I expected I would soon be one of the “wallflowers” sitting by those very walls, despite Dickon’s stammered request for a dance. He had been teasing me for years, and doubtless his invitation was another of his jests. If I acted as if I thought he had meant his request to dance with me, would he laugh? I resolved to be very cool towards him so he would not do so.
—A Buss from Lafayette, © 2016 by Dorothea Jensen, Chapter 23
A dance card from Houltonmuseum.org
It recently occurred to me that when I wrote this scene, I left out an "artifact" that would have been present at most dances in the 19th C. And I should NOT have forgotten it, as this was an artifact that was still around when I started going to dances a century and a half later.
What am I talking about? DANCE CARDS. These were printed and handed out to young ladies at the beginning of the evening. All the dances would be listed, with a space opposite where a young man could write in his name, if so permitted and accepted by the young lady. (I can't help wondering how the young men kept track of the dances they had promised.)
Anyway, when I went to high school many, many years ago, dance cards were still given to the girls attending a formal dance. By that time, however, she only danced with her date, so one ever wrote in the dance cards! I was still happy to hook one around my wrist and enjoy the link to the past!
I am delighted that I will be able to insert the missing dance card into the dramatization of this scene I am writing for performance during the upcoming Lafayette Farewell Tour Bicentennial!
