2012年3月20日星期二
swaying his arms and holdingout the
"It is," she replied, emphatically nodding her head. "Invent the steps."Sure of her melody she marked the rhythm boldly so as to simplifythe way. Helen caught the idea; seized Miss Allan by the arm,and whirled round the room, now curtseying, now spinning round,now tripping this way and that like a child skipping through a meadow.
"This is the dance for people who don't know how to dance!"she cried. The tune changed to a minuet; St. John hopped withincredible swiftness first on his left leg, then on his right;the tune flowed melodiously; Hewet, swaying his arms and holdingout the tails of his coat, swam down the room in imitation of thevoluptuous dreamy dance of an Indian maiden dancing before her Rajah.
The tune marched; and Miss Allen advanced with skirts extendedand bowed profoundly to the engaged pair. Once their feet fellin with the rhythm they showed a complete lack of selfconsciousness.
From Mozart Rachel passed without stopping to old English hunting songs,carols, and hymn tunes, for, as she had observed, any good tune,with a little management, became a tune one could dance to.
By degrees every person in the room was tripping and turning in pairsor alone. Mr. Pepper executed an ingenious pointed step derivedfrom figure-skating, for which he once held some local championship;while Mrs. Thornbury tried to recall an old country dance which shehad seen danced by her father's tenants in Dorsetshire in the old days.
As for Mr. and Mrs. Elliot, they gallopaded round and round the roomwith such impetuosity that the other dancers shivered at their approach.
Some people were heard to criticise the performance as a romp;to others it was the most enjoyable part of the evening.
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