Paper 41

Mrs Beaumont's Grand Balls, Part 1: 1807-1810

Contributed by Paul Cooper, Research Editor

Mrs Diana Beaumont (1762-1831), wife of the Northumberland MP Colonel Thomas Beaumont (1758-1829), was one of the most consistent hostesses of the London season. She held grand balls in London that were commented upon by the newspapers over a period of perhaps 20 or more years. We'll consider what we can learn of those events over two separate research papers, this initial paper will focus on the years up to 1810. Mrs Beaumont was an immensely wealthy lady but she was also a figure of satirical fun, she was widely regarded as being a social climber or, to use novelist Maria Edgeworth's term, a Manoeuvrer.

Figure 1 Mrs Diana Beaumont, courtesy of Engole.uk.

The tunes we'll be investigating further in this paper are:

• The Nameless
• Michael Wiggins
• Boleros
• Largo's Fairy Dance
• Lord Cathcart's Welcome to Scotland
• Le Boulanger
• Fairy Revels
• Reels and Strathspeys
• The Prime of Life
• Morgiana in Ireland

Madame Diana Beaumont (1762-1831)

Our Mrs Beaumont was born the illegitimate daughter of Sir Thomas Wentworth Blackett, 5th bt., of Hexham and Bretton (1726-1792). As an illegitimate child she could have little hope for advancement. Yet despite this comparatively inauspicious start she would go on to become one of the richest and most socially connected hostesses in the entire nation.

Sir Thomas Wentworth, Diana's father, was the owner of significant estates near Wakefield in Yorkshire. His fortune grew further when he inherited the Blackett family's substantial lead mining interests in 1777, he changed his name from Wentworth to Wentworth Blackett as part of the inheritance process. He never married however and had no legitimate children, the question of how his estates would be distributed was of some significance. Diana (the future Mrs Beaumont) was the eldest of his approximately ten illegitimate children and it was she who would eventually be named as his primary heir (in trust for her newly born son Thomas Wentworth Beaumont (1792-1848)). She was probably born in 1762 (assuming her age as reported in her 1831 obituary was correct) and would be around 30 years of age when Sir Thomas died. In addition to the various Wentworth estates she would also, many years later, inherit still further estates in Northumberland when Sir Thomas' distant relation William Bosville (1745-1813) died in 1813; the Bosville's were reputed to be worth a further £5000 a year (Bath Chronicle, 4th March 1813) most of which was inherited by the Beaumonts.

Diana married Colonel Thomas Beaumont in 1786 when she was approximately 24 years of age, he was another land owner from Yorkshire. Beaumont had briefly served in the army and would go on to serve as a Member of Parliament for Northumberland. Diana's father invited Beaumont to witness the signing of his Will in 1790, this Will would leave relatively little to Diana. What happened next is uncertain but two years later the Will was substantially rewritten to Diana's benefit. You can read more of the details of this suspicious affair on the Engole website. The result of the well-timed change caused Diana to inherit most of her father's estate, she went on to manage her business interests personally. She would gain a reputation, at least amongst her neighbours in Yorkshire, for being a tough and opinionated lady.

Figure 2 The English Ladies Dandy Toy, 1818 (top) and a detail from An Affecting Scene in Hyde Park, 1813 (below). Top image courtesy of the British Museum, bottom image courtesy of the British Museum.

Colonel Beaumont was reputed to be a weak politician who was primarily motivated by opportunities to secure for himself a peerage (a goal that he pursued without success); one M.P. was reported to have complained that: Mr Beaumont's falling regularly into the train of every minister in hopes of obtaining a barony is in my opinion conduct highly disgraceful ... Every minister must altogether despise him, knowing that he is sure of his vote because he is minister. Personally Beaumont is as contemptible as a man can be, and base vote cannot be worth a barony to any minister. It would take two further generations and the passing of roughly a century before their grandson would receive the title of Baron Allendale in 1906. It seems likely that Diana was the driving force behind the Colonel, she was both richer and more ambitious than her husband.

They were very well connected. The social commentators of the period could hardly ignore them. Mary Russell Mitford (1787-1855) wrote in a letter from 1806:

Colonel Beaumont is generally supposed to be extremely weak; and I had heard so much of him, that I expected to see at least as silly a man as Matthew Robinson; but I sat next him at dinner, and he conducted himself with infinite propriety, and great attention and politeness; yet, when away from Mrs Beaumont, he is (they say) quite foolish, and owes everything to her influence with him. They live in immense style at the Abbey; thirty or forty persons frequently dine there; no servants but their own admitted; and there is constantly a footman behind every chair.

The socialite Mrs Calvert (1767-1859) wrote of Mrs Beaumont in her journal in an entry dated December 23rd 1805: She is a great favourite of mine, only I wish she was not so fond of holding forth on her riches, establishment, etc. She is a sensible woman, and I am surprised she does not perceive the ridicule of it. It lessens one's opinion of her good sense, but nobody is wise at all times..

The novelist Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849) published a short story named Manoeuvring in 1809 which featured a widow named Mrs Beaumont; Edgeworth's Eugenia Beaumont had also been married to a Colonel Beaumont and was a prominent social climber: Even from the time when Mrs Beaumont was a girl of sixteen, I remember her manoeuvring to gain a husband, and then manoeuvring to manage him, which she did with triumphant address. The plot involved the widow Beaumont attempting to secure the most advantageous marriages for her children. It's possible, perhaps probable, that the leading character was modelled after our own Mrs Beaumont. Even if the lampoon was unintentional the public must have thought otherwise, Mary Russell Mitford described speculation as to her identity in another letter of 1810: half the families in the county suspected that Miss Edgeworth had drawn, not from the species, but the individual, and that her picture would never have had so much truth and nature had she not both sketched and colored it from our exquisite neighbor.. Most of the Beaumont children did not go on to secure the prestigious marriages that might have been hoped for; their two oldest daughters remained unmarried into the 1830s, their oldest son married a commoner.

Another commentary can be found in the memoirs and Recollections of Captain Gronow. He wrote of our Mrs Beaumont:

There are probably many persons who remember this lady. She was reported to have been of low origin, but inheriting vast estates in the north, and having married a colonel of militia, who became member for the county where her large estates lay, she became one of the leaders of the fashionable world in 1812. From that time to 1820, it was impossible, during the London season, to walk from St James's Street to Hyde Park at a certain hour in the afternoon, without seeing her and her daughters in her large yellow landau. Her style of living was most luxurious and full of ostentation. Her preference of a nobleman before a gentleman of no title was shown in a manner that was perfectly ridiculous, and evinced a great want of good sense and tact. Her fêtes were thronged with the grand monde, and her system of excluding all but persons of rank amused the fashionable world: even men of talent and good family rarely got the entrée of her saloons.

