THE BADMINTON LIBRARY. Edited by the DUKE OF BEAUFORT, K.G. and A. E. T. WATSON. HUNTING. By the DUKE OF BEAUFORT, K.G. and MOW- BRAY MORRIS. With Contributions by the EARL OF SUFFOLK AND BERKSHIRE, Rev. E. W. L. DAVIES, DIGBY COLLINS, and ALFRED E. T. WATSON. With 53 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. IDS. 6d. FISHING. By H.CHOLMONDELEY-PENNELL. With Contribu- tions by the MARQUIS OF EXETER, HENRY R. FRANCIS, Major JOHN P. TRAHERNE, FREDERIC M. HALFORD, G. CHRISTOPHER DAVIES, R. B. MARSTON, &c. Vol. I. Salmon and Trout. With 8 Plates and 150 Woodcuts c. Crown 8vo. io.y. 6d. Vol. II. Pike and other Coarse Fish. With 7. Plates and 126 Woodcuts &c. Crown 8vo. 10^. 6d. RACING AND STEEPLE-CHASING. Racing-. By the EARL OF SUFFOLK AND BERKSHIRE and W. G. CRAVEN. With a Contribution by the Hon. F. LAWLEY. Steeple-chasing: By ARTHUR COVENTRY and ALFRED E. T. WATSON. With 56 Illus- trations. Crown 8vo. IO.T. 6d. SHOOTING. By LORD WALSINGHAM and Sir RALPH PAYNE GALLWEY, Bart. With Contributions by LORD LOVAT, LORD CHARLES LENNOX KERR, the Hon. G. LASCELLES, and A. J. STUART- WORTLEY. Vol. I. Field and Covert. With 12 Plates and 93 Woodcuts &c. Crown 8vo. los. 6d. Vol. II. Moor and Marsh. With 8 Plates and 57 Woodcuts &c. Crown 8vo. los. 6d. CYCLING. By VISCOUNT BURY, K.C.M.G. (the Earl of Albemarle), and G. LACY HILLIER. With 19 Plates and 70 Woodcuts &c. Crown 8vo. los. 6d. ATHLETICS AND FOOTBALL. By MONTAGUE SHEAR- MAN. With an Introduction by Sir RICHARD WEBSTER, Q.C. M.P. With 6 Plates and 45 Woodcuts &c. Crown 8vo. los. 6d. BOATING. By W. B. WOODGATE. With an Introduction by the Rev. EDMOND WARRE, D.D. and a Chapter on 'Rowing at Eton ' by R. HARVEY MASON. With 10 Plates and 39 Wood- cuts &c. Crown 8vo. los. 6d. CRICKET. By A. G. STEEL and the Hon. R. H. LYTTELTON. With Contributions by ANDREW LANG, R. A. H. MITCHELL, W. G. GRACE, and F. GALE. With n Plates and 52 Woodcuts &c. Crown 8vo. ios. 6d. {Continued. London : LONGMANS, GREFN, & CO. THE BADMINTON LIBRARY. Edited by the DUKE OF BEAUFORT, K.G. and A, E. T, WATSON. DRIVING. By His Grace the DUKE OF BEAUFORT, K.G. With II Plates and 54 Woodcuts &c. Crown 8vo. los. 6d. FENCING, BOXING, and WRESTLING. By WALTER H. POLLOCK, F. C. GROVE, C. PREVOST, E. B. MICHELL, and WALTER ARMSTRONG. With 18 Intaglio Plates and 24 Woodcuts &c. Crown 8vo. io.y. 6d. GOLF. By HORACE G. HUTCHINSON, the Right Hon. A. J. BALFOUR, M.P. Sir WALTER G. SIMPSON, Bart. LORD WELLWOOD, H. S. C. EVERARD, ANDREW LANG, and other Writers. With 22 Plates and 69 Woodcuts &c. Crown 8vo. 10^. 6d. TENNIS, LAWN TENNIS, RACKETS, and FIVES. By J. M. and C. G. HEATHCOTE, E. O. PLEYDELL-BOUVERIE, and A. C. AINGER. With Contributions by the Hon. A. LYTTELTON, W. C. MARSHALL, Miss L. DOD, H. W. W. WILBERFORCE,. H. F. LAWFORD, &c. With 12 Plates and 67 Woodcuts &c. Crown 8vo. 105. 6d. RIDING AND POLO. By Captain ROBERT WEIR, Riding Master, R.H.G. and J. MORAY BROWN. With Contributions by the DUKE OF BEAUFORT, the EARL OF SUFFOLK AND BERK- SHIRE, the EARL OF ONSLOW, E. L. ANDERSON, and ALFRED E. T. WATSON. With 18 Plates and 41 Woodcuts &c. Crown 8vo. IO.T. 6d. SKATING, CURLING, TOBOGGANING, and other ICE SPORTS. ByJ. M. HEATHCOTE, C. G. TEBBUTT, T. MAXWELL WITHAM, the Rev. JOHN KERR, ORMOND HAKE, and HENRY A. BUCK. With 12 Plates 'and 272 Woodcuts &c. by C. WHYMPER and Captain ALEXANDER. Crown 8vo. los. 6d. BIG GAME SHOOTING. 2 vols. ByC. PHILLIPPS-WOLLEY, W. G. LITTLEDALE, Major H. PERCY, Captain C. MARKHAM, R.N. and W. A. BAILLIE GROHMAN. With Contributions by other Writers. \In preparation. MOUNTAINEERING. By DOUGLAS FRESH FIELD, Sir F. POLLOCK, Bart. C. T. DENT, C. E. MATHEWS, W. M. CONWAY, C. PILKINGTON, and other Writers. With Illustrations by H. G. W I LLI N K. \_In preparation. COURSING AND FALCONRY. By the EARL OF KILMOREY, HARDING Cox, the Hon. G. LASCELLES, and other Writers. [/ preparation. BILLIARDS. By H. SAVILE CLARKE. {in preparation. YACHTING. [/ preparation. London : LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO. OF SPORTS AND PASTIMES EDITED BY HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BEAUFORT, K,G. ASSISTED BY ALFRED E. T. WATSON SKATING PRINTED BY SPOTT1SWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE LONDON A .FORWARD ROCKER SKATING BY J. M. HEATHCOTE AND C. G. TEBBUTT FIGURE-SKATING BY T. MAXWELL WITHAM WITH CONTRIBUTIONS ON CURLING (REV JOHN KERR), TOBOGGANING (ORMOND HAKE) ICE-SAILING (HENRY A. BUCK), BANDY (C. G. TEBBUTT) ILLUSTRATED BY CHARLES WHYMPER AND CAPTAIN R. M. ALEXANDER AND FROM PHOTOGRAPHS LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 1892 All rights reserved DEDICA TION TO H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES BADMINTON : May 1885. HAVING received permission to dedicate these volumes, the BADMINTON LIBRARY of SPORTS and PASTIMES, to His ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF WALES, I do so feeling that I am dedicating them to one of the best and keenest sportsmen of our time. I can say, from personal observation, that there is no man who can extricate himself from a bustling and pushing crowd of horsemen, when a fox breaks covert, more dexterously and quickly than His Royal Highness ; and that when hounds run hard over a big country, no man can take a line of his own and live with them better. Also, when the wind has been blowing hard, often have I seen His Royal Highness knocking over driven grouse and partridges and high-rocketing pheasants in first-rate vi SKA TING workmanlike style. He is held to be a good yachtsman, and as Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron is looked up to by those who love that pleasant and exhilarating pastime. His encouragement of racing is well known, and his attendance at the University, Public School, and other important Matches testifies to his being, like most English gentlemen, fond of all manly sports. I consider it a great privilege to be allowed to dedicate these volumes to so eminent a sportsman as His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and I do so with sincere feelings of respect and esteem and loyal devotion. BEAUFORT. BADMINTON PREFACE A FEW LINES only are necessary to explain the object with which these volumes are put forth. There is no modern encyclopaedia to which the inexperienced man, who seeks guidance in the practice of the various British Sports and Pastimes, can turn for information. Some books there are on Hunting, some on Racing, some on Lawn Tennis, some on Fishing, and so on ; but one Library, or succession of volumes, which treats of the Sports and Pastimes indulged in by Englishmen and women is wanting. The Badminton Library is offered to supply the want. Of the imperfections which must be found in the execution of such a design we are viii SKA TING conscious. Experts often differ. But this we may say, that those who are seeking for knowledge on any of the subjects dealt with will find the results of many years' experience written by men who are in every case adepts at the Sport or Pastime of which they write. It is to point the way to success to those who are ignorant of the sciences they aspire to master, and who have no friend to help or coach them, that these volumes are written. To those who have worked hard to place simply and clearly before the reader that which he will find within, the best thanks of the Editor are due. That it has been no slight labour to supervise all that has been written he must acknowledge ; but it has been a labour of love, and very much lightened by the courtesy of the Publisher, by the unflinching, indefatigable assistance of the Sub- Editor, and by the intelligent and able arrangement of each subject by the various writers, who are so thoroughly masters of the subjects of which they treat. The reward we all hope to reap is that our work may prove useful to this and future generations. THE EDITOR. CONTENTS PAGE SKATING. INTRODUCTION .... i J. M. Heathcote. CHAP. I. THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF SKATING 3 J. M. Heathcote. II. FIRST PRINCIPLES OF SKATING, AND SUGGESTIONS TO BEGINNERS ... . . 19 /. M. Heathcote. III. FIGURE-SKATING 41 T. Maxwell Witham. IV. SKATING AS A RECREATION 198 /. M. Heathcote. V. HOLLAND 221 C. G. Tebbntt. VI. EARLY RACING, AND SOME RECORDS OF THE NATIONAL SKATING ASSOCIATION . . . 247 J. M. Heath cole. VII. MODERN RACING 265 C. G. Teblnttt. VIII. TRAINING 293 C. G. Tebbult. IX. STYLE IN SKATING 303 C. G. Teblnttt. SKA TING CURLING Rev. John Kerr. TOBOGANNING 5 8 5 Ormond Hake. ICE-SAILING . ... 407 Henry A. B^^ck. BANDY ... 429 C. G. Tebbiitt. INDEX . ILL USTRA TIONS REPRODUCED BY J. D. COOPER, MESSRS. WALKER & BOUTALL, AND G. H. FORD. FULL- PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS ARTIST A FORWARD ROCKER . . C. Whymper . . Frontispiece A RACE ON WHITTLESEA MERE / From a Sketch by J. \ IN 1835 . . . . \ M, Heathcote . . jf A CLUB FIGURE: 'ONCE BACK) ~ .... AND FORWARD' . . . / -vnymper . . . ,, 42 A CLUB FIGURE : ' FORWARD 1 ~ .... THREE' . . . . ) C ' 9*t" 138 JAMES SMART . C. Whymper . . ,,266 JOSEPH F. DONOGHUE AND ALEXANDER VON PANSCHIN -In the Two-mile Inter- \ A ^ ketct " m T d * at the \ 2 g 2 national Race at Amsterdam, *"" ^ C ' Whymper $ January 10, 1889 . . . ' MR. JOSEPH F. DONOGHUE- { F man instantaneous} Position No. I, front view . ') Photographby Messrs. J, 308 L Scott &> Wilkinson . J A THREATENING STORM, OR A | DAY FOR THE BESOM . f R ' M ' Alexander . 328 THE WINNING SHOT: ATTI-") TUDES OF VICTORS AND ' 7?. M. Alexander . 376 VANQUISHED . . . J ( From a photograph by~\ Messrs. Norman & \ TOBOGANNING AT MONTREAL . Messrs. Norman & \ ,, 388 L Sons, Montreal . J THE START Race between "| * Poughkeepsie Ice-Yacht Club r and Hudson River Club at } from a Photograph . ,,420 Poughkeepsie, February 1887 J AT BANDV . . 438 Xll SKATING ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT ARTIST PAGE FAIR ON THE THAMES .... C. Whymper 3 BONE 'RUNNERS' EXHIBITED AT GUILD-) H \LL . . . . . f C. Whymper . 5 ON THE RINK . . . C. Whymper . . ENGLISH SKATES ..... 23 A FRIESLAND SKATE .... 25 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION . . . . C. WJiymper . 29 IMMERSION AND RESCUE .... C. Whymper . . 37 SNOW-CLEARING APPLIANCES . 47 DITTO 48 SKATE FASTENINGS .... 59 DITTO ....... 60 THE DOWLER BLADE .... 64 FORWARD INSIDE EDGE .... C. Whymper . . 68 BACK INSIDE EDGE C. Whymper . 70 FORWARD OUTSIDE EDGE C. Whymper 75 BACK OUTSIDE EDGE C. Whymper 78 A FORWARD THREE .... C. Whymper . . 85 INSIDE BACK THREE C Whymper . Q2 FORWARD ROCKER . C. Whymper -7 I8 5 ST. IVES C. Whymper . I 9 8 SKATING IN A BLIZZARD C. Whymper 209 SAILING ON SKATES WIND RIGHT AFT C. Whymper 214 SAILING ON SKATES CLOSE-HAULED . . C. Whymper 215 WILD-FOWL SHOOTING ON WHITTLESEA I C. Whymper, from a sketch by J. M. Heathcote 217 DUTCH SOLDIERS RETURNING FROM DRILL C. Whymper . . 219 A WAYSIDE DRINKING-STALL . C. Whymper . 221 DUTCHMEN SKATING WITH POLE C. Whymper . . 227 DUTCH RACEGROUND .... C. Whymper . . 231 ILLUSTRATIONS ARTIST 1'AGE ZUIDER ZEE C. Whymper. . . 238- SLEIGH-SAILING ..... C. Whymper. . . 242 ' IjSLEETE ' C. Whymper . . 245 SLEIGH-DRIVING ..... 246 A RACE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP LINGAY FEN > C. Whymper . . 259 PLAN OF RACECOURSE AT HEERENVEEN . . . 289 NORWEGIAN, ENGLISH FEN, AND FRIES- i LAND SKATES ... . > .... 309 DIAGRAM OF SKATE STROKES, ETC. (show- 1 1 ing Dutch, English, and Modern . . . . . 309 Racing Style) J ( Instantaneous series MODERN RACING STYLE (about ^ actual J taken of Mr. J. F. Donoghue by Messrs. size) j Loman &* Co., Am- 1 sterdam . . 312, 313. f 'Instantaneous series ENGLISH FEN STYLE (~ actual size) . . <| taken of Mr. C. G. Tebbutt, by G. Mit- I chell . 314, 315, 318,319 r From an instantaneous K. PANDER . . . . . . \ photograph by Messrs. Loman & Co., Am- I sterdam . . .320 ' ICE-STICK ' . 329 DRUMMOND OF CARLOWRIE'S COAT-OF-") ARMS j 33 1 ANCIENT CURLING-STONES | | 333 OLD CURLING-STONE . . . . 1 From Kerr on Curl- \ ,-,* I CURLING-STONES . . . . . . f . ing) by permission ) of Mr. Douglas . j 343 CURLING-STONE HANDLES . . . J [ 347 CURLING APPLIANCES. . . . C. Whymper . . . 347 TEE-RINGER ^j From Kerr on Curl- 348 DIAGRAM TO BE DRAWN ON THE ICE > ing, by permission PREVIOUS TO. PLAYING . . .1 of Mr Douglas 351, 352 PLAN OF THE RINK . TU. SKA TING POSITION ...... . . 359 DITTO . 360 A KEEN CURLER R. M, A'cxanltr . 361 POSITION . . . . . . . . . . . 362 DITTO 364 DIAGRAM OF < OUT-TURN' AND ' IX-TURN ' 365 * ELBOW IN ' . . . ' . . . . . . . 366 ' ELBOW OUT ' .......... 367 ' D'YE SEE THAT STANE ? THEN CRACK 1 ,, AN EGG ON'T ' \ R ' M ' Alexander . . 369 THE ECCENTRICITIES OF ATTITUDE . R. M. Alexander . 372 FITTING THE TEE R. M. Alexander . . 374 ' I THINK THAT SHOULD FIND HER ! ' . R. M. Alexander . 377 THE ASCENT OF BUOL RUN . . t Adapted from a photo- !_ graph by Mrs. Main 385 CANADIAN ' TOBOGGAN ' 389 C From a photograph, by TOBOGANNING .... fer mission of Messrs. JMorman &" bans, 1 Montreal . . . 390 'SCHLITTLl' OR SWISS ' COASTER' ' 39! (From a photograph by Wm. Gardner- Water- man . . .393 ' SCHLITTLI ' OR SWISS 'COASTER 5 . . . . . . . 394 THE BUOL RUN, DAVOS .... From a photograph . 395 THE CRESTA RUN, ST. MORITZ . . From a photograph . 367 'AMERICA' TOBOGGAN RIDDEN HEAD-"! FOREMOST. f 399 * BOB-SLED ' 399 'AMERICA' TOBOGGAN (Winner of the] ' Grand National,' 1888). . ./ THE f ICICLE ' . . . . . From a photograph . 409 * AVALANCHE,' A TYPICAL MODERN RAC-1 ~ ,, ING ICE-YACHT . < From * Photograph . 411 From a photograph . 417 THE 'AVALANCHE' .... From a photograph . 419 1 The various types of toboggans are from drawings by C. Digby Jones, by permission of the proprietor of the ' St. Moritz Post and Davos News.' SKATI NG INTRODUCTION BY J. M. HEATHCOTE ALTHOUGH figure-skating is no doubt the highest development of the art, speed-skating came first in order, and it has been thought well to begin this volume with the following chapters on that branch of the subject. Many persons capable of keenly enjoying the pleasure of skating when it is brought to their doors are content to disport themselves on the nearest pond, practising figures for which they, perhaps, have no special taste or qualification, having never realised that an hour's journey by rail may enable them to vary their recreation by an alterna- tive form of exercise less complex in character, but equally exciting and invigorating. I have, therefore, endeavoured to show how the pleasures of straight-away skating can be most readily cultivated, and at the same time to afford instruction and amusement to the general reader by a short history of the development of skating, by some hints and reflections that may be of service to beginners, and by a few anecdotes suggested by the reminiscences of nearly half a century. . I am fortunate in having secured the assistance of a col- league, Mr. C. G. Tebbutt, whose successes on the racing track have enabled him to write with exceptional authority on these matters. To him, therefore, in the first place my thanks are due ; but I wish also to express my indebtedness to. Professor B 2 SKA TING Skeat for the assistance he* 'has given me in my attempt to trace the etymology of the word skate, to Mr. W. F. Adams, the Hon. Secretary of the London Skating Club, whose prac- tical illustration of the art of sailing on skates was especially valuable to me, to Mr. T. Maxwell Witham, to Mr. James Drake Digby, late Hon. Secretary of the National Skating As- sociation, and to his son Mr. Newton Digby, the present Hon. Secretary, who have given me access to the earliest minute- books of the transactions of the association ; to the editor of the ' Stamford Mercury,' from which almost prehistoric journal I have derived much valuable information, and to the many professional and amateur skaters who have rendered me material assistance. CHAPTER I THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF SKATING BY J. M. HEATHCOTE PERHAPS the reader will ask, why is a skate so named ? ^ but when he recalls the many inconsistencies which abound in the English language, he will not be startled when he learns that the t> very word is an etymological anomaly. Pro- fessor Skeat tells us that it should be 'a skates,' with a plural of ' skateses,' but that the final s having been taken for the plural suffix has thus gradually fallen into 4 SKA TING disuse. He quotes similar instances of 'apocope,' as 'cherry/ which was formerly 'a cherris,' derived from Kepatroc, cerasus, North French cherise ; and 'pea,' once 'a peas/ which may be traced to TT/O-OC, pisum. The word is not really English, but was borrowed from Holland ; the Dutch equivalent for a skate is schaats, and for skates is schaatsen, where en is the plural suffix ; but as early as the seventeenth century we notice the adoption of the modern form, skeates, scheets, and scates being used in the plural. Professor Skeat also tells us that the etymology of the word is obscure, but that, as t and k are often interchangeable, it is possibly derived from the Low- German schake, a shank or leg ; and he thus traces the word to its Teutonic base skak. It is remarkable that the modern German schlitt-schuh (a slide-shoe) and the Swedish skridsko should owe their origin to another source ; but the Low-Latin scatia (a stilt) and the Danish skoite are probably derived from the same root, as is also the French echasses^ which is explained by Cotgrave as ' Stilts with scatches to go on, a contrivance to lengthen the stride/ This is also evidently the first meaning of the modern French equivalent for a skate, patin (whose root is given by Littre, as patte\ which formerly signified a thick-soled boot, a clog, a patten, a snow-shoe, This word was introduced into our own country by French or Flemish refugees who fled from the fury of Philip and Alva in the sixteenth century, and it is still a common expression in the fen country. Five and twenty years ago to ' put on pattens ' was as frequently used as to ' put on skates,' nor indeed has it yet entirely fallen into disuse. Pass- ing through Whittlesea in December of last year (1890), I observed an advertisement displayed by an enterprising but imperfectly educated mechanic of that town announcing, ' Pattons grond here ! ' The inference that necessity was the mother of the art of skating may be drawn with as much confidence as that the requirements of man supplied the first cause of hunt- ing, archery, and many of our sports and pastimes. When ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF SKATING 5 snow had obliterated the rude tracks along which primaeval men were wont to propel their still ruder vehicles, the sub- stitution of a sledge for a wheeled carriage may have occurred to travellers, and the adoption of wooden, bone, or iron runners would naturally be suggested with the view of reduc- ing friction. In the museum at Cambridge may be seen the combined ulna and radius of a red deer, and bones evidently ground down by friction are shown in the British Museum and also Bone ' Runners ' exhibited at Guildhall at Guildhall. These bones may have been sledge-runners, or they may have been bound on to the ankles of men, like the talares, or winged sandals of Mercury, and used as aids to locomotion on snow or ice. Fig. i represents bone 'runners,' which are exhibited at Guildhall. These were discovered in April 1869, in the site of Gooch and Cousins' warehouse, London Wall, and with them were found two Roman sandal shoes. The Curator of the Museum states that excavations frequently bring to the light of day bones of a similar cha- racter, and, although he can offer no positive evidence of the truth of his hypothesis, he is strongly of opinion that these 6 SKATING bones were used as skates. But in what century or in what country these or similar contrivances were first adopted, must remain to some extent a matter of conjecture. Scandinavian archaeologists claim an antiquity of 1600 years for the art of traversing snow and ice in this manner, to which frequent reference is made in early Runic poetry and mythological song. In the first chapter of ' A System of Figure-Skating ' l the author brings under the readers' notice information which he received from Stockholm through the kindness of a friend, Mr. Kreuger, a native of Sweden, which I will venture to quote in extenso. Remarks on the Origin of Skating, translated from the Swedish. When this exercise was originated is unknown, for, as far back as we have any account of it, it was perfectly well known and practised in the whole North. Its origin, however, unquestionably belongs to the people of the North that is, to the Scandinavarians and Germans, amongst whom it is in most common use because the Greeks and Romans knew nothing of this science, nor have they any special terms in their language to express skates or skating. The origin of skates in their present form cannot be reckoned further back than the so called Iron Age, or about 200 years after the birth of Christ, because iron first came into general use then throughout the North. The art of sliding with snow-shoes or runners, from which skating is derived, is still older, and belongs to the inhabitants of the North. But these shoes were made only of wood, and resembled our present form of snow-shoes, which are used by the inhabitants of the most northerly parts of Sweden and Norway in the mountain tracks on their journeys across the immense snowfields. These were used originally by the Finnish people in the North, for which reason they were called from this time ' Skrid finnai ' (sliding Finns), a common name for the most ancient inhabitants of Sweden both in the Norsk Saga and by foreign authors. After iron became known and was worked in the North, iron runners were put under these snow-shoes ; and in this way the present form of skates was developed, as well as proficiency gained in skating on the ice- a 1 H. E. Vandervell and T. Maxwell Witham. London : H. Cox, 346 Strand. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF SKATING 7 proficiency in which the Northern people early excelled, and which was reckoned as one of their chief accomplishments, and about which the Norsk Saga speaks with pride. But as amongst these Northern people also were Anglo-Saxons who in the year 450 A.D. subdued the south part of Britain, together with Danes and Normans who the former in 1015, and the latter in 1066 con- quered the whole of England, probably the use of skates was intro- duced by these people into England, together with other Northern customs. On these grounds the origin of the present form of skates and skating maybe attributed to the Northern people about 200 years after the birth of Christ. It is certain that some contrivance for locomotion on ice was common in England in the twelfth century, for we read in an early translation of FitzStephen's ' Description of London, which was written in Latin, and published in 1180 : When the great fenne or moore (which watereth the walls of the citie on the North side) is frozen many young men play on the yce . . . some striding as wide as they may doe slide swiftlie ; asome tye bones to their feete and under their heeles, and shoving themselves with a little picked staffe do slide as swiftlie as a birde flyeth in the aire or an arrow out of a cross-bow. That history reproduces itself is practically illustrated by the smock-frocked Sussex peasant, who, when the flooded meadows adjoining the rivers Ouse and Adur are covered with hard, smooth ice, can attain a very high speed with no other assistance than two sharp-pointed sticks, and hob- nails in his boots. There is no historical evidence that iron blades were used in mediaeval times, but it is recorded that in 1572 A.D. the Dutch fleet, being frozen in the Y at Amsterdam, Don Frederick, the son of Alva, sent a body of men to take the vessels, but the Dutch musketeers sallied forth on skates, and successfully routed the aggressors. We are told that in Norway and Sweden hunters equipped with skates can successfully avoid and pursue wolves on the ice, and the following legend illustrates the important part played by a pair of skates 8 SKATING in a dramatic incident in the backwoods of America. A Canadian settler, who having been taken by Indians was about to be subjected to the fate which usually befalls such captives, chanced to observe among the spoil of a recent raid a pair of skates. Affecting an interest in, and some knowledge of the implements, he persuaded his captors to allow him to illustrate their use on an adjacent lake, which was then covered with ice. In order to avert suspicion, he was careful to conceal his familiarity with his newly acquired auxiliaries until a possible chance of escape should present itself. The chance came at last ; the accomplished skater started off at full speed, and was able to baffle his pursuers. The art and practice of skating has been more constantly located in the Netherlands than in any other country. Com- munication between important centres of commerce is main- tained chiefly by canals, and when these became closed to navigation by ice, the frozen surface afforded a ready and rapid means of locomotion. Dutch men and women habitually made use of these ice highways ; young Dutchwomen have been known to skate to market, carrying their infants and baskets of eggs. So far, the relation of skating to utilitarian objects has alone been considered, but we find that the devotion of our countrymen to sports and pastimes on ice began to assert itself in the time of Charles II., as may be seen by the follow- ing extracts from the diaries of Pepys l and Evelyn : Dec. i. To my Lord Sandwich's, to Mr. Moore and then over the Parke, where I first in my life, it being a great frost, did see people sliding with their skeates, which is a very pretty art. Dec. 15. To the Duke, and followed him into the parke, where, though the ice was broken and dangerous, yet he would go slide upon his skates, which I did not like, but he slides very well. And, 2 Dec. I, 1662. Having seen the strange and wonderful dexterity of the sliders on the new canal in St. James' Park performed before their 1 Pepys Diary, vol. i. , pp. 345, 347. London. 1829. 2nd ed. 2 Memoirs of John E,velyn, 2nd ed. London. 1819. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF SKATING 9 Ma ties by divers gentlemen and others with scheets, after the manner of the Hollanders, with what swiftness they passe, how suddenly they stop in full carriere upon the ice, I went home by water, but not without exceeding difficultie, the Thames being frozen, greate flakes of ice incompassing our boate. Macaulay tells us ] that Monmoutb, Charles II. 's son, learned from the Dutch ladies the art of skating on the frozen canals in their country, and that he in return gave them in- struction in the English country dance. Little is recorded of the development of skating in the eighteenth century, but scenes of life and character, and repre- sentations of races and games, are immortalised in the works of Antony Beerstraaten, Vanderneer, Ostade, and other Dutch artists, while the ' Illustrations of Fairs held on the frozen Thames in 1716 and 1740 ' prove the popularity of the exercise of skating in our own country. At the present time there is no exercise more cosmopolitan than skating. We should hardly expect to find it in any part of the ' Dark Continent,' but perhaps some future explorer of Kilima-Njaro or Ruwenzori may find in their neighbourhood a suitable arena. The ' mild Hindoo ' is not likely to be a first- rate exponent of the art, but even India has its devotees. On frozen lakes at Nainithal, a hill station near Bareilly, and on large reservoirs at Murre Brewery, forty miles north of Rawal Pindi, enterprising English officers who may chance to be quartered in that neighbourhood make frequent expeditions for the purpose of skating. On one occasion the sport aroused the enthusiasm of the natives of what is now part of the Chinese Empire. In the winter of 1873-74 an English officer attached to Sir Douglas Forsyth's mission to Yarkand crossed the Himalayas from Cashmere, and spent four months at Kashgar, a town north of Yarkand. A lake four miles in length adjoined his residence, and being the fortunate possessor of a pair of ' Acmes,' he was accustomed to indulge daily in his favourite amusement. The Turcomans, who are of the strictest sect 1 History of England, chap. v. 10 SKATING of Mahomedans, and who are wont to envelop their nether limbs in roomy pantaloons, were at first disposed to regard the exposition of even the male human leg encased in close- fitting integuments with feelings akin to those of the sternest of metropolitan stage-censors ; but, the Ameer having evinced a keen interest in the sport, curiosity after a time overcame their scruples. On one occasion, when Sir Douglas Forsyth's party were paying a visit to the Governor of Kashgar, my friend skated on the reservoir in his grounds, an object of wonder and admiration, and a ringing cheer broke from the spectators, more than two thousand in number, when accepting a cup of tea he skated away with it, taking an occasional sip without checking his career. The Ameer, on hearing of this, was so pleased that he ordered seven pairs of skates to be made forthwith. The task was entrusted to the most skilful local mechanic, who supplied a very respectable skate with a wooden foot-stock, and blade of the best procurable iron. Some young athletes were told off for instruction, one of whom, a mullah (priest), proved an intelligent pupil, and a credit to his instructor. The passage in Thomson's * Winter,' Batavia rushes forth, and as they sweep On sounding skates a thousand different ways, The then glad world is maddened, all to joy, must have been suggested by scenes which are of daily occur- rence in Friesland, on the Amstel, and on the Dutch canals ; the thousands who frequent the ornamental water in the Bois de Boulogne indicate the interest taken in skating by the French ; indeed, there is no part of North America or of northern Europe except, perhaps, Russia where the art of skating is not entitled to be styled a national sport. These brief records of the development of skating would be incomplete if I did not allude to the attempts which have been made from time to time to ignore the sway of King Frost, and to enable enthusiasts to skate on a floor and under ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF SKATING n cover careless of the sample of climate with which they are favoured. The first attempt in this direction was made by Joseph Merlin, a native of the city of Huy, near Liege, who came to England with the Spanish Ambassador in 1760. He was a musical-instrument maker, and an ingenious mechanician, who for many years was accustomed to exhibit his inventions at Cox's Museum in Spring Gardens. Among his novelties was a pair of skates contrived to run on wheels. Supplied with a pair of these and a violin, he mixed in the motley group of the celebrated Mrs. Cornelly's masquerade at Carlisle House, Soho Square, when, not having provided the means of retarding his velocity or commanding its direction, he impelled himself against a mirror of more than 5oo/. value, dashed it to atoms, broke his instrument to pieces, and wounded himself severely. 1 This catastrophe may have daunted inventors for a while ; but in 1819 M. Petitbled patented a skate furnished with three copper wheels ; and four years later R. Tyers, a fruiterer in Piccadilly, took out a patent for his 'volito's,' as he termed his invention. These skates were furnished with five small wheels in single line, and were used at a skating exhibition held in the tennis-court which then stood in Windmill Street, Haymarket. Twenty years later wheeled skates were used by M. and Mme. Dumas at the Theatre de la Porte St. -Martin, Paris; and in 1849, frequenters of the opera witnessed with wondering admiration the Ballet des patineurs in Meyerbeer's ' Prophete.' In 1857 skating- halls were opened in the Strand and in Covent Garden ; in 1859 Woodward's vulcanised india-rubber wheels supplanted the metal wheels heretofore used, but excessive friction enhanced the difficulty of executing any figures except those of the simplest character, and the problem was as far as ever from solution until the year 1863, when Mr. J. L. Plimpton patented in America his now world-renowned skate. This skate is furnished with two parallel sets of wheels, 1 Belgravia, December, 1879. 12 SKATING one pair under the ball of the foot, the other pair below the heel. These wheels are attached to two inclined axes at the toe and heel of the foot-stock, and are so arranged that lateral pressure of the foot-stock causes the wheel axles to converge to the side on which the skate-stock is tilted, and thus en- ables the skater to run on a curve. I was at one time a ' rinco- maniac,' and can testify from experience to the affinity that roller-skating bears to skating on blades ; although an adept in the one art will not immediately attain proficiency in the other, they have so much in common that the aid afforded by each is reciprocal. The renowned fen-skaters, Smart and See, after a few weeks' practice, were able to illustrate how well- adapted to the attainment of high speed is Plimpton's skate, and any tiro whom assiduous practice has familiarised with roller-skating will realise the assistance he has derived there- from when he attempts on a sheet of ice the ' pons asinorum ' of figure-skaters, his first 3. The rink at Prince's Club, near Sloane Square, London, was daily the resort of hundreds of its members ; on September 30, 1876, a marble skating-hall was opened in the Clapham Road, and at this period there was scarcely a town of any importance in England that could not boast of its rink with a floor composed of cement, asphalte, or wood. The extravagant popularity, however, of this exercise soon began to wane, and in the course of a few years most of these structures had ceased to exist, or had been converted into lawn -tennis courts. An improvement on Plimpton's invention has been effected by the addition of ball-bearings to the Raymond skate, which is now invariably used in the large skating-hall which was opened at Olympia, Kensington, on April 21, 1890. Maple and birch laid with the greatest possible care are the materials used in the construction of the floor of this excellent rink, and the result is a surface on which Curtis, Perkins, Delmont, and Buckhurst can attain a very high speed, rivalling, if not excelling, that of the cyclist or the skater on ice. Indeed, it is probable that if a straight course were constructed of carefully laid wood, or of marble, the ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF SKATING 13 records of speed attainable by any contrivance that has hitherto been suggested by human ingenuity for the augmentation of rapid motion might be not only broken, but wholly eclipsed. The New York Clip- per' of March 14, 1884, gives an account of a six- days' roller- skating contest M2f .ftL TBJMKJQES1 H:l at Maddison Square Gar- dens, in which the winner (Donovan) accomplished the extraordinary feat of skating 1,091 miles. It may be questioned if six days' competi- tions in this or any other branch of ath- letics are de- serving of en- couragement, but they have at least served one purpose, inasmuch as they have shown the im- On the Rink 14 SKA TING munity from physical prostration enjoyed by the exponents of roller-skating, whose condition at the close of their protracted race contrasted favourably with the distressed appearance of a pedestrian or a cyclist after a similar achievement. But these are not the only attempts that have been made to defy the clerk of the weather, and to enable skaters to find amusement at all seasons of the year. In the year 1842 Mr. Henry Kirk claimed to be the inventor of a process by which a surface sufficiently hard and slippery to meet the require- ments of skaters and sliders could be manufactured. The materials mentioned in his patent are (i) crystallised alum mixed with grease or hog's lard, (2) salts of soda, (3) melted sulphur. Of these ingredients, alum is the least liable to be affected by atmospheric influences, but it will not give so slippery a surface as that which is produced by a preparation of salts of soda. Kirk's invention was used in the formation of a ' miniature Alpine Lake,' 70 feet long, 50 feet wide, 1 which was laid down in Baker Street, and for a time was the frequent resort of skaters and sliders, but it was found that this surface was soon cut up by skates, was quickly spoiled by wet or drought, and that a fall on a floor composed of such materials was attended by more than ordinarily unpleasant consequences. The first production of real ice by artificial means is an event which merits the attention of all who are interested in the annals of skating. Although the fact that evaporation is an agent for producing intense cold had long been known, its properties had received little attention in scientific circles, but a paper read on December 17, 1812, 2 by W. H. Wollaston, M.D., Secretary of the Royal Society, mentions the experiments made by a Mr. Leslie to absorb vapour by means of sulphuric acid, and describes an instrument called a ' Cryophorus, or frost-bearer,' with which a small quantity of ice could be formed in a few minutes, by condensation through the agency of salt and snow. 1 North British Advertiser, Dec. 31, 1842. 2 Philosophical Transactions, vol. ciii., p. 71. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF SKATING 15 In 1865 A. W. Parker claimed to have discovered a process by which ' ice could be produced offering a sufficiently sub- stantial substance for skating or sliding.' The materials he used were carbonic acid and brine. In 1870 William E. Newton, a civil engineer, adopted the invention of Matthew Julius Bujac, of New York, by which ice could be formed by the circulation of ammoniacal gas, ether, or carbonic acid, through tubes placed below the surface of the water, and he designed a building suitable for a skating club. In December of the same year Professor John Gamgee took out a patent for making ice by artificial means. In his specification he claimed to have effected an improvement on refrigerators which had heretofore been used by the general construction and arrangement of his apparatus, by the adoption of a vacuum and condensing pump in order to quicken the evaporation of the liquid used in the production of cold, and the substitution of (i) formate of methyl, (2) acetate of methyl, and (3) a mixture of ether and protoxide of nitrogen, for ether, air, or ammonia, which had been used as the medium for the abstraction of latent heat. In 1875 Professor Gamgee patented his ' Improvements applicable to the formation and maintenance of skating rinks,' the most important of which appears to have been the substitution of glycerine, or some solution which will not congeal above o Fahrenheit, for brine, which when stagnant will freeze at 18. The Rusholme Ice Rink, Manchester, whose floor was formed by Gamgee's process, was opened in 1876, and for rather more than twelve months met with some support from skaters and curlers, 1 but the inelastic character of its surface and its intense cold, which in some atmospheric conditions caused a thick mist and sub- sequent condensation, were prejudicial to the comfort of the skaters. The hall is now occupied by the Salvation Army, and the adjoining premises are converted into a swimming-bath. Gamgee's principle was again adopted at the rink at Southport, a watering-place on the Lancashire coast, about sixteen miles 1 Graphic, March 24, 1877. 1 6 SKATING from Liverpool, the foundation stone of which was laid by Lord Clarence Paget on April 5, 1877. This hall, 164 feet in length, 64 feet in width, which had been constructed at a cost of at least 30,0007., was opened on January 10, 1879, and was the school of many an accomplished skater ; but while conducing to the amusement of the few, it failed to appeal to the sym- pathies of the many, and, although the spirited efforts made by Mr. Holden, the chairman of the company, and Mr. Nightin- gale, the manager, made this unique real-ice rink available for a decade, it was found to be commercially unsuccessful, and was closed on May 18, 1889. Before closing this chapter, I will make brief mention of winters of more than ordinary severity, which have been chronicled in the pages of history. The ' Encyclopaedia Per- thensis ' records a frost which lasted five months in the year 220 A.D., and tells us that in 250 the Thames was frozen for nine weeks. The winters in 359 and 508 are mentioned as unusually rigorous : we are told that in 859 carriages travelled on the Adriatic, and that in 923 the Thames was again frozen for thirteen weeks. Further details have been collated in an interesting magazine article l by Mr. R. Heath. His researches show that the clearing of forests, the draining of marshes, and other results of the progress of civilisation have led to a diminution of the rigours of winter in Europe as well as in our own country. He tells us that ' In the great winter 974-75, the Bosphorus was frozen, and that one-third of the popula- tion of France is said to have perished from cold.' In 987-88 the frost lasted 120 days. The winters of 998-99 and 1020-21 are mentioned as exceptionally inclement seasons, and it is said that on Midsummer day, 1035, the temperature fell below freezing point. ' And this,' he says, ' goes on through the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, mention being made of more than forty remarkable winters, when the rivers of Europe, even the lagoons of Venice, were frozen.' In the winter of 1410, ice remained on the Thames for fourteen 1 Leisure Hour, Jan. 1891. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF SKATING 17 weeks. In 1564 the Thames in London and the Rhone at Aries were blocked with ice ; in 1570 the French rivers were again frozen : mention has already been made of the Dutch fleet being ice-bound at Amsterdam in 1572. 1582, 1584, and 1591 are quoted by M. Renou, Secretary of the Meteoro- logical Society in France, as winters of extreme severity. The winters in 1649, 1662, 1664, 1683, and 1688 may be described as Siberian atrocities in this country ; those of 1691, 1695 an( ^ 1696 on the Continent, so much so that we hear of wolves enter- ing Vienna in 1691, and attacking not only cattle, but men. In 1708, 1716, 1725, 1726, 1728, and 1729 the winters were very cold, in 1740 abnormally so ; in 1762 the frost lasted ninety- four days; 1766, 1767, 1783, and 1788 were exceptionally inclement years ; on the last of these the Thames was frozen down to Gravesend, and a fair was held on its surface. January 25, 1795, is commonly supposed to have been the coldest day ever known in England. The temperature in London is said to have fallen to eight degrees below zero, and three hundred vessels to have been ice-bound in the Thames. The winter was also very severe in Northern Europe, for the Marne, the Scheldt, the Rhine and the Seine were frozen so hard that regiments of soldiers and heavy carriages could pass over them. The chronicles of this century record severe and protracted cold in 1802, 1805, and 1811 ; the winter of 1812-13 is memorable for its inclemency on the Continent, and that of the following year bore some resemblance to the season 1890-91 in our own country. We are told that, ' In London, a darkness that might be felt lasted a whole week, during which people in the streets only saw each other by the red glare of a naming link, or knew of each other's existence by the cries of alarm which rose on all sides.' Fog was suc- ceeded by snow, and by a subsequent thaw of short duration, and a return of severe cold. In that winter the frost was so sharp that the river Cam was closed to navigation ; and Pro- fessor Sedgwick tells us that when his supply of coal was ex- hausted, he was obliged to burn his gun-case and some of his c 1 8 SKATING chairs for fuel. 1 The ice on the Serpentine was so strong, that Lord Ranelagh drove upon it in a Russian sledge drawn by brown Arabian horses. 2 In 1819-20 frost was continuous from November to March ; the Thames at Woolwich was frozen in several places to a thickness of five feet, while at Lambeth a piece of ice was found twelve feet thick. In 1822-23, tne annals of the fen-country record the passage of carts drawn by donkeys on Whittlesea Mere ; severe cold was experienced in 1827, 1829, and 1835, and the following extract from a letter written by Professor Sedgwick on January 30, 1841 'From Ely I went to Whittlesea, and saw thousands, and, I think, tens of thousands, whirling on the ice. There were certainly 10,000 persons assembled one day on Whittlesea Mere to see a match ' bears testimony to the inclemency of that winter. The winter of 1844-45 was long and cold ; that of 1847-48 was remarkable for severe snowstorms and unprecedented changes of temperature, and still lives in my recollection, having given me frequent opportunities of seeing varied and interesting scenes on Whittlesea Mere. It is unnecessary to dilate on the rigour of the ever-memorable Crimean winter, which is now a matter of history. On Christmas Day, 1860 the temperature fell to zero, and the frost continued for several weeks, and it is somewhat remarkable that in 1870-71, 1879- 80, and 1 880-8 1, and again in 1890-91, the frosts have been more severe and protracted than any that had occurred in the inter- vening decades. Perhaps we may look for a return of the 'good old times,' but the comparative immunity from severe cold which we have of late years deplored or welcomed suggests a reflection, which, however, will not find a ready response in the hearts of fox-hunters, When they seldom come they wished-for come, 1 Life of Prof . Sedgwick , vol. i. p. 131. 2 Stamford Mercury, Jan. 1814. i :-** 4 ! CHAPTER II FIRST PRINCIPLES OF SKATING, AND SUGGESTIONS TO BEGINNERS BY J. M. HEATHCOTE IT was once wisely said * Experience is the best schoolmaster, but the school fees are often somewhat heavy.' To no sport, game, or exercise is the truth of this remark more applicable than it is to skating ; for experience, which can only be obtained by assiduous practice, is indispensable, and the fees usually exacted in the form of falls are, no doubt, occasionally heavy. These are, however, cheerfully defrayed by the young pupil. Falls are, indeed, the only fees which need concern him, for there is no sport or recreative exercise which involves less expenditure of capital in its outfit, and fewer incidental disbursements in its pursuit, than skating. Nor is there any amusement, except perhaps riding, shooting, and golf, which affords as much pleasure to those who have passed the meridian of life ; many men of moderately active habits have derived keen enjoyment from its pursuit through half a century of their existence. Skating also presents features which in the eyes of some athletes may be considered to contrast favourably with games and sports in which sympathy of hand and eye is of para- mount importance, in which emulation and a longing for fame, an integral factor in their charm, and in which chance generally called success by the winner, ' flukes ' by the loser plays a considerable part in determining their issue. c 2 20 SKATING Fernand Lagrange tell us ] that exercises which need balancing have a remarkable tendency to make the back straight, and that athletic pursuits in which speed is the chief element call into play air-cells which would be otherwise inactive, and increase the power of lung and thorax. The practice of speed- skating is eminently calculated to develop these tendencies, and promoting, as it does, warmth, even perspiration, without undue fatigue, may be recommended as a health- giving pur- suit ; and when we contrast the muscular frame of the renowned 1 Turkey ' Smart with the lithe figure of Green of March, who was at one time one of his most formidable antagonists, or Harold Hagen the Norwegian, who is 6 ft. i in. in height, with his countryman Axel Paulsen, who measures but 5 ft. 4 in., we may realise that in whatever form we may be moulded dis- tinction may be within our reach. It is hardly necessary to urge the importance of wearing woollen clothes when engaged in any strong exercise, but a word of advice as to ' chaussure ' may be useful. Boots are better than shoes, not only because they give support to the ankle and instep, but also because they counteract a tendency to bend joints which cannot be kept too rigid. A pair of well- fitting boots whose soles are of moderate thickness, not in- ordinately broad, and are not much curved by constant use, should be selected. Extravagantly high heels are most mis- chievous, as they create a tendency to turn the ankles inwards ; laced boots are more comfortable than those fastened by but- tons, which may interfere with the adjustment of the skate- straps ; hob-nails or sprigs are not useful in any way, and they may scratch or otherwise injure the foot-stock. The skater whose skates are furnished with a heel-screw should bore a hole large enough for its reception in the centre of the heel, taking care that the end of the foot-stock of the skate shall coincide with the hinder edge of the sole of the boot, and he may take the precaution of plugging this hole with cotton- wool, paper, or tow, if it is likely that gravel roads or cinder- 1 Physiology of Bodily Exercises. London, 1889. FIRST PRINCIPLES OF SKATING 21 paths must be traversed on the way to the ice. Nothing is more annoying than to find the hole intended to receive the heel-screw occupied by a small pebble which may be as hard to extract as a thorn from the finger or a molar from the jaw. A pair of skates of any pattern, provided only that they are of the right length and are firmly fastened on to the boot, may serve to introduce the tiro to what we may call the gram- mar of skating ; but, as soon as he is familiar with the rudi- ments of the art, the young skater who cherishes dreams of future distinction on the racing track should provide himself with a good pair of running-skates (i.e. skates equipped with blades whose convexity is infinitesimally small), and use these and these only. For the difference between a fen skate whose blade is to all intents and purposes level, and a ' Dowler ' whose curvature is represented by a radius of seven feet, is very great. Anyone who has been constrained to take a long journey on ' Acmes ' or any other species of figure-skate will realise how the tendency of the level skate is to go straight, that of the curved skate to turn either on to the inside or the outside edge, and that of the former is far superior to the latter for the acquisition of the long firm stroke of the traveller or the racer. But many young skaters aspire to attain excellence in both branches of the art, and that such distinction may be within their reach has been demonstrated by the Norwegian skaters Axel Paulsen and Karl Verner, by Panschin the Russian, and many other skaters who have earned the highest honour on a rink and between the flags. The best years of youth should be devoted to climbing ladders intellectual and physical, but I would suggest to the ambitious tiro, do not attempt to climb two ladders at the same time, do not provide yourself with a hybrid pair of skates, warranted suitable to straight or figure skating ; but wear your ' Club ' skate when you wish to practise the graceful curves which will be described in another section of this volume, and while learning to go ahead be sure that you are provided with the implement best adapted to the 22 SKA TING purpose. Messrs. Hill & Son, 4 Haymarket, London, have been long known as manufacturers of skates of the highest possible quality and finish. Messrs. Thornhill of Bond Street and Messrs. Underwood of the Haymarket are also skate- makers of known excellence, but the Standard skate made by Messrs. Colquhoun & Cadman, 113 Arundel Street, Shef- field, or the skates made by Marsden, also of Sheffield, may be confidently recommended as suitable for general use. These may be obtained, from any cutler or ironmonger at prices varying from i2s. to iSs. Experience has shown that a wooden foot-stock is better adapted to straight skating than any of the modern appliances with the aid of which the use of wood and leather is rendered unnecessary. These appliances are invalu- able to figure-skaters, but are not well suited for the rougher work of travelling. ' N. G.' tells us that they are seldom secure, and at all times, especially on rough ice, they make a disagreeable jar and clatter. Experience shows that there is nothing at once so strong, so light, so pleasant and so safe for a long ice expedition as a combination of steel, wood, and leather ; l with this opinion I entirely concur. Oak, walnut, rosewood, and beech are used for the foot-stock ; of these beech, which is light and also strong, is the best ; walnut, which is liable to splinter, or even to split, is the worst. The foot- stock should be of the same length as the boot,' to which it will be fastened ; its greatest width should be about 2 J inches ; there should be no difference between the right skate and its fellow. The blades should also resemble one another in every detail. They are made of wrought iron with a quarter of an inch of hardened steel, welded on to the lower part. The base of the keel should be about / of an inch in width, the sides should be perpendicular so that each edge of the blade shall be perfectly rectangular ; the height varies from -}- of an inch at the heel to T \ of an inch at the toe. The height of the foot-stock and blade com- bined is about i\- inch. The blade of a skate worn by a man 1 Skating, All England Series. London : Bell & Son. 1890. FIRST PRINCIPLES OF SKATING 23 of average height, including the prow, is about 13^ inches long. The prow commences to rise gradually at first, afterwards in a more abrupt curve. The end of the prow should not be more than two inches above the surface of the ice. A large majority of running-skates are equipped with this apparently superfluous figure-head, and it may be worth while to consider what advantages accrue from its use. In its favour it may be urged that the curved prow will enable the skater to pass easily over English skates hummocky ice, over fragments of broken ice that may be lying on an otherwise smooth surface, or any obstacle that might cause a check or perhaps a fall ; but it may be argued with equal force that it may impede the movements of the traveller who in the course of his journey is constrained to climb up or down a steep slippery bank without removing his skates, and that the skates are less easily carried in a hand-bag or small portmanteau on account of their greater length. I confess that 24 SKA TING I am one of the minority who prefer to dispense with what I consider a somewhat unsightly encumbrance. The fastenings for skates commonly used are a heel-screw about f of an inch in height, two or more small screws or spikes of sufficient length to obtain a grip of the boot sole at the broadest part of the foot-stock ; a heel-strap about twenty inches in length which passes through the hole in the foot- stock behind the heel-screw and is fastened by a buckle across the instep, and a toe-strap about thirty inches long which passes through holes made for the purpose in the foot-stock, and is crossed over the foot and secured by a buckle. It is immaterial whether the buckle is worn on the inside or the outside of the foot, and the skater will quickly find out for himself how the straps can be most quickly and comfortably adjusted. These straps should be of the best leather, they should be not less than f of an inch in width, and the holes which receive the tongue of the buckle should be not more than half an inch apart. The excellence of this system of fastening is shown by the reluctance of speed-skaters to avail themselves of some inventions that may here be briefly mentioned. Fifteen years ago Messrs Hill & Son patented their * Back Screw,' or ' Hook and Eye,' skate which dispenses with the heel-screw, and in its stead is a contrivance at the back of the skate to which a small hook screw inserted into the heel of the boot is attached. It is urged that this horizontal screw gives less trouble, and is quite as firm as the vertical screw generally used. A simpler and better contrivance, called * heel-and-sole clips,' was introduced by Messrs. Colquhoun & Cadman about two years ago, and may perhaps supersede all fastenings now in use. These clips are brass fittings about half an inch in height and about the same width, adjusted to each side of the heel of the foot-stock, and a moveable fitting of the same character adjusted to the inner edge of the foot- stock at the ball of the foot. They can be attached to any skate from which the heel-screw has been removed, and it will be found that much time will be saved when skates so equipped FIRST PRINCIPLES OF SKATING are taken off and put on again, an operation which is often necessary in the course of a journey. Fogg's patent buckle, which renders unnecessary the use of a tongue, and con- sequently of holes in the straps, or a double buckle in which the ordinary buckle is used as a pulley through which the end of the strap is passed and fastened to a second buckle, is recommended, and some skaters prefer to use broad straps fastened with two buckles as less likely to impede the circulation of blood in the feet. It may be interesting to contrast a pair of Fries- land travelling skates with those used in our own country, for it is surprising that both Dutch and Eng- lish skates, although differ- ing from one another in so many important matters, should, when in the hands, or rather on the feet, of experts, be found so ad- mirably adapted to their work. We must be. struck at first sight by the great excess of length of the Friesland skates at least four inches over those used in England ; by the absence of the heel-screw, and by the arrangement of the straps, which differs in toto from our system. Other points of dissimilarity might escape the notice of a casual observer, such as the absence of any 26 SKA TING perceptible curvature in the blade, and its narrow, almost knife- like, keel, which is little more than half the width of the English blade. The steel used for the blades is procured from England, but the skates are manufactured in Holland. The foot-stock is often made of oak, but beech is generally preferred on account of its lightness. The straps consist of a heel-strap f of an inch in width, which passes through an aperture in the foot- stock, and is brought round the heel about two inches above the foot-stock, and of a toe-strap of the same width, about six inches in length. A leather thong, about three and a half feet in length, about a quarter of an inch in width, is passed through loops at the ends of the toe-strap, brought along each side of the foot round the heel-strap, then crossed over the instep, and its ends are made fast after once more being brought across the foot. In company with Dutch- men I have skated over ice of every consistency, and can testify to the firmness of what appears to be an insecure fas- tening, and to the facility with which it can be adjusted, and I believe that, while it is more comfortable than our system, it is scarcely inferior in durability, convenience, and security. Neglect of implements which, if fairly treated, will last for a lifetime is inexcusable, so I will here introduce a few sugges- tions on the care that should be taken of skates both abroad and at home. A convenient way of carrying skates to or from the ice is by the heel-straps buckled together, and hung over the fore- arm. Care should be taken that the foot-stocks are in juxta- position, not the blades, which might be injured by collision one against the other. Care should also be taken that the straps of skates carried in this manner are firmly buckled, or the loss of a strap or even of a skate may ensue. In the course of an expedition on skates, the transit from one watercourse to another frequently involves the passage over terra firma. The art of walking on skates is very easily acquired, and the risk of injury to blades by a walk on grass or in snow is in- finitesimal ; but if gravel or granite roads must be traversed the FIRST PRINCIPLES OF SKATING 27 steel edges may be chipped, and anyone who is careful of his skates will take the precaution of removing them before he leaves the ice. When the skates are brought home after a day's work the blades should be wiped dry, and after every symptom of rust has been removed by means of fine emery paper, they should be rubbed with vaseline, mutton- suet, or oil The straps should also be dried, but care must be taken that they are not scorched. They should be well smeared with sweet oil or Russian tallow before the skates are put away at the end of the season, and the foot-stocks should be rubbed with oil. It is impossible to say how often blades should be ground. If they have not been subjected to rough usage, perhaps once in ten years may suffice ; but if the edge becomes dull, or the blades chipped or otherwise injured, the skates should be promptly taken to a thoroughly competent workman. All matters pertaining to the care of skates should be attended to at the close of the skating season. The foot- stock, blade, and straps of a neglected skate will be at the mercy of dry- rot, rust, and mildew ; moreover, at the beginning of a frost skates are in immediate demand, skate-makers and their workmen are constantly occupied, and a good day's sport may be lost in the attempt to remedy the neglect of the past season. Skating is an exercise admirably adapted to the young as well as to adults of both sexes, and the suggestions that will be offered in this chapter on the first principles of the art are equally applicable both to boys and to girls. It is impossible to lay down any dogma as to the age at which a beginner may be entrusted with a pair of skates. A strong child in his eighth year, or perhaps even at an earlier age, may put on skates, and try, first to stand, and then to walk with short paces in a room, and if his ankles are strong enough to allow him to place his feet alternately on the floor on an upright blade, he may make his first essay on ice without misgivings. 28 SKA TING The first steps on ice will to a great extent be dependent on the temperament and physical powers of the beginner. A bold eager boy is often tempted to think that he can run before he can walk, and will scuffle about on the ice, knowing nothing and caring less about ' form,' impatient of advice, and regardless of falls. In the course of an hour or two he may find himself able to go along somehow at a fair pace, but it is more than probable that he will have much to unlearn, unless he is willing at the outset to profit by the advice of those who are competent to give it. Some boys, on the other hand, are con- stitutionally nervous, and require encouragement and a friendly hand, which will avert the dreaded fall. This assistance can be most effectively rendered to a young skater by a hand placed palm upwards below the elbow of the pupil, who may in this way receive guidance as well as support. There are no professional ' coaches ' to the art of skating, but it is commonly said that at Welney, a village which has been the school of more illustrious ' runners ' than any other place in this country, a rough-and-ready style of instruction is prac- tised. A narrow ditch is selected for the lesson in order that the employed foot may be compelled to move as nearly as may be in the line of intended motion ; the novice is directed to follow a good skater who gives him a lead, while another follows with a willow switch in his hand, to be used when necessary. Be this as it may, it is certain that precept, early training, and imitation of others engenders in the young fenmen a style of ' running ' which has enabled them, in spite of the scant opportunities for practice afforded by our capricious climate, to hold their own with the most renowned skaters in the world. I can well remember the mortification I ex- perienced, when with the arrogance of an Eton boy I fancied that I was a fast skater for my age, at finding myself com- pletely outpaced by a sturdy youngster a head and shoulders shorter than myself, who adjusted a rusty pair of irons on to his boots, with inadequate straps supplemented with string, and went away from me as if I were standing still. I have FIRST PR1NCIPLP;S OF SKATING 29 often wondered who that boy was, and if he subsequently gained laurels on the track. The young skater must take care that his skates are firmly fastened on to his boots ; he must learn to adjust his straps Elementary education so that the maximum of security may be combined with the minimum of pressure. He must bear in mind that the axis of the foot-stock should not coincide with the axis of the sole of his boot, but that the skate should be so adjusted that the blade shall be below the big toe. Having paid careful 30 . SKA TING attention to these matters, he should walk firmly but cautiously on the ice. His 'action,' however, will be very different from what it would be were he walking on dry ground. A pedes- trian, starting from rest, throws forward one foot, the toe being pointed nearly in the line of intended motion, and when that foot is brought to the ground, he flexes the instep of the other foot, which must be brought forward in a similar manner. Any attempt to walk thus upon ice will be attended by a retrograde movement of the unemployed foot, which will fail to get any hold of the slippery surface, and progress will be impos- sible. The beginner should remember that the feet must be turned outwards, almost at an angle of 45 with one another, that the head is erect, that the body leans slightly forward, that, with the exception of the instep and ankle which joints cannot be too rigid every limb should be free and supple, and that the legs must learn to conform to, not to regulate, the movements of the body. If he walks in this manner he will soon find that when the right foot leaves the ice a tendency to glide will be imparted to the left foot, and that the right foot must be again brought up for the support of the body when the impetus thus imparted has ceased. This is a ' stroke ' in its most elementary form, and at this stage in his education the novice will derive some assistance if he will push before him a ' Windsor ' or ' kitchen ' chair. If he does not thrust with some strength the chair will not move ; when it does move he must follow it, and his grasp of the chair- back will not only give him confidence, but will help him to assume a good posture for speed-skating. But the sooner he dispenses with such an auxiliary the better, and a little practice will enable him to make his side-thrust with more strength and firmness, to remain longer on the unemployed foot, to regulate his direction by a subtle action of his muscles, and to acquire the poise and sway of the body which is considered by many competent judges to be the key to the best style of straight-away skating. In order to attain this poise and sway of the body, he must remember that when he makes the side- FIRST PRINCIPLES OF SKATING 31 thrust with the right foot, the left shoulder should be slightly in front of the right, and that the arms should swing easily, but without effort, from right to left, while the right shoulder is again brought forward in preparation for the next thrust. The result of this action will be that when the side-thrust is made with the right foot, the prow of the left skate will be turned slightly to the right of the line of intended motion, and the skater will run on the outside edge for a moment or so, then on the level keel of the blade, subsequently changing to the inside edge, and emphasising the inclination of the blade before he makes his next side-thrust. But some first-class skaters never swing their arms at all, some habitually clasp their hands behind their backs, some skaters make no use whatever of the outside edge, and it is a truism as applicable to skating as it is to art, literature, cricket, tennis, or golf, that while we cannot overrate the importance of closely observing the idiosyncrasies of an expert, a high standard of excellence does not necessarily involve the servile imitation of any model, or the adoption of any particular style. In time of frost, the skater's first question is, ' Will the ice bear to-day ? ' This suggests some reflections on the nature and quality of the substance which plays so important a part in the amusement which is under our consideration. Observations on Arctic seas and mountain glaciers are beyond the scope of this treatise, but I will call the reader's attention to the four kinds of ice that are met with in this country. Transparent, or black ice. White, opaque, or snow-ice. Anchor, or ground ice. Ice which can only be described by its French name, Verglas, there being no equivalent in our language. T The first of these is the result of frost on a sheet of still 1 Larousse, in the Dictionnaire Universel, derives this word from verre and glas, the masculine form of glace, Littre" contends (and his contention is probably correct) that the prefix ver is taken from the Old German waron, Holl. u'eeren, Fr. segarer. 