| I was exceedingly delighted with the waltz,
and also with the polka. These differ in name, but there the difference
ceases--the dances are precisely the same. You have only to spin around
with frightful velocity and steer clear of the furniture. This has a charming
and bewildering effect. You catch glimpses of a confused and whirling multitude
of people, and above them a row of distracted fiddlers extending entirely
around the room. The waltz and the polka are very exhilarating--to use a
mild term--amazingly exhilarating. - Territorial Enterprise, "Letter from Carson City," 12 Dec. 1862 |
 AI image created by Barbara Schmidt |
Illustration
by True Williams from
first edition of ROUGHING IT
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