R.H. Mason was the author of four of the chapters in this book: The Irish jig; The Mexican jarabe dance; The Chinese sun & moon dance, and The Turkish saraband. "Realistic engravings illustrate a point in each of the twelve tales" (Niles & Leslie). The title vignette shows a group around a fire dancing an English folk dance, the Sir Roger de Coverley, the following plate the Highland Fling, and from there the dancing progresses across Europe to India and China figuratively speaking," H. Mandeville. The authors described the dances depicted, Mrs Lowndes specifically describing the Swiss folk dance. This work has been called an elegantly illustrated "gift book" whose intention was to suggest that national (folk) dance could express true feeling better than more "artificial" forms of dance, which seems possibly to contravene contemporary thought on theatrical dance, which was in the ascendant at this time." (Bobins III, 888).