an hour, but, perhaps, these people have never looked into
a beef-boner's hands.

When Tamoszius and his companions stop for a rest, as
perforce they must, now and then, the dancers halt where
they are and wait patiently. They never seem to tire;
and there is no place for them to sit down if they did.
It is only for a minute, anyway, for the leader starts up
again, in spite of all the protests of the other two. This
time it is another sort of a dance, a Lithuanian dance.
Those who prefer to, go on with the two-step, but the
majority go through an intricate series of motions, resem~
bling more fancy skating than a dance. The climax of it
is a furious _prestissimo,_ at which the couples seize hands
and begin a mad whirling. This is quite irresistible, and
everyone in the room joins in, until the place becomes a
maze of flying skirts and bodies, quite dazzling to look
upon. But the sight of sights at this moment is Tamos~
zius Kuszleika. The old fiddle squeaks and shrieks in
protest, but Tamoszius has no mercy. The sweat starts
out on his forehead, and he bends over like a cyclist on
the last lap of a race. His body shakes and throbs like a
runaway steam-engine, and the ear cannot follow the fly~
ing showers of notes -- there is a pale blue mist where you
look to see his bowing arm. With a most wonderful
rush he comes to the end of the tune, and flings up his
hands and staggers back exhausted; and with a final
shout of delight the dancers fly apart, reeling here and
there, bringing up against the walls of the room.

After this there is beer for everyone, the musicians in~
cluded, and the revelers take a long breath and prepare
for the great event of the evening, which is the acziavimas.
The acziavimas is a ceremony which, once begun, will con~
tinue for three or four hours, and it involves one uninter~
rupted dance. The guests form a great ring, locking
hands, and, when the music starts up, begin to move
around in a circle. In the center stands the bride, and,
one by one, the men step into the enclosure and dance
with her. Each dances for several minutes -- as long as
he pleases; it is a very merry proceeding, with laughter

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