effects of the force of gravity in what a worthy writer calls a "jolly good tumble." But the experienced skater would in such a case probably tilt over to the other side or angle of inclination, and catch the edge of the iron, and again restore the balance by an amended and appropriate curve, in far less time than it takes us to notice it. This changing of edge is the groundwork of some difficult figures, as will be shown.

A skater may thus be thrown, as it were, beyond the attraction of gravity, &c. as he had falsely arranged for a given inclination; but he may also lose the edge when within, as it were, the centre of gravity, by an accident, such as the slip of the iron; yet whilst the "jolly good tumble" would no doubt put in an appearance, the cause is slightly different, however much similarity there might be in effect.

Being under weigh, then, the power of balancing lies in adapting a proper curve to the inclination sideways, or vice versa, by gradually, imperceptibly, and continually altering and rectifying either, as they have a tendency to get wrong from the operation of friction, or any other disturbing

cause.

If the velocity of the skater is very great, it is impossible to describe a small circle, say, for instance, six feet diameter. He would require to lean over so much that the skate-iron would slip. The large circle can, however, be adapted to any velocity that can be attained on skates.

We notice this to show that in the first instance our powers are restrained by what we are afraid we must call a practical defect; in the second it is not so.

It is therefore plain that the attainment of a steady, and therefore a true balance, preserved as such through all the intricate evolutions it is possible to carry out on skates, can be nothing short of a great practical work, developed and assisted by instructions and directions framed in accordance with the theory. The reader, when he arrives farther on, will therefore easily comprehend the great value of the spiral figure and the serpentine line coupled with the semi-sideways position of the body as embodying such principles.

A surface of ice for all practical purposes may be called a level, plain, and flat surface, but we conjecture that, in theory, owing to the convexity of the earth, it must in reality partake of its nature, but of course such is imperceptible to our limited vision. Nevertheless, a skater in an inclined position describing his curves on such a surface, whether we can see him go hull down or not, is no mean study for the mathematician: he becomes an animated drawing instrument.

Let us now apply these principles to the consideration of the well-known inside and outside edges, and in imagination we will ask a young skater what his ideas are on the subject; he will probably answer that the inside is very easy to

learn and very ugly, and the outside very difficult and very pretty; and that Paterfamilias tells him not to care about the inside, but to learn the outside, and thus leaves on his mind the impression that the two are as far removed from each other in beauty and principle as light from dark. Whereas it is well known to the most accomplished skaters that to insert a large and true curve of inside forwards into any movement is one of our most supreme difficulties; and as to the scientific part of the question, what is the real state of the case? Let us read again the extract from Arnott about the hoop and coin,—say, for example, that its rim being flat, and therefore having two edges, very fairly represents the inside and outside edge; and when itself set in motion in a curve, the position of the skater.

Whichever way it goes, backwards or forwards, say on the inside or outside edge, in large or in small curves, it always appears to be seeking a centre, and, on closer observation of its two edges, that it can therefore never travel on the outside, but always on that nearest to the centre, which must necessarily be the inside. What, then, are we to understand; that the skater never travels on an outside edge? Now, the fact is, that there is in theory no such thing as an inside or outside edge; there is but one, and now we proceed to prove it. Let a skater place either foot in front, and in line with the other, say the left, in front of the right;

and, going forwards with both feet thus, describe an arc whose centre shall be on his left. To his surprise, probably, he will find that he is doing the so-called outside and inside at the same time, the left being on the out-, and the right on the in-side edge.

The same thing happens also when the feet are placed side by side, but perhaps the most striking proof that it is possible to give to a sceptical mind is this. It is well known that skates are made about five-sixteenths of an inch wide at the bottom of the irons to prevent them cutting in too deep. But imagine a much harder ice, or a material of its nature on which it would be possible to use skates with only one edge, as a knife. It is apparent

that the inside and outside would be blended into this one working edge,-the only one, in fact, that does exist in theory, and of which the said inside and outside are the representatives in practice. We are not quite sure that a very young skater of feather weight might not be able to give us a practical illustration of the truth of this on ordinary ice were it necessary, but it cannot be.

So then the words "inside" and "outside," as applied to skating, are in one sense conventional terms, which really express the opposite inclinations of the skater sideways from the perpendicular position, either to the right or left, according to the foot used, such inclination being supported on the principles already alluded to.

E

No wonder that these words, "inside" and "outside," mislead and confuse, they are so ambiguous; for if the right side of the right skate-iron is the outside, and the left the inside, surely the right side of your boot ought to be the outside, and the left the inside, yet the real inside of your boot is certainly where you put your foot in. No man with corns will deny it.

The subject is deservedly brought to a crisis in the question contained in the following clever conundrum, which we cannot help quoting: "Which side of a horse has the most hair on?" The answer, "The outside."

It is a pity that there are no words which would better express the meaning. If we were to use military terms, and say “right foot forward," "right incline," "left foot forward," "left incline," &c., we might get at the sense better, but the length of the words would be a serious objection. We have therefore, with no little regret, been obliged to retain these ambiguous words, unsatisfactory as they are, adding to our explanation that they in another sense represent the two edges of the skate as adapted for its use on ice, and that there is but one edge in the principle of skating, and that of the two of the skate the one that is nearest to the centre of the circle or arc being described must, from the very nature of the position of the skater, be in reality always the inside, for a skater must lean in at the turning or curve, no matter what