32 SKATING water ; although colourless and transparent, it appears to be black, or rather of a dark green, bottle-glass colour. Its elastic nature makes it by far the most trustworthy of all kinds of ice, so much so that a limited number of skaters may safely venture on ice of this character one inch thick. It may be assumed that thirty degrees of frost will suffice to produce this thickness on a moderately shallow pond, but ice formed in one night when the thermometer has fallen to two degrees will be harder and sounder than ice produced in three consecutive nights when the mercury has indicated ten degrees of frost. White ice is produced when a fall of snow occurs while the first crystals are formed on the surface of the water, or when snow is partially melted and again congealed on the ice. It is full of air bubbles, and is most treacherous, especially when the temperature begins to rise. If, however, a severe frost follows a thaw which has adequately liquefied the snow, this white ice will offer a surface of superlative smoothness, and, although the skater may regret the absence of the melodious ringing music caused by the passage of skates over black ice, he will have no cause to complain of its quality. Ground ice, or anchor ice, as it is sometimes called, is an apparent exception to the relation between the densities of water in a liquid and in a solid state. It is never found on the surface of still water, but in sudden and violent cold crystals are formed below the disturbed and eddying surface, and these crystals frequently cling to the bottom of the stream. The specific gravity of ice being '92, these fragments of ice will ultimately detach themselves, and rise to the sur- face, occasionally bringing with them weeds or other objects to which they may have adhered. These fragments are usually full of cells, resembling those to be found in a wasp's nest, but less regular in form. I have seen them not unlike saucers of a greyish colour, floating in a black medium. A remark- able instance of anchor ice occurred above the Seven-hole Sluice one of the most important features of the Middle Level Drainage System. The surface of the river was covered FIRST PRINCIPLES OF SKATING 33 with ice in a sudden and severe frost which had been pre- ceded by a heavy fall of rain. When the frost broke up fragments of this ice were carried through the sluice-gates, and stranded on the opposite shore of the river. These, when examined, were found to contain perforated stones, resembling in every detail those that were once used by fishermen for the purpose of weighting their nets, and which had evidently remained undisturbed for half a century, until finally ' wooed from the slimy bottom of the deep.' Professor Miller, in his 'Elements of Chemistry,' thus describes anchor ice : A curious formation of ice at the bottom of some rapid, clear and rocky streams is occasionally seen during the prevalence of bright frosty weather. The water cools down to 39-2 Fahr. as usual, but below this point the colder water no longer forms a protecting layer as in still sheets or gently moving streams ; the agitation pro- duced by the passage of the water through its precipitous and irregular channel makes the temperature uniform throughout till it arrives at the freezing point. Angularities and points under all circumstances favour the deposition of crystals, and to the irregular surfaces of the rocky fragments in the bed of the stream the ice attaches itself in silvery cauliflower-shaped spongy masses, some- times accumulating in quantity sufficient to dam up the stream and cause it to overflow ; at others, as the ice increases in bulk and buoyancy, it rises in large flakes, raising to the surface portions of rock, and even iron itself. The absence of homogeneity in its nature necessarily makes such ice untrustworthy but in severe frost it may be traversed with perfect safety. Verglas is formed when a fine rain falls, and is immediately congealed, covering every object with which it comes in con- tact with a coat of exceedingly hard ice. It is not of frequent occurrence, but it presents features of so abnormal a character that a few instances of this freak of nature may be invested with interest. In ' A Letter from Somersetshire,' * an account is given of a phenomenal fall of verglas which occurred in 1 Philosophical Transactions, vol. vii. p. 5138. D 34 SKA TING December 1672. It was especially remarkable inasmuch as water was not even coated with ice, while every object on the ground, even soft snow which lay upon it, was covered with a thick sheet of hard ice. So persistent was the fall of frozen rain that sixteen pounds of ice was found adhering to an ash bough which weighed but three-quarters of a pound, and the disastrous ill effects on the orchards and timber trees in the south-west of England were long remembered. In the 'Annals of Sporting,' January 1822, it is recorded that a well- known skater once undertook to skate from Long Acre to St. James's Park in five minutes, and accomplished his task with five seconds to spare. Mr. John Ashton l mentions this remarkable feat as having been performed in the winter of 1813-14, and accounts for it by the flooding of the streets from the water-plugs after a heavy fall of snow. I will not venture to say that this is impossible, but a heavy fall oi verglas offers a more probable solution of the problem. Readers of foreign intelligence will remember the graphic account of a verglas in Paris when carriages, cabs, infirm and even able- bodied pedestrians were compelled to play the part of the characters in the ' Legend of the Briar Rose ' until released by a change in the weather. On January 15, 1861, I was staying .at a country house in Northamptonshire, and for the space of an hour or two the verglas was so hard and thick that I was able to skate, not only along roads and paths, but upon the lawns and grass slopes of the pleasure grounds. An approximate estimate of the strength of ice may be formed if a vertical blow is made with a strong stick on the surface. If a star- shaped bruise is the result of a blow de- livered with some force, a further trial may be made ; but if the point of the stick penetrates the ice, a prudent man will not trust himself on it. The skater should always bear in mind that a sheet of ice is seldom absolutely uniform in character. A subaqueous spring, affluents to or effluents from the sheet of water, overhanging trees, rushes and weeds, are sources of 1 Social England under the Regency. London, 1890. FIRST PRINCIPLES OF SKATING 35 danger, and it should always be remembered that reflected heat from the northern bank of a pond or reservoir renders the ice less trustworthy than that which is protected from the rays of the sun by its southern bank. The elastic character of black ice causes it to bend and crack beneath the weight of the skater, who, unless he wan- tonly disregards all warnings, will be subjected to less risk of immersion than will he who uses white ice which is liable to break up in a moment without having given any indication of weakness. Anyone, therefore, who is practising speed-skating on a pond or reservoir covered with black ice of only mode- rate thickness should carefully observe the cracks that appear in the surface. Isolated cracks, although perhaps extending across the whole sheet of ice, may be disregarded ; others formed at right angles to these are scarcely worthy of notice ; but the appearance of diagonal cracks through which a little water finds its way, and the subdivision of the triangular blocks thus formed into smaller triangles by more cracks, are a certain indication that the ice has been subjected to as severe a strain as it can bear. But many a rash skater, notwithstanding these warnings, will persevere, until the supreme moment arrives, and he becomes conscious that the ice is giving way beneath him. His only resource then is to throw himself forward on his face, and try to creep in a prone position on to sounder ice, whence he may be fortunate enough to contemplate with grateful amazement ' his hairbreadth 'scape ' from * the im- minent deadly breach ' he has made. But this resource may fail, and he may find himself struggling in cold water, making fruitless attempts to climb on to ice which breaks before him. His companion and I will assume that no one is foolhardy enough to venture alone on unsafe ice should hasten in search of a ladder, a pole, or a rope, with the aid of which he may be able to rescue his friend. For even an expert swimmer will find that it is far from easy to climb on to yielding ice if the water is no more than four or five feet in depth ; far less easy if the bottom cannot be reached. Unless there should be D 2 36 SKA TING a current, the danger of being carried under the ice is in- appreciable ; but although the hands may have obtained a grasp of the surface of unbroken ice, it is difficult to counteract the tendency of the legs to swing beneath it, a tendency which must be familiar to bathers who for the first time attempt to climb unaided into a floating punt or boat. A friend of mine gave a practical illustration of this difficulty in the winter of 1855. Having separated himself from the rest of our party, he was unlucky enough to break through the surface of the frozen Cam, and, although able to touch the bottom with his feet, found it no easy matter to extricate himself. He ulti- mately succeeded in reaching terra firma, unaided, a pitiable object, his face sadly cut by fragments of broken ice, and his limbs benumbed by his protracted bath. If a sheet of virgin ice must be crossed a reluctance to ' bell the cat ' may often be observed ; but it may be questioned if the leader or those who follow incur the greater risk, and the following anecdotes illustrate the immunity that occasionally may fall to the lot of the pioneer. I was returning to Cam- bridge one afternoon in the Crimean winter, and near the tail of a mill-stream I found several of my fellow-students hesitating to cross a treacherous-looking bit of ice. It wanted but five minutes to four we dined at four o'clock in those days I was young, pretty quick on my skates, possibly reckless, so with a call, 'The more you look at it the less you'll like it,' I rushed safely over ; but my transit made the insecure ice still more dangerous, and the unfortunate undergraduate who tried to follow had a cold bath, and, I fear, a cold dinner. On another occasion, a friend with whom I was skating broke through ice over which I had safely passed. He was near the bank, so his rescue was attended with no difficulty, but his fingers were so benumbed with the intense cold that he was powerless to take off his skates. Before I had disencum- bered him of the one, the straps of the other were firmly frozen to his boot, and could only be removed by the use of a penknife, and soon after we had set off at a run towards FIRST PRINCIPLES OF SKATING 37 College, his legs were cut by the ice which had formed on his clothes. I will mention one more incident which resulted in a more disastrous issue. Accompanied by two friends, I made an excursion from Cambridge to Littleport, a village some miles below Ely. Well knowing that the stream, although sluggish, would invest our trip with some risk, we provided ourselves with a rope about twenty yards in length, and following one another at a distance of ten yards or so, with the rope in our hands, we passed in safety over some miles of hitherto, un- Immersion and rescue trodden ice. Presently some skaters of the district, deriving confidence from the marks our skates had made on the sur- face, followed in Indian file, close to one another as is their wont, broke through the ice, and one poor fellow was drawn by the current beneath the surface, whence he was not extri- cated until life was extinct. I well remember tbe gloom that was cast over our merry party when the news reached Little- port, and the remorse we felt at having been the innocent cause of the death of a fellow-creature. The many fatal ice accidents which are chronicled in our journals should act as a deterrent against foolhardiness on the part of young skaters ; 38 SKA TING and although I may be accused of preaching what I have not always practised, I venture to hope that these records of casualties may suggest caution rather than rashness, in which case they will not have been given in vain. The Laureate writes l : I will be ... careful of my motion Like the skater on ice that hardly bears him, Lest I fall unawares before the people, Waking laughter. No one can hope to serve his apprenticeship on ice without an occasional tumble, nor indeed can the experienced skater hope for complete immunity from such accidents ; but that there is an art in falling will be admitted by anyone who is accustomed to ride to hounds, or by the actor whom the exigencies of his vocation compel to faint or to die on the stage. Charles Allston Collins, in a humorous essay on Skating, 2 contrasts what he calls the ' scramble ineffectual ' with the ' crash unresisted,' and quotes Sancho Panza's advice to those who are about to be tossed in a blanket : ' If such mishaps do come, there is nothing to be done but to shrug up one's shoulders, hold one's .breath, shut one's eyes, and let oneself go whither fortune and the blanket choose to toss you.' There is sound advice in this ; an attempt to recover lost balance is generally ineffectual, and a fall backwards may ensue. It is better to devote the brief available moment to an instinctive and, I must own, wholly indescribable act of self- preservation from injury, and to accept the inevitable fall ; for it will be found that in nine cases out of ten the shock of coming in contact with a substance so slippery and elastic as ice will result in no hurt, scarcely in discomfort. We all know the rhyme about the paradoxical rule of the road. Pedestrians are frequently reminded to ' Keep to the right,' and it is desirable that all skaters should recognise the impor- tance of the universal adoption of one or other of these customs. 1 Tennyson's HendecasyllaMcs. 2 The Eye Witness, London, 1860. FIRST PRINCIPLES OF SKATING 39 It is usual to pass ' left arm to left arm,' and if every skater would adopt this practice we should read of fewer collisions, and consequent contusions, than we do at present. There are few men who have not at some time in their lives met a pedestrian on the pavement, when each, uncertain of the in- tention of the other, executes a ' setting step,' until they ultimately pass with a mutual expression, * I beg your pardon.' In similar circumstances indecision on the part of unskilful skaters will probably result in a collision, the fall of one or both, and an evident disinclination to an interchange of courtesy. Good skaters, however, seldom collide ; an infini- tesimal alteration in the poise of their bodies will effect the required change of direction, and avert the apparently inevitable crash. The most expeditious way to stop the career on ice is to raise the prows of the skates, at the same time bending the knees, and throwing the weight of the body on to the hinder part of the keel of the skates, which will dig into the surface, and produce friction enough to bring the skater to a stand- still within a few yards. But this manoeuvre will not be within the reach of anyone whose skates are rounded at the heels. In his case momentum can be quickly arrested by throwing forward the unemployed foot, and bringing it down on to the ice almost at a right angle with the employed skate, at the same time bending the body away from the line of motion ; or, as an alternative, he may turn the prows of the skates towards one another, and thus produce adequate friction with the outer edge of each skate. It has been said that there are thirty-nine articles in the golfer's creed, and that the neglect of any one of them will be prejudicial to an ideal drive from the ' tee.' The young skater will not be invited to subject himself to a strain so severe as this, but the following decalogue may with advantage be en- graved on the tablets of his memory : i. Learn to put on and to take off your own skates. 40 SKATING 2. Do not carry a stick, a muff, or anything that will im- pede the use of the arms while skating. 3. Do not look down more than is necessary to enable you to avoid cracks or any obstacles you may encounter on the ice. 4. Concentrate your attention on the poise and sway of the body rather than on the movements of the legs and feet. 5. Make the side thrust with the whole length of the blade. 6. Do not make a scratching thrust from the toe, but keep the skate as near the ice as possible after the thrust. 7. Keep the feet as near to one another as you can with- out constraint. 8. Remain as long as you can on the employed foot. 9. Avail yourself of every opportunity of following a good skater, keeping close behind him, and imitating each move- ment of his body, arms, and legs. 10. Never throw stones on to the surface of a sheet of ice on which you or anyone else can possibly wish to skate. I have endeavoured in this chapter to lay before the young skater a few maxims and reflections that may help him to keep in check faults to which in the outset of his career he will necessarily be prone, but no dogmatic teaching will be as valu- able to him as constant practice and persevering imitation of a good model ; for ' segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem quam quae sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus ' is no less applicable to the art of skating than to any mental or physical exercise of this or any other age. FIGURE-SKATING CHAPTER III BY T. MAXWELL WITHAM ICE AND THE FORMATION OF RINKS ' THE ice bears ! ' What a thrill runs through the figure-skater at this announcement ! Since last year, perhaps even since last year twelvemonth, he has probably made fruitless expedi- tions to out-of-the-way places where he knows of ponds well shaded from the sun and yet exposed to the north wind ; he has perhaps even stood on the thin ice, and for the moment persuaded himself that it was strong enough to bear, but the cracks that fly from him in all directions have convinced him that for to-day at least it is no use attempting to skate, though he consoles himself with the thought that another night's frost is all that is wanted, and going home full of hope tries to persuade himself that the halo which he sees round the moon indicates nothing serious. But alas ! in the morning, instead of the longed- for frost, the wind has gone to the south-west, and there is a drizzling rain. Such is the usual ending in England of the longing to get on the ice which attacks figure-skaters with such virulence. But the enthusiast who rushes about in the early days of a frost in search of ice is sometimes rewarded by finding a piece that will bear. It may be only a few yards square, still on it he can practise something of his loved art, 42 FIGURE-SKATING and alone, with no one to watch his evolutions, he is happy and content in trying to conquer some difficulty that had beaten him the year before. Often, in days gone by, I have been up at daylight and off to some sequestered pond that I had noted as being one that would probably bear early, and I well remember the feeling of delight and triumph as I related to some less enthusiastic skater how I had not only skated, but had mastered some difficulty that had puzzled both of us. What is the reason, it may be asked, that English people with their short and uncertain winters skate so well ? In the first place, the really good figure-skaters, when there is any ice, are imbued with a sort of longing to skate which is quite irresistible ; they excuse themselves for the neglect of every- thing in favour of skating on the plea that the frost will probably break up on the morrow ; and, in the second place, feeling that their chance of practice will probably be so transient, they work assiduously in conquering the difficulties as they arise. In the same way as a performer on the pianoforte plays a difficult passage over and over again, so the figure-skater re- peats and repeats the turn or the twist that will not come easily, and a difficulty overcome is in itself a great delight. It spurs him on to attempt and to eventually conquer some even greater difficulty. Therefore the fact of our winters being so short and the time given to practice so uncertain is actually the cause of our skill, as we feel there is no time to lose and consequently work hard, and the assiduous practice results in improvement, with a corresponding feeling of delight. The shortness and uncertainty of the frost is the spur we require to goad us on. How many of the accomplished skaters we see would have attained to the perfection they have if as winter approached they could be sure of three or four months' skating ? The great bulk of them would say to themselves, ' Oh, I have plenty of time, I will try that horribly difficult turn to-morrow ' ; but on the morrow the same excuse suggests itself, and no progress is made, and the would-be figure-skater gets tired of the movements he can do and so ICE AND THE FORMATION OF RINKS 43 loses his pleasure in the art because he is making no progress. It may be urged that in Vienna, Sweden, Canada, &c., where three or four months' skating each winter is the rule, there are plenty of good figure-skaters. This is no doubt true, as there are a few either professional skaters or real enthusiasts who create emulation ; but I maintain that in proportion to our opportunities we have a far larger number of good skaters than they have abroad in places where skating can be carried on without interruption for three or four months at a stretch. We are constrained to learn our art on such ice as we may be favoured with ; for there is a vast difference in ice. We seldom have a surface in perfection ; and perhaps it is as well as if we always had a perfect surface we should not ap- preciate it as we do when it sometimes comes after a week's skating on rough ice. The perfection of ice is that which forms on the surface of deep sheltered ponds ; it looks as it were dark green, the surface has none of the little inequal- ities raised up like bas-relief, but is uniformly smooth ; and, as this sort of ice is usually formed at a low temperature, it is hard and very tenacious. Ice of this kind an inch and a half thick, if frozen at a low temperature, say 20 of frost, will bear a greater weight than ice nearly double the thickness which is full of snow and air-bubbles, and has been frozen at a comparatively high temperature, say 5 or 6 ; and it is honest and friendly : if it means breaking it gives all necessary warning, it cracks and splutters, though that does not matter so long as water does not come up where the cracks show themselves, and even if it does, supposing there is no great weight of skaters on the surface, it is pretty safe so long as the cracks are parallel. When these cracks are intersected by others which in fact break the ice up into little pieces, then it is time to come off ; but with ice formed of layers of ice and melted snow, unless there has been and there continues a very severe frost, there is always danger ; it gives way without a moment's warning and without a sound. In a thaw this sort of porous ice is like wet blotting-paper. The reckless way in 44 FIGURE-SKATING which people, particularly those living in country places, ven- ture on to the ice covering the surface of deep ponds without any apparatus for getting anyone out in the event of the ice breaking is simply appalling ; and it should be a standing rule at every country house where skating is indulged in that before anyone is allowed on the ice the necessary apparatus for saving life shall be provided. This is very simple, and consists of a good long rope, strong but moderately thin, having at one end a heavy ball of wood, and a light ladder. In the event of anyone breaking through, the rope should be taken up in a coil in the left hand by a bystander, and, hold- ing the rope with the right hand, about three feet from the wooden ball, he should swing it round and throw it toward the immersed skater; and it is astonishing how accurately this can be done with a little practice. The great thing is to get the ball beyond the person to be saved. Assuming that the drowning man has clutched the rope, he can hang on to it till a skater pushes the ladder over the hole ; and even if the ice is very weak, he can get on to the ladder, and still holding on to the rope he can be drawn, ladder and all, into perfect safety, as although the ice, weakened by the hole, would not bear him if he attempted to stand up, yet his weight being dis- tributed over the length of the ladder will readily support the strain. When many people are skating on a comparatively con- fined space, the surface of the ice which was so beautifully smooth to begin with becomes rough like the surface of a file in consequence of the curves made by the skaters con- stantly intersecting each other. Nature, in the shape of a biting east wind, sometimes in the course of a night smooths this roughness ; but, as a rule, the surface of ice which has been much skated on requires to be renovated by artificial means. The renewal of a cut-up surface is popularly supposed to be the most simple thing imaginable. Visitors to the Skating Club constantly say, 'I suppose you flood your ice every night,' not knowing that it is practically impossible to flood a large ICE AND THE FORMATION OF RINKS 45 area of ice unless such ice has been built up solid from the bottom. When ice has been used by numerous skaters for some time the unevenness may not be perceptible so long as the surface is dry, but becomes evident at once as soon as it is wet. There will be seen a miniature hill comparatively dry and alongside of it a hollow with an inch or even two inches of water ; the same thing would occur if a quantity of water were poured on to dry freezing ice. No doubt if we could place water on the old surface of sufficient depth, not only to fill up the hollows but also to cover the hills, and if it could be retained on the surface till it froze solid, a splendid re- newal of the surface would be effected ; but, as a fact, all ice (except ice built up solid from a hard floor) has water under- neath it, and any water placed on the surface will to a great extent drain away underneath the old ice. Although we have hydrants all round the Skating Club Rink by which we can place a large quantity of water quickly on the surface, we have found that this way of attempting to renew it was hopeless, and we have now come to the conclusion that the simplest and best method of renovating a badly cut-up surface is to have it carefully swept, and then watered by means of an extremely fine rose. If the quantity of moisture thus applied is only sufficient to fill up the roughness caused by the skates, a splendid and solid surface will be the result ; but if too much water is used, the new artificial surface when frozen will cut up and detach itself from the old surface in slithers on the first passage of a skate. All ice frozen at a very low temperature is very brittle, and the surface after being skated on develops dry cracks which are very dangerous to the figure-skater, as if, when going at a high velocity on one foot, his skate drops into one of these cracks a severe fall is certain. Whenever these cracks appear they should be filled up with hot water. A flat kettle having a long and very narrow spout should be used for the purpose by a skater who on his skates can run backwards along the crack and fill up the interstice as he goes. It is better to mend 46 FIG URE-SKA TING incipient cracks in this way than wait until an actual fissure is formed, as the hot water partially melts and then consolidates the splintered ice. Heavy snow warms and so affects the ice, and when the snow is removed the surface that was very rough before the downfall will be found much improved. And then there is the real thaw for several hours or more followed by a frost. I remember some years ago such a thaw taking place, but the succeeding frost was not sufficiently severe to properly consolidate our ice at the Skating Club, and we all adjourned to the Welsh Harp Reservoir, where we found an absolutely perfect surface to skate upon. It is said that the orange, which is used to mark the centre, was put down and six members began to skate a figure, when so elated was the caller of the figure with the splendid way in which the skate glided over the polished surface that he gave the command * Six times back and forward,' and everyone launched out on prodigious curves and sped from the central orange in a way to indicate that they would never come back to it again. But however big the curves, the figure named must bring the skaters back to the centre, and at the centre accordingly they eventually arrived, only to find a small boy quietly sucking the orange with apparent satisfaction at having found so luscious a prize on what was apparently a deserted piece of ice ! Snow, although it renders every bush and twig sparkling in the sunlight extremely beautiful, is looked upon by the skater with horror. If, as sometimes happens, a heavy fall of snow covers ice which is not sufficiently strong to bear the weight of sweepers, there is nothing to be done but hope for a thaw. If the snow lies deep on such ice, it prevents its thickening, and the skater has the mortification of remaining without bearing ice, although night after night there may have been sufficient frost to have rendered the ice strong enough had it not been covered up with its warm mantle of snow. But if the snow falls after the ice is strong enough to bear the weight of sweepers, the nuisance then resolves itself into a question of ICE AND THE FORMATION OF RINKS 47 expense from labour, and this labour may be much curtailed by system, and the use of proper appliances. These consist (i) of good-sized boxes supported on iron runners, which must be FIG. I. rounded at one end to enable the box when full of collected snow to be run up the bank of the pond and tipped over ; the back of the box should have a strong handle (see fig. i) ; FIG. 2. and (2) pushers made by nailing and bracing a piece of board some three feet long and four inches broad to a handle which is set diagonally to the face of the board. With these tools 4 8 FIG U RE-SKA TING light snow can be pushed off the ice with great rapidity, and inasmuch as the worker thrusts the instruments, he removes the snow without treading on it, and this is infinitely better than pulling it off by means of scrapers, as then every time a man puts his foot down he leaves a little blob of compressed snow adhering to the surface. Another form of pusher has been found very effective, especially for removing wet snow ; it is made of sheet iron -g-% inch thick, four feet wide, and two feet deep. To this two handles are rivetted, the handles being long enough for a man to work the pusher comfortably and ex- tending down the sheet iron within six or eight inches of the pushing edge. This leaves sufficient spring in the sheet iron to make it curl when pushed on the ice and so forms a hollow which more readily holds the accumulated snow. Fig. 2 shows the wooden pusher, and fig. 3 the sheet-iron one. (3) Shovels made large and light. (4) Scrapers : these are made very heavy and with a cutting edge, and any inequalities caused by frozen snow, &c. can with these tools be readily re- moved. They are rather expen- sive, costing los. 6d. each, and are made for the Skating Club by H. Williams, 52 High Street, Marylebone, but they are very useful and with care will last for years (see fig. 4). For quickly removing snow or cut-up particles of ice, it is essential that the work should be done systematically. Take, for example, a pond fifty yards broad which it is desired to clear. One man with a birch broom should with a right and left stroke sweep a passage up the centre. It is astonishing how stupid FIG. 4. ICE AND THE FORMATION OF RINKS 49 men unaccustomed to sweeping are at first ; they will hold the broom a great deal too upright, which very soon destroys it ; and, what is worse, held in this way the ice cannot be properly swept Men called in to sweep should be taught to hold the broom as parallel as possible to the ice. The cut- up stuff being very light, little force is requisite to remove it, and by holding the broom parallel to the surface sweepers can take a big stroke. To the right and left of the path made by the first man other men should be set to sweep, one following the other ; when they have arrived at the end they should come back and take another stroke, and so on till the matter to be removed is swept to either side of the pond. There, if it is bulky, it should be made up into heaps and then with shovels thrown off the ice. Suppose, instead of ice cuttings, an inch or an inch and a half of snow has to be removed, the same tactics are followed. One man with a pusher shoves a pathway up the ice, and then the other men go into the pathway and shove the snow right and left to the side. If the snow is very heavy, two or even three pathways must be made, and the snow placed together in ridges, shovelled into the boxes, and run off the ice. It is very desirable to have the snow taken quite away. Unless properly directed, the class of men usually employed consider that it is only necessary to sweep the snow to the sides and leave it there, consequently if a thaw supervenes this all becomes water. They should be made to throw the snow as far off the ice as possible. Long and severe frost frequently breaks up with heavy rain, and all but experienced skaters assume that skating is all over ; but as a fact it is then that a most perfect surface exists. The thaw has removed all skate marks and inequalities, and the skater glides about without apparently any effort whatever. There is only one drawback, and that is falling on the wet surface ; and> curiously enough, the fear of falling and so getting wet through frequently causes even good skaters to come to grief. If the ice has been frozen at a low temperature, and the weather is fine and mild, the water on the surface will evaporate as quickly E 50 FIG U RE-SKA TING as it generates, and even if there are hollows in the ice which are covered with water, there are always hills which are drained and dry. In the last severe frost (1890-91) skating was carried on at VVormley in Herts and at the Ruislip Reservoir for ten days after everyone had deserted the ice on the London Parks. Looking at the great success attending the formation of the rink belonging to the Skating Club in the Regent's Park, it seems strange that similar rinks have not been formed. No doubt most country houses have lakes and ponds in their immediate vicinity, but these are not satisfactory. They are as a rule very deep, frequently there are springs in them which render parts dangerous, and they are generally surrounded by trees the dead branches of which are constantly falling on the ice. The soil of the Regent's Park consists of a stiff, yellow- brown clay which when well soaked will hold water like a bottle, and it was assumed that if a puddle bank were placed round the space in the Toxophilite grounds intended for the rink a pond could be readily created. But inasmuch as the ground which is covered with water in the winter has to be used as an archery ground in summer, the puddle banks are left to dry from the time the water is turned off in March till it is again turned on in the following November, with the result that these banks constantly become cracked, and such cracks can only be mended by taking out and remaking the puddle an expensive process. In making a new rink experience suggests that on the top of the hearting of puddle there should be a perforated tube through which water should be allowed to trickle for the purpose of keeping the puddled clay wet during the summer. Cracks in clay which has not been puddled will mend them- selves as the clay swells by contact with water, but cracks in puddled clay can only be mended by remaking the puddle. The Club rink is 150 yards long by 50 yards broad. Run- ning round the edge just inside the puddle banks is a six- inch pipe having grated openings to the surface every ten or twelve yards. Into this pipe drains which are laid about ICE AND THE FORMATION OF RINKS 51 every ten yards discharge themselves, but while the water is on the rink the six-inch pipe is blocked by a sluice valve, so of course the surface drains do not then act. When in November the water is turned on, the sluice valve being first closed, the water flows into the six-inch pipe and up the gratings, and so on to the bed of the rink. The bottom of the rink is sloped slightly from the middle to the sides, and this slope is given with a view to more quickly drying the surface when the water is turned off. When full the deepest parts of the rink are about eighteen inches, but in making a new rink it would be advisable to increase the depth to three feet, as although shallow water freezes more quickly than deep in consequence of the water being chilled more readily, the ice does not thicken on shallow as it does on deep water. Without going to the expense requisite to form a rink which could also be used for archery or lawn-tennis in the summer, it is quite, feasible to make a shallow artificial pond at a small outlay. On almost every property will be found a running brook, and this implies that the water is descending from a higher to a lower level. Contiguous to the brook a meadow should be selected round which a clay bank, some two or three feet high, should be run, then two or three hundred yards above the meadow the brook should be dammed back, and a channel cut from above the dam to the meadow which is to be flooded ; the mouth of the channel should be provided with a sluice-gate, in the shape of a board running in grooves similar to the sluices used for drowning the water meadows in Hamp- shire, and when it is wished to flood the meadow the board can be withdrawn and the water allowed to flow down the channel. When the rink is sufficiently full, the board is again put down, and the water then flows over the dam. A similar sluice-gate should be made at the other end of the rink to enable the water to run off when there is no longer any chance of ice. Being covered with water during the winter does no harm to grass. There is another form of rink, though this must necessarily be a small one, viz. the hard lawn-tennis court ; but a good E 2 52 FIGURE-SKATING deal of capital skating practice may be obtained on such a confined space, and, as water an inch deep freezes readily if the floor which it covers is asphalte, a good many extra days may thus be obtained. A bank some three or four inches high, about five inches broad at the base, and tapering upwards, should be built round the court. This bank is best made with puddled clay, and when completed the water is turned on and left to freeze. If when frozen solid there is every prospect of a severe frost, another inch of water can be added, and then another, as it is best to have the ice as thick as may be ; for, if a thaw supervenes while the ice is only an inch thick, it becomes soft, and the skate cuts through to the asphalte. In these days of easy communication, skaters disappointed of ice in England go abroad for their favourite amusement. It is a popular delusion to suppose that there is ice in Holland when there is none in England ; as a fact, there is rarely bearing ice in Holland without our getting the benefit of the same cold wave, and Holland is not a good place for the figure-skater. As in our own Fen country, the Hollanders are essentially speed-skaters, and a figure-skater feels dreadfully ' out of it ' ; therefore if it is intended to go abroad for figure-skating, the Engadine offers the greatest advantage. There are three celebrated skating resorts, viz. Grindelwald, St. Moritz, and Davos Platz. The rinks at these places are artificially made, the ice being built up solid from the bottom by means of continuous flooding. The best time to go to Grindelwald is about the middle of January, as before that period the rink from its situation prac- tically gets no sun, and the cold in the early mornings is con- sequently unpleasantly severe. A train leaving Charing Crpss or Victoria at n A.M. reaches Bale at 6 A.M. the next morning, and thence goes almost at once to Berne, meeting a train to the Lake of Thun, whence a steamer is waiting to take passengers to Darlingen, and from Darlingen it is ten minutes to Interlacken, which is reached about 1.50. From Interlacken to Grindelwald there is no train till 5 P.M., and to ICE AND THE FORMATION OF RINKS 53 avoid the dreary wait at a time of year when only a few rooms in a small hotel are open, most people proceed at once to- Grindelwald by sleigh, which can be ordered beforehand from the Bear Hotel at Grindelwald. The drive takes about two hours, so that Grindelwald is reached about 4 P.M., i.e. in twenty- nine hours from London. The sleigh holds four persons,, and costs 25 frs. The only hotel open in winter is the Bear, owned by the Boss family. It is one of the best in Switzerland, and the Boss family are well known to all Swiss travellers as the most pleasant and obliging of hosts. The rink is managed by M. Fritz Boss, who takes great pains in keeping the ice in good order. The cost of boarding at the Bear is nine to ten francs a day, including bath, fire, lights, and four o'clock tea, which is not to be despised after a day in the mountain air. First-class return tickets to Berne available for thirty days cost 8/. 9^. 9^., the journey thence to Interlacken about 20 frs., and the sleigh up to Grindelwald 25 frs., or rather less than i2/. there and back. Second class- is about 2/. cheaper, and very comfortable. St. Moritz is reached by a three days' journey from London, Starting by the eleven o'clock train a traveller reaches Bale at 6 A.M. the next morning, as we have seen. Here he has an hour to wait, which gives comfortable time for a wash and a cup of coffee. Soon after seven he starts again, and after jogging across Switzerland in a train which goes about as fast as a rapid 'bus, he reaches Chur (sometimes called Coire) between i and 2 P.M. From Chur he has the choice of different ways of proceeding. That adopted by most people is- le stop at Chur till the next morning, and then leave by the diligence for St. Moritz. This is the simplest and least ex- pensive plan, but it involves an early start, as the diligence leaves before 6 A.M., and this on a cold winter's morning is not pleasant. A more agreeable plan is to hire a private carriage at Chur and drive on either to Thusis or Tiefenkasten, from either of which places the diligence can be taken the next morning some hours later than from Chur. In either case St. 54 FIGURE-SKATING Moritz will be reached some time between 5 and 7 P.M., unless the weather should be bad. The most enjoyable way of all is to take a private carriage or ' extra post ' (Government posting carriage) the whole way from Chur to St. Moritz. A traveller can then start when he likes and break the journey where he pleases, but it is con- siderably more expensive than the diligence. At Chur there are two good hotels open all through the winter, viz. the Steinbok and the Lukmanier. At Thusis the Hotel Rhaetia is very comfortable, and so is the Hotel Albula at Tiefen- kasten. The drive from Chur to St. Moritz is sledge-work for the greater part of the way. The view is very beautiful, and with fine weather the trip is most enjoyable. But in a wind or snow storm it can be very cold, and at such a time a traveller should be on the look-out for frost-bites. At all times he should clothe himself very warmly. The journey ordinarily takes from eleven to twelve hours, but in heavy snow this is exceeded. The diligence is occasionally stopped by snow, but not often. The leading hotel at St. Moritz is the well-known Kulm, the property of the Badrutt family. It is comfortable in every way, and though not particularly cheap is by no means very expensive. It is generally full, or nearly so, all through the winter ; and no one should go there without first writing and making sure of rooms. Other good hotels are the Hotel Caspar Badrutt, the St. Petersburg, and the Beau Rivage, and in consequence of the increasing number of visitors, fresh hotels are every year being kept open throughout the winter. The Kulm has, however, the great advantage of having the rinks in its grounds. It is also the centre of the social life at St. Moritz, and all the balls and private theatricals take place there. The rinks, which are literally within a stone's throw of the Kulm Hotel, are three in number ; the largest, a little over an acre in size, being an irregular square of some eighty yards side. The other two are about half that area. The ice is ICE AND THE FORMATION OF RINKS 55 carefully kept, and whenever the weather will allow, i.e. whenever there is no snow, one or other rink is flooded every night, consequently a visitor generally has a new surface to skate on every morning. There is no fear of not having sufficient frost. St. Moritz is six thousand feet high, and the thermometer usually stands at from 15 to 10 Fahr. from 6 P.M. to 6 A.M. Not unseldom it drops below zero in the course of the night. Besides the rink, there is under favourable circumstances most excellent skating to be had on the lakes which run in a chain from the Maloja Pass to St. Moritz. Under good con- ditions this is probably the most perfect skating attainable. Exquisite scenery, a clear bright day, and miles of smooth ice so transparent that the stones and fish can be seen yards below. But, like all good things, there is not so much of it as one could wish. A very little wind or a very little snow makes the lakes quite unskateable ; and, even without snow, the formation of what are called ' ice flowers ' often completely ruins the surface in a few days. Ice flowers arise from the moisture in the air freezing round some point in the ice, and a whole lake will often be found in the morning covered with what at a distance looks like white balls, but which on closer inspection turn out to be clusters and tendrils much like frozen branches of small ferns. They are very beautiful to look at, but very annoying to the skater ; moreover, the lake ice after a certain time gets too hard for pleasant skating. Although particularly enjoyable when it comes, the lake skating at St. Moritz is something like catching a salmon, chiefly a question of luck. A visitor who spends the whole winter there will probably between one lake and another get a fortnight or so of it. A traveller who runs out from England for a month's holiday will most likely get none at all. The school of skating at St. Moritz is a very severe one : great size, and power and perfect quietness and control of the body and limbs are what is aimed at, and the object through- out is rather to do everything that is attempted in the best 5 6 FIG U RE-SKA TING possible style than to do a great many different movements moderately. The unemployed leg is 'kept in its proper place,' and the skating at St. Moritz is probably the strongest and at the same time the quietest and most accurate that exists. The few accomplished habitues of the rink have taken the early teaching of the Skating Club as their starting point, and availing them- selves of the long period during which they can practise, have perfected it in a really astonishing manner. Perhaps the weak point of this skating is a certain tendency to stiff- ness and a slight want of pliability ; the skating is, if possible, a trifle too academic, but although the rigid adherence to ' form ' in accomplished skaters may detract somewhat from the grace which should always accompany strong and quiet skating, it has the effect of putting young skaters on the right track ; and when we see here in England a young skater who may not be able to skate a great many movements, but who does every- thing he can skate in perfect form, it will be generally found that he has been educated at the St. Moritz school. The winter climate of the Engadine is, taking one year with another, certainly fine, but it is by no means so fine as it is supposed to be. Every year a good amount of snow falls, and a heavy fall, say a foot or eighteen inches, not only stops skating while it is going on, but for two or three days afterwards while it is being cleared away. Only those who have tried it know the labour involved in removing eighteen inches of snow from an acre of ice. It will probably surprise many to learn that it will occupy thirty men at least two days. Moreover, the Engadine is by no means windless, and the cold which is most enjoyable when the air is still is almost unendurable when there is a wind, however slight. On the other hand, there is on the whole much good weather ; and a fine winter's day at St. Moritz, with a bright 'blue sky and the magnificent mountains sparkling with snow from summit to base, with its dry thin air which acts like some ethereal champagne, and a pleasant merry party skating on perfect ice, is something worth living for. A ICE AND THE FORMATION OF RINKS 57 visitor who goes out for a month or six weeks about Christmas or the New Year will probably have many such days, but he must not expect them all to be perfect. Davos Platz is the largest and the most get-at-able of the three skating resorts. The journey is the same as to St. Moritz as far as the last station before reaching Chur, Land- quart by name ; here a change is made to the branch line which goes direct to Davos, which is reached about seven in the evening of the second day after leaving London. Davos has a much larger number of winter visitors than St. Moritz, the total reaching about 1,000, half being English and half of other nationalities, mostly German. There are four good hotels frequented by the English, viz. the Belvedere, the Buol, the Angleterre, and the Victoria. There are also other large hotels, chiefly frequented by Germans. There is only one rink, which is considerably larger than the largest at St. Moritz, and the ice is kept in capital order. Many years ago the ground on which the rink is formed was purchased by some annual winter visitors, and the ice was formed by pumping water into the rink basin ; but this was not satisfactory, and it was decided to form a reservoir at a higher level than the rink, so that it could be supplied with the necessary amount of water for properly flooding it. This, however, was an expensive opera- tion, and the necessary funds were not forthcoming ; so the owners of the rink site handed it over to the town authorities, who agreed to make the reservoir. The flood water flows down from this reservoir and is admitted to the rink through five openings, so that the surface is quickly flooded and a lovely surface is the result. At the north end of the rink a pavilion running the whole breadth of the rink has been erected, and this acts as a screen to protect the skaters from the current of air or valley wind which arises in the middle of each day. There is a figure-skating club belonging to the rink, the members of which are mostly English, and here good skating may be seen ; but outside this club the skating at Davos is more in the nature of our roller-skating rinks, in which skating round hand in hand is the distinctive characteristic. 5 8 FIG U RE-SKA TING DRESS AND SKATES The members of the Skating Club affect, while skating, the costume of gentlemen dressed for a fete, namely, black coats and tall hats, and such a costume lends itself readily to the style of skating adopted by the club. On the club rink, where one member may be seen prac- tising individual movements that cannot be done without con- siderable contortion of the body, there will be seen twenty others skating the graceful combined figures, the performance of which was the raison d'etre of the club. But there is no doubt that a short coat, knickerbockers, and a low hat form a very comfort- able dress for skating in ; and although it would look out of place on the club rink, it is the most natural attire for a country pond. Whatever costume be worn, skaters should remem- ber that they are taking strong exercise in cold weather, and that after skating continuously for say twenty minutes and so getting hot, they frequently go and talk with some friend on the bank for five or ten minutes ; therefore the underclothing should be warm and thick, or severe chill may ensue. I feel a natural diffidence in making any observation on ladies' costume, but it is evident for safety's sake that the dress should be sufficiently short to avoid catching the skate when the skater is leaning over on an edge ; and from an artistic point of view I think that the border of fur, or the heavy flounce sometimes worn at the bottom of the dress, detracts from the graceful swing which it assumes as the various curves are skated. There has been a vast amount of inventive power expended on devising different methods of fastening the skates to the boots, but both in England and elsewhere all skaters who seriously go in for perfecting themselves in figure-skating now use one sort of fastening which is known in England by the name of the 'Mount Charles.' It consists of two plates of metal of more or less the same shape as, and rather smaller than, the sole and the heel of the boot, and to these plates are DXESS AND SKATES 59 attached lugs into which the skate-blade is bolted either by means of rivets or screws. The plates are firmly fastened to the sole of the boot by screws, which go through the plates and into the sole and heel of the boot (see fig. 5). This sort of skate necessitates, of course, keeping a pair of boots especially for the purpose of skating, and carrying -about while the ice bears a bag large enough to hold both skates and boots. No FIG. 5. doubt there is a certain amount of inconvenience attached to this, but the balance of comfort is in favour of the Mount Charles fastening. The bag in which they are carried can also contain a clean pair of socks (a great comfort after a hard skate), and a duster with which to rub the skate-blades dry. But in spite of the many obvious advantages belonging to a skate permanently affixed to the boot, there are many men who do not like to be bothered with anything but their skates, and to such I FIG. 6. should recommend the Barney and Berry. The fastening of this skate, which is made entirely of metal, consists of a heel-clamp composed of two jaws catching the outside, and one jaw the inside of the heel, these being forced into contact with the heel by means of a screw worked by a key, and a toe -clamp which is drawn together so as to catch the welt of the boot by a screw worked by the same key (see fig. 6). A T-plate for the heel 6o FIG U RE-SKA TING and straps for the toe used to be a common form of fastening years ago, but although effective, it was unsightly. A Mr. Rohonczy of Budapest has patented a fastening, which he calls the Columbus, consisting of a T-plate at both heel and toe ; inserted in the heel of the boot is the usual T-plate, and at the toe is a T-plate, having a slot running at right angles to the line of the skate-blade. To adjust the skate the stud is in- serted in the T-plate in the heel, and the skate turned so that the stud at the fore end can be placed in the front T-plate, and pushed along the slot. The plates which support the foot are attached to the studs by a screw, and on the underside FIG. 7. of these plates there are flanges, by which the plates can be screwed up tight against the sole and heel of the boot, thus acting not only as plates to support the foot, but as binding nuts, and when screwed tight the fastening is as firm as the Mount Charles, with the additional advantage that, if desired, the possessor of the Columbus can walk to the pond in the boots he is going to use on the ice and then adjust his skates as firmly as though he had carried a pair of Mount Charles in a bag (see fig. 7). Although very ingenious and simple, the Columbus cannot compete in actual utility with the Mount Charles, as, if attached to boots, which are carried in a bag, DRESS AND SKATES 61 the Mount Charles is still simpler, and if used on boots which are sufficiently easy for walking, they are too easy for skating. Properly fitting boots are essential to comfort in skating. They should have a moderately thick sole, flat straight heels and fairly stout uppers, and they should fit tightly, more tightly than would be comfortable in walking. They should lace up in front, and should be so tight over the instep that, when first put on, there should exist a space between the two sides. After skating for ten minutes, the lace can be tight- ened, and the sides joined without inconvenience ; and if the plan of not pulling the laces tight at first is adopted, the skater will not find his feet ache, as he would if he had laced the boot tightly at first. Since the year 1881 I have been skating in a pair of wooden-soled boots, and find them far superior, to an ordinary boot. They were presented to me by Messrs. Hardman, Gillett, & Co., of Sheffield, who patented the combination of wooden - soled boots and skates. These boots are warm, light, and perfectly rigid, and they look exactly like ordinary well-made boots. The difficulty with them is to obtain a fit. I have known several skaters who have failed to get this, and who have been obliged to revert to the leather-soled boots, but if a fit is obtained, there is nothing equal to them. Messrs. Beasley, of 28 Queen Victoria Street, E.G., make these boots. English figure-skaters are pretty well agreed that a skate-blade for figure-skating should be the true segment of a circle having a radius of seven feet, although some few accomplished skaters use a skate with a six-foot radius. In approaching the subject of whether a skate-blade should have straight, concave, or convex sides, I feel I must treat it tenderly so as not to offend people's prejudices ; but I may say that the really good skater can, after a little practice, skate equally well on any of the various sorts of skates in vogue. The question to decide is what sort of skate will enable a skater to perform the different movements of which figure-skating consists with the 62 FIG U RE-SKA TING least expenditure of energy. And, first, as to the sort of edge to be used. Formerly, everyone used acute-angled edges. About the year 1875 all the members of the Skating Club went to the other extreme, and had their skates ground to obtuse- angled edges ; but that lasted only a few weeks, after which they tried right-angled edges, and this happy medium seems now to hold its own. In figs. 8, 10, and 9 illustrations are given of acute, obtuse, and FIG. 8. FIG. 9. FIG. 10. right-angled edges. I dismiss the acute angle as quite unsuitable for figure-skating ; it is so sharp that it sets up great friction by cutting in too deeply, and yet almost all the common sort of skates are ground to an acute-angled edge. .The obtuse-angled blade errs in the opposite direction. Used by a heavy man on soft ice, it is delightful, but if the ice is hard there is a very unpleasant feeling of insecurity attached to its use. At the same time there is no doubt that its form minimises friction, and its blunt edge enables difficult turns to be accomplished with less danger of ' catching ' the ice in making the turn ; but even its most ardent admirers admit that, for the first ten minutes or so, if on hard ice, they experience a feeling of insecurity which is induced by the blunt edge. Personally, I always skate with right-angled edges and take care to have them sharp, as I believe that the con- fidence which sharp edges give, and the extra power of striking off, more than compensate for the little extra friction which is consequent on the cutting in of the sharp edge. The right- angled edge is a happy medium between the acute and the obtuse, and is the form of edge generally used by good figure- skaters. The great object to be attained in constructing a skate-blade is to make it of such a form as will reduce friction to a minimum. A skate having a curvature of nine-feet radius would do this in consequence of the distribution of the skater's DRESS AND SKATES 63 weight over a large bearing surface, but then turns and loops would become very difficult. Obtuse-angled edges are used for the same reason, as although the bearing surface is not increased, the blunt edge cuts in very little, and consequently sets up but little friction. The Swedes and Norwegians* who in the last few years have taken to figure-skating of an acrobatic character, have their skates not only ground to a five-foot radius, but increase the pivoting power by having the sides made convex. Some years ago Captain Dowler, a member of the Skating Club, took out a patent for a skate having concave sides. His idea was that when the skate was inclined from the vertical, as in running on a curve, the concave side would bring a greater portion of the length of the blade in actual contact with the ice, thus increasing the bearing surface and consequently diminishing friction without interfering with the vertical curva- ture at the lower edge, by which the necessary amount of pivoting is obtained. The Dowler blade has been, and is, used by many thousands of skaters. With a 7 -foot radius the side concavity should be a radius of 16 feet. At first the blades were made with the thinnest part in the middle, but I found that if the thinnest part were put back an inch or an inch and a half, the working of the skate was much improved ; and I also found that, in consequence of the end of the blade being thicker at the lower side than in the middle, and being ground to the same thickness along the entire length of its upper side, the cutting edge of the toe and heel was much more acute than in the middle, in fact so acute that the cutting in while taking a vigorous stroke sent up a shower of splintered ice. To obviate this I suggested the grooving away of the blade about half an inch from the edge at the toe and heel, so as to enable the cutting edge to be made the same angle along the whole length of the blade, and since 1881 Dowler blades have been constructed with the above improvements (see fig. n). I always skate with Dowler blades having right-angled edges, as I find I can skate every movement on them as well as on a 64 FIG URE-SKA TING straight-sided blade, and with much less fatigue. The angle at which a skate is inclined in the act of striking is much greater than when travelling on a curve, consequently with the Dowler blade a large portion of the edge comes into actual contact with the ice at the moment of striking and a vigorous push-off is the result ; and this, combined with the minimum of friction, is the reason why figure-skating on Dowler blades is less fatiguing than on straight-sided blades. I have seen men, who from having rather weak ankles could only skate well enough to be classed as second-rate skaters, spring at once into the first rank through the use of Dowler blades : but, as against these examples, I have known skaters who could not skate nearly as well with them as with the ordinary straight-sided blade. It is a good plan to have two pairs of blades, and have them FIG. II. bolted to the foot-stock by means of bolts and nuts ; when one pair gets blunt it can be easily removed, and the other pair substituted. To keep the skate-blades free from rust they should be rubbed quite dry, and then vaseline applied with a stencil brush, or better still with the finger ; and it is well to remember that any grinding or other repairs which may become necessary should be attended to as soon as the frost breaks up, and then the skates and boots may be put by and they will be ready for the next frost. Of the London skate-makers the names of Messrs. Walter Thornhill & Co., 144 New Bond Street, Messrs. Hill & Sons, and Messrs. Under- wood, Haymarket, and Messrs. Hennig & Co. of Coventry Street, Leicester Square, may be mentioned as makers of good skates. THE THEORY OF FIGURE-SKATING In walking and running we put one leg in advance of the other, but in skating we do nothing of the sort, hence the would- be skater has to unlearn that which he had considered the only method of progression ; and that there is considerable difficulty in this is apparent from the way in which beginners will put one leg in front of the other, although they are told it is an im- possible way of progressing on skates. In walking and running we put to the front first one foot and then the other, and throw the weight of the body on to it, but in skating we balance on one foot and progress by shoving with the other. The first lesson in balancing should take place in a room. The novice should put on his skates, and walk about on the floor until he find he has overcome the tendency of his ankles to give way. He should then stand with his feet parallel, and leaning his weight on say the left he should go through the motion of shoving off with the right. This is accomplished by turning the right toe a little out and pressing on the inside of the skate, and then lifting it up with a sort of kick in a slanting direction back- wards. (See fig. 12, where the position of the feet are shown.) At first, in making this push or kick or shove off with the right, the FIG. 12. beginner will find a good deal of difficulty in balancing on the left, but ten minutes' practice will overcome this. Every time, after lifting the right leg in the push off, he should bring it back to the other foot in the parallel position in which he began the practice ; when he finds that he can do this semblance of striking with one foot and can balance on the other, he must work the other leg, striking with the left and balancing on the right, and when he is pretty confident on this foot he should strike and balance on alternate feet. By going through this drill in a room, the novice overcomes the ten- dency to put his foot forward as in walking, and as the putting F 66 FIGURE-SKATING forward of the foot is the cause of his inability to glide on skates, he will when he gets on to the ice be able in a very short time to skate straight forward. Figure-skating, although executed with the feet, is in reality effected by getting the body into the position which will enable the feet to be turned in the desired direction. As a rule the novice gives no attention whatever to the position of the body, but is thinking only of the particular turn or twist which he wants his feet to effect ; he, in fact, tries to make his feet turn his body, as he is ignorant of the fact that the true way of skating is to make the body turn the feet. In ' A System of Figure-Skating ' 1 minute instructions are given as to the position which the body should assume before and after skating the various turns and changes of which figure-skating is composed, and I am acquainted with an accomplished figure- skater who declares that he learned all he knows by carefully studying the directions given in that book, and then prac- tising the positions in a room before a cheval glass. Of course actual practice on the ice is essential, but it is obvious that an immense amount of false practice may be saved, and hundreds of falls avoided, if the beginner will take the trouble carefully to note the directions as to the position of the body given in the instructions for acquiring turns, and practise them assiduously before going near the ice. For example, all turns composed of a change from one edge to another edge are capable of being skated with the most consummate ease if just before the turn is skated the body of the skater is so turned, in the direction of the new curve which will result from the turn, that no alteration of the position then becomes necessary. A novice having acquired the power of skating an outside edge, is fired with the ambition of accomplishing a three. He knows that an ordinary three is* composed of a curve of outside edge, that to make the turn the skate has to be reversed, bringing him on to an inside back, and if he has never been instructed he will proceed on the outside curve ; and then, his body being retained in the position for that edge, he will make a spasmodic effort to twist his skate 1 Horace Cox, Bream's Buildings, E.G. THE THEORY OF FIGURE-SKATING 67 round, with the result that he will probably fall. Now watch the adept : just previous to the turn the whole body from the hip upwards is gradually turned so as to be in the position suitable for the curve on which he will find himself after the skate is reversed ; and the result is that the turn is effected with the most ridiculous ease and with the most per- fect certainty. Assuming that the novice has acquired the facility of going straight forward, he will find that he is travel- ling on either foot in curves, that the curve on the right foot tends to the left and that of the left foot to the right, and for simply travelling straight forward the body is kept full front ; but these curves indicate that he is travelling on an edge, and as this is the inside edge which is frequently used in figure- skating, he should take three or four strokes to get up impetus, and then poising himself on one leg, say the right, and turning the body from full front to a sideways attitude (right shoulder forward), he should endeavour to come round on the edge a complete circle (see fig. 13). The unemployed leg should be kept behind and turned out at nearly right angles, and toe slightly pointing downwards. The circle completed, he should again take two or three strokes and complete the circle on the left ; this time, of course, the body should be turned sideways by throwing forward the left shoulder ; and then the intermediate strokes should be eliminated and a whole circle on either foot skated alternately, and continued until the circles are made true and without effort. Curves on the inside edge come with apparent facility to the novice, as the acquisition of straight-forward skating has educated him, and the unemployed leg being on the side to which he is lean- ing naturally gives the body a list that way, and inspires con- fidence, as in the event of too much inclination it can, by being put down, be made to act as a prop. But although it is compara- tively easy to skate these circles with the knee bent, the body full front, and the unemployed leg stuck out at the side ready to be used as a prop if needed, it is a very different thing where the proper attitude is assumed. As soon as the skater has F 2 68 FIG U RE-SKA TING made the stroke by pushing off with one foot and is poised on the other, the knee of the employed leg must be straight- ened, the body turned sideways, and the unemployed leg FIG. 13. Forward inside edge. carried behind close to and almost at right angles to the employed (see fig. 14). The novice will find circles in this position skated on the inside edge much more difficult, but THE THEORY OF FIGURE-SKATING 69 it is far better to take the trouble to learn to assume the correct attitude from the very commencement (see fig. 15). In olden days, when everyone used square-heeled skates, a stoppage was effected when desired by elevating the toe part of one or both feet and so digging in the heel ; but with the modern skate, which has FIG. rounded heels, this is no longer practicable, and if it be necessary to stop suddenly the skater turns side- ways and places one foot in front of the other on the inside edge at right angles to the line of progress. But an absolute stop is seldom necessary, and a deflection to the right or left will generally be all that is necessary. To effect this the skater, keeping his feet parallel, leans to the side to which he wishes to go and the skates run round in a curve. Hitherto all progress has been made in a forward direction, and as figure-skaters progress as much backwards as forwards, it is necessary to learn to skate backwards. In going forwards the skater has to re- press the instinct which naturally causes him to put either foot to the front as in walking. In attempting to skate backwards the same trouble arises, and the natural way, learned through walking, is almost inevitably attempted by the beginner; but the proper method is to stand with the feet moderately close together and with the toes turned in ; then a shove with say the right foot FIG. 16. should be effected, and the body balanced on the left until the force of the stroke is expended, when the right should be placed alongside of the left, which now becomes the striking foot, and the stroke effected the glide is made on the right, and so on. See fig. 16 for the position of the feet at starting. At first the beginner will find some difficulty in 7 o FIGURE-SKA TING skating backwards, caused principally by his fear of leaning sufficiently back on the backward glide, but a little practice, with short glides to begin with, will soon give him confidence. FIG. 17. Back inside edge. He should then take two or three strokes, and endeavour to come round a whole circle on the right leg. Hitherto he has been going with his body square to the line of progress ; he THE THEORY OF FIGURE-SKATING FIG. 18. must now try to turn sideways by throwing back the left shoulder, turning out his left foot and knee, and keeping the unemployed foot rather behind the right ; the knee of the employed foot should then be straightened, and, looking over the left shoulder, he should complete the circle (see fig. 17) ; and the same prac- tice should be given to the left foot, and then a whole circle on either foot without any intermediate strokes should be tried (see fig 1 8). An eight formed of alternate strokes of inside edge backwards is very difficult, as the stroke from one to the other foot is feeble, and the beginner must not feel depressed if he fails to accomplish it to his satisfaction, as it is a figure that the very best performers find a difficulty in skating. I now come to a movement that has always been considered the greatest difficulty a beginner has to contend with, viz. the outside edge ; and, perhaps, more directions and instructions treating of this movement have been written with a view of rendering its acquisition easy, than of any other difficulty con- nected with the art. I have successfully taught it to hundreds of people, and my method is to take my pupil's hands sideways, holding his right hand in my right hand and his left in my left, the right hands being underneath, he being on my right. I then tell him to turn in his toes and walk like a pigeon with one foot crossing the other (see fig. 19). When he has walked a few dozen steps in this way and has become accustomed to the unusual posi- tion of walking with the toes turned in, I get him to slide a few inches on the foot which is placed in front, and direct him to at once take up the foot that is behind and gradually bring it forward so that it in its turn may be placed across and in front of the foot that has just finished the glide. The right FIG. 19. FIG URE-SKA TING foot being put down with the toe turned in across and in front of the left necessitates its being put down on the outside edge ; by gently forcing the learner to the right he must make a curve to the right and consequently on the outside edge, and when the left foot is crossed over, by gently pulling him to the left he must make a similar curve of outside edge to the left (see fig. 20). One of the great difficulties is to get the pupil to turn in his toes and boldly put one foot across the other. The habit of turn- ing the toe out is so confirmed that at the moment of putting down the foot there will be a spasmodic attempt to turn it out instead of in. Ten minutes' careful attention will make the learner so confident that he will be able to dispense with help and make small feeble glides on his own account, and these with practice will soon get larger and bolder. If a beginner has no one who is willing and able to hold his hands in the way above described, the best way of acquiring the outside edge is by taking a few vigorous strokes, and then, bringing his feet alongside each other, allow them to glide round, so forming a large circle. If the direction in which the circle is made is to the right, the right foot will be on the outside edge and the principal support will come from the in- side, but it should be the study of the learner to get his weight on to the right and gently lift up the left. At first he will be able to go only a very little way on the right, but he can bring forward the left and place it in front of the right on the inside edge and take up the right ; and then when he is steady on the left again he must put down the right, and so on (see fig. 21). When he can do this (which is called ' treading FIG. 20. THE THEORY OF FIGURE-SKATING 73 the circle ') fairly well to the right, he should reverse the order of going and do a similar treading the circle to the left. As he progresses he will find that the glides on the outside edge will gradually become longer, and he should not be satisfied until he can finish up each treading the circle with a whole circle of outside, taking care, if on the right leg, to throw the left shoulder back, and if on the left, the right shoulder back. This throwing back of the shoulders places the skater in a sideways position which is the correct one for any edge, and he should now make an outside curve with either foot alternately in the form of an eight (see fig. 22). Now the manner in which these alternate strokes of outside edge are skated is all- important ; if they are from the com- mencement executed in the proper man- ner and in correct attitude, the learner is on the right road to becoming a graceful skater. To attain an easy and graceful movement on the outside edge it is neces- sary that each curve should be true from start to finish, the true segment of a circle whether large or small, and this can only be attained by placing the foot which is about to describe a curve, parallel with the foot which has just finished one ; for instance, the left foot at the end of a curve made by the right must be placed parallel to it, and so allow the body gradually to take the inclination and the skate the con- sequent curve in the opposite direction. At the end of a curve, say on the right, when the left is put down parallel to it in order to become the gliding foot, the right is turned over from outside to inside edge, from which the push-off is made. Ninety beginners out of a hundred, after making a curve to the right with the right foot, throw the balance abruptly on to the left, which is usually placed at right angles to the right (see fig. 23), and this has the effect of entirely destroying the grace and swing which should characterise the outside edge. Perhaps 74 FIG U RE-SKA TING the best way to instruct the learner in the right method is to take his hands sideways and start as in fig. 24. Starting on the right with the skate pointing to the west, the curve will end with the skate pointing to the east. Now let the toe of the left foot be turned in sufficiently to enable it to be placed parallel to the right, and the new curve to be made by it will be con- tinued in an easterly direction, coming round by the north till it finishes with the skate pointing west, and so on. By practising this parallelism of the feet in going from a curve on one foot to a curve on the other, a graceful 'swing' is FIG. 23. FIG. 24. attained, which can be effected in no other way. Of course great attention must at the same time be paid to the straighten- ing of the knee as soon as the push-off is effected, and also to the sideways attitude of the body. Most beginners, when they find themselves actually on an outside edge, forget all about the sideways position of the body, hold their heads down and look at their feet. From the very beginning the learner should endeavour to hold his head upright and never look at the ice in the neighbourhood of his feet. It is bad form to do so, and there are some movements, which I shall describe later on, that are rendered quite impossible unless the head is kept THE THEORY OF FIGURE-SKATING 75 upright and turned in the direction of the curve to be described (see fig. 25). If the beginner has acquired the power of skating the out- FIG. 25. Forward outside edge. side edge by the method of turning in his toes and crossing his feet, he will have no difficulty in skating the forward cross roll, which is simply the outside edge on either foot ; but instead of 76 FIG URE-SKA TING turning the foot over from the outside to the inside in order to strike, the skater crosses his feet and makes the stroke from the outside of the skate which is behind. This is not so power- ful a stroke as in the ordinary outside, but by carefully attend- ing to the position of the body, large and vigorous curves are possible which can be skated in the form of an eight (see fig. 26). When the balance is very perfect two whole circles instead of one can be skated ; of course the second circle will be rather smaller than the first (see fig. 27). We have now arrived at the last of the four edges, viz. the outside back. In