The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-07-26
Life In Norway.

Lady Di Beauclerk's Summer and Winter in
Norway" just published in London, by Murray,
contains the following account Of the skating
club of Christiania:
"when the winter so long expected al last ar
rived the sky was as black as ink it blew gale
of wind from the north, not q dog was to be seen
in the streets, and the occasional carrying away
of the shutters that had been put up to protect
the shop windows showed how strong the wind
was. In short time the snow followed not as
English snow falls in soft sprinkle. but so thick
and so close that il like sheet suspended be-
fore the window, hiding everything from sight
This continued more or less for two DAYS and
then the sky cleared and the sun shone out as
bright as ever, but on white world, and we are
told that winter had arrived, and that the snow
was down for the year.
:" As the ice was now covered with snow, the
skating club opened its operations. Men and
horses were constantly at work plying the handy
little machines for throwing off the snow (which
if allowed to lie, rots the iee) till they had cleared
about the space OF two large fields, which they
flooded at sundOwn, By means of two little pipes,
with fresh water, which froze and became an IN.
blemished sheet Of ice.
The skating club is to Christiania what Rotten
Row is to London. II has its fashionable hours
from u to 2 o'clock-when the handles may be
seen performing figures of eight on the outer
edge, and helping the ungraceful and spasmodic
movements of English beginners. Like Rotten
Row, it has also its Questionable time-from 2 TO
o'clock-when its devotees seem to avoid it
like pestence, and its hours for the townsfolk,
who, when their work is over, sally forth to skate
by moon or torch light, and when they depart,
more fresh water is poured over the the cut up
ice, which appears the next day in renewed
youth.
"Now the snow pillow appeared in the streets to
enable traffic to be resumed. II was a giant ma
chine drawn by ten horses covered with bells, and
accompanied by men and boys, who helped the
horses up when they fell in the snow, which was
knee deep. As the pillow passed along it left a
hard smooth surface Of beaten snow, the snow il
had thrust away forming wall on either side,
which was subsequently carried off on sledges.
The same process Ia miniature clear the footways,
and before noon the streets were arranged to per-
lection. The effect Of everything dazzling white
was at first beautiful, but il did not last long as
the constant traffic soon dirties the snow, when il
looks like an ordinary road. Everything nos
on sedges; people instead Of carrying their loads
put them on small kelkers OF runners and pulled
them along by string. II was extremely cold
twenty degrees below freezing point The ladies
took to hoods and for boots, and were warned
never to wear wells till the Geld was over, as the
breath turns to ice on the veil, and would
freeze the nose without the owners cognizauce.
Should this most painful accident occur and the
frozen nose receive blow it would chip off like
piece of china, and should one venture into a
hot room before ii was thawed, one would be con
demned to carry about very red aud disdgured
nose for the rest of ones life"
In the course of the winter, Lady Di herself
nearly lost an ear by frost Returning from a
drive, during which she had incsuti1usly left her
ears uncovered, the porter of the hotel remarked
that one of them was white and frozen, and ad.
vised her TO thaw it by rubbing 1t with snow-a
painful process-before she ventured into hot
atmosphere. After this alarming lesson the took
to going about as the Norwegian ladies do, with
their heads tied up as if suffering from tooth
ache.