| Show M scenes on city ponds during cold weather from the portly father of a family to the mischief making small boy all the skaters are bent on having the best time possible S A RESULT of the recent cold snap it seem ed as it if all new york with and without skates flocked to the pond in central park says t the e new york A sun included among the spectators were all 1 ands and conditions of people babies in arms were there as well as old men who swapped remi with gusto and seemed to enjoy the tun fun as much as anybody A noticeable contingent of those vho aho visited the pond without skates A beg consisted of pet dogs for the most part they behaved with the calmness peculiar Pc culiar to the new york dog under any and all circumstances most of them went on the ice one a collie trudged sedately along beside his mistress who although she wore more no skates made a tour of the pond over and over again and insisted on taking her constitutional in the very nery thick of the skaters another dog a big english bull was jess less corn com p abent his mistress was on skates but she didn dian t stay on them very long As she took the ice airily and grace fully bast bystanders aders were highly enter bained to see that in one hand she grasped the leader of the bulldog and li the other the fist of abour year old youngster oung ster dressed all in white the chubby legs le 9 s of the four foury year earold old did their part valiantly and would have made a pretty good showing too had it not been that mammas companion on the other side concluded that the pace was altogether too slow for him even it if he dian didn t have skates and so proceeded to haul his mistress along like a ship under full sail when last seen the trio were making at top speed tor for a pavilion and as the impatient bulldog passed the circum collie on the way there he winked his off eye almost every chair was in use the lake was dotted with the chairs in one case pater fa millas somewhat heavy and portly was pushing his wife along in one and at his side ed a rosy young daughter in an other a very young benedict with a meek cast of features skated loyally a ong behind bis his better halt half who was seated in a char chair holding the baby the latter going through a first ex OA lu 4 r the lady the baby and the tiger on a sl acing pond with every appearance of satisfaction soine some of the chairs s best customers choh are beginners who falling failing to secure the support of some self sac rif icing friend cheerfully pay down ra twenty five cents for the sake of bay hav arg something anything to cling to at a desperate moment without question qt estion the sl ater who himself most is the small boy 1 so tar far he has been on hand morning noon and night and if tha the absentee loll 1011 of the public schools has not been swelled smelled of late then appearances are rot to be trusted the small boys boy s specialty Is speed rather than fancy stunts his forte is to charge through the densest group of skaters like a cannon ball at the I 1 most unexpected moments thereby calling down maledictions in showers cn ca his held instead of striving to gain the admiration of the public by the more cintr cate exhibitions of skill indulged in by his elders As a means to this praiseworthy end his skates tl ti is year are longer than ever almost as long as his legs in fact and some nervous people are suggesting the advisability of having trese very long skates suppressed how is the kating to day sonny v vas as asked of a youngster of twelve who was busy un strapping a pair of skates about eighteen inches long mile he exclaimed with ampha sis and he grinned when he said it his record it seems for less than one cne hours skating was to lay low a middle aged man of athletic build and two young girls and almost to capsize a chair containing two small children alter after the last exploit he was put off by a policeman but he was back again the next day A rumor went the rounds early last week that skating policemen were to be a feature of all the parks from this t me on central park not excepted therefore many visitors to the lal e when the ball went up were ed to find all the blue coats in at walking stolidly around on their feet much as usual one woman could not hide her disappointment I 1 understood said she addressing a policeman that all you policemen oi 01 duty at the lake were to wear skates well miss was the reply I 1 have heard nothing about it I 1 don t think many of us know how to skate I 1 0 if ap i I 1 the baby s first experience elpe hence and he looked down dubiously at his own somewhat substantial proper t ons an added source of satisfaction to night skaters was moonlight which from 10 to 11 at least changed the place into something like fairyland and then kindly lighted the skaters home th tha sentimental ones were in charlie and I 1 nent ment skating last night confided one young woman to another on their way do down wn town the dext coining and before I 1 got home be asked me a jangling trolley whizzed alone along just then and drowned the rest of the sentence |