teaching FIG. 26. FIG. 27. anyone this movement, I adopt the same plan as in the out- side forward ; I take the pupil's hands, not sideways this time, but with the pupil facing me, and I direct him to turn out his toes and walk backwards, placing one foot behind and across the other (see fig. 28). When he can walk without catching the toe of one skate against the heel of the other, I cause him to glide a short distance first on one foot and then on the other. The glides are very short at first, but they soon get longer as greater confidence is acquired (see fig. 29). The beginner must then try to step backward and glide in this way without assistance. If a learner can get no one to assist him by holding his hands, he should take two or three strokes back- wards, and then putting his feet together run round on a large THE THEORY OF FIGURE-SKATING 77 circle. On this circle his foot which is next the centre will be on the outside edge, and the other, or the outside foot, on the inside edge. He must learn to hold himself upright, and try to ease off the weight of the body from the outside foot, even to taking it off the ice, if he feels well balanced on the other. There is still another method of learning the outside edge FIG. 28. FIG. 29. FIG. 30. backwards which I have found effective, and I give it, as it is also a pretty and graceful figure of itself. Let the skater stand as if starting to skate in the ordinary way backwards, and when the push-off has been made by the right foot, instead of being brought parallel to the left it is allowed to follow it in the curve which the left foot, being on the inside edge, will naturally assume, so that the right heel is close to the left toe and the 78 FIG U RE-SKA TING right foot is on the outside and the left on the inside edge. When half the circle has been completed, the left heel is turned out on a siding as it were, the object being to get the FIG. 31. Back outside edge. foot at more or less right angles to the right so as to effect a push- off, which being accomplished it follows the right, and so on (see fig. 30). Although in this figure the foot which follows THE THEORY OF FIGURE-SKATING 79 is on the outside, the real power of leaning over is gained from the inside edge of the foot which is leading, but the fact of making a curve in the direction which is, in fact, on one of the feet, outside edge educates the skater and gives him confidence. In the back outside, as in the other edges, the body must be turned sideways, if on the right foot by throwing the left shoulder back and looking over it, and if on the left foot by throwing back the right shoulder (see fig. 31), and whole circles in the form of an eight should be skated (see fig. 32). The back outside cross roll skated in the form of an eight is a pretty movement, but difficult to keep large, as the stroke from FIG. 32. FIG. 33. the cross backwards is somewhat feeble ; but the size of the circles can be increased by great attention to position and balance (see fig. 33). A very pretty method of going from forwards to backwards, or from backwards to forwards on an edge of the same character, is known as a * Mohawk.' It is effected by spread- eagling the feet, and comes with facility to those who are able, naturally, to turn out their feet sufficiently to get into the spread-eagle position (which is that of the feet turned out with the heels together), while it is capable of being acquired by those to whom this is a difficulty by careful attention to the posi- tion of the body at the moment of change. For the forward 8o FIG URE-SKA TING Mohawk the skater proceeds, say on a curve of right outside forward, and when he is about to effect the change to left out- side back he thrusts back his left shoulder and brings forward the left leg in front of the right ; then turning the toe out as much as possible swings it round and behind the right and places it down on the outside back, and at the moment it touches the ice he takes up the right. To effect the change, the left shoulder has been thrust back, but the instant the left is put down the right shoulder must be turned back into the proper position suitable to outside edge back- FIG - 34- i / r \ wards (see fig. 34). The change from a back to a forward edge is executed in the same way, only in this the unemployed foot is thrown behind the employed and then swung round it and placed in front. The outside Mohawks are more difficult than the inside, as with the inside the feet have to be turned out far less than with the outside. It will be found that in executing a Mohawk the body is turned in the same way and put into the same position as in doing a bracket ; in fact, a bracket has been well described as a Mohawk on one foot. It may be said, indeed, that a Mohawk consists of a bracket carried only as far as the actual turn ; at the moment of making the turn the other foot is put down on a ' drop ' and takes up, as it were, the second half of an inside bracket. The outside bracket may therefore be called the ' corresponding turn ' to the outside Mohawk. Now it will be easily seen that the forward outside Mohawk is only one of a class of steps which consist in changing the direction for- ward to backwards, or backwards to forward, at the same moment as the feet are changed, while a turn is the means of a change of direction without a change of feet, and it will be perceived that such a step can be made to correspond to every turn ; that is, each turn can be carried on just as far as the cusp, and the other foot can be put down on a ' drop ' at the moment the cusp is being made. As there are four turns from each of the THE THEORY OF FIGURE-SKATING 81 four edges sixteen in all so there will be sixteen of these -steps. Take those from the outside forward. The ordinary Mohawk has been already described, but it is possible to go from outside forward to outside back by bringing the left shoulder forward instead of backward and rotating the body in the direction of the ordinary three. At the moment when what would be the cusp of the three is reached the unemployed foot is put down on the outside back ; in practice this can hardly, if at all, be effected without a jump, as the toes have to be turned in at an extremely sharp angle just as in the ordinary Mohawk they have to be turned abnormally outward. It is proposed to call this step a cross Mohawk, from the way in which the toes have to be crossed (see fig. 35). The forward FIG. 35. FIG. 36. outside cross Mohawk is therefore the corresponding step to the ordinary three. But, starting as before from the outside forward, it is pos- sible to put the other foot down not on the outside but on the inside back. This step it is proposed to call a ' Choctaw,' and here again it is possible theoretically at least to get to the inside back by a revolution either to the right or to the left. Starting on the right foot, a revolution to the left will clearly have as its corresponding turn the outside counter that is, the direction of rotation is the same ; but instead of continuing the curve on the outside back after the cusp, it is taken up on the drop which puts the other foot on the inside back. So, again, if the direction of rotation is to the right, the corresponding turn is the forward outside rocker. Here, again, when the rota- tion is to the left, the toes have to be turned out, though not so far as in the Mohawk (see fig. 36) ; while in moving to the 82 FIG U RE-SKA TING right they have to be turned inwards. The latter may, therefore,, be called a 'cross Choctaw' (see fig. 37). These are the four steps by which a change may be made from outside forward directly to an outside or inside back. It is obvious that similar steps are possible from all the other edges. In each case one di- rection of rotation will cause- the toes to be turned out- wards, the other inwards. The simplest classification seems to be to call all the latter class the 'cross' steps. But it will be found that it is not the case that the Mohawks will always correspond to brackets and cross Mohawks to ordinary threes, Choctaws to counters and cross Choctaws to rockers. A table of the sixteen steps is given on p. 83, which will show the corresponding turns. As a drop always implies a different edge, it is obvious that a Choctaw and a cross Choctaw, where the edge is changed, must always correspond either to a rocker or a counter, where it is not changed ; and, conversely, a Mohawk or a cross Mohawk must always correspond either to- a three or a bracket. All the cross strokes are extremely awkward, and can hardly be regarded as anything but skating curiosities ; it is not at all probable that they will ever win favour in practical skating. There seems, however, to be no reason, beyond the difficulty of skating them, why the forward Choctaws should not, like the Mohawks, take their place in the regular repertoire of first-class skaters. It will be noticed that it is only by means of these steps that inside and outside back threes, emanating from and ending at the centre, can be skated. Four of these, Nos. 6, 8, 13, and 15, are already quite familiar and easy, being nothing but the ordinary strokes from inside and outside back to inside and outside forward. It is only by analogy and as a matter of system that they are to be called Mohawks and Choctaws. THE THEORY OF FIGURE-SKATING No. From Corresponding Turns Name I Inside forward to Forward inside three Inside Mohawk inside backward 2 Inside forward to Forward inside bracket Inside cross Mohawk inside backward 3 Forward inside to Forward inside rocker Inside Choctaw back outside 4 Forward inside to Forward inside counter Inside cross Choctaw back outside 5 Inside backward to Back inside three Back inside cross Mo- inside forward hawk 6 Inside backward to Back inside bracket [Back inside Mohawk] inside forward i 7 Back inside to for- Back inside rocker Back inside cross ward outside Choctaw 8 Back inside to. for- Back inside counter [Back inside Choctaw] ward outside 9 Outside forward to Forward three Forward cross Mohawk, outside back 10 Outside forward to Forward bracket Forward Mohawk outside back ii Outside forward to Forward rocker Forward cross Choctaw inside backward 12 Outside forward to Forward counter Forward Choctaw inside backward X 3 Outside backward Back outside three [Back Mohawk] to outside forward 14 Outside backward Back outside bracket Back cross Mohawk to outside forward 15 Outside backward Back outside rocker [Back Choctaw] to inside forward 16 Outside backward Back outside counter Back cross Choctaw to inside forward THE FOUR TURNS AND THE FOUR BRACKET TURNS The correct attitude and poise of the body in skating the four edges has been insisted on because then the curves are skated with ease and grace ; but now that turns have to be accom- plished, the correct position of the body has not only to be attained to ensure grace and swing, but because turns cannot possibly be executed unless the position of the body is the correct one for the particular turn to be made. Turns other than rockers and counters consist of a change of direction by means of a half-revolution, and this is effected by going from one edge to another and a different edge on the G 2 84 FIGURE-SKATING same foot, without changing the inclination of the body. For instance, starting on the outside forwards, the making a half- revolution brings the skater on to the inside back ; from inside forward the turn places him on outside back ; from outside back the turn places him on inside forward, and from inside back the turn places him on outside forward. When a single turn only is used these figures are called threes, and when the figure begins with an outside edge whether forward or backward the edge is not mentioned ; but where the figure begins with inside the word inside is added. They are therefore called forward three, inside forward three, back three, and inside back three ; and the name of three has been given to this figure from the mark resembling the figure three made on the ice when skating it. The forward three is the one which the novice as a rule begins by learning, and assuming that he can skate a forward outside edge and a back inside edge there is no great difficulty in joining these curves by means of a turn ; yet if the skating in the public parks be observed, the number of skaters who can execute a three properly is found to be very small. I have seen men attempting to skate a three and failing hopelessly ; and they have confessed that they have tried for years to accomplish it and have never succeeded, and yet with two or three hints as to how the body from the hips upwards should be held I have in five minutes taught them more than they had hitherto learned in as many winters. In the curves of which threes are composed the body of the skater is inclined towards the inside of such curves, but inasmuch as every three is composed of a curve on a forward and a back edge, or a back and a forward edge, and as the body must accommodate itself to the change of the order of going induced by the turn, it is obvious that great attention must be paid to the position of the body just previous o the turn itself, otherwise it cannot be made, or if made the resulting curve cannot be held. In other words, it must be strongly impressed upon the learner that the body must turn the skates, and not the skates the body. A person who has not been taught almost invariably tries to THE FOUR TURNS AND FOUR BRACKET TURNS 85 skate a forward three by proceeding on the outside edge for- ward, and keeping his body in the same position he spasmodi- cally jerks his heel round, but the bocly not having been turned will not follow, and he comes to a standstill. Now watch the FIG. 38. adept. He starts say on the right leg on the outside edge, his body is sideways with the right shoulder forward. Just before he is about to make the turn he throws the weight of the body on the toe part of the skate, and at the same time it will be 86 FIG URE-SKA TING noticed that the left shoulder is gradually brought forward, and this reverses the whole 9f the previous position of the body from the hips upwards, and has the effect of bringing the toe in on a momentarily smaller curve, which causes the skate to turn without any effort. As soon as the turn has landed him on the back inside edge, the left shoulder, which has been brought forward for the purpose of enabling the turn to be effected, is thrust back, and the skater must straighten his knee and lean well back on the heel of the skate, turn out the toe of the un- employed foot (which toe must also be pointed slightly down), and look in the direction of the curve he is describing (see fig. 38). The mark left on the ice is shown in fig. 39 At the moment of making the turn a considerable amount of rotation is set up, in consequence of which the skater finds a difficulty in making the tail of the three large. The screwing round of the body, by bringing the left shoulder forward FIG 3Q before the turn is attempted, elimi- nates a good deal of this rotation ; but even with this help the skater cannot make the tail of the three large unless he gets well on to the heel of the skate as soon as the turn places him on the back inside edge, and also unless he turns out the toe of the unemployed foot, as this movement has the sympathetic effect of keeping the left shoulder from coming forward. It is a common fault with beginners to make the turn before they have fairly attained a balance on the edge with which they start, consequently rotation is set up from the commencement. The first curve of a three should be held for at least a yard and a half to two yards, as this enables the body to be gradually turned round, so as to effect the change of direction with as little rotation as possible. Even when a beginner can skate threes fairly well on either foot, he will still find a difficulty in going directly from the tail of a three, say on the right foot, to the forward curve commencing the three on the left. To do this easily he must, at the THE FOUR TURNS AND FOUR BRACKET TURNS 87 moment of placing down the left foot, keep back his left shoulder, and of course the right shoulder if on the left foot, as the sideway attitude and position adopted for back inside of one leg is suitable to the outside forward on the other. It is very good practice to skate threes in a straight line, and to do this at all the shoulder corresponding to the unemployed leg must be kept back (see fig. 40). This mastered, a lump of snow, or an orange, FIG. 40. FIG. 41. should be placed on the ice, and threes skated to it, until perfect steadiness and accuracy are attained (see fig. 41) ; and the beginner from the very commencement of this practice should strive to hold himself upright, keeping his eyes on a level with the horizon and straightening the knee as soon as the stroke is effected. The grace of a good deal of what is otherwise good skating is spoilt by the way in which many performers throw about their arms in making the various turns and changes. Of course the arms are a great assistance in balancing, but a young skater should try to use them as a help to balance as little as may be. The correct attitude for 88 FIG U RE-SKA TING the arms in skating the threes is to have the arm corresponding to the unemployed leg slightly bent at the elbow, and the hand turned so that the knuckles are downwards ; the other arm should hang down by the side, but not stiffly, and should be kept rather behind the body than not. I have written at great length on the manner of skating the forward three, because if a beginner succeeds in skating this figure in really good form, he will find that the lesson learned in its acquisition will be of immense assistance in the greater difficulties to follow. A pretty field figure consisting partly of a forward three may well be described here. It is composed of a forward three, say on the right, and when the skater has proceeded some distance on the inside back, the left foot is placed parallel to the right on the outside back, and a stroke being made, the right is taken up, and the skater proceeds on the curve of out- side back. This is, in fact, the ' once back ' which occurs so frequently in the ' Club Figures.' On the outside back of left the right shoulder must be kept well back, and at the end of this curve the skater must twist his body, from the hips up- wards, to the right, as the next step is an outside forward on the left, and unless the body is completely turned round while the outside back is being skated the forward outside on the right foot cannot be accomplished with ease. When the out- side forward has been continued a short distance, the left is crossed over, and the figure repeated on the left (see fig. 42). The inside forward three is usually found to be less difficult than the forward three, first, because the skater having learned the forward, has been initiated into the mystery of making a turn, and secondly, because the outside back which forms its tail is easier to hold than the inside back of the forward three. All forward turns, i.e. turns from a forward to a back direction, are made on the toe part of the skate, for the purpose of enabling the heel to clear the ice when it is swung round in making the turn. Back turns are of course made on the heel, to enable the toe portion of the skate to be swung round in THE FOUR TURNS AND FOUR BRACKET TURNS 89 making the turn ; the inside forward three say on the right is commenced with a curve of forward inside, and the turn effected it is finished on a curve of back outside. In skating this three the left shoulder should be kept back, there being no alteration FIG. 42. of the position while the entire three is skated, except that the left shoulder is thrust still further back just before the turn is made, and this effected, the head is turned to the left (see fig. 43). It is capital practice to do these inside forward threes to a centre, especially with a partner, as the skaters come to the centre back to back, on the outside edge backwards, and then the shoulder corresponding to the unem- ployed leg being thrust still farther back, brings them nearly face to face when the back outside edge is, by the turning over of the edge of the skate, converted into back inside edge, and this is done to enable the stroke to be given for imparting impetus for the inside forward three on the other foot (see fig. 44). In skating these threes, the first curve of inside edge should be held a considerable distance before the turn is made. The back three, which is composed of a curve of back outside FIG. 43. 90 FIG U RE-SKA TING and a turn to forward inside, is difficult only from the tendency the turn has to place the skater hard on the forward inside edge, and consequently he experiences a difficulty in making the tail of the three sufficiently large. This difficulty is to a great extent caused by bending the body forward when on the back outside, and by the body not being properly turned before the skate is reversed. There is a tendency also in skating this turn for the feet to get wide apart, which is the necessary result of the fault of bending the body. There is no altera- tion in the position of the shoulders, but just before the turn is made, say on the right, the left shoulder is forced back still FIG. 44. FIG. 45. further. In the inside forward three and the back three there is more rotation set up than in the forward three and inside back three, because there is no change in the position of the shoulders previous to the turn ; hence the skater is placed hard on the edge of the resulting curve, and he must counteract this by making the turns deliberately, and holding himself very upright ; for diagram of the back three see fig. 45. We now come to the last of the threes, viz. the inside back three ; and this particular turn from inside back to outside forward has caused more falls than all the others put together. It gave rise to a happy reply on the part of a man who, when asked why he had given up skating, replied that he found it too sedentary THE FOUR TURNS AND FOUR BRACKET TURNS 91 an occupation ! The turn is usually learned in connection with the forward three, to the tail of which another turn to outside for- ward is added. The skater in attempting it is in such a posi- tion that, if anything goes wrong, he comes down on his hip- bone ; and I well remember the time when, during a frost, my hip-bones were black and blue. There are two ways of skating this turn : first, the old way in which the unemployed leg is brought to the front just before the turn is made, so as to im- part rotation to the body and place the skater well on the heel. The Rev. Mr. Antrobus, whose tall, slim, elegant figure used in former years to be so well known in the Club enclosure, was a great performer at turns, and he always maintained that, to skate the back inside turn properly, the unemployed leg should be swung round and in front of the employed with a motion similar to that which a skater, would make use of if he were trying to kick a stone off the ice with the side of his skate ; and it is certain that by this plan facility in making the turn is readily acquired as soon as the unemployed foot can be swung in the manner indicated, and I have taught hundreds of skaters to do this turn by making use of this method. The difficulty of swinging the unemployed leg in the way described is the drawback, but as soon as a skater has acquired this knack he has mastered the difficulty. The leg should not while swinging be kept stiff, and the facility of acquiring the particular motion indicative of kicking a stone off the ice with the side of the skate can be acquired by practising without skates in a room. Of course the body, from the hips upwards, must at the same time be turned in the direction in which the turn is to be made ; but the great advantage of swinging the leg in the way recommended by Mr. Antrobus is, that it places the skater well on the heel of the skate, and so enables the toe to be thrown round without a scrape. The second and modern way of skating this turn is to keep the unemployed foot behind, and to effect the turn simply by screwing the body round while on the back inside edge, and getting well on the heel, and looking upwards so as to secure FIG URE- SKA TING THE FOUR TURNS AND FOUR BRACKET TURNS 93 the head being thrown well back. The last direction does not seem of importance, but as a fact the turn cannot be executed without a scrape unless the head is upright, as this position places the skater unconsciously on his heel (see fig. 46), which represents a skater (i) on the inside back, (2) with the body slightly turned, and (3) with the body just before the turn is effected, sufficiently screwed round to enable the skate to be reversed. This turn is always difficult even when tried at a slow pace, and with small intervening curves. When executed at a high velocity it is an awe-inspiring performance, and a person who is an adept at it, when asked how he managed it so easily, replied that just before the turn he always looked up to Heaven and whispered a prayer that he might not break his neck ! The mark made on the ice is shown in fig. 47. One FIG. 48. FIG. 47. FIG. 49. of the reasons why high velocity makes the turn more difficult is that a skater proceeding on a curve at a rapid pace must be describing a large curve, and to effect the turn this large curve must for a moment be curtailed, in order to form the cusp in fig. 48. The instantaneous lessening of the curve can be accomplished by a good skater by simply turning his heel in towards the centre, and then coming forward ; but this re- quires great steadiness, as considerable rotation is set up. A moderately good skater may effect a clean turn by slightly turning out the heel and then bringing it in, as this creates a small curve, and renders the turn from it easier (see fig. 49). Inasmuch as the turn from inside back to outside forward 94 FIG U RE-SKA TING is so difficult, the skater until he has thoroughly mastered it is placed hard on the edge of forward outside, and conse- quently finds it difficult to hold it, and the difficulty immedi- ately disappears by making another turn to inside back ; there- fore 'forward two turns,' formerly known as 'the half double/ is much more difficult to skate to a centre than 'forward three turns,' formerly known as 'the double three.' Most of our good skaters devote the first ten minutes of every day on the ice to practising ' forward two turns to a centre,' and this is called practising scales (see fig. 50). Having learned to skate the turns from all edges, they can be joined together by skating two, three, four, or any number of turns, and an even number of turns will always place the skater on the same edge from which he started, and an uneven number on another edge in another direction. For instance, starting, on a forward outside, two turns will land him again on a for- ward outside, but three turns will place him on a back inside edge. There is no difficulty in skating a succession of turns from any edge, but those which commence with a forward outside or a back inside edge are the most difficult. Turns can also be very prettily joined by means of a change of edge, the method of effecting which will be hereafter described ; for instance, a forward and back three can be joined by a change of edge (fig. 51). Again, a change of edge to inside forward after forward two turns will enable the forward inside two turns to be skated (see fig. 52), and is an example of joining an even number of turns. Forward three turns, change of edge, back three turns, is an example ot joining an uneven number of turns (see fig. 53). Many years ago, while practising figure-skating on rollers, I discovered a curious turn made from an edge in one direction to an edge in another direction, as in the ordinary turn, but THE FOUR TURNS AND FOUR BRACKET TURNS 95 done without any rotation. When ice enabled me to try it on real skates, I found this turn made a mark on the ice resem- bling a bracket, and I consequently called it a bracket turn, and I wrote a description, and gave a diagram of it in the ' Field ' newspaper, and since then it has become common all over the Continent, Canada, and America. In the ordinary three, from outside forward to inside back we have seen that the body FIG. 53 . FIG. 51. FIG. 52. rotates half a revolution, and the skater, starting say with his face north, turns his face south, directly the skate is reversed ; with the forward outside bracket turn, the skater goes equally from the outside forward to the inside back, but he effects this without any rotation, and assuming that he starts with his face north, he keeps it still looking north while the turn is being effected ; after the turn, the sideway attitude appropriate to the inside edge 96 FIG U RE-SKA TING backwards necessitates his turning somewhat towards the south. The forward bracket turn is made by shifting the balance, rais- ing the heel, and twisting round the skate into the proper posi- tion for proceeding on a curve of inside back. The position of the body at the moment of making the turn is identical with that necessary to enable a skater to execute a Mohawk, viz. it is turned as much sideways as possible. The secret of skating forward outside brackets well, is to keep the unemployed foot as far back as possible. In order to hold the inside back, the rotation of the body set up by the turn must be minimised. This is done by keeping the body as nearly as possible in the plane in which it is at starting ; the foot only comes round with the curve. This goes on till the sideways attitude is so exaggerated that the foot must turn, which it does without any swing from the unemployed leg. If the skater raises the heel too much, his subsequent impulse on the inside back will be very feeble : again, if he does not raise it sufficiently to clear the ice in swinging it round, the edge of the skate will catch and cause a fall. Constant practice will enable a skater to raise the heel to just the required height, but it is always a difficult turn, and in the forward bracket the resulting curve of inside back is far more difficult to hold than it is after the ordinary turn. Some few members of the Skating Club skate it as large, and with the same accuracy to a centre, as they skate the ordinary forward three (see fig. 54). The small counter curve just before and just after the cusp would seem to indicate a change of edge, but no actual change of edge takes place ; the forward curve is all on the outside, and the back curve on the inside edge. The inside forward bracket is far easier to skate than FIG. 54. the forward bracket. For this, starting on the right the right shoulder must be kept back, thus getting the body into a sideways position, but the contrary way to the orthodox pose sideways while on the inside edge forwards. In this somewhat THE FOUR TURNS AND FOUR BRACKET TURNS 97 cramped position the right foot, but not the body, having followed the curve till the toe is turned inwards to an exag- gerated extent, the turn is effected, and the left shoulder thrust back into the proper position for outside back (see fig. 55). The back outside bracket turn from outside back to inside forward is very difficult when done at any pace. The left shoulder must be brought forward until the sideways attitude in a con- trary way to the orthodox position for out- side back forces the skate to turn, when the shoulder must be instantly thrown back again, to enable the resulting curve of inside forward to be sustained. The bracket turn from inside back to outside forward is also difficult ; the right shoulder must be brought forward, and this will force the skate into the small counter curve, and as this is not a true curve the strain is relieved by the turn being effected. All these bracket turns can be joined by means of a change of edge, and skated in the form of an eight, with the curious result that in an eight so skated the face of the skater is all the time pointing more or less in the same direction. For example, start on the outside forward, make the bracket turn, change from inside back to outside back, and make the back bracket, which leaves the skater on the inside forward, from which a change to outside forward places him in the position he was in at starting, and he can then repeat (see fig. 56). Of course, it follows that a similar eight can be skated starting with the inside forward bracket turn. FIG. 56. 98 FIG URE-SKA TING THE FOUR Q'S AND THE FOUR REVERSE Q'S The figures known to skaters by the name of Q's, although composed of movements fairly easy in themselves, consisting as they do of changes of edge and turns, become somewhat difficult when skated as one figure ; and the difficulty consists, like all other difficulties in figure-skating, in getting the body just previous to any change or turn into the right position for holding the edge after the change or turn has been effected. Thirty or forty years ago a change of edge was not known, or at any rate not skated, consequently Q's are a modern in- vention. The forward Q, consisting of a forward outside edge, a change to inside edge and then a turn to outside back, was the first to make its appearance ; and subsequently, as figure- skaters became more proficient in changes of edge in a back- ward as well as a forward direction, the other Q's and then the reverse Q's were added. A Q consists of a change of edge followed by a turn, a reverse Q of a turn followed by a change of edge. In learning Q's the first thing to accomplish is the ability to change the edge on either foot. To effect this a start should be made on say right outside forward, and when it is desired to make the change to inside forward the unemployed foot should be brought up alongside the employed and swung out slightly in front, at the same moment the body which has been inclined to the right should be straightened and then inclined to the left, and the unemployed leg carried back behind the other foot. In skating forward Q's the impulse is given by the stroke from which the first curve is taken, and this of itself is sufficiently powerful to enable the skater to change the edge and make the turn, still leaving him some velocity to continue the result- ing curve. But the serpentine line on one foot is a means of progression by itself without any push-off" from the other, and this power of gaining impulse from the change of edge is of great use, and makes the skating of Q's a much more brilliant performance, as then the second curve which precedes THE FOUR Q'S AND FOUR REVERSE Q'S 99 FIG. 57. the turn is skated with as much velocity as the first curve, which was fast by reason of the stroke given by the other leg. This impulse is difficult to acquire, but it is in fact a real stroke made by the foot while travelling on a curve. Suppose a skater is proceeding on the forward inside curve A B (fig. 57) ; and suppose having arrived at B he bends his knee, twists his body round and jumps off the ice so as to alight on the same foot on the curve of out- side forward c D, and arrived at D, he again bends his knee, twists his body round and gives a jump and lands on the same foot on the curve E F, he will understand what I mean by a stroke made on one foot while tra- velling on a curve. Now if instead of giving a jump he presses hard on the skate at B, the place where he would have jumped, and then lighten the pressure as much as possible and turn to the right, left shoulder forward, his skate will run round into the curve c D, and at D if he uses the same tactics and inclines to the left, right shoulder forward, he will be able with a little practice and great attention to the position of the body at the different parts of the movement to skate a self-sustaining serpentine line (see fig. 58). At the moment of making the push-off at B D and F the unemployed leg should be brought up in front of the other, and the push-off and change being effected, it should be brought back to its place in the rear of the employed foot. The body from the hips upwards plays an important part in changes of edge, and in the curve A B (fig. 58) the right shoulder must be as it were in advance of the body and foot, and at D the left shoulder H 2 FIG. 58. i oo FIG U RE-SKA TING must be brought forward in the same way. One of the difficulties of skating a self-sustaining serpentine is caused by the momentary loss of balance by which the push-off or concealed jump becomes possible. And it is only by constant practice that the skater will be able with certainty thus for the moment to lose and regain the balance. When it was ascertained that the serpentine line on one foot could be sustained without any push-off from the other, it became obvious that if the balance were sufficiently good and the disguised push-off of sufficient vigour, a whole circle of inside could be joined to a whole circle of outside by means of the change of edge, and so a perfect eight could be skated on one leg without assistance from the other. Although a common enough figure now, I remem- ber when I first skated it some twenty years ago (and I think I was the first member of the Skating Club who mastered it, though previous to then it was known and commonly skated in Canada), it was considered a marvellous feat, and a vague notion that perpetual motion had at last been attained suggested itself to the on-looker ; but alas, even five minutes' skating continuously on one leg convinces one that the most steely muscles tire. Although a skater may be able to accomplish a self-sustaining serpentine line on one foot, he is still a long way off doing a one-foot eight, but he may gradually educate himself sufficiently to connect two whole circles in the form of an eight by com- mencing on a curve of outside edge and completing a half circle, changing to inside edge and completing a half circle, and again changing to outside, on which he should com- plete a whole circle ; and when he can do this without any- great loss of velocity, he should begin on the inside edge, change to outside, and then again to inside, on which a whole circle should be completed (see figs. 59 and 60). Having perfected himself in this preliminary practice, he should try to join the two whole circles. At first he will find that he travels off to the left crab fashion, and this in consequence of the impulse being stronger from the inside to the outside than it is from outside to inside (see fig. 61). When the push- THE FOUR Q : S AND FOUR REjfetti f &S 101 off which precedes the change from vqutsi'df ,tc 'inside- "is as powerful as the one from inside to outside, he will be able to skate a perfect one-foot eight, coming truly over the same line FIG. 59. FIG. 60. with every curve (see fig. 62). The serpentine line backwards should be learned in a similar manner, and to some skaters it comes easier than the forward one ; but the change from inside back to outside back is difficult, not that there is any difficulty FIG. 6l. FIG. 62. in the change of edge, but because the balance in coming round on the outside edge is troublesome to maintain. In continu- ous back eights, in order to make the circles sufficiently small FIG U RE-SKA TING the skate?, contrary to the authorised position, should, when on the inside back of the right, turn his head and shoulders to the right, which has the effect of bringing him round on a smaller circle ; on the outside back the head and shoulders should be turned in the authorised way, viz. to the left. The power of skating continuous eights opens up a large field of practice, as the eight can be varied by inserting turns, loops and crosscuts. For instance, start on a curve of outside forward, turn to inside back, change to outside back and turn to inside forward, change to outside forward and repeat (see fig. 63). Again, start on a curve of inside forward, turn to outside FIG. 03. FIG. 64. FIG. 65. back, change to inside back and turn to outside forward, change to inside forward and repeat (fig. 64). Again, two or more turns instead of one can be inserted (see fig. 65). It will be noticed that the turns are executed more or less in the middle of the curves, and the change of edge effected at the centre. To make the figures self-sustain- ing, it is necessary to finish the turns before the skater arrives at the point, where the cut or push-off gives him the im- petus enabling him to skate the next set of turns. I will deal with continuous eights with loops and crosscuts inserted in them, in the chapter devoted to the description of those figures. THE FOUR Q'S AND FOUR REVERSE Q'S 103 Now that I have described how the motive power for making a serpentine self-sustaining is acquired, I will revert to the de- scription of the Q's. The forward Q is commenced on a curve of outside forward, which is changed to inside forward when a turn to. outside back completes the figure (fig. 66). The inside forward Q is commenced on a curve of inside forward, which is changed to outside forward when a turn to inside back (the common three) completes the figure (fig. 67). The back Q is commenced on a curve of outside back, which is changed to inside back when a turn to outside for ward completes the figure. This turn is difficult enough when executed from the tail of a forward three, but becomes doubly FIG. 66. FIG. 67. FIG. 68. difficult in the back Q as the change of edge preceding the turn is apt to make the skater bend forward, in which position the turn is impossible, and nothing but assiduoiis practice, keeping the body erect and the head well back, will enable the skater to make this turn without any scrape (see fig. 68). The inside back Q is commenced on a curve of back inside which is changed to back outside, when a turn to inside forward completes the figure (fig. 69). The only difficulty in this Q consists in the turn to inside forward placing the skater hard on the edge and with consider- able rotation. The antidote is the getting the body well round before the turn is effected. The reverse Q's, which, as I have before explained, are Q's 1 04 FIG U RE-SKA TING in which the turn precedes the change of edge, would seem very similar to Q's, but the turn sets up rotation and causes the sub- sequent changes of edge to come with greater difficulty than in the Q's, and a proficient at Q's will at first find considerable trouble in skating reverse Q's. The forward reverse Q is commenced on a curve of outside forward from which a turn to inside back is made which is changed to outside back (fig. 70). When this is skated at a high velocity and consequently large, it is a very fine figure, the altera- tion of the balance of the body from inside to outside back being particularly graceful. Inside forward reverse Q is begun on a curve of inside FIG. 69. FIG. 70. FIG. 71. forward, from which a turn to outside back is made which is changed to inside back (fig. 71). Back reverse Q is begun on a curve of outside back, from which a turn is made to inside forward which is changed to outside forward (fig. 72). Inside back reverse Q is begun on a curve of back inside, from which a turn is made to outside forward which is changed to inside forward (fig. 73). When Q's and reverse Q's are thoroughly mastered, they can be joined by means of a change of edge, and this opens up a large field of practice ; and it must be remembered that the skater finishes the Q or the reverse Q on the same description of edge to that with which he commenced, but the direction of THE FOUR Q'S AND FOUR REVERSE Q'S 105 going is reversed, and this will be a guide in attempting to join Q's with Q's, or reverse Q's with reverse Q's. One diagram and description of two Q's joined together will be sufficient to enable a skater to puzzle out the joining together of the others. I will take as an example ' forward Q, back Q ' (fig. 74). Of course in skating these and the other Q's joined together and skated with one impulse, the correct form of the Q is not adhered to ; and until the skater has attained the power of skating continuous eights he will find it very difficult to keep up sufficient pace to enable him to skate them in proper form. I have in the above chapters described some difficult figures FIG. 72. FIG. 73. FIG. 74. which fall, naturally, into their places when describing simpler but analogous figures, but it is not to be implied that the beginner should attempt to learn them in the order in which they are given. After learning the outside, forward and back, and the three with the drop on to the other foot, he can at once begin on simple combination. He can skate once back and forward, forward and forward three out and forward, once back, off meet and forward ; as he masters these he can go on to once back and forward three, once back meet and back and forward, forward and forward three out and once back and forward, and countless other combinations of these simple figures. Along with the acquisition of the above should go steady practice at threes to 106 FIGURE-SKATING a centre, but the beginner must not be disheartened if he finds that these come much more slowly than the rest. The next step must be the serpentine line. This will not be found difficult when done in a forward direction and from the impulse imparted by two or three straight-forward strokes, but the change from inside to outside back is far more difficult, even when simply skated by means of impulse imparted by previous strokes, and it should be worked at hard until the change is easily effected. To make the serpentine line self- sustaining is a far harder task, and may well be left till the be* ginner is more advanced. The inside forward three may now be tried, bringing with it the forward Q. The inside forward Q comes as a matter of course when the simple forward serpentine and forward three have been learned. With the acquisition of the serpentine and Q's, the ' Boomerang ' series of figures become easy, and now the beginner must grapple with the double turns. Those from the inside forward and its correlative the outside back, will cause little trouble, but the turn from inside back will in all probability give several average seasons of hard work before it is sufficiently developed to be brought into combination ; but when this is really mastered so that the beginner can skate it whenever called upon to do so, he may go his own way, and devote himself to the acquisi- tion of any movement that may take his fancy. It is a great help to be able to introduce each movement as it is acquired into combination figures, as this is the best corrective of a slovenly style. Besides, the moral effect of hav- ing to do a given turn at a given place, though it makes it harder in some ways, is an immense incentive to ' going at it ' reckless of consequences. Generally speaking, it must be re- membered that the more movements there are in a figure, the easier it is, for the great difficulty in skating combined figures is to keep up the pace. When a figure gets slow it is certain to get out of shape, and the mere fatigue of having to come into the centre with expiring impetus is far beyond that required to keep up the pace by repeated strokes ; hence it is that any THE FOUR Q'S AND FOUR REVERSE Q'S 107 figure with ' entire ' in it is always tiring, and the beginner should avoid it. The simple three skated to a centre comes under the same class, but it cannot be shirked or avoided ; is must be practised steadily till acquired, only the mistake is sometimes made of supposing that no combination can be properly done till threes to a centre have been mastered. This is an error which causes many beginners needless dis- couragement. It is far better to get on to the easier combi- nations as soon as possible, and keep threes to a centre, steadily going by the side of them. THE FOUR ROCKERS AND THE FOUR COUNTERS In all the turns which I have hitherto described, there has been not only a change of direction from forwards to backwards, or from backwards to forwards, but a change of edge also from outside to inside, or from inside to outside. In the rockers and counters (which figures used to be designated rocking turns and counter-rocking turns), although there is a change of direction the nature of the edge is preserved ; an outside for- ward will, by the turn, become an outside back, an inside back will become an inside forward, and so on. These turns are all extremely hard to skate, because the turn itself is difficult in consequence of the liability of the skate to catch the ice as it is swung round ; but, in the case of rockers, the difficulty is increased because the position into which the body has been placed in order to effect the turn is the wrong one for enabling the resulting curve to be held. In the rockers the turning is easy in comparison with the diffi- culty of holding the resulting curve ; with the counters, on the other hand, the turning is the difficulty, the holding of the resulting curve being comparatively easy. The names of the skaters who have discovered the various movements which we now skate are generally unknown, and unrecorded (probably because the germ, so to speak, discovered by one man has been advanced a stage by another, and so on until it has loS FIGURE-SKA TING become a recognised figure) ; but with regard to counters, it gives me great pleasure to record that undoubtedly the credit of their discovery is due to Mr. H. E. Vandervell, well known as an accomplished skater, and member of the Skating Club. He skated counters twenty-five years ago, and then he called them rocking turns, and although in those days, as then skated, they were more in the nature of the figure now known as the ' Pig's Ear,' still he put younger skaters on the right track. Mr. W. R. Pidgeon and Mr. M. F. Monier- Williams, while undergraduates at Oxford, worked hard at these difficult problems and they have done more perhaps than anyone else to demonstrate not only that these figures are capable of being skated as individual movements, but that they can be intro- duced with great effect into combined skating. The body of the skater in rockers is moved round in the same direction it would be if threes were being skated ; in the counters, as though quickly executed Q's were being made. It is very necessary that the learner should know instinctively in which direction he should turn for effecting a rocker or a counter, and nothing is easier to remember than that a rocker is turned like a three, and a counter like a Q. I use the term ' progression ' to indicate the general course taken by the body of the skater as distinguished from ' direction,' which is used only of the relative position of the skate with regard to the body ; i.e. 'direction ' is used to express the motion of the skate forward or backward. It is important that these two ideas should be kept distinct. In an ordinary three the progression remains unaltered throughout, but the direction is changed at the moment of the turn, i.e. the general course of the skater's body is on a continuous curve, and the turn only alters the position of the skate with regard to this curve. In the figure known as the ' pig's ear ' (which is analogous to a rocker or counter to this extent, that the skater goes from a curve in one direction to a similar curve in another direction^ both progression and direction are altered ; not only does the skate at the cusp change from forward to backward or vice versa, THE FOUR ROCKERS AND FOUR COUNTERS 109 but the body itself does not continue the curve on which it reached the cusp, but returns back along it, or nearly so. This constitutes an essential difference between rockers and counters on the one hand, and pig's ears on the other. The two classes may be distinguished as 'turns' and 'kicks,' in the latter of which the pig's ear and to some extent the crosscuts are the types ; the impetus required for the change of progression is obtained by a momentary loss of balance ; the foot is not kept at the point on which the weight of the body would naturally rest, but is pushed in front and then rapidly drawn back. By this means a push against the ice is obtained, and the return effected. In a pure turn of any sort, a three, bracket, rocker, or counter, nothing of this sort happens ; the body is never off the balance, and there is nothing in the nature of a kick. It is, however, possible to skate a turn with a sort of kick, and this FIG. 75 . to gain fresh impetus ; but this is not a pure turn, as may be seen in many cases from the marks on the ice. The kick is obtained in an ordinary three by letting the foot take a curve backward till the balance is slightly lost as the body goes on- wards, and then bringing it rapidly after the body ; the result is to produce a slight loop, as shown in fig. 75. In the common three the rotation of the body follows the curve of progression ; in brackets, rockers, and counters the rota- tion is in one or both parts of the movement, opposed to the curve of progression. It is physically and mechanically impossible to effect the rotation of the skate on the ice while maintaining its progression without introducing into the trace more or less of an opposed curve such as is present in the resulting curve of a rocker, and in the first curve of a counter, and which is often, 1 1 o FIG URE-SKA TING but of course wrongly, supposed to indicate a change of edge. It is possible to eliminate this curve, but only by losing the purity of the turn, for the progression of the skate must be in- terfered with, while that of the body has to remain unchanged. This involves a temporary loss of balance. The nature of the movement is, perhaps, most easily seen in a forward inside counter, of which fig. 76 gives the diagram. In the left-hand diagram the turn is pure, the progression of the skate is the same as that of the body, and consequently the opposed curve is shown ; in the right-hand diagram the opposed curve is done away with, thus : the cusp is made not by turning the skate, but by drawing it backwards, while the progression of the body is unaltered. The skate thus moving in one direction and the body in another, the balance is momentarily lost, and recovered FIG. 76. by bringing the skate rapidly round the curve after the body. A very strong impetus can be obtained by skating the turn this way, but it is not a pure turn ; it is a kicked turn, and is precisely analogous to the kicked three (fig. 75), which no one pretends is the proper way of skating a three. Nor does this way of skating a counter appear to me to be the right one. Kicks can never have the grace and power of true turns. In the counter, rota- tion and curve of progression are opposed only before the turn. In the bracket they are opposed both before and after. The resulting opposed curves shown on the ice are always recognised as an essential part of the bracket, and no one ever tries to skate a bracket without them. But the first part of a counter up to the cusp is identical with the first part of a bracket. Similarly, the second part of a rocker is identical with the THE FOUR ROCKERS AND FOUR COUNTERS in second part of a bracket. A counter may, in fact, be regarded as half a bracket plus half a three ; a rocker as half a three plus half a bracket. Why the opposed curve, which is held to be essential in a bracket, is looked upon as a defect in a counter or a rocker, I have always had difficulty in understanding. I believe that it is simply a relic of the exploded belief that the opposed curve implies a change of edge. If that were so, the counter would really be what one sometimes hears it called a bastard Q ;. but when one recognises that the opposing curve is on the same edge as that which precedes and follows it, this objection vanishes. It may be rioted that it is impossible by any sort of kick, or, indeed, by any device short of rising on FIG. 77. the point of the skate, to abolish both the opposed curves of the bracket, but it is quite possible to abolish one of them. We can, in fact, have a kicked bracket, and then the opposed curve, on whichever side of the cusp it is, is greatly exagger- ated (see fig. 77). In practice I almost doubt whether it is possible, however, in this case to get the change of edge at the cusp, where it should be. I fancy that the opposed curve is likely to be really on a different edge, the change of edge being made at the point of inflection, instead of at the cusp. This is a point that may be worth investigating on the ice. I know that in practice I have I r 2 FIG U RE-SKA TING skated such bastard brackets, but I am not sure of the exact way in which they were done. There remains the question of the rocker without the opposed curve This is, strictly speaking, analogous to the kicked counter, but the analogy of the kick is less obvious, as the curves are so arranged that a regular kick from the ice cannot be obtained ; in order to skate such a rocker the foot is forced round on an exaggeratedly sharp curve before the cusp is reached. There is undoubtedly some loss of balance, but it is concealed by the fact that while it is being made the rotation is not against, but follows the curve of progression (fig. 78). In the last four figures I have indicated the curve of progression by a dotted line ; for threes and brackets it is a continuous curve, whereas for rockers and counters there is FIG. 78. a point of inflection at the cusp. It will be seen that the characteristic of the kicked turns is that in all of them there is a point near the cusp where the skate is for a moment going in an opposite direction to the curve of progression ; in the pure turns there is no such point. Whatever, therefore, is the verdict of skaters as to the ideal to be aimed at, it is certainly desirable that these two different methods of skating all the turns should be clearly grasped, and especially that the question should not be complicated by classing such unmistakable kicks as ' pig's ears ' and crosscuts under the head of rockers or counters. Rockers come easier when skated fast, and the reason is quite obvious. When a skater is going at high velocity in a curve, it must necessarily be a large one ; and as in the turn THE FOUR ROCKERS AND FOUR COUNTERS 113 he goes from a forward to a back edge, or from a back to a forward edge of the same character, there is no passing from the edge of one side of the skate to the edge on the other, and consequently the decreasing of the 'size of the curve, which is so useful in the ordinary turn, is to be avoided when skating rockers. Skated slowly, it is most difficult to avoid decreasing the size of the curve just before the turn, as the swinging round of the body necessary in making the turn has this effect ; but if skated at a good pace the turn is effected before the instantaneous slewing round of the body can decrease the size of the curve. Another help in accomplishing these turns is the swinging round of the heel if for a forward turn or the toe if for a back turn as far as possible, and to effect this the skater must raise himself boldly on the heel or toe at the moment of the turn. By thus getting well round the curve of progression is maintained, and the resulting curve is more or less in the direction of the first curve or line of progress, and consequently easier to hold (see fig. 79, in which the dotted line shows the resulting curve FIG when the body and skate are not 'sufficiently swung round, and the other line which shows it when they are sufficiently turned). Counters, on the other hand, appear to come easier when executed slowly. Although, in making these turns, the body must be screwed round as in making threes or Q's, the turn effected, it must be instantly turned back again, and unless the resulting curve is more or less in the line of first curve in other words, unless the curve of progression is preserved the skater has the greatest difficulty in holding the edge. It will be understood, therefore, that when the skater is directed to turn to the right or left, as the case may be, this is only for effecting the turn ; and the instant, or even a second before the turn is completed, he must throw 1 1 4 FIG URE-SKA TING the shoulder back again into the position which alone will enable him to hold the edge of the resulting curve. The forward rocker, say on the right leg, is commenced with a curve of outside forward, and to effect the turn the left shoulder is brought forward as though a forward three were about to be skated ; but instead of allowing the skate to turn over from the outside forward to the inside back as in that figure, the rotation is stopped by raising the heel, and swinging it round and dropping it on the outside edge backwards, and continuing that curve (see fig. 80, where the dotted line shows the direction in which the heel is swung round). As soon as ever the skater is landed on the outside back, he must get well on the heel of his skate, and turn his head as much as possible in the direction of the shoulder corresponding to the unemployed leg. The inside forward rocker is commenced with a curve of forward inside, and to effect the turn the body is moved round as though a forward inside three were going to be skated ; but instead of landing on the outside back, as in that figure, the rotation is stopped, the heel swung round, and dropped on to the inside back, and the curve continued on that edge (see fig. 81). The turn in this figure is the easiest of any of the rocker turns, but the resulting FIG. ol. curve is the hardest of any of them to hold. The turn, perhaps from the ease with which it is effected, seems to impart so much rotation, that at first the skater will find that he is hopelessly unable to hold the edge of the resulting curve, and will be compelled to put down the unemployed foot. I can suggest no means of overcoming this difficulty other than continuous practice, keeping the THE FOUR ROCKERS AND FOUR COUNTERS 115 body at the same time as upright as possible, and making the turn with deliberation so as to set up as little rotation as possible. The back rocker is commenced with a curve of outside back, and to effect the turn the body is moved round as in the back three, but instead of allowing the skate to turn over from the outside back to the inside forward, as in that figure, the toe is raised, and swung round and dropped on the outside forward, and the curve continued (see fig. 82). This is the easiest of all the rockers, and was the first to be FIG . 82- used in the Club figures, and when skated at Oxford by Mr. Pidgeon was called by him 'the three-quarter turn.' The inside back rocker is commenced with a curve of back inside, and to effect the turn the body is moved round as though an inside back three were going to be skated, but instead of allowing the skate to turn over to the outside forward, as in that figure, the toe is raised, and swung round, and dropped on to the forward inside edge (see fig. 83). The body has to be screwed round on this turn in the same manner as in the inside back three, but inasmuch as the foot has not to be swung round as much as in that figure, the actual turn is rather easier, but the subsequent curve is very difficult to hold. The body of the skater as in the counters moves round as though Q's were being skated, and it does not appear to me to be necessary to describe them minutely, as with the exception of turning in the direction suitable for making Q's instead of I 2 n6 FIG U RE-SKA TING threes, they in other respects resemble rockers. For instance, starting on the right leg, in a forward Q the skater turns to the left, right shoulder forward ; he does the same thing in the for- ward counter (see fig. 84). FIGi 8 4 . In the inside forward Q he turns to the right, and he turns in a similar manner in skating the inside forward counter (see fig. 85). In the back Q the skater turns to the right, left shoulder forward, and he turns in a similar manner in skating the back counter (see fig. 86). And in the inside back counter as in the inside back Q he turns to the left, right shoulder forward (fig. 87). Of course, starting with the left foot the direction of turning is reversed. Q's and reverse Q's with rockers, counters, or brackets, instead of the common turn, can be skated, but it is un- necessary to go into an elaborate description of them, as anyone who has learned to skate the Q's and reverse Q's, and who has also conquered FIGt 87. the rockers, counters, and brackets, will readily understand how to substitute them for the common Q turn. A change of edge, followed by a bracket, is therefore called a THE FOUR ROCKERS AND FOUR COUNTERS 117 bracket Q ; followed by a rocker, a rocker Q ; and followed by a counter, a counter Q ; and when the bracket, rocket, or counter, precedes the change of edge, it is called respectively reverse bracket, rocker, or counter Q. LOOPS, CROSSCUTS, AND CONTINUOUS FIGURES Unfortunately loops seem to exert a sort of fascination over the beginner. I say unfortunately, as they can only be acquired by a learner placing himself in positions which lead him into bad habits, and which will render large bold curves executed with perfect steadiness extremely difficult. One of the characteris- tics of a really good skater is the great steadiness which he displays while executing curves, and this is the result of perfect balance combined with the attitude appropriate to the curve which he is skating. And yet one constantly sees beginners, who are unable to hold a curve of three or four yards, throwing themselves into the most extraordinary attitudes in their attempts to accomplish a loop. This is beginning entirely at the wrong end. When a skater has learned the four edge and the four turns and can hold himself in the correct attitude while skating them, he may attempt loops; but even while practising them he must every now and then * straighten himself out ' by skating a large bold curve or a two, or some other figure in which an upright position is essential, as most certainly he cannot learn loops, and even when he has learned the knack of doing them he cannot skate them, without bending his body and knee and craning his head round in advance of his body ; for a loop consists of a more or less large curve which is arrested and converted into a small one to be. again enlarged (see fig. 88), and to effect this the skater's body must have a great inclination, and it must be screwed round in advance as it were of the skate after the manner in which the head of an expiring spinning-top precedes the revolution of the peg. Now as this FIGURE-SKA TING balance is very difficult to attain, the knee will be bent as a safe- guard held in reserve against the possible loss of balance which is likely to be caused, not only by the unusual position the body has to assume, but also from the great rotation which is set up by the swinging of the unemployed leg. Most skaters in trying loops start on a curve of outside edge, and when the loop is to be formed the unemployed foot is swung round in front, and the further it is away from the employed foot the greater will be the rotation which it imparts ; but this swinging of the leg is very ungraceful, and although a great help in learning loops, it is not absolutely necessary, as is evidenced by the skating of con- tinuous loops, i.e. outside and inside loops joined by a change of edge. In this figure the loops must be formed by simply screwing round the body without swinging the unemployed foot, which must be kept behind and only brought forward to effect a change of edge. If swung out to facilitate the skating of the loop, it is in the wrong position for enabling the skater to effect the change of edge, and he comes to a standstill. This is an extremely difficult but very effective figure, and in the forward continuous loops the outside loop should be skated on the forward part of the skate and the inside loop on the back part. In skating them backwards the converse is the case (see fig. 89). The form of the loops should be oval, and in forward continuous loops they come readily of the proper shape after one or two have been executed ; but back continuous loops are frequently made circular instead of oval in conse- quence of the greater difficulty of screwing the body round and swinging the unemployed leg when going backwards. A turn a loop and a turn forms a rather effective figure. Starting on a forward outside the turn places the skater on the back inside edge on which the loop is skated, the converse of course being FIG. 89. LOOPS, CROSSCUTS, CONTINUOUS FIGURES 119 the case when the start is made on a forward inside edge (see fig. 90). In the same way a loop a turn and a loop can be skated (see fig. 91). In these figures the turns set up considerable rotation and cause the loops to be hurried, and it is necessary to pay great attention to turning the body round previous to the making of the turn so as to minimise the amount of rotation as much as possible. All beginners at loops will find that before the ability of skating a perfect loop is acquired, the loop is spoiled by a FIG. 92. FIG. 90. FIG. 91. small straight line at the apex of the figure, and this is caused by a momentary stoppage ; and many years ago some one encouraged the stoppage and even caused the skate to slip back, and then by swinging the unemployed leg renewed the arrested rotation, which caused the skater to come forward on a curve of the same edge as that with which he started (see fig. 92). The figure is in reality a combination of two kicked turns partaking somewhat of the nature of a rocker and a counter, but inasmuch as the skater is for the instant stationary at the points A and B (fig. 92), and as the base of the figure is but 120 FIG U RE-SKA TING short, and held as it were on sufferance, two cusps are made without the turning of the body necessary to execute the true rocker and counter. In skating the crosscut, the unemployed leg must be kept behind until the base of the figure is completed, and then swung rapidly forward. At first the base of the cross- cut will be very short and straight, but with practice it can be enlarged to two or three feet, and it will then have a considerable curve of the true rocker type (see fig. 93), and this is the correct form of the figure. When the base of the figure is made large, the skater is obliged to bend his knee and body very much to enable him to get the proper drawback. Crosscuts skated backward can be made with larger bases than when skated forward, but it is a question whether it is possible to skate a crosscut having a base longer than the skater's stride, as it seems necessary that the centre of gravity of the body should be at rest while the base is being formed. FIG. 93. FIG. 94. So called large crosscuts are usually executed at the tail of a forward Q, and are done at a break-neck pace, and it has been asserted that, skated in this form, the base, which must be made with considerable curvature to enable the skater to cut the first curve with the finishing curve, has been made some fifty feet in length ; but there can be little doubt that LOOPS, CROSSCUTS, CONTINUOUS FIGURES 121 in these cases a true crosscut is not effected. The figure becomes, in fact, a combination of a rocker and a counter (see fig. 94). Small crosscuts can be skated alternately with loops (see fig. 95), or four crosscuts can be skated in the form of a Maltese cross (fig. 96), or they can be inserted in a FIG. 95. FIG. 96. continuous eight (see fig. 97). The crosscut from the inside edge does not come with the ease it does from the outside, because the unemployed leg cannot be swung in a way to im- part rotation, and in skating inside crosscuts the skater comes more obviously to a stop before and after the drawback, and FIG. 97. FIG. 98. comes forward or backwards, as the case may be, more by kick- ing out the unemployed leg than by swinging it as in the outside crosscut. There is a curious form of crosscut which is Swedish in origin, but even in Sweden those who can skate it are very few ; 1 22 FIG U RE-SKA TING the peculiarity of it is that the base is the opposite way to the base of an ordinary crosscut (see fig. 98). It is of the kicker class, and is a further development of what Mr. Vandervell calls the counter crosscut (fig. 99). As these figures are accom- plished by coming to a standstill, and then getting impulse by kicking out the unemployed leg, they come easier from the inside than from the outside edge. There were two axioms in skating that, for many years, were considered correct, viz. : (i) ' All circles or parts of circles per- formed by the skater, whether backwards or forwards on the inside edge, have their centres on the side of the unemployed foot ; and (2) on the outside edge, on the side opposed to the spare foot' ; but in the year 1868, a writer in the ' Field ' news- paper described a figure which he called ' The Cupid's bow,' FIG. 99. FIG. 100. which, he said, consisted of a forward outside curve, a back outside curve, and a forward outside curve (see fig. 100). If the above axioms were correct, it is obvious that the centre curve must be back inside ; in learning the crosscut, however, the skater will frequently find himself skating the figure, but with the centre curve executed with the outside edge of the skate, and the axiom should be as follows : ' No curve or edge can be permanently held unless it is concave to the side on which the centre of gravity of the body is, as otherwise the body could not be in relative equilibrium.' In accordance with this revised axiom, an edge which does not put the body in relative equilibrium may be held on to for some time, and this accounts for many variations in curves which occur in some of the figures, notably the bracket, rocker, and counter. Let us take the Cupid's bow and analyse it. After the first curve of outside LOOPS, CROSSCUTS, CONTINUOUS FIGURES 123 forward the turn is made ; instead, however, of allowing the skate to turn over to the inside back, the ankle is bent out, but the body is inclined towards the centre of the circle, and the skate held on the outside edge, and by keeping the heel firmly down, this false curve can be held for a considerable distance, and when the skater feels that he can hold it no longer, he re- lieves the strain by turning to the outside forward, which completes the Cupid's bow. FIG IOI If he did not make the second turn, he would be constrained to allow the skate to fall into the true curve in the opposite direction (see fig. 101). The figure known as the 'pig's ear,' so called from a supposed resemblance to the shape of that animal's ears, is of Swedish origin, and is of the kicker class. It will be seen by the diagrams (figs. 102 and 103) that these figures can be FIG. 103. FIG. 102. effected in two ways. In the one (fig. 102) the resulting curve lies outside the first curve, and is thus analogous to a kicked rocker ; and in the other, the resulting curve lies inside the first curve, and is consequently analogous to a kicked counter. Although, as I have shown, rockers and counters when executed by means of a pure turn have the curve of progression in a serpentine line, it is interrupted when the turn is effected by a kick, and the more the stoppage and kick are exaggerated the 1 24 FIG U RE-SKA TING greater will be the concavity of the second curve with regard to the first in a rocker, and the convexity of the second curve with regard to the first in a counter. Although, therefore, the curves of a pig's ear are composed of curves similar in character to those of rockers and counters, they are perfectly distinct from these, inasmuch as the curve of progression is arrested when the skater comes to a standstill as he does in these figures at the cusp, and then comes forward (or backward) on a curve in a different direction to the curve of progression by means of thrusting forward or drawing back the foot, as in the crosscut and the pig's ear. When repeated and thus made continuous, they may be described as half of the forward crosscut, joined by means of a change of edge to half of the inside back counter crosscut. A further difference between these pig's ears and the rockers and counters is that, in executing them, there is no rotation of the body when forming the cusps, it remaining practically in the same position while going backwards or forwards ; the curves in the vicinity of the cusps are effected by bringing round the skate without rotating the body. In consequence of the skater coming to a standstill at the cusps, pig's ears possess none of the ' go ' which is the characteristic of rockers and counters. They can be skated from both edges, either forwards or back- wards, and as at the moment of stopping at the end of one curve previous to coming forwards (or backwards) the body of the skater is leaning very much towards the centre, it is essential that the skate blades should be sharp ; just before stopping on the curve of outside forward the curvature is decreased, and con- sequently the foot is so much turned out that the resulting FIG. 104. curve backwards is almost at right angles to the first curve. Again, in the outside backwards, the curve is contracted by turning the heel in, stopping and then coming forward on a LOOPS, CROSSCUTS, CONTINUOUS FIGURES 125 curve almost at right angles to the first curve. In the inside forward pig's ear similarly, the toe is turned in on the forward and the heel on the backward curve just previous to the stop- page (see fig. 104, which is a diagram of a forward pig's ear joined by a change of edge to a back inside pig's ear). The stoppage is made at the cusps, and the change of edge, from FIG. 106. which a good deal of the motive power is derived, is made about the middle of the figure. x Pig's ears, having the second curve convex or concave to the first curve, can be joined 107. by means of a change of edge and a turn (figs. 105 and 106). By a change of edge after as well as before the turn, a forward outside pig's ear can be joined to an inside forward 126 FIGURE-SKATING pig's ear (see fig. 107), and indeed the possible combinations are numerous. As the figures described in this chapter are such as are habitually exhibited to illustrate individual profi- ciency, a sort of * peacocking ' as it were, I insert in it a brief notice of figures which are not much skated in England, but which are thought a great deal of by our American cousins. I mean spins and toe steps. A forward outside one-foot spin is usually commenced on a forward inside, when a change is made to outside, and the un- employed foot is lifted up almost as high as the knee of the unemployed, and swung round it for the purpose of imparting rotation. And it is this abominably ugly position which has undoubtedly been the cause of its unpopularity in England (fig. FIG. 108. MB FIG. 109. 