The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1895-04-06
SKATING AFTER TWENTY YEARS

Thin Man In His High Hat Excites Com
ment by His Actions the Ice.
he was thin man, not in his frs
youth, and his thinness was made NOR
evident by the lack of an overcoat, ant
accentuated by high hat. The ha
was rather the worse for wear, and hi
cutaway coat was of the fashion O
three years ago, and evidently English
at that. His trousers, although more
modern, bagged on the knees. He had
just descended to the ice on the small
lake in Lincoln park, wearing a pair OF
skates which had been hired at the
shanty near the platform.
The time was Saturday afternoon,
and the lake was covered with small
Boys, whose attention was at once at
fracted by the newcomers old high
hat. A dozen formed an expectant
ring as the hats owner stepped appre-
hensively on the ice and glided in a
wabbly way few yards over the ice,
which was covered an inch deep with
snowy particles scraped from its once
smooth surface by the skaters. High
hat came to pause after a dozen
strokes with each skate, and his legs
formed queer angles with each other,
while his body swayed first to one side
and then to the other, but he did not
fail. as the boys looking at him ex-
pected he would.
After while, putting his hands in
MS trousers pockets, he made a tour of
the southern part of the pond in which
ne developed disposition to turn an
outside edge. This he did compare
lively successfully with his left foot,
out nearly came g cropper when he
essayed to do the same with the right.
his right ankle was evidently weaker
than the left The result of his out,
side strokes on the other was a zipzap
course which, combined with the high
hat, made him the cynosure of all sur
rounding eyes.
Get on to Pepper an his high hat!'
yelled boy as the thin man saved
himself from falling by taking his
hands out of his pockets and waving
them in the air.
he skates like lame bird. said an
other. as the thin man repeated an
other course of outside edging with the
left foot. combined with feeble wig
giles with the right As these com
ments were not made soto voce. the
INN man endeavored to better the per-
of his right. The effort was
disastrous, but to the disappointment
u tie onlookers he preserved his
equilibrium at the expense of grace.
~ this time he had got near a park
'ohceman, to whom he said with an
of jocoseness:
Ankles are apt to be weak if a man
'asn't skated for twenty years, eh.
'fficer?" o'
The policeman smiled indulgently in
eply, and the thin man skated back to
ne platform, when he received what
we're manifestly congratulations on his
oiiity to keep his footing from a pretty {
roman in a sealskin sacque, evidently {
is wife. $
Inc thin man did not stay long to I
ear them, but dashed off again, this l
me with greater confidence. r
Look at Popper!" and Get on to do c
ign hat!' followed him as he made an u
'tire tour OF the pond. 1t was inter- s
lpted by several struggles to maintain
IS feet, at the end of which he in t,
rmed the near oniookers that he Ii
ldn't skated before in twenty wears u
ne thin man presently met again the h
'iiceman to whom he had confided that m
Ct M
Get off the icew said the policeman ci
! man like you has no business here.
lis pond is reserved for ladies and
ildren.-
wondering why the policeman hadn't az
ID him this when he had made his
ter-twenty-years remark. Popper az
mt back to the shanty where he had la
red his skates. There he was told or
II the presence of his wife on the Sc
storm justified his presence on the gu
nd, but the thin man had had enough sh
ating by this time, SO, getting his tn
srcoat. he went home. He was ON yo
ice scarcely fifteen minutes. The Gu
n from whom he hired the skates all
q he took twenty TO put them on COZ
hicago Times. tn,
HE WAS RESOLUTE an