This recalls to my mind a rather ludicrous incident. Through the kindness of the Duchess of Marlborough, I was present at one of Mrs Beaumont's balls, and this led to my being invited to the rest of them during the season. In fine, I became a constant visitor at her house in Portman Square, till one day I ventured to ask for an invitation for a friend of mine, a distinguished officer in the Guards, good looking, and in every respect fit company for the best saloons. I was of course asked what was his rank; and on my replying that he was a captain in the regiment in which I had the honour to serve, Mrs Beaumont exclaimed, I want no more captains at my balls: you should consider yourself lucky in getting an invitation. I bowed and took my leave; and, reflecting on the injustice I had done Mrs Beaumont in presuming to appear at her assemblies, I never again perpetrated the offence.

Mrs Beaumont had three sons, two of whom died insane; the other sorely wounded her pride by marrying Miss Atkinson, the daughter of a hatter.

Mrs Beaumont had the good luck to inherit a fortune, and the good sense to manage it, but she clearly evoked jealousy from those around her. Her neighbours in Yorkshire were reported to mockingly name her Madame Beaumont in reference to her pretentious status as a grand-dame of London fashion (they may of course have been genuinely in awe of her). The truth no doubt is more complicated, her guests at Portman Square included members of the royal family and the highest ranks of the nation's nobility, they presumably saw something of value in her. The Colonel's influence in Parliament may have been inconsequential, but their wealth and the esteem it afforded them wasn't.

Note: The two images in Figure 2 are not believed to be of Mrs Beaumont. It's nonetheless curious that the lady in the top image shares her features and is depicted manipulating a toy dandy; the excitement around the yellow carriage in Hyde Park from the bottom image resonates with Captain Gronow's description of her. It's plausible that either image may have been intended to be recognised as a caricature of our Mrs Beaumont.

Mrs Beaumont's Earlier Balls

Passing references to the Beaumont Balls exist from the late 1790s, the more detailed accounts appear a little later. The early references may be underwhelming but they are representative of the reporting that might generally be expected of such events at these dates. Amongst the early references include:

Figure 3 The northern side of Portman Square, c.1810. Image Courtesy of the British Museum.

Colonel Beaumont has recently improved the family mansion in Portman-square, preparatory to his Lady's entertaining the gay world. (Morning Post, 28th February 1801)

Amongst the numerous rejoicings at the return of peace and plenty, we have heard with pleasure of the fete given by Col. and Mrs Beaumont, and a few of their principal tenantry at Bretton, near Wakefield, on the 5th of November: The whole of the families of all the poor and labouring people of the adjoining townships were invited to the White-Hart Inn, at Bretton, to the number of 250 and upwards, when all the women and children were plentifully regaled with tea and cakes, and the men with roast beef and good ale. The evening was spent with the utmost conviviality and decorum until ten o'clock, when all returned peaceably to their respective homes, with hearts full of gratitude to the worthy donors. (Leeds Intelligencer, 16th November 1801)

The Lady of Colonel Beaumont commences her fashionable parties in a few days, at her noble mansion in Portman-square. (Morning Post, 8th March 1802)

The Lady of Colonel Beaumont commences her fashionable parties in a few days, in Portman-square. (Morning Post, 11th May 1803)

The Lady of Colonel Beaumont gave a Children's Ball, on Monday last, in Portman-square, which was attended by a large party. The ball commenced at eight o'clock; a petit souper took place at ten. The dancing recommenced at eleven, and concluded at twelve o'clock. (Morning Post, 11th January 1804)

The Lady of Colonel Beaumont, who intended to have a splendid party on Friday next at her house in Portman-square, has postponed it on account of its being the Fast Day, to the 30th inst. (Morning Post, 22nd May 1804)

The Lady of Colonel Beaumont, in Portman-square, will this season open her splendid mansion to the fashionable world, in a style of unrivalled splendor. The preparations for the occasion are said to correspond with the well known taste and liberality of the distinguished patroness of the fine arts. The first ball will be given in early April, and is expected to be of the most magnificent description. (Morning Post, 6th February 1806)

Col. Beaumont intends giving a grand entertainment on the 10th of May next, at his house in Portman-square. (Morning Post, 30th April 1806)

The Lady of Colonel Beaumont will eclipse most of her rival friends in the magnificence of her balls and concerts, during the next fashionable season. (Morning Post, 14th December 1807)

Mrs Beaumont's juvenile Ball, June 1807

The following text was printed in the Morning Post newspaper for 4th June 1807, dance references are in bold:

On Tuesday evening the Lady of Colonel Beaumont gave an elegant children's ball, at the family residence in Portman-square. This unique little fete was attended by many of the first leading personages in the circles of fashion. The house, which is extremely elegant, particularly in its internal decorations, was even more than usually attractive on the above evening. The illuminated apartments shone with unrivalled brilliantcy about nine o'clock. The ball was opened previous to that hour with The Nameless. Miss Beaumont led off with a young Gentleman, whose name we could not learn. The dancing continued until twelve o'clock, when the music ceased, and the company retired to the supper rooms, the tables in which were abundantly stored with every delicacy the season produces.

This juvenile ball was hosted in the evening rather than over-night, the guests were presumably the children of the nobility. The only named tune was, a little ironically, named The Nameless, we'll consider it further below. The leading lady was the 11 year old Miss Diana Beaumont (the Beaumont's oldest daughter), though with further irony her partner's name also remains unknown. Perhaps the intention was that the Beaumont children would meet and ultimately grow up with friends from amongst the nobility; a juvenile ball was an event held in a similar style to an adult ball but conducted earlier in the evening and (presumably) with less seriousness attached. Figure 4 shows children dancing at some kind of organised rural event, the unknown artist depicted what might have been a circle dance around a goose together with a couple dance in the foreground. There's no reason to think that the Beaumont's juvenile ball would have anything in common with the image. The Beaumonts would go on to host further such balls over the following few years.