1 08). An inside forward spin is usually commenced by a back outside and a turn to forward inside, which places the skater hard on the edge and at the same time imparts rotation (fig. 109). A back outside spin is usually begun by a forward inside, from which a turn is made to back outside and the spin completed ; the diagram of this figure is the same as the last, but with the foot going forwards instead of backwards. And the inside back spin is usually done com- mencing with a forward outside and then a turn as in the ordinary three (fig. no). Some American skaters finish off these _spins by raising themselves on the toe, and continuing LOOPS, CROSSCUTS, CONTINUOUS FIGURES 127 the rotation until they are stopped by the front point of the skate boring a hole in the ice. The two-foot spin is more graceful, as there is no swinging of the unemployed leg. The forward two-foot spin is commenced by a curve of outside, which is changed to inside, and then the left foot being turned in is put down on the inside edge, and the arms being extended at nearly right angles to the body are thrown round with the body to the left, and at the same moment the feet are pulled together. As soon as the rotation is imparted, the arms are gradually brought down to the sides. Although the knees and body must be slightly bent before the spin is started, they must both be straightened as soon as rotation begins, and if the balance is correct FIG. III. a man will rotate fourteen or fifteen revolutions, and he will go so fast at the beginning that his features will be undistinguishable (see fig. in). A two-foot spin backwards is usually begun by a forward outside and a turn to back inside, when the left foot is put down on the forward inside, and the rotation given by swinging the arms and body to the right. If one can execute the for- ward two-foot spin either to the right or left, these back spins are similar to forward spins after the rotation has been imparted. For instance, a forward spin to the right is in fact a back spin to the left, and a forward spin to the left is a back spin to the right (fig. 112). 'Toe steps, 'al- though practised a great FIG II2 deal in America, are looked upon here as tricks, and not true skating. In pure skating one or both feet must be moving, and the body poised in the proper balance to hold the curve to be skated, but in 1 28 FIG URE-SKA TING these toe steps the toe of one foot is stuck into the ice to form the pivot round which the other foot performs the various changes (fig. 113). Circles round the pivot of outside and in- side backwards and forwards three loops, &c., can be skated in this manner, and the way in which the employed skate twists round the pivot is very curious. I give one diagram (fig. 114) of a figure consisting of several movements, and this will serve as a guide to other movements of a similar kind, if any of my readers think it worth while to try these curiosities. The dot in the diagram indicates the position of the pivot toe. There is one more figure which, if the skater be sufficiently FIG. 113. FIG. 114. ' lissom ' to acquire it, is worth learning ; it is called the spread-eagle. It is performed by taking a few straight-forward strokes to obtain impetus, and then, by turning out the toes so that the feet are in a straight line, with the heels almost touch- ing, the skater glides along, either in a straight line by keeping the body erect, or in a circle forward by inclining the body slightly forward, or in a circle backwards by inclining the body backwards, when of course the feet will have to be turned out beyond the straight line. This would seem to be more diffi- cult than going in a straight line, but in fact it is not so, as being on a forward edge with the leading foot, and a back edge with the foot which follows, the muscular tension necessary to hold LOOPS, CROSSCUTS, CONTINUOUS FIGURES 129 the feet in the required position is not so great as when the skater is going in a straight line, and consequently on the flat of the skate. It can also be made self-sustaining by forcing the feet together after the manner of the chain step ; and some men have the power of so turning back their feet that they can, with their back to the centre, in this way make a large continuous circle. With the face to the centre this continuous spread-eagle is not, of course, so difficult. THE GRAPE-VINES Many years ago I was skating at the Penn Ponds, Richmond, and I saw a man skating a two-footed figure that was quite new to me, and which seemed to be a juggle of the feet which was impossible to follow, and yet which had a rhythm and go in it that excited my emulation. I asked the stranger the name of the figure, and if he would show me how to do it, to which he replied, * I guess they call it a grape-vine in my country, but I can't tell you how to do it, as I don't know how I do it myself.' Now a friend in Canada had sent me the diagram of a grape-vine, but as the position of the feet was not shown, I could make neither head nor tail of it ; now, however, having actually seen the figure skated, I took my diagram, and puzzled it out in a room. The next day I tried it on the ice, and after a great many failures felt at last that I had mastered it. So great was my delight that down I went the next day to the Penn Ponds, and was greatly pleased to find my American. Having again observed his grape-vine, and con- vinced myself that what I had learned was the same, I addressed him, and said I had learned to skate that little thing he could not teach me. I skated it to his evident astonish- ment, as he exclaimed, 'Well, I guess you're pretty smart,' to which I replied that, skating being a purely imitative art, it was easy to imitate any movement skated by some one else. But I have since discovered, in trying to teach even good skaters the grape-vine, that he was right in declining to attempt to teach 1 3 o FIG U RE- SKA TING me, as although a skater may be able to skate all the move- ments of which the grape-vine is composed, he may be a long time before he is able to join them together in the form of a grape-vine. The first thing to acquire is the ability of getting up speed by passing one foot in front of the other in opposing serpentine lines, an action known as the chain step (see fig. 115), and the next thing is to describe a serpentine line backwards, with FIG. 115. FIG. Il6. the feet tracking (see fig. 116). When the beginner is perfect in these two simple movements, he can begin to practise the grape-vine, and he must impress on himself that he is always to face in the same direction. Assuming that his face is pointing south, in the various changes he will turn to the east and west momentarily, but his face will always be to the south, as in the grape-vine there is no whole revolution, but a half revolution to the right and another to the left. The single grape-vine is begun by allowing the right foot to pass in front of the left with THE GRAPE-VINES 131 the movement above described, and designated the chain step, when the right shoulder is thrown back, and a turn to the right effected by means of the common three on the right foot, and the inside three on the left, the turn on the right foot preced- ing the turn on the left by half a second. Up to this point the movement has been perfectly simple, the turn has brought the skater's body round half a revolution, and he is going back- wards on a curve to the left with the right foot leading. When this curve has been sustained for some distance, the balance is shifted, and the feet being retained in the same position, that is tracking with the right leading, a curve is made to the right. Then the curve on the right foot is curtailed, and the left foot is allowed to take precedence of the right by gradually circling round it. By decreasing the curve on the right the heel is turned out and the toe consequently turned in, and for the moment the foot remains stationary on the inside forward, acting as a pivot round which the left circles, and when the left has passed it, the right toe being still turned in, the right shoulder is brought forward. At this moment the feet are at right angles to each other, with the toes pointing inwards, and this awkward position is relieved by pressing the feet together, and bearing on the back portion of the skates, and when close together with the right leading, changing the edge of that foot to the outside for- ward, which is the position assumed at starting ; consequently the movement can be repeated. As the turning out of the toes in going from forwards to backwards, and the turning them in while going from backwards to forwards, is the whole essence of the movement, it is well for the beginner to commence practice by simply walking sideways, first with the toes turned out, and then with them turned in (see fig. 117). '' FIG. 117. As these are the positions of the feet as shown in fig. 118, and marked B, c, there is no difficulty in the first portion of the figure, where the skater turns from forwards to backwards ; it is the second portion, where the K 2 1 32 FIG U RE-SKA TING skater has to turn from backwards to forwards, which is so puzzling, and the solution is to make a distinct change of edge as shown at A (fig. 1 1 8), without altering the position of the feet, then to contract the curve formed by the right, and bear on the heel when arrived at E sufficiently hard to enable that foot to act as a pivot round which the left can circle till arrived at D. At this point the two feet are on the inside edge and pointing inwards, and forward motion can be obtained by forcing them together. Although the actual motive power is obtained by this forcing together of the feet (as in the chain step\ swinging the body from the hips upwards in the desired direction is essential before the grape-vine can be skated without any apparent effort. The thick line of fig. 118 represents the FIG. Il8. right, the thin the left foot. When the feet are in the position shown at D, E, the right shoulder must be brought forward, and if the skater screws his body round to the extent of being able to see his heels over his left shoulder, at the same time holding his feet firmly to the ice on the inside edges, he will find that the feet must go forward on a curve to the left. To look well, the feet should be kept just sufficiently near together to clear each other in the turns, and the whole move- ment should be executed at the same pace ; all the grace is destroyed if the turns are skated faster than the inter- mediate curves. Although in learning the grape-vine the edges are changed in the turns and curves, as shown by the diagram, yet when a skater is quite perfect, and can skate both turns and curves without any jerk, he can execute the whole movement THE GRAPE-VINES 133 on the outside edges of his skates ; the curves which appear to be inside curves being in fact done with the outside edges of the skates after the manner of the second curve in the Cupid's bow figure, and skated in this way the grape-vine appears to be executed with greater ease. When the grape-vine, with the right foot in front at starting, has been learned, the same thing, but with the left foot leading (when the progress will be to the right), must be acquired ; and this accom- plished, the double grape-vine can be commenced. This is done, as in the single grape-vine, by passing the right foot in front of the left with the chain step, but instead of making a half revolution as in the single, the body is swung completely round by means of two turns on the right foot, and an inside loop on the left. In this revolution the right, while making the two cusps, acts as a pivot around which the loop with the left is formed. The revolution accomplished, the left foot leads, the opposing curves as shown by the diagram are made, and then the body is swung round to the left, and so on ; when skated rapidly, instead of a loop a Cupid's bow is formed (see fig. 119). The motive power is more feeble in the double than in the single grape- vine, and is more difficult to disguise, as the means of obtaining motion is only in one direction, viz. : forward in the forward double, and back in the back double grape-vine. The back double grape- vine is rather easier than the forward, because the turns are made with greater facility, and consequently less motive power on the curves is required to keep the figure going. The thick 1 34 FIG URE-SKA TING line of the diagram denotes the right foot, and the thick arrow the forward direction, the thin arrow the back direction. A variation of the double grape-vine can be made by skating one and a half instead of one revolution, and the extra half-revolution changes the order of going from forwards to backwards, or backwards to forwards, and consequently the skater can commence with the forward and finish with the back double grape-vine. The extra half-revolution causes the figure to consist of a cusp, two loops, and a cusp, the right foot leading and making a cusp and a loop, and the left a loop and a cusp (see fig. 120). This diagram was sent to the 'Field' newspaper by Mr. Deina in January 1891, as being new, but it has been skated in Canada for many years. The Philadelphia grape-vine is usually skated backwards. With the feet slightly apart the skater starts with the back chain step, and allows the right to pass in front of and outside the left foot, the legs being thus crossed and the two feet parallel to each other, with the outside of either foot almost touching ; from this position the right foot is flipped back with a sudden jerk to the right on a curve of outside forward, the left following on a curve of inside forward. This brings the skater round half a revolution and the feet become disengaged, and the subsequent turn as shown in the diagram (fig. 121) brings the skater into the position in which he started, but with the right foot leading, and enables the left to be brought across outside of THE GRAPE-VINES 135 and parallel to the right, and from thence flipped back to the left. The flipping back the outside foot is a knack which is accomplished by a sudden twist of the ankle combined with the throwing round of the shoulders, and at the moment the skater begins to revolve the feet are locked together, to become disengaged at the end of the half-revolution (see fig. 121). The Philadephia skated forward is executed in the same way, being begun with the chain step ; and supposing that the right foot is passed in front of the left, the left is brought up outside of and parallel to it, and then the heel is flipped back to the left on a curve of outside back, the right following on a curve of inside back, when the feet become disengaged, and the subsequent half-revolution is similar to the turn from backward to forward of the single grape-vine. This brings the skater to his original starting position, but with left leading, so that the movement can be repeated with rotation to the left, and so on. Skated forwards it is a curious rather than a graceful move- ment, as the constant turning in of the skater's toes renders it inelegant. The Philadelphia grape-vine can be used as a means of connecting circles of outside back on either foot, and is very effective. The figure in fact be- comes a back eight, with the circles FIG> I2I> tied together by means of the Philadelphia twist. To skate it, a FIG URE-SKA TING whole r circle is made on the outside back with say the right foot, when the left is placed down, behind outside of and parallel to the right, and with the feet thus locked together a half-revolu- tion to the right is made ; this accom- plished, a stroke is made with the right, and the other circle of outside back on the left is skated, and so on. It can also be used for the purpose of coming forward from backwards after a whole circle with the two feet tracking has been made, and having come forward a whole circle with the feet tracking in a forward direction is completed, and assuming that the right foot leads an inside three on that and a forward three on the left, again places 3 the skater in a backward direction. A variation of the Philadelphia, named the Philadelphia spread-eagle grape-vine, is skated by using the turn made with the feet locked together and substituting a spread-eagle for the other turn. It is begun as in the Phila- delphia, starting backwards ; the right foot is flipped back as in that move- ment, and when half a revolution has been made the rotation is stopped by the left, which has followed the right on a curve of inside forward, being turned to inside back, thus placing the feet as in the spread-eagle figure. When this has been sustained for about a yard, the right, by the unusual turn of throwing the toe round inwards, is THE GRAPE-VINES 137 turned to inside back, and the left immediately crosses it and takes up its position outside of and parallel to it, when the movement is repeated with rotation to the left (see fig. 122). A funny little movement, called the spread-eagle twist, is made with a combination of spread-eagle, the turning in backwards of the toe of the leading foot, and half of the whole revolution made use of in the forward double grape-vine. The start is made with the spread-eagle, the right foot leading, and when this has been sustained about a yard and a half the right foot is turned in as in the last described grape-vine, so that both feet are for the moment turned in a backward direction and tracking, and then the body is swung round to the left a half-revolution, the right forming a loop round the left, which while acting as a pivot forms a cusp, and this brings the skater to the position in which he started, and the movement can be repeated. The Pennsylvanian is the only other grape-vine known at present. It is begun as in the Philadelphia, but a whole instead of a half-revolution is made with the feet locked together. Assuming that it is to be skated in a forward direc- tion, the right foot is passed in front of the left with the chain step, and then the left is brought up outside of and parallel to it, and when thus locked together the body is swung round a whole revolution to the right, and this effected the skater is facing in the same direction as at starting. The left foot is now pushed a little to the front to allow the right to become disen- gaged, when the chain step is taken up with the left foot lead- ing and the feet again locked, and a whole revolution to the left effected, and so on. Swinging round a whole revolution with the feet locked is nervous work, but it is actually safer to do it at a fairly quick pace than slowly, as then there is less chance of the edge catching, and stopping the skater. As this pirouette takes away all motion in a forward direction, consi- derable strength of leg is required to make the chain step, which connects the two whole revolutions, the motive power, without showing obviously and ungracefully how such motive power is 138 FIG URE-SKA TING obtained. Curiously enough, although so dissimilar in move- ment, the marks made on the ice in skating the double and the Pennsylvanian grape-vines are similar, except that when the double is skated slowly a true loop is made between the two cusps ; but in the Pennsylvanian, as in the double when skated quickly, there is an abortive loop in the nature of the Cupid's bow between the two cusps. Grape-vines are certainly the prettiest of all two-footed figures, but to look well they must be executed without any variation of speed. If the various grape-vines are intermingled, first one, then another, or a bit of one and a bit of another, the juggle of the feet is perfectly bewildering to an onlooker who is not thoroughly conversant with all the different sorts of grape- vines. They tell a story of a lady, the wife of an officer who had lately been quartered in Canada, who happened to be in Galway on one of the rare occasions when Loch Corrib was frozen, and who was skating these grape-vines, with an admir- ing crowd of peasant women looking on, and one of them was heard to say, * Sure now, and I think the devil is in her feet, God bless her ! ' THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES It is a curious fact that, notwithstanding the little opportunity we have in Great Britain for continuous practice on ice, we are far in advance of any other nation in combined figure-skating. As distinguished from a means of locomotion, skating as a pastime has probably been practised longer in Great Britain than in any other country ; and it is evident from those places where figure-skating has only lately been seriously cultivated, such as Sweden, Germany, &c., that at the commencement, individual skating is the only thing that commends itself to the votaries of the art, and when, later on, there is an attempt to skate in combination the figures selected are all of the same elementary character. The Skating Club began with simple curves of out- THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 139 side edge, a few years after the Oxford Skating Club in- itiated the same form of combined skating, and much later we have the same process going on amongst the American, Canadian, German, and Swedish skaters ; but the curious thing is, that with text-books to guide them they do not expand their elementary figures into the brilliant combinations which are known as * The Skating Club Figures.' The pleasure derived from combined skating is twofold ; it is pleasurable to the individual forming part of a set, and it is pleasurable from the feeling that he is contributing to the amusement of the other skaters composing the set. In former days, no doubt, the very elementary figures skated in combination did not lend them- selves to individual display ; but now, when all the most diffi- cult movements are skated in combination, and are rendered still more difficult by the necessary addition of regulated pace and extreme accuracy, no skater can plead that he prefers complicated and showy figures skated by himself, as being more difficult. The number of skaters who can take part in a figure depends a great deal on their individual proficiency. With really accomplished skaters who are accustomed to skate together, a figure composed of ten will be possible, but the usual number is four or six. One of the four is nominated caller ; it is his duty to specify in a clear voice the figures to be skated, and all who take part in a figure should be so well acquainted with the names of the figures called, and what they imply, as to skate them as it were mechanically, as a drilled soldier obeys the word of command ; and this mechanical obedience is neces- sary, because the timing of the figures is so nicely regulated that the slightest hesitation in skating what is called, may be the cause of bringing all the skaters composing the set to grief. There are two methods of skating in combination. The first and more usual way is for the four skaters to stand opposite each other, one at each corner of an imaginary square. The pair of which the caller is one, on the figure being called, start 140 FIG URE-SKA TING first and pass each other at the centre, and the second pair start as soon as they can without colliding with the first pair, crossing them at right angles. The spot which the skaters radiate from and return to is called the centre, and is usually marked by an orange, but a handful of snow or cut-up ice will serve when an orange is not available. The whole secret of skating the club figures properly, depends to a very great extent on all the skaters leaving the centre at approximately the same angle, and this is only possible in one way. In fig. 123 I give a diagram with two lines crossing each other. At the extremity of each line are supposed to be the four skaters just previous to the start, and I have drawn the figure of a three' done by the one of them who faces north ; his partner executes the same movements at the same moment in the opposite direction, and the pair facing respectively east and west imitate them by crossing the centre a second later. Assuming that the skaters go well up to the centre as they should do before commencing the three, and assuming that the three is executed on the right foot, they can only get a certain distance to the left of the imaginary lines drawn north and south and east and west, and the limit of the divergence is about three feet. If everyone therefore strives to attain this limit, each will practically start from the centre at about the same angle (see fig. 123). If this plan is not adhered to, there is no limit to the amount one man can 'poach' to the right, and as his partner has to keep square with him he must practically do the same; consequently these sinners are not square with the other pair. Assuming that the start is made at the same angle, each skater THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 141 has to watch his partner, and keep a straight line between himself, the centre, and his partner. The size of curves, and the pace, should as far as practicable be those set by the caller, but it frequently happens that one man skating in a set is less strong than the others, in which case his partner must accommodate himself to the weaker skater, so that both arrive at the centre at the same time. As a fact, when a strong and a weak skater are partners, if the weaker skater has properly learned his lesson, and makes his turns and changes at the right places, he does not do any damage, as his small skating is much slower than that of his more vigorous partner ; and although the distances traversed are unequal, both skaters arrive simultaneously at the centre. Therefore a slow but accurate skater need never hesitate about taking his part in a figure executed by strong skaters ; but an inaccurate skater, who does not circle round the centre, whether in large or small curves, in the same way as his partner does, must necessarily throw the figure into confusion. When two only are skating a figure together, the strong skater can accommodate himself to the weaker, and hence in learning the Club figures a beginner is assisted if he practises with a stronger skater than himself. The strong skater will ac- commodate himself to the faults of the beginner, but he should invariably point out such faults and repeat the figure until it is so accurately skated that, if four or more had been skating together, no difficulty would have occurred. Besides getting well to the left when passing the centre on the right leg, and to the right when on the left leg, the beginner should always remember to strike away from the centre at the beginning of the figure ; he should make the curves large, and he should, when on the back outside, look at his partner as long as practicable over the shoulder corresponding to the leg executing the move- ment, accelerating or retarding his pace so as to keep the centre and his partner in a straight line. Of course if six are skating together, they stand opposite each other at the angles of a sex- agon, and if eight at the angles of an octagon, and the caller 142 FIG URE-SKA TING informs each pair whether he is to start second, third or fourth ; then they follow the leaders in the order named, at such an interval of time as will enable the pair who precedes them to clear the centre. If an odd number are skating together, the odd man skates last, and he should be selected in consequence of the accuracy of his skating, as having no partner the diffi- culty of keeping square is great. The other plan of skating the Club figures consists of all the skaters ' composing a set doing the same figures at the same moment. This method of skating them has been called ' Simultaneous,' and was first introduced to the notice of skaters by a member of the Skating Club, Mr. W. C. Marshall, in a little book on combined skating written by him, and entitled 1 The Figure-Skater's Pocket-Book.' Although published many years ago, Mr. Marshall's idea was not practically adopted till last winter. Of course, it is obvious that the skaters cannot cross each other actually at the centre at the same moment, consequently they come to within say a yard of the centre and then go off on any stroke that may be called to the right or left. Suppose an imaginary circle having its circumference about two feet from the true centre be drawn round it, each skater must consider that he has his own particular centre, which is a point at the circumference of the imaginary circle drawn round the centre, and he must never come nearer to the actual centre than this point (fig. 124). By skating the Club figures in this way they have to onlookers much more the appearance of a concerted movement FIG. 124. than when skated the old way, because all the skaters do the same curves, turns, and changes at the same moment of time, whereas in the old way the first pair are always a second or so before the second pair, and the second pair before the third, and so on ; and although the same movements are done by all they do not appear to be THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 143 the same movements, because while the first pair is coming into the centre on a curve, the last pair is still going from the centre and perhaps executing a turn. Of course in the simultaneous way of skating the Club figures the skaters do not come so close past the centre as they do in the old way, and unless each skater keeps very accurately to his imaginary centre the general effect is not good, as there appears to be a mob of skaters in confusion at the centre until they reverse and repeat on the other foot. That is the only weak spot in this plan of skating the figures, as undoubtedly when all the skaters com- posing a set are away from the centre the fact of everyone doing the same curves or turns at the same moment of time is a decided improvement. When an odd number of men compose a figure the simultaneous method is obviously the better, as there is no odd man ; and when three only are skating the imaginary circle round the centre can be reduced and the skaters can go very close to the true centre -that is, assuming that they are all three accurate skaters. The first method is probably the more difficult, as the neces- sity of being accurate in time when approaching the centre is more essential than in the same figure skated simultaneously ; but the old plan is for the skaters more pleasant, as it is most amusing when several pairs are skating to see everyone clear out of your way and then to discover your partner advancing towards you out of the ruck ; and it is certainly better for weak ice, as by the skaters all coming together at or near the centre, as they do in the simultaneous figures, a great strain is put upon it. One of the difficulties to be surmounted in skating the figures simultaneously by those who have been accustomed to skate them the old way, is the absence of a partner and conse- quently the loss of the means of judging (by keeping the centre in a straight line between himself and his partner) if the pace and size of the curves are rightly proportioned. Skated simul- taneously, there are no partners, although no doubt if an even number of skaters compose a figure each skater will have a man opposite him on the other side of the circle, and this quasi- 144 FIG URE-SKA TING partner will act as a guide in keeping each skater and the man opposite to him square with the others. In endeavouring to teach the simultaneous method of skating the Club figures to men who were accustomed to skate them in the old way, I have found that at first everyone is greatly puzzled as to how he should come to the centre and go from it. The diagram I give later on (fig. 131) will, I hope, he of great assistance, although it only shows the marks made on the ice by one skater, and I think the two diagrams 125 and 126, showing the last stroke of 'once back and forward meet' (fig. 125), and 'once back and forward off meet' (fig. 126), when executed FIG. 125. FIG. 126. by three men simultaneously, will make any mistake impossible. The diagrams show by the marks made on the ice that three men can come to the centre, or almost to the centre alto- gether, without colliding, and can therefore go from it on the other foot without difficulty, and these two diagrams will be a guide to all the other figures when skated simultaneously (see figs. 125 and 126). One of the difficulties that used to meet the beginner was to know to which side of the centre he should come, and of late years there have been so many different ways of skating the Club figures with reference to this, that it was felt so important a point should be clearly defined by the call. After many THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 145 meetings and much discussion within the Skating Club, it was decided to ask the various clubs round London to send depu- tations to confer with the committee of the Skating Club, and the following clubs sent representatives, viz. Wimbledon, Thames Valley, Hampstead, and Crystal Palace, and after con- siderable discussion the following Explanation of Terms, and Rules, were agreed to on July i, 1891. EXPLANATION OF TERMS 1. The term ' movement ' is confined to a movement on one foot. 2. A figure is a movement, or series of movements, beginning and ending at the centre. 3. The term * entire ' is applied to a movement or part of a movement which commences and ends at the centre. 4. The words ' meet ' and ' pass ' are used to express the two methods in which the centre may be passed in the course of a figure, without expressing the word centre in the call. When the word ' meet ' is called a fresh stroke is taken up at the centre, and when the word * pass ' is called, a fresh stroke, if demanded by the call, is taken up beyond the centre. 5. The term ' change' means a change of edge by means of a serpentine line. 6. The term * rocker' is substituted for rocking turn, 'counter ' for counter rocking turn, * bracket ' for bracket turn. 7. The word ' centre' applied to any change, turn, Mohawk, &c. means that such change, turn, Mohawk, &c., is to be executed close to the centre. 8. The term ' once back ' means a series of movements consist- ing of a forward turn followed by a drop on to back outside edge of the other foot ; similarly 'inside once back.' The term 'twice back' means the same series of movements, skated twice in succession ; similarly 'inside twice back.' The term ' once forward ' means a series of movements consisting of a back turn, followed by a drop on to the forward outside edge of the other foot. The term ' twice forward' means the same series of movements skated twice in succession. Similarly ' inside once forward' and 'inside twice forward.' 9. The term ' about ' applied to any movement means a change in the direction of revolution round the centre on that movement. L 146 FIGURE-SKATING RULES 1. The caller sets the time, speed, and mode of skating all figures, and must be accurately followed by the other skaters. 2. Every movement of a call shall be commenced on the out- side edge, unless inside be specified. 3. Whenever the foot is changed in a figure, the term ' and ' shall be used to denote that change. Exceptions : once and twice back, &c., once and twice forward, &c., Mohawk, cross Mohawk, &c., Choctaw, cross Choctaw, &c. 4. The centre shall not be approached before the end of a figure unless one of the words 'centre,' 'pass,' or 'meet,' be inserted in the call. 5. The centre shall always be kept outside the curve on which it is approached, unless the word ' off' is called, when it shall be kept inside the curve. 6. The centre shall be kept inside the curve on which it is left on commencing a new set of figures, which shall be begun on the right foot unless otherwise specified. There are two ways of approaching the centre, viz. (i) by keeping the centre outside the carve on which it is approached, FIG. 127. FIG. 128. FIG. 129. FIG. 130. in other words coming up to the centre on the near side ; and (2) by keeping the centre inside the curve on which it is approached, in other words coming up to the centre on the off side. The latter used to be indicated by the call ' meet ' (see figs. 127 and 128). But in combined skating the centre has to be frequently passed, either on the near or the off side. During the winter of 1890-1, when the centre was passed on the near side, it was generally indicated by the call 'By centre,' and when on the off side by the call ' Pass ' ; and this latter call has, indeed, been used for many years (see figs. 129 and 130). THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 147 As the words ' meet ' or ' pass ' indicate that the skaters meet at or pass by the centre, it was at the conference declared expe- dient to have only one word to explain on which side of the centre the meet or pass should take place, leaving it to be implied that whenever the word was not inserted before the word meet or pass the other side was intended. Unfortu- nately, the words meet and pass have, up to the present time, been used to indicate the meeting at, or passing by on the off side of the centre, and it was demonstrated that, if this were adhered to, it would necessitate the distinctive word being 'on' instead of 'off.' As in most of the figures the centre is approached or passed on the near side, it would necessitate the prefixing of the distinctive word to most of the calls, and this was considered to be a greater inconvenience than altering the hitherto well-known meaning of the terms meet and pass. It was therefore decided that the terms meet and pass should in future indicate a meeting and passing on the near side of the centre, and that, when the old meet and pass were intended the word ' off' should be prefixed to the words meet and pass. If a hitherto well-known term is considered obsolete, there is no objection to its abolition ; but I consider that there is a grave objection to applying a term which for years has indicated the skating of a figure in a particular way, to a new way of skating the same figure, or to a different movement altogether. No doubt in time the old meaning will be forgotten, but for many years to come the changing of movements from one to the other side of the centre, as has been done in the case of meet and pass, and in the making use of the old term ' entire ' (which meant a cross roll at the centre) to signify ' a movement or part of a movement which commences and ends at the centre,' will cause endless collisions and confusion. However^ the supreme authority in skating matters having so ordered, skaters are sufficiently good sportsmen to loyally accept the decision. The terms therefore for approaching and passing the centre will henceforward be meet, pass, off meet, off pass. The term * meet ' implies that the centre shall always be kept L 2 148 FIG U RE-SKA TING outside the curve on which it is approached ; in other words, the skater shall approach the centre on his near side, and arrived at it he shall execute the movement that may have been called (see fig. 127). The term ' pass ' implies that the skater shall go past the centre on his near side some little way before making another stroke (see fig. 129). The term ' off meet ' implies that the centre shall be kept on the inside of the curve on which it is approached ; in other words, that the skater shall approach the centre on his far side, and arrived there he shall execute such further move- ment as may have been called (see fig. 128) : and the term * off pass ' implies that the skater shall go past the centre on the far side some little way before taking another stroke (see fig. 130). It is most necessary that the mind of a beginner should be thoroughly imbued with what the different terms used for approaching the centre infdifferent ways imply ; for if he should hesitate and skate an off meet or an off pass when he should have skated a meet or pass, he will most assuredly bring him- self and his fellow-skaters to grief. We have seen in the explanations of terms that the word centre applied to any change, turn, Mohawks, c., shall be executed close to the centre, consequently the term ' centre three ' means that a three is to be skated on the near side of the centre, and the turn of the three made at the centre, and the term ' off centre three ' means that a three, with the turn at the centre, is to be skated on the far side of the centre. The term ' centre change Q ' means that the change which precedes the turn is to be made on the near side of the centre, and the term ' off centre change Q ' on the far side of the centre. The terms ' centre turn Q ' and ' off centre turn Q ' mean in like manner that the turn of the Q is to be made on the near and the far side of the centre respectively. It is impossible to say how the above rules and explanations of terms will work in practice, but it is hoped that at last we THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 149 have established a system by which every possible figure that may be called will be readily understood. The diagrams I give of the Club figures show the movement or figure of one skater only, and on the right leg ; his partner does the same movement or figure on the same leg, and each starting on the right leg passes the other at the centre right shoulder to right shoulder. The diagrams show the movements of one skater when figures are skated to the true centre, the skaters following each other in pairs. To apply them to the simultaneous mode of skating the Club figures the reader has only to imagine that there are as many imaginary centres at the circumference of an imaginary circle drawn round the true centre as there are skaters. For instance, suppose there are four men skating the figure ' once back and forward,' the diagram (fig. 131) shows the position of the imaginary centre of each skater, and although these im- aginary centres are not fixed points they will always be some- where on the circumference of the imaginary circle. This will be a sufficient guide to all figures skated simultaneously. The diagrams only show figures skated with 'once back,' though when more than four men are skating it is well to skate twice back, as a twice back gets a crowd further from the centre and also adds pace ; but from the drawing of once back, twice back will be readily understood as repeating the forward three and drop on to the outside back. A once back absorbs about a quarter of a circle, and of course a twice back will absorb about half a circle. In practice it is customary to commence most of the figures 1 5 o FIG URE-SKA TING with twice back, and this constant repetition of the same figure is not only fatiguing but monotonous. Of course the reason of its use is that pace may be attained, and its retention is no doubt essential in some of the figures where the last movement of a figure is a difficult one which requires a good impetus to skate it properly ; but there are a good many figures which do not require the pace to be worked up for the sake of the last movement, and in these the eternal twice back might be varied by substituting for it one of the following : Forward and forward three out and once back. Forward change out and once back. Forward and inside forward three and once back. Inside forward three and once back, &c. To give diagrams and descriptions of all the known figures would take up too much space. I propose therefore simply to give diagrams and descriptions of types of figures, with the calls for others of the same type, and anyone who has mastered the explanations of terms and the rules should be able to under- stand them readily. The following letters denote the edge, the foot used, and the direction of going : R O F Right foot, outside edge, forwards. RIF 55 55 inside 55 55 ROB 5J 5) outside 55 backwards. RI B 55 55 inside 55 55 LOF Left foot, outside 55 forwards. LIF 55 55 inside 55 55 LOB 5 55 outside 55 backwards. LIB 55 5' inside 55 A very large proportion of the Skating Club figures are begun with a once or a twice back. It is very important therefore that the once or twice back should be learned in the best possible manner. The fault most usually committed is having the feet too wide apart at the moment of striking from the tail of the three of one foot, to the outside back of the THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 151 other foot. This separation of the feet is caused by the bending of the body induced by the erroneous idea that a stronger stroke can be made with the body bent. As a fact, if the body be kept upright the feet will naturally be nearer together, and the stroke or push off proportionately stronger. A figure is always started on the right foot, consequently the skaters cross each other at the centre right shoulder to right shoulder, and if the call return them to the centre on the same leg the figure can be repeated on the left ; but if the call necessitate the centre being reached at the end of the figure on a different leg to the one with which the figure was begun, some other figure, which will end on the original starting leg, must be inter- posed before the figure can be repeated on the left. Once back and forward (fig. 132). After the once back ? the skater is brought to the centre on the near side, on a curve of outside forward, when the movement can be repeated on the left foot. Once back and forward, and inside forward. In this figure the forward after the once back is skated rather out from the centre, and then the left is put down on the inside forward, and trie centre reached on that edge. Inside once back, and inside for- ward. This figure, which is not often used, is commenced with an inside forward three, and for this the skaters, being on the right foot, must pass each other at the centre left shoulder to left shoulder, then a drop on to the inside back of the other foot, and then skate an inside forward which brings them to the centre. Once forward and back. This, and the inside once forward and back, being mentioned in the explanations of forms, I feel bound to shortly describe them, but they are not practical figures. Once forward and back is very rarely skated, as by beginning with a back three, and dropping on to the inside 152 FIGURE-SKA TING back and then executing a Mohawk, the swing and go of the once back are wanting. Inside once forward^ and inside back is even less practicable, as the skaters have to start from the centre with the difficult inside back three, and having dropped on to the inside for- ward, the back inside is taken up by spread-eagling the feet, actually doing a back inside Mohawk. It seems a paradox that a once back should be begun by a forward three, and a once forward by a back three, but the forward three in the once back is only as it were the conduit pipe for getting on to the back which is the principal curve in the figure ; and conversely the same argument applies to the once forward. There is no better figure than the once (or twice) back and forward for initiating a beginner into the mysteries of the Club figures. His teacher should make him skate it with him over and over again until he skates it perfectly, by making the turns and curves at the right points relatively to the circle, and at the same time keeping the centre and his partner in a straight line. The perfect acquisition of this one figure will be a guide to the proper method of skating scores of others of the same type. Take the next figure of Once back and forward three, which is analogous, the only difference being that the centre is gained on the tail of the three, instead of on the outside forward. Once back and fonvard, and inside forward three. In this, after the forward, the right foot is put down, and the inside forward three skated to the centre. Once back, back three. In this figure the skater, from the outside back turns to inside forward, on which edge the centre is reached. Great care must be taken to counteract the rota- tion set up in making the turn, by getting the body well round before the foot is reversed, otherwise it will be difficult to keep the curve sufficiently large to enable the skater to come pro- perly to the centre. Once back, and inside back three. In this the inside back three THE SKA TING-CLUB FIGURES 153 is taken up by crossing the right leg over in front of the left, and the turn effected, the centre is gained on the outside forward. This figure comes naturally into its place here, as I am treat- ing of figures in which threes play a part ; but it is a very difficult figure, and not to be tried by the beginner until he is strong on the difficult turn from inside back to outside forward. Once back and forward meet, and forward. In this figure the skater runs to the near side of the centre, on the outside forward, and arrived there he takes another stroke with the left from the cross, and runs again to the centre upon it, and if the call ' and forward entire ' were again given the skaters could be skating what was formerly known as ' Half eights.' Once back, meet, and back entire (fig. 133). Here the skater runs to the centre on the out- side edge of the back, and arrived there on the near side, he executes a back cross roll, which again brings him to the centre, and this figure used to be known as once back entire. If the call * and back entire ' is given, the skaters are exe- cuting what used to be called * back eights.' This is a very difficult movement to sustain, as the stroke from the back cross roll is somewhat feeble. Two good skaters can keep it going and fairly large on good ice, as they can accommodate each other, but when four or more skaters are taking part in the figure, it is well for the caller to abstain from requiring more than one cross roll being skated at the centre. Once back, meet, and back, and forward three. In this, instead of running to the centre on the second back, the skater keeps away from the centre on this curve, and then runs to the centre on the forward three. Once back and forward, off pass (fig. 134). In this the 54 FIG U RE-SKA TING FIG. I 34 . skater runs past the centre on the forward outside, and if it is intended to continue that curve round till the centre is again reached the word ' entire ' is added to the end of the call. This and all the subse- quent figures in which the last movement emanates from and returns to the centre, may have the word entire added at the end of the call, and the diagrams show the figure as though entire were called ; but as a fact it is very customary to continue the pass some way past the centre, and then finish the figure with another movement on the other foot, and this is done so that a new stroke may bring the skaters with greater power and certainty to the centre. It is only with good skaters, and on good ice, that a figure should be skated as an entire. Once back and forward, and forward inside, off pass. This is similar in character to the last, only instead of running to the centre on the outside forward, the skater keeps out on that curve, and putting down the left, runs past the centre on the off side, on the inside edge. Once back and forward pass. This is similar to once back and forward off pass entire, except that the centre is now passed on the near instead of the off side. Once back and forward, and inside forward pass, is similar in character except that the left is put down, and the centre passed on the inside edge of that foot. Once back, back pass, and once back, and inside back pass will be readily understood. Once back, and forward centre three. This is similar to once back and forward three, except that the word centre being THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 155 FIG. I 35 . prefixed to three, the turn of the three is made at and on the near side of the centre (fig. 135). Once back, and off centre three. This is similar to the last figure, except that the turn of the three is made on the off, instead of the near side, of the centre. Once back and forward, and inside forward centre three. In this the left foot is put down on the inside edge, and the turn of the inside forward three made on the near side of the centre. Once back and forward, and inside forward off centre three. This is similar, the turn being made on the off instead of the near side of the centre. Once back, back centre three. In this, the outside back is continued to the centre on the near side, when the turn places the skater on the inside forward. Once back, back off centre three, is a back centre three turned at the off side of the centre. Once back, and inside back centre three, and once back, and inside back off centre three will be understood as consisting of back inside centre threes turned at the rear and off sides of the centre respectively. I have now given the calls by which all the centre and off centre threes can be skated. By substituting the word bracket for the word three, all the centre and off centre brackets can be called ; but whether they will be skated is another matter, as they are all extremely difficult to skate at the pace requisite to bring the skater back to the centre after the turn has been effected. Once back and forward, off meet, and forward three. In this, the skater runs to the centre on the outside forward as though 1 5 6 FIG URE-SKA TING he were going to skate a forward off pass, but arrived at the centre he puts down his left foot and skates a forward three which brings him back to the centre. Once back, off meet, and forward three (fig. 136). This was one of the favourite figures in the early days of the Skating Club, and it is a very effec- tive one, as the skater and his partner run together to the centre on the off side on the outside back, and when they are on the point of colliding back to back, each shoots off on the outside curve which begins the forward three. Once back, off meet, and back three. The back three here skated is not so effective as the forward three of the last figure. Once back, meet, and inside forward three (hg. 137). This is a delightful figure to skate. The skater runs to the centre on his near side, and arrived there he turns the body so as to come face to face with his partner, and then placing down the other foot, he skates the inside forward three. FIG. 136. FIG. 137. FIG. 138. Forward three (fig. 138). This figure is usually the first one taught to beginners of combined skating, but I think a ' once back and forward,' or a once back and forward three,' is a better figure, as a forward three to a centre is a very diffi- cult movement in itself, and it does not teach the novice where- abouts in the circle the turn of the three which commences the THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 157 once back is usually made, as the turn in the three when skated as a figure, is made at a somewhat different point to what it is when skated as part of a once back. In the single three, the outside forward is dwelt upon longer than in the outside which begins the three of a once back. I have in a former chapter described the method of skating threes to a centre, and there- fore need only add here that a man who can really execute this movement in good form has conquered one of the great diffi- culties of combined skating. Forward two turns (fig. 139). This movement skated to a centre is very difficult and is a great test of good skating, and many men make a practice of devoting five or ten minutes to skating it every day when they first come on the ice, feeling that if they can skate it, making the curves be- tween the turns of equal length, and making the turns clean without any scrape and yet coming true to the centre, they are in good form and equal to skate anything that may be called. Forward three turns. To the un- initiated three turns would seem to be a greater undertaking than two turns, but as a fact the third turn, by bringing the skater on to the inside back, places him in the familiar position learned in the forward three. The second turn being the most difficult one of the three turns, renders the subsequent curve of outside forwards hard to hold to the centre, and this difficulty is at once relieved by the third turn. Forward three, and back three. In this, the back three is taken up by the left foot when the tail of the forward three has been sustained for some time. The forward three should occupy one half of the figure, the back three the other half. Inside forward three and forward three alternates well with the last figure. FIG. I 39 . I 5 8 FIG URE-SKA TING Inside forward three, and inside back three bring in the difficult inside back turn, and great care has to be taken to in- sure coming in true to the centre. Once back, and forward two turns ; once back and forward, and inside forward two turns ; once back, back two turns ; once back, and inside back two turns will all be readily understood, and of course the caller may substitute three or more turns in place of the two ; but too many turns, done consecutively in a figure, do not look well. Once back and forward, meet, and forward two turns. In this, the near side of the centre is gained on the outside forward when the left foot is crossed over the two turns skated. Once back, off meet, and back two turns. This alternates with the last figure, and both of these figures will be met with again when we come to the ' Boomerang ' series of figures. Once back and forward, centre change (fig. 140). In this figure, the skater runs to the centre on the outside forward, and changing the edge to inside forward on the near side, com- pletes the circle. Once back and forward, and inside forward, centre change. This is similar in character. The only difference is in adding with the other foot another curve, consisting of inside edge, on which the centre is gained when the change is made to outside which is continued round to the centre. Once back, back centre change. In this the change at the centre is made from the outside to the inside back. Once back, and inside back, centre change. This again is simply adding another stroke consisting of inside back, and changing at the centre from that to outside back. In all the centre changes, the change of edge is effected on FIG. 140. THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 159 the near side of the centre, and in all the off centre changes on the far side. Once back and forivard, off centre change (fig. 141); once back and fonvard, and inside forward^ off centre change ; once back, back, off centre change ; once back and inside back, off centre change will be readily understood. Once back, and forward centre change Q (fig. 142) ; once back and fonvard, and inside forward centre change Q ; once back, back centre change Q ; once back, and inside back centre change Q will also be readily understood, as the term Q being added, simply means that a turn is made after the central change has been effected. FIG. 141. FIG. 142. In the same way the above four figures, but having the change at the off side of the centre, will be called : once back, and forward off centre change Q ; once back, and forward, and inside forward off centre change Q ; once back, back off centre change Q ; once back and inside back, off centre change Q. Once back, and forward centre turn Q (fig. 143) ; once back and fonvard, and inside forward centre turn Q ; once back, back centre turn Q ; once back, and inside back centre turn Q, are figures of a similar kind. In the centre turn Q, the change is effected before the centre is reached, and the turn of the Q made at the centre on the near side. Everyone skating the figure must take care to imitate his partner in making the half circles which precede the turn the same size and of the same i6o FIGURE-SKA TING amount of curvature, and this can only be accomplished by everyone watching his partner. The off centre turn Q's differ from the last only in having the turn executed on the off side of the centre. They are called as follows : once back, and forward off centre turn Q (fig. 144) ; once back and forward, and inside for- ward off centre turn Q ; once back, back off centre turn Q ; once back, and inside back off centre turn Q. The next set of Q's is by far the hardest of any, and a great deal of attention is necessary to ensure the curvature ex- ecuted by each skater being similar to that skated by the other men composing the set, and this is essential as the whole of the Q is skated before coming to the centre. With four FIG. 144. FIG. 145. really good skaters they are probably the prettiest of any of the series. They are called as follows : once back, and fonvard Q (fig. 145) ; once back and forward, and inside forward Q; once back, back Q ; once back, and inside back Q. All the above Q's can be varied by prefixing to the term * Q ' the word ' reverse,' when they become reverse Q's ; and as before explained, a reverse Q consists of a turn followed by THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 161 FIG. 146. a . change of edge. As a rule, these reverse Q's are far more difficult to skate in combination than the Q's. The turn which precedes the change, places the skater some- what hard on the edge, and renders accurate skating to the centre a matter of con- siderable difficulty ; but they are very pretty figures, and are quite worth the time which must be expended on their acquisition. They are called as follows : once back, and forward reverse centre change Q (fig. 146) ; once back and forward, and inside forward reverse centre change Q; once back, back reverse centre change Q; once back, and inside back reverse centre change Q. The forward reverse Q's are more difficult to skate in'conif- bination than the back reverse Q's, as in the former the partners are running to the centre on .a back edge, and, conse- quently, to avoid colli- .sion, the curves just before the change at the centre have to be very accurate. If it is desired to effect the change on - FIG> I4/ the far side of the centre, the word 'off' has to be prefixed to the word ' reverse, ?.and the four calls will be : once back, and forward, off reverse centre change Q -.(fig. 147) ; once back and forward, and inside M 1 62 FIG U RE-SKA TING fonvard, off reverse centre change Q ; once back, back off reverse centre change Q ; once back and inside back, off reverse centre change Q. The reverse centre turn Q's are very pretty figures. Take, for example, the once back, and forward reverse centre turn Q and fonvard (fig. 148), in which each skater runs to the centre on his own side on the outside forward and then makes the turn, and the subsequent change taking him away from the centre, another stroke is necessary to bring him back, and as this extra stroke brings him to the centre on the left leg he cannot repeat the figure on the left, but by skating once back and forward, and inside forward reverse centre turn Q and forward these two figures can be alternated. The effect of all the skaters running together to the centre, then FlG I48 making the turn and going out again on the change, is very effec- tive, and to avoid collision accurate skating is required. Once back, back reverse centre turn Q and forward ; once back, and inside back reverse centre turn Q, and fonvard. These four reverse centre turn Q's can also be skated as off reverse centre turn Q's, when the skater will make the turn on the off side of the centre. They are pretty figures, but not so effective as the reverse centre turn Q's. The calls will be : once back, and forward off reverse centre turn Q and fonvard (fig. 149) ; once back, and inside fonvard off reverse centre turn Q, and fonvard ; once back, back off reverse centre turn Q, and forward ; once back, and inside back off reverse centre turn Q and fonvard. If instead of the ordinary Q turn, a bracket be substituted the Q's become bracket Q's, and the above series of centre change and centre turn Q's would have to be called with the THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 163 word * bracket ' before the term v ' Q ' ; for instance, once back, and forward centre change bracket Q, and so on through the series of centre change and centre turn bracket Q's, and reverse centre change and turn bracket Q's. If it is intended to skate this series of Q's with rockers or counters instead of the ordinary turn, the word 'rocker' or ' counter ' must be inserted before the term ' Q.' One example will suffice : once back, and forward centre change rocker Q; once back, and forward centre change counter Q, and so on through the whole series. Thus the number of Q's which can be FIG. 150. FIG. 149. skated to a centre amounts to the appalling total of 128, and still there are many more which occur in the Boomerang series of figures. What would the original members of the Skating Club, whose figures were confined to forward threes, once back and forward, once back off meet and forward three, and once back meet and back and forward three, say if they could take a peep and see what their original figures have grown into in consequence of the enormous development of figure- skating ? forward change out, and forward in (fig. 150). This is the first of a series of figures in which the skater goes out from the centre without circling round it, and consequently returns to M 2 1 64 FIG U RE-SKA TING it at the end of the figure. From their resemblance to the motion of the Boomerang they are known as the Boomerang series, and they always have the word 'out,' implying that the figure is to be skated out from the centre, and also the word ' in,' implying that the skater has to return to the centre. The word ' in ' is not really necessary, but it stamps the character of the figure as a going out and coming in to the centre without circling round it, and therefore I retain it in the calls. Any of the Boomerang figures are useful for the purpose of allowing the skaters in a figure composed of eight or ten men to steady them- selves after being somewhat confused and out of place through skating a difficult circular figure, and the one usually selected is the simple figure of forward and forward three out and forward in. This enables each skater to give and take a little, and so they all arrive back at the centre in their proper places ; and it is one of the elements of good calling that the caller should watch how the figure is going, and if from difficult movements which he has called he finds that there is any confusion he should at once call a simple figure such as the one mentioned above, thus enabling the other skaters to steady themselves. Another point the caller should remember is this : he is probably asked to call because being in the habit of calling he has all the calls at his fingers' ends, but he must remember that the chances are his team is not so well up in the names of the figures as he is, and if the call be a long one which necessitates the skaters coming to the centre and again going away from it, he should give the call for that portion of the figure which brings the skaters to the centre, and then as he is approaching the centre call out the remainder of it. In the forward change out, and forward in, the skaters cross each other at the centre, and make a curve of outside edge out from the centre, and change to inside, which when continued some way brings them facing the centre, but some way from it, when the left is put down on the outside forward, and the centre gained on it. THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 165 Inside forward change out, and forward in is similar, the start being on the inside instead of the outside, and the skaters crossing each other at the centre left shoulder to left shoulder. Once back, back change out, and forward in (fig. 151). In this the once back is skated, not as a circular movement but out from the centre, and the change effected from the outside back, and the centre gained on the forward outside of the other foot. A portion of this figure is used when it is desired to stop the figure ; the call then is once back, back, change out, dismiss. By the nature of the figure, the skaters are all away from the centre and facing each other, and it is customary for each member when he has made the change FIG. 151. to lift his hat, and this ends the figure. Once back, and inside back change out, and forward in. Here after the once back is skated the other foot is put down on the inside back, and the change skated from that edge. Forward, and forward three out, and forward in, also requires no description, and as I have before explained, it is the figure usually called when the figure is not going well. Inside forward, and inside forward three out, and inside forward in is the same figure executed with inside instead of outside edges. Forward, and forward two turns out, and forward in. This figure has the same ingredients as the figure forward off meet, and forward two turns ; but the two turns being now done away from the centre, more latitude is given, and conse- quently they come easier, and the same observation applies to once back, and back two turns out, and forward in. Forward Q out, and forward in (fig. 152). This will be readily understood from the diagram. Once back, back Q out, and forward in; once back, and inside back Q out, and forward in also requires no explanation. 