The amateur's vademecum

Reilley's work is a typical example of dance manuals published during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Whereas previous manuals often had many pages devoted to etiquette and deportment, Reilley devotes but two paragraphs, noting that he was leaving the rest to the "good sense and nature" of his readers. The manual provides an extensive history of dance from the Greeks and Romans to the courts of Italy and France to the dances of aboriginal American Indians. Demonstrating the centuryʼs growing interest in physical education, Reilley provides a detailed section on exercise. The manual gives descriptions of the popular ballroom dances of the era--quadrilles, waltz, schottisch, and polka.