`And they
daunced right well.' Of the hold that the Morris had on England, could
there be stronger proof than in the feat of these indomitable dotards?
The Morris ceased not even during the Civil Wars. Some of King
Charles's men (according to Groby, the Puritan) danced thus on the eve
of Naseby. Not even the Protectorate could stamp the Morris out,
though we are told that Groby and other preachers throughout the land
inveighed against it as `lewde' and `ungodlie.' The Restoration was in
many places celebrated by special Morrises. The perihelion of this
dance seems, indeed, to have been in the reign of Charles II. Georgian
writers treated it somewhat as a survival, and were not always even
tender to it. Says a writer in Bladud's Courier, describing a `soire'e
de beaute'' given by Lady Jersey, `Mrs. -- (la belle) looked as silly
and gaudy, I do vow, as one of the old Morris Dancers.' And many other
writers--from Horace Walpole to Captain Harver--have their sneer at
the Morris. Its rusticity did not appeal to the polite Georgian mind;
and its Moorishness, which would have appealed strongly, was
overlooked. Still, the Morris managed to survive urban disdain--was
still dear to the carles whose fathers had taught it them.
And long may it linger!
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS MANNER
A grave and beautiful place, the Palace of Westminster.
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