The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-01-11
NORTH POLE SPLINTERS.
Some Of the Shavings from the Artic Axis
are i'm Richmond.

1.-The snow. the snow the beautiful
snow" has left us until another goose
is picked, and the merry sleigh-bells have
| ceased to enchant the ear and arouse the
| curiosity OF the pretty, coy and cunning
debutante, as she rushes to the window to
see whom her latest beau is taking out
on a breezy sleigh-ride.
Yesterday the streets were almost clear
ed of the pure white fakes from heaven
and only one or two sleighs were on the
thOroughfares.
1t was with n pang of regret that many
fair young miss watched the sluggish
pavements gradually reappear, while
many more practical people, who had to
tramp about during most Of the day,
smiled with satisfaction and cOntentment.
on many OF the streets there was
thin and totally deceptive covering of ice,
and the act Of sitting down with an alarm
ing degree Of rapidity was very common
during the day.
Numbers OF aged gentlemen were seen
stepping along with an unusually queer
carriage, and not few of them yielded
to the laws Of gravitation with an alert
ness rarely seen in aged persons. on
Main street l saw an old gentleman take
his seat three times within a block, and
ne IcUldTktu lndI IL WOQlQ save time
to navigate in this position.
But the high-spirited, incorrigibe and
altogether irrepressible small boy was in
the height of his glory. On Ninth street
he took complete possession, and with
his head foremost and back uppermost
he came Swimming along on his sled
with that familiar Look O~u-tw that
gave undeniable evidence of his vigorous
buoyancy. And he had a good time.
which was only marred by the thought of
the schOOl-room on the morrow.
About noon the briskness Of the pedes-
TRANS pace, the oft-repeated, us Il cold
enough for you?" and the tingling cheeks
Of pretty schoolgirls, tinged with deli
cate rosy hue, all told beyond a doubt
that the prophet who presides over the
Weather Bureau I'm Washington was not
bluffing, but in earnest, when he said:
Wrap yourselves up warm tonight; a
slice of the North Pole is coming down TO
Richmond"
And it came, too. About o'clock the
mercury got as sensitive as an old maid,
but still remained in its teens. When
o'clock arrived IL had taken sudden
freak, and crawled down several points.
About u o'clock last night l ambled up
Main street, and, meeting n stray pedes-
trian. asked what the thermometer reg
istered. Don't know" said he, "the ca
PRECIOUS mineral went down a rat-hole
about an hour ago. and l haven't seen 1t
since" He may have been joking, but
little later on l learned that the mer-
curry had made desperate dive for zero.
The river from Mayo's bridge presents a
dreary appearance indeed. The ice is
some two or three inches thick except
in places where the water runs briskly
and here and there narrow channels have
held their own against the freeze, and con-
tinue to wind about snake-like en- route TO
the sea. The river is frozen over for a
distance Of some forty miles, however,
and several miles below Richmond peo-
pie are walking about on the ice.
The Old Dominion left for New York
about noon. She had to cut her way
in many places, and labored I'M
der great disadvantages. AS far as could
be ascertained. she got through however,
without any serious trouble.
The ice on the lake at Forest Hill Park
was rather rough yesterday, but in spite
OF this there were about fifty people from
the other side Swimming over the surface
during a large part Of the day, and several
parties from Richmond joined In the
gleeful sport.
on an ice-pond the different styles of
skating are almost as numerous and
varied as the variety of movements seen
on ballroom floor. one skates fast, |
another slow. still another fanciful. while |
many manufacture entire solar systems
on the surface of the ice by reason of
unexpected contact with the rear OF their |
craniums. The lake was flooded last |
night, however, and large crowds will |
doubtless avail themselves OF this fact |
today.