Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-02-02
CLOSE Of the skating Rink.

Close of the Skating Rink.
The skating enterprise of Messrs.
Charles & Behler closed on Tuesday
night in blaze Of glory. Two
evenings of competitive skating
gave an interest to the closing exer-
cises of the establishment, prize to
the most popular lady skater having
been given on Saturday and one to
the best gentleman skater on Tues
day, the last night of the season.
OF course the lady's night was the
more interesting, and at an early
hour Franklin Hall was occupied
by large throng of both skaters
and spectators. The terms of the
competition were that the prize
should be given to the most popular
lady skater. Many thought that it
ought to have been for the best
skater, but this proviso was not
adopted on the grounds that one
young lady in particular was so in
disputably the best that it would
have prevented competition on the
part of other ladies. The result
showed that it made no difference
which were the terms adopted, for
Miss Marian Adams, the lady who
would indisputably have won if
skating were the criterion, came in
with a splendid majority on the pop
uLdr basis. The gallant and accom-
plished editor of the Tobacco Leaf
was selected as the organ of the COM
pany to present the prize, and very
finely tuned organ he was. Mr..
Charles, one of the proprietors of the
establishment, and asplendid skater,
started to a distant corner of the
room in quest of the lady winner
the splendid sweep with which two
came to the stand was sight not to
be seen every day. The motion of
the fair prize-winner was more like
soaring than skating and recalled all
the poetical descriptions of graceful
motion we have ever studied. We
thought of ATLANTA, theswift-footed
huntress of Calydon, of Camilla
securing the plain SO lightly that the
grain crops were uninjured by her
passage, and more than all of the
ETHEREAL and fairy-like Lady of the
Lake, of whom the minstrel says:
Fen the light hair bell raised its head
Elastic from her airy tread.
Riley was happy in his short adj
dress, as he always is when he adj
dresses the ladies, and as we hope |
he will be when he comes to address
one in private, meaning business.
Tuesday, the last night, was a
more exciting if less graceful eX-
hibitiOn. the number and near equal
ity of the contestants promising a
spirited contest. The competitors |
were Messrs. Julian Gracey, Jack
Dunscombe, John Rice, Richard
Caldwell, Gus. Harrison, J. David
son, Geo. Patch, Sam. Lyman and
II. Hendricks. We have only space
to notice the four who seemed to us
the most promising competitors.
Julian Gracey led off the exhibit
ton. The ease, grace and rapid ev-.
olutions of his skating at once estab-
lished him as a formidable antagO-
mist to any of the other competitors.
John Rice also exhibited the quail
tiles of a splendid skater, some of
his feats showing astonishing gym
nastic force. Alas, he tried one feat
beyond his power, lost his balance
and was ruled out in consequence of
the fall he got.
Gus. Harrison also suffered the
fate Of
Vaulting ambition which o'erIeaps itself,
and, in attempting some difficult
of the art, suffered two
falls and so lost his chance.
Horance Hendricks skated in
much the same style as Gracey, and
so nearly equal were they in their
merits that the two had to try it
over again before the lady judges
could decide. Even then long dis
cussiOn and profound consideration
were required before they conferred
the prize on Mr.. Julian Gracey.
The young gentleman then skated
up and the editor of this paper was
appointed spokesman of the lady
judges to present him with the prize;
this he did as we'll as terrible cough
would allow him. TIE three judges
were Misses Adams, Wrench and
Hieronymus, excellent judges not
only of skating but of good looks, to
which latter quality wesuspect that
Julian owed in some measure his
success.