, 1874-12-27
Ro:ler-Skating at the Rink---British
Attempts TO Excel the
Americans.
Lady Wentworth and the Byrons---
Hiss Braddon, the Sensation
al Novelist.
EIunkies Performing the Labors
of Sisyphus.
English Women as Dressers---The Styles
of Costume Now in Vogue.

Stetiai Ceyrespondenee Of The Chiedco Tribune.
Dn1oHToS, England, Dec 8.-Going out upo1
tho Western Road, which is to Brighton wna
Clark street was to Chicago before tho fire, 1
stranger in that Eay city would become possessed
Of III intense curiosity to the sensnraon Of the
hour which WAS drawing aush hosts OF people
westward towards Hove. Going eastward toward
tho great focal point OF Erishton'e matutina]
b1illiance, the Pier, between 2 and 4 O'Clock
in the afternoon, one meets thronGs OF bright
young girls in groups OF two and three; crowds
Of youthful mahons, and merry little maidcns
ret on tho morning sldo Of their teens, as well
a. Of maids and matroas the blossoms of whose
youth went to seed long ego with now and then
amember Of the dominant se1, who looks amid
his feminine surroundings as deEout NuBsul-
MAI expects to look when his yirtuous deeds hayc
Won him Paradise. Tho eassward-bound
pedestrian seems set against + sweeping
tide which surges onward and westward with
1ipples OF musical speech and bubbles Of buoyant
laughter to cast itself upon some cleaning shore
Of the Isle OF Pleasure. For it is very evident
thst pleasure is the quest Of this jocund tide
which sweepe onward with haste that would
seem to betrny knowledge that after all the Isle
Of Pleasure is an enchanted one against which
The waves of human desi,e often beat, to find not
emerald sward and golden Ehoro, but granite
powders, stern and gray, of disappointment, and
That the waves must hasten lest the beautiful
isle even now grow hard and chill. It is very
evident and would be, indeed oven were it not
sen-eyideut truth, that Ill the transient popu.a-
ton Of Brighton has enjuylnen. Tor its reguaat
purpose -shetheris p1oncnadesth tho Pierin tasse-
ful morning COSTUME, whether it drives in the
afternoon along the magnificent Kings Road,
whether it :hrongs the aquarium to hear the
evening concerts or loiteis III at the pavilion to
hear the band Of tho Scotch Greya,
whether it ills the theatre to Zee
Barry Sullivan or tho dome to SEQ the
German Reeds. whether it eats or drinks
or forbea1s. For this merry crowd Fastening
along the Western Road towards Roye has the
inaercrib.ble but easily recognizable air Of those
for whom ''thes els good time conllnE"-an air
perhaps somewhat AKIN to that with which chill
d1en await the coming of the Cutlatmas-pud-
dag after the Christmas turkey has been re-
moved; an air Of beng pleaseu with what las
gone befosc, and Of delightful anticlrations Of
what is ye. to coue-
GOING TO THE RINK.
Every day. save the Sabbath, this brilliant
tLroug pushes its NAY along tile Western Koaa
ard tue comparatively few bound tbs other wsy
who meet it, II wontcd to the amusomeur-seek-
ing highways aud byways OF Brighton, know at
orce, ly the sight Of the jauuty costumes, the
dresses too eAurt for the conventional plomo-
made. the neatly booted feet, the crush bats with
coqEettlsh deut in the side and saucy smash
Of tic br1nl. the black boas twisted carelcssly
about plump throais, AID tiny NUTS he'd as
often dragging By = 1aseel in the orthodox
Way, By the general air of dAsL:n5 inEouclaEce of
the crowd. that tnls portion oi the fashionable
society OF the place has chosen toc It's after
NON enjoyment, instead Of the drive upon the
IaAg's Road. tue more exhtaratlng paatlme Of
ekatln: at tho Rink.
RoLEa-sEATIS6.
