Young ladies’ ballroom etiquette is discussed in the latest lesson from 1902: “Dancing is a healthful amusement, and is practiced in all gymnasiums as a part of the curriculum; but it has physical danger if indulged in at wrong times and to too great an extent. Round dancing is often indecent and immodest, and is even more dangerous, physically, than the plain ‘square’ dance or quadrille. Dancing, while it is healthful and good in moderation, is often a serious cause of moral degeneracy, but this lesson cannot deal with this phase of the subject, and therefore we recommend all those who would pursue this topic for themselves shall apply to their parents or otherwise counselors.” Moral dangers aside, here is how to enjoy dancing, from “not intimating to a gentleman in any way that one wishes to be invited to a party,” through dress and transportation and the dancing itself, and on to the expectation that a man will “call the next day and find out if his partner has suffered any ill effects from her enjoyment.”
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