The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-02-09
An Imperial skating Party.

PARfs jan 19.-I.ast night had the luck
to be present at grand Court skatne maich
by torchlight In Paris the streets were mud
DIV II was supposed a decided thaw naa sci
in, the ice on the lake in the Bois Gle Bou-
longe was pronounced unsafe-lt was, as 1
ascertained myself, watery on the sufiaee,
and not a soul was to be seen upon 1t. But
beyond the Longchamps race course, ana OH
the banks of the Seine, dear M. de kotns-
child's splendid villa, and Just opposie gu
resne, there is q meadow studded Win pref
ty cl,lmps of high trees, which was Overflow
ed during the late floods, and Whlcn, aithousn
the thermometer had risen to shade ABOVE
zero, still presented n smooth coatlng OF soi.o
ice, there being scarcely any wafer unaeT-
meath. At this spot the Emperor, with as
much secrecy as possible, had made rendez-
vous for 10 O'Clock At night The great tTod-
ilot, undertaken of public re,oicings, hung
the branches of the trees with hundreds OF
Chinese lanterns, and serving men, as numer.
Gus those peasants who erst walked an
night long up and down the ponds ABOUT the
Royal palaces, to prevent the frogs from
waking the Kings Of France, promenaded the
frozen meadow with lanterns liked on their
heads. Besides this constant illumination,
there was an intermittent succession OF Bengai
fire and fizZing torches, which lighted up me
/ scene at gi0ra0. A body of men in white
bouses-t special ice police-for1ned GORDON
round the field OF operations, and kept on
those who were unlimited, but the crowd OF
| spectators though considerable, consisted
mainly Of the inhabitants of st. Cloud, Su-
resne, and the neighboring villages. The
! popu lation of Paris knew nothing of the .ftts,
/ and uD to this hour neither the Moniteur nor
/ an, other journal has said word about it.
As soon as the Emperor and the Court ar
ri we'd the sport coinIneaceat ia a very business IS
| like style. The Empress got INTO sietge, anu
| NJ. Hartogs q German gen ntleman, whose pro
1icialcy as 4 skater attracted the Imperial
notice two years ago, and who snow called at
Court the Emperors 4ide-de- Cdnip de gtdce,
had the honor of pushing her Majesty on the
ice. He took her along at railroad speed, and
| was out of sight of shore in less than minute.
| The Emperor then put on his skates and con.
| Quoted the sledge of u lady whose maine could
| not learn. The Countess de Morny, enNe1-
oped i'll velvet and white furs, essayed hel
powers, but was supported by two gentlemen
who gave her a hand on each side. The Prln
cess Poniatowski went along very Wen bs
herself In a short time the ice was thickly
studded with host of chamberlains, gener
ais, aides de camp, and even Judges who hat
come with the Court party to join III thi:
fashionable amusement of the hour. Th'
notion of coming to skate in a thaw wal
highly approved, for the night was by M
means cold. The Emperor and Empress re
manned OH the ice till half-past eleven Thi
afternoon, the frost in the meantime having
returned with considerable intensity, the spor
was resumed by the Imperial party at tn
same spot. NJ. HartOgs gave the Empress
promenade in beautiful sledse, which wa
sent for by telegraph from Germany, and onl
arrived this morning. Afterwards her Ma
jesty yentured to skate, but only with the as
sistance of two getlemen. She is not at he
ease upon the ice, dlu tiittL sAi
! comes from sunny Spain this is not TO 0
; wondered at.
The Emperor is a very good skater He doe
not attempt any tours de farce, but he is pei
fectly master of his movements. His wont
to 90 along rather slowly, and he stops fire
quently to contemplate the animated seen
j around him. Not the least etiquette is OF
served on the ice. No clear space is kept abor
/ the Emperor or Empress. They go about jus
like anybody else, and to-day, unlike las
9 | evening, everybody, without exception, wa
allowed to ska ta at the same time with then
: The Emperor had nothing whatever but HI
s knocked over by the first tyro in the spol
II whose skates might run away with him.
d was an interesting sight to see the master
q so many legons, the mighty potentate upC
d whose mysterious breath the fate OF so man
II nations hang, slipping about unpre etentlous
5, on the ice, squire or even servant follow
Z ing him, and apparently as much on an eq ual
g ty with the people about him Il carter
It with q poWman on English farmyal
)f pond Once young man, who saw Il
e Emperor skating slowly along the middle
II the lake, steered almost lndiscreetly close
hlm and gave him the go-by with the evideI
d intention of getting credit with the spectato
g for being the best skater The Emperor the
,e without any apparent effort, increased h
- speed, gracefully distaneed his opponent by
l. few yards, and, contented with his victor
,t resumed the steady pace which, as L sa
le before he seems to affect. Ihe frost Is Seye
tonight, and should it continue, the rage {
shating will attain extraordinary proportion
\ | Happy the amateur who has q good pair
-. | skates, for the manufacturers cannot ma
~ them fast enough. The lake in the Bols
- Boulogne is again in capital order.