Figure 4 Juvenile Entertainment c.1807. A large musical party passing their time in perfect harmony. NB, a little Goose in the center of the ring joins in with the young party in company. This woodcut image derives from an anonymously printed piece of music of uncertain date which is simply titled Gavot.

Mrs Beaumont's Grand Ball and Supper, April 1809

The following text was printed in The Globe newspaper for the 17th April 1809, dance references are in bold:

This Lady gave, on Friday, a splendid entertainment, at her elegant house, in Portman-square, [lacuna] was attended by upwards of five hundred fashionables. The arrangements for the evening displayed the greatest taste and elegance. The grand hall and stair-case were brilliantly lighted, and the servants wore their state liveries. The Ball room, which, in dimensions, as well as in elegance and richness of the furniture, is most superb, was lighted by a large diamond cut glass chandelier, elliptic stands, and or-molu branches, with wax lights. The floor was tastefully chalked in devices. In the other apartments card-tables were set out. The supper rooms were brilliant; the tables were laid for three hundred persons, and decorated in a most tasteful manner: grottos, temples, and bouquets were places round. In the centre of the table was a superb gold plateau, with six gold branches, for lights; the service was of silver. At the top of the table was Britannia, supporting the bust of the late Lord Nelson, with the Lion at her feet, underneath the Victory, with the mottos Trafalgar, Copenhagen, and Aboukir; opposite was Neptune, the whole executed in transparent jelly, which had a most beautiful effect, and did great credit to the ingenuity of Mr Read, who regulated this grand entertainment. At ten o'clock the ball was opened by Lord Sunderland and Miss Diana Beaumont, to the favourite dance of Michael Wiggins - the music under the direction of Mr Gow. After this dance, which went off with great spirit, the two Miss Beaumonts, who were pupils of Mr Vestris, danced a Boleros, with great correctness; they were loudly applauded by the company. The Fairy Dance then followed; the third dance Lord Cathcart, and La Boulangere concluded the dancing, when supper was announced at one o'clock. It consisted of every delicacy of the season - soups of every description, and a most superb desert, with the choicest wines, graced the festive board. At half past two the company returned to the ball-room, and continued dancing until day light; when they broke up, highly gratified with the attention of their host and hostess. Among the company were [three Duchesses, one Marchioness, one Countess, two Earls, five Lords, an Archbishop, fifteen Ladies, seven Sirs, five Messrs, three Mistresses and seven Misses].

This was the first of the Beaumont Balls to be rewarded with a non-trivial description of the dancing, we'll consider the named tunes and dances further below. The music was led by the ever popular Gow band, presumably under John Gow. We're informed of the significant effort that was invested into the lighting, the menu and floor chalking; this event was evidently a first class entertainment.

Mrs Beaumont's Ball, April 1810

The following text is from the Morning Post newspaper for 28th April 1810, dance references are in bold:

The Lady of Col. Beaumont gave a Ball and Supper on Thursday night, at the family residence in Portman-square. This was the first fashionable party for the season. Much taste and elegance were displayed in the decorations, and lighting up of the apartments. The dancing commenced at eleven o'clock, led off by the Hon. Mr McDonald, and the Duchess of Manchester, to the popular tune of the Fairy Revels. About fifteen couple danced. The supper was served up at half past one o'clock; about three the company retired. Previously to the Ball, an Amateur Concert was given, at which Messrs Dawkins, Montgomery, &c. assisted, Reels and Strathspeys were danced by the Duchess of Manchester, Lord Saltoun, Mrs Frazer, Mr Montgomery.

Figure 5 A fruit bowl as seen in the BBC's 2013 Pride and Prejudice: Having a Ball, perhaps in a similar style to those from the Beaumont Ball.

We're informed that this event was preceded with an amateur concert. Perhaps some of the guests (or their children) were invited to entertain the company.

Mrs Beaumont's Ball, May 1810

The final ball we'll consider in this paper was held approximately a week after the previous example, the following text is from the Morning Post from the 3rd May 1810, dance references are in bold:

Mrs Beaumont's Ball, Given on Monday night, was remarkable for its splendour and taste. The superb service of plate displayed on the supper-tables astonished even those who are accustomed to view such magnificent objects daily. There were no less than 500 dishes used, the whole being composed of massy silver, with a gadroon edge, and exhibited at the same time with other suitable articles the effect may be more easily conceived than described. The early part of the night was devoted to a Children's Ball; the latter ended at ten minutes before 12 o'clock; half an hour after the regular Ball commenced. Lord Kinnoul led off Prime of Life, with the Hon. Miss Beaumont. Among the couples were: Hon Mr James McDonald and Lady Saltoun, Mr Frazer and Miss Mildmay, Captain Warrender and Lady Harriet Drummond, Mr Wynne and Miss Spencer Stanhope, Mr F Macdonald and Miss Frazer, Mr Stephen and Miss Milbanke.

It was nearly four in the morning when the company supped. The desert was the most choice, and abundant, ever since the days of Mistresses Walker and Milnes. Pines, cherries, strawberries, grapes, peaches, and nectarines, were to be seen on every table.

At seven in the morning, Morgiana in Ireland, a non-descript kind of dance (quite new), being in three parts, an Irish jig, and the fourth a waltz figure, afforded a fund of merriment to all the amateurs present. The party exceeded 400 persons, comprehending mostly all the beauty and fashion then in London.

It's perhaps notable that the guests at this ball, contrary to the assertions of Captain Gronow above, included several untitled gentlemen. It's also of note that one of the guests was Miss Spencer Stanhope of Cannon Hall in Yorkshire, a close neighbour of the Beaumonts when at home in the shires. This particular event combined both a juvenile ball and a regular ball one after the other, this may have been a common practice but this is one of the rare occasions where the concept is explicitly described.

We'll now consider the named tunes and dances from these various balls.

Figure 6 The Nameless from William Campbell's c.1808 23rd Book (above) and from Button & Whitaker's c.1808 8th Number (below). Upper image © National Library of Scotland.

The Nameless

The ball was opened previous to that hour with The Nameless. Miss Beaumont led off with a young Gentleman, whose name we could not learn. (1807 juvenile Ball)

This curiously named tune was widely published in London between about 1807 and 1809, it was briefly a favourite. At least two different tunes were published under this same name, although many others were of course published without names; of the two one was far more popular with the London music publishers and must surely have been the tune from our ball. Miss Diana Beaumont, who led off the dance, was the eldest of the Beaumont's daughters, she was 11 years old at the date of this event; her unnamed partner was probably of a similar age.