1 66 FIG U RE-SKA TING Fonvard reverse Qouf, and forward in. In this, of course, the turn is made first, and the difficulty of the figure consists in coming round after the change is effected on a sufficiently small curve. If the curve is made large, the skater gets a long way from the centre, and the forward stroke which is used for returning to the centre is rendered too long. Inside forward reverse Q out, and forward in, is of course started on the forward inside edge. Once back, back reverse Q out, and forward in ; once back FIG. 152. FIG. 153. and inside back reverse Q out, and forward in, require no description. Forward Q out, and forward Q in (fig. 153) is simply a forward Q skated away from the centre with the right, and a forward Q with the left bringing the skater back again to the centre. Forward Q out, and inside fonvard Q in. In this figure in order to take the inside forward Q, the skater must hold on to the curve of outside back, which finishes the forward Q until he is facing the centre. Inside forward Q out, and inside forward Q in ; inside for- ward Q out, and fonvard Q in will both be readily under- stood ; but in the last-named figure, the tail of the inside THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 167 forward Q must be brought a good way round before the forward Q in is skated. Forward Q out, and back Q in. In this the outside back which commences the back Q is usually taken from the cross. Forward Q out, and inside back Q in ; inside forward Q out, and inside back Q in. In this the tail of the inside for- ward Q must be continued a long way round before the inside back Q is commenced. It is an awkward figure to skate, as the stroke from the inside back of one foot to the inside back of the other is a feeble one. Inside forward Q out, and back Q in. In this, the stroke commencing the back Q being an outside, taken from an inside back, it is stronger. Forward Q out, change, inside back Q in (fig. 154). This is the first figure of a series where two Q's skated on the same foot are joined by a change of edge. When the outside back which forms the tail of the forward Q has been sustained about a yard, the change is effected, and the inside back Q skated. Inside forward Q out, change, back Q in ; forward reverse Q out, back reverse Q in ; inside fonvard reverse Q out, inside back reverse Q in ; for- ward reverse Q out, change, inside back reverse Q in ; inside forward reverse Q out, change, back reverse Q in, will be understood without a description. Forward Q out, back Q in, centre change, inside fonvard Q out, inside back Q in (fig. 155). This is the first example of two Q's being joined to two Q's in a combined figure, and the men composing the set must be very strong on continuous movements before it is practicable to skate these combinations with any certainty. i68 FIG U RE-SKA TING Inside forward Q out, back inside Q in, centre change^, fonvard Q out, back Q in. Forward Q back Q out, change, inside back Q, inside forward Q in. Inside forward Q, inside back Q out, change, back Q, forward Q in. Forward, reverse Q out, back re- verse Q in, centre change fonvard re- verse Q out, inside back reverse Q in. Inside forward reverse Q out, in- side back reverse Q in, centre change,, forward reverse Q out, back reverse Q in. Forward reverse Q, back reverse Q out, change, inside back reverse Q, inside forward reverse Q in. Inside forward reverse Q, inside back reverse Q out, change, back reverse Q, and fonvard reverse Q in. I give the calls of the above series of double Q's, but in practice they Two men who are strong at continuous figures can skate them on good ice ; but they are movements which are more curious than graceful, as a good deal of kicking and contortion must be indulged in for the purpose of getting sufficient motive power. Fonvard three, and inside forward change out, and forward; in is a pretty figure, and will be found rather puzzling when first tried, as the turn of the three sets up a certain amount of rotation which renders the inside on the other foot rather difficult to take up. Forward three, and inside forward Q out, and forward in- is a very favourite figure (fig. 156). Fonvard three, and inside forward reverse Q out, antf inside forward in. This also is a pretty figure, but has not so much ' go ' in it as the last. FIG. 155. are very rarely skated. THE SKAT ING-CLUB FIGURES 169 Inside forward three and back Q out, and fonvard change, in ; inside forward three and back reverse Q out, and forward change in will be readily understood. The Q's and reverse Q's in the above Boomerang figures can all be varied by skating them as bracket, rocker, and counter Q's. Once back, and forward Mohawk (fig. 157). After the once! back, the forward is kept out, and the Mohawk being executed the skater runs to the centre on the outside back. Once back and fonvard, and inside fonvard Mohawk. In this the inside is taken up with the other foot and the curve on FIG. 156. FIG. 157. it continued until the skater faces the centre, when the inside Mohawk is effected and the centre gained on the inside back. Once back, and forward centre Mohawk entire (fig. 158). In this the skater runs to the near side of the centre on the outside forward, and arrived there executes the Mohawk, continuing the curve of outside back till the centre is again reached. Once back and forward, and inside forward centre Mohawk entire will be readily understood. Once back, and off centre Mohawk entire (fig. 159). In this the skater runs to the centre on the outside forwards as though FIG U RE-SKA TING he were going to skate a forward off pass ; but arrived at the centre he executes the Mohawk just beyond the centre, and con- sequently he and his partner are at that moment back to back. Once back and forward, and inside forward off centre Mohawk entire. The Mohawk figures above described can also be skated as cross Mohawks, but they are not pretty figures, as the turning in of the toes which is necessary to effect them causes the movement to be very ungraceful. FIG. 159. FIG. 160. Once back, and forward Choctaw, and inside fonvard (fig. 1 60). In this the inside back of the Choctaw has to be con- tinued round until the skater is facing the centre, when a stroke of inside forward brings him home. Once back and forward, and inside fonvard Choctaw, and back will be readily understood. When skated as centre or off centre Choctaws, the extra THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 171 stroke of forward becomes unnecessary, as the Choctaw, although changing the nature of the curve from out to in or from in to out, and consequently its direction, does not take the skater away from the centre as it does in the four Choctaw figures above described. The calls when skated on the near side of the centre will be : once back, and forward centre Choc- taw entire (fig. 161); once back and fonvard, and inside for- ward centre Choctaw entire ; and when skated on the off side of the centre the calls will be : once back, and forward off centre Choctaw entire ; once back and forward, and inside forward off centre Choctaw entire. Cross Choctaws can also be skated, but I doubt if they will FIG. It)l. FIG. 162. ever be much practised, as the position of the body after the cross Choctaw has been accomplished is such as to render^t almost impossible to hold the curve. Forward, and inside forward Mohawk, back inside two turns (fig. 162). This is a very effective figure, it being almost impos- sible to see how the inside forward is taken up and the direction of going immediately changed by the inside Mohawk ; and, curiously enough, the inside Mohawk places the skater on the back inside in such a position as to render the back inside turns comparatively easy. Once back, and forward centre rocker entire (fig. 163). In 172 FIG URE-SKA TING this, the skater runs to the centre on the near side, and the' difficulty is in holding the curve of outside back after the turn FIG. 163. FIG. 164. has been effected ; and having regard to this, a caller when skating with partners who are not strong at rockers, should substitute some call, such as 'and forward,' or 'and forward three ' for the word ' entire.' Once back and forward, and inside forward centre rocker entire. In this figure, the difficulty of holding the resulting curve of inside back is even greater than in holding the outside in the last figure, and the strain can be relieved by substituting ' and in side forward ' for ' entire.' Once back, back centre rocker entire. This is the easiest of ail the rockers, and is a great favourite. THE SKATING CLUB-FIGURES 17.3 FIG. 166. Once back, and inside back centre rocker entire. The calls for a similar series of rockers which are executed on the off side of the centre are the Same, with the exception that the word 'off' is pre- fixed to the word ' centre,' and the turns are then all made on the far side of the centre. I give one example, which will be a sufficient indication for calling and skating the others. Once back, and for- ward off centre rocker entire (fig. 164). The counters are called in the same way, substituting counter for rocker. I give one example of each class. Once back, and forward centre counter entire (fig. 165) ; once back, and forward off centre counter entire (fig. 166). Once back, and forward centre rocker, back Q, and inside fonvard (fig. 167). To add a back Q to a centre rocker would seem to be piling up the agony, but, as a fact, it is the one occasion when the back Q is hailed as a relief. After the rocker has been skated, a change is. effected to inside back, and this change and the subsequent turn gets over the difficulty of holding the back outside curve of the rocker. Once back and forward, and inside forward centre rocker, 174 FIG U RE-SKA TING FIG. 168. inside back Q and inside forward. In this figure also, the inside back Q being tacked on to the inside rocker, is a help rather than not. Once back) back centre rocker, forward Q and forward (fig. 1 68). This will be readily un- derstood from the diagram. Once back, and inside back centre rocker, and inside fonva rd Q, and in- side fo rw ard. The above fig- ures can also be skated on the off side of the centre, when the word 'off' must be prefixed to the word 'centre,' and similarly when counters are substituted for rockers. Once back, and fonvard reverse cen- tre change Q, back rocker and forward (fig. 169). The change in this figure being made at the centre, places the skater on the out- side back, from which the back rocker is skated, and the subsequent curve of outside forward brings him to the centre. Similarly, the figure done with the inside edge, when the call will be : once back and fonvard, and inside forward reverse centre change Q, inside back rocker entire. THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 175 Once back, and forward off centre Mohawk, back rocker entire. The Mohawk is here done on the off side of the centre, and the back rocker being executed, the centre is gained on the out- side forward. Once back, back centre rocker, fonvard Mohawk entire. In this, the Mohawk is skated from the resultant curve of the back rocker, and the centre gained on the outside back. Once back and forward, and inside forward three, back centre rocker entire (fig. 1 70) will be understood from the diagram. FIG. 170. Once back and forward three, inside back centre rocker entire. In this, the skater runs to the centre on his near side on the tail of the three, and then executes the inside back rocker. Once back, back three, inside forward centre rocker entire. Here the skater runs to the centre on his near side on the tail of the back three, and having executed the inside centre rocker, continues the curve round to the centre. Once back, and inside back three, forward centre rocker entire. In this, the inside back three being taken up from the outside back of the other foot, the centre is gained on the outside for- ward, from which the centre rocker is skated. 1 76 FIG URE-SKA TING If it is desired to skate the above figures on the far side of the centre, the word ' off ' will have to be prefixed to the word ' centre ' in each call. And similarly with centre counters and off centre counters. forward three, inside back bracket (fig. 171). The bracket in this figure comes harder after the three than if a forward bracket had been skated, as the tendency is to continue the rotation in the same direction in which the three is skated ; and it will require considerable practice before this can be overcome FIG. 171. FIG. 172. and the bracket skated without scraping ; and the same remark applies to Inside forward three, back bracket. Once back and fonvard three, inside back centre bracket, for- ward Mohawk (fig. 172). Once back, back centre rocker, forward bracket (fig. 173). Once back, and inside back centre rocker, and inside forward bracket being of a similar character, will be understood without any description. Once back, and forward centre counter, back rocker (fig. 174). THE SKATING-CLUB FIGURES 177 Once back and forward, arid inside forward centre counter, inside back rocker. Once back, back centre counter, forward rocker will be FIG. 173. understood from their similarity to the figure shown in diagram 174, and these figures can be varied by transposing the rockers and counters. Beginners at combined skat- ing will probably view the above list of calls with something akin to dismay when they contem- plate the necessity of learning them by heart, seeing that there are some 250 calls given; but they must not be discouraged. When once they get the system of calling well impressed on their minds, the effort to remem- ber the various calls will be much less fatiguing than would at first sight appear. I have not attempted to give the figures in such order as will enable them to be skated first with one foot and then with the other, as this is settled by the rule that when a figure ends on the same foot with which it was begun N FIG. 174. 1 78 FIG U RE-SKA TING it can be repeated on the other foot ; when it does not so end, another figure must be interposed of such a character as will leave the skater at the finish, on the leg on which he started the original figure. Every skater of the Club figures should learn to call, not only to avoid the humiliation of having to confess that he is unable to do so, but also because the fact of calling forces him to think the various figures out ; and a man thus accustomed to command will have no difficulty in obeying. It is not a bad plan for a beginner to take the list of calls and write out a selection for practice each day. I give one set of figures as a guide. R. Once back and forward. L. Once back and forward. R. Once back, and forward centre change entire. L. Inside forward three, and forward. L. Once back, and forward centre change entire. R. Inside forward three, and forward. R. Forward and forward two turns out, and forward in. L. Forward and forward two turns out, and forward in. R. Once back, and back two turns out, and forward in. L. Once back, and back two turns out, and forward in. R. Once back, meet, and inside forward three. L. Once back, meet, and inside forward three. R. Once back, and forward about. L. Once back, and forward. R. Once back, meet, and back, and forward three. L. Once back, meet, and back, and forward three. R. Once back, and forward centre three, entire. L. Once back, and forward centre three, entire. R. Once back and forward, and inside forward off centre three, and forward. L. Once back and forward, and inside forward off centre three, and forward. R. Forward three, and inside forward Q out, and forward. L. Forward three, and inside forward Q out, and forward. Once back, back change out, dismiss. 179 HAND-IN-HAND SKATING Of late .years the practice of two persons, generally a lady and a gentleman, skating hand-in-hand has come into vogue, and opens up a large field of new and delightful skating. The idea, no doubt, originated in the Roller Skating Rink, and the knowledge acquired there has been applied to ice skating. Taking hold of a lady's hand sideways, the right hand being underneath if she be to the right of the gentleman, was found to be an efficient way of so holding her, that with a strong skater she could not fall, and when this help was no longer actually necessary, it was continued as a graceful method of skating such elementary figures as the forward outside, the forward cross roll, and the promenade step ; and putting on one side the pleasure derived from skating with an agreeable partner, it is an excellent way of teaching ladies how to skate all sorts of figures that they would probably never otherwise learn, as turns and changes of edge become quite easy when the assistance of a partner is available at any moment that a faulty balance would, if skating alone, render a fall certain. Confidence is thus attained, and the lady who has learned to skate these figures with a partner is able, after a little practice, to skate them by herself. And the last argument in favour of hand-in-hand skating, but probably the strongest, is that figures can be skated in this way that have the appearance of being very difficult, but which are in reality quite easy. -It is unne- cessary to do more than mention the forward outside and the forward cross roll, as these are perfectly simple, as also is the combination of one skater doing the forward while the other does the back cross roll. In this case, the skaters face each other and do not cross hands. Of course, the skater going backwards will execute a curve on the right, while the skater coming forward will use the left leg. Another simple figure is the Promenade Step. Holding hands sideways the partners make a forward outside on the right, and when the curve has been continued about a couple N 2 i So FIG URE-SKA TING of yards, the left foot is turned in, and placed on the ice behind the right, on the inside edge, the right is at the same moment taken up, and this curve being continued about a yard, the right is again placed down on the forward outside, and the left taken up, this last curve being continued longer, say, some four or five yards ; then the left is put down on the outside edge, and similar strokes executed to the left, and so on (see fig. 175). A more ambitious figure is the 'Three Scud,' or ' Mercury.' The partners face each other, the lady generally starts backwards, the gentleman forwards, as the steering has to be done by the partner who starts in a for- ward direction. They take each other's hands, the lady's left in the gentleman's right, and the gentleman's left in the lady's right. The gentle- man starts on a forward out- side on the right, and crossing the left foot over with the or- dinary cross roll, he executes a three on the left, and drops on to the back outside of right, crosses the feet with the back FIG T roll, and then repeats with a forward on the right, cross roll, and three. While the gentleman is skating the above, the lady executes a back cross roll, and then a three, and then three strokes of back cross roll, and a three, and so on. In the above figure, which is the Single Mercury, the three is always turned on the same foot, and in the same direction, and the partners should now start on the other foot, so as to make the three in the other direction ; and having learned this, they can try the Double Mercury, in which the gentleman begins with a forward on the right, cross roll, turn, and drop HAND-IN-HAND SKATING 181 on to the back outside of right, back cross roll, and then for- ward three on left, and so on. While the gentleman is doing this, the lady skates a back cross roll, forward three, drop on to the back outside, back cross roll, and so on (see fig. 176). Although a three is said to be made in this figure, it is in reality only a turn, as the tail of the three is very short, the drop on to the back outside being made directly the turn is effected, and this gives great pace, but because of the pace the skaters should keep as close together as they can, and hold themselves up- right. If they do not, the rotation imparted by the turn, combined with the pull given by the skater who is going backwards, will cause the unem- ployed leg to be thrown out in an ungraceful manner. The figure is a very pleasurable one to skate, espe- cially when the space is large enough to enable the skaters to make big bold curves. The steering even in a crowded space can be managed so as to avoid a collision, as the curves can easily be deflected when necessary to avoid some one who happens to be in the line of the natural curve. The same figure can be skated with the partners holding hands sideways. Then, instead of one going round the other when they re- spectively execute the turn, they make the turn simultaneously, or nearly so, as the outside partner has to be in advance just before the turn is made, and in fact makes the turn rather sooner than his partner. The whole secret of skating this and similar figures when holding the hands of a partner sideways, is for the outside partner to be well in front just before making the turn. For instance, suppose the lady is on the right of the gentleman, 1 82 FIG U RE-SKA TING and they start with a curve .of forward outside on the right, which is the beginning of the three, the gentleman must by a vigorous stroke get well ahead of the lady, and then they can both make the turn easily, drop on to the back outside, do the cross roll, and come forward on the outside of the left ; and now the lady, being on the outside of the curve, must get in advance before the turn, and so on. Another pretty figure, executed by the partners holding hands sideways, is composed of Mohawks. Assuming the lady to be to the right of the gentleman, and that a start is made with the right foot, the forward outside curve is continued some way, when the feet are spread-eagled and the left dropped down behind the right on the back outside ; and this curve having been continued about the same distance as the first, the right is brought forward and placed in front of the left on the back inside ; and the curve having been held so as to make it about as long as the preceding curves, the feet are spread-eagled and the left put down on the forward inside, and the curve also continued for the same distance as the others, when the movement can be repeated by a forward outside on the right leg (see fig. 177). The forward Mohawk thus joined to the inside back Mohawk causes the skaters to go round in a circle, and the difficulty is to make the curves large enough. This is to some extent remedied by turning the body very much sideways before the change of feet in the Mohawk is effected. If the last stroke of forward inside is eliminated the cir- cular movement is destroyed, but the forward Mohawk is executed on alternate feet, and the figure has a peculiar HAND-IN-HAND SKATING 183 appearance, as the skaters appear to be skating strokes which ought to take them in a forward direction, but which in fact cause them to travel in a backward direction. Assuming as before that the start is made on the right, the Mohawk is skated, and then the right is placed down on the back inside and nearly half a circle is skated on this foot, when the left is put down on the forward outside, the Mohawk skated, and the left crossed over on the back inside, and so on (fig. 178). We now come to the most fascinating of all the hand-in- hand figures, viz. the forward rocker. When a gentleman asks a lady who has never attempted a rocker to skate one with him, the suggestion is generally looked upon as a joke, as the very term rocker implies a degree of perfection that very few ladies hope to attain ; but, although they might not be able to execute this awe-inspiring movement as an individual figure, they will find that it is by no means difficult when attempted with a partner, as holding each other by the hands enables both to continue the resulting curve without any trouble. Assuming that the lady is to the right of the gentleman, they start with the hands crossed sideways and skate four or six vigorous straight forward strokes, and then with the fifth or seventh strike on to the forward outside of the right foot, on which they continue for some eight or ten yards, at the end of which the gentleman should be well ahead of his partner, when the turn to back outside is made by both simultaneously, and FIG. 178. 1 84 FIG URE-SKA TING they glide round to the left on that curve, the pace of which gradually gets slower. After the turn is made the gentleman is behind the lady, but with regard to the direction of going he is rather in advance of her. When the impetus of the stroke is almost exhausted the right hands are disengaged and the gentleman with the left hand gives the lady a gentle pull, then letting go the hand allows her to pass in front of him, and when she has passed the hands are again joined ; but by this passing the lady is now to the left of the gentleman. Four or six vigorous strokes are then made, followed by the large outside curve on the left, the advance to the front of the gentleman, the rocker, and the pass. When a lady and a gentle- man have, been accustomed to skate this figure together it is quite alarm- ing to note the apparently reckless pace at which they do it ; and the unexpected angle at which the skaters come off after the turn of the rocker is very curious to watch (see fig. 179). The thick line indicates the figure skated by the lady, the thin line that of the gentleman. I give illustrations of the three positions while skating this movement. Fig. 180 shows the skaters on the forward outside edge just previous to the turn ; fig. 181 shows them" on the outside back just after the turn, and fig. 182 illustrates the change of hands just after the lady has passed in front of her partner. Three or even four skaters can skate this figure together. Say they start as i, 2, 3, 4, No. i being on the left of the line, and the rocker being done on the right foot. Just before the turn No. i must be in advance of No. 2, who again must be in front of No. 3, and No. 3 must precede No. 4, or the turn cannot be effected. When the velocity of the curve of back FIG. 179. HAND-IN-HAND SKATING 185 1 86 . FIGURE-SKATING outside is nearly exhausted, No. i pulls No. 2, No. 2 pulls No. 3, and No. 3 pulls No. 4, and thus No. 4 passes Nos. 3, 2, i. No. 3 passes Nos. 2 and i, and No. 2 passes No. i. They are thus counter-marched and so enabled to repeat on the left foot (see frontispiece) ; but when more than two persons skate this figure, a great deal of practice together is necessary before the passing can be effected without a scramble and a clutching at each other's hands, which is by no means pretty to look at. After three or four strong straight forward strokes to get up speed, two persons holding hands sideways can skate large Q's together. Assuming that the lady is to the right she must, while on the curve of forward inside edge which precedes the turn, get well in advance of the gentleman, otherwise he will be unable to make the turn. When the turn is effected both are going backwards on the outside back, and when the impetus is almost exhausted, the pass is effected as in the forward rocker, and the movement repeated on the other foot. Most people find this a more difficult movement to skate together than the forward rocker, and the probable reason is that the lady has to be in advance previous to the turn, and it frequently happens that she is not .sufficiently in front, consequently both she and her partner have a difficulty in making the turn. These Q's can also be skated in the same way, but without the lady pass- ing in front of the gentleman ; but then, of course, as the hands are not changed the gentleman will have to be in advance before the turn, when the Q is executed on the left foot. Q's can also be skated by a lady and gentleman in quite a different way. Instead of holding hands sideways, they face and each holds the other's right hand only. The one who is going forward executes a forward Q on the right leg, while the one who is going backwards skates the back cross roll, begin- ning on the left leg ; when the turn which completes the Q is made the right hands are disengaged and the left hands joined, and the one, who to start with was going backwards is now HAND-IN-HAND SKATING 187 coming forwards, and executes a forward Q on the left leg while his partner is skating a back cross roll, and so on. The skater going back on the back cross roll, can give a pull to his partner, which brings him round on a change of edge and turn, with a swish that is quite delightful. If it is wished to change the feet on which the Q's are skated, it is only ne- cessary for the skaters to interpolate a half-circle by means of the cross roll ; but it must be remembered that whenever the skater who is coming forward, executes the forward Q on the right, the right hands are joined, and, of course, the left hands if on the left (see fig. 183). Partners holding hands sideways can skate Q's and reverse Q's together. One executes a reverse Q while his partner skates a Q. The serpentine line backwards, which follows the turn of the reverse Q, will correspond with the serpentine line forwards which precedes the turn of the Q. This figure is a very effective one, and is quite worth the practice necessary to make it go smoothly (fig. 184). Almost all the Club figures can be skated by two persons holding hands sideways, but a great deal of practice is requisite before the knack is acquired of getting forward previous to a turn. If a turn is to be executed to the right on the right foot, the left-hand partner must be well to the front, but if to the left on the left foot, the skater on the right hand must push to the front. The great difficulty is to keep the resulting curves of turns sufficiently large. The partner who is in front almost involuntarily pulls his partner, and brings him round on a small curve. The way to correct this is to execute the turns with great deliberation, and to make as little use as possible of the hold on the partner's hands. The facility of skating these hand-in-hand figures should be acquired by all good skaters, as they can, by teaching them to ladies, afford great pleasure, and at the same time convince the timid that threes, Q's, rockers, &c., are not such impossible figures after all ; and the probability is that a lady who has learned how to execute them with a partner (and with a strong skater she can do this without i88 FIG URE-SKA TING difficulty) will try to skate them by herself, and they may therefore 'be the means of causing her to acquire some of the most difficult FIG. 184. FIG. 183. figures which, without the confidence given by skating them with a partner, she would never have attempted. 1 8 9 ROLLER-SKATING Ice-skating is admitted by everyone to be a splendid form of exercise ; and yet people, especially delicate people, run great risk of catching cold by taking such strong exercise with the temperature perhaps 10 or 12 below freezing point, and with perhaps a biting east wind blowing half a gale. Yet it never seems to occur to them that they can indulge in the exercise which they love, in a covered rink and without any of the drawbacks that attend ice skating. Looking back to the time when Mr. Plimpton first introduced his roller-skate, and re- membering the madness (for one can call it nothing else) that seized on everyone, old, young and middle-aged, and filled the rinks with crowds of people who seemed perfectly happy if they could simply skate round and round the rink floor, it seems incredible that the pastime should have so utterly died out. There were several reasons why this happened, and the principal one was the absence of proper regulations in the public rinks. So frantic were the ladies who were bitten with the mania, to attain proficiency, that they would accept the proffered assistance of any stranger who seemed capable of helping them ; and if the stranger who offered his help was a good skater, and if the lady could not skate at all, the help given was so material that a feeling of gratitude was the result, and an acquaintance, and possibly an undesirable acquaintance, was thus formed in a way wholly contrary to the recognised social rules. Again, the great pleasure in roller, as in ice skat- ing, is experienced during the period of learning ; and if the summit of a skater's ambition was attained when he had gained the power of rattling round and round a rink, either alone or hand-in-hand with a partner, the learning was soon over, and it was realised that simply going round and round was monoto- nous, and yet this was all that ninety out of a hundred rinkers ever attempted. Some of them tried no doubt to negotiate a three, and probably came to grief, and declared that it was not a bit like doing the same thing on ice, and so all progress in the way 1 90 FIG URE-SKA TING of figure-skating was stopped ; whereas, if they had persevered, they would have found that, although infinitely more difficult, almost all the figures skateable on ice are possible on rollers. They probably tried to turn the three that brought them to grief exactly as on ice, forgetting that an ice blade, being the segment of a circle, has a universal pivot, while with the roller- skates there are only two fixed pivots viz. the toe and heel wheels and that before turns can be made the balance must be so adjusted as to accommodate itself to one or other of these fixed pivots. Then, again, for those who could skate most of the known ice figures on rollers, one great pleasure was denied viz. the skating of Club figures in combination with others. As a rule the rinks were not big enough to allow four or more skaters to monopolise the greater part of the floor, and rink managers discouraged a form of skating that interfered with the more profitable crowd of runners round. But still, with all these drawbacks, it is quite wonderful that roller-skating is not more practised. It is splendid exercise, probably the best that ladies can take, excepting perhaps horse exercise ; and the beauty of it is, that ladies who imagine themselves incapable of walking two miles at a stretch, will skate miles without feeling fatigued, and at the same time they will enjoy them- selves thoroughly. I have always been surprised that medical men, who are often desirous that their patients should take exercise in some form, do not oftener prescribe an hour or two of roller-skating twice a week. Ladies seem to enjoy roller- skating quite as much as ice-skating, and even those who no longer skate will tell you that they would like of all things to skate as they formerly did, but that they do not now skate because all the world has given it up. There is no doubt but that roller-skating, learned and practised in the right way, is a very great assistance in acquiring proficiency in figure-skating on ice. Some years ago I took a good deal of trouble in teaching a young gentleman to skate figures on rollers, and as he had a natural ' gift ' he speedily learned to skate all the difficult movements. He had never ROLLER-SKATING 191 been on ice-skates in his life, and I gave him a pair of ice-skates, and when the frost came, arranged to go down with him to Virginia Water. I was detained, and was obliged to go by a train which started two hours after his. When I arrived at the ice I noticed a little crowd, and having put on my skates I skated up to it to see what was the attraction, and to my astonishment I found that the crowd consisted of people who were watching with evident admiration my young friend executing threes, double threes, Q's, and grape-vines, all of which he had learned on rollers. He informed me that for the first half-hour he could do nothing, but I had told him to work at the cross roll, and this he did, and having at the end of half an hour mastered it, all the other movements which he had learned on rollers came to him with ridiculous ease. How often it happens that ladies who cannot skate, watch with envy those who can, and long to do likewise, but they say to them- selves, ' With the little frost we have in England it would be impossible to learn to skate like that,' and they give up the idea ; but if they practised on rollers, they would not only enjoy the exercise, but would be acquiring the aptitude of doing difficult figures on ice. There have been many attempts at various times to pro- duce a roller-skate, but none of the inventors of these crude mechanical substitutes for ice-skates were mechanics, and the credit of inventing a roller-skate on which curves and turns could be effected as on ice is due to Mr. James L. Plimpton, of New York. The action of his skate was quite different from anything that had preceded it, the cramping of the wheels by means of an inclined axis at the toe and heel being, I believe, a new mechanical motion. The principle of the skate is the convergence of the wheel axles to the side on which the skate is rocked or tilted so as to run the skate in a curve, and the means Mr. Plimpton makes use of for effecting the motion consist of an inclined axis attached to the foot-stock, one at the toe and one at the heel, and on which the frame carrying the wheels oscillates. 192 FIGURE-SKATING If the axis is flat, the convergence of the wheel axles will be small, and then only large curves can be skated, but if the axis is given a greater inclination there is a greater convergence of the wheel axles when lateral pressure is applied to the foot- stock, and consequently small as well as large curves can be skated ; but then the balance is more delicate, and beginners should use skates having the axis flat. There were hundreds of patents taken out for roller-skates, all imitations and piracies of Plimpton's principle, and the amount of ingenuity in getting mechanical equivalents to work his idea was quite extraordinary. While his patent existed, inventors devoted themselves simply to the task of trying to ' get round ' the patent, but since it has run out attempts have been made at bond fide improvement. One of the most noticeable of these is the application of ball or roller bearings to the wheel axles, and there is no doubt but that these bearings greatly diminish friction, and so cause the skate to run more easily. Many people fancy that the balance on roller-skates is quite different from that on ice-skates, for- getting that the wheels are simply the means of locomotion, and not perceiving that the balance is effected by the oscilla- tion of the wheel carriage on the rounded edges of the inclined axis. The only real difference is, that with the ice-skate the ankle may be bent outwards and the skate forced in a curve opposed to the true balance, but with the roller-skate this is not possible, as the wheel axles must converge to the side on which the pressure is applied. A person putting on rollers for the first time naturally inclines his ankles inwards with the result that the wheels converge to that side, and the skater's toes run together in the most embarrassing manner ; but a little practice soon gets over the difficulty, and the learner finds that it is much easier to acquire the ability to skate ' straight forward ' on roller than on ice skates, but he must not from this run away with the idea that figures are also easier. In consequence of there being only two fixed pivots, the toe and the heel wheels, on which turns can be made, all turns are difficult to execute on rollers. ROLLER-SKATING 193 Over and above the necessary slewing round of the body previous to the turn, the great secret in skating turns is to raise the toe or the heel, as the case may be, only just enough to enable it to be swung round clear of the floor. If either the toe or the heel should be raised more than is necessary, the balance, on the curve which follows the turn, becomes more difficult. Roller-skating is possible on a comparatively rough surface, as demonstrated by the small boys on the asphalte streets ; but if it is to be really enjoyable not only must the skate wheels run freely and truly, but the surface must be as perfect as possible. Asphalte is not a good medium. It is never perfectly level. It is soft, and consequently heavy in warm weather, and frequently greasy, and therefore slippery in damp or frosty weather. Marble slabs carefully laid and cemented form pro- bably the most perfect medium for rollers, but this kind of floor is very expensive, and is a fixture. The floor which is the best adapted to country houses, inasmuch as it is not only excellent for rollers but is very good for lawn tennis, and it can also be used for dancing, is made of strips of hard red pine wood an inch to an inch and five-eighths wide. When a log of red pine is sawn into these strips, it will be seen by looking at the section of a log (fig. 185) that each strip can be arranged so as to ensure the edge of the grain being uppermost in other words, that no strip has the grain of the wood flat or parallel to the surface. The floor is made by being put together in sections, and each section consists of eight or ten strips, say ten feet long, and at the back of each section battens are laid across diagonally about four inches apart, and these are screwed or nailed with round nails to the strips. The battens being diagonally placed across the strips, the section will open and shut like a parallel ruler. The ends of the battens project so as to enable the section to interlock, and the butt ends of each o 1 94 FIG URE-SKA TING section being properly squared, are grooved, and when one butt end is placed flush up against another, an iron tongue is driven into the groove, and the butt ends are thus prevented from springing. The floor is laid on an ordinary floor, and the sections are laid down, beginning from the outsides of the rink and meeting in the middle. These two middle sections are not interlocked, but a strip of pine wood is placed on the ends of the protruding battens, and screwed down to the floor underneath, and the screws in this batten are the only ones necessary in the whole floor. If in very hot weather the floor opens at all, a wedge driven in between the wall and the floor tightens it all up. The wear to be got out of floors made and put down in this way is astonishing. The floor of the Crystal Palace rink was put down in 1876, and it is still apparently as good as ever. Having regard to the expense incurred by country gentle- men in providing various ways of amusing their guests, it has always struck me that a top-lighted building, large enough for lawn tennis, and having one of these floors, would be a delightful adjunct to a country house, as in such a building skating, tennis, dancing, fencing, and gymnastics could be in- dulged in at times when the weather rendered outdoor sports impossible. The outside edge, which is so difficult to acquire on ice, is comparatively easy on rollers, as the slightest inclination of the foot-stock to the right or left causes the wheel axles to converge to the side on which pressure is applied, and consequently the skate must run in a curve. The directions as to the position in which the feet should be put down, and as to the twisting round of the body previous to the turns, given in the chapters on ice- skating, are all applicable to rollers ; but it is very essential that the skater on rollers should hold himself very upright, as if he is leaning either forward or backward he puts undue pressure on the front or back set of wheels and so causes great friction, whereas with the body quite upright the weight is dis- tributed equally on the toe and heel wheels, and friction is ROLLER-SKA TING 1 9 5 reduced to a minimum. The turns are habitually made on the toe and heel wheels in the same way as similar turns are made on the toe or heel part of the ice-skate, but after a great deal of practice turns on rollers can be made much more smoothly if executed on the set of wheels which will be in front when the turn has placed the skater on the resulting curve. For instance, I will take the second turn of the double three as an example ; the skater is going to make a turn from inside back to outside forward, consequently on the resulting curve of outside forward the front wheels will be leading, and if the turn be made on the front wheels the effect is exactly as though he were skating this difficult turn on ice. Skated in this way on the front wheels this turn is infinitely more difficult than when skated on the back wheels, but a perfectly clean turn is effected, and without the clatter which accompanies the movement when done on the heel, by the toe wheels coming in contact with the floor after the turn is accom- plished. The back Q, in which this turn comes, looks infi- nitely better if the turn is effected on the toe-wheels. Rockers, counters and brackets all come easier on rollers than on ice, simply because when the turns are effected the resulting curves can be held, the slightest inclination of the foot-stock forcing the skate to run in the desired curve. For the same reason men who cannot skate a spread-eagle on the ice can execute it on rollers, even to the extent of having the centre of the circle being described at their backs. All the grape- vines can be skated on rollers as easily as on ice, care being taken in raising the toe or heel set of wheels according to the direction of going. Loops also are possible on rollers, but they are very difficult, especially the forward outside loop, which should be done on the toe. The back outside loop, which is skated on the heel set of wheels, will require weeks of practice, but it is quite possible to execute it with certainty, and I have seen it skated in the back cross roll with the same precision as on ice. The inside forward loop is the easiest, and is done on the o 2 FIG URE-SKA TING heel, while the inside back loop is skated on the toe. Con- tinuous figures are more difficult than on ice in consequence of the position of the body constantly placing the skater too hard on one set of wheels, and so causing friction which has to be combatted by vigorous strokes in the nature of a push-off as described in the directions for learning the one-foot eight on ice ; but anyone who learns continuous figures such as one- foot eights, Q's, brackets, and rockers, and can keep them going on rollers, will find that they come with great facility when he tries them on ice. A two-foot spin is effective on rollers, and is done exactly as on ice, except that with rollers the toe- wheels of one foot and the heel-wheels of the other are the pivots on which the skater re- volves. For instance, if he is going to spin to the left he uses the toe of the left foot and the heel of the right. I have not thought it necessary to go into detail in describing the figures that can be skated on rollers, as with the exception perhaps of crosscuts everything that can be done on ice can be skated on rollers, and as the position and balance of the body on the two forms of skates are identical, all the directions which I have given for acquiring figures on ice are applicable to the same movement executed on rollers. There is a little figure which is rather curious and which is peculiar to rollers, as it is done on the toe-wheels of both skates and is a species of grape-vine. The skater raises himself on the toes, and with the chain step passes the right in front of the left, and turning to the right allows the left to circle round it, the two feet describing two loops. When the skater has turned half a revolution the position of the feet is the same as in skating the Pennsylvanian grape-vine, viz. the right will be across the left and the outsides FIG. 186. ROLLER-SKA TING 1 97 of the feet in proximity, except of course that the skater is all the time on the toe-wheels only. Resting the whole weight of the body on the right foot, the left continues to circle round it until a whole revolution is made and the feet become dis- engaged, the result being that a small loop is formed with the right and a larger one with the left (see fig. 186). In conclusion, let me urge on all who would wish to become good figure-skaters on ice, to look on roller-skating with a favourable eye. Let them be persuaded by one who has worked hard at the rollers, that when they once attain a certain amount of excellence, figure-skating on rollers becomes as great a pleasure as figure-skating on ice, with the additional advantage that every figure acquired with labour on rollers, becomes perfectly easy on ice. Ice visits us but seldom, but a good floor and rollers may be with us at any time ; and such practice as will make a skater on rollers learn and skate in really good form all the various movements that are possible on them, will assuredly tend to make him a first-rate performer on ice. I9S SKA TING CHAPTER IV SKATING AS A RECREATION EY J. M. HEATHCOTE - RAPID motion is pleasant to most of us. Dr. Johnson expressed an opinion that ' riding in a post-chaise was a true source of happiness ' (presumably on account of its speed) ; although time may not be an object, we generally prefer a 'Hansom' to the SKATING AS A RECREATION 199 more tedious 'growler,' the 'Flying Scotchman ' to the Par- liamentary train. The cyclist must admit that record-break- ing is a factor in his ambition to attain high speed, but his pulse will quicken as mile-stone after mile-stone is passed, while he guides his ' Safety ' or his ' Roadster ' on the high road ; and I need not comment on the ecstasy experienced by the rider who has allowed a free-going horse to extend himself on the flat or across country. But these methods of obtaining rapid locomotion are dependent on mechanical agencies or something beyond our own physical force, and it is perhaps the consciousness of self-reliance that causes the sensuous joy of a straight-away run of ten miles or so on ice to rival the pleasurable excitement engendered by any other form of exercise. As my chapters will treat of speed-skating only, it is as idle to contrast the indescribable charm derived therefrom with the more varied and subtle refinements of figure-skating as to compare the manege with the racecourse, the cinder-path with the ball-room ; so if I record instances of jealous contempt which have emanated from enthusiastic exponents of straight- away skating, I do so, not with a view of showing sympathy with a partisan, but to illustrate the quaint humour which may occasionally be found in the expressions of the unlettered athletes of the Fen-country. ' Omne ignotum pro magnifico ' is an aphorism inapplicable to the speed- skater who after watch- ing a ' combined figure ' threw some coppers on the ice, think- ing that no one could make such an exhibition of himself except as a means of earning a precarious livelihood. The withering sarcasm which accompanied the remark, ' Sarve him right,' when an accomplished skater fell in the course of a Pennsylvanian grape-vine, was honest if rude ; and the champion who, after gazing for the first time in his life at the performance of a reverse Q, turned on his heels with a shrug of his shoulders and curl of his lip, muttering ' Hm ! 'custom'd to ponds and such loike,' showed that many things besides play acting are * caviare to the general.' 200 SKATING Speed may be termed the resultant of skill, strength, and endurance, whose influence, though constant, is subtle and intricate ; a few general reflections on this subject may be found interesting. The flight of birds may be dismissed as an object of our envy and admiration, but also of our despair. The swift is said to be able to attain the speed of a mile in less than twenty seconds ; a pigeon has been known to have accomplished twenty-three miles in eleven minutes ; the eider- duck when really under way is almost as speedy ; a falcon belonging to Henri IV. of France flew from Fontainebleau to Malta, a distance of 1,350 miles, in twenty-four hours ; and other 'couriers of the air' are recorded to have traversed 2,000 miles without rest. Such feats as these are wholly beyond the wildest dreams of humanity. Of quadrupeds, the cheetah (Felis jubata), or the black buck (Antilope cervicapra\ may be cited as the fleetest for a short distance. Our interests in the subject will be especially aroused when we attempt to compare the achievements of the rider, the cyclist, and the skater. We may be certain that the best horse of his year, assuming him, of course, to be a stayer, would leave the skater or the cyclist hopelessly beaten over any course from one to five miles in length, and when we remember that fifty miles have been traversed by a cyclist in little more than two hours and a half, 100 miles in less than five hours and a half, more than 300 miles in twenty- four hours, we may be equally sure that mechanical skill has equipped the exponents of that art with an instrument which has enabled them to sustain exertion for protracted periods without fear of rivalry or even comparison. Implicit reliance can at no time be placed in calculations which are based on published ' records,' as these are broken year after year I might almost say month after month but I have endeavoured to arrive at an approximate estimate of the relative speed of these agencies. If we take i as the coefficient of speed of a racehorse for one mile, we shall find that i '3 will very nearly represent that of the trotting- horse, i -4 that of the cyclist, i '6 that of the skater. We shall SKATING AS A RECREATION 201 find that at the end of five miles the racehorse still has a com- manding lead, but that the cyclist has overtaken the trotter, an analysis of records giving 775 to the former, 7-8 to the latter, and 975 to the skater. At the end of ten miles the cyclist will have increased his lead, his figure being 16, against 16*43 of the trotter, 22 of the skater. When twenty miles have been accomplished 32*25 will represent the performance of the cyclist, 35 '03 that of the trotter, 44*47 that of the skater, while at the end of fifty miles the skater will be found to have gained considerably with regard to the horse, the cyclist to have shown ' a clean pair of heels ' to both ; the figures of merit being cyclist 90, trotter 141 '4, skater 152*1 6. I used the words ' approximate estimate ' advisedly, for this analysis of records can scarcely be said to be a fair test of the greatest attainable speed of the skater as compared with that of the cyclist. The latter knows exactly on what day he will run, he can by previous training and practice on the same course with the same machine develop his physical powers to their fullest extent, and he can also undergo that mental preparation which will enable him to know how he can expend his strength to the last ounce without overstraining it. His races are run on a track which is as perfect as human skill can make it, and in a temperature more favourable to exertion than that which may be expected during the prevalence of severe frost. It is not easy to form a true estimate of the influence of atmospheric conditions on the staying powers of an athlete, but no physiologist will deny that it is considerable. Sus- tained exertion involves waste of tissue ; this is why people get tired. Waste of tissue means combustion of ' organic matter, energy being converted into heat ; this is why people get hot. Combustion is synonymous with oxidation, and the lungs can only supply a limited amount of oxygen ; this is why people get out of breath. At a temperature of 30 the radiation of heat from the body is greater than it would be at a temperature of 60, therefore more oxygen 202 SKA TING is required to keep up the normal temperature of the body in a cold than in a warm atmosphere, and a less amount is available to compensate for the waste of tissue caused by exertion. On the other hand, although the skater may have attained the best possible 'condition' after a course of walking, running, or rowing exercise, his muscles will have had insufficient preparation for the unwonted exertion they will be called on to undergo, and the mental training which alone will teach him when strength should be husbanded, when supreme efforts should be made, cannot but have been imperfect. Skating races are generally run in the afternoon, when the ice is per- ceptibly softer than it is in the early morning, and upon a track seldom uniform in character throughout, frequently cut up by previous skaters, and often intersected by cracks, which preclude the skater from concentrating his attention on speed, and speed only. Moreover, the races in which the fastest men have competed are almost invariably run either on an oval track, or on a course involving one or more ' right-about ' turns. The increase of friction and the unavoidable loss of rhythmic swing in the former of these, and in the latter the loss of speed in turning and the tax on strength in starting after the turn, make the achievement of really good times impossible. The question maybe asked, ' If rapid motion is an element of enjoyment, why should skaters hasten to Holland or the Fens, while a straight course of a mile or more may be obtained on the reservoir at Hendon, within a few miles from the metropolis ? ' The difficulty of answering this question shows that something more, than skating at speed on a track is required for the consummation of the pleasure. Perhaps the ever-varying condition of the ice, a succession of new scenes and objects, the wish to have Something attempted, something done, and a feeling analogous to the ' cacoethes scandendi ' of the Alpine climber, invest with some romance the anticipation SKATING AS A RECREATION 203 and reminiscences of a day's journey over a frozen high- way. If the achievement of a long run is a sine qua non, the skater must go to Canada, or to the United States, where, before the first heavy fall of snow, the frozen rivers offer facilities that are not met with elsewhere. Elaine, in his ' Encyclopaedia of Rural Sports,' records the accomplishment in one day of a journey on the St. Lawrence from Quebec to -Montreal 145 miles by an English officer. Mr. J. F. Donoghue told me that he and two friends skated on the Hudson from Newburgh to Albany, a distance of ninety miles, in about five hours, after having run in the morning of the same day to Poughkeepsie and back, making in all a journey of 122 miles. Mr. Montgomery, the Hon. Secretary of the American Skating Association, has made expeditions of phenomenal length. These feats are perhaps less marvellous than they appear to be at first sight ; for they were for the most part accomplished on an uninterrupted course over good ice, and with 'a wind that follows fast,' but they are scarcely possible in any part of Europe. At rare intervals the lakes in Cumberland and Westmore- land, Scotland and Wales, have offered a glorious arena for speed-skating, and a panorama of surpassing beauty ; but frequent snow, and the great depth of the water, have been found to be prejudicial to pleasant and safe skating. The surface of Windermere was not frozen over in the course of this severe and protracted winter, 1890-91, although many of the smaller lakes pre-eminently Rydal Water were covered with ice of the best possible quality. The Norfolk Broads, the reservoirs and artificial lakes in England are frequently available, but these scarcely meet the requirements of the traveller ; and a continuous run is seldom to be accomplished on English rivers, or even our canals. The superintendents of these water-ways endeavour to keep a course open for traffic ; and, as long as it is possible to do so, send men furnished with poles in a barge along the canal. These men tilt to each side of the track the fragments of ice ploughed 204 SKATING up by the transit of the barge, and relegate to the dim and distant future the prospects of good ice. Anticipation of a good day's skating is more likely to be realised by a visit to the Great Level of the Fens, an area of about 1,300 square miles, traversed by four considerable rivers the Witham, the Welland, the Nene and the Ouse and intersected throughout with water-ways, some used for drain- ing, some for navigation, which freeze rapidly, and are easy of access. Holme, Peterborough, Boston, Spalding, or Lincoln, on the Great Northern Railway ; Cambridge, St. Ives, March, Ely, or Wisbech, on the Great Eastern, are convenient starting points, and anyone who has provided himself with a good pair of running-skates, a spare strap and a gimlet, may promise himself a good day's sport from any one of these places. The country is rich in historical associations, the manners and customs of the indigenes will interest the traveller, while the cathedrals of Peterborough, Ely, and Lincoln, the University of Cambridge, the church at Boston, and the Abbeys of Croyland and Thorney, claim the attention of the archaeologist and the lover of architectural beauty. If the ice is in good condition, a strong skater will cover ten miles per hour, including incidental delays, without fatigue, and excursions of from fifty to sixty miles in length have over and over again been made. The longest out-and-home run that has been recorded in England was that of Mr. C. G. Tebbutt, who, with his three brothers, Louis, Sidney, and Arnold, skated from Earith to Wisbech and back, a distance of 73j miles, in 9^- hours. I have not heard of any other excursion that exceeded in length a trip that I and two other Cambridge undergraduates made in the winter of 1854, from our University along the river Cam to its junction near Ely with the Old West River, and on that water-way to Earith and St. Ives. There we had luncheon and skated back to Cam- bridge, traversing 67^ miles between breakfast and dinner. In the same winter Mr. L. Ewbank, of Clare College, skated from St. Ives to Denver and back, a distance of more than 60 SKATING AS A RECREATION 205 miles. In this winter 1890-91 two sons of Mr. William Turnill, a Huntingdonshire farmer, skated from Holme Station, via Benwick, March, and Upwell, to Wisbech, witnessed four races, and returned to their home at Sawtry, taking off their skates at the upper end of Monk's Lode. A good day's work, for the time occupied, including halts, was ten hours, and the dis- tance by measurement 66 miles ; they must, however, have traversed more in the course of the day, and an inch of snow and much cat-ice impeded their progress between Upwell and Wisbech, and back ten or twelve miles and an adverse breeze retarded the journey homewards in the afternoon of the same day. These feats are by no means remarkable, and longer runs might be perhaps may have been accomplished : but winter days are short ; a few miles of bad ice, which may be en- countered when least expected, will cause not only delay but fatigue ; stoppages at mills, locks, and sluices occur at pro- vokingly frequent intervals, and a moderate breeze will retard the progress of even the strongest skater. It may be doubted if the accomplishment of a longer run than has been hitherto achieved would compensate the record-breaker for many dis- appointments, and the conversion of a pleasure into a toil, so I think that the encouragement of such aims is less interesting than a brief description of expeditions I have recently made, which for beauty of scenery, variety of incident, and facility of execution can scarcely be rivalled. Huntingdonshire cannot be classed among the counties of England pre-eminently remarkable for beauty of scenery, but that it has a charm of its own would be admitted by any skater who had started with me on December 26, 1890, from Hunt- ingdon and run on the river Ouse past the pretty village of Hartford the Mills at Houghton and Hemingford, to the quaint old bridge and many-gabled houses at St. Ives. Several con- secutive nights of hoar frost had covered every leaf, every twig, every blade of grass, even every spider's web, with a coat of rime ; the fields were covered with snow, and the white garb of nature enriched by contrast the colours of the mills, churches, 206 SKA TING thatched cottages, and other objects of man's handiwork. The ice was strong enough to bear a loaded waggon in some places, unsafe in some, very dangerous in others, and we gave and received information from the many friends we encountered on the ice. Here was Mr. Donoghue with his hands clasped behind his back, gliding with the ease and grace that char- acterise his movements on ice, there an athlete or two from the Fens about to run in a local race, and members of the rival teams of St. Ives and Bury Fen who were to compete for supremacy at Bandy in the course of the afternoon ; with all these we exchanged friendly greetings> Below St. Ives staunch the Ouse presented a novel appearance. The river hei;e is clear and shallow, but the current is rapid, and for a mile or more the mid-stream was open water, but on each side of these ' wakes ' l was a strip of strong ice varying in width from four or five yards to as many feet, often sloping at a perceptible angle from the bank to the water, often broken by cat-ice, cracks, and rushes, but affording a means of transit perfectly safe, and both easier and quicker than walking on the towing- path. Then followed a glorious run past Bluntisham Ferry to Earith ; a chat with a local veteran at a river-side public- house, who spun yarns of 'how he runned agen Jonathan Sharman forty year ago come new-year's day,' and an after- noon's homeward spin, rendered easier by familiarity with the obstacles overcome in the morning. An excellent day's skating may occasionally be obtained within easy reach of the metropolis on the canal which connects Woking with Basingstoke. Frequent locks at Brookwood and Bisley cause many stoppages between Woking and Frimley, but anyone who puts on his skates at North Camp 'flash,' 2 within a stone's throw of the North Camp Station, on the South-Western Railway, will find a run of at least ten miles interrupted only by one lock at Aldershot. The scenery is varied and beautiful in its way, and is better seen from a canal 1 A local word meaning open water in a frozen stream. 2 A local word signifying a lake adjoining the canal. SKATING AS A RECREATION 207 constructed at an elevation above the surrounding country than from a river or an artificial drain which necessarily traverses the lowest levels. The banks clothed with heather, gorse, and fern, Caesar's Camp and the Fox Hills breaking the horizon, the tall dark pines of Pystock Wood overhanging the ice, the ' flashes,' or reservoirs, fringed with drooping reeds and forming a resting-place for many a worn-out and half-submerged barge, and the picturesque bridge and farmhouse at Crookham, present features which appeal to the heart of an artist, rarely to be met with in the interminably straight water-ways of the Fens. Between Odiham and Basingstoke the canal passes through a tunnel, necessitating the removal of skates and a walk of some distance ; but when the frost has been severe enough to make the ice safe beneath the many bridges which span the canal, there is no better course to be found within a thirty-miles radius from London. The reminiscences of such excursions as these, pleasant although they may be, are less varied and less interesting than those of a visit to Holland in time of frost. In January of this year 1891 the present writer, his son, and ' our artist,' accom- panied by a young Dutch acquaintance, put on skates at the Central Railway Station, Amsterdam, on the broad surface of the Y. Hundreds of ice-bound vessels, every conceivable variety of sledge drawn by horses, skaters, or dogs, a regiment of Dutch soldiers rifle in hand returning homewards, dismissed from an ice parade, two sturdy boys with skates on their feet having an honest stand-up fight with fists, an angler whose rod and line thickly coated with rime testified to his patience and enthusiasm, could not fail to arouse our interest. After running a short distance in the direction of Zaandam we turned northwards, and crossing a bank found ourselves on ice so hard and smooth that we wished our blades had been recently ground. A run of ten miles or so brought us to Monnikendam, on the shore of the Zuyder Zee, where we saw a fleet of ice-yachts condemned to inaction by the snow which had recently fallen. Looking eastward we could per- 208 SKATING ceive nothing but a frozen sea save where the horizon was broken by the Island of Marken, but the snow, accumulated by the north-east wind, made skating well-nigh impossible. Having so nearly reached our destination a retreat was not to be thought of, and we traversed two or three miles of snow- field on foot, until a swept track enabled us to run merrily to the island. The gabled houses of Marken, and the picturesque dresses of its inhabitants, are they not written in the pages of * Baedaker ' and visited every summer by thousands of tourists ? so I will only make mention of a costume of unparalleled eccentricity worn by a native 'masher.' His feet were en- cased in wooden sabots, his legs in knickerbockers that could net have assumed such voluminous dimensions without the aid of an improver of some 'sort, while his head was protected by a tall hat that might have been bought in Bond Street and worn in Pall Mall. In our return journey a favourable wind enabled us to plough through or over the wreaths, billows, and drifts of snow with greater ease and speed, and we reached Mbnnikendam at sunset, whence a run of fifty- five minutes brought us back to Amsterdam before the twilight had been subdued by the deepening shades of night. We accomplished another run which was more thoroughly sui generis than any of which I have seen a record. A start was made at the gas-works near the Haarlern-plein, Amster- dam, and we ran in an easterly direction by Half-weg to Haarlem, a fresh breeze from the north aiding rather than im- peding us. After slowly working a passage through the pic- turesque town over rough and dirty ice, we turned southwards, and felt the wind, which by this time had freshened to some- thing like half a gale, blowing right aft. The ice was as hard as steel, and generally smooth, but occasional hummocks where the surface had been broken up and had frozen again, frequent patches of cat-ice, long reeds here and there imbedded in the ice, and a spin-drift of powdered snow whirled in eddies round our feet, provoked emotions in our hearts which I will not attempt to analyse. No sail was required, metaphorically SKATING AS A RECREATION 209 we scudded under bare poles ; one of our party did so literally when he fell, lost his hat, and had a stern chase of a quarter of a mile or more before he could overtake it and the mad excitement of that twenty-mile run from Haarlem to Leyden will never be effaced from my memory. The wind, still favourable, moderated, and we skated rapidly along a canal which led us through groves of oak and beech and brought ss^" Skating in a blizzard. us, after a run of about ten miles, to the environs of the Hague. I regret that an estimate of our speed is a matter of conjecture, but the distance traversed exceeded forty miles, and the inci- dental delays caused by ferries, bridges, and more than one wrong turn must have encroached a good deal on the four hours during which we were travelling. I should feel that I had imperfectly executed the task I P 210 SKATING have undertaken if I did not give some account of Whittlesea Mere, once known as our great Southern Lake ; once the theatre of ice sports, varied in character, and accessible to all classes ; once the delight of the sportsman, the naturalist, the fisherman and the skater, whose avocations have been con- signed to oblivion by macadamised roads, and crops of roots and cereals. According to a survey made in 1786, its area was at that time 1,870 acres, its length from east to west three and a half miles, its breadth from north to south two and a half miles ; its depth varied from seven to two feet. Subsequent surveys taken by Sir John Rennie in 1835, and by Mr. Walker in 1844, showed a gradual diminution both of the extent and depth of the lake ; but until 1850, in which year was consummated that triumph of engineering skill over the laws of nature, the drain- age of the Mere, its surface in time of frost afforded opportuni- ties for recreation unparalleled in this country. Little or no agricultural woik could be done in severe winter weather, and a general holiday was granted to, or rather enforced on, all except the few who were employed in cutting, carrying and stacking sedge. All were ready enough to enjoy this holiday, and as soon as the ice was reported to be safe, thousands of skaters might be seen converging towards the carnival of fun and frolic, which was held on the broad surface of the Mere, from Peterborough, Holme, Ramsey, Yaxley, and other more distant towns along the frozen ice -ways. It was seldom that this sheet of ice was uniform throughout. Anyone who crossed the Mere might skate for half a mile or so over a hard smooth surface, known in the country as ' glib ' ice ; he might next traverse ice frozen where a stiff breeze had ruffled the water, and he would have to struggle as he best could over a rough hummocky surface, which would shake every bone in his body and make his teeth chatter, or perhaps a crack two or three inches wide and extending across the whole Mere might be encountered. These cracks were caused by the expansion or contraction of the ice consequent on a sudden change of temperature, and the disruption of the SKATING AS A RECREATION 21 r surface, and the grinding of the edges one against another was sometimes accompanied by a report which would awake the echoes of a still night far from the scene of action. Another obstacle to progress was cat-ice, formed where water had over- flowed the surface, had been there partially frozen, and had then escaped, ashamed of the mischief it had caused ; but the most treacherous, though fortunately exceptional, foe to the skater, was an impalpable dust frozen into the ice, of sufficient tenacity wholly to destroy the ' glibness ' of the surface, and to bring even the strongest runners to unexpected grief. The Fenmen, trained from infancy to pioneering on ice, knew how to avoid or surmount these difficulties, and indications of the most convenient routes soon became apparent. These routes generally converged towards some part of the Mere where a race was to be held, and a day seldom passed without an event of some sort being improvised a new hat, a fat pig, a leg of mutton, or a purse of money being offered as prizes, stewards being elected and authorised to enforce the rules which usually governed these contests. The short duration of frost in this country offers little encouragement to the sport of ice-yachting, but it is remark- able that the construction of a skate-sail was never suggested as a means of varying the somewhat monotonous repetition of racing in heats. It is as much to be regretted that an arena so suitable as Whittlesea Mere was not then utilised, as that the relative merits of skate-sails now in use, differing widely, as they do, in construction and detail, are not tested at the present time. A writer who assumed the name of ' Glacianaut ' gives an excellent description and illustrations of a sail which he con- structed in England more than ten years ago, and found to be suitable either for one or two navigators. His sail is oblong in shape, about 9 ft. 6 in. in length, about 4 feet high, made of unbleached calico. The only spars are a mainyard travers- ing the centre of the sail lengthways, and two light upright spars attached to each end of this mainyard. The sail is pro- p 2 212 SKATING videti with reef-points, which should be used when it is carried by one skater ; when two navigators are at work, both hold the mainyard, one of them being in front of the other. The leader is answerable for the direction, but is under the command of his comrade, on whom devolves the task of trimming the canvas. In tacking the sail is alternately to windward and leeward of the skater. - When close-hauled (say on the starboard tack) the sail being on the lee side of the man, the right or weather foot will be in front, the other foot behind it, the left hand will be forward, the right hand, which answers to the main-sheet, holding the yard behind his back. When it becomes necessary to go about the skater luffs sharply to windward, the sail shakes, the feet are changed, the hands remaining in the same position as before, the sail rapidly fills on the other side, and the skater shoots away on the port tack with his sail to windward of him. 1 In this manoeuvre the strain on the sail is considerable, and * Glacianaut ' gives an alternative method 2 by which the sail is kept to windward by turning the skates to leeward, and running for a moment before the wind, shifting the hands while so doing. Then with a slight turn of his skates to wind- ward, and trimming his canvas accordingly, the navigator shoots away on the new tack. ' Glacianaut ' recommends this method to a single navigator, the former if two are using the sail. This equipment, although very simple and inexpensive, is not as serviceable as the sail which is made and used in Sweden. By the kindness of Mr. W. F. Adams, Hon. Sec. of the London Skating Club, I had the privilege of seeing at the Club Rink in the Regent's Park the dexterity with which manoeuvres can be executed with a Swedish sail by an ex- perienced skater. The sail used by Mr. Adams was made by Eastman of the Sportsmagasin, Stockholm. It is of white duck, about 7 feet in height, about 9 feet wide at its base, taper- ing to about 3 feet at the top. The spars, which are made of light bamboo, were fitted in England under Mr. Adams' super- vision. They consist of a strong but light mainyard, and of * The Field, Feb. 15, 1879. 