We knew the polka and the waltz, the mazurka, the quadrille, and the lancers, and several fancy dances.

We did not hesitate to invent new steps or figures, and we never stopped till we were out of breath.

I was one of the most enthusiastic dancers.

I danced till I felt as if I could fly.
Sometimes we sat in a ring and sang all the songs we knew.

None of us were trained,--we had never seen a sheet of music--but some of us could sing any tune that was ever heard in Polotzk, and the others followed half a bar behind.