Our tune was widely published and consistently named as The Nameless; I can't offer a precise chronology of publication but it appears within the following collections: Wheatstone & Voigt's c.1806 1st Book, 1st edition, Skillern & Challoner's c.1807 5th Number, Clementi's c.1808 5th Number, Kelly's New Country Dances for the Year 1808, William Campbell's c.1808 23rd Book (see Figure 6), Dale's c.1808 11th Number, Andrew's c.1808 15th Number, Button & Whitaker's c.1808 8th Number (see Figure 6), Monzani's c.1808 5th Number and James Platts's c.1809 8th Number. It was also mentioned in both Thomas Wilson's 1809 Treasures of Terpsichore and Edward Payne's 1814 A New Companion to the Ball Room. One of the later appearances of the tune can be found in the Goulding collection of 24 Country Dances for the Year 1809; this collection is a little interesting as Goulding had previously published a different tune under the same name in his c.1807 9th Number. It's possible that Goulding was the first of the publishers to offer a tune under this name, but his initial version did not prove to be the popular variant.

The tune was well known for perhaps two years but it did not feature often at the balls of the aristocracy. I only know of one further use of the tune in addition to that of our ball, that was at Mrs Boehm's Ball in 1807; the Boehm ball was held shortly before our event (Morning Post, 23rd May 1807), The Nameless initially proved to be popular with her guests, one of whom may even have been the composer: The second dance was a new and very excellent one, composed by a very fashionable Lady, who is of the first distinction, called The Nameless. It was so popular that after supper the ball re-commenced with The Nameless again. This captivating dance infused new life into the votaries of the light fantastic Goddess. The tune could hardly have been more popular, except that the party was spoiled by an unfortunate event: In the Ball Room were placed, as is usual on such occasions, several rows of forms, or seats. At one time, these seats were all so closely occupied, that not an inch of space could be found. Whether it was owing to the carelessness of the workmen who put these forms together, or to a greater weight than they were accustomed to bear, has not been ascertained; but certain it is, that several of them broke down, about the same instant, and occasioned so much confusion, that it was not inaptly compared to the dagger-scene, in the comic farce of Tom Thumb. After that excitement it's entirely possible that polite society preferred not to be reminded of the experience, perhaps The Nameless was not selected at any further such events.

Nathaniel Gow in his collection of The Favourite Dances of 1810 identified the composer of this tune as being Lady Mildmay, previously Miss Charlotte Bouverie. Charlotte would marry Sir Henry St John-Mildmay (1787-1848) in 1809, she died from complications of childbirth the following year.

We've animated suggested arrangements of Wheatstone & Voigt's c.1806 variant of the tune, of Skillern & Challoner's c.1807 version, of William Campbell's c.1808 version (see Figure 6) and of Button & Whitaker's c.1808 version (see Figure 6).

Michael Wiggins

At ten o'clock the ball was opened by Lord Sunderland and Miss Diana Beaumont, to the favourite dance of Michael Wiggins (1809 Ball)

This tune was the opening dance for the 1809 ball, it was led off by the now 13 year old Miss Beaumont and the 15 year old George Spencer-Churchill (1793-1857) (later the 6th Duke of Marlborough). It was quite normal for a hostess to have her daughter lead off the first dance of a Ball though Miss Beaumont was unusually young for the honour. This may have been her first opportunity to dance at an adult Ball, attended as it was by Duchesses, Earls and an Archbishop; her formal introduction to high society would follow in 1813 (Morning Post, 20th March 1813) when she was 17 years old.

Figure 7 Michael Wiggins in James Platts's 1809 11th Number (top), in Dale's c.1809 16th Number (middle) and in Goulding's 24 Country Dances for 1810 (bottom, right). Also the first two verses of the 1808 Michael Wiggins in Debt (bottom, left). Top image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD, h.726.m.(10.) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

The tune is easily identified, it was widely published in London in both 1809 and 1810. The name Michael Wiggins probably derived from a poem that was published in several magazines in 1808 named Michael Wiggins in Debt, the story involved a failed attempt to hide from the authorities, a copy was published in The Monthly Mirror for 1808 (see Figure 7). A tune named Michael Wiggins surfaced shortly thereafter; the first publication was probably that of James Platts in his 1809 11th Number (see Figure 7, top), Platts claimed to be the composer within his publication, he would go on to reference this tune in some of his copyright disputes of the mid 1810s... we'll return to that subject shortly. Platts signed a legal statement for one of those trials in which he claimed that in or about the year One thousand eight hundred and nine your Orator in like manner composed the Music of a certain other Dance called or known by the name of Michael Wiggins.

Aside: I'm aware that several works exist that include this tune and have estimated publication dates prior to 1809. Several authorities (for example) wrongly attribute the tune to the Preston collection of Country Dances for 1801 - it was actually published in the Preston collection of 24 Country Dances for 1810. I suspect that the estimated dates are incorrect, the overwhelming weight of evidence points to the tune emerging in 1809.

The name Michael Wiggins became something of a recurring theme, several tunes with variant names were published in the years following 1809: Michael Wiggins in London was published in Walker's c.1810 25th Number, The Ghost of Michael Wiggins was published in James Platts's c.1811 26th Number, Michael Wiggins in Paris was published in Bland & Weller's 24 Country Dances for 1813 and Master Wiggins was published in Goulding's 24 Country Dances for 1816. By far the most widely known of the variant tunes was named Michael Wiggins in Ireland, this tune was issued by William Campbell in his c.1810 25th Number, by Wheatstone & Voigt in their c.1810 5th Book, in Goulding's 24 Country Dances for 1811, Preston's 24 Country Dances for 1811, and in Button & Whitaker's c.1811 16th Number.

Our tune was a favourite in the fashionable circles of 1809. In addition to the Beaumont Ball it was also enjoyed at Mrs Leigh's Ball and Supper (Morning Post, 24th May 1809), at Lord Temple's Fete at Dover (Kentish Gazette, 6th October 1809) and at Hon Mrs Harvey's Ball in Sussex (Morning Post, 26th December 1809).

