The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1876-12-02
F'iirtatiOns and Stating RinlIs.

the young and vigorous that they
should delight to rush swiftly through
the fresh air. In one point the skating
rink can claim great advantage over
the ballroom Partners are by no
means IL necessity. A plain girl, there
fore, does not find herself ut the same
disadvantage rs ut u dance. She need
not wait beside her chaperon for part
ners who may never come, nor has she
the modification of contrasting the
empty blank of her own card with the
wcll-iiIlcd list of her pretty ncighbor.
In the rink she can buckle wings to her
feet and pursue eldest sons rs swiftly
as her fairer sisters. She can exercise
equally far-sightcd calculation. and
manage to fall as picturcsqucly and as
helplessly when the heir to twenty thou
sand year passes her by in lonely
corner. If She has small feet she can
have her skates put on in public, or in
vent dozen excuses for requiring II
strap frightened or loosened by the men
she meets If these devices fail, it is
easy to pretend II preference for skating
alone or with those of her own sex, or
else to set up as u good natured coach
to the inexperienced. Should girl,
however plain, become more than COM
monty accomplished on the wheels, she
NAV re able to attract and retain as
much attention us il she were good look
ing, which is. no doubt, II great conso-
lation Indeed, there is great deal
more freedom and intimacy in the rink
than would be possible IN drawing
room, or than wise mother ought to
allow. How any refined lady can like
to see her daughter exhibiting her PAGES
in % crowded skatiug-rink IS mystery
to those old-fashioned people who cling
to the exploded idea that u girls chief
charm is modcstv and purity of mind.
An involuntary wish to rescue n pair of
happy country maidens from the pol
luteI atmosphere seizes one rs they
glide down the long, narrow slip of con-
crete hand in hand. 1t is their first
S Jason, and they are friends as well
us sisters. Their short life has hitherto
been spent in the school-rOom, the gar
den, visiting the village poor, or scamp
cring along green lanes on shaggy
pony. They have looked forward to be-
ing presented as to a religious ceremony,
and to their first ball as though it must
decide their whole future life. Their
adoring mother has kept them rs long
as she could in II well-guar'led Eden of
her own manufacture. from which the
tree of knowledge was consplcuously
absent. They know rs little rs possible
about any world but their own-a world
of family love, tenderness, and faith in
each other. But their mother never
thinks of resisting the call of custom
and fashion, and from this atmosphere
they pass without preparation to the
London marriage market. Emancipatcd
from the drudgery of the school-room,
they rcvcl in the liberty which they
taste for the first time. Now dresses
are II boundlcss treasure, the Opera n
realization of fairy-land, and skating an
endless delight pastime only too
brief, an exercise to be taken without
measure. But one of them looks at her
watch: they have been hours on the
wheels, and where is the poor mother?
They beg her to come home; they pro-
test they have had enough, as if that
were possible; they are sure she is tired,
which indeed she is; but no, she smiles
lovingly while she bids them enjoy
themselves as long rs possible, and with
pretty mendacity asservatcs that she is
not in the least fatigued. The younger
daughter, with an innocent but highly
questionable ardOr of gratitude, will
perhaps kiss her mother, and call her Il
dear, delightful, unselfish old darling,
and slide away for another turn. AS
she waves her hand by way of good-by
she hears the gook-natured remark:
"How can girls think to take men in by
such ridiculous exhibitions of mock
amiability? Lord Willacres, for whose
benefit this was evidently got up, is too
old to be caught by such well-worn
tricks" Our pretty skater has tasted
of the forbidden but bitter fruit; and
the angry blood rushes to her finger
tips, and she can hardly keep the tears
out OF her eyes. Her pleasure is spoilt
for the day, and she almost persuades
herself that she is an impostor. But
one seasons blighting Influence will
thicken her skin; her bushes will not
be so ready to protest against injustice,
and her belief IN girlish innocence will
he much the same as that of her de-
tractor. She will be able in the giddiest
maze to remember which of the Guards
men present are eligible, and will be
intimately acquainted with all the I'M
savory scandal. She will watch with
interest and amusement, instead of dis
appreciation, the doings OF women OF
many seasons, and listen with well-bred
composure to the questionable stories
told hcr by fast married men. II she
does not marry, she may. alas! follow
in the footsteps Of a painted and pow
dered girl who stands slipping her cot
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