Money Musk ~ Preston

Monymusk is an estate in Aberdeenshire is Scotland.

Cracking Chestnuts says the tune was written by Daniel Dow and published in Thirty Seven New Reels and Strathspeys in 1776.

The Thompson brothers published a dance called "Money Musk" in their Thompson's Complete Collection of Country Dances and Cottillons, ~1780 but I have been unable to find a copy as yet.

Werner Book XVIII For the Year 1785 (London, 1785) writes:

Turn your partner with the right hand; quite round, and cast off one Cu. Turn with the left quite round, Set three and three top and bottom, and turn your Partner, Set three and three sideways and turn your Partner. Hands six quite round and back again Lead out sides and turn your Partner with both hands.

In Preston's Twenty four Country-Dances for the Year 1786:

Turn your partner with the right hand and cast off one couple turn your partner with the left hand and cast back, the lady falling in at the top, the Gent: at the bottom set three and three and turn your partner set three and three sideways and turn your partner hands six round and back again lead through the bottom and come up one Cu: lead through the top

Preston's music is a 4 bar A strain and an 8 bar B, both repeated, which doesn't divide 32 very nicely. However the 8 bar B strain appears to be the same 4 bar sequence repeated. So I will treat this as having two 4 bar strains.

In Wilson's Treasures of Terpsichore

Single Figure.

Whole figure at top  , down the middle, up again, and foot it to the top couple  .

Double Figure.

The top couple swing with right hands round one couple, then with left  , set three across and three in your places  , hands six round and back again  , and lead through bottom and top  .

Wilson usually gives multiple figures for each tune, the DOUBLE FIGURE appears very like Werner's and Preston's version so that's the one I'm interested in.

Wilson defines most of his figures in his An Analysis of Country Dancing, 3rd Edition.

1. swing with right hand then with left is defined on page 85-86. It probably has the top couple turn right all the way around and cast down, and then turn left hands all the way around and cast up, returning to original places. (at least I think that's what he means. I do not find his diagrams clear)
2. set 3 across & set 3 in your places is defined on page 21 and means: "L1 moves between the 2s as M1 moves between 3s, then the lines of three across set, then L1 moves back to her place and M1 back to his, and then lines of three on the sides set to each other.
3. hands 6 round & back again may be found on page 5 and means what you expect. All take hands and circle left then right.

The first figure swing with right hand then with left cannot leave the top couple where they started. They must end one between the 2s and the other between the 3s for the next figure. However this is basically what Preston says to do as well. So Wilson's figures are probably just the same as Preston's.