La Tempête ~ Bohn

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The earliest version I've found of this actually comes from Germany, though that book claims the dance was already popular so it probably has even earlier roots (I'd guess France as the original source, given the name). It was published by Johann Heinrich Kattfuß in Leipzig in 1802 Choregraphie Oder Vollständige Und Leicht Falssiche under the title of "Der Tempẽte".

In his Hart's Second Set of Quadrilles, Hart writes:

Form a line of 4, the 2 Ladies on the 2 Gentlemens right, 4 more opposite to the first 4, form lines of 4 behind the 2^d. line as many as intend to dance.

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FIGURE

The first 2 lines right and left, chassez across to the right and left with your partner, dechassez, in returning you go behind the 2^d. Couple The Center 4 hands round, the outside couple's turn and back all 8 Set quite round to the right re set to your places, the top four lead through the 2^d. line and begin the same figure with the 3^d. line & so on to the bottom of the dance.

Then another German source, in 1842, Liller wrote:

ist ein französischer Tanz. Die Tanzenden müssen in folgender Ordnung stehen: 22 11 33 44 sich das Gesicht zutehrend.	is a french dance. The dancers must stand in the following order: 22 11 33 44 ???
Hinter biesen Paaren funnen noch viel mehr Paare antreten	Many more couples can join in behind these
Die in der Mitte gegenüber stehenden Paare führen folgende Tour aus:	The couples standing opposite each other in the middle perform the following figures:
Erste Tour. Chaîne en quatre.	First figure. Rights and lefts for four.
Zweite Tour. Moulinet oder Kreuz	Second figure. Hands across (or cross).
Dritte Tour. Ronde rechts	Third figure. Circle right.
Vierte Tour. Das erste und zweite Paar chassirt an einander vorüber und wechselt die Plätze, dasselbe thut das dritte und vierte Paare. Hierauf macht das erste und vierte Paar halbe Ronde desgleichen das zweite und dritte Paar, so daß das erste Paar auf die dritte und das vierte Paar auf die zweite Stelle fommt.	Fourth figure. The first and second couples chase past each other and switch places, the third and fourth pairs do the same. The first and fourth couples circle half, and the second and third do the same, so that the first couple is where the third couple started, and the fourth where the second did.
Funfte Tour. Das erste und zweite Paar chassirt aneinander vorüber und wechselt die Plätze, desgleichen ach das dritte und vierte. Das erste und vierte Paar, somie das zweite und dritte Paar macht halbe Ronde, so daß jedes wieder auf denselben Platz zu stehen tommt.	Fifth figure. The first and second couples chase past each other and change places, as do the third and fourth. The first and fourth couples, the second and third couples make circle half, so that everyone ends up in the same place again.
Sechste und siebente Tour. Grosse Chaîne	Sixth and seventh figures. Grand chain.
Achte Tour. Alle vier Paare chassiren gegen einander und wieder zurüd, flatschen in die Hände und chassiren durch einander bergestalt, daß man nun init der zweiten vis à vis gestandenen Partie tanzt.	Eighth figure. All four couples forward and back, dropping hands and passing through to the next set of dancers.
Beide Paare fangen die bereits beschreiebene Tour mit ben Entgegenfommenden wieder an, und führen sie so lange aus, bis sie aus den Platz des Icssten Paares fommen, worauf sie sich menden und dasselbe bis auf den erten Platz zurüdtenzen.	These two couples start the above figure again with the couples waiting for them, and they continue until they reach the end of the line whereupon they turn as couples and do the same thing back to the top.

Bohn writes:

Four couples arrange themselves in two lines opposite each other, then advance, retire, and cross over; and afterwards repeat to their places. The two opposite couple in the centre, cross hands, those outside turn. Hand four round, and then back to places. Then right advance and retire: top line pass through next line, and, finally, repeat the whole to the bottom of the room. As many sets as can find room may stand up in this manner, each four couples face to face, and the whole may commence at the same time, the top couples passing to the bottom, and the bottom to the top. This is the original method, as danced in Paris, and, as it possesses much simplicity and grace many prefer it.

Bohn prints no music, but his punctuation suggests a standard 4*8 bar dance. Which means the first advance and retires are only 2 bars each, while the last one is 4 bars.

I assume he is not describing the figure, but rather the act of everyone starting at once, as that was fairly unusual. Of course 50 years earlier only the top four couples started, he's wrong about it being the "original method", but presumably that was the method that had become common. Certainly all the versions of the dance that appeared in the 1850s have all couples starting at once.

Note: This is similar to Whale's version of the dance, published in New York eight years earlier. Whale claims his version came from the Queen's last ball.

This popular Dance is danced by any number of couples standing as above at the commencement. All begin together, — Advance and retire twice — Partners together gallop across eight steps each way, — Advance and retire twice, — Hands four round in the centre, (as above) Sides the same turning with both hands, — Hands across, (as above) Sides the same, — Advance and retire once, — Go forward to dance with the next vis a vis.

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