Ordinarily the story might end there with the tune having lost its fashionable credentials by about 1811 or 1812. But in 1815 James Platts was accused of stealing copyrighted tunes owned by Button & Whitaker, he retaliated with a counter-claim of his own involving this tune. We've investigated these legal disputes in another paper, you might like to follow the link to read more. It seems likely that Platts really was the composer of the tune. The music publishers of 1809 tended not to consider copyright as an issue for Country Dance tunes, the industry had always shared. By 1815 that convention had broken down, Platts sued both Button & Whitaker and Charles Wheatstone over alleged copyright violations, you can read more in our paper covering their disputes.

We've animated suggested arrangements of James Platts's 1809 version of the tune (see Figure 7, top), of Wheatstone & Voigt's 1809 version and of Dale's c.1809 version (see Figure 7, middle).

For futher references to the tune, see also: Michael Wiggins (2) at The Traditional Tune Archive

Figure 8 The much admired Boleros, as danced by Monsr Vestris & Sigra Angiolini in the favorite Spanish Divertisment, from Skillern & Challoner's c.1810 12th Number. Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD, g.230.cc ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Boleros

the two Miss Beaumonts, who were pupils of Mr Vestris, danced a Boleros, with great correctness; they were loudly applauded by the company. (1809 Ball)

This dance was a performance by the Beaumont's two oldest daughters, the 13 year old Miss Diana Beaumont (who had led-off the first dance) and the 11 year old Miss Marianne Beaumont (her name is sometimes given as Miss Mary Anne Beaumont). They were evidently pupils of one of the celebrated Vestris family of dancers, presumably of Armand Vestris who had settled in London in January 1809.

The Vestris family, for three generations, had been principal dancers of the Parisian stage; their name was well known in London, the Vestris Gavotte, for example, had been a celebrated stage dance in London since around 1807 although it probably dated back to the 1790s. Armand Vestris performed his Boleros on stage with Miss Angiolini in James Harvey D'Egville's opera Don Quichotte, ou les noces de Gamache in early 1809, it was presumably this same dance that he'd been employed to teach to the Beaumont girls. His tuition can't have been cheap! The English nobility often employed stage performers to teach dancing to their children, employing the most celebrated dancer in London must have been quite a status symbol. We're assured that the assembled company were sufficiently polite to loudly applaud the performance.

The Vestris Bolero is sometimes described as being a Fandango dance, it involved the use of castanets during the performance. We've described how James Platts promoted the use of castanets for social dancing from 1804 in another paper, he saw significant new interest in the instrument around 1809, a date at which they (presumably) achieved a degree of fashionable popularity. We've also written of the Boleros as a social dance elsewhere. Figure 8 shows the music for the Vestris Bolero as published by Skillern & Challoner in their c.1810 12th Number.

We've noted a similar performance by the nine year old Augustus Stanhope of Mrs Wybrow's Hornpipe at a society Ball of 1803; inviting favoured children to demonstrate a popular stage dance may have been a common practice at a ball.

Largo's Fairy Dance

The Fairy Dance then followed (1809 Ball)

This popular tune is one we've studied in a previous paper, together with the conflicting claims over who composed it. It was widely danced from around 1807, you might like to refer to our previous paper for further information.

For futher references to the tune, see also: Fairy Dance at The Traditional Tune Archive

Figure 9 Lord Cathcart's welcome to Scotland from Wheatstone & Voigt's c.1806 1st Book (top), and Lord Cathcart's Favorite from Goulding & Co's 24 Country Dances for the Year 1811 (below). Top image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD, b.64. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Lord Cathcart's Welcome to Scotland / Lord Cathcart / Lord Cathcart's Favorite

the third dance Lord Cathcart (1809 Ball)

This tune is readily identified, it was widely published in London between about 1808 and 1811. Several other tunes with similar names also circulated, Goulding & Co alone published Lord Cathcart's Welcome to Scotland, Lord Cathcart, Lord Cathcart's Whim, Lord Cathcart's Reel, Lord Cathcart's Favorite and Lady Cathcart over this four year period; but the vast bulk of the London publications all issued the same tune, it was clearly the favourite of the family.

The dedicatee was William Cathcart (1755-1843), 10th Lord Cathcart, he would subsequently be made the 1st Earl of Cathcart. He was a career soldier who's biggest success came in 1807 when he captured the Danish fleet at the Battle of Copenhagen. The success of our tune in London was presumably a recognition of Cathcart's victory. The tune predates that victory however and therein lies some confusion.

The earliest publication of the tune under the Cathcart name that I can find dates to either 1806 or 1807 where it can be found in Wheatstone & Voigt's c.1806 1st Book (see Figure 9, top). Dating this book is a little complicated, we've discussed the issues in another paper; at least two different editions of this first book exist, the earlier printing uses the name Lord Cathcart's Welcome to Scotland while the later simplifies it to just Lord Cathcart. Lord Cathcart did indeed return to Scotland after his Danish victory, but not until after Wheatstone had publicly advertised availability of what was either his first or second book (Morning Post, 7th October 1807). The Welcome to Scotland, at least in the initial publication, seems not to relate to a celebration of the naval victory. Cathcart had previously returned to Scotland from Hanover in 1806, he'd been appointed commander-in-chief of the British forces in Scotland and brought a Scottish regiment home with him (e.g. Aberdeen Journal, 25th June 1806), presumably the title actually referred to this appointment. We therefore have a possible chronology: Lord Cathcart returned to Scotland in 1806, a tune was published in London named for that event but without generating significant attention; Cathcart was sent to Copenhagen in 1807 and returned in triumph; many of the London publishers then re-issued the tune in recognition of his triumph. Cathcart was gifted a gold box of great value and exquisite workmanship by the people of Edinburgh in recognition of his victory (Caledonian Mercury, 28th April 1808) but the tune was circulating long before that date. I have no evidence of the tune having been published in Edinburgh however, it seems only to have been published in London (at least at this early date and under this name).

Many London publishers issued versions of the tune but only one of them identified a composer; the version published by Goulding & Co in their 24 Country Dances for the Year 1811 notes that the tune was composed by Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) (see Figure 9, bottom); they had previsouly issued the tune at least three times without identifying the composer, it can be found in their c.1808 12th Number as Lord Cathcart's Welcome to Scotland, in their c.1809 16th Number as Lord Cathcart, and also in their 24 Country Dances for the Year 1810. The version they issued in 1811 changed the title to Lord Cathcarts Favorite. Perhaps the tune had only been recognised as Haydn's in late 1810; their identification was indeed correct, I'm indebted to The Traditional Tune Archive for identifying the true source of the tune as being the finale of Haydn's Military' Symphony No. 100 which debuted in London in 1794. It seems therefore that Wheatstone, knowingly or otherwise, had been induced to reprint one of Haydn's existing tunes under a new name, and the other publishers copied from him.

