The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-12 00:00:00

THE WEATHER AND TIE PARKS,

The comparatively mild temrrature which on
Saturday succeeded to the frosy atmosphere and
cutting winds that had prevailed during the earlier
portion of the week was so far maittained on Sunday
night that the mercury had fallen but four degrees
in the thermometer at midntlit. The highest
point reached on Sunday was 4t degrees, or 8 above
freezing point; the minimum :emperature dating
the night was 36 degrees, while the lowest point
touched was 30 degrees. At nine o'clock yesterday
morning Messrs. Negretti and Zambra's standard
thermometer at the Royal Hanane Society's re-
ceiving-house, Hyde-park, registered 36 degrees;
and at noon the mercury bad riser to 45 degrees, or
5 above the highest point of yesterday. The wind
blew in the morning from E.S.E ; at noon it was
almost due south; but it afterwa•ds chopped round
to south-east by east. At four °Mock the mercury
fell to 40 degrees, and later in the evening the tem-
perature indicated was a shade lover than 39 deg.:
Notwithstanding the dangerous condition of the
ice on the Serpentine, and the utwearied exertions
of the icemen of the Royal HumEne Society, whose
orders were to prevent all perscns from venturing
upon it, over 200 skaters pursue( the sport yester-
day, and apparently with all the greater zest that it
was an enjoyment which, under the circumstances,
prudence would have forbidden, They, however,
disregarded all warning, and, Icing literally swift
of foot, eluded the efforts made to remove them. A
large number of boys, encouraged by the example
of their seniors, crowded on the ice at various
places. They were in one respeot more easily dealt
with, but they contrived to return to the frozen sur-
face at one point or another almost as soon as they
ware removed from it. Happily no serious casualty
occurred during the day, and this the more to be
wondered at from the cragged" and honeycombed
state of the ice. It is now little aver two and a half
inches in thickness, and, owing to the lines and
cracks which intersect each other in every directFon,
resembles a monster skeleton map loosely put to-
gether, or a Chinese puzzle on a large scale.
The ice on the Round Pond, near Kensington
Palace, is of an average thickness of 44 inches, and
the water being shallow except at one point, which
is marked, and where the depth is about ten feet,
the number of skaters and sliders was comparatively
large, amounting during the entire day to over 300.
A few skaters also ventured on the ice which covers
the Long Water. Although not considered safe for
a crowd, it is in a better condition than that on the
Serpentine, being still 31 inches in thickness; that
being, however, 2 inches less than its average thick-
ness on Friday last. _ _ _

At Regent's and St. James's parks the ornamental
waters are still frozen over; but the ice has thawed
to such an extent that it is not in a fit state to resist
the pressure of the numbers of persons who hastened
to the parks yesterday with a view to engage in the
sport of skating and sliding. The icemen were
busily employed in keeping the ice clear, and full
notice was given to the public that it was unsafe to
venture upon it; but in the case of many urchins,
who insisted on running into danger, the conclu-
sive argument of the rope's-end had to be resorted

to.
The skating season, so far, has been short and
sharp. The sun set yesterday with what is under-
stood by the weatherwise as a " frosty appearance,"
and there are some who profess to be learned in
such matters who predict that a return to extremely
cold weather is at hand. Should such not be the
case, however (and the weatherwise are sometimes
otherwise), those who have looked forward to a long
run of sport on the ice will, at least, have the con-
solation of knowing that the genial influence which
prevents
theirn o
anticipations being realised gives
work to the labourer, and mitigates one of the many
poor have to endure.
hardships which the

(From the Seotsman.)

The
Saturday was more genial than
c had been for some
days previous, the keenness of
she frost
what neutralised by the rays of
the sun, which occasionally shone out brightly
through the thick
weather
being Blm e
misty atmosphere. As was to be
expected, the lochs proved the great centre of
crowds of people pleasure-seekers. All day long
of all ranks of the community
attraction
thronged t
hf oer E
It
rh iev e
between Edinburgh and Dad-
the gston, going to
road towards and returning from the ice; and
midday presented an appearance
of bustle and activity such as in ordinary circum-
stancesi
is seldom seen in the greatest thoroughfares
of the city. Carriages, coaches, cabs, gigs, and
swelled the living tide that rolled
eastwards
Arthur Seat, bearing thousands of
ctators to the ice, and at parts of the
othersk at
skaters
rconveyances
a n
d b
spectators
people and vehicles was so great
a
heat crowd
of people
the progress of pedestrians.
The sm
e at Duddingston Loch during the day was
routes somewhat
scene
then ro
w
imposing and picturesque. From the hill
strikinglyau d
rising
ground overlooking the ice thousands of
ladies and gentlemen watched with keen interest
the shifting and manifold phases of the wintry
pastimes in progress upon the loch below. These
appeared as endless as they were exciting, and
afforded infinite amusement to the onlookers. Here
and there, within privileged enclosures swept clear
of snow, skilled and veteran skaters performed
mystic evolutions with an ease and grace that made
them conspicuous among the motley thousands who
part of the firm and
compact expanse of ice. Higher
up, towards the
sought recreation upon every
eastern end of the loch, eager, high-spirited curlers
carried
spectators,
on t hei r
jestand
e s
amused
laugh mingling with
the rumbling music of the stones as they slid swiftly
from goal to goal. Occasionally dense crowds of
boys pursuing the flying ball swept, whirlwind
fashion, over different parts of the ice, now, as seen
from a distance, settling into a confused and indis-
tinguishable mass, and then, breaking up, scatter-
ing into long, straggling files, and carrying
humorous terror into the hearts of nervous and
undisciplined skaters, who, without warning, hap-
pened to be enveloped in and carried away with the
rushing tide. Prominent in the changing scene
crowds of gaily-dressed ladies and gentlemen en-
joyed with unflagging energies the healthy and
exciting exercise of the slide, receiving with hearty
good humour the little accidents and laughable
contretemps to which the pastime not unfrequently
gave rise. These constituted the chief features of
the sports; the minor episodes of the scene were
almost innumerable, and afforded endless gratifica-
tion to the beholder. The ice swarmed with skaters
—skilled , and unskilled, graceful and ungraceful,

w hose fantastic and seemingly interminable ma
neeavres generally gave rise to admiration, but not
unfrequentiy to uncontrollable mirth. Between-
-12 and 4 o'clock the number of people upon the loch
could not have been less than 6,000 at one time ;
and as crowds were continually arriving and de-
parting, the number who visited the ice throughout
the day must have been between 12,000 and 15,000.
During the two hours preceding twilight the sight
which Duddingston and the acclivities surrounding
it presented was one that has been rarely seen in
the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. The bold features
of the neighbouring scenery, partially disclosed
through the overhanging mist—the gay aspect of
the crowds who watched the sports from the banks
and from the carriages drawn up along the drive—
the sharp, whirring sound of innumerable chairs
driven at headlong pace by skaters over the ice.
and bearing young ladies in swift fight across the
loch—the varying aspects of the surface of the loch
as the huge crowds skimmed and swayed to and fro
upon its surface—the brilliant colours of the ladies'
dresses; these combined with the noise and bustle
everywhere prevalent, formed a panorama teat was
pleasant above measure to the eye to dwell upon..
Nor did evening, which closed with a keen air and
thick fog, wholly interrupt the progress of the sport.
For hours after darkness fell adventurous skaters
traversed the loch in all directions bearing torches,
which, as seen from the upland overlooking Dud-
dingston, glared ruddy and wild through the thick
misty atmosphere. Many lovers of the pastime,
whom business prevented attending during the
day, and not a few whose enthusiasm made them
eager to make the most of the time while the frost
lasted, remained on the loch till near midnight,
steering their uncertain course over the ice by the
aid of paper lanterns and other improvised helps
to safety. The ice was very good throughout the
day, and with the exception of some concealed ruts
that occasionally overthrew the unwary tyro, or
taxed the good temper of the practised skater, there
was little to complain of in its quality or condition.
About an hour before dark the number of people
who thronged the road leading citywards, on their
return from the loch, was almost as large as the
crowd that pours down to the Queen's Park to
welcome her Majesty on her visits to Edinburgh.
Notwithstanding the immense number of people on
the ice during the day, we can say that only one
accident occurred. Skaters—and their name is
legion—will be sorry to learn that the healthy and
invigorating exercise which they have enjoyed with
such zest during the past week is likely for the
present to be suspended. Early on Sunday morn-
ing a thaw set in accompanied with a gentle breeze,
which aent the mercury up to 12 deg. above freezing
point. On Sunday night the thermometer regis-
tered 43 deg., and there was a prospect of the mer-
cury rising still higher. There were two inches of
water on Duddingston Loch on Sunday.