The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1867-01-16
REVOLUTIONINs SKATE, AND skAT-
ING.

From the New York Citizen.
Great has bsen the.change in the style OF
skating yet las been the alteration
in the shape of the skates. In former times
piece Of wood fastened to an iron that pro-
ieosed beyond the point in a very high curl
was secnred TO the foot by complicated
straps, which cut deep into the flesh, and
brought wildly to mind the ancient torture
of 'sthe boot" Now, broad fiat runner,
that has no protection before or behind, 10
fastened to the sole of the boot by a simple
screw. The grooved skates, that were sup
posed to enable the unskillful posssssor to
stand more safely, have given way to the Hat
runners and where the owner is a full ar
tist, to the dangerous rockers, which are bet
ter suited to che intricate msneuvors OF moo
ern science. The miserable invention OF
half boots thst were supposed TO be suited to
the thin shoes and feeble efforts of the fe-
male sex have been supplantsd by the most
perfect improvement attainable "a mere re
ducsion IN size of those worn by men.
Various attempts have been made TO In
troduee queer contrivancss. Shelihke ar
rAngements were made to fit on the foot, IN
which the lady could slide about in sort oil
sIedge; and these were guaranteed to secure
her against falling, as they could, with equal
propriety, be guaranteed to prevent her ever
*
| the place of one. so that the skater was on q
| sort of sleigh, and the single iron was made
| with joint in the center, but these inven'
| tons were altogether failures. They enabled
| their owners to shuttle about in safety with
| out fear of unpleasant contact between the
ice and unguarded spots of the human per
son but they turned the poetry of motion
into the duliest of dull prose; their use was
| little better or more exciting than the use d
wheels on 6 bare floor. To DISPENSE with
| straps, even. hiss not bean found 81 entire
| success. 1t undoubtedly adds TO the beauty
| of the foot, bat requires that the boot shall
| be very tight.
Now, skate is clean, simple machine,
adapted % doing certain work in TIE best
manner possible. There is 40 ornament TO
| catch snow and breed rust; there sre 10 fan
tassiclcarfecues to trip up the skater or his
friends; there are NO grooves to cut into the
| ice, and by extra friction prevent the most
graceful moverncneey hAt There is a broad blade
| of finest steel, sharp as = razor on the edge,
| but fat n the bearing surface and blunt Al
| both ends this is fastened either to q stout
piece of wood or to a thin sheet OF metal,
which in turn is secured to boot by clamp
or two straps-s broad one over the toe and
q narrow one over the instep. With this I'M
plement, beautiful and complicated figures
may De eXeouG6u, anu Gue bkater lS IN b6ioty
except against his own inexperionce in for
| ward or backward movements.
There is no danger that the skate will slip
or that the wood will split, or the point catch
| The old-fsshioned skate did well enough foI
the antiquated style of direct progression
but the days of both have passed away to
geshsr. Now we have the outside edge, for
ward and backward the long graceful Dutch
roll, the cross roll, forward and backward. TIT
circle, the figure eight, the figure three In
side and outside, the waltz, and Thousand
com binstions of pretty curves. There is q
presents perfect disregard of the psrpendicu
lar and the laws of gravity; the skater if
never expected to be balanced over his foot
but 20 be either leaning in o, leaning out
bending forward or back, sustsined By ths
centrifugal force or balanced by the swing
of she 'off leg" In fact, the man or woman
who can most utterly disregard or set at de
fanoe the rules of Sreyi,ation, and can do i
as though it cost him no effort, is the creates
| proficient.