The origins of the tune may be a little murky but the success of the tune isn't; after the initial c.1806 publication by Wheatstone & Voigt and the c.1808 republication by Goulding & Co. it would go on to be published by: Clementi & Co in their c.1809 6th Number, Andrews in their c.1809 9th Number, Monzani in his c.1809 10th Number, Walker in his c.1809 20th Number, Dale in his c.1809 14th Number, Button & Whitaker in their c.1809 11th Number, Skillern & Challoner in their c.1809 8th Number, James Platts in his c.1809 9th Number, Halliday & Co. in their c.1809 1st Number, Ball in his c.1809 1st Number, Fentum in his 24 Country Dances for 1810, Preston in his 24 Country Dances for 1810 and Wheatstone once again in his 24 Country Dances for 1810. It would also be named in Thomas Wilson's 1809 Treasures of Terpsichore and in Edward Payne's 1814 A New Companion to the Ball Room.

The tune was widely published but seems not to have featured amongst the descriptions of society balls other than our 1809 Beaumont Ball; a tune named Lord Cathcart's Reel was danced at an Irish Ball in 1810 (Saunders's News-Letter, 22nd August 1810), but that was most probably a different tune. We've animated suggested arrangements of Wheatstone & Voigt's c.1806 version of the tune (see Figure 9) and also of Skillern & Challoner's 1809 version.

For futher references to the tune, see also: Lord Cathcart at The Traditional Tune Archive

Figure 10 La Boulanger from Francis Werner's 1780 13th Book. Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD, b.55.c.(2.) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Le Boulanger

and La Boulangere concluded the dancing, when supper was announced at one o'clock. (1809 Ball)

Le Boulanger, La Boulanger or La Boulangere is an example of a French Country Dance, it was originally published in France, probably in the 1760s. It is somewhat similar to a Cotillion dance, though slightly off-formula from the point of view of the various c.1770 Cotillion guides issued in England. The unusual characteristic of this dance was that any number of couples could dance it simultaneously, this made it quite a distinctive dance. For example, Francis Werner's 1780 publication of the tune (see Figure 10) indicated This Dance may be Danced with any number of Ladies & Gentlemen.

The Boulanger is sometimes described as a mixer dance as everybody gets to dance with everybody else, regardless of how many couples are involved; it was often used as the last dance of an evening and would also be described as a finishing dance for that reason. At our ball it was used as the last dance of the first half of the event, though it's the last to have been named within the narrative. We've studied the dance before in a previous paper that investigated the version published by William Campbell in his c.1789 4th Book, you might like to follow the link to learn more.

Campbell wasn't the first music seller to arrange music for this dance, nor was he the last. It had previously been published in Francis Werner's 1780 13th Book (see Figure 10) and probably also in Thomas Budd's 1780 8th Book. It would go on to be published in Skillern & Straight's 12 Country Dances for 1792 and also in Dale's c.1804 4th Number. It was also published in Edinburgh in Niel Gow's Third Collection of Strathspey Reels &c. under the name The Boolonzie.

Werner's 1780 music for Le Boulanger in Figure 10 is quite different to that of Campbell's c.1789 version, it's perhaps rather better suited to the dance than that of the later publication. We've studied Campbell's arrangement of the music in a previous paper. Werner's second strain of music is 10 bars in length (which is reminiscent of the La Batteuse French Country Dance that we studied in another paper), with the opportunity to repeat 8 bars as many times as are needed given the number of dancers in the circle. The repeating section consists of 4 bars of music that are played twice through. If the musicians know how many couples are in the circle they can play exactly four bars per couple (plus the original two), thereby allowing the tune to scale gracefully with the number of dancers. I suspect this was the intended arrangement, rather than requiring a mad scramble from the dancers to get through the figure before the musicians moved on!

As with many social dances of the period, the best experience is achieved when skilled musicians adapt the music to fit the needs of the dancers in-situ. Modern dancers who recreate these dances to recorded music can struggle to experience them as they were (probably) intended to be danced.

Figure 11 Fairy Revels from Skillern & Challoner's c.1810 11th Book (top) and from Hodsoll's c.1811 15th Number (below). Top image © VWML, EFDSS.

We've animated an arrangement of Francis Werner's 1780 version of the dance (see Figure 10).

For futher references to the tune, see also: Boulanger (La) at The Traditional Tune Archive

Fairy Revels

The dancing commenced at eleven o'clock, led off by the Hon. Mr McDonald, and the Duchess of Manchester, to the popular tune of the Fairy Revels. About fifteen couple danced. (April 1810 Ball)

This dance was led off by Susan Montagu (1774-1828), third daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Gordon and wife of the 5th Duke of Manchester; her partner was James MacDonald (1784-1832).

At least five different tunes named Fairy Revels were in circulation near the start of the 19th century; three were published c.1803 (by Fentum, Bland & Weller and Preston), one c.1810 and another in 1812 (by James Platts). The c.1810 tune was published by several of London's music shops whereas the other four are only known from a single source, there can be little doubt that the c.1810 tune was the one danced at our Ball. The precise chronology of publication can't be established but the earliest publication of our tune might have been in Skillern & Challoner's c.1810 11th Book (see Figure 11); this publication includes the noteworthy figure right and left (or swing corners), we've commented on this peculiar phrase elsewhere. It would then be published in Dale's c.1811 18th Number, Hodsoll's c.1811 15th Number (see Figure 11), Wheatstone & Voigt's c.1811 6th Book and also in Wheatstone's 24 Country Dances for 1812. The tune was also published in Edinburgh by Muir, Wood & Co c. 1811. A different tune of the same name was issued by James Platts in his 1812 32nd Number. We've previously written about another popular tune named The Fairy Dance which Mrs Beaumont had used at her 1809 Ball above, it's possible that the name Fairy Revels was partially inspired by that existing popular tune.

