Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1875-12-22
A PARTISAN SKATING RINK.

A PARTISAN SKATING RINK.
The Cirque Des Champs EIysees TRANS
forEied-English Spectators Trying the
Experiment.
The Paris correspondent OF the Lon
don Daily Telegraph writes to that
journal on November %: "The skating
rink to which alluded some days ago
was opened to night by an inaugural
so1ree. The temporary rink is In the
Cirque des Champs Elysees, but read
ers must not imagine that skaters now
disport themselves in the arena where
IN ladies have recently been engaged in
bursting through paper hoops, and
English clowns have amused French
spectators by making jokes which
they could not Understand. It is
possible that if they could
understand them they would be less
amused. The Transformation to which
the Cirque has been subjected is far
more radical. On first entering the
doors you are surprised at being re-
quested to walk up stairs. Up you go,
until you think you are getting near
the roof, and it is, indeed, not far be-
low the ceiling that the rink has been
constructed. The managers have right
~ judged that the old arena, though
large enough for cavalcades of horse
men and for stag hunt in miniature,
would have been too small for crowd
Of skaters to perform their evolutions
with comfort and safety. They have,
therefore, built new flooring least,
so far as I can judge-haf way up be-
tween the original sawdust and
the ceiling. The rink is,
in fact, on level with the upper seats
OF the amphitheatre, the three or four
highest benches being left for the &C
comnodation of spectators. On the
wooden flooring has been placed layer
OF concrete, and on that two layers of
asphalt; so that the rink is nearly a
foot in thickness. Below there is moth
ing to be seen but mist Of scafolding.
There Is no danger of the asphalt
proving as brittle as real ice, and of
some heavy skater falling through on
to the sawdust far beneath him, for the
officials take good care not to show any
place to be opened to the put lie until
they are more than satisfied of it's sta
bility. The rink presents really mag
nifcent expanse of artificial ice, for it is
more than thousand square yards in
extent. The promenade around has
been made somewhat narrower in
order to give the skaters as much
space as possible, but the rows of raised
seats will accommodate many hundreds
of lockers on. On one side is recess
for the band, and opposite to il is the
inevitable buffet, without which no place
of amusement in France can be consid-
cred complete. The skaters will have
no reason to complain of this custom
being observed, for exercises produces
thirst, and an accessible buffet must be
pleasanter than to be obliged to send
snail boy out for lemonade, as the fire.
quenters of the open-air rink at Bright
on used to be compelled to do. The
buffet, however, will be in good hands.
II has been undertaken by Chevet, who
has fitted up the stalls below into the
daintiest imaginable retreats. The wood
work has been covered and concealed
with calico and artificial flowers, with
the art which a Frenchman alone pos
sesses, so that each stall, pro-
vided with single small table,
is sort Of open cabinet porticulier.
Still more ingenious in the idea of
making even more private refreshment
rooms of the loges DIES artistes in the
rooms in which the ecuyeres have been
accustomed to put on and take off their
finery. Many merry supper parties will
probably be held in these various re-
treats. Supper can be served, I am in
formed, to 800 persons, and I hear that
there is some intention of giving
series of twelve masked balls on the
rink, which, of course, will be boarded
over for the occasion. It is English
spectators who have taken up this ex-
pertinent of a Partisan rink. Two
thousand pounds have already been ex-
pended on the enterprise, and fort
night ago the works had not been be-
gun. Should this tentative season sue
coed, permanent rink will be opened.
With this object the managers have OBJ
tanned the refusal of large plot of
ground in the Champs Elysees, close to
the BOND Point, and there is some In
tention OF opening an establishment in
the Quarter Latin.