See quot. 1851.
1833. [He] spent the remainder of his time in cultivating his crop, smoking his pipe, attending the king-balls, and playing the fiddle. [This was a Frenchman on the Mississippi, ab. 1750.]—James Hall, ‘Legends of the West,’ p. 153 (Phila.).
1851. “A king’s ball?” “Ah, you have not heard. Certain of the youngsters among us, at every yearly winter’s ball of the neighborhood, are presented with bouquets by the ladies, who have been the chosen crowned queens of the festivities then concluding; and each bouquet presentee is crowned king of the next year’s ball; being one of the fortunate individusals whose time, purse, and gallantry, are thus placed at the disposal of beauty and fashion.”—A. Oakey Hall, ‘Manhattaner in New Orleans,’ p. 122. [See also PAT-GOE.]
