St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1859-12-22

most graceful on the ice. The hands
must hang quite easily and quietly,
and the body carried uprightly with
out being stiflened.
Care must be taken that, in doing
this figure, the outside edges of the
skates are pressed firmly into the ice
when they touch it, or the skater will
be liable to slip.
FIGURE OF EIGHT.
We now come to the first step in
real figure skating, which is, in my
opinion. the very quintessencc of the
art
/ care little for mere rapidity, or for
racing on skates, but do value very
highly the exceeding grace of good
figure-skating. There is hardly any
object 80 truly graceful as a thorough.
ly good skater displaying the beauties
Of the art.
The first figure learned is generally
the 3 or the 8. Some prefer the for.
mer, but find that the latter is the
better figure on which to begin. Its
appearance when cut is shown in two
circles joined together as in the fig.
ure 8.
The skater makes an entire circle
before he crosses his feet. So that, if
his right foot starts on the upper cir.
Gle, his left makes the lower one.
n. B.-Always start from the point
where the circles cut each other.
At first the skater will find some diff.
ficulty in getting quite round the cir.
cles, but he will soon accomplish that
object if he slightly swings the off
leg round towards the toes of the
other.
In good skating, the course is en-
tireIy steered by the foot that is of
the ice that which is on it only serv.
ing to sustain the skater.
ATTITUDE OF THE LEGS.
Let it be a rule without exception,
to keep the knees straight when ska
ting. Nothing looks more clumsy or
awkward than a skater who keeps his
knees bent. And even if he can cut
all the rarcst figures, the bent knees
destroy their effect, and the skater
still remains ungraceful.
This is all SO, and old skaters as
well as learners shonld give heed to
this counsel. In some movements the
skater may go along more easily with
bent knees, but general y it is because
he has made that awkwardncss a hab-
it--and the sooner he gets rid of it
the better. Ease and grace of move
mcnt rather than rapid skating, are
the objects, and testify to the beauty
and usefulness of the art.
FIGURE OF ruprr
No pains should be spared upon
this figure, as it is "a most elegant one,
and is besides the key to all figures.
When the , is once mastered. other
figures become quite easy. The mode
of doing it is this
Start on the right foot as if going to
make an 8, but do it as gently as pos,
sible. But instead Of swinging the
left foot round so as to make a circle,
let it remain at least foot behind the
right foot.
The consequence Of so doing is.
that when three-fourths of the circle
are completed, the off:foot gives IA Gu
rious sway to the body, and the skater
spins round on his right foot, chang
ing at the same time from the outside
to the inside edge, and cuts the sec.
ond half of the 3 backwards.
When the skater can do this easily
with the right foot, he should practice
it with the left /; aud when he can cut
the 3 with equal case with either foot,
he should cut two together, thus form.
ing four nearly complete circles.
He begins with the left-hand 3,
starting with his left foot on the out.
side edge when he gets to the twist
of the 3 he spins round, and finishes
the figure, (still with the left FOOT on
the inside edge backwards.
His right foot is now at liberty to
pass to the top Of the right hand 3,
which he cuts in like manner
Especial care must be taken to keep
the knees straight, and to preserve a
graceful carriage Of the body.
If the skater should be so far of
his balance as to find any difficulty in
spinning round, he will gain his ob.
ject by throwing his weight a very
little towards the toe Of the skate.
The reason why the skater curves
round in this twist is, that the steel Of
the skate has curved form and
when for moment the body is quite
upright, the whole skate spins round
on its center, as on pivot.
OUTSIDE EDGE BACKWARDS.
When a skater is quite at home il
his 3's and s's, he should begin t.
skate backwards on the outside edge
The best mode of learning to do SO i,
10y cutting Il 3, then immediately aitcl
the twist the skater places the out
side edge of the off.foot on the ice, a
the same time lifting the other foot.
This is soon learned, and is a grca
help to the next figure.
BACK CRoss-RoLL.
Any one who can do this figur,
properly, may count himself a goo'
skater.
1t seems worse than the Asses
Bridge, for | know many who cut al
the preceding figures beautifully, an,
are yet quite unable to skate tue Bacl
Cross Roll. My own teacher, thoug
a remarkably neat and pretty skate,
never has been able to get one foo
over the other.
! rather fancy that the great caus
Of failure in this figure is, that to,
) great an impetus is given to the bod,
at starting.
Now, it may be accepted as rnl'
in all iigure-skating, that the bes
, skaters use the least force. Indeed ;
) really good skater will continue to ex
ccutc figures for an hour at a time
| and none but very practised eye cal
! tell by what force he is impelled.
In fact the position of the head i