The New York herald., 1876-12-18
THE ICE SWIMMERS.
The Ball to Fly at Central
Park To-Day.
SKATING IN THE OLDEN TIME.

The cold weather furnishes q theme for Sunday
meditation which shc pastors Of the city churches
strangely overlooked in their sermons yesterday.
Skating is subject especially associated with the ups
and downs of poor humanity. Graceful and sats-
factory the sport in itself may be- serious falls
and backslidngs sure to occur to its devotees.
The moral OF fall upon the is, to get up The les
taught IN the act OF rising above the embarrass-
mens OF ones situation is full Of comfort Tor the sad
minded and sorrowfu II suggests the triumph OF the
animate the inanimate--of soul over solidity.
This figure admits OF much ampacaton, and as skat-
ing begins Today these two great cties It is to be
hoped that much will be made OF the oppor-
tunitics offered during the coming week.
With the intense cold Of the last few days, skating
in the Central Park will become general that
many OF young people may sing the glories Of this
amusement with much fervor as they we're sung by
nlopstock in his matufer years. The author Of the
"Mcssahn-a poem which in its time was thought
equal the writings OF Tasso and Dantcwas the poet
of tho Ice and its sports. Even GGthe who never
skated in his boyhood, inspired with love Of the
exercise the lyrics OF Klops.ock and he too
persevering and enthusiastic student OF the
art whose praises Klopstock sang. s'It Is
with good reason" Gothic says, "that Klop-
stock has praised this employment OF our
physical powers. which brings contact with the
happy activity OF childhood, which urges youth to
all its suppeness and agility, and which tends
drive away the inacton OF age We give ourselves
up to this pleasure with happy Abandonment whole
day passed upon the ice does not satisfy u.s. and we
prolong tho amusement far into the night. While
other exercises INDUCED in for length OF
time weary the body this only seems to increase
iis suppcncss and vigor. The morn coming forth
frou hnuou NJ he nud WI mill
radiance over the fields the night wind
that sighs quickly cut through It, the cracking
OF tho ice beneath our feet, our flying movements
all suggest the savage majesty OF the scenes
OF Ossan We declaim after such other one OF Klop-
stocks odes, and when we meet together at night
make the air resound with our praises OF the poet
whose genius has lent grace to the pleasures OF the
ice Like the young who, in spite OF tho developments
their intellectual faculties forget everything for the
simple games OF YOUTH as soon as they have
covered tho taste for them, seem when skating to
entirely any consciousness Of the most serious OBJ
jects that claim our attention. 1t was while abandon
ing myself to these aimless movements that the most
noble aspirations, which had too long lain dormant
within me- rcawakened, and l owe to these
hours which seemed lost tho most rapid and
iul development OF my poetical projects"
HISTORY OF SKATING.
This testimony to the sport which so many young
men and women about to enjoy the ponds and
lakes Of Central and Prospec: parks though may not
make poets them will give them keener relish for
the sport II they Will only take the trouble to recall it.
Skaiing like everything else IN which mankind indu-
ges has not only lis poets. but its history and era-
Its origin lost in the myths Of the early ages,
but the first champion OF the spors secms to have been
tho god Uller, who Is distinguished in the Edda for
his beauty, arrows and skates Where tho god OBJ
tanned his skates Is OF those mysteries which per-
haps some antiquarian may be able to sove but 1t Is
not improbable that the handsome pair which gave
him SO much distinction made out OF the jawboncs
Of an animal, fashioned and polished with a nicely
suited the taste of the dandy among the Of
the Wnlhalln pair Of these primitive skates Is pre-
served in tho British Museum, and others have been
dug up at Moorhelds and Finsbury where the youth
Of old London used to do their skating. "when,"
says Fitzstephen, his description Of that metropolis
the great ienne or river (Which watecth the walls of
tho north sidc IS frozen, many young
play upon tho yce Some, striding as wide as they
may, doe slide swiftly; some tye bones to
their feet and under their bootes and showing them
selves by little picked stale, doe slide swiftly
as bird fyeth in the arrow out OF cross
bown The Iceanders in former times used for skates
the shankbone Of deer or sheep. about foot long,
which they ''greascd, because they should not be
stopped by drops of water upon them" In Germany
skating has oug been u favorte pastime and in Hol-
land the for It is lnlly developed In
England and Scotland. too, from a period beyond
which the memory of man runneth not there has
always been in the language Of Mr. Weller. ''fno
time Tor them is well wrapped up, the Polar said
to himself mo practising his skating" Dick
ems gave US n capital description OF ian hour
on The ice" his "pckwick Papers"
There is something exquisite in his
count Of Wrinkles skating. 'You skate, OF
curse, wInklo?n said wende; and Wrinkle could only
reply, .Yc-yes; ohs yes" But to his excuse, eel
lam rather out Of practice It was only natural that
Araoella tho young lady with the fur round her boots
should implorc him, "oh, do skate, Mr. Winklc; l
like TO see IL much" II was only natural too, tnat
another young lady should say Oh, it graceful;"
that third sh ould declare it to be eeicgantn and
fourth express the opinion that It was 'swanlike" p"
Under all tho crcums s.ances Mr. winke could only
consent and make fool OF himself. many young
fellow Is likely TO do in the Park to-day.
SKILL SKATING.
The record of eats OF skill In skating is unusually
full The famous Chevaor de ST. George, who was
marvellously expert all exercises OF tho body,
able to sign his upon the ice with the blade ofhs
skate A certain young lady. it is SAID, accepted
challenge to correspondence the Ice, and in few
minutes a question and written down
with elegance by handwriting upon glass
with diamond. There Swcdo who able
with one foot 10 design portraits tho icc Strut,
in bis s'Sports and Pastmes OF the People OF
England" speaks OF four skaters who were able to
dance minucl upon the leo with as much elegance as
II they had been walking on the noor OF ballroom
and william Aone, in his Every Day Book speak.
ing OF the skating the Serpentlnc River, says
"rhe elegance OF skaters on that sheet OF water ia
chiefly exhibited quadrilles which parties 60
through with beauty scarcely imaginable by rose
who nave not seen graceful skatingn Mr. sam Wei
lcr, MS learn from the veracous history IN which
Mr. Pickwick figures SO prominently, was an adept ut
The beautiful feat OF iancy slidng known knock
at tho cobblcrs door, :, which achieved by skImmng
over the loot and occasionally giving dou
knock with the other Tracing the letters OF the al
phabet the ice mas long been iavoriie exercise,
but with u.s. IN these degenerate days, the execution OF
the Is about the sevcrest test OF skill In Ger