Roflcr-skating upon :. ,ce;uepted 1oor is now
the rage iu Easlaud. Legitimate skating. aa VIC
know 1t iu our country. wl.ele the Frust-king
comes down from L.s nyperbo.cau lea!1as 10 ell
throne himself upon our ponds and rlyera four
months OF the year, is impossible III this moist
and equab!e climate. But, since Jackson
Haynes, eomo years ago, appeared in the skating
scene in thel opera OF ''Ihc Prophet" in Lon
don, and delighted thousands OF eyes by his
ssal1oT-llke eklmmlng over wooden floor, the
noble Br7ton has been persuaded that neither
municipalities nor powels. nor things present,
nor things TO come, nor height, nor depth. nor
any other creature, SHOULD prevent bis doing
better that what the American champion didso
veil.
It is q regularity OF the noble Briton, this to
believe that there Is come suLtI7 influence III the
British brain. some mighty power in tue British
muscle, some supreme might III the british char
a:ter to do much better thar which WI. perfectly
done before. He does not always choose to e1-
e1cse this sublime etfciency,-,t often better
suits his placid temperament to lay the tattering
unctlon to his soul without putting it into the
consciousness like tho hidden purpose in Gre
atlnn: actuating. but not revealed.
FASHION BET BIZ ROYALTY. /
Therefore, for 10! these many yea,s, the idea |
sf sEat1n3 upon rollers batter than roIleFs we1o
ever skated upon before has possessed the Brit |
lsh mind, but it never possessed the |
British leg till two years ago. Then tho
Princess of Wales became fascinated with tho |
tport, which is not at nil to be wondered at, as
1ho ID said. by those who know her intimately, to |
hh IF win is, H1.n oF
the Royal tree, with d fondness for frolcs, for |
ta1um-scarum games and merry escapades, that |
makes the State which hedges her in to the dig
nisy Of the future Queen Of England excessively
Eksome to her.
The English people ought certainly to sing
nth unction, 'tAll we, like sheep. iuasmuch as,
whatever any nheep Of the Royal family may do,
that etraighiway doe:h the Whole nation There
9ora, when Alexandra skated,-as when Alex
eadra imped, sheep and lamb did Hke"se.-
INKS multiplied everywhere, aud at Brighton tho
pastma began, as it continues to do, to contest
the day for enjoyment with tho multlfar1ous
o'aer amusemen1s OF the season.
BOW The BR1ToSs MAKE OUT.
But does the noblo Briton, in the proud af1u-
ence Of his strength, bringing q Samson-hke
p:o.ess to the task. find it easy to do better
that which the supple American did so well 7
das the athletic culture Of Young England. which
makes its muscles to stand up like gladlators,
~ s1news to thread the iron flesh like steel wires,
model Of Hercules, helped him to outdo the
neagre, eplds.-legged Yankee in the graceful
art:
Answer. all you sons Of Britannia who cannot
1ate the waves Of your wooden rollers sufficient
y to prevent you from spending much OF your
Eeclous time IN waltzing upon your shoulder
tlades TO the mou1nful cadences OF "Would I
aad died with the summer" Answer. all you
noble Britons upon whom every day certain IT,
lsrerent daughters OF Columbia. gaze with =
isaooting out OF the lip aud t shaking Of the
nead Is with pious zeal you insist upon pointing
taem to the pearlE gates OF the Better Land with
1ae toes of both boots at once.
', Answer. you fair Britouesses, ponderous
ea1ne and sylph-like dansel, a. you so
frequently 15sq balance yourselves with tremu-
ao1s grace upon your back-hair, or execute
: =. graceful pas-seul upon your elbows, OF
st.11en your pretty noses against the manly
oosoms Or the back-buttons Of the astonished
Ealants rho chance within your eccentric orbit,
.7s 1t so easy al you thought? That the skaters
gen excellence only through = tumultuous
n.,os1cate, :, is evident in tbs very appearance OF
.ae M crowd at the Rink. Here is q blonde maiden
;saose yellow hair sweeps pallid cheek as she
= carried on strong arms from the scene OF humil-
nang l disaster. There is another whose white
Ups s1e 1ecked with blood where the pea1ly teeth