2 Ibid. March i, 1879. SKATING AS A RECREATION 213 two lighter spars, to which the sides of the sail are fastened from top to bottom. The sail is provided with two sets of reef-points on one side, but these are hardly adequate; it would be well to be able to shorten sail on both sides in rough weather. The spars are jointed so that they can readily be put together or taken to pieces ; when they are strapped together, and the sail is neatly folded, the dimensions of the apparatus are inconsiderable. Its weight and its appearance are not very different from those of a salmon-rod and a macintosh. Whether he is 'going free' or ' beating to wind- ward,' the navigator must always keep the sail between himself and the wind. When the wind is dead aft the skater carries the yard behind him on a level with his shoulders, holding it in position with both his hands ; his body is nearly erect, and his feet parallel with one another, about six or eight inches apart. When he wishes to 'go about' he must remember that he must not act as he would if he were on board a yacht --run the boat's head into the wind, and get way on the new tack he must rather wear himself , at the same time shifting the mainyard from one shoulder to the other, turning his body back to the sail, changing his position so that what was the hind part of the sail on one tack becomes the fore part on the next, and grasping the port spar with the left hand if on the port tack, or the starboard spar with the right hand if on the starboard tack. The employed arm and shoulder will now be thrown forward, the unemployed arm being left free ; the body must lean towards the direction from which the wind is blowing, the foot which corresponds with the employed arm, i.e. the foot which is to windward, being in front of the other foot, the prows of both skates pointing in the line of intended motion. At each successive tack the position of the body, shoulder, foot and hand must be shifted ; but these manoeuvres can be executed in a few seconds by a practised skater with- out any danger of ' missing stays ' or any other mishap. Mr. Adams tells me that he can sail within three points of a steady breeze, and that with a fresh wind from the most favourable 214 SKATING quarter slightly before the beam he can attain a speed of thirty miles an hour. How the forces of nature can minister to the requirements Sailing on skates wind right aft. of man may be illustrated by a notice of the Danish skate-sail, an excellent description of which is given by Mr. T. F. Hanmer in the 'Century Magazine.' 1 The Danish rig re- 1 Vol. xxiii. p. 726. The Century Company, New York. F. Warne & Co. , London. SKATING AS A RECREATION 215 sembles the mainsail and topsail of a square-rigged boat, except that the two sails, which are made of light cotton duck, are in one piece. The mainsail-yard is fastened by straps to Sailing on skates close-hauled. the shoulders of the navigator, and the topmast, which can be raised or lowered with ease, is attached by a gaff to its centre. This supports the topsail-yard, which should be of light spruce or bamboo. The mainsail is 7 feet wide at its base, 216 SKATING 6 ft. 2 in. at the yard, 3 ft. 8 in. in height. The topsail tapers to 5 ft. 10 in. at the top, and is 2 feet in height. Sprits, about 6 feet in length, are attached to each of the lower corners of the mainsail, and are held by the navigator. When rolled up, the entire panoply is scarcely more bulky than a large cotton umbrella. With this equipment, a sailor of the Island of Amager, opposite Copenhagen, sustains the part of boat, sail, keel, rudder, ballast, captain and crew ; he can lie his course within five points of the wind, and can manoeuvre himself in less space and in less time than the most expert ice-yachtsman. A prudent skater would make his first essay with a reefed main- sail and in a moderate breeze. The sensations of a beginner are a consciousness of having lost all hold of the ice, and a wish that his skates were heavy enough to give him more ballast ; but a little practice will give him confidence, and show him how he must preserve his balance when on a wind,' or ' going about ' in a stiff breeze, details of which are given in Mr. Hanmer's interesting article. I will venture to quote Mr. Hanmer's description of an incident which shows how skate-sailing may be instrumental not only in recreation but also in sport. He says : One sunny breezy winter day I joined a small party of Danish skate-sailors in a cruise on the Sound between Denmark and Sweden. Three or four miles from the land we espied at a distance something black on the ice, for which we steered, supposing it to be a wounded wild duck or goose. It proved to be a large fox which was out after wounded water-fowl. When he saw us bear- ing down on him he made for the nearest land, but was soon over- hauled and nearly surrounded. When we came too close he would turn his head and snap at our legs. While we were thus flying over the ice discussing between ourselves what a nice skating cap his pelt would make, and dividing in advance the brush, pelt and nose, Reynard suddenly came to a full stop and we all flew past him. He then broke for the land, and nearly reached it before we could tack and come up with him again. We enjoyed the chase too much to despatch him at once ; but his foxship soon learned the principles of skate-sailing, and watching his opportunity he SKATING AS A RECREATION 217 dodged us again, and set his course nearly into the wind's eye where we could not follow him, and nose, pelt and brush soon dis- appeared in the dry grass of the shore. Sport of a less exciting character was within the reach of the Fen-skaters. When the ice was black and transparent, and the water was clear, large pike could be observed with as great, perhaps greater, distinctness than in the tank of an aquarium, Wild-fowl shooting on Whittlesea Mere. and could be followed as they tried to avoid their unexpected foe. Many an exciting chase ensued. There is a tradition that on one occasion a fish weighing 1 2 Ibs. was pursued until it was tired, that the ice was then broken and the prize secured. When we remember the extent of shoal water in the reed-bound estuaries of the Mere the smile of incredulity with which this anecdote has been received may give place to agnosticism, if not to assent. Whittlesea Mere was also a 2i 8 SKATING favourite resort of the wild-fowl hunter. For this purpose a sledge on bone-runners about 16 feet long, 3 or 4 feet broad, was required. In the front of this sledge a fence of upright reeds was arranged which partially concealed the projecting muzzle of a long duck-gun carrying a heavy charge of shot. Kneeling in the hinder part of the sledge, and punting himself along with two iron-shod sticks, the sportsman was enabled to approach to within a short distance of the islands of sedge, which were to be found near the shores of the Mere, and were frequented by flocks of duck, teal, widgeon, and other wild fowl. Nor was Whittlesea Mere the only resort of sportsmen in those days. A writer in the ' New Sporting Review ' l gives an account of an expedition he and some fellow-students at Cambridge University made in 1815. They started at 8 A.M., gun in hand, and with skates slung over their backs. On their way to Ely they killed twenty-three couple of snipe, three brace of teal, and a bittern. They dined at Ely, and skated home by moonlight, reaching Cambridge at n P.M. It is, perhaps, not very surprising that the writer adds, ' We all were so stiff next morning that not one of us could walk across a room.' I have endeavoured to illustrate the relations borne by the art of skating not only to recreation but to the sports of fox-hunting, racing, fishing, and shooting, and if I do not dwell on its instrumentality in pastimes, it is because the really fine games which can be played on ice, curling and bandy, will be elsewhere treated in this volume, and because I think that it is idle to chronicle the abortive efforts that have been made to play at cricket or lawn-tennis on a surface so ill adapted to those games. But mention may be made of military exercises which from time to time have been practised on ice. I have already alluded 2 to the feat of the Dutch musketeers in the sixteenth century ; regiments of the Norwegian, Swedish and Dutch armies have frequently been, and are at the present 1 Vol. xlv. p. 72. - Chap. i. p. 9. SKATING AS A RECREATION 219 time, drilled on ice. Skating parades have at no time formed part of the training of the regular forces in England, but our volunteers have made more than one attempt in this direction. On December 29, 1860, three companies of the Lincolnshire Battalion, after practising manoeuvres on ice, skated ' in fours,' rifle in hand, on the Witham, from their head-quarters near Stamp- End Lock, to Boston ; and ten years later a similar attempt was brought to a successful issue near Huntingdon. Dutch Soldiers returning from drill. In January 1871, the river Ouse, swollen by recent rains, flooded the adjacent meadows, and ample fields of excellent ice were the result of a subsequent severe frost. At that time I commanded the ist Hunts R.V., a corps of two companies, and I ordered a parade without rifles or side-arms, but with skates, and more than half of the strength of the corps re- sponded to the summons. The men * fell in ' in single rank, and, except when in 'skirmishing order,' joined hands. 'Form- ations of line from column,' 'column from line,' 'counter- marching,' and light-infantry movements were executed with 220 SKATING admirable precision and rapidity, and it was a subject of regret to me that when I subsequently had the honour to command an Administrative Battalion in the Fen-country, and might have expected a muster of about 300 men, the weather, 'varium et mutabile semper,' prevented me from carrying out my inten- tion of repeating the experiment on a larger scale. Although a travesty of the regulations laid down in the F.E. book, such exercises^are not without their use ; they are replete with in- terest to performers and spectators, and they illustrate, what I have already said, that the art of skating is the Fen man's second nature. 221 CHAPTER V HOLLAND BY C. G. TEBBUTT A Wayside Drinking-stall. HOLLAND may cer- tainly be called the skater's paradise. If the mountains of Switzerland from which the Rhine springs, charm the Alpine climber, as- suredly the frozen waterways of Holland delight the skater. At the source of the Rhine is a country where it is almost impossible to obtain a level cricket pitch ; at its mouth only a few sand banks and dykes break the line of the horizon. Holland may be almost termed the estuary of the Maas, Rhine, Ems, and Issel, which, carrying the waters of Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and France, threaten to inundate and make Holland a swamp, while the relentless billows of the 222 SKATING North Sea washing its eastern coast demand admittance to the home from which they have been evicted by the hardy Dutchmen. Upon its system of drainage and dykes depends the very existence of Holland. It has been described as being anchored in the North Sea. Rivers made by means of banks or dykes, thrown up to give the necessary fall to the sea, carry the water from the uplands at a high level through the country, and form the great highways for drainage and commerce. Every schoolboy knows of the great sea dykes which are able to enforce Canute's command to the ocean, 'Thus far and no farther.' Having thus disposed of other nations' water, and kept the sea at bay, all the rain which falls in Holland is pumped up into canals, some of which drain into these rivers, and some into bigger main canals emptying themselves at low tide into the sea. Rivers, large and small canals, drains and ditches cover like a spider's web the face of the land, "all of them under the most complete control of the wonderful Dutch engineers. We say ' England rules the waves.' When crossing to Holland I have often wished she did exert this influence ; but once there the inland waters are found to be in complete subjection. Illustrations of skating in Holland usually centre round a picturesque figure of a woman carrying her basket of butter and eggs to market. The writer has, however, never seen this familiar dame with her dairy produce, but he has seen her busy with knitting needles as she swings gracefully along on skates. He does not, however, propose to give an exhaustive descrip- tion of Dutch skating, but to describe what he has witnessed during many skating expeditions all over the country, and he hopes that information may be furnished that will be of use to anyone who wishes to explore its frozen waters. One must not mix up the people who live east of the Zuyder .Zee with those of South Holland. The former are an agricul- tural race called Frieslanders or Fries, who claim us as brothers from similarity of character, habits, and language. They doubt- less exported speed-skating into the Fens, for the Fries style of skating is like the Fenman's, being straight and go-ahead. The HOLLAND 223 thin blades of their skates lie flat on the ice, while their more southern countrymen prefer a thicker and slightly curved iron, and skate at a slower pace, swinging along, rolling from side to side in long curves on the outer edge, following the direction in which their strokes naturally propel them. The Southerner does not care to hold to a straight course ; he enjoys the luxury of his ' Dutch roll ' too much. The difference in style is soon seen by their swept courses. The straight-going Fries only sweeps for himself narrow paths on the ice, whilst down south broad ways are the order of the day. It is these swept courses which make Holland such a skater's paradise. Many countries, such as Norway, Canada, &c., have severer winters, but the cold brings snow, and when once there is a heavy fall, it is only possible to skate on rinks or swept courses. No country in the world has such a system of clear- ing away snow as Holland, It is necessary to keep the high- ways open for traffic ; and, as you skate from town to town, and find everywhere ice clear from snow, be thankful, but do not imagine it is for the benefit of such pleasure-seekers as you and I. Far into the country where villages are miles apart, immediately after a fall of snow the busy sweeper is at work, and during the day the icy track is laid bare. In large towns where traffic is heavy, sweeping is not sufficient ; the rough- ness of the ice is levelled down by big planes, and the cracks filled up by pouring hot water into them at night, so as to allow the loaded sledges to be easily drawn along. In England, after a slight thaw, the river often rises, half melting the snow in some places, in others covering the ice inches deep with water ; the frost returns at night only to make skating the more impossible. One is very rarely thus cheated in Holland, for the rivers, being on a dead level, and the sluice gates closed, the water never rises. Having over-night looked into the papers to see what is going on and examined the map, we decide upon a skating tour. Rising early (never early enough, as we find out by the end of the day) we load our outer pockets with cents, and on 224 SKATING tram or by walking reach the outskirts of the town (if it is a large one) ; but if in Friesland we may, if we like, tumble almost straight out of bed on to the ice. ' Sache une pour soi ' is the order of the day : that is, ' Put on your own skates even if you are a lady,' as is the Dutch custom. True you may find gang- ways, steps, planks, &c. leading down to the ice, and seats and forms on the ice, but you must put your own skates on. You are expected to give a cent to the plank-man and the sweepers as you pass them. There is no need to stop when giving ; after a little practice a cent may be thrown into the sweeper's hat at full speed. One is glad to get clear of the dirty snow and thronged way of the town, and strike out on the clean ice of the country. Here the many tracks which cross and re- cross the river will have converged into one main course. It is well to keep to this course, unless indeed there is no snow to hide the ice, for by cutting out a fresh track of your own you may break your nose or lose a tooth. Be sure to provide yourself with a large map of the water- ways and look out the route before starting. One can often pronounce a Dutch name to one's own satisfaction, but not to the recognition of a native, and in such cases, by pointing it out on the map, the sweeper, or stall-man, will show you not only the way, but the way where the ice is best, or it may be a short cut unmarked on the map. These stalls are a great feature. Often they are mere shelters of plaited reeds and without roof, though along beaten tracks one finds well-protected wayside inns. In populous districts these booths abound, tempting the lazy to rest and the thirsty and hungry to satisfy their needs. Inside these shelters will be found forms, chairs, two or three Dutch boys, and the landlord. Before him on the table are a lot of cups and saucers. Each cup and saucer is of different make, colour, and age, the remnants of ancient sets. A big copper kettle, containing boiling milk or coffee, or milk alone, rests on the fire behind Mynheer, while the eatables are repre- sented by heavy biscuits and heavier gingerbread cakes. Some ' swell ' booths provide schiedam, schnapps, warm wine, bread HOLLAND 225 and cheese, and ham ; some only the inevitable kettle which is filled with aniseed milk. It is never worth while to carry solid provisions, you can always depend upon getting a meal at one of these stalls, and, if you know Dutch, enjoy the jokes and good humour of the people, who, in their keen interest for everything connected with skating, will carefully examine you, your get-up, and your skates. The writer has had in Friesland two or three hundred people catch up his feet as he has sat upon a bank in the midst of a crowd, and they have discussed and examined his skates and person until he doubted to whom he belonged. Besides water, another important national slave is the wind. When travelling along these raised waterways, some twenty feet above the surrounding land, in almost every part of Holland the horizon seems studded with windmills. Far and near, like sentinels watching the welfare of the inhabitants, they patiently wait for every breath of wind to use in raising the water from the low-lying lands, or to grind corn or cut wood, &c. They are of all sizes, some like mere toys, and some, like the pro- verbial Dutchman, large and comfortable looking ; others appear mere skeletons with the working parts all exposed ; others, again, are substantial dwelling-houses, well protected from the weather by reed thatching. All seem to understand their work, and, excepting when the owner forgets, every now and then, to grease the working parts, they never so much as grumble, or strike, should the wind employ them night and day successively. In some parts every field has a windmill, in others a big engine does the work of the neighbourhood. One might almost say, what with the use of the wind for driving windmills, the barges in summer, and the sledges over the frozen waters in winter, that not a breath of wind is wasted in this thrifty country. High up, so that one skates on a level with the eaves of the houses (unless, indeed, the houses are built, as is often the case, on the banks themselves), one is greatly exposed to the wind. For, so perfect is the system of drainage that, unlike our Fen rivers, there is no need to provide banks high above the water Q 226 SKA TING to prevent a sudden overflow after heavy rain. Along some of our Fen rivers one feels shut in from the outside world, like a train passing through a cutting ; but in Holland the three or four foot bank allows the skater a full view of the surrounding country. In no method of progression is one so much affected by the wind as in skating, or so ready to seek shelter from it under the lee of another skater. It is obviously unfair to take all the advantage of his protection without sharing in the extra labour of facing the wind. Here, again, our economical friends teach us a lesson. One can see batches of skaters swinging along against the wind in single file, a pole under their right arms, skating together stroke for stroke as one man. Ij; will be easily seen that those who take shelter under the leader by means of this pole, help him along. Coming down wind, the whole thing is reversed ; it is now a broadside and not a single file, with the pole held abreast of them, and instead of keeping a straight line, the batch rolls from side to side as if to prolong the enjoy- ment of going with the wind. It is then that a Dutchman looks the happiest man in the world. These skating poles are quite an institution ; they have a knob at each end, and are painted with bands of colours running spirally from end to end like a barber's pole. Every lad possesses one, and is proud of it, has his favourite colour, and, of course, his name in large letters painted on it at one end. He would as soon be seen without his pole as a Londoner without his top hat. One of the first things noted when going down to the ice is the number of skating poles carried over the shoulder, from which the skates hang down the back, whilst at large skating rinks, as at Amsterdam, &c., a great heap of poles may be seen which are let out by the hour. I have often doubted whether it were possible to get drowned in Holland. Certainly no Dutchman should, nor need any foreigner, if he is the least observant. Should any part of the ice between, say, two villages be unsafe, reeds are carefully cut and placed as a barrier to warn the skater. HOLLAND 227 Notices are put up, and, under bridges, planks and hand- bridges are placed, often with straw to cover the boards for the protection of the skates. At other places, where it is necessary to get off or cross over a bank, the thoughtful Dutchman has strewn the way thick with straw or reeds. Of course the grate- Dutchmen skating with "pole. ful skater will not begrudge a cent (one-fifth of a penny) to those who provide such accommodations. Let us now get a glimpse of this thrifty nation out on holiday. After work is over, men and girls come trooping down to the ice to skate round the village course. In England every village has its green or common, in Holland every village has its water common in summer and ice Q 2 228 SKATING common in winter. Upon this ice common a course is marked out by stakes and decked with flags, and is used for the village races. One may often in passing through a village see the prizes, which are to be competed for during the evening or the next day, stretched high upon poles across this straight course, and well out of reach, with groups of boys wistfully looking up at the coveted articles, discussing the merits of the skaters, or, suddenly becoming excited by a desire to win, madly rushing up and down the course for practice. An important race is often held on a large lake conveniently situated for the neighbouring villages, and draws thousands of spectators from ten and twenty miles' distance. From all parts they stream in. The squire and his wife wrapped in furs, riding in a sleigh, and drawn by a pair of horses ; the sturdy farmer in his brightly painted family 'carriage,' driving his high-stepping black horse, bedecked with bright coloured streamers, and jingling with sleigh bells ; the hardy buxom country lass with her gold or silver helmet, and lace headgear, and numberless skirts, hand in hand with her young man in flannel knickerbocker suit and round fur flowerpot-shaped cap ; the ' swell ' in black velveteen coat and short breeches with long black streamers hanging from the knees, fancifully knitted stock- ings and bright buckled shoes. There is sure to be a band somewhere, for the Dutch are intensely fond of music, and if the lake be large, some ice yachts may be seen skimming along with the grace and ease of a seagull. The contests consist of sleigh racing, competitions for men, and racing in pairs for men .and women. The sleighs generally come first, and one is much struck by the size of the horses and the smallness of the convey- ances. Trotting along at tremendous speed for only some two hundred yards, the whole race is over in a few seconds ; the spur break is dug into the ice and soon the bell announces a second spurt. After half-an-hour's interval the more popular competitions begin. Big, powerful men, some old reputed champions with no anxiety on their faces, others looking nervous, .as it is their first ' fling,' fly over a 160 metre (about 175 yards) HOLLAND 229 course in pairs and heats. It is a marvellous thing to see heavy men, some over forty years old, speeding down the course like Sheffield sprinters, sometimes skating, it is said, 100 heats in one day. As straight as an arrow they go, kicking their heels up .behind as they strike violently backwards, and their arms flung wildly from side to side. At half the distance the race is often won, and the victor, completely master of his rival, eases up and only wins by a yard. At another time it is a neck and neck struggle, and amid the shouts of the crowd they come in almost a dead heat, the indicating machine at the finish alone being able to decide upon the winner. This indicating machine is admirable, and indeed indispensable for such short races. Standing between the two courses, two threads are stretched one on either side of the machine, and fastened on the outside of each course to a stake. The contrivance has two white discs, which, when set ready for the next race, have two moveable black discs to cover them. The strings on either side of the machine hold a catch and prevent the black discs from falling and exposing the white discs. As the moveable discs can only fall inwards, and then only one at a time, and as in falling one prevents the descent of the other, it is almost impossible for a dead heat to be registered, and the first skater who touches the thread, releasing the disc on his side, proves him- self the winner. Towards the evening young men's and girls' races will come on. Having chosen partners, the competitors get ready at the starting point. A rigged- up canvas protection forms a dressing room, where the girls divest themselves of as much clothing as is convenient, and of as many skirts as they can well spare ; then, grasping the right hands of their partners, and close behind them stroke for stroke, at the word of command they rush off. Not troubled with too much senti- ment, nor requiring too much consideration, these Fries lasses are, on skates, the wonders of the world. Their speed is often equal, and sometimes even superior, to that of the young men with whom they race. 230 SKA TING When skating in Holland, be careful how you show off your speed before a lady, or you may have the pleasure of following in her wake instead of being her leader. The tale goes, that the winner of an international race, who, with a girl as partner, won many prizes, was one day bragging of his victories, when someone, to reprove his vanity, declared it was the young lady, not he, who won them. This led to much wrath on his part, -especially when the girl herself declared he did not pull her, but she pushed him along. Nothing would satisfy the company but a race between them. Alas for our champion and the dignity of his sex ! He was beaten. Often in the short races the winning and starting posts alternate, and it is necessary for the winner to excel both ways of the course, or to win in the best out of three courses. This is to counteract any advantage or disadvantage which the wind, or course, or accident might give ; the crowd is also kept from thronging too much at one end. Women's races have been held since the great race at Leeu warden, on February i, 1805, which was won by Trijntje Pieters, of the village of Poppingawier, a girl of twenty winters. It is said that during a good winter like that of 1890-1, some makers sell more than 10,000 pairs of skates. Thousands upon thousands collect at the important races, and discuss the merits of their favourite skaters, and yet, much to their credit, the curse of betting is unknown. All is done from the true love of sport. At the first Great International Race it is calculated that 100,000 people were present, and hundreds of sleighs drawn by horses ; and no one who witnessed the excitement when the last foreigner was beaten could doubt the national sentiment. A description of the Great International Race at Heerenveen will illustrate this. The severity of the weather during last winter rendered it possible to carry out this meeting without hindrance, and for completeness and extensiveness of arrangement, it was pro- bably the grandest series of races ever held. On December 16, with Smart and See fresh from St. Moritz HOLLAND 231 (where by generous help I had been able to send them to train), we trudged through the small town of Heerenveen, and after skating about a mile, saw in the distance the scene of the morrow's contest. A little to our right the horizon was studded with large national flags. As we neared, shorter and smaller flags came in view, and upon turning suddenly to the right, the whole lake widened out before us, bedecked with coloured bunting. It was a bright, glistening expanse of ice, swept and Dutch raceground. scraped, reflecting the waving banners which almost made the ice warm with their colours. Beyond, the sky, intensely blue, met the pure white snow-covered pastures or tufted reed beds at the horizon. It was a most charming and fairy-like scene never to be forgotten. The courses were in the middle of the lake. A big outer circle of wire fencing enclosed an inner circle, so as to form the outside racing course, and within this again were other tracks. 232 SKA TING This outside course was divided into two tracks, and had two parallel sides running north and south, about 100 yards apart, joined by curves at each end, altogether rather more than a mile round. The starting place for the mile and two-mile races was at the western side, at the northern end of the course. At the eastern side of the southern end, after completing the curve, the mile course left the outside and came diagonally back again to the starting place, forming the well-known horseshoe mile course. Half way up the western side was another starting place, and another return horseshoe track for the boys' race, f of a mile in length. Inside, and parallel to the eastern side, was a straight J-mile track, divided by cubes of ice into three courses ; for the starters' and judges' boxes were so built that the officials and timekeepers watched the races high up above the crowd. At the starting end were a dressing room and refreshment pavilion for the skaters and officials, a committee tent, and a grand music stand. By payment the spectators were allowed inside the outer roping ; beyond this the lake was free to all. Outside the ice were more stands and pavilions, viz. two large refreshment places, outhouses, tobacconist-shop, another band stand, tool-house, &c., and house for the sweepers, and so forth. The whole was laid out on a magnificent scale, and could not have cost less than i,ooo/., all for the sake of two days' racing. In good time on the morning of the race all were astir. At about nine a parade took place. A military band of music, pre- ceded by the banners of the Thialf Club, headed a procession of some hundred sweepers carrying skating poles ; then came the officials of the Thialf Skating Club, decorated with their club colours, another band bringing up the rear. After parading the town, the sweepers skated to the course. Here streams of skaters were arriving from ail parts of Fries] and and Holland. It was estimated that there were 50,000 or more spectators. The refreshment contractors, who had provided ham sandwiches, coffee, schnapps, &c., for 20,000, were com- pletely * eaten out.' No one who has not seen the Fries on a HOLLAND 233 great skating race-day can imagine how intense is their interest in this pre-eminently national sport. On everyone's face is a happy, determined-to-be-pleased expression, for not a man, woman, or child, but is a born skater. The name of Mr. Donoghue was in everyone's mouth after the first day's racing. After dining, a public assembly was held in the Posthuis ; here every imaginable toast was drunk, in every sort of wine and spirits, and in French, Dutch, German, and English languages, accompanied by musical honours and national anthems. Next day, just before the greatest race of the meeting for the Professional Championship a sudden and blinding fall of snow came down. A troop of sweepers were soon busy, but, coming first on the programme, George See and Vrouwes had to plough through the snow, which necessarily affected their times, but very soon the sweepers had the courses quite clear again. Curiously enough, the four best times came out in pairs. James Smart and Marten Kingma both with 3 min. 14$ sec., and G. See and Von de Schaaf 3 min. 19 sec. Who would win ? Smart or Kingma? The dense mass of spectators became denser and more excited. Kingma competed against See in the final, with the result that both did better time than pre- viously, Kingma 3 min. 84 sec., See 3 min. i if sec. It was a splendid race. Kingma skated grandly, and was the first Dutchman to beat See. The officials were in danger of losing their characteristic gravity, and thought their champion must win. As the times were hoisted on the scoring board in view of all, from mouth to mouth everyone passed the word until the whole multitude seemed to shout Kingma will win ! Kingma must win ! Kingma has won ! I shall never forget the last race. I did my very best to encourage Smart, though I knew the odds seemed against him, and trembled as I saw his pale yet deter- mined face as he started off. He soon left Von Schaaf far behind, and both disappeared in the haze. It seemed ages before they came into sight again ; not a sound was to be heard, all, as still as death, were straining their eyes to get the 234 SKA TING first glimpse of the returning skaters. Fortunately our stop watches remained cool, and as I saw Smart loom in the distance, skating with vigour, I hoped he might, thought he would, and yes ! knew he must win ; and he did ! My stop watch showed 3 min. 7 sec. The Union Jack was hoisted in his honour. Thousands crowded round, congratulated Smart and claimed him as their champion, and much to the credit of those who had hoped for his rival's success, not a word of disappointment was uttered. A crowd instinct with such genuine sporting feeling is seldom found, and would be an honour to any country. The champion short-distance skaters of the present day are, Renke van der Zee, Peter Kingma, Weibe de Vries, Marten Castelein, W. Zijlstra, T. B. Veninga, Okke van den Berg, of whom Renke van der Zee was chosen to represent Holland against the Norwegian in 1885. But to Englishmen the best known skaters are Arie van den Berg and the Kingma brothers. Arie van den Berg was born at Benthuizen in 1852, in mid- winter. He was nineteen years old when for the first time he won the first prize in a race at Zoetermeer, January 13, 1871. Broadening and thickening, he became one of the most power- fully built men in Holland, weighing some 96 kilogrammes, and standing 5 feet 9^ inches high. Yet with all his strength he had that ' go ' and activity which is so indispensable in the short Dutch races. He has placed the following first prizes to his credit : two at Zevenhuizen, one at Nieuwerkerk, one at Gouda, one at Kralingen, one at Oudshoorn, one at Nieuwer- burg, three at Paanacker, one at Leiden, two at Sloterdiijk, one at Weesperkarspel, one at Haarlem &c., &c. He was the champion of South Holland ; for it is probable that in Friesland there were one or two skaters who could always defeat him over the i6o-metre courses. It was in the International races, where the courses were a mile and over, that our hero showed to such advantage, and found no equal in Holland. Van den Berg was thirty-four years of age when he won the first prize at Hamburg in '1886, and again the following year HOLLAND 235 he defeated the famous Norwegian, Harald Hagen, on January 1 8, covering a mile in 3 min. i6isec. Returning a month later, he and B. Kingma met Smart and See at Slikkerveer, where they suffered defeat in the long distances, but won as they liked in the 320-metre race. It was only when thirty-six years of age that Van den Berg allowed the young man Bene- dictus Kingma to overhaul him in these long-distance contests. No one knows how many prizes he has won altogether. The next best known skaters are the Kingmas of Grouw ; the United States has its three Donoghue brothers, England its three Smarts, and Holland its three Kingmas. Benedictus, Merk, and Marten are all first-class skaters, and fine active men, worthy of the esteem in which they are held. Bene- dictus, who was born on Christmas eve, 1859, is the best known. Although in a youth's race he won a first prize, little notice was taken of him until at Leeuwarden in 1885, when he met and beat George Smart. Since then he has represented Holland in its International races. Merk is a very fine skater and has on occasions beaten his brother. But it is Marten who is now the pride of Holland. Two years ago he was sent by the Dutch N.S.A. with Mr. K. Pander to St. Moritz to train, but had no opportunity of proving what benefit it did him. Again last year (1890) he went to train with Mr. Houtman, to Norway, and though his practice was cut short by early frost and racing in December, his merits as a distance skater were seen to advantage at Heerenveen, for in the mile race no other Dutch skater could come within 1 1 sees, of his time. He defeated George See and only suffered defeat from James Smart. No one in Holland but Mr. Pander can keep pace with him for any distance over half a mile, though in a i6o-metre course a good many are his superiors. Racing in long Norwegian skates, he has specially practised long-distance skating, and unfitted himself for the short races. The six best milers in Holland may perhaps be placed in this order of merit : first Marten Kingma, second Weibe de Vries, R. Westra, Benedictus, and Merk Kingma, and third Arie van den 236 SKA TING Berg whilst Klass Hanje of Dokkum, and B. Dekker of Zwolle, are the best i6o-metre sprinters. Of the amateurs Mr. K. Pander of Haarlem is pre-eminent. He stands in the front rank of the amateurs of the world. His best performance was in 1889-90 after returning from a month's training at St. Moritz, when he won the J mile and i mile in the International races. Well-built and very active, he excels in many other sports, though he is best known to us as a skater. As one would expect, it is usual in Holland to make skating expeditions and visit friends who live in far off towns and villages, and there are some enthusiasts who are ambitious of perform- ing long-distance feats. One of these feats is to visit in one day the eleven towns of Friesland, a distance which must be close upon 80 miles. Mr. W. J. H. Mulier of Haarlem accom- plished this last winter in 13 hours, of which i hr. 55 min. was taken up in resting and consuming, &c., and he has kindly given me the following particulars. It is necessary to have good ice, practically clear of snow, a full moon, bright sky, and plenty of previous practice. The best record is twelve hours. From Leeuwarden to Dokkum I found the ice exceedingly bad. I had ordered at Bolsward a guide to show me across the lakes, &c., but he could not go with me, and I had to lose forty minutes in looking for another man. He took the following course : Starting at Leeuwarden, skated to Dokkum, returned again to Leeuwarden, thence to Harlingen on the Zuider Zee via. Franeker, turning down south vii Bolsward, Workum, Hindeloopen, to Stavoren on the Zee, facing to the left to Sloten via Balk, round the Sloten Lake, and again over the lake to Ijlst, thence by Sneek to Leeuwarden and home again. The route and even the towns visited are, I understand, sometimes varied. No Englishman as yet has been credited with the accomplishment of this feat. Who will be the first ? Another great feat is to skate from Hague to Leeuwarden great, because it is necessary to cross the Zuider Zee, and this HOLLAND 237 is only possible after an exceptionally severe frost. Last winter six men walked across from Enkhuisen to Stavoren in 8 hours. The ice was quite safe, but too rough for skating. It is on record that one Reindert Reinders of Jaure delivered in one day, during the winter of 1763-4, a letter from Stadtlander William IV. to his mother at Hague, returning again to Leeuwarden across the Zee from Enkhuisen to Stavoren, considered to be a forty hours' walk. W. Koopmans of Bolsward made a similar journey with important state papers, starting from Leeuwarden at 6 A.M., and returning home again at 9 P.M. During a severe frost it is possible to skate south from Rotterdam to Bremen. Trips may be made all over Holland, but the best centres are up in Friesland. From the two capitals, Leeuwarden and Groningen, any number of expeditions can be taken. The people being the most enthusiastic skaters in the world, every provision is made for skating. Here children can skate before they can read or almost walk. All business is done on skates, and on Sunday thousands travel thus to service, leaving their skates in a large heap in the lobby of the church. It is literally true that the Fries tie on their skates by their fireside, step on the ice, and without even untying them, kick them off again through the open door upon reaching home again. A most interesting week might be spent in coasting along the eastern shores of the Zuider Zee, and visiting those romantic dead cities, Harlingen, Hindeloopen, Stavoren, Kampen, and Harderwijk. Each of these places is full of historic memories, curious habits, picturesque costumes, and artistic buildings. Every detail of life will charm the visitor. Another enjoyable tour can be taken from Amsterdam, without the necessity of an extra day's travelling so far north as Fries- land, and as these trips are so accessible, the writer thinks a short account of the expeditions he has made will show what may be expected. I left London one evening at 8 P.M., and arrived at Leiden next morning at about n A.M., when I was soon on the ice and SKATING i striking out for Amster- dam. There are two ways of reaching that city, one via Haarlem, "i' : ^ 1 the usual way, ' I i and the way which I took, '-i| to the south- !M *tr &L east of the once famous Haarlem Meer. , It was my " first skate of c^ the season, fl '''\' % the ice was 'If 1 c5 splendid, my skates sharp, N^p^Mi^H; and the air -^^3y \ keen. Reach- ^\ISiiM% ing de Kaag, \^^/ v I found, just j beyond, a na- tive on Fen skates, and congratulated ' A him upon his choice. His only answer was, ' They ' 1 go precious S v hard ! ' And no wonder, HOLLAND 239 for he was wearing list shoes, and had his whole weight rested upon the sharp pointed heel screw. Dutch skates have no heel spikes. At Alsmeer I sat down inside a booth, had some coffee and gingerbread, and entertained a crowd of youngsters. Continuing I met a lot of sledges pushed along by men wearing ice-spikes. The sledges were loaded with billet wood, straw, hay, reeds, grocery, baskets, &c. Soon after this I overtook a party of sportsmen or poachers, carrying guns, and weighed down with hares, pheasants, and other game. Nearing Amsterdam I was greatly amused to see a man with a wooden leg, perched high upon a stool, shod with ice runners ; he was shoving himself along at a merry pace, whistling a jig. Amsterdam was reached in about 2\ hours, a short first day's skate of over twenty miles. The other route via Haarlem I have often skated. Once the excursion was in the company of the late Baron de Salis, Mr. Neville Goodman, and Mr. J. van B. Wickers, all so well known for promoting international skating, my sister and an artist friend also accompanying us. As we started from Amsterdam a strong wind was blowing behind us, and we sped along at a lively pace to Halfweg (Halfway), some six miles, in 23 minutes. After this the ice improved, and we fairly flew without a check to Haarlem, racing everyone ; the young lady and her brother arrived first, having covered the 4^ miles in 14 minutes, or at the rate of 3 min. 7 sec. for a mile. Of course the wind claims much of the credit. Passing through the picturesque watergate and round the town of Haarlem, we found the skating beyond as bad as it had been good before. Dredgers had lately thrown up fine sand on to the banks, and the wind, now destined to hinder us, had blown it across the ice at a time when the surface was melting from the warmth of the sun. Anyone may imagine the effect ! This lasted for miles ; our skates refusing to go over or through it, we floundered about in a distressing way. But the lunch at Leiden revived our spirits, and we returned home by train with pleasant thoughts of our thirty miles' trip. 240 SKA TING Several expeditions during a fair frost may be made along the fine Amstel river from which Amsterdam derives its name. By taking the train to the outskirts, the dirty city ice is avoided. The heavy and incessant traffic of skaters and sledges cuts up and spoils the tracks for miles around a large town during a long frost. Once beyond the influence of the city traffic, we swung along and were not long in reaching Ouderkerk. Here is a Jewish synagogue which, I believe, is only accessible by water, in summer by boat and on ice in winter. Continuing along the Amstel it is not a * far cry ' to Withoorn ; then, if the skater is ambitious, by following the Aar and Gouwe across the old Rhine or Rijn, Gouda is reached, and so on by the Ijssel to Rotterdam, some sixty miles' skate from Amsterdam. We once essayed this expedition on March 2, and to cut off retreat sent our luggage on to Rotterdam. After arriving at Withoorn we accepted the lead of a Dutchman and his boy who were taking a barrel of schiedam on a ' ijsteede ' or sledge. He soon left the Amstel, and then gave us a cross-country gallop along ditches and drains, through farmyards, &c., for hours. We shouted incessantly to him ' Naa Rotterdam,' and as often received a nod and a smile in return. At last, just as we were in desperation and concluded we were hopelessly lost, we emerged at the junction of Aar and Rijn. Our pilot triumphantly pointed with his hand and exclaimed ' Naa Alphen, naa Spoorweg.' It was raining and we were wet through, so we took the hint and were soon in a railway carriage. On another occasion we left the Amstel at Ouderkerk, and bearing to the left along the Bullewijk, came across a fine lake near Abcoude. Here races were being held. After watching an exciting ice- yacht sail and some sleigh races, we could endure the bitterly cold wind no longer, and were glad to return home. But there were hundreds of Dutch lasses, apparently lightly dressed, with only a lace cap to cover their heads and with their powerful arms quite bare, standing about as if it were a warm summer day. Hundreds of thousands of fish lay dead beneath the HOLLAND 241 eighteen inches of clear ice. It is said not a single fish in this lake survived the cold and want of air. There must have been one dead fish for every superficial foot of ice along the rivers, and I noticed wherever there was a wake-hole or unfrozen place the water was black with fish crowding up to suck in the air. Another but longer way from Amsterdam to Rotterdam is by Utrecht. Leaving a series of lakes to the left, and getting on to a large canal which is in course of construction, we found the district as we neared Utrecht more wooded, and passed some very picturesque residences and country villas. From Utrecht we faced due west, and reached a more open country. It was with difficulty we could get through a crowd collected at Woerden to watch some racing, for the people seemed intent on finding out who the foreigners were, and did not realise the fact that we had to catch a train and a steamer. Leaving the Rijn, we skated some eight or nine miles southward and arrived at Gouda, so famed for its cheeses. By keeping to the Ijssel for another thirteen or fourteen miles, Rotterdam is reached. The total distance must be over seventy miles. It is considered the proper thing to skate from Rotterdam to Gouda, buy there a long clay pipe, and return with it in your mouth to show where you have been. All these trips are to the south of Amsterdam, but certainly the most interesting are to the north. The Y, which is that portion of the Zee which comes up to Amsterdam, and with the North Sea canal cuts off the north-western part of Holland from the mainland, is seldom frozen ; it is, therefore, necessary to cross it by rail or ferry-boat. Arriving by train at Zaandam, we skated one windy day through this historic place for miles. Here are windmills without end. At one bend of the Zaan River there seem in every direction to be whirling sails, overlapping, two and three deep, surrounding us, each sail trying to outwhirl its neighbour, until the sight made one's head swim. It is here that the right of not ancient lights, but ancient winds, is so valuable. These mills are most picturesque, thatched with reeds half way down their fat sides, and the lower part painted 242 SKATING bright green picked out by red paint ; they look most comfort- able. On the river the men were busy loading the ice-bound wherries and ships from sledges ; and we met strings of these sledges laden with flour, corn, straw, wood, stone, and hay, sliding along with sails set before the wind. Once out of Zaandam we found the population very sparse until reaching Alkmaar. This is a city of canals ; they seem to cut it up piece- Sleigh-sailing. meal, and by means of them any house may be reached, if you take care to duck down often enough to avoid the innumerable bridges. The great feature of Alkmaar is its fine sixteenth- century town hall, hung around with bells which chime the quarter hours, and upon which the coming hour is struck, as is usual in Holland, at the half, as well as at the hour itself. Beyond Alkmaar the North Holland canal leads to the Helder through an almost deserted country. In returning, a detour to HOLLAND 243 the east may be made via Parmereid. The last and best of expeditions is along the eastern coast of the Zuider Zee. It is worth a week's travelling to enjoy the sights along this route. In the winter of 1890 the Y was not only frozen up, but at last it became possible to walk across from Enkhuizen to Stavoren, some thirty miles. Crossing the Y by ferry, not far from the great sluices of Schellingwoude, which protect Amsterdam from the fury of the Zuider Zee in a stormy passion, I put my skates on at Nieuwen, to avoid the rough ice, and started along small drains, following and being followed by hundreds of skaters. It was a short cut to Monnikendam and across the flattest of this flat country. Skaters appeared in all directions, and the whole country seemed alive with them as they travelled towards all points of the compass. I thought I was a stranger in a foreign land, but everywhere I was accosted by name, and one Dutch- man went miles out of his way to show me the shortest cut to Monnikendam. The town is very picturesque, and the fine church has had a wing altered so as to be used as a post office. A walk through its gable-ended houses brought me to the Zee. Curv- ing round some reed beds, the frozen sea expanded out as far as the eye could reach. A score or more of ice boats were skimming over its rough surface with the ease of a seagull in flight, others were waiting to be hired. I longed for a sail, but had no time. In the distance appeared the island of Marken like a small pine forest, the houses hidden behind the rows of masts of frozen-up fishing-boats (called Tjalks). Around the island really a group of small islands a fence of piles driven close together prevents the sea from washing Marken away in a storm. The houses are crowded on to the islands, the outer ones hanging on, partly resting on solid ground and partly on piles driven in the waters beneath. Owing to their isolated position these islanders have been able to maintain their ancient costumes and customs. The Markenaars are a fine race, and so select as to never marry outside the island. Old R 2 244 SKATING and young men, boys and young girls, are dressed alike, in enormously baggy knickerbockers, and it is comical to see son and daughter, father and grandfather, standing side by side, all with hands in pockets and in the same costume. For buttons large silver (often ancient) coins are used. A light woollen jersey, tucked inside the knickerbockers, and a round fur cap complete the outfit. For colour and interest the women eclipse the men. The lace scuttle-shaped cap covers their auburn hair, from which two long curls hang to the waist, and a fringe covers the forehead ; the woollen bodice, of bright green or red, is worked in a fancy pattern, and the shirt is of many colours, whilst even the wooden shoes are painted red or green. Very picturesque and startling they look contrasted with the snow, and when skating vigorously behind their hardly more masculine mates. Coasting inland along the Zee I reached Edam, and found some races in progress, and I learnt for the first time that I was to compete, as also that Smart and See were expected every minute. They were much disappointed, as I soon left, and continued my journey to Hoorn, passing plenty of stalls and refreshment booths. Hoorn is well worth a visit, as indeed are all these interesting old-world cities, reminding one at every turn of the wealth and power of their inhabitants in olden days. It was late in the afternoon before I reached Enkhuizen, and the moon was up and shining. Mistaking my way, I found reed beds taking the place of grass fields, and a sea of ice for the dry land. It was the frozen Zee again. The ' spoorweg ' railway runs from Enkhuizen via Hoorn, and tired by a fifty miles' skate I returned by train. Another route may be taken from Hoorn by turning to the west and skating to Alkmaar, and back towards Zaandam as far as Uitgeest, where the train is available for Amsterdam. Skating carnivals are constantly got up at night in large towns, and skaters dressed up in fancy costumes, often to re- semble animals, flit about among Chinese lanterns, and to the HOLLAND 245 strains of a band. It is then that the people frequent the ice in greatest number. But during the daytime the boys and girls of Holland make the ice their happy playground. Troop- ing out after school, clattering down the streets, they soon throw off their wooden shoes and put on their skates, most of them wearing pattens twice too long for them, which probably do double duty, for parent at night, and child in the daytime. With ceaseless energy they romp and play games. If a child has not skates, then it is certain to have a little sledge or ' Ijsleete.' 'steek sleedje,' which gives endless amusement. With iron- spiked sticks they shove themselves along merrily ; or using the affair as a toboggan, one after another with lightning speed they glide down the snow-clad or frozen sides of the banks ; or perhaps employed as a cart, with a big dog har- nessed to it, they drive about like lords. But even should they have neither skates nor sledges they must enjoy them- selves ; their arms, shins, and backs take the place of runners. In all positions, rolling, tumbling, sliding feet and head fore- 246 SKA TING most, it matters not ! they fearlessly tear down the slippery banks, and clinging together, three or four at a time, arrive at the bottom en masse, a heap of laughing, happy youngsters. A game which is sometimes indulged in might be well in- troduced into England. Each player is armed with a hand sledge, or 'ijsleete,' which has no sides or front to it. A number of large wooden balls are placed in two or more rows, some ten yards apart. The object of the game is to pick up these balls, place them on the sledge one after the other, and without allowing any of them to roll off, return them to the starting point as quickly as possible. The one who completes his row of balls first wins. The excitement is intense, for it seems as if the balls have a wicked tendency to roll off, to give amuse- ment to the spectators. Another way in which this game is played is without sledges, the competitors having to pick up each ball in succession and return home with it. The girls as well as the boys are very ambitious to test their speed, es- specially should they come across a foreigner. These pace- makers are found in every village in Friesland, and all day long one can be racing with the young Fries, whose supreme hope is one day to be champion skaters. I would advise the intending tourist to get a good map of the canals and rivers. That used by the writer is by Smulders & Co., Hague, scale about five or six miles to the inch ; but a better one may be had. 247 CHAPTER VI EARLY RACING, AND SOME RECORDS OF THE NATIONAL SKATING ASSOCIATION BY J. M. HEATHCOTE Vixere fortes ante Agamemnona THIS well-known line, which has been a theme for discussion in past ages, and will be a subject for argument as long as men interest themselves in athletic exercises, suggests a ques- tion to which it is not easy to reply. For I need not demon- strate that in all our games, and in many of our sports, the marked superiority of modern implements enables men to achieve feats undreamed of in former times, while the eclat attached to record-breaking promotes efforts on the part of aspirants to fame far in excess of the aims of our fore- fathers. Ice, however, at the present time is much the same ice as that on which our ancestors disported themselves, and the improvement in blades is insufficient to revolutionise the art of skating, or even to affect it materially ; so if the question whether there were giants in the days before ' Turkey ' Smart whom I will call the Agamemnon of racing remains un- answered, it is because stop-watches, official timekeepers, and accurately measured courses were unknown in those times, and the records, or rather traditions, of phenomenal speed said to have been attained by the champions of former genera- tions are wholly untrustworthy. But, although we may dis- regard many apocryphal legends which are still current in the Fen-country, it may fairly be assumed that when a match was 248 SKA TING made for a considerable stake to skate over a course of a given length in a given number of hours or minutes, the backers of time would have taken all possible precautions to ensure the accurate measurement of the distance, and would have insisted that the time was noted with as great accuracy as was possible with the watches then in use. It is recorded l that Mr. Woodward, a gentleman well known at Newmarket, made a wager of 100 guineas with Mr. Joseph Bland that he would nominate a skater who would run a mile in less than three minutes. Considerable sums were staked at TattersalPs and in other places, five to four being laid on time. On the morning of the match, however, odds were laid on the skater, the renowned John Gittam of Nor- delph. The event was decided on January 4, 1821, at Prick- willow, four miles from Ely, when Gittam, who was allowed a flying start, accomplished his task with seven seconds to spare. In another journal 2 we are told that a clergyman undertook to skate thirty miles in three hours on Aqualate Mere, in Staf- fordshire, and that he had no difficulty in performing the feat. No mention is made of the quality of the ice or of the atmo- spheric conditions under which these races were run, but the inference may be drawn that the speed attained by our an- cestors was certainly not greater, although probably not much less, than that of modern athletes. That trials of speed were frequently made in Holland is abundantly proved by representations of racing in the galleries of Dutch art. Elaine 3 records a race between two young Dutch women in 1808 at Groningen in Friesland, and we have reason to suppose that racing on skates has been continuously practised in Holland and in this country for at least a hundred years. I am indebted to the editor of the * Stamford Mercury,' one of the oldest journals in England, for much valuable in- formation, but I have been unable to discover in the archives of the last century any mention of racing on skates ; indeed, it 1 Stamford Mercury, Jan. 5, 1821. 2 The Sporting Magazine, Jan. 1823. 3 Encyclopedia of Rural Sports. EARLY RACING 249 was not until 1814 that this sport was sufficiently popular to ensure its recognition in ephemeral literature. We are told that in that year Youngs of Mepal beat Thompson of Wim- blingdon ; Fenmen both ; and it may be noticed that from those days to the present time no competitor has been found in any other part of England who could hold his own with the athletes of Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire. In the 'Sporting Magazine,' 1818, we read that Staples of Crowland (probably J. or C. Staplee, mentioned below) beat J. Gittam of Nordelph on Crowland Wash, on January i, and that on the same day a hat was competed for at Ashton in Lancashire and won by a man named Marsh. The severe winters of 1820 and subsequent years gave a fresh impetus to racing on ice, and the interest taken by the public in this sport is shown by the annals of that era, which record the achievements of many first-class skaters. Pre-eminent among these were John Gittam of Nordelph ; J. Young of Nordelph ; John, William, and Matthew Drake, natives of Chatteris ; Perkins, Cave, of Sutton ; John and James Egar of Thorney ; James May, and J. and C. Staplee of Crow- land. Tradition points to Gittam and Young as the champions on a two-mile course, to Perkins as the fastest skater for any distance not exceeding one mile in length ; but the recorded success now of one now of another of these well-known racers bears witness to the excellence of all. We are told [ that On January 28, 1820, 4,000 persons assembled at Croyland to see the four first running-skaters in England contend for a free prize of 5 guineas in a 2-mile heat. The competitors were Mr. John Staplee, of Croyland Bank, Mr. Charles Staplee, his brother, and Messrs. Gittam and Young, of .Nordelph, Norfolk. In the first heat C. Staplee, 18 years of age, was paired with Young, whose recent victory at Wisbech made him a strong favourite ; so much so that 20 to i was laid on him at starting, but to the surprise of all Staplee overtook him 50 yards from the goal, and was the first to reach the post. He was, however, beaten by Gittam, who had defeated John Staplee in the first heat. 1 Stamford Alercurv, Feb. 1820. 250 SKATING On January 5 in the following year, 1821, James May suc- ceeded in beating John Drake in the final heat of a race run at Upwell, and secured as a prize a silver cup now in the possession of Mr. C. G. Tebbutt. On this trophy is inscribed 'JAMES MAY. A prize won by skating at Upwell, January 5, 1821,' and on the reverse face is a portrait of May, and 1 Gently, Drake, I have cut one wing, and will soon cut the other,' perhaps a forecast of the probable defeat by May of Drake's brother. Drake nevertheless is mentioned as the winner of an open race run in December 1822,' and in the same month a fat hog was skated for at Mepal by eight men, and won by Cave of Sutton. He also was successful in a mile race with Gittam, and in a subsequent race for the same dis- tance with May. 2 James May, however, turned the tables on his rival in the following year, for on January 13, 1823, he was the winner of an open race held at March for a prize ot ten guineas, beating Cave in the first, Young in the second, and Bradford of Farcet in the final heat. The fame of Young of Nordelph appears to have reached its zenith in this year ; for on January 14 he defeated Cave, Gittam, and May in the preliminary heats, Bradford of Farcet in the final heat, and won a prize of io/. in a race run at Carter's Bridge, Chatteris, 3 and on the 24th of the same month he won another prize of io/. in a race at Wisbech open to all comers ; a very fine performance, for he had to encounter J. Egar in the first, May in the second, and J. Young in the third heat, in weather unfavourable to sustained exertion, the wind blowing with great force. Fortunately for Young he had to meet a less formidable opponent in the final heat, Trower of Upwell, whom he defeated with ease. Young again asserted his claim to the premiership of speed-skating in 1826, when he 1 Annals of Sporting, vol. iii. p. 106. 2 Notes and Reminiscences of Fen Skaters. By S. Egar. Official Hand- book of the N.S.A. Cambridge, 1881. s N.S.A. Handbook, p. 48. EARLY RACING 251 won an important race at Chatteris ; and although he suffered defeat in 1830, having then entered on his thirty-third year, by Charles of Stretham, he was a prominent skater in 1838. The annals of 1823 also record the first notice we have of amateur racing. On January 2 1 in that year a match was arranged between six gentlemen of March and six of Chatteris. The race was run on the forty-foot river, the course being two- miles with three turns, and was won by Mr. Drake of Chatteris, Mr. Green of March taking the second honour. 1 In the same month a silver bowl of the value of 257. was competed for on the Maze Lake, Hertfordshire. 2 The distance was five miles, on a circular course half a mile in circumference. Messrs. Harewood, Blenkinsop, Hayward, Rogers and Smithson com- peted. The prize was secured by Blenkinsop, after an exciting finish with Harewood. In 1841, W. Needham of March offered to skate against any man in the world. In that year he was beaten by Few, of Sutton ; but he was a frequent winner at race meetings held between 1841 and 1850. This renowned skater recently died at the advanced age of eighty-one. At this period we read of the successes of Cross of Ely, Clarke of Yaxley, and Jonathan Sharman of Holme ; but no skater of that time was pre-eminent above his rivals until Larmen Register of Southery, a tall good- looking athlete, whose erect carriage when racing offered a striking contrast to the stooping action adopted by the majority of Fenmen, asserted his claim to the championship of skating, defeating Tom Porter in a two-mile race at Welney. To this race some interest is attached, as it is believed to be the first occasion of an accurate record of time being kept. That of the winner was said to have been 6 min. 35 sec. The year 1854 is memorable in the annals of skating, for in the winter of that year William Smart of Welney generally known as ' Turkey ' Smart the first and not the least illustrious of an illustrious dynasty defeated Larmen Register, and secured as a memento of his success a silver watch, of which he 1 N.S.A. Handbook, p. 49. 2 Sporting Magazine, Jan. 1823. 252 SKATING is justly proud. His style could not be selected as a model of graceful skating, his physique was remarkable for strength rather than agility, but the vigour of his stroke, his endurance, his courage and resolution made his protracted career of success deservedly popular among all classes. He did not devote himself to racing until he was twenty- six years of age, or his record might have been even more phenomenal than it was ; but, though frequently challenged by, and occasionally defeated by W. See better known by his sobriquet ' Gutta Percha ' he maintained his superiority over all skaters for more than a decade. As an instance of his energy and determination I will quote the description of an incident which occurred at Welney in 1881, related by 'Black Prince' in the Official Handbook of the National Skating Association for that year : Some unforeseen contingency had made necessary an altera- tion in the venue of a race which was to be held on the following day : evening was closing in, the surface of the ice was covered with snow, blank despair was on every face : at this awful juncture the veteran genius of the renowned 'Turkey' came to our aid. He approached and whispered confidentially in my ear, ' Sir,' says he, 'it's a freezing terrific, and there will be splendid ice to-morrow, give me ten to help me and four gallons of beer and we'll just walk some three miles down the wash, and have a lovely course for you by to-morrow morning. And they did it : true, it froze cruelly, some 25, but all night they swept away. 'Turkey,' who is worth ten ordinary sweepers, acted as ' gaffer,' and by the next morning an excellent course had been prepared. Only one c contretemps ' occurred. After a hard spell of sweeping the men assembled to refresh at the four gallons. Alas ! what a terrible moaning ; the beer was frozen hard ! But your fennian is not put down by trifles ; while ten swept the odd man embraced the bottle and thawed it with the heat of his body. Thus they took it in turns, and kept the tap open till all was done beer and sweep- ing by about 4 A.M. The result was a splendid course, over which a fine race was run at the appointed time ; and the gratification felt by old ' Turkey,' when his nephew ' Fish ' secured the first prize, EARLY RACING 253 must have been enhanced by the recollection of the active part he had played in the nocturnal drama. On February 14, 1855, an important race was run at Welney for a prize of io/., in which Smart, Green, See, Wiles, Register, Watkinson, and other well-known skaters competed. The winner of the final heat was ' Turkey ' Smart, Watkinson taking the second prize. In 1 86 1 'Gutta Percha' See beat 'Turkey' Smart on January 4 at Wisbech, but was defeated by him on the T5th of the same month at Huntingdon. The severe frost in January 1867 afforded ample oppor- tunities for racing, but by this time ' Turkey ' Smart, now forty- one years of age, had found that he could no longer compete with younger rivals, and he was outpaced by Tom Porter of Southery, ' Gutta Percha ' See, and Tom Cross of Ely. In 1868, Stephen Smith, a tall athletic young man, the son of a farmer at Conington, proved himself to be the fastest skater of the day on strong hard ice ; but his slow, though powerful stroke, and his weight were prejudicial to his chance of victory on a soft or rough course, and although he was credited with the championship from 1868 to 1872, his career was not one of unchequered success. A succession of mild winters interfered with racing during the next five years, and deprived Cross of Ely, and the Sheltons of Ramsey, of the chance of showing what they might have been able to do had the weather been favourable to skat- ing. In the winter of 1874-75, the racing season, although of short duration, enabled T. Watkinson of Upwell to place to his credit victories at Crowland, Ramsey, Littleport, Huntingdon, and Peterborough ; Hawes, Carter, and Porter being his most dangerous opponents. In 1878, George Smart universally known as * Fish ' Smart commenced a series of victories which have made his name famous at home and abroad. In the winter of 1879-80 he ran in twenty-seven races, and in the following year in twenty- eight, without once suffering defeat ; a wonderful achievement, 254 SKATING although probably mortifying to A. Dewsbury of Oxlode, W. Harrison, Carter, Hawes, and G. See, who ran many an exciting race among themselves, though always outpaced by the renowned ' Fish.' Of these, Dewsbury was perhaps the best man, but his career was closed by a sad accident which rendered necessary the amputation of one of his legs. The 1 ruling passion ' was, however, strong in him, and I have seen him equipped with one skate and a spike on his wooden leg skimming over the ice at a speed which made some men with twice his ' understandings ' look foolish. On December 18, 1878, a memorable race was run at Mepal for a prize of io/., for which sixteen of the fastest skaters competed. This event was invested with more than ordinary interest, as it recorded the latest achievements of William (' Turkey ') Smart, and of W. (' Gutta Percha ') See, and also brought into prominent notice two young skaters whose subsequent careers have made their names famous in the annals of racing, George ('Fish') Smart, ' Turkey's ' nephew, and George See, ' Gutta Percha's ' son. In the first heat of this race the veterans ' Turkey ' and ' Gutta Percha ' succeeded in defeating their opponents, and by a singular irony of fate were pitted against each other in the second round. ' Gutta Percha,' the younger of the two men, won this event after a close and exciting race. This was followed by another sensational contest, for in the third round 'Gutta Percha' had to run against his own son. A scene of tumultuous ex citement ensued, when in spite of ' Gutta Percha's ' most stre- nuous efforts his son brought home to him the time-honoured proverb, 'youth will be served.' In the meantime George Smart had defeated all his opponents, and became entitled to run in the final heat with young See. He won this race with comparative ease, and from that time the position he was destined to hold for more than a decade was fairly established. This renowned skater earned his sobriquet in early life by his proficiency in swimming and other aquatic pursuits. His admirable physique, combining strength with activity, his EARLY RACING 255 courage and powers of endurance enabled him to attain excellence in many branches of athletic exercise, and he was equally in his element whilst riding his bicycle, or, gun in hand, pursuing wild fowl in the washes of the Fen-country. The late Mr. Neville Goodman, whose opinion on such matters deserves more consideration than that of any past or present skater, considered ' Fish ' Smart's style to be almost perfect, and although the admirers of J. F. Donoghue, Pander, Paulsen, or Underborg, may perhaps challenge his judgment, it may be asserted with confidence that there are no two other skaters in the world who can show such a record of victories, unbroken by even a chance defeat, as the two celebrated champions of Welney. It was not until 1889 that 'Fish' Smart, who was then more than thirty years of age, was compelled to cede his honoured position to the third of this remarkable triumvirate, his younger brother James, to whom we all wish a career as long and as prosperous as were those of his uncle and his brother. The year 1879 ma Y ^ e termed the hegira of speed-skating, for its annals record the inauguration of the National Skating Association, under whose auspices chaos has been reduced to order, the atmosphere of the racing-track has been purified, and duties akin to those of the Jockey Club with regard to racing, or the M.C.C. with regard to cricket, have been relegated to a responsible committee. In the beginning of that year Mr. James Drake Digby, a gentleman who had always taken a keen interest in skating, secured promises of support from Dr. Moxon, Mr. G. Long, and others, and convened a meeting which was held on February i, 1879, at the Guildhall, Cambridge, the mayor, Mr. H. Ranee, presiding. It was there urged that 'the title of champion skater should be settled by a competent authority ' ; that 'there should be a standard length of course for all championship races ' ; that ' records should be officially taken, and kept by a central authority ; ' and resolutions embodying these principles were unanimously adopted. At a meeting held on March i of that year rules of the Association were 256 SKATING drafted, and these were confirmed at a meeting held on the 26th of the following month, when Mr. C. W. Townley, Lord- Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, occupied the chair. The objects of the Association are thus defined : To promote, ascertain, and reward speed in skating by the establishment and management of amateur and open Skating Championships of England ; by stimulating and supplementing' local action in holding of skating matches ; by establishing an order of merit for speed-skaters, and awarding badges for the same ; by assisting in providing facilities for skating, by the flood- ing of land in each locality where local branches exist ; and by collecting through corresponding members information of the exist- ence of ice on which skating is practicable, and the supplying of such information to its members. To promote and encourage figure-skating by the establishment of standards at which figure-skaters may aim, by bestowing badges of merit on those who attain these standards, and by promoting and assisting in the formation of skating clubs. To provide rules and regulations for the game of hockey on the ice. To promote the establishment of international skating contests in various countries under the direction of an international council. Figure-skating and hockey are elsewhere dealt with in this volume, but a few remarks on the laws of racing which were compiled in 1880, revised in 1887 and 1891, and are generally enforced at all important contests, may be of interest. The following laws of racing are embodied in the rules of the National Skating Association of Great Britain : l 1. Competitions for the Speed-Skating Championships of Eng- land shall take place on such occasions and in such localities as the committee may determine. 