Reel of Five

Smyth writes:

Place the Ladies as for a set of Quadrilles, and the Gentleman in the centre. The Gentleman with the first and third Ladies make a reel of three, while the other two Ladies circle round them. All set, during which the gentleman turns to each Lady alternately, he then forms the reel of three with the other two Ladies, and set as before.

A year later, the Lowe brothers published a very similar version:

(Places — one Lady at the top of the room, one at the bottom, one at each side, and the Gentleman in the middle.) The Gentleman, with two of the Ladies, makes a reel of three, while the other two Ladies circle round them; all set, during which the Gentleman turns to each Lady alternately; he then forms the reel of three with the other two Ladies.

The earliest written description of the dance actually comes from Thomas Wilson's Analysis of Country Dancing, London, 1808 (page 125). Wilson provides two versions, the first (which he says he devised) is similar to this one, except that instead of orbiting the set during the reel, the inactive dances cross through the reel (and then cross back) instead. The other version, which he claims is the "common reel" reads:

The Lady in the middle at B, heys with the Ladies at A C, then sets to them, she then sets to the Gentlemen at F D; then heys with the Gentlemen at F D, which brings one of them into the centre, so that they all progressively occupy every situation in the figure.

It is not clear to me, from this description, how the progression works. Fortunately he is clearer in a later publication The Complete System of English Country Dancing, published 1820.

The Lady in the middle at B heys with the Ladies at A C, then sets to them, then heys with the two Gentlemen at F D, and takes the place of the Gentleman at F, who will then occupy the centre: he then finishes the Reel by setting to the persons at F D then hey with the ladies at C A and leaves one of them in the centre, so that they all progressively occupy every situation in the Figure.

Wilson's versions are both progressive, but Smyth's is not.

J. Grahamsley Atkinson, Jun. also published a version of this dance in his Scottish National Dances - A Practical Handbook, Edinburgh, 1900. His version is similar to Smyth's except that instead of orbiting all the way round, the dancers not in the reel go counter-clockwise until the music gets half way, and then clockwise back.