The sun., 1894-01-14
THOUSANDS OUT ON SKATES.
VzN CORTLhNDT PARK LAKE.
THRONGED Am DAY YESTERDAK

| little touch Of ronl winter weather II needs to
| bring the New York skating blood TO the sur
face"
The speaker stood on the platform OF . New
| York and Northern train bound for Van Cort-
| landt Lake Yesterday afternoon, together with
twice as many people "a the platform could
| reasonably be expected to hold. From end to
| end the train was equally crowded. and almost
every man. woman. or child aboard had
n pair OF skates. which they disposed as
| best pleased them with general effect Of per-
| sonal discomfort to their nelghbors. But no.
body minded that. A skating crowd mover
minds anything. for It Ia tho best natured
crowd in the world. and. as the man on the
| platform intimated. New York's skating blood
was reused yesterday.
twas a day to put any one in good humor-
| a perfect skaters day. The sun shone out OF
| cloudless sky as brilliantly as II II were re-
nected through an atmosphere OF ice. The air
was clear and sharp. with Just that inspiring
| tinge, peculiar TO winter. that makes one
| feel keenly the Joy OF living and the
imperative necessity OF motion. That feeling
| was rife In the crowds that packed the trains
| for Van Cortlandt Park. You could hear 1t in
the gay and eager voices OF the men, and see 1t
in the Frightening eyes and quickening color
OF the women
Father Winter had given invitations to big
did so with the firm intention OF forgetting
everything else and having a good old-time
lark.
Possibly the largest dsputation OF guests
was that which disembarked from the train
that reached the park at about hall past 2.
So eager was tho crowd to get on the
Ice that the short distance from the
station 10 the lake was covered in
brief time 1t looked like free
IL.
reached the ice II hardly seemed as II there
were room for more. From end to end tho
surface was covered with forms that darted
and plunged hither and thither in every va
riety OF curve and line known to geometry
while the banks were lined with figures at
rest or ru ubbinG themselves. IL you can imagine
the letters on the page that you are reading
suddenly infused with life. and skurryiug.
bobbing. swooping. in madly erratlc limos, with
occasional collisions as q result. you may form
some idea OF what Van Cortlandt Lake looked
like yesterday afternoon.
There is this to be said about skating. II
you once learn you will never forget It, and
having once skated you will never again see
other people on the steel runners without be-
ing seized with a mad desire to do likewise
with the least possible delay. Thus 1t was
vest erday that those who came to look on re-
m aimed to skate.
lhcEe Wuo ono paibJ N,'as SHmv III
big carriage. six OF them, evenly divided as to
gender. They didn't bring skates. Skating
see sect the others work. they hadn't been there
more than fifteen minutes when one OF the
Increasing restlessness, said he guessed he'd
20 and see II he couldn't IND something 10 eat.
to make M % Himself % believe w % that he he could @ T periorm
satisfactorily on a pair OF rented steels two
sizes too small ma for HIM Presently two more Of
Within ten minutes OF the first detection every
member OF the sextette was sEimminG over tho
for q quarter to hold the horses was doing
good skating to keep out Of sight. Before the
in one corner to their mutual confusion and
amusement. and on their return they found
the horses tied to u convenient tree. the small
boy having fallen prey to temptation and
sGuandered his quarter for the use OF pair OF
Another instance OF the fatal passion for this
form OF amusement was seen In the behavior OF
shore and sadly observed in a general sort OF
way. that he feared he was getting too old to
skate.
He hadn't been there very long when he
whore ice was scarcer than diamonds for ten
adjusted his eyeglasses. nrmly marched up to
the counter. and said
skated since / was As years old. but by Jim
miny.Jinks, I'm going to skate now. Got any
They didn't have any that screwed on. but
they quickly fastened pair OF patent arrange
mentS on the OLD gentleman tnat maze MS eyes
bulge out He stamped on them. satisfied him.
self that they were on to stay and reached
sbaoSS IL ys his vsRy SaR FerRaps 10
lated the force Of his own stroke. or the drec-
ti0n IN which he was GOnE for on M his first long
to each other for protection against the attrac-
tion Of grsyitation. They went down. one on
With a courtesy born OF his ten years in the
South the old gentleman turned his head to
er took him on flank movement and he
iS6Sth formed the basis for n seap ,Sd%
selves with artistic abandon.
When the Southern gentleman got h!s
and was lust about to complete the secant OF
circle which hall dozen, youths were S e4-
s he two & sd
his hat and spsedaa'iGns les eTtb flew In d
pact. By this time the Southorner. was angry.
There was no sign OF HpoioGy In his EXPIRES;
adjusted them. Heswung up to the other per;
former IN the impromptu gymnastics and
mandSd' hsresI What the devil do YOU
When used TO skate you'd haye been put or
the ice for such carelessness. You're damn
fool. sir yes, sir, damn fool"
Before the youth could recover from his as
tonishment the old gentleman wheeled about
dous speed that showed that lie had suddenly
got his rlghtiul stroke
leOplo got out OF MS way Win great caro, |
and he had beautiful time and a clear track |
until policeman, requested him TO stop |
TaaelnG as Il was dangerous for the others.
afternoon no remarked that fifty cents was a |
cheap price 10 pay Tor making man feel ten
years younger
Eut il was the early bird that got the skates |
yesterday afternoon, for the demand Was
greater than the supply. You eouldnt even |
get your OyercoAt checked At o'clock for love |
or money, aud the Inincs-pie man. In order to
satisfy the demands made upon him. was driven !
TO watering his stock 10 the extent OF cutting |
each pie into ten pieces. livery train that arr
rived added its hundreds to the number until |
Rt about o'clock II was estimated that there |
were 5000 people on the ice. And such
crowd as 1t was
There were boys with their first skates. and |
old men with runners screwed into their shoes.
There were the men who wore short. bAggy |
knee bTeecheS aud clOss-tttng coats |
In heathenlsh patterns college boys with red |
or whit sweaters. and sedate-loOking business |
men who skated straight ahead as II systs- |
We're fifteen hundred OF them IL there was |
one. and all OF them were pretty. This |
nd to 49,