Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1858-02-24
THE GAZETTE.
WEDNESDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY "a, 1858.
SKATING.

For universal cheerfulness, good nature,
and measureless delight, give us a grand,
huge skating party. 1t Is wonderful bow q
big piece of ice can warm ones heart towards
ones fellows.
This popular passion for skating is a
good thing. Our young ladies, AMI our
Young men, too, will be none the worse for
the unwouted exercise Of this winter. al
though the indulgence is q little more violent
than will be likely to be sustained in future
years. But the accomplishment of skating,
once acquired, is rarely given up. Ii ls a
most acknowledgement, aud those who t1ste Its
Joys this season, will doubtless follow 1t up
the next. There is great advantage tor Its
practice by our citizens, such Is the alum
dance of easily accessible poads IN the neigh
borbood.
1t would be interesting to give a history
of the art of skating, if, like most athletic
sports. it could be traced back to remote ages.
But it seems to be an invention of compare
lively modern times, and whatever poetry at
taches to it must be that Of its W creating.
Yet poets have sung its praises, especially
German p~oets-Goetbe, Herder, klopstock
and others. Klopstock is extravaganza IN his
expressions of admiration. By this art, he
sayssomewhere, MAN, like the Homeric gods,
strides With winged feet over the sea trans
muted into solid ground" Probably klop-
stock was himself an expert. His allusion to
the Homeric gods, however, Is simply meta
phorical, those worthless not being at all equal
to the accom- misunderstanding TO history.
Some writers have endeavored to establish a
connection between certain Roman sport,
and skating, but unavailingly. The earliest
recorded mention Of skates is in the Scandi.
nsyian "Ed1a," written eight hundred years
ago, in which the god Uller is spoken OF as
distinguished by his beauty. his arrows. and
his SkQtes. 1t is q question whether the
skates therein spoken of were anything like
those of the present day. Indeed it is more
than probable that the Scandinavian skates
were merely snow-shoes, such as a hero Of the
same age (K9lsen) is said to have possessed.
Such skating as is now In vogue undoubted-
" originated in Holland, about the 18th cen,
fury, and was introduced for the purpose OF
facilitating long journeys on the frozen canals
of that country. The Hullanders are to this
day considered the best skaters 10 the world,
although as it is with them less q matter OF
recreation than of business, they do not ex-
hibit as much grace in the art as other Euro
pean nations. The Hollanders have been
Known to make effective use of their skating
knowledge in times of war. In 1858, the
French invading army under Luxembourg
was terribly harassed by the attacks of MINI
Bile skaters.
Skating is very popular in oil parts oil
Germany and in Russia, where women prac'
tice it as freely as men. 10 France and in
England it is not Looked upon with much
favor by the fair ones. II is not known
when it was first introduced into England,
but it was common in London in the 18th
century, when bones Of animals tied under
the feet were made use of. More attention il
given to skating in England and Scotland
than in any other parts of the world. ln
l760 a Skating club" was established 10 Ed
iuburgh, and soon after a sim liar one in Lon
don. London has been particularly dis
tiuguisbed for its fine skaters. One of the
most celebrated was Benjamin West, Prssi
dent Of the Royal Academy, ian American
by birth) who was able to cut with bis skates
upon the surface of the ice a copy of any Of
the ancient statues.-BOSton Courier.