The name Fairy Revels was widely known. A pantomime named The Fairy Revels was being performed from at least as early as 1777 (Shrewsbury Chronicle, 25th October 1777), another (possibly the same pantomime) named The Fairy Revels, or Harlequin Triumphant was circulating in 1784 (Hibernian Journal, 18th February 1784). A song named Fairy Revels was described as a new song sung at the Theatres in 1798 (Ipswich Journal, 3rd November 1798), there was even a tune of the same name supposedly published by Mozart (Morning Post, 1st April 1801). The Theatre Royal in 1802 produced a new grand Burletta and Ballet Dance, called The Fairies Revels (Morning Post, 7th August 1802) which was also named as The Fairies Revels, or Love in the Highlands (Morning Chronicle, 13th August 1802); it was performed entirely by Masters and Misses with music by Dr Arnold (Royal Cornwall Gazette, 21st August 1802), this production probably inspired the tunes that were published around 1803. A copy of the score is available through Google Books.

It's not clear whether or not our tune was derived from the Burletta, I can't find any similarity in the scores though it's plausible that they're linked. The tune seems not to have been danced elsewhere either, the Beaumont ball is the only event I can find to have positively featured our tune; our correspondent asserted that it was a popular tune, perhaps it was only popular for a single season.

We've animated a suggested arrangement of Skillern & Challoner's c.1810 version of the dance (see Figure 11), and of Wheatstone & Voigt's 1811 version of the dance.

Figure 12 The Prime of Life from Wheatstone & Voigt's c.1808 3rd Book (top), from Skillern & Challoner's c.1809 8th Number (middle), and from William Campbell's c.1809 24th Book (bottom). Top image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD, b.64. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; bottom image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD, b.96. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Reels and Strathspeys

Reels and Strathspeys were danced by the Duchess of Manchester, Lord Saltoun, Mrs Frazer, Mr Montgomery. (April 1810 Ball)

Our third ball concluded with Reels and Strathspeys, a term we've investigated in a previous paper, you might like to follow the link to read more. Two of the principal dancers on this occasion were Susan Montagu (1774-1828) (the Duchess of Manchester) and Alexander Fraser (1785-1853) (Lord Saltoun). The other two dancers are harder to identify, Mrs Fraser may have been Lord Saltoun's mother Margery Fraser (d.1851), Mr Montgomery was probably a relative of the Earl of Eglinton. All four were of noble Scottish families.

The Prime of Life

Lord Kinnoul led off Prime of Life, with the Hon. Miss Beaumont. (May 1810 Ball)

This dance was led off by the now 14 year old Miss Diana Beaumont and her partner Thomas Hay-Drummond (1785-1866) the 11th Earl of Kinnoull.

The tune that had been selected was one that had circulated in fashionable society since around the year 1808; an early reference to the tune being danced involved The Duchess of Bolton's Ball (Morning Post, 13th July 1808) where the dancing commenced soon after with Prime of Life, a new dance, composed by a Lady of distinction; it was much admired. It's unclear who the lady of distinction that composed the tune was, a possible candidate would be Viscountess Ashbrook (c.1780-1810) who was probably the composer of several popular tunes at around this date, we've investigated her Ferne Hill in another paper. We also investigated The Nameless above, that tune was similarly composed by a very fashionable Lady, who is of the first distinction, she was Miss Charlotte Bouverie (later Lady Mildmay, d.1810). Miss Bouverie was listed amongst the dancers at the Duchess of Bolton's 1808 Ball at which this tune was danced, it therefore seems likely that she was the composer. Our tune was also danced at the Perthshire Hunt Ball in 1809 (Perthshire Courier, 9th October 1809) where it was used in a medley along with a tune named Morgiana (which is investigated further below and was also composed by Miss Bouverie). The tune then featured at our Beaumont ball of 1810, I know of no further references to the tune being used in polite society thereafter.

Several different tunes were published in London in 1809 named the Prime of Life, and therein lies a complication. At least six different tunes circulated approximately concurrently; unfortunately for us three of them appear to have been equally popular with the London publishers - there's no simple way to determine which was the most successful of the tunes. Perhaps the music sellers were under pressure to supply copies of a tune that was being danced by the aristocracy, and some simply invented their own in response. Let's consider the three major candidates in turn.

• Candidate 1: The first candidate tune was issued multiple times and may have been the first to enter circulation. It was included in both editions of Wheatstone & Voigt's c.1808 3rd Book (see Figure 12, top), in Button & Whitaker's c.1809 13th Number, in Goulding's c.1809 14th Number, and in Davie's c. 1810 20th Number. As perhaps the earliest of the tunes it has a credible claim to being the original, though I'm doubtful that Wheatstone & Voigt would have secured an important tune ahead of their competition. My guess is that they printed a tune, and the others (perhaps indirectly) copied them. We've animated a suggested arrangement of the c.1808 Wheatstone & Voigt version (see Figure 12).
  
  
• Candidate 2: The next candidate was widely published c.1809. The firm of Halliday & Co offered it under the name New Prime of Life in their Collection of Dances for 1809, thereby acknowledging that it wasn't the first version in circulation; it could however have been the original tune. This version was also printed by Clementi & Co in their c.1809 6th Number, Skillern & Challoner in their c.1809 8th Number (see Figure 12, middle), by James Platts in his c.1809 9th Number, by Walker's in their c.1809 20th Number and by Monzani's in their c.1810 11th Number. We've animated a suggested arrangement of the c.1809 Skillern & Challoner version (see Figure 12).
  
  
• Candidate 3: The third major candidate was also circulating from around 1809, it was issued by William Campbell in his c.1809 24th Book (see Figure 12, bottom), by Dale in his c.1809 13th Number, by Fentum in their 24 Country Dances for 1810 and by Preston in their 24 Country Dances for 1810. Campbell was often the first of the London publishers to issue a new tune, especially if it was of Scottish origin, it's entirely possible that this was the version known by the society dancers. We've animated a suggested arrangement of William Campbell's c.1809 version (see Figure 12).

  Keen observers may note that the second and third tunes are essentially the same melody, they're simply arranged in different ways. The eight bars of the first strain of the third tune are equivalent to the first four bars of the first strain of the second tune, the second tune then repeats those bars; the same can be said of the second strain, resulting in an AAB1B2 arrangement of the third tune and an AAAAB1B2B1B2 arrangement of the second in approximately the same duration of time.

In practice we really only have two major tunes, the second being available in both long and short measure arrangements. Our third tune lends itself to an interpretation that halves the tempo and strains of the second tune.

