However, most of the captain's boy friends were permitted to attend; young Cy was not.

His father considered dancing a waste of time and, if not wicked, certainly frivolous and nonsensical.

So the boy remained at home, but, in spite of the parental order, he practiced some of the figures of the quadrilles and the contra dances in his comrades' barns, learning them at second hand, so to speak.
One winter there was to be a party in Orham, given by the Nickersons, wealthy people with a fifteen-year-old daughter.

It was to be a grand affair, and most of the boys and girls in the neighboring towns were invited.

Cy received an invitation, and, for a wonder, was permitted to attend.