There is no question that the German people has always been interested in dancing, a fact which is best illustrated in the frequent outbursts of mediæval _Tanzwuth_--‘dance craze’--that affected the population of various cities. These phenomena became occasionally so threatening to the public morality that in 1024 the Bishop Burchard von Worms issued a special decree putting dancing under the ban of the church. In 1237 over two thousand children left Erfurt, dancing. In 1418 an epidemic rage for dancing manifested itself in Strassburg. The well-known _Veitstanz_--St. Vitus’ dance--originated in mediæval Germany and spread itself all over the world. The _Schuhplatteltanz_ of Bavaria is a real folk-dance and contains in its gay and grotesque figures characteristic spiritual traits of the Tyrolean peasants. Most of the tunes of the _Schuhplatteltänze_ are gay, joyful and bubbling with mountainous brilliancy, as is the dance. Though played in the waltz-rhythm, the dance is by no means a waltz, but a pretty, quaint little ballet of the people. There are some six to eight different figures in the dance as one can best see it performed in some villages near Innsbruck. It is danced by a man and girl, and begins with a graceful, slow promenade of the couple. Then she starts to flirt with him by spinning coquettishly round and round until he is enchanted and puts his hand gracefully round her waist. Now they dance together awhile, seemingly in love. But suddenly she seems to have changed her mind and tries to turn him down. The dance is full of buoyant joy and clever mimic expressions. It gives the impression of a healthy mountain race, optimistic, simple and humorous. Though occasionally rough, there are passages of sweet and sentimental grace which convey the impression of an old-fashioned Minuet. The _Schmoller_ is a characteristic dance of the Saxonian peasants, in which the man never reaches his hand to the lady, though they perform the four or five movements in the rhythm of the _Mazurka_ with considerable turning and stamping the heels. A quaint old dance is the _Siebensprung_ of Schwaben which is danced to the accompaniment of a song with humorous verses. The _Taubentanz_ of the Black Forest region is a very graceful and simple dance with distinct mazurka steps, in which the gentleman reaches only his right hand to the lady. The _Zwölfmonatstanz_ of Wurtemberg is a semi-social dance, which is performed by twelve couples. The _Fackeltanz_ has been for centuries a ceremonial display of Prussian nobility and the court. The following is a short account, from the _Figaro_, of a Torch Dance as it was performed at the marriage of the sister of Kaiser Wilhelm II: