The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-09 00:00:00

- - k - -.At -V., e•to'Z

THE WEATHER,

Yesterday morning the thermometer at the Hu-
mane Society's receiving house in Hyde-park re-
gistered 25 dog., a temperature 5 deg. higher than
that of Wednesday at the same hour. At noon the
_ _

mercury had risen to 27 deg. The wind was from

the N.E., and the atmosphere was hazy.
The scene in the parks was quite as animated
as it has been on the previous day. It is estimated
that not less than 30,000 persons assembled on the

walks which surround the Serpentine, and that

8,000 sliders and skaters went upon the ice. The
great attraction on the ice was a novel performance
named "hurdle racing." The ground ice was swept

up and piled some 12 or 18 inches high. A number
of persons, including ladies, then started at a given
signal from one end of the pond, and skated along
with great rapidity until they reached the piles of
ice, which they cleared, alighting upon the ice on
tilt:, opposite side, aLd again darting off at full speed.

After turning round the same performances were

gone through. At Hyde Park during the day
10,000 persons met upon the ice. A novel game

was introduced—that of skaters pushing in front of

,hem wicker baskets with ladies seated inside. The

Long Water in Kensington-gardens had 2,000

sliders and skaters, including a large number of
ladies and members of the Skating Club. Long

skating and fancy skating were carried on with
great spirit throughout the day. After dark the
grand railway match was commenced. Each person
cvho took part in the proceedings, and there were
several hundreds in each race, carried either a lighted
flambeaux in his or her hand, or else a lamp on the
head. Of a sudden the railway whistle was sounded

and then the skaters started off at a furious pace,

coloured fires being occasionally thrown up. Al,
the sheets of ornamental water in the other parks
and the canals, in most of which the ice is now
three inches thick, were visited yesterday by large
crowds, and on all of them sliding and stating were
kept up with great spirit.
Yesterday immense quantities of floating ice were
drifting in the river; rendering the passage of
paddle steamers hazardous. Their plying was
consequently partially suspended. The entrance
and basins at the various docks being frozen up,
the laden barges and lighters are prevented from
moving. This has caused serious inconvenience to
merchants, and great privations and sufferings to
the dock and wharf labourers, who cannot obtain
their usual employment.
The river Lime, above Lancaster, has been for
some days covered with a thick crust of ice, upon
which crowds of skaters have amused themselves
since Monday. In some places the ice was thick,
but in others, and especially in the rapid parts of
the river, it was very thin and treacherous. On
Wednesday morning last a young man of 20, named
James William Mason, with another young man
named Dunnerdale, went to skate upon one of the
reaches of the river known as Halton•water, and as
the river is some seven feet deep in this spot, and
there is ordinarily a pretty strong current, it is con-
sidered a dangerous place to commence skating upon
until the frost has been both long and severe. How-
ever, Mason and his companion began to skate over
the river, and Dunnerdale, in approaching a certain
portion, felt the ice crack beneath him, so he got
away as quickly as he could, and warned Mason
from going near the unsafe place. Mason, how-
ever, immediately made for the spot where the ice
was thinnest, and when he had got about four or
five yards further than Dunnerdale had been the
ice suddenly broke, and he fell into the water. He
sank to the bottom but immediately rose again, and
clutched convulsively at the ice round him. At
length he got his elbows upon the ice, and tried to
ice
broke, his body out of the water, but again the
broke, and he sank. By this time some spectators
threw a couple of poles towards him, but he could
not see them, as when he rose a second time only
the top of his head and forehead were visible above
water. He then sank again, and Was seen no more.
Drags were procured, the ice broken, and a search
made for the body, but nearly two hours elapsed
before it was recovered. It had drifted under the
ice to about three yards from where deceased fell in.
An inquest was held oa Thursday on the body of
the deceased. The coroner, Mr. Holden, in sum-
rniog up the case, seid it WRS a great pity that
greater precautions were not adopted at this season
to prevent accidents of this description, which were
unfortunately so common, from terminating fatally.
In London, although such accidents were of almost
daily occurrence during the skating season upon the
ornamental waters in the parks, they were seldom
attended by loss of life, because there were means
at hand, and people employed exprese,ly to render
immediate assistance in ease of accident. Life was
quite as valuable in Lancaster as in London, and
yet one would hardly think so from the we.y in
which the simplest precautions were neglected.
Had ropes and ladders been at hand in this case,
with some one to use them promptly, in all proba-
bility the deceased's life might have been saved.
The jury returned a verdict of " Accidental IVat.h.'
Tile Scotsman of yesterday s.tys:—" The keen
frosty weather which has prevailed for some days
past continued with unabated severity, and great