CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



up together, and strike again, as soon as he finds 

 himself steady enough, rarely allowing both feet 

 to be on the ice together. 



' The first impulse is to be gained by pressing 

 the inside edge of one skate against the ice, and 

 advancing with the opposite foot. To effect this, 

 the beginner must bring the feet nearly together, 

 turn the left somewhat out, place the right a little 

 in advance, and at right angles with it, lean for- 

 ward with the right shoulder, and at the same 

 time move the right foot onward, and press 

 sharply, or strike the ice with the inside edge of 

 the left skate care being taken instantly to throw 

 the weight on the right foot. While thus in 

 motion, the skater must bring up the left foot 

 nearly to a level with the other, and may for the 

 present proceed a short way on both feet. He 

 must next place the left foot in advance in its turn, 

 bring the left shoulder forward, inclining to that 

 side, strike from the inside edge of the right skate, 

 and proceed as before. This motion has only to be 

 repeated on each foot alternately, gradually keeping 

 the foot from which he struck longer off the ice, till 

 he has gained sufficient command of himself to 

 keep it off altogether, and is able to strike directly 

 from one to the other, without at any time having 

 them both on the ice together.' 



Thus accomplished in the rudiments of the art, 

 the skater may proceed to learn the forward roll, 

 which is the first step to figure-skating. 'The im- 

 pulse is gained in the same manner as for the 

 ordinary run ; but to get on the outside edge of 

 the right foot, the moment that foot is in motion, 

 the skater must advance the left shoulder, throw 

 the right arm back, look over the right shoulder, 

 and incline the whole person boldly and decisively 

 on that side, keeping the left foot suspended 

 behind. As he proceeds, he must bring the left 

 foot past the inside of the right with a slight jerk, 

 which produces an opposing balance of the body ; 

 the right foot must quickly press, first on the out- 

 side of the heel, then on the inside, or its toe ; the 

 left foot must be placed down in front before it is 

 removed more than about eight or ten inches from 

 the other foot ; and by striking outside to the left, 

 giving at the same moment a strong push with 

 the inside of the right toe, the skater passes from 

 right to left, inclining to the left side in the same 

 manner as he did to the right. He then con- 



tinues to change from left to right, and from right 

 to left, in the same manner. At first he should 

 not remain long upon one leg, nor scruple occa- 

 sionally to put the other down to assist ; and 

 throughout he must keep himself erect, leaning 

 most on the heel.' 



Having attained this proficiency, there will be 

 little difficulty in describing any figure formed 

 by a combination of circles or semicircles. The 

 figure 8 is a favourite among clever skaters, 

 and also the figure 3, both forward and reversed. 



Skating on ice of doubtful strength is accom- 

 panied with great danger, as in an instant the 

 skater may find himself sunk to the neck in water, 

 and be drowned before assistance can be ren- 

 dered. Much of this danger may be obviated by 

 wearing a safety-cape, which is a loose cape, of 

 some waterproof fabric, inflated with air. Every 

 skater should use a cape of this kind while 

 pursuing his amusement on the ice. Skating is 

 one of those out-of-door recreations in which 

 ladies now largely indulge, and in the vicinity of 

 many of our larger towns, ' artificial ponds,' a few 

 inches in depth, offer attractions for skaters of 

 both sexes. 



CURLING. 



Curling is a game of great antiquity and popu- 

 larity in Scotland. It is a winter game, played 

 on the ice ; and when the rivers and ponds are 

 frozen, usually supersedes all other out-of-door 

 amusements, except skating. As the ice requires 

 to be much thicker than for skating, ponds are 

 formed in many places so shallow, that the whole 

 water in them becomes in a very short time a 

 frozen mass, capable of bearing any weight. 



The game is played by a party forming rival 

 sides, each individual being possessed of two cir- 

 cular hard stones, of about nine inches in diameter, 

 flat and smooth on the under side, and on the 

 upper having a handle fixed to the stone. Each 

 player is likewise armed with a broom to sweep 

 the ice, in order to accelerate, when necessary, 

 the progress of the stones ; and goloshes are 

 often worn to prevent the feet from slipping. 

 An open space of ice, of from thirty to forty 

 yards in length, and eight or nine feet across, 

 called the rink, being cleared, and a mark or tee, 

 in the centre of four concentric circles, drawn at 



each end of the rink, being made to play to, the 

 contest takes place by each person hurling or 

 causing his stones to slide towards the opposite 

 end of the rink. A certain number being the 

 game, the object of each side is to have the 

 greatest number of stones nearest the tee ; and all 

 play from end to end alternately till this is ascer- 

 tained. To hurl these stones with precision, in 

 this species of sport, is somewhat difficult ; much 

 depending on the keenness of the frost, the tone 



666 



of the ice, and the ' truth ' of the stone. The ice, 

 however, should be neither too keen nor too dull. 

 Frequently, after the best players have placed 

 their stones in a cluster round the tee, one rapid 

 shot from an antagonist will disperse the whole 

 in all directions round. Occasionally, it also 

 happens, especially on dull ice, that, in hurling, 

 the stones come far short of the mark ; but if they 

 do not get beyond a line called the hog score a 

 line drawn across the ice, at the distance, from 





