Note 97 — JOURNAL & LETTERS
Reading edition
"County-dances" were English dances of rural or native origin, especially those in which an indefinite number of couples stood face to face in two long lines. Country dances had been popular on greens and at fairs in England long before they were introduced into polite society. When the country dance was imported into France the name became contre-dance, and it has been erroneously assumed that "country-dance" is a corruption of the French term.