where the danger lies. Of this dance Dr Talmage says :—“ It is the first step to eternal ruin for a great multitude of both sexes. You know, my friends, what postures and attitudes and figures are suggested of the devil. They who glide into the dissolute dance glide over an inclined plane, and the dance is swifter and swifter, wilder and wilder, until, with the speed of lightning they whirl off the edges of a decent life into a fiery future.” And have we not known this to be true? Look back a few years and run over the names and lives of those you knew in youth and if you cannot discover one, at least, injured or ruined by danciDg your experience must be an exception to that of many observant persons. If one could, with propriety, mention bare facts and names it would be easy to place many before yon here. When sharply cornered even life-long dancers will own this to be the truth, and may not your child or mine become a prey as readily as another ?

THE ATTITUDE assumed in dancing would be condemned utterly elsewhere and in other circumstances and can you tell why we should take an attitude to the sound of music which would be unbecoming elsewhere ? Music in itself is sacred and grand, but why should we drag its glory down to form an apology for passions and practices that cannot in polite society ever be named by us ? NO GRAND PIANO of oity life, or fiddle of country danoe can oonsecrate that whioh God has cursed. Let us at least keep our children as far as possible from the rcaoh of harm. It is often urged as AN OBJECTION

that if a person is inwardly disposed to evi), it matters little what his outward circumstances may be. He will still go astray. The exact opposite best aocords with reason. If yon have a dangerous explosive yon keep it away from the fire as far as you can, but if you were to put it in the fire and blow up the house, you would be acting in the spirit of the foregoing objection. If you see a blind man walking on the verge of a precipice, knowing that he is specially liable to fall, you lead him to a safer plaoe; and if a man is specially liable to fall morally, should we not lead him away as far as possible from the dangerous ground ? If your little ohild is attracted by the glare and brilliance of the fire, you put up a soreen and protect the child. But if that same ohild, or any other is easily tempted to evil, and if the fires of evil lure him, the objector glibly says : “ 0 never mind him, he is evil disposed and will surely go astray whatever restriction may be placed upon him.” In the spirit of this it is folly to correct a child, keep the inveterate drunkard from strong drink, or lock your doorß against burglars at night. We guard against the evil in the nature of the child, the drunkard,and the burglar, and plead the Bame weakness of nature in others as a reason why they should not be guarded and cared for. Thu is both inconsistent and absurd. (To be concluded.)