We've employed a strategy in previous papers to discover the most popular of a set of similarly named tunes of Scottish origin. This strategy involved reviewing the London tune collections to see which tunes were issued there, if a tune was popular then the London music shops would publish that version; on this occasion we can reverse the strategy. Gow & Shepherd published a version of The Prime of Life as part of their c.1810 Morgiana publication in Edinburgh; their publication is almost certain to contain the tune that was danced at the Perthshire Hunt Ball of 1809, and by extension be the tune that was known to the London aristocracy. The version that they published was our third candidate. This removes most reasonable doubt, the third tune was the popular arrangement.

Morgiana in Ireland

At seven in the morning, Morgiana in Ireland, a non-descript kind of dance (quite new), being in three parts, an Irish jig, and the fourth a waltz figure, afforded a fund of merriment to all the amateurs present. (May 1810 Ball)

This tune is a member of a family of tunes that shared a somewhat similar development with that of the Michael Wiggins family we investigated above. Numerous different tunes were published between about 1808 and 1815, examples include Morgiana, Morgiana in Ireland, Morgiana in Spain, Morgiana in France, Morgiana in Paris, Morgiana in Russia, Morgiana in Portugal, Morgiana in Scotland, Morgiana in the Park, Morgiana in Salamanca, Morgiana at Richmond and Morgiana's Return from Ireland. The first three of this family were very widely published, Morgiana was popular c.1809, Morgiana in Ireland c.1810 and Morgiana in Spain c.1812. A curiosity of this family of tunes is that the differently named variants generally referred to the same tune across publishers; for example, all of the publishers who printed Morgiana in Ireland consistently used the name for the same tune (unlike the pattern we identified when investigating the Prime of Life above).

Figure 13 Morgiana in Ireland from Nathaniel Gow's c.1810 publication of the same name (top), and from James Platts's c.1809 13th Number (below). Bottom image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD, h.726.m.(10.) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

The name Morgiana derives from a character in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, itself a story from the 1001 Arabian Nights; Morgiana is a slave girl in the story who saves Ali's life. A dramatic performance with music by Michael Kelly had been adapted for the Drury Lane stage in late 1804 (Morning Post, 28th December 1804) and was performed from mid 1806 (Morning Post, 7th April 1806). The initial Morgiana tune may have been derived from Kelly's score (though Nathaniel Gow identified the composer in his collection of The Favourite Dances of 1810 as Miss Charlotte Bouverie, later Lady Mildmay, the same lady who composed The Nameless). The Kelly production was on a particularly lavish scale with keen public interest in the preparations for over a year; for example, The Courier for the 20th July 1805 wrote that it is reported that in scenery, decorations, and dresses, &c. the Forty Thieves will very far exceed any thing that has ever appeared on the British Stage. The expence in preparing it incurred heretofore, is said to exceed 6000l. A second version of The Forty Thieves was prepared for the Irish stage and performed in Dublin from January 1810 (Saunders's News-Letter, 3rd January 1810) with music by Cooke, it's possible that Morgiana in Ireland was adapted from Cooke's score. We've written more of Morgiana elsewhere.

Our ball featured the Morgiana in Ireland tune; a precise chronology of publication in London can't be established, but examples include: James Platts's c.1809 13th Number (see Figure 13), Wheatstone & Voigt's c.1809 4th Book, Dale's c.1809 16th Number, Skillern & Challoner's c.1810 10th Number, Wheatstone's c.1810 20th Number, Walker's c.1810 24th Number, Monzani's c.1810 15th Number, Goulding's c.1810 17th Number, Hodsoll's 12 Country Dances for 1810, Button & Whitaker's 1811 15th Number, Preston's 24 Country Dances for 1811, Fentum's 24 Country Dances for 1811 and Goulding's 24 Country Dances for 1811.

The tune was also published in Edinburgh by Nathaniel Gow c.1810, Gow's publication is of particular interest as he explicitly claimed to be the composer of the tune (see Figure 13). He may very well have been the composer, but if so the tune seems to have circulated in London without a composition credit prior to Gow having claimed it in Edinburgh. It would also be published by Archibald Duff of Aberdeen in his 1812 Part First of A Choice Selection of Minuets, Favourite Airs, Hornpipes, Waltzs &c., Duff added the musical direction Slow and Distinct to his version of the tune, whereas Gow explicitly set his version in Valtz Time. It's possible that Gow was only claiming to have composed the bass score.

The correspondent from our ball described the tune as being non-descript and added that it was three parts an Irish Jig and the fourth a waltz figure. This is a strangely specific description that seems incompatible with the tune as published; there are no changes in time signature in any of the published versions of the tune that I've seen. Perhaps this description instead referred to the dancing, maybe a form of Waltz turning was introduced within the figures that were actually danced at the Ball. The third strain of music does introduce a snap that might lend itself to a different dance step. The Gow publication complicates matters a little further; Gow printed Morgiana in Ireland and added as a suffix Aldridge's Highland Laddie, danced as a Medley in all fashionable places. The suffixed tune was a Reel in common time, it was certainly not a Waltz!

I'm only aware of a pair of society balls that featured this tune; the other, also from 1810, was Lord Sydney's Ball and Supper (Morning Post, 4th May 1810). We've animated suggested arrangements of James Platts's c.1809 version of the dance (see Figure 13), of Dale's c.1809 version and of Skillern & Challoner's 1810 version.

For futher references to the tune, see also: Morgiana in Ireland at The Traditional Tune Archive

Conclusion

We've studied several balls in this paper that were held by the same hostess over several years, we'll go on to study more of them in a subsequent paper. We know the names of some of the dances that were enjoyed at these events, most were moderately well known Country Dancing tunes that were in fashion at the date of the events. The programmes included display dances such as the Boleros and French Country Dances such as the Boulanger.

The hostess, Mrs Beaumont, often proceeded her events with a juvenile ball for the children. This would be followed by a grand ball for the parents that would continue throughout the night. Mrs Beaumont, as was the case with most hostesses, would usually invite her daughter to lead off the first dance. Her children might also be invited to perform a display dance to the assembled company.

One curiosity of the Beaumont balls are the relative shortage of Scottish themed dances. Some tunes and dances of Scottish origin were enjoyed, but the majority were not known to be Scottish (unlike most of the other balls that we've studied in our recent research papers). The tunes would, in most cases, go on to be published in Edinburgh by Nathaniel Gow (and others) but their origins lie elsewhere. Many of the tunes appear to be of English origin, all were popular amongst London's social elites.

We'll leave this investigation here but will return to this same subject for Part 2. If you have more information to share, do please Contact Us as we'd love to know more.