Fun fact: Orielton House and Playford's Trip to Paris may have the same figures, but the tunes are different lengths.

Since no one else has answered this: the tune for Mutual Love in Barnes is a lovely 6/8 tune (I think its title may actually be The Flight), completely different from the one you have here.

To add to the mystery: I have a hard time believing that the tune you reproduced would have been anything like what might have been used for a theatrical "savage dance". The tune is pleasant, even sedate, in a major key, with no noticeable exoticism, violence, or other "savagery" to it that I can see (except perhaps the choice of instruments, but is that original?). Would theatrical audiences, as you say, have been disappointed to see an ordinary country dance as a "savage dance"? Probably. But they would have been, I think, just as disappointed to hear this tune use in that context.

Very cool. A few thoughts: Sonnambula is probably an opera quadrille; perhaps Italian Theatre too. I was initially wondering about Bayadere as well, but the popular ballet of that name is from 1877, and I can't quickly find reference to an earlier opera or ballet of that name. But maybe. "Children will not be admitted to participate in the Cotillion." I gather that at some periods, "cotillion" has referred to the ball as a whole. I assume this is not such a period? I have a dim memory of hearing of a county dance called Swiss Cottage, but I could be wrong. Let me see if I can dig anything up.

Since no one has translated the Russian in almost 3 years, and it's snowing outside, I thought I'd give it a try. I am no expert in 19th-century Russian, with or without dance terminology. I've retained the French terms from the original; in my translation, they're in italics. Editorial comments are in [brackets]. Hopefully I didn't mangle the meaning too badly! [begin translation] "Snowball fight" [lit. "game of snowballs"], which must necessarily be the final figure, since the chaos it engenders will make [further] dancing difficult. You may find for sale, generally at foreign shops, so-called boules de neige (snow globes [sic]), balls of fine tissue paper, densely packed with tiny, minuscule [bits] of the same paper. These will represent snowballs which the participants will use for a fight and, when smashed [no, not the participants!], will cover the floor as if with snow. The figure is arranged thus: a few people give the balls out, two or three to each participant. All the ladies form a circle dos-a-dos [a back ring?], facing their own gentlemen [partners], who remain in place. Then they begin to throw the balls, first all the ladies at the same time, then all the gentlemen. Anyone who does not catch a ball turns around so that his back is to the circle. The next ball will hit him in the back, whereupon it will burst and the guilty one will be covered from head to foot in paper bits. If the ball is caught, that couple [presumably the thrower and the catcher] promenade and finish at the extreme right of their line. Then promenade in two couples, between the lines, from which those who wish may pelt them with snowballs. These [latter], in turn, taking left hands, respond in the same manner [i.e. the next two couples promenade], and so on for all couples until the end, then general promenade. During the general promenade, all who have not yet exhausted their supply of balls throw them at each other, and so ends the final figure of the cotillion. [end translation] The big question for me is how everyone gets from circles to lines. I suppose that as couples form from playing catch, they promenade over to the right of any couples standing there. But how does this relate to the two volleys of snowballs? Is the second volley only from the men who haven't already caught a ball thrown by a lady? If so, that would answer another question: the instructions talk about distributing only two or three balls to each participant, and yet the ending of the figure suggests that the author expects there to be a lot of leftover balls. Perhaps if most of the men catch the balls from the women's volley, there won't be many men to participate in the second volley, so this would be a way to use up their balls? I don't know. It certainly seems chaotic and fun, and one can appreciate the advice to put this at the end of the cotillion!

BTW, Normal English spelling of "troika" these days omits the diaeresis, but since the term for the dance was presumably borrowed at an earlier period, I don't know what best practice would be.

Oh...I figured your source had "Tröika", and that you were just quoting faithfully.

Small linguistic note: the correct French spelling would actually be "Troïka", since the diaeresis always goes over the second vowel (just like "naïve" or archaic "coöperate"). This is something that has confused people for years, as your citation of the "Tröika" spelling shows. :)