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| THE PERSIAN SWORD-DANCE - The engraving presents
two
public entertainers who, with saber and shield, and in the presence
of a referee, pass, posture and belay each other to the music of drum
and pipe. The costumes of the pair, while retaining in the portraits
much of their novelty and picturesqueness, are heightened in actual
life by vivid colors and sharp contrasts. The civilized Caucasian
finds but small satisfaction in the efforts of the Asian to be
interesting and entertaining. The juggler alone really captivates
his audience, for prestidigitation has become a western art. But the
dances and music of the Far East went begging on Midway Plaisance.
The reason was easily found in the monotony and ear-piercing nature
of the music to which all dancing must be done. It may be admitted
that there was a peculiar rhythm to the Turkish drums, and a certain
minor roulade in the pipe-tunes; but the unceasing repetition of
these sounds, with the attendant misery to the hearer of an
increasing tempo as the dance progressed, drove away the "Christian,"
and kept him at a wise distance. In watching this saber-dance, the
spectator had the feeling that the combatants were much more likely
to put out his eye than to hurt each other; and, indeed, to study the
faces and actions of the performers, was only to add force to this
unhappy thought. Still, the saber-dance was considered more
agreeable than the dance du ventre of the young women, wherein
Western people might see how the head of St. John Baptist was lost to
Herodias. |
