64 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY 
SKATING. 
The present winter has afforded ample opportunity 
for indulgence in this delightful exercise. The Delaware 
has been fast bound for nearly a month, with a clear and 
extensive sheet of ice, upon which many of our citizens 
have displayed their skill in the art. Skating is both a 
manly and innocent amusement: it recommends itself in 
such a variety of pleasing shapes as to be diligently pursued 
by the ydung, and much talked of by the old: its remines- 
censes afe of a character every way agreeable^o the mind, 
and gratifying to the heart, and it may well be ranked 
among the noblest of pastimes. 
The art of Skating is of comparatively modern introduc- 
tion. It can only be traced to Holland, and seems to have 
been entirely unknown to the ancients. Some traces of 
the exercise in England, are to be fajind in the thirteenth 
century, at. which period, according to Fitz-Steven, it was 
customary, in the winter when the ice would bear them, 
for the citizens of London to fasten the leg bones of ani- 
mals under the soles of their feet, and then by poles push 
themselves along upon the ice. The wooden skates shod 
with iron or steel, were brought into England from- the 
low countries. With the Hollanders, Skating is more a 
matter of business than pleasure, for it is said, that the pro- 
duce of their farms is carried upon the heads of their men 
and women, to the towns and cities upon the borders of the 
canals, there to be sold, andiarticles of convenience and 
luxury purchased, and taken back in like manner to the 
country. Less attention is therefore paid by them to 
graceful and elegant movements, than to the acquirement 
of that speed which is necessary to what it is termed jour- 
ney skating, as long and rapid excursions are frequently 
made upon the ice, when the streams, natural and artificial, 
by which their country is intersected, are frozen over. 
Great improvement in the style of Skating has taken 
place within a few years past, and various figures practised, 
to which the earliest skaters were strangers. The forward 
and backward movements, commonly, but as it is thought, 
improperly called High Dutch, show more ease and grace 
than any others within the range of the Skates; they require 
very little exertion, and if rightly performed, carry the 
Skater over the ice with amazing rapidity. In the former, 
the lower limbs should not be permitted to stride much — | 
the swinging foot should always be brought down nearly 
parallel with the other, when about to receive the weight ; 
of the body, and at the same time, the body should incline 
to that side a little to the front, making an angle of about 
seventy degrees; in this position, the foot having hold of 
the ice^fvill aid the inclination of the body in making a 
bold and lengthy curve, as also, a handsome sweeping 
motion. In the latter, or backward High Dutch, the 
swinging limb must always act as a balance to the body, 
and by it a perfect command of the necessary motions ac- 
quired; the limb should move in a line with the body kept j 
nearly straight, and the toes pointed downward. In all 
forward, circular, and sweeping movements, the body 
should be kept as erect as possible, and stooping of the 
neck, head, and shoulders avoided. The Skater should 
never look at his feet, and seldom throw out his arms. 
In graceful Skating, very little muscular exertion is re- 
quired. The impelling motion should proceed from the 
mechanical impulse of the body thrown into such a position ^ 
as to regulate the stroke. Chasing, running, and jumping, 
tend to give an imperfect idea of the art, and produce habits 
that are excessively difficult to Jbreak. Both feet should be 
