CHAPTER XXII
ON THE ICE AND SNOW—THE ROYAL SPORT OF SKATING, WITH SOME HINTS ON SKIING, AND SNOWSHOES
Outdoor sports in winter are necessarily restricted to the thing that can be done in the snow or on the ice. But what glorious, health- giving, strength-making things they are! It is from the land of the stern winter that the world's greatest men have come.
Usually the frost comes before the snow, and with what joy the boys and the girls hear the news, brought by a rosy, eager comrade: "The ice is strong enough to bear."
Of course, our first experience on the ice was when we tried our first slide guided by the hand of a stronger and more expert companion. How soon we learned to do the trick, and what fun there was in "keep the pot a-boiling," while strings of youngsters took the slide. What if some did topple over? No bones were broken, and the incident always caused a lot of good-natured laughter.
Roller skating indoors or on smooth roads is certainly a good preparation for ice skating, but it is not at all necessary to begin that way, any more than it is to practice swimming with a support about the body.
It is said the children in Holland learn to skate as soon as they leave the cradle. Certainly the young South Sea Islanders learn to swim at an equally early age.
My advice is: Begin skating as soon as Santa Claus, or some other good fairy gives you skates of the right size. Some more advice: Never, from first to last, skate with your hands in your pockets. Leaves, sticks, bits of paper, or similar obstructions may check and stop, perhaps throw you, and at such times the hands should be free to ease the fall.
In the old days, with the help of the blacksmith, the harness maker, and the carpenter, boys had to put their own skates together. Those were certainly clumsy affairs, but there was no end of good sport in them.
To-day, the patent, clamp skate, fitting snug and securely and without any tight straps or tiresome screws, can be bought cheaply and fastened on in a jiffy. But can you use them when on? That is the question. If you can't, be assured you will soon learn, with patience, practice and the advice of a more experienced companion.