2. All persons being British subjects shall be eligible to com- pete for the Championship, under the following rules and regula- tions and such other rules and regulations as may be made, of which due notice is given. 3. The distance of all Championship races shall be a measured mile and a half, with three turns. 4. All persons desirous of competing for the Championship are 1 Published by Digby & Son, Bene't Street, Cambridge. EARLY RACING 257 required to send their names and addresses, together with an en- trance fee of five shillings, to the Secretary of the Association, who shall inform them of the time and place fixed for the competition. 5. All persons entered for the Championship race, including the champion, shall be paired by lot, and run in pairs in the order drawn, the odd man running last in the place of an absentee, if there be any. 6. If any competitor is absent when his proper turn arrives, and does not come to the post within five minutes of the time when his name has been called by the starter, he shall forfeit his right to run. 7. The time of each competitor shall be taken officially. 8. The number of prizes shall be decided beforehand, and the four or six competitors who have made the best time in the first round, whether winners or losers, or odd man, shall be entitled to run in the next round, which shall be final ; four will be selected when the competitors are twelve or under, and six when more than twelve. 9. In the final round the four or six fastest competitors shall be again paired ; the slowest two shall race first, and the fastest two last ; and the prizes shall be awarded according to the order of the times made in this final round. 10. Any competitor without an opponent shall have the right to nominate a skater to run over the course with him in the same manner as his opponent would have done if present. 11. In case two or more competitors make equal time, the money prizes shall be divided, but the Championship title and badge must be decided by a final heat or heats: 12. A starter, judge, and time-kqeper shall be appointed by the committee for each Championship race. 1 3. The mode of starting shall be left to the starter, who shall have power to decide all questions respecting the starts. 14. Each competitor shall be required to keep his own course, and in rounding the turn, the skater who is first up to the turn shall be entitled to the inside turn, but where the competitors are on equal terms when approaching the turn, the skater whose left hand is next the post shall be entitled to the turn. 15. All claims of fouls in a race must be made to the judge immediately after a race, or they will not be entertained. 1 6. The holder of the title of Champion shall be required to defend his title by skating against all comers whenever he may be 258 SKATING called upon by the committee to do so, and in the dase of his refusal or neglect, he shall cease to be Champion and to be entitled to any reward or emolument attached to such title. 17. The winner of the Championship shall receive a presenta- tion badge bearing a suitable inscription, and a scarf, which latter he shall wear on all occasions when competing for the Champion- ship, and on such other occasions as he may think fit, but shall deliver the same up to the Secretary when he ceases to be Cham- pion. He shall also be entitled to receive at the end of the Association's year in which he holds the Championship such por- tion of the interest of the sum invested as may be hereafter determined, and any further sum as may by local authorities, or by the Association, be added to the prize. Laws 3, 7, 8, and 9 suggest a few reflections, and I will try to solve some problems which have presented difficulty to persons interested in straight-away racing, but who are not familiar with that sport as practised in the Fen-country. It is often asked, Why must races be run in heats ? Why are three turns necessary ? Why should not a mile race be run on a straight course, a race for two or more miles on an oval track ? Why should a mile and a half be the standard length of a Championship course ? In reply I would point out that the want of homogeneity in the surface of ice precludes us from comparing it with the turf of a racecourse, or even the reaches of a river, and that it is seldom, if ever, possible to find a suitable course a mile in length ; that absolute fairness can only be secured by arranging that all competitors shall profit by the same advantages, and encounter the same im- perfections, and that this object can only be attained by an ' out-and-home ' race. It must also be borne in mind that quick turning, and facility in starting again with speed, have been from time immemorial important features in Fen-racing, and moreover that the force of the wind plays so important a part in aiding or impeding speed that the time records of a straight race would be valueless. These arguments led to the universal adoption of racing in heats (called long ago a ' Welsh main '), but the standard of EARLY RACING 259 length was not decided without discussion, some that a two- mile race was best suited to test speed and endurance, but the advocates of the shorter course maintained that, inasmuch as the competitors in the final heat of a race in which sixteen had entered would have been com- pelled to bring three previous contests to a successful issue, staying powers would have an undue advantage. These arguments finally prevailed, and a mile and a half was ultimately chosen as the standard length of a Championship course. It is so at the present time, and having given satisfaction for more than a decade, is likely to remain un- changed, notwith- standing subse- quent legislation It was urged by S 2 260 SKATING which provided for the substitution of time races for the ancient custom of pairing the winners of the first and all subsequent heats until two only were left, and thus obviated the necessity of traversing the course more than twice. The causes which led to the alterations embodied in laws 7, 8, and 9 claim a moment's consideration. The * form ' of all the crack skaters was so well known that as a rule each race was a foregone conclusion, and it is obvious that if A, a probable winner of the Championship, should have chanced to have been paired with B, who had on previous occasions proved himself to be inferior in speed, although no mean opponent, the claims of friendship alone might suffice to induce the latter to refrain from making exertions which would not ensure his own victory, but which might be prejudicial to that of his friend. It had long been felt that an imputation of dishonest running should never even be suggested ; the late Mr. Neville Goodman had repeatedly urged the desirability of the adoption of the custom which obtained at all race meetings in Holland \ but an enactment so revolutionary, so subversive of old tra- ditions, could not be passed without some opposition. At a meeting held at Cambridge, November 26, 1887, Sir W. Brampton Gurdon in the chair, present Messrs. Neville Good- man, J. M. Heathcote, F. Tomson, J. D. Digby, Newton Digby, and the Rev- J. Dove, laws 7, 8, and 9 were drafted, and ulti- mately enrolled in the statute-book of racing. These have been in force since that date, and have met with the general approval of professional and amateur racers. It remains only to chronicle steps which have been taken from time to time to institute and to exercise control over other competitions which it is hoped may enhance the interest of the annual programme of racing. At a committee meeting held in the autumn of 1879, it was resolved that a three-miles' championship race should be instituted ; and also a race open to amateurs, over a course one mile and a half in length, with three turns. This resolution led to a prolonged debate on the much EARLY RACING 261 vexed question of how an amateur should be defined. On October i, 1880, the qualification was thus described : 'An amateur is one who has never competed with or against a pro- fessional for any prize, and who has never taught, pursued, or assisted in the practice of athletic exercises as a means of obtaining a livelihood since December i, 1879.' This re- mained in force until October 1 888, when the following amend- ment to the wording of the definition was carried by a narrow majority : ' That an amateur is one who has never competed in a skating contest for a money prize since December i, 1879.' This question was again discussed at a meeting of the N.S.A. held in London on October 8, 189:, when the following defi- nition was adopted : ' An amateur is one who has never com- peted for a money prize, declared wager, or staked bet, and who has never taught, pursued, or assisted in the practice of skating or any other athletic exercise as a means of pecuniary gain ; who has not knowingly or without protest taken part in any competition or exhibition with anyone who is not an amateur since December i, 1879.' A skater ceases to be an amateur and becomes a profes- sional by (a) Engaging in skating or other athletic exercise, or per- sonally teaching, training, or coaching any other person for pecuniary gain. (b) Selling, realising upon, or otherwise turning into cash any prize won by him. (f) Accepting remuneration for skating in public, or being employed for money or wages at any skating meeting or else- where, as an attendant on skaters. It is beyond the scope of this treatise to discuss the difficult problems which beset us when we consider the relations which subsist between amateurs and professionals, but we must all regret that the laws of racing were not made sufficiently elastic to admit of a trial of speed between the best amateur of the day and the best professional skater. This regret is especially poignant at the present time; for a race between Mr. J. 262 SKATING Donoghue, of whom all amateurs are justly proud, and James Smart of whom every P^nglishman must be equally proud would be invested with more than ordinary interest. But the laws are like the laws of the Medes and Persians, and, except by a comparison of the times in which they have run over similar courses, we have no means of gauging the relative merits of these eminent racers. In 1881, the National Skating Association proposed to offer money prizes open to all professionals for a race against time one mile straight. This suggestion led to no results, but on December 17 of that year it was resolved * that : 1. Tests for Speed-skating shall be instituted, for which suitable badges shall be awarded. 2. The conditions under which these badges shall be won are that the candidate shall in all cases skate an accurately measured mile with three turns, in the times hereafter stated. 3. Three tests shall be established. The First Class, or highest badge, shall be awarded to any skater who shall skate the mile with three turns in 3 min. 30 sec., the Second Class badge to any skater who accomplishes it in 4 minutes, and the Third Class badge will be awarded for 4 min. 30 sec. 4. All members of the N.S.A. shall be entitled to compete for the Speed-skating badges. 5. The badges shall not be awarded unless the test has been skated before properly appointed judges and time-keeper. 6. Any member of the Association desirous of competing for the badges may send in his name to the General Secretary, who shall advise him when and where he shall compete, and shall after- wards supply the badge on receipt of a duly signed certificate. 7. The badge shall represent a pair of running-skates on which shall be ' N.S.A.,' and the class in which the holder passed. Although these competitions have not proved as univer- sally popular as might have been expected, they have met with some support from amateurs, eleven members having earned the Second Class, and thirty-four the Third Class badge. On December 23, 1881, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales 1 Rules of the N.S.A., Cambridge, Digby & Son, Bene't Street. EARLY RACING 263 honoured the Association by signifying his willingness to become a Patron, and in January of the following year a similar compliment was paid by H.M. the King of the Belgians, and H.R.H. Prince Alexander of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange. On December 18, 1883, the executive committee of the speed department of the N.S.A. drafted and recommended for adoption rules for the formation of an international council, and the holding of international skating contests. It was proposed that the council should consist of (a) one member nominated by each of the royal Patrons ; (^) four members chosen by the N.S.A., two of whom should be appointed by the speed-skating and two by the figure-skating department of the general committee ; (c) four members nominated by the Nederlandsch Schaatsenrijders-Bond ; and (d) a similar number nominated by the National Skating Association of any country taking part in the contests. It was proposed that the objects of the council should be the interchange of information on speed and figure skating, and the promotion of friendly com- petition between representatives of different nationalities, and the establishment of a speed-skating championship of the world, which should be competed for in an out-and-home race on a course 700 metres in length ; i.e. over a distance of 1,531 yards 3 inches. The late Baron de Salis, of Amsterdam, who by his devotion to skating, by his tact and ability in the administration of Dutch racing, had earned the thanks not only of his own countrymen but of every lover of skating, was instrumental in encouraging a spirit of friendly rivalry between the associations of Holland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Russia, America, and England, and the international races which will be described in the next chapter illustrate the alacrity to assert and maintain the supremacy of their country shown by their respective champions. I have endeavoured in these pages to lay before the reader an outline of the work which has been done by an Association which is entrusted with duties of great difficulty, but at the 264 SKATING same time highly important to all who concern themselves in racing. The Association is still in its infancy ; the selection of a course for our championship races which will meet the approval of the competitors, the spectators, and the controllers of the finances, the organisation of international races, and the definition of an amateur skater, present problems which will tax the resources of any council, be it ever so capable, ever so painstaking ; but let us hope that each succeeding year may develop the strength of its administration, and that a long and prosperous career may be in store for it. 26 5 CHAPTER VII MODERN RACING BY C. G. TEBBUTT THE date at which the records of Modern Racing may best be begun is conveniently fixed for us by the circumstance that in the preceding chapter the great achievements of ' Fish ' Smart and other famous skaters, who made the winter of 1878- 79 so memorable, are duly chronicled. I am tempted, how- ever, to repeat the tribute to the prowess of the wonderful skater just named, for in his best day it might be said of ' Fish * Smart, as it was of Eclipse, he was first, and the rest nowhere. A man of fine development, very muscular and athletic, he was likely indeed to excel in any sport. He could not be described as a typical Fenman ; for, though very powerful, Fenmen are usually too broad-backed and thick -set to be lithe and active. George Smart bent very little while skating, less than his brother James, and much less than his uncle, W. (' Turkey ; ) Smart, and his stroke was shorter than that of either ; but his power of spurting was so exceptional as to impress on all his opponents the hopelessness of defeating him. When once he had become champion it was seldom indeed that anyone succeeded in push- ing him ; indeed, his races were almost all practically walks- over. He was a very graceful skater, and, from being seldom pressed, he had no occasion to spoil his style by excessive labouring. Continuing the records already begun, it may be observed that the winter of 1879-80 was again a grand skating season ; the National Skating Association was in full life, and took the 266 SKA TING Fenmen for the first time to London. At Swavesey, some Lancashire skaters, who claimed to be the champions of the North, met the Fenmen, with the result that only one survived the first heat, and he failed in the second. Since that date no one has questioned the superiority of Fenmen. The first race, and the first championship of the N.S.A., was held at Thorney, December 8, 1879, George Smart winning easily ; and through- out the season he maintained a clean sheet of wins, finishing on January 30, at Ely, by defeating Dewsbury in the final. Jarman Smart was second man to his brother. Dewsbury, Carter, Harrison, Boney, and Collison all claimed third place. George See was not seen to such advantage on his pattens as during the previous winter. Amateur races were for the first time started by the N.S.A., and their first championship was brought off at Hendon, on the Welsh Harp Water, January 26, 1880. Mr. F. Norman, a well-known skater in the Fens, won, defeating Mr. Louis Tebbutt by 3 yards. This winter may be considered as noteworthy for having shown the impossibility of skaters covering a mile in i minute, i min. 30 sec., 2 min., or even 2 min. 30 sec. It will be hardly now credited that any believed these times for a mile possible ; but many did so. A Senior Wrangler remarked most confidently, at about this date, to a well-known skater, that he supposed the Fenmen could skate a mile in a minute, and many who considered themselves authorities on skating retailed wonderful records of the old skaters, and were confident they skated a mile in two minutes. For the first time, times were so carefully taken and distances so accurately measured, as to be trustworthy. The most interesting times were those made at the Welsh Harp, over the championship course of \\ mile with three turns. The ice was in splendid condition ; both professional skaters and amateurs competed, and the best times of the season were accomplished. There had also been skating off and on since December 8, so that for England skaters had had good practice. JAMES SMART MODERN RACING 267 Dewsbury covered the mile and a half, the fastest time, in 4 min. 53^ sec. ; F. Bones in 4 min. 53-?- sec. George Smart's best time was 5 min. i sec. Unfortunately, Dews- bury fell in his heat with Smart, or Smart might have been pushed into doing the best time. Over the same course Mr. F. Norman did the best amateur time in 5 min. 23j- sec., whilst Mr. L. Tebbutt took about -?- sec. longer. The superiority of the professionals was apparent, the best amateur taking some 30 seconds longer in the mile and a half than the second-best professional. 1 880-8 1. For the third consecutive winter skaters had a good outing, and the N.S.A. arranged, and were able to carry out, a series of matches. The professional championship was held at Welney, January 15, and other races at Crowland, Ely, Cowbit, Birmingham, Elstree, Norwich, Littleport, Upwell, and Whittlesea. The amateur championship (which Mr. F. Norman again won) came off at Cambridge, Jan. 17. George Smart successfully maintained his position of champion, which he had now held for three successive winters. The prominent position of George Smart, and the holding of races in and near large towns outside the Fens, aroused general interest in this Fen sport. Daily and sporting papers soon spread skating news all over the country, and, in fact, it may be said that speed-skating became recognised for the first time as a national sport. The N.S.A. had fortunately been launched upon a high wave of successive cold winters, and was now fairly afloat. The vexed question of how fast ' Fish ' Smart could skate, and, indeed, the best time to be expected from the best men, was brought within measurable distance of being answered. Mr. Neville Goodman offered 2$l. to anyone who would skate a mile without favour of wind in 2 min. 50 sec. ; and at Cowbit Wash, on January 20, offered 5/. to George Smart if he could cover the mile with a flying start in 2 min. 40 sec., there being no appreciable wind. The ice was not good, and Smart skated the straight mile in exactly 3 minutes. Since this all extravagant estimates and mythical and fabulous times only find 268 SKATING credence with the most ignorant. Alfred Hawes covered the mile the same day in 3 inin. 17 sec. ; and at Elstree, on January 22, George Smart did the mile with three turns in 3 min. iyf sec., the ice on the occasion being very good and the wind very slight. Not satisfied with national honours, negotiations were opened with the Dutch, in the hopes of our best skaters being able to compete in Holland. A qualifying race was then held at Ely, to decide upon the four skaters who should represent England. The distance was 1,400 metres with one turn, and the merits were judged partly by winning heats and partly by time. The fastest times were George Smart, 2 min. 46^ sec. ; Alfred Hawes, 2 min. 55?- sec.; Jarman Smart, 2 min. 55f sec. ; and F. Bones, 2 min. 56! sec. Smart's time represents a mile (1,609 metres) in 3 min. i if sec. Unfortunately, the frost broke up before any international race could be held. This year Isaac See, brother to George See, both of them sons of William See the veteran, commonly called ' Gutta Percha,' and James Smart, youngest brother of George Smart, both sixteen years old, began their racing careers, which made them both, but especially Smart, afterwards so famous. In the previous year a Lancashire athlete named Hill, trained to the pink of condition, had defeated George Smart over a quarter-mile course at Carmill Dam ; but this year Smart turned the tables on the North- countryman by defeating him at Welney at the opening of the season. This illustrated more than any other feat George Smart's athletic powers. He was quite untrained for the event, had not had his skates on prior to the race, and the distance was so short as to prevent his having much advantage from his Fen style. The result of negotiations between the N.S.A. and the Dutch Skating authorities was an international match fixed on February i, but a persistent thaw set in and drowned all hopes of carrying it out. In connection with the St. Ives branch of the Association, Mr. Albert Goodman and Mr. Sydney Tebbutt brought out a standard type of Fen skates. Until MODERN RACING 269 then skates were made by manufacturers who had but little knowledge of the requirements, or by the village blacksmith to the order of a skater. Two kinds were decided upon, one for racing, with thinner blades than had previously been in use ; the other, of stronger make, for ordinary skating. These are now the recognised Fen skates, and are made by Messrs. Colquhoun & Cadman, under the supervision of Messrs. A. and C. G. Tebbutt. In 1882, Messrs N. and A. Goodman brought out a work called ' Fen Skating,' both gentlemen being fast and experienced skaters who had taken great interest in the sport. Mr. N. Goodman, M.A., was Chairman of the N.S.A., and certainly no Englishman had indulged so much as he in this pastime. On occasions he had crossed the North Sea to Holland, and explored its canals on skates ; there was hardly a Fen drain he had not skated along, or a Fen village he had not visited, in excursions covering 50, 60, and nearly 70 miles in the day. This work, ' Fen Skating,' for the first time gave the public a true insight into the subject, showing how the Fen districts were peculiarly favourable for the development of speed-skating, and for the first time demonstrating that the style of these hardy Fenmen was not a mere scramble or go-as-you-please, but was as per- fect a science, requiring as much skill, and was capable of as much finish, as any other athletic exercise ; as also that skates of special shape and make were necessary. A carefully thought- out map, with the geography of the Fen drains, by Mr. S. Tebbutt, enables an outsider during a severe winter to make himself master of the Fen districts. This must be considered the standard work on Fen-skating. The glacial wave which gave us a series of cold winters now passed off, and we were treated to the mild unhealthy wet winters of 1881-82, 1882-83, 1883-84, and 1884-85, during which a few enthusiasts did indeed obtain a day or even a few days' skating every winter, but only by great watch- fulness, and many immersions. It may, however, be said that there was in reality no skating until the winters of 1886 and 270 SKATING 1887, and it was impossible to bring off any championship fix- tures. But if the N.S.A. could not achieve anything in England, they endeavoured, induced by the energy of Mr. Goodman their Chairman, to keep up interest in the sport by arranging with the Dutch Skating Association for George Smart to compete in the first International race at Leeu warden on January 28, 1885. It may be just as well here to consider to what condition speed-skating had developed in other countries, since the rest of these remarks will refer largely to international skating. America. The historic reputation of Charles June, of New- bury, whose career began about 1838, and the more recent fame of Mr. T. Donoghue, senior, also of Newbury, who from 1863 until within a few years of the formation of our N.S.A. was an unbeaten champion, mark Newbury and the Hudson River as the head-quarters and venue of fast skating in the United States. Blessed with many sons to inherit their father's capa- city and love for speed-skating, Mr. T. Donoghue was in 1878-79 carefully training up the now well-known Donoghue Brothers. The distinction between amateur and professional began to be of importance when a ten and twenty-mile Amateur Championship of America was in 1879 inaugurated. Both these races were won by Mr. G. D. Phillips, who must there- fore be regarded as about the best skater of the period. Long- distance races had been, and were, the order of the day. We find Mr. John Ennis covering in 1878, at Chicago, TOO miles in ii h. 37 min. 4 sec., and 145 miles in less than 19 hours. As elsewhere, fabulous times were credited to different skaters, and Mr. W. B. Curtis (who is connected with the leading sporting paper of America, ' The Spirit of the Times,' and is a devotee of speed-skating) determined to find out the real speed of skaters, and to expose the absurd legends of marvellous times which were then current, viz. : i mile with one turn in i min. 58 sec., and 30 miles in one hour, &c. In 1880 the journal in question challenged anyone to equal these times, and MODERN RACING 271 in 1881 offers were made of $250 to any skater who could skate one mile on a six-lap track in less than 2 min. 50 \ sec., or beat the then bicycle records from i mile (2 min. 47 sec.) to 1,000 miles, or the running records from 50 to 200 yards. In 1882 the principal event was a skate of Mr. J. S. Montgomery, of 50 miles in 4 h. 13 min. 36 sec. at New York, establishing records from 25 to 50 miles. We find in Canada that speed races were held at the prin- cipal towns, such as Montreal, Halifax, Charlotte Town, &c., in connection with their different carnivals, and, in 1881, Brown won the gold medal in the championship of Montreal. In 1883, the best amateur skaters were Messrs J. H. Stewart, Elliott, A. Scott, and, until he became professional, F. Dowd. Races were held (on account of the snow) on small, often covered-in rinks, about 14 laps to the mile ; and when in 1883 Axel Paulsen, of Norway, visited America for the first time, and competed in a five-mile race at Victoria Rink, Montreal, he could not go round these small turns at any speed, and was easily beaten. In 1884, Paulsen again crossed the Atlantic, and as an amateur this time carried all before him. First at New York in a 2 5 -mile race, he covered the distance in i h. 33 min. 28 sec. \ then travelling to Milwaukee, he de- feated Dowse, and, returning, won the Great International lo-mile match at Washington. In this race R. A. Elliott and C. H. McCormick from Canada, Hemrnent from London, Franklin from Norway, and G. D. Phillips, C. Pfaff, S. O'Brien, and J. S. Montgomery of the United States competed. Except- ing Messrs. S. D. See, A. Stewart and T. Donoghue, jun., all the best amateurs of the New World were included. Paulsen's time was 36 min. yf sec. ; Elliott was second, and Phillips third. This year, 1884, the United States Skating Association was formed to promote amateur skating, and the energies of Mr. W. B. Curtis were recognised by his selection as its first President. The first race held under the N.S.A. was over a five-mile course. The most noteworthy feature was that no skater covered the distance without a fall, while some fell several 272 SKATING times. The ice was shockingly bad, and elicited from an Irish- man the remark, ' that when next he came there to skate he would go somewhere else.' S. O'Brien eventually won, and Mr T. Donoghue was second. During 1883 and 1884, Mr. G. A. Phillips, whose forte was short-distance racing, sprinted 100 yards in zof sec., 220 yards in 22-3- sec., and a imile in 44^ sec. without favour of wind, and from a standing start. Professionalism had died out in the United States, and only survived in Canada. Professionals were undoubtedly superior to the amateurs, and acquired extraordinary proficiency in spin- ning round the small rinks The best men were McCormick, Black, F. Dowd, Lardham and Connell ; Whelpley having had to give way at last owing to advancing years. A most important event was the compiling by Mr. W. B. Curtis of authenticated amateur times, and the publishing them in 'The Spirit of the Times' on May 17, 1884. These times were given for from 75 yards to 50^ miles. Knowing the pitiless but impartial scrutiny to which they were subjected before being passed and allowed, I may remark that there can be no doubt of their accuracy. Since 1884, the list has year by year increased, till it now covers some five or six columns of closely printed matter, and to those interested in speed-skating is full of valuable notes and details. Before 1884, and since, the ' Clipper ' and the ' World ' have yearly published a list of athletic records, containing professional as well as amateur times. Norway. Skating in Norway dates back some 100 years or more, and Odalen was considered the Norwegian Welney for skaters, but it was Axel Paulsen who made speed -skating of national instead of local interest. His father, A. Paulsen, like the fathers of all the present great skaters, was interested in skating, and in 1865 was the chief promoter of races. A race was held over 1,500 Norwegian ells, or 1,040 English yards, in 1863, which is remarkable for the number of entries, and times given. There were 140 entries, of whom 70 started. Mr. Nansen is declared to have won in 50 sec., or at a rate of MODERN RACING 273 42^ miles an hour, or a mile in i min. 25 sec. None of the 70 took longer than 90 sec., or skated at a less rate than 23 \ miles an hour, or a mile in 2 min. 32^ sec. These times must, I fear, be catalogued with a long list of others hailing from all skating. countries, under the heading of 'Too good to be true.' In 1878, over a 8,500-metre course, Frith Nansen won in 14 min. 20 sec. ; Bodin was second. In 1880, another important race over a 5,ooo-metre course was won by Axel Paulsen in ii min. ii sec. ; F. Nansen second, n min. 27 sec. ; and L. Strom third, ii min. 48 sec. In 1882, Axel Paulsen, P. O. Aune and Carl Verner left Norway to compete in the Vienna races, which were held on January 21 and 22, over a i,6oo-metre course ; Paulsen won, Aune second, Verner third. The Bavarian and Vienna skaters were nowhere against the trained Norwegians. We have seen how, in 1883, Paulsen suffered defeat in Canada, and how, undaunted, trusting to his superior training and the improvement he had made in racing skates, he returned and swept America of amateur prizes. Holland. Whilst the feature of racing in America prior to 1885 was long distances, and in England one and a half to two miles, in Holland the courses were very short and straight, only in fact about 160 metres, or 175 yards about, in length. As in England, races were for money, and the competitors all professional skaters. The Frieslanders, like our Fenmen, carried all before them As Holland has been dealt with in the pre- ceding chapter, there is no need to give more details here. International Racing. Having referred to the speed-skat- ing of different countries, let us now consider the important international race at Leeuwarden, where for the first time the English and Dutch met. Axel Paulsen and Carl Verner, the Norwegians, had also entered for the race, and actually arrived from Norway at the scene of action the night before, but, complaining of the sharpness of the turn, would not compete. Besides George Smart, C. G. Tebbutt and S. Burlingham came from England, and all the best Dutchmen competed. The result was the Dutch champions divided the prizes as they T 274 SKA TING liked. Benedict Kingma beat Smart, P. Bruinsma defeated T'ebbutt (who fell), and Huitema won from S. Burlingham. It was well known that the famous George Smart was but a poor specimen of his former self; for over the course the previous day, in a trial with Mr. Tebbutt, it was all he could do to hold his own instead of coming in a good hundred yards or more ahead. The English also had had no skating, or, at best, only a snatched day or two, since 1881 ; still, with a knowledge of their disadvantages, all felt the result to be most discouraging. On the eve of the race the course looked magni- ficent, the half-mile out and half-mile back again all roped in and lined by hundreds of national flags. The ice was from a foot to eighteen inches thick, and though alarmed by threaten- ing clouds, Baron de Salis, Secretary of the U.S.A., assured the English that 500 sweepers were available to clear the course of any snow that might fall. Next morning the temperature was like summer ; rain had fallen, and the course in places was covered with one to two inches of water. The night before the race, the winner, P. Bruinsma, announced that he was to be the next day's champion, since the Dutch champions had met and had arranged for each to win one of the various con- tests, his being this international one. Even the results of the heats were decided upon beforehand ; all outsiders, English or Dutch, were to be pushed hard and beaten ; but should two of the circle of champions meet, it was to be a walk over, the winner being left fresh for the next heat. Surely enough in the final Van der Zee, clearly the best man, and well ahead, slowed up at the finish, and beckoned to P. Bruinsma, who was evi- dently exhausted, to pass him and win. This pre-arrangement is no new idea, and indeed has been practised in the Fens. An outsider was always handicapped, and it required a skater a head and shoulders above the whole clique to come in and win ; as William ' Turkey ' Smart did when, one after another, he de- feated all the Southern skaters and founded the Welney school. The result of this race effected an important change- in skating. That genuine sportsman Baron de Salis determined MODERN RACING 275 to put a stop to this kind of racing, and, being backed up by Mr. J. van Butingha Wichers and others, decided upon the time test, which has since been maintained in spite of a natural opposition to it. Later on Mr. Neville Goodman, who had been consulted, and from the first approved of this way of deciding races as evidently the fairest, prevailed upon the N.S.A. to adopt it, and the success which attended the Dutch races removed most of the opposition to it in England. Formerly, when once a skater like George Smart became champion, scarcely anyone ever tried to push him, and if in the final a skater presumed to try conclusions with him, he found the champion quite fresh from his previous walks-over. The times done by the champion under the old system did not re- present his real speed, and often other heats were much faster. Many examples of races might be given. Thus at Cowbit Wash, on January i, 1887, Mr. Wadsley, after a neck-and-neck race, defeated Mr. C. G. Tebbutt in the best time of the day, viz. 5 min. 33^ sec. over the mile and a half course. He next met, and after a hard race beat, Mr. F. Norman, the then amateur champion, his time being 5 min. 46! sec. In the final he was defeated by Mr. R. Wallis by 1 2 yards, the winner's time being 5 min. 41 1 sec. In his previous heats Mr. Wallis was never pushed, his times being 5 min. 53 sec., 5 min. 52? sec., and 6 min. 3? sec. It is too much to say that Mr. Wadsley would have defeated the champion if they had met in the first heat ; but it is not improbable that, had they exchanged opponents, the result of the final might have been different. The effect of the time test is to bring out the relative posi- tion of the skaters, for a skater has. not simply to defeat his opponents, but must from start to finish do his best. Under Baron de Salis's system, those who did the four best times raced for the final positions, and it has never been found safe, however good a skater considers himself, to take matters easy in the hope of being fresh for the final, as Messrs. Norsing and Grunden found at Hamburg in February 1891. Both knew no one could hold a candle to them, both had won a race, and T 2 276 SKATING a winner of two events secured the title of the Champion of Europe. Norsing in the third race was drawn against Grunden. Instead of racing, they played together until the final lap, simply spurting for the result at the finish, which Norsing won ; but Underborg and Schon afterwards did better times, and came in first and second. Mr. Norsing will not soon forget how he lost the Championship of Europe. Another good feature which resulted from the race at Leeu warden was the establishment of the mile 1,609 metres as the recognised test distance for skating. The Fries skaters were naturally wedded to their short and exciting i6o-metre bursts of speed, not too tiring to prevent the skaters from rapidly recovering for the next race. But after their first expe- rience of the mile race, when the Dutch came off so well and the English so ill, they felt constrained to agree to the longer distance. Whether the mile is far enough to suit the Fenmen is doubtful. Our championship course is one and a half mile, and two miles is generally considered a better test of style and endurance. As the Dutch had failed to meet Paulsen and Verner at Leeuwarden, Van der Zee and B. Kingma went during Feb- ruary to Christiania to skate the Norwegians on their own course. It was a three-mile race, and quite unsuitable for the Dutch skaters. Paulsen came in first, 1 1 min. 8^ sec. ; Van der Zee second, 12 min. 13^ sec. ; Kingma third, and Verner fourth. From this it would appear that Paulsen might easily have won at Leeuwarden. On January 27, 1885, an Englishman living in Germany, Mr. Louis Tebbutt, showed what could be done by a little practice. Over a course about three times round to the mile, he completed 101 miles in u h. 40 min., doing the 100 miles in n h. 33 min., securing the record for that distance. The winter of 1885-86 was another blank, the keenest skaters only obtaining one or two days on the ice. All the world over, indeed, the weather was exceptionally mild. Nor- wegians, Dutch, and Germans met, however, at a race at Hamburg on January 22 and 23, 1886, and in the mile Paulsen MODERN RACING 277 was again first, 3 min. 5f sec., with De Vries, a Dutchman, second, 3 min. 6 sec. In the 3,5oo-metre race Paulsen was once more first, 7 min. 14! sec. ; Veninga, a Dutchman, second, 7 min. 30 sec. The United States N.S.A. were only able to bring off a few events. 1886-87. The year 1886-87 saw a full establishment of the time test, the coming forward of new champions, the development of amateur races, and the trials of new kinds of courses. When the new year opened Mr. R. Wallis wrested the Amateur Championship from Mr. F. Norman, who had held the title since its formation in 1879, although he had taken part in only two contests during the seven years. Two days later George Smart again won the Professional Champion- ship, though many thought that George See and James Smart were his superiors. These championship races were the last held on the old lines. The Dutch N.S.A. Amateur Championship came off at Slikkerbeer on January 19, and for the first time the whole arrangements were carried out in the new style, distance one mile, shape of course a horseshoe, half-mile out and half- mile return. The four best performers skated again, and according to the times were placed in order of merit. If the weather had only been as excellent as the arrangements, all would have been perfect ; but alas ! a rapid thaw affected the thin top surface ice, which allowed the skaters to cut through, and spoilt alike the pleasure of the onlookers and the pace. The writer and his brother, Mr. A. Tebbutt, were the only English competing, and they were so delayed en route that they arrived whilst the races were in progress. Mr. C. G. Tebbutt won the Championship, and for the first time the Dutch suffered defeat at the hands, or rather the feet, of an Englishman. Messrs. Vollenhoven, Pander, and Bloomenstein, all Dutch- men, were respectively second, third and fourth. Two days before, the Dutch professionals, Arie van den Berg, Benedictus Kingma and Veninga, had met Harald Hagen, the Norwegian, who was superseding Axel Paulsen, and the 278 SKATING Germans, Lundblad and Grouth, at Hamburg. Van den Berg won the mile race in 3 min. i6t sec., Hagen being second, although in a previous heat Hagen had only taken 3 min. 13 sec. The Germans were last. In the 3,5oo-metre race, Hagen was a good first, Van den Berg second, with 10 seconds longer. A month later, February i6th and lyth, Van den Berg and B. Kingma entered the list against George See and James Smart. Dissatisfied with the performance of George Smart in 1885, and in opposition to the wishes of many, Mr. Neville Goodman was determined again to try the chances of war against the Dutch. With the generous help of Mr. H. Few and some others, Mr. Goodman took the eldest son of the once famous William See, and a nephew of the still more famous William Smart, who was also youngest brother to George Smart, over to Holland. This almost historic en- counter came off at Slikkerbeer ; the ice was in splendid con- dition, there was very little wind, and the skaters were fit. Three races were held : one mile, 3,500 metres, and a short race of 320 metres. See and Smart did full justice to the confidence placed in them, and finished first and second in the first two races, but were nowhere in the short 320-metre race. The times made were extraordinary, and are world records. One mile: George See, 2 min. 53 sec,; James Smart, 2 min. 53^ sec.; 3,500 metres : See, 5 min. 45f sec.; Smart, 5 min. 51 sec.; 320-metre race : Van den Berg, 28 seconds; Kingma, 28f seconds. The times were considered by some critics too good to be true. They were, however, taken by two officials with well- tested stop-watches, and at the request of Mr. Goodman, Baron de Salis had the courses remeasured by a Government surveyor, when they were found correct. If these times are not trust- worthy, it may be asked what times can be depended on ? Across the North Sea, Hagen, with youth on his side, was replacing Axel Paulsen ; and Mr. E. Godager won the first Norwegian amateur championship, held at Hamar, covering 5,000 metres in 10 min. 29 sec. Amateurism was getting strong in Scandinavia, and to win races it was necessary to be in good MODERN RACING 279 training. The blades of racing skates, it may be observed, were becoming thinner, flatter, lighter, and longer, prolonged behind the heel and in front of the toe. In the west, across the Atlantic, in Canada, McCormick defeated the boy F. Dowd in five races. All the races were round a rink fourteen laps to the mile. In the 5 -mile race McCormick made the following wonderful times : first mile, 2 min. 58 sec. ; second, 6 min. 45 sec. ; third, 10 min. 46 sec. ; fourth, 14 min. 50 sec. ; and fifth, 18 min. 40 sec. Thus the four great champions of their respective countries were George See, England ; Arie van den Berg, Holland ; Harald Hagen, Norway ; and Hugh McCormick, Canada : all professionals. The U.S. A brought off some of their Amateur Championship races. The 220 yards straight away Mr. G. D. Phillips won in 2of sec. ; 2 5 miles, Mr. F. W. Craft, i h. 39 min. 22 sec. One mile, Mr. T. Donoghue, 3 min. 14^ sec. A straight mile was measured on the Hudson River to see in what time the distance could be covered with a strong wind in the rear and with a flying start. A favourable opportunity occurred on January 31. The ice was good, and a very strong wind was blowing. Several tried the mile with a flying start. The best time was done by Mr. T. Donoghue in 2 min. 1 2f sec. ; the wind we are told fresh- ened very much at the time, as without it such an extraordinary time would be impossible. A series of letters by Mr. N. Goodman came out in the November Nos. of the * Field,' upon Subscription versus Gate, Time versus Tape, and the Best Courses. They contain a good deal of information about those subjects, and are of value to those who wish to become versed in skating matters. The courses in use in England are the old-fashioned parallel courses ; each skater taking one side and crossing over to the other, at each end. In Holland the courses have straight sides, big curved ends, and each skater has a separate course. To equalise the difference in the inside and outside courses, at each round the skaters change over. In Canada small rinks are used with no division between the competitors, 2 8o SKATING and when only two opponents meet they were started from opposite sides. In the United States they have straight sides with curved ends, but with no division between the skaters, all the competitors starting together. The Dutch system is evidently the best and fairest. At a meeting of our N.S.A. it was decided to adopt the time test. 1887-88. The winter of 1887-88 was a failure as far as racing in England was concerned. On January 5, Mr. N. Good- man, with George and James Smart, George See, and Mr. C. G. Tebbutt, hearing there were skating and racing fixtures in Holland, went over to Heerenveen. It was but jumping out of the frying-pan into the fire, and all soon returned. After the new year opened, however, frost set in and a number of impor- tant races were held. Mr. Alexander von Panschin, on January 8, at Vienna, won the Austrian Championship of one mile (less nine yards), defeating Mr. Blatter, the last year's champion. The United States N.S.A. races, after some trouble, came off on January 20, 21, 25, and 28, with the following as winners : mile, Mr. S. O'Brien, 22f seconds ; Jmile, Mr. T. Donoghue; one mile, Mr. T. Donoghue, 3 min. 46^ sec. ; Mr. Joseph Donoghue second ; ten miles, Mr. Joseph Donoghue, and T. Donoghue second ; twenty-seven miles 1,366 yards, Mr. T. W. Craft. At Copenhagen, Mr. T. Grouth, on January 29, won the one- mile race in 3 min. 40 sec. At Hamburg, February i and 2, Mr. J. H. Harms won the 3,000 metres and 7,500 metres races. At Christiania, Feb. 5, Mr. Fritz Lulu secured the one- mile race in 3 min. 2-i- sec., whilst at Amsterdam, on February 25, Mr. Jurrjens won the two-mile race in 7 min. 16 sec. All the above are international amateur races. The important pro- fessional races are as follows : at Amsterdam, on February 28, James Smart won the two-mile international race, George See second, Van den Berg third, Kingma fourth. Smart's time was 6 min. 46 sec. For the first time he showed his superi- ority to See, and that he was really the best Englishman. At MODERN RACING 281 Christiania, Hagen again defeated Axel Paulsen in a ten-mile race ; the time given was 33 min. 26 sec. Previous to this Paulsen had beaten Aven, the Swedish champion, in a five- mile race. Having leave to use the Amsterdam racecourse, Mr. C. G. Tebbutt skated forty miles in 3 h. o min. 7 sec. on March i, and secured the record for all distances above twenty- five miles. Axel Paulsen skated backwards a mile in 3 min. 3 if sec. The position of the professionals was unchanged, excepting that James Smart took the place of George See for England. It is difficult to classify the position of the amateurs. 1888-89. The weather during the winter of 1888-89 was of a sort that permitted most of the championship races to be held, but after all it was a stingy permission. In the English races, January 4, James Smart took his proper place as champion ; his time for a mile and a half was 4 min. 56 sec. ; George See, his cousin, was second. Mr. William Loveday won the Amateur Championship, displacing Mr. R. Wallis, time 5 min. 15-!- sec. ; his brother J. Loveday was second. This was certainly a Wel- ney year, as the above winners all hailed from this out-of-the- world but world- renowned village. The greatest races of the year were held at Amsterdam on January 8, 9, and 10, where, for the first time, Dutch, Russian, American, and English met. Result obtained : \ mile : A. Panschin, i min. 24f sec. ; K. Pander, i min. 30 sec. ; W. Loveday, i min. 32 sec. ; C. G. Tebbutt, i min. 32 sec. ; Mr. Joseph Donoghue fell. 1 mile : Von Panschin, 2 min. 58f sec. ; Donoghue, 3 min. o^ sec. ; Jurrjens, 3 min. y^sec. ; L. Tebbutt, 3 min. i2 sec. 2 miles : Donoghue, 6 min. 2 4 sec. ; Panschin, 6 min. 31 sec. ; Jurrjens, 6 min. 43^ sec. ; Pander, 6 min. 46^ sec. Our illus- tration, made from a sketch on the spot, shows Donoghue wresting the victory from Panschin at Amsterdam after having been twice beaten by the latter at shorter distances. Mr. Alexander von Panschin represented Russia, Mr. Joseph F. Donoghue crossed the Atlantic to represent the United States, whilst K. Pander and J. Jurrjens represented 282 SKATING the home country. W. Loveday and the brothers Tebbutt did battle for England. Mr. Von Panschin met and defeated the American at Vienna on January 1 3, over a course about a mile long, winning again the Austrian Championship. Mr. A. von Panschin was certainly the fastest amateur miler in the world. At Hamburg Mr. Donoghue easily defeated the Germans on January 15 and 1 6, before he left the Old for the New World. Another im- portant event was the inauguration of the Swedish Amateur Championship, contested for the first time on February 17 and 24 at Stockholm. The Norwegians swooped down and carried off everything. Mr. E. Godager won the 5,ooo-metre race in 10 min. 5? sec ; A. Norseng, second, in 10 min. 5! sec. In the lo-mile race, Godager again won ; 33 min. 2ii sec. In a one-mile race with a flying start, Godager came in first, 3 min. 5-i- sec., and was undoubtedly Amateur Champion of Scandinavia. The United States N.S.A. finished their season with a meeting on February 22, the result being that the jjth-mile Mr. T. Donoghue won ; the i mile, Mr. H. P. Mosher ; 5 miles, Mr Joseph F. Donoghue, with his youngest brother James a yard behind ; 10 miles, J. Lappe (skated late at night). 1889-90. For those who depended on the English climate for skating, this winter proved almost a failure ; and for racing, a failure altogether. Abroad, the importance of training was beginning to be felt. In the previous year, Mr. A. von Panschin had, on October 7, started his 2^ months training, and in consequence was able to defeat men much superior to him in style. The Norsemen held their races late in the winter during February and March, so as to be well fit. See- ing the importance of early training, the Dutch N.S.A. sent Mr. K. Pander and Marten Kingma to St. Moritz, a winter resort situated high up among the mountains in the Engadine, and surrounded by several small lakes, and the climate being such that winter begins a month earlier than elsewhere in Switzer- land. The result of this early training was seen at Amsterdam W h) 3 3 3 "$ o mile with three turns, 4 min. 52! sec. ; George See, with 5 min. 4^ sec. ; A. Kent, 5 min. 17! sec. ; Isaac See, 5 min. 1 84 sec. James Smart's time is the best ever made by an Englishman. Most of his races in England were under the time test, and he never suffered defeat, haying won at Cambridge, Boston, Little- port, Chatteris, St. Ives, Huntingdon, Tottenham, and Wisbech. George See was undoubtedly second best. Marten Kingma, except for his defeat at the hands of Smart, won every race in Holland. Wiebe de Vries, B. Westra, Arie van den Berg, Benedictus and Merk Kingma sharing second honours. At Groningen, Marten Kingma covered the mile in 3 min. 5 sec. Klass Hanje for the first time suffered defeat in a 2oo-metre race at Amsterdam by B. Decker. After James Smart and George See, the best of the Fenmen MODERN RACING 287 were Isaac See, William Smart, W. Boon, T. Pickering, R. T. Seamark, H. Kent, and A. Hawes. Another important professional event was the visit to Nor- way of the Canadian veteran, Hugh McCormick. He suffered defeat at the hands of Harald Hagen at Christiania in three races. Hagen's time for the five miles was given 15 min. 56 sec. Continuing with the amateurs, the next event after the Dutch National races was the English Championship, which Mr. W. Loveday again easily won on December 18. On the 24th the first International race ever held in England came off at Cambridge. Unfortunately Mr. Joseph F Donoghue was the only foreigner ; he won very easily. One and a half mile : Donoghue, 4 min. 46 sec. ; W. Loveday, 5 min. 7 sec. ; R. W. Rowe, 5 min, 17 sec. ; C. G. Tebbutt, 5 min. 17 sec. Returning to Holland, Donoghue won all the four events at the International races held at Amsterdam on January 6 and .7. Half-mile : J. F. Donoghue, i min. 25! sec. ; K. Pander (Dutch), i min. 30^ sec. ; J. J. Eden (Dutch), third. One mile : Donoghue, 3 min. of sec. ; K. Pander, 3 min. nf sec. ; A. Underborg (German), third. Two miles : Donoghue, 6 min. zoi sec. ; Pander, 6 min. 38^ sec. ; Van Dissel (Dutch), third. Five miles : Donoghue, 16 min. i sec. ; Pander, 17 min. 4 sec. ; Underborg, third. For the first time thus Mr. Joseph F. Donoghue won the title of * Champion of the World.' Returning to the United States, he secured again all the events in the Amateur Cham- pionship races held on February 7. The winners of the second prizes were in the ^-mile H. P. Mosher. One mile : Jas. A. Donoghue. Five and ten miles : E. Simpson. Mr. Joseph F. Donoghue's times were respectively 37 min. oisec. ; 3 min. 2? sec. ; 15 min. 36-?- sec. ; and 35 min. 54?- sec. The Norwegian amateur racing began by Henrick Lindahl winning the 5oo-metre, one mile, and one and half mile races, with Olaff Nordfvedt second. At Hamburg, January 23, Messrs. Adolf Norseng, Oscar 288 SKATING Grunden, and K. Pander met the best of the Germans in their International races. The third of a mile Grunden won in 55^ sec. ; Norseng, 55! sec. ; Pander, 57^- sec. The one mile Norseng won in 2 min, 59! sec. ; Grunden, 3 min. if sec. ; K. Pander, 3 min. 5f sec. To claim the title of Champion of Europe it was necessary to win two out of the three events, and as Grunden and Nor- seng had each won an event, and were far superior to any of the Germans, it was considered a certainty for one of them ; but the result was a surprise, for in the three-mile race, Under- borg (German) did best time in n min. 53! sec. ; Schon was second, and Norseng third. The fact was, Norseng was drawn against Grunden, and, as previously stated, instead of their racing hard, and doing good times, there was no pace until the final lap, when they raced in earnest, with the result that both did poor time. Upon Norseng's return to Hamar on the 29th, H. Lindahl beat him in a five-mile race; time given, 15 min. 16 sec. Another race, held on February 8 at Hamar, resulted as follows : one mile, G. A. Fjoestad (Swede), 2 min. 51-!- sec. ; O. Grunden (Swede), 2 min. 54 sec. ; O. Jorkildsen (Nor- wegian), 3 min, 2 sec. ; A. Norseng (Norwegian), 3 min. 5 sec. In the three-mile race, Grunden, 9 min. 34 sec. j Fjoestad, 9 min. yi sec. ; Norseng, 9 min. 13! sec. These times are most extraordinary, and if, as the ' Spirit of the Times' says, 'all details proved correct,' become far-away world records, and would place Scandinavian skaters at the top of the tree, with the Swedes on the highest twig. At Stockholm, on February 28, in the Swedish International races, O. Grun- den won the 5oo-metre race in 50^ seconds, with Fjoestad only a ith behind, and Norseng f ths. On March i, E. Godager won the one-mile and 5oo-metre races. The ice was so soft as to prevent many competing. This was the last race of the season, and brings speed-skat- ing up to date ; but while many points and positions of skaters are defined, many knotty points are still left undecided. The MODERN RACING 289 world's representative amateurs are as follows : England, W. Loveday ; United States, J. F. Donoghue ; Holland, K. Pander ; Germany, F. Underborg ; Norway : A. Norseng or H. Lindahl ; Sweden, O. Grunden or J. A. Fjoestad ; Russia, Linsted or A. von Panschin ; Canada, F. D. Carroll ; with two promising youths, in the United States James A. Donoghue, and in Holland J. J. Eden. To analyse the positions, we find that Loveday has been beaten by Donoghue, Pander, and Von Panschin. Pander has succumbed to Donoghue and Grunden. Underborg has suffered defeat at the hands of Donoghue, Pander, Norseng, and Grunden. Linsted was beaten in the mile by Norseng ; whilst Norseng is this year second both to Grunden and Fjoestad. From this, and a W Plan of Racecourse at Heerenveen. comparison of their times, it would appear that Underborg, F. D. Carroll, and Loveday are left to dispute for the last place, whilst J. F. Donoghue, Oscar Grunden, and Fjoestad would have to fight for the Amateur Championship of the World. As to the ' professionals, to all appearances no skater intervenes between James Smart and Harald Hagen in their claim to be the world's professional champions, although the youthful Marten Kingma lies dangerously near on their heels. It is also decided that the time test is the fairest system of racing, and that each competitor should have a separate track. u 290 SKATING Accepted curves include a horseshoe ; two straight sides with large curved ends ; parallel courses with sharp turns ; or straight sides and ends with curved corners. A few words in closing this chapter are due to our English champion, James Smart, for the way in which he has maintained the credit of English skating at home and abroad. In a cottage alongside the Old Bedford River at Welney, five miles from anywhere, he was born, in 1865, the last of a large family of boys. The skating traditions of the family and neighbourhood were so strong that one might almost have expected to find in him some abnormal physical development or peculiarity indi- cative of skating powers. Two of his brothers, the elder the well-known George ' Fish ' Smart, the younger Jarman Smart, were the two best skaters in England, when James was fourteen years old. Their father, Charles Smart was, years before, a speedy skater, with one peculiar defect which prevented his ever winning races : he could never turn or stop, and was per- force obliged to run into anything there might be at the end of a course, sometimes ploughing into the bank or cutting into a snow ridge. The uncle of our champion is the father of Fen skaters, old William 'Turkey ' Smart, whose power, and length and straightness of stroke, have never been equalled. Going back another generation, Jim's paternal great-grandfather, Robert Smart, was from all accounts a good man on his pattens, and early in this century won an important race at Cambridge. Our champion's aunt on his father's side married old William ' Gutta Percha ' See, who shared with old ' Turkey ' for some years winning honours, and their two sons are the well-known George and Isaac See, the second and third best of contemporary skaters, and of course cousins to James, George, and Jarman. I veritably believe the whole group of Welney skaters might easily be shown to be nearly related ; but it suffices to know that our champion was born with a circulation loaded with skating tendencies. As already mentioned, when a slim youth of sixteen he began racing, and was then beaten in the final of a boys' race by his MODERN RACING 291 small compact cousin Isaac See. Unluckily, for the following six years racing was not possible, and the next appearance of Jim was at Swavesey on January 1887, as a powerful man. Here he showed such form that it was evident only George See was his superior. These two were, therefore, chosen to try and retrieve English honour in Holland, where they met and defeated Arie van den Berg and B. Kingma. These two Dutch skaters had just returned from racing against H. Hagen at Hamburg, and were so impressed with the Fenmen that they declared the Norwegian was no good beside them. The next winter the cousins again visited Holland, and with the same success over a two-mile course, only this time James defeated George See, as he did again on January 4, 1889, securing thereby the Championship. Since then our champion has never allowed a skater to lower his colours or approach him. In the winter of 1890-91 he won the Championship of the Netherlands at Heerenveen, the greatest professional race ever held, and for the second time became English Champion, be- sides winning some eight or nine other races, all of which were skated under that searching system, the time test. The Swedish and Norwegian Skating Association have generously offered to pay all expenses if he will go over and compete in their races, so appreciative are they of his merits and anxious to gain the credit of defeating him. His record for one mile is only -t- of a second longer than George See's world record of 2 min. 53 sec., whilst his times for one and a half mile (the champion- ship course), 4 min. 52-!- sec., and ten miles, 36 min. 41 sec., have never been equalled by an Englishman. At present his position as champion is as marked as ever George ' Fish ' Smart's was, while for length and strength of stroke and endurance his brother never was his equal, although 1 Fish ' was a stronger-built man and had great powers of spurt- ing. In appearance and conduct James Smart is a model champion. He is a fine handsome athlete, if anything rather spare for a Fenman, but stripping and weighing well. In height 5 ft. 10 ins., in weight some HT> stone. u 2 292 SKA TING By shooting wild fowl and fishing, and in summer-time doing navvy and harvest work, he keeps himself in splendid general health and athletic condition. Few homes can boast of a finer, handsomer, healthier family than that of James Smart, his wife and three chubby boys, and the aged father. 293 CHAPTER VIII TRAINING BY C. G. TEBBUTT THE uncertainty of our English climate has made, and will always make, training for ice sports very difficult. It is im- possible to know a week beforehand when frost will set in and skating be possible. Thus the skater cannot make sure of securing the one essential of training practice. Any time between November 15 and March 15 the weather may turn cold, and sharp frosts occur; within two or three days of umbrella or light-coat weather, the ponds and still waters may be covered with an inch of ice, and then in a very few days skating may become general. On the whole, only about once in ten years is it possible to obtain in England a fortnight's continuous practice ; but as long as English skaters kept to their own shores and did not compete with foreigners, this difficulty affected all alike and favoured none. Also, as long as the Dutch did not train, although they can always depend upon getting more practice than the English, the Fenman, by his superior style for distance-skating, could more than hold his own against them. It was Axel Paulsen, the Norwegian figure and speed skater, who proved the great advantage of training. Taking advantage of the long Norwegian winter, he, in a month or so, got fit, came down south and won his races as he liked, ultimately crossing over to America to astonish the Americans on their own ice. Mr. Alexander von Panschin, in 1889, had made good use of his two months' skating in Russia, as on January 8 he won the half-mile and one mile at Amsterdam, though opposed by men 294 SKATING far superior to himself in style and physique. On the Hudson River, in the States, Mr. T. Donoghue appreciated the value of training, and was determined that his wonderful skating sons should not suffer for the want of it. From their earliest skating days he put them through a course of systematic training. On February 22, 1889, James Donoghue, the youngest son, had only missed two days' practice on the ice since the year opened, and probably he had some thirty days' skating before January i ; this would mean some eighty days' skating before he competed for the American championship, when he would, of course, be in the pink of condition. The idea of sending skaters abroad to colder climes than their own in order to secure for them the earliest skating originated with the Dutch Association. At the end of November, 1889, Mr. K. Pander and Marten Kingma went to St. Moritz, and the splendid performance of Mr. Pander afterwards at the International Races was doubt- less the encouraging result. In 1890, by public support, the writer was able to send James Smart and George See also to St. Moritz, and although, unfortunately, they were only able to obtain six days' practice before having to return to compete in the International Race at Heerenveen, James Smart suc- ceeded in winning the most important professional race ever skated for, everyone being struck by his improved form. In 1888 the trained skaters of Norway went to Stockholm and easily defeated the Swedes and Finns ; after which the Swedes, taking a leaf out of the Norwegians' book, made better use of their splendid opportunities, and have during the last two years completely turned the tables, accomplishing times, moreover, which a few years before were considered impossible. Messrs. A. Norseng, J. T. Donoghue, and Von Panschin have each declared to the writer that it was madness to race without at least thirty days' practice ; and in the winter of 1890-91 the Norwegians refused to race with Mr. Donoghue during December, because they did not consider themselves fit until January. The earliest instance of practice is perhaps that of the redoubtable William * Gutta Percha ' See, who some thirty-five years ago, during a TRAINING 295 prolonged frost, used to get out of bed at 4 A.M., light his fire, put the kettle on, and have a spin down the Old Bedford in the dark 'just to ease his legs,' returning to find his breakfast ready, and then go to work ; the result being that in a few days he was able greatly to surprise his opponents by his ' turn of speed.' Doubtless the agricultural work of our Fenmen puts them in hard condition, and affords a good general training, so that their muscles, wind, and staying power are in splendid order. But they still lack special training. It was always said that William Smart's occupation of claying that is, digging trenches on the fen-land down to the clay, which is beneficial to mix with the surface soil accounts for the great power in his legs, thighs, and back. No doubt the work of a farm-labourer does put his frame into splendid order, although, if he works very hard, it has a tendency to destroy his elasticity. For skating, more than for any other sport, power and endurance as against quickness and litheness are necessary. Hence it is that ordinary amateurs have but little chance in England against those whose occupation is out- door and laborious. For the same reason it was considered that the Frieslander acquired his superiority as a skater in Holland by punting the barges along with a pole, which, as Baron de Salis said, ' expands the chest, hardens the muscles of the calves and ankles, and accounts for the superior skating powers of the Friesland boatman.' Our Fenmen have plenty of stamina ; what they require is the power of using their strength. They can never do them- selves, or their Fen-style, full justice until they have been sent abroad and had real skating exercise for a month or two. The longest practice, if the ice can be kept clear of snow, may be obtained in Canada, where skating can often be enjoyed from October until the end of March. I do not wish here to discuss or advocate any system of training as it relates to dieting, &c. : that has been well considered in the volume on * Athletics.' But it might be well to warn enthusiasts that nature proceeds upon the principle- 296 SKA TING If you wish to suffer, then suddenly alter your course of diet and exercise, as a certain enthusiastic Dutch amateur did. He announced to the writer that he was in training for the International races, and proceeded to detail his daily con- sumption besides his regular meals. It amounted to ' two pounds of beef-steak, eight eggs, and four cans of milk,' size of cans not specified. His bloated face told the tale, and it need hardly be added he did not distinguish himself in the races. The best indications of a man being in good condition are a good appetite, a healthy appearance, sound sleep, enjoyment of exercise, good spirits, and ability to recover rapidly after exertion. It may be useful just to refer to those exercises which develop skating muscles. Of these, rinking undoubtedly comes first. It resembles real skating, and may indeed be considered a sort of half-brother to it. But that it is not own brother was seen at Lingey Fen in the International Amateur Race, where the efforts of Mr. Tennant, a splendid rinker, and in first-rate condition, were of no avail. Rinking will strengthen the power of the ankles, legs and thighs for the lateral or outward pres- sure so necessary in striking, and it also brings into use those muscles of the back which support the body when under this exertion. The bent position of the knees and back are again the same in speed-rinking as in skating ; but rinking is apt to affect the stroke of the skater. It will not give him that precision and command over his stroke which are so characteristic of such trained skaters as Messrs. Donoghue and Norseng, whose strokes are the exact reproduction of one another. But, as a makeshift, rinking is very good, and doubtless the success of Mr. Joseph Donoghue as a rinker, which may be seen from his medal list, has been a great help to him in skating. In winter- time, should a thaw set in, he keeps himself in condition by rinking for an hour or so each day. It was for this reason that the writer arranged in 1890 for James Smart and George See to have two months' rinking during the summer at Olympia. Their wonderful success during so short a time, without having previously had a rink-skate on, shows the near relationship of TRAINING 297 the two sports. In New York a ' Fresh-air Club ' exists whose members are enthusiastic skaters. They consider that mountain and hill climbing is a good preliminary practice for skating, and, if we may judge by the pounds of superfluous flesh some of the members leave behind on the mountain slopes, it doubtless is. A tramp over hill-sides, ascending and descending, &c., must strengthen the ankles and develop many of the skating muscles. In 1889 Messrs. Joseph Donoghue and K. Pander might have been seen, when the ice did not bear, daily for hours toiling up a toboggan slide near the ice rink, and a tramp along a bank or dyke half-way up its steep sides and back again would be a good thing to make the ankles and legs ready for the outside and inside edge. By some, riding is considered a good exercise, the pressure and bent position of the knees and the strain on the loins and back being all in the right direction. Other means have been proposed, some ingenious, some effective perhaps, and some crude. Enthusiasts have endeavoured to invent exercising machines on which to grind their muscles into condition. Others have trampled a grass field, or cut up a Turkey carpet with skates on their feet, so as to get used to them, and no doubt an imaginative reader may invent for himself some other curious, if not effective, dodges. But there is only one royal road to success, and that is practising on the genuine article ice. Considering the speed of skating, it is wonderful how long a man with a good style can hold his own. Until he is forty years of age such a man is as good as a younger skater. After that he may fairly consider his racing days over, although Alfred Hawes, who had then passed his forty-second winter skated so well in the winter of 1890-91 as to be reckoned among the first dozen Fenmen. But an upright skater, who depends principally upon his activity, is seldom much good after he is thirty years old. Short, scratchy, active men like the Sees begin racing early, when seventeen or eighteen. But those with long powerful strokes like James Smart are not at their best until they are twenty-two or twenty-three. Old 298 SKA TING 'Turkey' Smart always tells his sons that they will not do much until twenty- three or twenty-four years old. Starting. Excepting for short-distance racing, little advan- tage arises from a jump-off start. The object of every skater, when the race is over half a mile, should rather be to get as rapidly as possible into a full stroke. A jump-off start is very fatiguing, and another disadvantage in getting off quickly in skating is the slipperiness of the ice and the difficulty of obtaining a foothold. In springing off a skater is very likely to slip about, and may strain himself or lose his balance. Once in full swing, the impetus of his body helps him to get a firm stroke against the ice, as will be explained in the next chapter, on Style. Some skaters regard the first shove off as of the highest importance, and make a violent effort with one foot, only to find they go so short a distance that the shoving leg has not time to recover, be brought back and dashed down, so as to allow the other leg to act as a propeller. The Dutch are the best starters, as they do not trust too much to the forward impetus to get a hold on the ice, but strike violently backwards at the end of the stroke. It is wonderful to see them dash off in their 175 yards races. Mr. G. D. Phillips, of the United States, in his one-eighth and one-quarter mile sprints, made a hole in the ice to act as a scotch for the toe of his right-foot skate in his spring forward. But the Dutch and Mr. Phillips are not distance-skaters. The writer thinks it is the second, third, or even fourth stroke which should be thought most about in starting, the first being more or less preparatory. The object should be to get into a full swinging stroke with as little effort .and as quickly as possible. The first shove off with, say, the left foot should be merely to make the right foot effective in striking. It must not be allowed to get extended behind, but be at once picked up and dashed down in the right direction. It should be remembered that the right foot can do but little striking or propelling until the left foot has been placed on TRAINING 299 the ice and has begun to support the body. As the first shove off will be only while the weight is on the left foot and is but a mild affair, there need be no occasion for digging or scratching the ice for a scotch, and little danger of slipping and falling. Some dig a hole in the ice for the heel of the blade, but seem to forget that the striking is done by the flat or toe of the blade, and the heel is out of the hole at the critical moment. Other skaters attempt to jump off like a Sheffield sprinter, but as they are neither on turf nor wearing spikes they defeat their own object. The leisurely way in which the Fenmen get off strikes most on-lookers for the first time, and doubtless annoys a skater who has gained a few yards by an energetic start only to find himself rapidly overhauled by his apparently phlegmatic opponent. Doubtless Fenmen have carried this peculiarity to an extreme, which the importance of wasting no time under the time test will soon alter, but their unfitness for violent movements provides them with a good excuse for the adoption of their method. A yard' or so may be gained at the start by practice and adroitness, and it may very likely be that at the finish this will prove invaluable. The writer has five or six times won and lost races by less than a yard. Those who watched Mr, Donoghue get off in the half-mile at Amsterdam in the winter of 1890-91 saw the advantage of carefully practising starts ; he felt that the half-mile was his worst distance, and took the more pains to get off well. Turning. The step over step action with which Mr. A. von Panschin went round the curved end of the Amsterdam course revealed to the Dutch and English the importance of learning this movement. Viewed from the inside of the curve, it looked just like running. By a little practice it is easy to thus rush round a small curve with but little loss of speed, and to regulate the strokes to the size of the curve. In skating to the left round a curve, the body is leaned to the inside. Instead of bringing the right skate alongside the left, it is carried over and in front of 300 SKA TING the left, and, if the curve is small, is put down to the inside of the left skate. Care is necessary, if skating with prolonged heels, not to clash with the toe of the hind skate. The left skate then strikes with the outside edge, and is brought forward to the left of the right skate. By regulating the number of strokes when the right skate is brought to the front and to the left of the left skate, and the direction of the skate when placed on the ice, it is possible to manage any sized curve with precision and safety at great speed. Hugh McCormick is the most wonderful skater round a small rink in the world. It is very necessary to learn how to go round curves, as most courses abroad have curved ends. As a rule, Fen skaters are very bad turners, and when rounding a curve look as awkward as rooks hopping with the wind as a preliminary to flying. On the parallel Fen course it is best when approaching the turn to keep well to the outside of the course ; this will allow as big a curve as possible. Slacken speed if possible by placing both blades at right angles to the course, and pointing towards the turn. Then, with one or two foot -over- foot strokes* go round. With a little practice and judgment it will be found easy, as Mr. Donoghue has shown it is, to get round rapidly without stopping. Abroad, courses are mostly skated to the left (against the sun and clock), but it is useful to be able to round curves either way. As a rule it pays best to race hard all the way, without any bursts of speed when the distance is over a mile. I have seen many brilliant dashes at the beginning die away, and before the finish the skater crawl in last in an exhausted state. I have also seen a plodder start off as if he were on a week's journey, and when he woke up for an effort find himself too far in the rear, though quite fresh. For a half-mile or less, throw all hesitation to the wind and skate ' like a hare ' ; keep your balance and stroke, but strike quickly and with energy. A mere scramble may do for TOO yards, or in playing bandy, but not for a quarter-mile race. For a mile, expend some energy in starting, fall into a TRAINING 301 full stroke, and do not spare yourself. Over a mile and a half or two miles course, the start and finish become of less impor- tance j the main object is to maintain a stroke which your condition will allow from pillar to post, and put all your strength into each stroke. Some skaters, like Mr. Pander, begin to tail off almost from the start, others, like William Smart, seem to increase in pace to the finish. The former are useless for long distances, the latter for short distances. It is very necessary for the skater to be warmly clad ; if any- thing, more warmly than a football-player. One seldom, if it is cold, perspires while racing, but often the hands and arms become white with cold. At the same time nothing should interfere with the movement of the limbs. They require great freedom, as they are thrown in skating into extreme positions. The loose Dutch blue or grey knickerbocker flannels, with shirt and stockings to match, are extremely suitable. But the most popular suits, as worn by such prominent skaters as Messrs. Donoghue, Norsing, Panschin, Godager, &c., consist of a woollen stocking-net trousers and jersey fitting close to the figure. These stocking-net costumes are very easy and warm, but do not look as well as the loose Dutch flannel suits. They remind one too much of a circus. If a jersey is worn, it should come well up to the neck like a Rugby jersey, and well down the figure, covering the thighs and protecting the wearer from the bitterly searching icy wind. A thick woollen cap to match should be made so that it can be well drawn over the ears, as their protection 'at times is absolutely necessary. The hands are specially liable to suffer from the cold, and should be well protected with warm gloves. Those who, unlike the English or Dutch, do not swing their arms, complain bitterly of be- numbed frozen fingers. So intensely cold is the wind at times, when the skater is travelling, say, twenty miles an hour, that it is impossible for the face even to endure it. At Heerenveen Mr. Donoghue drew his cap well over his ears and head, his jersey came right up to his throat, but still he begged of the writer a handkerchief to tie round his throat, and skated face 3 02 SKA TING downwards. Mr. Alexander von Panschin always had a hand- kerchief in his teeth to prevent the direct current of keen air rushing down his throat. In Russia he had to skate some- times when the temperature was below zero. Doubtless, also, besides making him breathe through his nose, he found, from his peculiarly determined way of setting his teeth, that a hand- kerchief made a useful pad. Thick socks or stockings should protect the feet from the pressure of straps, or, where the skate is part of the boot, from the laces. It is a good plan to have boots a trifle large, and wear an extra woollen sock under the hose. By this means a thinner and tighter fitting upper can be worn. Should the feet be tender, a wash-leather sock may be necessary. As the ankles require freedom of movement, and it is necessary for the boots to fit tightly, the tops should be soft and pliable. The back of the heel is especially liable to chafe and get sore, and then a free use of vaseline becomes necessary until the skin is hardened. The method of treating and avoiding blisters will be found in the article on 'Training,' in the volume on ' Athletics ' already referred to. Never forget to change your clothes after racing, and, if possible, between the races, and by rubbing down, &c., to work off any stiffness, and to keep quite warm. Avoid a heavy meal less than an hour or so before a race, and do not copy 'Knocker' Carter, who, within ten minutes of his final race at Cambridge, consumed a beef-steak, a big hunch of bread, two pints of beer, and a ' swig ' of whiskey. He won ; but not improbably this was because his opponent broke his skate. I must again impress on all those who wish to secure inter- national honours the importance of training. One cannot now-a-days roll out of bed and win a race. If an amateur wishes to excel, and has the two requisites of good physique and Fen style, he may, by getting into good hard condition in the summer, and taking the first opportunity during, say, November, to go to the Engadine or Norway for a month's practice, be able agreeably to surprise himself, if not to win the highest honours. 