Having brought up the Comus Waltz in the context of Tom Willson's 1888 dance card, and since it also appears on my own 1894 dance card, an interesting question is how exactly one dances it.
I have only two sets of instructions for it. The earlier ones are found on the 1882 sheet music "Comus Waltz" by G. F. Dyke, and are attributed to Professor J. Patoille. A second set is found in George Washington Lopp's book La Danse, which was published in Paris in 1903. Lopp himself was an American expatriate who made a name for himself as a dance teacher in France before becoming embroiled in a messy scandal. Lopp gives the author's name as Patrille, but Lopp makes a lot of minor errors like that.
The 1882 instructions are a bit of a mess. Here's the text:
Slide left foot back to 4th position and place right foot in 2d position and draw to 3d position and repeat draw step. Slide right foot to 4th position place left in 2d position draw to 3d position and repeat draw step. (2) then left foot back to 4th position and Waltz two steps. (2) then slide left foot to 4th position slide right foot to 2d position bringing left foot to 3d position same as Society step and repeat the Society with left foot. (2)
Ugh! What to make of that?
First off, the music of the dance is in 3/4 time, with strains of either twelve or twenty-four bars. So the fact that we have a six-bar dance is not as big a problem as it first appears. It is a "Tempo Newport", which implies redowa/mazurka accenting rather than a straight waltz.
There are three parts to this description, each two measures: the first slide-step-draw-draw (twice) segment, the waltz, and the Society.
Given that the music specifically says "Tempo Newport", it seems obvious that the first two measures are, in fact, the Newport. I've described this variation previously; the quick summary is:
1 Leap backward (along line of dance) with left foot
&2 Step right foot to the side (along line of dance), close left to right
&3 Step right foot to the side (along line of dance), close left to right
1 Leap forward (along line of dance) with right foot
&2 Step left foot to the side (along line of dance), close right to left
&3 Step left foot to the side (along line of dance), close right to left
This is followed by two measures of waltz; I think the mention of "then left foot back to 4th position" is not a separate step but the beginning of the first measure of waltz. This would be the "new waltz" of the later nineteenth century, not the old valse à trois temps.
That leaves us with the last two measures. The description (4th...2d...3d) sounds like just two more bars of waltz. But what is the Society doing in there? And which Society? There's a Society Waltz, generally described as doing three waltz steps (one and a half turns) in two measures. There's another which is more like a Racket Waltz and one which is like a chassé step with a dip at the beginning. From the footwork given, Patoille seems to want something more like the standard new waltz, but there's no indication of squeezing three steps into two measures. Going only by these instructions, it's going to come down to guesswork.
Fortunately, we do have Lopp's instructions, which are much clearer. Translated from the French, Lopp states that the Comus Waltz consists of two measures of Newport and four of Boston. The Boston is another of those tricky dance names that can mean a number of different things, but Lopp describes it as, essentially, the box-shaped new waltz, with a step-side-close pattern. Two measures of Newport and four of waltz does not seem quite like what Patoille had in mind with the 1882 instructions, but it avoids the mystery of the Society and allows for a danceable reconstruction.
In the absence of a third set of instructions clarifying what the earlier ones meant, I would suggest dancing the Comus as Lopp describes it. For variety, the Newport or the waltz or both can be reversed, or the dancers can make half-turns back and forth or dance in a straight line without turning.
Music
The sheet music for Dyke's Comus Waltz may be found at the Library of Congress site here. Because of the six-bar length of the dance, this is one that really needs to be danced to its own music, or another tune of similar structure and accent. There is other sheet music called "Comus Waltz", but I don't know whether it has the same six-bar-friendly structure or whether the name is just a coincidence. There is still more sheet music called "Comus Waltz", this time by Mrs. L. L. Comeaux (which sounds like a pseudonym in connection with the name Comus), in the collection of Louisiana State University, as listed here (PDF).
Did anyone dance The Comus Waltz?
The next question after "how was this danced?" is generally "was this actually danced?" That was implicitly addressed by its turning up on at least one dance card, but there's also some evidence that it was actually mildly popular, as such things go -- maybe comparable to the Oxford Minuet, Bon Ton Gavotte, or even the Berlin. Here are a few cites for its being danced:
The Daily Colonist of Victoria, British Columbia, on December 2, 1891, mentioned the Comus Waltz in a description of a ball program: "The second social of the Iolantho Social Club was held in Harmony Hall, last night, and a most enjoyable evening was spent. About 23 couples were present, and dancing was kept up till a late hour. The following is a list of the dances : — Grand March, Waltz, Waltz Quadrille, Ripple, Schottische, Comus Waltz, Waltz Lancers, Jersey, Polka, Waltz Quadrille, Ripple, Saratoga Lancers, Polka, Comus Waltz, Lancers, Schottische, Waltz." Notice that the Comus Waltz is done twice in one evening!
In a short blurb called "City Cameos" in the Los Angeles Herald, Volume 43, Number 178, 7 April 1895, it is mentioned in passing: "Then she floated off in the arms of an admirer to the soft strains of the delightful Comus waltz."
And the Ellensburg [Washington] Daily Record of January 14, 1971, mentions the Comus Waltz in a column that looks back on a ball given in 1890 and gives a list of dances: "the schottische, landers [sic], polka, grand basket quadrille, comus waltz, and Virginia Reel."
Three cites is not enough to draw any real conclusions from, but notice that the dance keeps appearing as the Comus Waltz, not just as Comus, and certainly not as Comas, like the dances on the 1888 leap year dance card. That's partly an artifact of my search terms, of course, but the fact remains that I have no evidence of it being routine called "Comus", let alone "Comas".
Edited 6/27/16 to add:
The description of the Comus Waltz given on the Dyke sheet music above are repeated word for word in the 1917-1918 edition of Clendenen's Quadrille Book and Guide to Etiquette under the heading "Comus Waltz. (By Dyke.)" The music is not included, but it is listed below the instructions as available in orchestra or piano solo versions for sixty-five or thirty-five cents, respectively.
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