New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-12-17
THE SKATING IN THE CENTRAL PARK.


and have no means of ascertaining bow badly he was
bitten; but we have little hesitation in saving that, if
lie had been on the skating ponds Of the Central Park
on Saturday afternoon, he would have found the air
biting enough to give him another nip quite severe
as the one chroniced by Mr. Shakespeare of Stafford,
England Yet despite the bitter cold, eager multi
tde fastened to the Boreal bowers the Central PARK
there TO digport themselves in figid joys on
the frozen ponds, and make the most OF the
first days skating of the season. On Saturday
the skating carnival was naugurated, and the eager
juveniles had their frs skate" chucking in highest
plee that Fortune had 70 ordered that this great event
of the Winter should fall on a Saturday afternoon,
when books and lessons have claim on the youthful
mind and rods and masters are for the time forgotten
And Young New-York has aching bones to-day, and
coldsA his corporate head and cramps in his knees,
md ks in his neck and in his back, and in
pumberess ways is doing aching penance for the loco
motive joys of Saturday. But he ii go and do it right
over again, and eIioy the fun thousand times
to-day for the inevitable wiuges that he knows must
cone Tomorrow And if be wouldn't do it he's not
the boy we take him for, and wouldn't be worth the
pegs in his boots.
By the regulations Of the Park, one can use the
ice for skating or sliding until it has CONCEALED to the
strength sufficient to sustain all the human weight that
will be likely put it to the test. The intense cold of
Friday night completed the freezing that had been well
begun by the frosty attentions Of the previous days,
and at o'clock in the morning the signa-bal was run
NJ TO tie masthead announcing that the ice was ready
for tie skaters, and all the uvenescen Manhs,tanese
shouted aloud their great joy, and uiuged fEanticaly
| in jubant hOrnppes.
tla h,Il flp of a
railroads that pass near the Park, displayed their flags
| and sgn-loard4 bearing the welcome inscription
Skating at the Central Park and quickly the good
news sped! There never VISA more striking instance
| of the rapidity with which New-York crowd
collects than was afforded by the almost magical conyo-
cation If the multitude which covered the surface Of
the ponds on Saturday If il bad been possible to set
the ice up edgeways and skate on both sdes of il,
every square ward would have had it's seelshod ten
att At & a. M the police Were monsrchs of all they
surveyed and ruled their icy realm in solitary grand
eur-a @ the signal was displayed at 10 the rejoicing
rroceesicn began at III there we're thousand people
present at noon 2,OOO and by clock the had
been visited by more than 7Cob people and the ice was
covered with hundreds Of skaters of both sexes and Of
! every age.
n e cars Of the Third and Sixth Avenue Railroad
were crowded with exhiIaratd youngsters ever, one
with skates strung about bis neck glee in Pa voice
transporting pleasure in his eye and his reeches in biz
boots Carriages il coatinpo Gus procession and
all tie roads oa the eminenoss commanding a view OF
the lakes were covered With carriages which had halted
to give their inmates chance to witness the oys they
could not actively ehsre Gentlemen addicted to
| equestIianism, refined in, Oh breezy nights their
cbampiug chargers, who watching for time the grace
full and rapid motions Of the huryne throng below ac
LEowletged their eclipse restrained bsnceforth thei,
inflehiheHDt clumsy qusdrupedai curvetings and
soessed off through by-ways with dropping head and
detected tail, sadder and wiser animals.
Boys of the majority Of the merry
crowd, though every Of the ages had many
representatives.. ebay hairs no disqualification for
skaters joys; andthere were whose blsnched
locks will pever again know the bue of youth before
they dye who put on the skates and CONNECTED fairly
with their youngers But there were others who tried
10 renew the sports Of their early days but who found
that they by 70 means in good sate OF prsser
walton they could have wished, and their failure
marked. As they dsconsolaely removed their skates.
they realized the force of the physiological biz Of wis
dom expressed in the popular ballad and felt that the
true philosophy Of life to Go twhie you're young,
Cor wien you get DID, you can't"
Headswere at adiscOunt--brains were nowhere legs
had it, and heels bore away the palm Legs 80 youth
fu almost to into the infantile classification,
claimed tbersbare Of the sport, and got it too. And
rare was the boy who hadn't got skates of his own,
didn't get his hafhour of fun the skates of some
accommodating neighbor. In some pair Of
skates gave unlimited JOY TO a pair Of boys, each
going foot it, and philosophcay reaping half a
crop Of bliss when they couldn't get a whole one.
| Every variety Of boy there-mamma's darling,
WRAPPED in fus sid tippeted and goved, and
preaieoated till he might % well have been
an animated mummy for all the fun he could
have - ands the rough and ready independent
news-boy with one boot and one shoe, cap like
a pudding-bag that had been used for coa-sitter
ventialing coat, and panaloons, the untney rips in
which too otIen disclosed no intePOsing shr between
the keen wind and tie bare beneath for in many cases
one bDge garment essays TO keep out the cold and as
son M the Wind blows through breeches il gets to boy
But every sort q boy with every sor Of skate was
having l;s unauthorized fun.
Fasb,n has tried to do much with skates, and there
are than hundred varties for sale al the stores;
Slanghae rockers, Philadelphia rockers, Boston rock
ers full rockers, half rockers, Oxford Club English
Club, st. George Club, Philadelphia Club, Maine
skates, patent spring skates the Contra. Park avore,
and many Others claim the public attention. but, after
al, looks 60 for little, and speed il the desideHrum.
If fellow con spin along ut the rate Of thirty miles
hour it matters lutte whether he gets up his tree
mordous pace on pair Of Dutch Dumps or on Phia-
delIh Clubs.
Many Iadies We're present on Saturday, some as
SPECTATORS though about twenty-five put on The skates
and lun.med along in Balmoral petricoats and ankle
Iccis, as meTry their longerlegged companions Of
| u e ollie sex.
On Saturday We printed in full the directions for oh
inrirr M. ess 10 lie ice md III, lrnas hr which