The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-02-07

The LADIES ON THE CENTRAL PARK SKATING Pond
me beautiful moonlight Tuesday night and the pros
pect OF good skating, account of the frost Monday
night and Tuesday which continued on Tuesday night
mad the effect of inducing about two hundred ladies visit
ene iary moonlight scenes They We're accompanied by
gentlemen, and among them many rate skaters
who showed themselves proficient any of the oppo
site SEX who have hitherto displayed their dexterty
the skating pond Some of the most experienced among
the ladies were from Philadelphia and Canada and a
large number We're foreigners-princpay Germans and
some Engli ladies. There were also quite number of
American ladies' who excellent skaters and glided
very gracefully the surface The Pond presented
enlivening until after midnight at which
the company dispersed leaving the polite and efficient
Captain Renwickwho had been in watchful attendance
over their safeyto retire with his men, give place
10 the aborers who cleared off and flooded the pond for
the amusements of to-day. This morning although the
sun was out in all its spendor the ice becoming soft
thousands their way the pond and during the
morning 1t was pretty well attended by skaters and
curriers', several matches latter exciting game
drawing out large number of Scotchmen Many ladies
were also on the pond and tonight if ali frosty
large numbers expected grace scene by their
presence Mr. Olmstead present during part of the
morning.
The above, cut from New York contemporary,
presents picture nf kind for which vve wish our
own city were able to furnish study. Without
any special fancy for landscape ice-and shrinking
from the cause thereof-blessing the milder and
more genial skies which render skating, with us.
very uncertain and somewhat dangerous amuse-
ment-we sadly ask ourselves why have we pro-
vided no such aids to health and the DEVELOPMENT
OF physical beauty and strength, as we'll as the
social sentiment as public grounds accessible
to the people of cities; and tempting them abroad
to bask in winters sunshine, or repose in the
summer shade. That Baltimore has not long
since made provision for a Park, worthy of the
name, can only arise from her want of confidence
in her own destiny. With a proper degree of self
chance to accomplish such an object, on proper
scale-to pass by unimproved. What were once
the beautiful woods of Howard, exist only in
memory and tradition, and year after year
sees our bounds swelling out, and only a
paltry square or two fenced about, in mere
mockery OF public grounds and hardly suffi-
Gent for laundry yard. This city lately
possessed, in copartnership with Baltimore County,
a most noble estate, our western boundary, of
three hundred acres. One-half of that has passed
beyond our control in the severance of the Joint
tenancy-and the other, we presume will be de-
voted, as the whole now is, to Almshouse pur-
poses. No such quantity of land is required for
this use, even if it be deemed advisable to appro-
propriate so valuable tract in a most beautiful
neighborhood, whose prosperity will probably be
thereby injured, to such an object, when situation
quite as suitable, might be elsewhere purchased for
a comparatively trivial price. Whether it would
be advisable to create park at such distance from
the centre OF population, might now be question,
but we shall soon have no choice except to go be-
yond our city limits. One excellent site, almost
vacant, for reasons which add to- rather than de-
tract from its sutableness, still remains We re-
fer to the rough open ground lying along Jones'
Falls to the north of the jail-to which might and
should be added the large space lying between