Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-05-06
HE MEANT WE'LL.
But it Didn't Work.
From the New York Times.

From the New York Times.
There is not the least doubt that when Mr..
Hawkins invented his Rink Protector he meant
well. The testimony of those who know him
is unanimous in declaring that he is an excep-
tionally benevolent man, and if the rink pro-
prietOr really persists in making Mr.. Hawkins
pay for the chandeliers it will be an unjust and
contemplate act.
The idea of the Rink Protector occurred to
Mr.. Hawkins one morning when he had accom-
panied the young ladies of his Bible class to a
popular skating rink. There were seventeen
of these young ladies, and as Mr.. Hawkins
leaned against y pillar and watched them fall
ing, either separately or in Masses and sustain
ing much apparent and probably greater invis-
bic injuries, he was filled with compassion, and
asked himself if something could not be done
to render unnecessary such painful spectacle
of sweet girls tangled out of tune. The concep-
ton OF the Rink Protector suddenly occurred to
him, and he resolved to give it to the world
without delay.
That afternoon Mr.. Hawkins took a small
boy 10 the rink and experimental with him for
nearly an hour. He ascertained that when a
skater Is betrayed by his skates he either sits
down violently. thereby Earring his spinal col
umn, or he kneels with equal violence and runs
the risk of fracturing his knee caps: With
lily perceived that his contemplated Rink Pro-
teetor should meet double want. 1t should
be made to protect the knees as we'll as the
spinal column. Mr.. Hawkins therefore gave
himself to the study of the capabilities of india
rubber, and in the course of the week he had
patented under the general name OF Hawkins
Rink Protector two strong india rubber air
cushions to be fitted to a skaters knees, and a
larger air cushion to be worn in the place of an
ordinary "Dress Improver"
MI hawkins has IL daughter, q young lady
weighing 12O pounds. He had never permitted
her 10 visit the rink, but he now informed her
That II she would wear his Rink Protector she
might skate all Saturday afternoon. AS the
Rink Protector could be worn by Miss Hawkins
without attracting attention. she gladly agreed
noon last accompanied him to the rink where
he proposed to see his new invention put to a
final test
Miss Hawkins, curiOusly enough, managed
to keep her feet for nearly ten minutes after
putting on her skates, but at the expiration of
that time she became less cautious, and in
another moment she sat down with tremendous
violence. The air cushion did its duty. The
lair Wearer, the moment she struck the floor,
rebounded in a way that to the spectators
seemed supernatural. The chandelier was fully
struck it with terrible crash. Descending
amid fragments of broken glass the unfortunate
young lady struck on her knees, and again re-
bounded, but this time at an angle of forty de-
greeS with the floor. In her aerial flight she
moved down twelve girls and eight men, and
had she not fortunately struck the wall with
her head-which was not elaStic-She might
have inflicted still further damage.
OF course, this experiment proved that Haw-
klnS Rink Protector was not a desirable thing,
but 1t certainly did not prove that Hawkins was
actuated by q desire to injure the rink proprie-
tor, and the conduct of the latter in suing Mr..
denouncing him as a bad and malicious man,
cannot be too severely condemned by all who
judge men by their motives and not by their
mistakes,