Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1872-07-30
For the Spectator.
First Night in q Skating Rink
A. s. M.
Mr.. Editor

Mr.. Editor:
Happening to be in your city the other day,
| heard nothing talked of but the Skating
Rink" and as [ had to remain over night and
had never seen anything of that kind was nat
urally anxious to go, and so go L did. When
| got to the Town Hall, which they now call
Skating Rink" found it cleared out and a
ring made all round it, something like circus
ring only it was made of chalk instead of saw
dust. Well, says [, that looks queer, are they
agoing to skate on chalk, but had hardly got
ten the words out when there came fellow
bearing right down upon me; l was somewhat
afraid he was agolng to run into. me, but he
gave himself little sort of twist just as he
got to me and sided along by, smiling ever so
sweetly as if it was the incest thing in the world
to go along that way. AS he passed | looked
to see what he had under him to make him go
so smoothly, and what do you think? He had
little four wheeled wagon tied on to each foot.
Well, says [, that beats anything | ever heard
of, that's better than these two-wheel affairs
they used to call velocipedes. Just then fel-
low comes up to me and says, Wont you try
pair?" Well, thought it looked very easy,
and they called it skating, so thought might
try it just little, for you see had skated
some last winter on big pond near our house,
and everybody said | did very we'll. So told
him to put them on; you see L wanted to tell
them at home that l had skated at the great
Rink in Staunton, where all the young men
and pretty young ladies go every evening. He
tied the little wagons on to my feet all the time
telling me not to be afraid, that it was just as
easy as falling off log, and so l afterwards
found it, especially the falling part.
By the time had gotten properly geared to
the wagons, several other young fellows just
about as green as myself, had hitched up and
we all drove out to take our places on the floor,
which we did as quickly as possible, though
not as gracefully as / have seen it done at a
country dance. And some fellows seemed so
well pleased with the position they occupied
that they remained there for some little time.
At length by sort of side movement like,
they reached the nearest bench and then arose
to full sense of the delightful position they
had occupied and fastened to resume it again.
| never saw fellows try so hard to fall or fall SC
hard when they tried in my life. Falling seem
ed to be the order of the evening, but no one
appeared to wait for the order. All this time
Mr.. Editor l was gradually feeling my way to-
wards pillar, on which to rest my aching
head; and the fact is my head was the frs
thing did rest against it, for as I approached
and leaned forward affectionately towards IT.
my little wagons ran backwards and my heao
| went forwards in sort Of inverse ratio. NOW
this was all mighty funny to the lookers-on bu
| couldn't see it," But at length after many
vain efforts succeeded in maintaining that up
right position natural to man and felt prouc
that l could inject my friends once more OF
an equal footing, if not on stable equilibrium