303 CHAPTER IX STYLE IN SKATING BY C. G. TEBBUTT AN exhaustive treatise on the theory of skating, or even a satisfactory inquiry into the relative value of different styles, is out of the question in a short chapter. I propose to give such information as I have been able to collect, which bears on this subject, and which will supply data to enable those who are interested to elaborate theories for themselves. Skating involves the use of almost every muscle in the body, and the most careful control of those muscles for propulsion, balance, and guidance ; and only when they all work in harmony, and under skilful control, can the best results as to speed be attained. Favoured by the prolonged frost of the winter of 1890-91, 1 was able to get a fairly good collection of facts, and as every- thing depends upon the trustworthiness of these data, it may be well to explain the method I adopted. At Heerenveen, on the great racecourse, a slight fall of snow had whitewashed the surface of the ice, and, choosing a suitable part, Mr. Donoghue, at my request, skated. at racing speed across it, leaving his stroke marks clearly cut in the snow. With a cord about a chain (twenty-two yards) long, a line was marked in the snow showing the direction of the skater, the stroke marks diverging from it to the right and left. This centre line in the diagram of strokes is shown as an elongated arrow. Spacing this centre line out by a mark in 304 SKATING the snow every twelve inches, I noted down the distance of the stroke to the right or left of the centre line at each mark. Subsequently Klass Hanje, the champion Fries short-distance skater, left his stroke marks on the snow for me, and these were also reduced to figures. The same process was applied to my own strokes when I returned to England. From these measurements the stroke-mark diagrams were prepared. A -certain amount of detail is lost in the reduction to so small a scale; but nothing very material is wanting nothing, indeed, but mere peculiarities of each stroke, due to imperfections of ice, or other such causes, reproduction of which might be misleading. It is a typical stroke that is wanted, and these are typical as well as actual strokes. Two strokes are never precisely alike ; for the effect of bluntness of skates, state of ice, direction and force of wind, pace, or condition of skater, considerably affect the stroke mark. I have, however, been unable to give the depth of cut in the ice along the stroke-mark, and this is of some importance as showing where the greatest force was used. The next information obtained was by watching skaters racing, counting the number of strokes they made per minute, and then, given the time for the whole course, the distance the skater travelled at each stroke is easily worked out. This was for the first time taken by me when Mr. Donoghue won the mile championship at Heerenveen, and since then has fortunately been calculated in subsequent races. But the most important basis for theory is the series of instantaneous photographs which I was happily able to obtain at Amsterdam. A partially successful series had pre- viously been taken of both K. Pander and J. Jurrjens, prepar- ing the way for the first entirely successful and beautiful series which Messrs. Loman & Co. of Amsterdam photographed from Messrs. Donoghue, Underborg, and myself, when skating. The Management of the Amsterdam Skating Association kindly allowed me the use of a part of their rink ; a bright sun was shining, a large white sheet formed a background, and the figures came out clearly and well defined, without one STYLE IN SKATING 305 failure. Arrangements were made to send James Smart to Amsterdam to be photographed, but to my great regret the frost did not last long enough. The series of Mr. Donoghue and myself are reproduced here exactly as photographed, except that they are enlarged. This collection, especially as it contains the photographs of such a fine skater as Mr. Donoghue, is the most valuable con- tribution ever made to the facts needed to construct a true theory of skating. Hundreds of solitary instantaneous photo- graphs will not supply the same information as a series. A number of cameras about a yard apart were placed in a row pointing towards a narrow course, and as the skater passed, he cut one after another the silk threads stretched across. When cut, each thread released a button and set up an electric current connected with each of the cameras, which dropped a shutter and photographed the skater. Three styles of skating will be described the Dutch, English, and Modern racing, these being the most distinctive. DUTCH STYLE The skaters of Holland are divided into two classes the Friesland and South Holland. The style of the latter is best known to us as the ' Dutch roll.' On slightly curved blades the South Hollander avoids the necessity of keeping to a straight course, and in easy and graceful curves swings from side to side, riding on the outside edge, his body very much inclined from the perpendicular. He seems to put off striking as long as it is possible to enjoy the roll, then at last makes a short quick strike back, throwing himself on the outside edge of the other skate. This style, whatever its merits, does not help us much to find out the best method for speed. It is the short-dis- tance skater of Friesland who here concerns us most, for in his i6o-metre (175 yards) races he has no equal. Other Dutchmen, x 306 SKA TING such as Kingma and Pander, excel in long-distance races, but that is because they have left their first love and partially adopted the modern racing style. They are not as typical of a distinctive style as Klass Hanje or B. Dekker, who skate in a way that perhaps dates back one or two centuries, when also skates similar to those they now use were invented. ENGLISH STYLE English, or Fen, style is confined to the Fen district, and its distinctiveness is shown by the fact that in England no one out- side the Fens can equal a Fenman for speed.- Though skating was introduced from Holland, a distinct way of skating suitable for long-distance races was soon developed, probably owing to the conscious as well as unconscious imitation of the gait of successful skaters when skating in single file behind a crack performer, a practice very general in the Fens. This gait has resulted in what is known as Fen style. Its best exponent was undoubtedly old 'Turkey ' (William) Smart, who showed how it was possible to use his powerful frame to the best advantage, and achieved wonderful results, both in speed and length of stroke. His style may be considered the finest possible for the objects to which it was directed, his influence on skating was marked and good, and although no one since has quite caught his mantle, in our present champion, James Smart, we see much of his uncle's form. A few successful skaters whose attitude in skating is more upright and with a shorter stroke, Larmen Register and even the late champion George (' Fish ') Smart among them, have somewhat modified the Fen style. I had hoped to give drawings showing James Smart's style, but regret to say I cannot do so ; I have therefore been forced to substitute particulars of my own. I believe, however, and have been told, that my style is as near old ' Turkey's ' as any Fenman's, although of course I have no pretensions to his pace. STYLE IN SKATING 307 MODERN RACING STYLE Those countries which cannot be considered to have in- herited a distinctive style Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Germany, &c. have been working out and adopting a method of progression which is the outcome of the effect of racing, and of racing only. To Axel Paulsen, the Norwegian, belongs most of the credit for this. His success in Europe and America did much to bring about its adoption, and we are told that the boys in New York, after his victories there, all imitated him as well as they knew how. Norway and Sweden may be considered the headquarters of this style, and the skates which are essential to it are made at Christiania, although it must be added that Mr. Donoghue, of the United States, is certainly one of its finest exponents, if indeed he has any superior. The marked feature of the skates in question is their prolonged heel. Several persons claim the credit of introducing this. Mr. J. A. Whelpley says that thirty-two years ago (1859) he conceived the idea, and called his skates the 'Long Reach,' after the name of a fourteen- mile straight stretch of the River St. John ; and since then they have been adopted in the neighbourhood and introduced on the Hudson River. Some credit is due to him, but he was not the first inventor, for a pair of skates with a heel prolonged two inches behind were made by Mr. Berney in 1855 for Larmen Register, though Larmen clipped the heels short and nipped the idea in the bud. Skating is not running on the ice, as beginners find to their sorrow, nor, indeed, anything at all like it. This is obvious when we notice how slow are a skater's movements, even when going very fast, in comparison with those of a runner. In running, progress is made by a series of bounds forward, each started by the backward pressure of the foot at the moment when it is stationary on the ground. With skates and on slippery ice progress thus is impossible. Again, in running, the body is X 2 3^8 SKATING unsupported during most of the time, and when the foot does come to the ground the body has considerably fallen and acquired a falling impetus ; in the next bound exertion is required in order to raise the body again sufficiently to allow of a forward impetus. It is gravity which roots us to the earth. In skating we cannot quite avoid all the exertion of over- coming this falling impetus ; for it is necessary for the body to fall slightly to allow of the full extension and reach of the limbs ; but we have always one foot on the ice, and during about half the time two, to sustain the weight. The body falls, it is true, but always under control. Second to this important act of counteracting gravity comes the more pleasurable one of progress. In this the friction of the skate against the ice and the resistance of the air must be overcome. Ice fortunately lends itself in a peculiarly favourable way to rapid motion, for though extremely slippery a good scotch or foothold is possible. To obtain motion the foot or skate may be said to act in three successive functions : as a rudder, as a glider, and as a striker. Before going further, I wish to make a few explanatory remarks about the diagrams, &c. The word ' strike ' is used to imply that part of the stroke during which the leg propels the body forward in fact, the end of the stroke. By referring to the diagram of stroke marks, the following ex- ample will explain the use of letters and figures. D i R indicates the i foot pad of the Right foot of Mr. Donoghue's stroke. The numbers of these foot pads mark the position of the correspond- ing number in the instantaneous series, and readers are advised, when reading the description, to refer to both figures and diagram. Vertical lines are one yard apart, making it easy to measure the length of any part of the stroke. The horizontal lines are one foot apart, showing the amount of deflection of any part of the stroke to the right or left of the centre or arrow line. Small arrows show the direction in which the camera was pointed when one particular view, viz. No. 4 in both series, was taken. MB. JOSEPH F. DONOGHCTE {After an instantaneous photograplt) Position No. 1 iront view STYLE IN SKATING 39 310 SKATING Opposite each of these stroke marks is shown the skate used in making it, T x - actual size. The sections of blades are J actual size. The blades of Mr. Donoghue's and my skates are ground square and flat, but Hanje's are ground at an angle so as to leave the inside edge decidedly acute and the outside edge obtuse. The little foot pads are on the right or left or on the stroke, and show whether the skate is on its outside or inside edge or on the flat. Thus at D 3 L the skate is on the inside edge, at D 4 R on the outside, and at D 5 R on the flat. The right and left is to the right hand or left hand of a person looking in the direction the arrow centre lines point. Where the foot after striking has left the ice, its progress is shown by dotted lines, and its position above the ice given by short marks and numbers. To analyse the series of attitudes, draw two horizontal parallel lines, the one cutting the centre of the right foot skate blade where it touches the ice, and the other just touching the highest part of the shoulders or back. From these the rise and fall of the body may be measured. I find that Mr. Donoghue is at his highest point in No. 2 and No. 6, and lowest at No. 4 and No. 8, there being a difference of some ten inches. Now take the diagram of strokes as well as the figures in the series, and go through Mr. Donoghue's strokes, beginning at No. i. Here the right foot is just taking the weight, and, in order to act as a rudder and resist the strike of the left foot, is upon the outside edge. Rapidly advancing and with increasing speed it overtakes the left foot, receiving more and more the weight of the body, until passing by Nos. 2 and 3, it has the whole weight at No. 4. During this time the left foot has been striking and its pace diminishing, until a little beyond No. 3 it is stationary, and the next moment flies backwards and upwards off the ice as at No. 4. Before arriving at No. i the left foot was striking, for almost as soon as the stroke crossed the centre line and diverged STYLE JiV SKATING 311 to the left, a backward pressure was possible. The power of striking backward increases more and more as the foot is more and more in the rear ; at the end of the strike the heel is raised and the toe gives a final push, cutting deep into the ice with the fullest stretch of the leg. With this final push what little weight the left leg carried is thrown forward over the right foot. Beginning from the cramped position of Nos. i and 2 the whole limb from the loin to the ankle is extended to its full length, and the body lowered and from the shoulder down- ward twisted towards the striking leg, to give it the greatest reach and the fullest freedom. When the right leg first receives the weight upon being placed on the ice, it raises the body to one of its highest positions at No. 2, and then allows it to fall m again during the stroke. As the body falls, the right knee becomes more and more bent, and is bent most when the full weight is received at No. 4, the centre of gravity being here at its lowest. Continuing with the right leg, this has now lost its rudder function, which function, it may be remarked, in- volved considerable amount of exertion to overcome the lateral pressure of the left tending to drive the skate away to the right. At Nos. 5 and 6 it acts as glider and supporter, or rather raiser of the body, for at No. 6 the body has been raised 10 inches from No. 4. There is now no need to be on the outside edge, so in order to glide more easily it is turned on the flat. The left leg has now its rest, and is merely returning ready to take up the running at the proper moment, and to be placed on the ice in the best position for the next stroke. In doing this Mr. Donoghue raises his heels high in the air behind him, twisting the skate so as to bring the toe again inwards ; and indeed this is the common practice with all who use the long-toed skates. I suppose it is no extra exertion to raise the heel up high, and in their anxiety to be clear of the ice skaters exceed what is necessary. From an aesthetic point of view it does not add to the otherwise extremely graceful movement of Mr. Donoghue. Returning to the right foot, before it arrives at No. 7 it has turned on to the inside edge 3 I2 SKA TING and is ready to strike, the body is falling fast, and will continue to fall until at No. 8 the left leg has taken the weight. The importance of putting the skate of the left foot down in the exact position at No. 8 arises from the fact that the skates are so long and so flat that it is extremely difficult when any Modern' Racing Style (about -~^ actual size). Instantaneous series taken of Mr. Joseph F. Dono$hue. weight is upon them to alter their direction. The whole stroke has for this reason to begin on the side of the centre line opposite that of the Fen stroke, because it would otherwise be thrown at the finish too far from this line. It is impossible to make the curves as shown in the Fen stroke upon thin, flat, 1 8-inch blades. This completes one-half of Mr.- Donoghue's STYLE IN SKATING 313 movements ; the other half is but a repetition with the legs reversed. It ought to be mentioned that the strokes shown in the diagram are not those that Mr. Donoghue skated when he was photographed, and some allowance must therefore be made should the strokes and attitudes not exactly coincide. In Modern Racing Style (about ^ actual size). comparing Mr. Donoghue's series with those representing the Fen series, it will be found that the movements in the main are much the same. The Fen strike is shorter, and at its finish the heel leaves the ice at nearly the same time as the toe, the heel of the striking skate being at that moment more nearly at a right angle to the centre line. After striking, the foot is not 314 SKA TING lifted in the air heel uppermost, but returned with the sole almost parallel to the ice, the toe being gradually turned inwards. Another difference very noticeable is that the arms are English Fen Style (^ actual size). Instantaneous series taken of Mr. C. G. Teblnitt. freely used in Fen-skating instead of being clasped behind the back. Axel Paulsen is principally responsible for this fashion of locking the hands behind the back. The arms have a func- STYLE IN SKATING 315 tion, and if they assist in attaining the object in view ever so little they should be used. The great object in the Fen style of skating is never to English Fen Style (Jy actual size). allow the body to leave the centre line, and as the legs strike out to the right or left the arms are thrown in an opposite direction to balance. The result is that a Fenman like James 3i6 SKATING Smart skates straighter than Mr. Donoghue, and rides less over his striking leg. The rise and fall of the body is not so great, it being in my own case about five inches, although this difference may- be to a large extent accounted for by the extra height and length of limb of Mr. Donoghue. Hanje's stroke at once attracts notice as being short, and not suitable for a distance-skater. The object of the Fries is to rush a short distance over the ice at terrific speed, and all prolonged movements and small economies must be avoided. His must be a dashing stroke. Now it is obvious that the most effective strike for onward progress must be backward, only the striking leg must be travelling backwards faster than the onward progress. This exertion the Fries is prepared for and can maintain for 175 yards ; beyond a quarter of a mile the falling off in speed is extraordinary. In considering Klass Hanje's stroke it must be remembered that he completes four strokes before Mr. Donoghue has made two : the strokes in fact become almost a series of forward bounds. After the right leg at the beginning of the second stroke in the diagram was dashed down behind the left, it was shot in front, and at a began to receive the impetus from the strike of the left skate at A. In a similar part of the stroke Mr. Donoghue or a Fenman would have been resting his whole weight on the right skate and the left would have been extended from the body. Not so here. The body has followed the direction of the left leg, and this leg is bent or crouched beneath it, ready to spring forward when it reaches A. With weight over it, and the inside edge of the skate ground to an acute angle cutting the ice like a knife, there is no fear of not getting a good ' scotch ' for the strike. Directly the spring forward or cut backward is given, the right leg will have reached ^, and it will be seen that the course it takes from b to c is in a direct line with the strike, the left leg after striking leaving the ice directly behind the skater. To allow of the cut back, which is given -from the heel to the toe, the ankle must have free play ; no' boots are worn and the STYLE IN SKATING 317 attachments of the skates leave the ankle unhampered. As the toe is the last to leave the ice the heels are kicked up behind one of the most noticeable features of Dutch skating. The strokes never diverge far from the centre line, but cross and recross it so rapidly that the skater seems to be going very straight. As a proof how well suited the Fries style is to short races, even small boys can outpace any foreigner for a few yards. We will now consider the length of strokes and rapidity of striking. Old ' Turkey ' Smart had probably the most powerful and effective stroke of any known skater, and from measure- ment taken when he was racing in 1854, his strokes must have averaged from thirteen to fifteen yards. On one occasion, when skating at Huntingdon with the wind, his strokes were measured and found to be eighteen yards. He told me that once on Whittlesea Mere the course was purposely marked out by lumps of snow into chain (twenty-two yards) lengths. Skating for a wager he beat his opponent, and the last time down each stroke corresponded with the chain measure. ' You can easily make a long stroke by dwelling on it,' Smart added. What length of stroke is most effective and necessary to win races is the thing to be ascertained. James Smart usually takes about ten -yard strokes. The diagram shows us that strokes considerably overlap. Mr. Donoghue's do this to something like three yards, mine about five feet, Hanje's about one yard. The true length of a stride is from the beginning of one stroke to the beginning of the next, as that is the distance traversed from each strike. This makes Mr. Donoghue's stride six yards, mine five yards two feet, and Hanje's nearly four yards. At Heerenveen, in the mile race, Mr. Donoghue took 86 strokes against wind, and 80 with, or an average of 83 per minute, covering about six yards two feet each stroke. Hanje in the quarter-mile dashed off 158 strides of three yards one foot. What a difference ! At Amsterdam, when Mr. Donoghue won the Championship of the World in the half-mile, he made 318 SKATING 120 five-yard strides in the minute; that is to say, he went ten yards per second. In the five-mile race he maintained an English Fen Style almost uniform 84 strides per minute of six yards one and a half feet, when he made the record time of 16 min. 2! sees. The STYLE IN SKATING 319 second man, K. Pander, made 132 strides of four yards one foot, but had he been able with this length of stride to equal English Fen Style (^ actual size). Mr. Donoghue, he must have dashed off 150 strokes to the minute, an impossible exertion to maintain for a mile. At Hamburg, in the mile race, the Norwegian, A. Norseng, maintained 100 strides of five yards two and a half feet, com- 320 SKA TING pleting the mile in the splendid time of 2 min. 59;.) sees., and the Swede, O. Grunden, struck 106 strides of five yards one and a half feet. No one, unless in grand form, could have kept up such high pressure, combining rapidity with length of stroke. At Groningen, also in a mile race, the best Dutch amateurs competing, the winners were K. Pander, who took 98 strides of five yards two feet ; J. J. Eden, 106 strides of five yards ; Van Dissel, 88 of six yards ; and De Koe, with big strokes of 76 strides of seven yards. The advantage went to the shorter strokes and extra rapidity of striking. K. Pander (Holland). (From instantaneous photograph. ) From these and other statistics, it seems that the maximum speed of striking is about 160 per minute, and that 60 strokes is an old gentleman's pace ; that it is almost impossible to maintain 120 strokes for a mile, or over 90 for five miles ; that in order to skate a mile in three minutes a man must cover five yards each stride, and that six yards is the best length. A great deal of interest is now felt in the question as to which style is the best suited for racing. As evidently the Fries STYLE IN SKATING 321 or Dutch style is only fit for distances under half a mile, the answer really lies between the style of Mr. Donoghue and that of James Smart. In important points both methods are alike, and except for the swing of the arms, the differences are due to the length of the blade of the skate. This length of blade is supposed to be essential for a grip upon hard, flinty ice, ice that is frozen at a very low temperature. If it is and it is also necessary to have most of this extra length in front of the toe- then the modern racing style in all particulars, except perhaps the swing of the arms, is best on such ice ; for it is impossible to skate like a Fenman upon long-toed skates. If, on the other hand, by using a thinner blade and perhaps lengthening the blade behind the heel, it is possible to get all the hold necessary, then I fail to see why any Fenman need think of changing his style. James Smart has, I believe, demonstrated by his marked success on smooth hard ice in Holland, and, what is more, by his splendid times, that it is not better style, but better training, which handicaps a Fenman in racing a foreigner. The long Norwegian skates are obviously unfit for the rougher and softer ice usual to a Fen course. Mr. Donoghue was fortunate in skating in England during the winter of 1890-91 on the best and hardest ice I have ever seen in the Fens. One decided advantage of Mr. Donoghue's style is that he can begin to strike so much sooner than Smart does. In the front view illustration of Mr. Donoghue he is seen striking with the left leg, and this position corresponds nearly with No. i. It is this early propulsion forward which explains the mystery of his great pace ; but at the finish of the strike, when it is most effective, the Fenman, I believe, puts in more work and to better advantage. And the last point in favour of Fen style is that the stroke in the gliding part follows more nearly the direction of the centre line, and the skater keeps a straighter course. In conclusion, I beg to acknowledge the help I have re- ceived from the following : Dr. Roger Goodman, for the loan of the late Mr. Neville Goodman's extracts and notes ; Mr. Y 322 SKATING W. B. Curtis, New York ; Mr. Albert Goodman, London ; the late Mr. J. van B. Wichers, Leiden ; the late Baron de Salis, Amsterdam ; Mr. Adolf Norseng, Norway ; the Management of the Dutch Skating Association ; and the Management of the Amsterdam Ice Club. My only regret is that, in the space at my command, I have been able to use such a com- paratively small portion of the valuable and interesting information so kindly put at my disposal. CURLING BY REV. J. KERR CURLING BY REV. JOHN KERR INTRODUCTORY THE game of curling would be very imperfectly presented to ' Badminton ' readers if we simply treated it in its practical or scientific aspects. Scientific it certainly is, affording scope for a display of practical acumen such as few games demand. This will readily be granted when it is remembered that the player's implement of play is a stone weighing on an average about 38 lb., the field a sheet of ice keen or dull as the weather makes it, the object aimed at lying nearly 40 yards away. Tradition tells of a certain Tarn Pate who flourished as a curler in the end of last century, and who never missed a single shot ; but with ordinary curlers the misses are generally half as numerous as the hits, and in an emergency the most trusty veteran has been known to fail at the slippery game, so that this extraordinary son of tradition is always supposed to have been a warlock. No mortal man can curl to perfection. But difficult and intricate as the game undoubtedly is, the be- ginner may soon acquire sufficient knowledge to enable him to take a respectable place in a rink. As in many other cases, a little practical instruction does more than a great amount of book-reading. Curling may therefore lay claim to simplicity as well as to scientific skill. No man should be deterred from 326 CURLING it by the fear that it is too difficult a game to learn. But neither science nor simplicity constitutes the charm of curling. This is mainly ethical. A few words on the character, tone, and associations of this popular ice- sport may therefore serve as an introduction to this chapter. To begin with, the sport excites the utmost enthusiasm among its votaries. At a season of the year when nature is passing through her dull interlude, and the blood circulates sluggishly, such a sport strengthens the body and cheers the mind. It has, too, most unquestion- ably, physical advantages to recommend it. No sybarite can be a curler. The game demands activity, hardihood, endur- ance, and such ardour as makes a man forget everything in his intense devotion to the sport ; and in return it imparts health and happiness to its followers. The proverbial keenness of the curler is a phase of this enthusiasm. Like the skater, he knows that a day or an hour may bring a thaw, and woe betide him if he miss his opportunity or fail to make the most of the uncertain season. Given keen ice, keen air, and keen curlers as all curlers are and you have the condi- tions under which the sport is perfect and the best results to mind and body therefrom obtainable. ' Everyone,' said Lord Dufferin in opening the Toronto Rink in 1877, 'everyone who had attempted to play a stone, no matter what may be his occupation, whether politics or business, generally felt all his cares and anxieties disappear, and thought of nothing else but defeating his opponents.' That is surely no small advantage. Another excellent feature in connection with curling is that, like cricket, the game is rarely made the subject of betting. It may be said that from this evil curling is entirely free. A few matches for money have indeed been played, but the pockets of the winners were never enriched thereby. A quantity of coals or meal for distribution among the poor is generally the stake where anything is laid upon a match be- yond the simple honour of victory. Curling has thus been iden- tified with benevolence, and often the hearths of the poor have been gladdened by the bonspiel. Perhaps the best and most INTRODUCTORY 327 characteristic feature of this winter sport is the sociality which it develops. Liberty, equality, and fraternity are truly its watchwords. On the ice all divisions and differences caused by rank, riches, religion, politics, or anything else, may be said to disappear. .Peer and peasant, landlord and tenant, clergyman and artisan, merchant and mechanic meet together in social brotherhood, forgetting for the time all distinction save that of curling skill. Add to all this the inevitable humour to which we make reference later on, and some idea may be formed of a game which in Scotland, at any rate, is by far the most popular of ice-sports. Christopher North once truly said : ' That sport stirs the heart of auld Scotland till you hear it beating in its bosom.' In that country it is pre-eminently a national sport, and Scots- men always delight to speak of it as ' Scotland's ain game o' curlin.' Since its introduction it has been under the patronage of the nobility of the country, and the clergy have also specially identified themselves with a sport which is on all hands acknowledged to be one of the healthiest and man- liest. Scottish writers have also recognised its importance and sounded its praise. A quaint old Jacobite author, Dr. Penne- cuick, as far back as the year 1715, very tersely says : To Curie on the Ice does greatly please, Being a Manly Scotish exercise ; It clears the Brains, stirrs up the Native Heat And gives a gallant Appetite for Meat. Allan Ramsay, in describing the ' active Hilaris ' his ideal of a man who is kept healthy by exercise dqes not omit this pastime : From ice with pleasure he can brush the snow, And run rejoicing with his curling throw. Robert Burns gives perhaps the highest honour to one of his friends Tarn Samson when he thus describes his curling powers : 328 CURLING He was the King o' a' the core To guard or draw, or wick a bore, Or up the rink like Jehu roar In time o' need. Sir Walter Scott, in ' Guy Mannering,' introduces a lake scene, in which skaters and curlers are seen enjoying them- selves. James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, was himself a keen curler, and to him has generally been ascribed one of the best curling songs, beginning thus : Of a' the games that e'er I saw, Man, callant, laddie, birkie, wean, The dearest far aboon them a' Was aye the witching channel-stane. Oh ! for the channel-stane ! The fell good game, the channel-stane. There's no a game that e'er I saw Can match auld Scotland's channel-stane. In verse and song the doings of curlers, and the praise of curling, have also been sung by Sir Alexander Boswell of Auchinleck, the Rev. Dr. Muir of Beith, the Rev. Dr. Duncan of Ruthwell (the founder of savings banks), the Rev. Dr. Norman Macleod, Principal Shairp, Dr. Sidey, and many others. Through all the songs there runs one strain of praise and admiration, and the associations to which we have referred as the charm of curling have thus had ample justice done to them by Scottish poets. Scottish painters have also trans- ferred to canvas the excitements of curling : Sir William Allen, Sir George Harvey, and Lees having given us admirable representations of the bonspiel. In numerous volumes and articles the practical and scientific aspects of the curling game have also been fully described. HISTORICAL Of the origin of curling perhaps no more satisfactory account can be given than the tradition that Albyn J ove sent it as a gift to ( Auld Daddy Scotland,' as he sat one day ' bare leggit on a snawy brae,' with icicles at his snout, and crying HISTORICAL 329 Oh ! for a cheery, heartsome game To send through a' the soul a flame, Pitt birr and smeddum in the frame And set the blude a-dinling. The Rev. John Ramsay, who wrote the first account of the game in 1811, ascribed to curling a- Continental origin, from the number of Dutch or German terms (see Glossary, p. 379) used in the play, and his theory has generally been repeated in parrot-like fashion by succeeding writers. There is, however, no trace of the game in the Low Countries, and the etymology of the terms is not sufficient to prove that curling was conveyed thence to Scotland. The Dutch had a game called Kluyten or Kalluyten which, according to Kilian's ' Etymologicon Teutonics Linguae' (1632), was played on the ice with frozen balls ; but, except that both were played on ice, this game had no resemblance to curling. With the old Scandinavians a favourite winter sport was Knattleikr, a kind of cricket or Trap- ball played on the ice, but this was as far removed as Kluyten from the Scottish game. A common and ancient game was recently played at Munich, and throughout Bavaria, the ice- rink being fifty or sixty yards long, and the tees being /O square blocks of wood and movable, as in the game of bowls. The sticks (see fig. i) used in play are from twelve and run on a sole of from ten r_ ~^ . . . RIM OF IRON to thirteen inches, bound with / ^\ KIM OF IRON to twenty-five pounds weight, and run on a sole of from ten to thirteen inches, bound with a rim of iron, the handle being about nine inches long 'ice-stick 1 (fig. i). and slightly curved. The mode of play was thus described by an onlooker (Professor Ferguson, Aberdeen) in 1848: There are from two to four players a side : the sides are chosen by ballot. Numbered balls are put into a box, and each man 330 CURLING takes his side according to the number of his ball. The places of the players are fixed by playing one end, and each man ranks according to the distance his stick measures from the Tee. The first player is called Maier, the second Engmaier, the third Heifer, and the fourth, when there is one, also Heifer. The Maier directs the game, and his is reckoned the most important stick. The sides do not play alternately, as with us ; but, when one side has the shot, the other must play till they take it out. Each side has a right to play the Maier stick twice. When all the sticks are played, including the second playing of the Maier's, the party gaining the end counts six. If any party take the end without playing their Maier the second time, it counts nine. For exam- ple : Suppose A and B to be on one side, C and D on the other. A plays, then C. If C has a shot B plays. If B takes the shot D plays. If D takes the shot, A plays his Maier, and supposing him also to take the shot, C follows with his Maier and on taking the shot counts six, and it requires another end, probably two, to finish the game. Again, suppose A plays, then C. If A has the shot then D plays. If D take the shot, A plays his Maier ; if he fail to take the shot, C and D count nine and the game is ended the right of C to play his Maier not having been exercised. Again, suppose A and C play : A has the shot, D plays, and after- wards C plays his Maier, both failing to take the shot, A and B count nine. The stakes are paid at the end of each game, and there is always some s^ake played for. The rinks played on are at least ten yards longer than with us, and it must require consider- able force to propel the sticks. They are swung backwards and forwards in the hand before being thrown off. This Bavarian game resembles curling more than either of those we have referred to, but it is at the same time so unlike it that, even if it had existed at Munich before curling was known in Scotland, it would be rash to suppose that the game was imported from the Continent. Curling appears to be Scottish in origin, and in its progress and development it is distinctly such. Where or how the play began we cannot exactly say. In 1457, and at other later dates, we find the Scottish Parlia- ment prohibiting golf and football as ' unprofitable sports,' when it was desirable that the people should practise archery for self-defence against the English. Curling was not so 'cryit HISTORICAL 331 dune,' but this is no evidence that it was not then played, It may have been omitted because the art of ' throwing stones ' may have been deemed as useful as that of shooting arrows, or the limited period during which it could be practised may have saved it from condemnation. A curious old coat of arms (fig. 2) has just been brought under our notice by Mr. Andrew Ross, Marchmont Herald, which shows that one of our old Scottish families embodied curling in the family crest, and that our suggestion as to the usefulness of the art is not amiss. The J_Jruf7imoT]( 'coat' is that of Drummond of Carlowrie in the parish of Kirkliston and county of Linlithgow, and is thus described in heraldic language : Bears or, three bars waved gules, and for a difference a mullet surmounted of an amulet. Crest, a dexter hand holding a curling stone with the motto, Have at all. Samuel Drummond of Carlowrie was on the Committee of War in 1643, and this Hal o' the Wynd motto of his was therefore not inappropriate. The coat of arms, which is to be 332 CURLING published in the forthcoming ' Lockhart Collection of Heraldic Plates,' is to curlers of great interest, for besides its value in connecting our ancient nobility with the game, it is as far as we know the earliest illustration of a curling stone, and it also shows that, in the first period of play, the stone was flung without the aid of a handle. The earliest literary notice of the game of curling is found in the ' Muses Threnodie ' by Henry Adamson (1638), to which Mr. Lang refers in the Badminton Golf (p. 21), for an early reference to that game. At page x. of that volume, in the inventory of Ruthven's gabions, we find : His hats, his hoods, his balls, his bones, His allay bowles and curling-stones The sacred games to celebrat. And at pages 2 and 3 of this quaint poem, where Ruthven calls upon his gabions to assist him in mirthful mourning for his friend Gall, after addressing his bowes and his clubs^ he goes on : And yee my loadstones of Lidnochian lakes Collected from the loughs, where watrie snakes Do much abound, take unto you a part, And mourn for Gall, who loved you with his heart : In this sad dump and melancholick mood The burdown yee must bear, not on the flood Or frozen watrie plaines, but let your tuning Come help me for to weep by mournfull cruning. Archery, golf, and curling were thus, we may infer, the trio of ' games Olympike like ' with these Perth worthies, and they are not referred to as new things, but as games of * the times agone.' The most ancient extant specimens of curling stones (if we may rely on the date carved in one of them) are to be seen in the Macfarlane Museum, Stirling. From the illustration (fig. 3) it will be noticed that one of them goes back to a date anterior to the battle of Flodden, while the other, although not certified in the same way, has the appearance of being still more ancient. HISTORICAL 333 There is a tradition to the effect that James IV., the Scottish king at this time (1472-1513) was a curler, and that he pre- sented a silver curling-stone to be played for annually by the parishes in the Carse of Gowrie as a token of his appreciation of the game. There is no evidence not even that of the royal trophy to verify this tradition, and no other tradition as to the curling capacities of the Scottish monarchs is to be relied upon, though it is quite possible the game may have enjoyed a share of royal favour. In the troublous conflict between Prelacy and Presbytery it would appear that curling was a bond of union betwixt Episcopalian and Covenanter, for in the General Assembly of 1638, George Graham, Bishop of Ancient Curling-stones (fig. 3). Orkney, was charged with being ' a curler on the ice on the Sabbath day,' while William Guthrie of Pitforthy (1620-1665), one of the most noted of the Covenanters, was a keen curler. The gentry also, in these disturbed times, did not forget the sport, for we read in FountainhalFs Decisions under December 30, 1684, that when a party of the forces were sent out to apprehend Walter Scot of Harden, ' a man of good fortune,' he got news of their intention ' as he was playing at the curling with Riddell of Haining and others, 'and fled from his pursuers. By the end of the seventeenth century, the earlier type of curling-stone without handle had been displaced. That then in use was simply an ordinary boulder taken from the river or 334 CURLING the hillside, and having a rough iron handle fixed into it ; each player used one stone, while eight players constituted a rink. The distance from tee to tee was much shorter than it is now, and the game, to judge from the heavy and uncouth appearance of the boulders used, must have been one of force rather than of science. The last, but certainly not the least, of this second kind of stone which has come under our notice, of which a drawing is here given (fig. 4), actually weighed 1 1 7 Ib. During the seventeenth century curling must have made great progress in popularity in the country of its adoption. Besides Old Curling-stone (fig. 4). the references to it which we have already noticed, various interesting allusions to the game are found, such as those in Sibbald's ' Scotia Ilhistrata,' pt. ii. bk. iv. cap. iii. p. 46 ; Wallace's ' Description of Orkney,' pp. 9, 10 ; Camden's 'Bri- tannia,' edit. 1695, p. 1076. Still greater progress was made in the course of last century. In such repute was the game held in the Scottish capital, that at the beginning of the century the magistrates of Edinburgh are said to have marched in procession, headed by a band of music playing the Curlers' March, to open the sport on the North Loch, which then occupied the site of the present Princes Street Gardens. When the Jacobite rebellion ended in 1746, the HISTORICAL 335 social game was enjoyed under more peaceful conditions, and, under the fostering care of societies or associations, curling rose to a position of national importance which it has never since lost. Perhaps the most important of these was the Canonmills Club, under whose auspices the Edinburgh curlers met after the North Loch was drained. Unfortunately no minutes of the club have been preserved, but we have a collection of ' Songs ' composed for it, and published in 1792, which in senti- ment and language are thoroughly characteristic of the curling muse. Succeeding Canonmills, the Duddingston Club was formed in 1795. Among its members were noblemen and gentlemen connected with the various districts of the country, and many of the lords of session, advocates, and representatives of the learned professions. For a considerable time this club held a position of monarchy in curling, regulating the laws and customs of the curling fraternity, and its minutes are an im- portant contribution to the history of the sport. During the century many writers, in addition to those we have already mentioned, gave attention to the national pastime. James Graeme published a poem in February 1771, in 'Ruddiman's Weekly Magazine,' which gives a spirited account of curling. Pennant, in his celebrated ' Tour,' l noted the popularity of the game in the Border-country. A Kirkcudbright poet, Davidson, in 1789, published a volume of poems which contains a striking description, in the style of * Chevy Chase,' of an encounter between rival chiefs on Loch Carlingwark. James Graham, the author of the ' Sab- bath,' also wrote a fine poetical account of skating and curling on Duddingston Loch. At the beginning of the present century curling was general in most districts of Scotland when weather permitted. The stones used were gradually assuming a round shape, and a better style of play was thus cultivated. In 1811 a brief history of the game was written by the Rev. 1 A Tour in Scotland and Voyage to the Hebrides, 1772. and edition Part I. p. 93. 336 CURLING John Ramsay, and published under the auspices of the Dud- dingston Club. In 1830, Sir Richard Broun's 'Memorabilia Curliana Mabenensia' appeared, and in 1833 Dr. John Cairnie, of Largs, published his ' Essay on Curling.' This gentleman was one of the most enthusiastic curlers that ever lived, and he did much for the game. His essay is valuable and interesting for the information it contains as to the making of artificial ponds on which curling might be had with very little frost. The system has been greatly developed since Cairnie's time, and has contributed very much to the spread of the game. By far the most important event in the history of curling was the formation in 1838 of the Grand Caledonian Club as a central association for affiliating under it all local clubs. Representatives from these clubs are annually convened for the purpose of settling disputes, discussing proposed changes in the play, awarding medals for competition between parish clubs and districts, and making all kinds of regulations and laws about curling which from time to time appear necessary. Complete success has for more than fifty years attended this association's work, and by it curlers at home and abroad have been bound together under one government and one code of laws. In 1842, when the late Prince Consort and Her Majesty the Queen visited Scotland, the Prince agreed to become Patron of the Club. This office is now held by the Prince of Wales. The club since 1843 has, by Her Majesty's express permission, borne the title Royal, and representatives of most of our great historic families have from year to year been its Presidents. At the present time there are in Scotland, in affiliation with this Central Association, 481 curling clubs with a membership amounting in the aggregate to 18,800. An * Annual ' is published by the Royal Club (whose secretary's office at present is 29 St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh), con- taining club lists, matches, and rules of the game, with songs and other literary matter, and on the occasion of its Jubilee a history of the game was prepared for the club and published as a memorial of the event. HISTORICAL 337 Let us now retrace our steps and take a brief survey of the history of curling beyond Scotland. One of the features of the age in which we live is the rapid spread of that other Scotch game, golf, which bids fair to become universal. But univer- sality for curling can neither be expected nor perhaps hoped for. To begin with, Nature, for her own good ends, sees fit to write over the entrances of certain countries, ' Curling abandon ye who enter here.' But it is not simply the temperature that hinders curling from being everywhere acclimatised. The game is so radically and essentially Scottish that it cannot, like golf, throw off its nationality and adapt itself to the language and manners of any other country. Wherever a curling-pond is found, a Scotsman is sure to be found at the bottom of it, and the game will not be universal, even where it is possible, until Scotch is the one tongue and the human race one great Scotch family an event which, however desirable it may appear to some, is not a pro- bable occurrence. When the game crossed the Border we cannot say. His Majesty King William IV., if we are to believe Sir Richard Broun, had several pairs of curling-stones sent to Bushey Park, but how they fared there we are not told. The same writer gives an Ossianic description of a bonspiel between England and Scotland in 1795. Ramsay, in 1811, says the game had then found its way to London, but the crowd of spectators was so great when a match was played on the New River that the players had to stop, as the ice threatened to give way. There are now in England thirty- three clubs with a membership of fully i, 600 affiliated to the Royal Club. Doubtless the scarcity of ice is against the progress of the game in the South, for the frost is not so keen and the lochs are not so numerous as in Caledonia, the ' land of the mountain and the flood.' Still it is a pity that in certain districts in England, where ice is more common the game is practically unknown. Some of the English nobility might provide themselves with an excellent winter sport by constructing artificial ponds in their private 338 CURLING parks and ordering a few Ailsas for themselves and their friends To England belongs the credit of a bold attempt to outwit the climate and have skating and curling wil or nil John Frost. In 1842 a glaciarium was constructed in London by a Mr. Kirke, and used for a time. In 1877 the Rusholme Ice Rink at Manchester was constructed on Professor Gamgee's principle at a cost of 2o,ooo/. The Southport Glaciarium followed in 1879 at a cost of 3o,ooo/. On this artificial rink many famous matches were played, in which Englishmen proved that they could hold their own with those who crossed the Border to take home the Holden and other trophies which were offered for competition. In 1883 a proposal was made to construct a glaciarium in the Lillie Bridge Grounds, but it fell through, and, as the Southport Rink has had to be closed for want of patronage, it is to be feared that the chances of any further development of this ice-making scheme are very small. Curling seems to have been introduced into Ireland by the Scottish colonies who were planted there in the reign of James I. It had, however, disappeared when Dr. Cairnie got the Belfast Club formed in 1839. At Lord Dufferin's residence, Clandeboye, another club was formed in 1879, and in the same year a club was instituted at Kiltonga, Newtonards. The game has gone farther and fared better. In the Dominion of Canada, where frost and Scotch settlers prevail, curling is a favourite winter sport. At Quebec and Montreal we hear of clubs as far back as the beginning of the present century. There are now 19 clubs in the Quebec province, all affiliated to the Royal Club. In many of these curlers enjoy the game to their heart's content for four or five months every winter under the shelter of covered rinks. Owing to the intense frost iron has to be used instead of stone, the weight of the irons being from 40 to 70 Ib. These irons are, of course, smaller than the ordinary stones, and with them great scientific skill and accuracy in play are obtained. In the year 1874 curling had made such progress in Western Canada that the Ontario Province was formed into a HISTORICAL 339 separate organisation with headquarters at Toronto. In this province the curlers use the time-honoured ' stones ' in play, the principal stone in use being the ' Ailsa Craig.' Only recently new branches have been organised in the Maritime Provinces and in Manitoba respectively, and progress goes on apace in a country where the conditions are perhaps the most favourable that obtain for a proper enjoyment of the sport. Curlers in the United States have also, since 1867, been organised under a grand National Club with its head-quarters in New York. The American War for a time interrupted the development of the game in the States, but under their mottoes ' E pluribus unum ' and ' We're brithers a',' the curlers there now follow undisturbed their favourite amusement. A footing has also been obtained by the roaring game in New Zealand, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Russia, Norway, and we hear of its introduction in Switzerland. The following table gives a view of the present distribution of clubs and curlers, as far as statistics can be had : Scotland . England . Ireland Norway . Russia New Zealand . Quebec Province Ontario Province Manitoba. Nova Scotia Newfoundland . New Brunswick United States . Total Clubs 481 . 33 3 i . i . 6 . 19 . 99 18 . 7 3 3 40 . 714 . Members . 18,800 . 1,607 6 4 '5 26 i93 1,081 3,051 810 287 89 155 800 . 26,978 Z 2 340 CURLING PRACTICAL (a) Ponds. Some account of the various requisites for the game of curling is the most natural introduction to the practical part of our subject. Like golf, the game cannot be had ' complete in a box,' but the area needed for the operation of the curler is altogether more limited and compact than that which satisfies the heart of the golfer, and the curler's wants are on the whole fewer, his tastes much less expensive, than those of his gutta-percha brother. Nature in 'her ' melting mood ' is the curler's horror. He prefers the cold reception of her rigid countenance, and the best gift she can offer to win his affection is simply ice. This is the prime requisite of the game. Since the modern attempt to draw down frost has ended almost as disastrously as the ancient effort to draw down fire from heaven, the wisest course now to follow is to make the most of the allowance of ice which nature sees fit to grant us. This was what Cairnie taught curlers to do when he invented artificial ponds. His plan was to prepare a surface of pavement, the blocks being bound together by cement; but for an artificial pond now, on which with a thin coating of ice curling may be had, the best plan is to get it made out and out of cement by a competent contractor, who will uphold it free from cracks for a term of years as part of his bargain. Care should be taken that it be screened equally and as much as possible from the rays of the sun, a protection secured by trees on the south side of the pond. This, of course, where we have not, as in Canada, frost so severe as to allow of covering the rink altogether. The pond should be big enough to hold, with a sufficient margin, two at least of the rinks drawn at p. 354, and for those who so desired, might, when the frost departed, be found useful for playing the game of lawn-tennis. Water-borne ice, when it can be had, is, of course, prefer- able to any other. It gives the ' boom ' and the ' roar ' which make ' the music dear to the curler's ear.' The game is seen PRACTICAL 341 at its best when it is played on a frozen lake or loch of picturesque appearance, with skaters flying to and fro. The tout ensemble is then perfect. But curlers ought to be sure of the ice if the water is deep beneath. There is an idea that ' curlers winna drown,' but it is better not to run the risk, and on a loch or lake, however strong the ice, appliances should always be at hand in case of accidents. Where no natural loch or lake is at hand, the rivulet, river, or stream may be utilised, and dammed up or diverted to supply a sheet of water for the game, when the depth can be regulated so as to be quite safe. With a clay subsoil, this is a simple matter, a strong and water-tight embankment being all that is needed. Where the subsoil is porous, clay must be puddled down to a depth of six inches to form a suitable bottom. It is important to bear in mind that either curling or skating on ice formed over still water, or where the water is decreasing, is positively dangerous. To supply the contraction caused by the formation of ice, or to make up the loss by the outlet, there must be an inlet of water, or an accident is likely to happen. Alongside of the curling rink, it is usual to have a house fitted up for the reception of the stones, and the various articles required in the game, where players may also discuss their business and their refreshments in comfort. From the wooden hut by the loch far up the side of the Highland mountain, to the * movable house with eight club rooms,' gifted by the corporation of New York to the curlers of that city, and the splendid saloons which adjoin the covered rinks in the great Canadian centres, these needful adjuncts are of infinite variety, according to the size and status of the clubs for which they are built, and it is not necessary to give advice regarding their construction. (ft) Stones and Handles. The most important article in the curler's outfit is the curling-stone. Given a piece of ice, with what kind of weapon is he to wage war against his opponents ? What is the best material, size, and weight for a curling-stone ? To this question a direct answer cannot be given. In the 342 CURLING Quebec province, as we have seen, the play has to be done in iron. The climate, the quality of the ice, the place which the player is to occupy in a rink, his personal tastes, his physical powers, all have to be considered in determining what kind of stone he is to use. Rigid uniformity is, therefore, neither possible nor desirable. If nature has not permitted curlers to interfere with her power of making ice, she has given them a free hand in the making of curling-stones, and they have taken full advantage of this liberty. By the end of last century the doom of the old nature-made boulder was sealed by the Dud- dingston regulation that ' all stones must be of a circular shape.' Then the Royal Club added a law that 'no stone, including handle, shall be of a greater weight than 50 Ib. imperial, or of greater circumference than 36 inches, or of less height than one-eighth part of its greatest circumference.' These salu- tary regulations, and the introduction of steam machinery for grinding and polishing the stone, have driven all monstrosities off the ice ; and now, instead of unsightly lumps, fit only to be flung into the dykeside after the season is over to lie till frost came round again, we have in our modern Ailsa or Crawfordjohn, as it appears before us waiting for the washer and the bolt (fig. 5) or (fig. 6), handled and ready for operation, 'a thing of beauty ' worthy to adorn a drawing-room. In selecting a pair of stones the curler should, therefore, not omit to take the 'beauty' of the articles into account, although this must not, of course, be preferred to real worth. As to weight, the maximum of 50 Ib. is very rarely seen on the ice. Between 35 and 40 Ib. the average weight will be found, and unless he is himself below or above the average, the curler will be wise to confine his attention within these limits. Let him remember that the stone must be his servant and not his master, and he will select one over which he has full command. At the same time it is necessary to bear in mind that his best assistant in the management of the stone is polish. The careful curler will never allow his curling-stones to lose their gloss and brilliancy. With these the heaviest PRACTICAL 343 stone is easily managed, without them the lightest stone is dull, stubborn, and unmanageable. The localities in Scotland from which stones suitable for Curling-stones (fig. 5). Curling-stones (fig. 6). curling may be obtained are numerous, and the names of the various kinds of stones must be understood to indicate the locality from which they are taken. What the curler requires 344 CURLING is a true stone i.e. a stone which will not simply be dull when the ice is dull, and keen when the ice is keen, but which will be equable in mood, not affected much by the change of the weather, a stone on which he can depend to go undauntedly through baugh or sluggish ice, while on ice which is hard and polished it can be held back and regulated in its motion as he desires. Professor Foster- Heddle, from a geologist's standpoint, gives us the following statement as to the nature of the stone most suitable for curling : The excellence of any one rock depends upon the relative amount of the hard, heavy, and tough ingredients ; upon their relative firm adhesion one to the other, through a promiscuous interlocking of the component crystals, and to uniformity in structure throughout. Ceteris paribus, the smaller the grain the better. Having placed the variety of stone under the microscope, the same eminent geologist gives us the following table of their relative merits : Carsphairn 6 Crieff Serpentine Tinkernhill Burnock Water . . . . 10 . 1 / Crawfordjohn 85- Ailsa Hone 7^ Crieff Black 6| The geologist's evidence is corroborated in great measure by the practical experience of curlers. Personally, we prefer Burnock Water to any other, and accordingly have always played with that variety of stone. We have also the testimony of many brethren of the rink in its favour. A great many Scottish curlers, however, unhesitatingly give first place to the Crawfordjohn variety. As a true stone, it is certainly worthy of highest praise. If it can be secured as a boulder or kernel, and got into shape, it is perhaps of all stones the best, and its beauty (vide fig. 6) is undeniable. But blocked in the quarry as it generally is, it is more liable to break than Burnock, and the stone-makers have so many * failures ' in grinding this particular kind of stone that it does not c pay ' them to work it. To judge from the number on the ice at the present time, PRACTICAL 345 the most popular of all stones is the Ailsa, of which there are three varieties, all obtained from Ailsa Craig : the Red Hone, the Blue Hone, and what is called the common Ailsa. The Ailsa Red Hone commands the highest price of any in the market. This, we believe, is not on account of its superior merit, but rather because of its scarcity ; for it is not plentiful on the Craig, and not easily quarried when it is found. The Blue Hone we hold to be infinitely superior, and the geologist whose statement we have referred to is strongly of this opinion after examining the nature of both under the microscope. The Common Ailsa is little inferior to the Blue Hone, and superior to the Red Hone, despite the fact that it is much cheaper- Curlers in the home country favour the Ailsa for the virtue it possesses of overcoming dull ice ; but when the ice is keen, the Ailsa is 'neither to haud nor to bind ' ; once in motion there is no saying when it will stop or what it will do. In Canada it is clearly the favourite stone, for its hardness makes it almost as good as iron to use in the excessive frost. Fully 1,000 pairs are annually taken from the Craig, of which the majority are destined for clubs beyond the Atlantic. There are many other varieties worthy of attention, but we have said enough to in- dicate the points which ought to be considered in the choice of stones. The curling-stone now in use is generally reversible, one side being prepared for keen ice, the other for ice which is dull or soft. When one side does not suit, the player, according to a rule recently adopted, can change the side of his stone. This is a great advantage and conduces to a more enjoyable and more scientific game. By referring to fig. 5, the reader will see that a hollow is scooped out in the stone so that it runs on a circular ring .about 5^ inches in diameter, as is general in Canada, or, say, 3^ inches, as is common in Scotland. On the keen side the ring is smaller, say 2^ inches. In some cases there is no ring at all, the bottom of the stone being simply curved so that the .stone runs on a pivot. In the double-sided stone now nearly universal, the handle 346 CURLING is fixed on a bolt running through the centre of the stone. Fig. 7 shows us the bolt and the leather 'washer' by which the handle is firmly screwed on to the stone, and we have here also a few specimens of handles. The closed specimens are becoming popular with a good many curlers. We prefer the open form, but the subject is not one on which to initiate dis- cussion. The best handle is that with which the stone can be FIG. 7. best managed, and the curler ought to test them all before choosing. (