THE WEATHER AT HOME.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 95, 27 February 1879, Page 2

THE WEATHER AT HOME.

The severe weather continued until the evening of Christmas Day, when a thaw set in, and to-day (2nd* January,) the streets are in a most sloppy state. There has been a great number of visitors in the parks. On Christmas Day thousands of persons assembled in St. Junto's Park, and the ice on the lako was soon covered with .skaters, sliders, and sightseers. Rings woro formed as usual for the fancy skaters, and the greatest good humor prevailed among the vast crowd until dusk set in, and then the ice was cleared, Over 16,000 persons were reported as having ventured on the ice during the day. Although the officials of Her Majesty's Office of Works decided oil Christmas Eve that no person should venture on the frozen surface of tho Serpentine until after Boxing Day, in the event of the frost continuing, a number of skaters got on tho west portion of the Serpentine, and by three o'clock in the afternoon 10,000 persons, both male and female, were reported to have been skating up to that time, when the police, with the aid of the Royal Humane Society's men, cleared the crowd. The ice measured 4fin. in depth. There had not been so many people on the Serpentine at one time on Christmas Day since the year 18 j'O, The round pond in Kensington Gardens had as many as 6000 skaters and sliders on it on Christmas Day. Tho ice on the artificial water in the other parks had also thousands of skaters.

The whole of the railway system in the north of Scotland was blocked on Saturday morning, and gangs of workmen left Aberdeen to dig out the snowed-tip Trains. Three inches of snow fell during tho previous night, Snow fell heavily and almost incessantly from an early hour on Sunday morning till about mid-day all over the north, of Scotland, and a pretty strong wind caused drifting of an unprecedented character, in some districts to the depth'of ten feet. On tho Caithness railway passenger train from Inverness was snowed up from Saturday to Monday, and the mail, drawn by three engines, was also embedded, On the Wick of Thurso railway the traffic was entirely suspended. Oil the Great North of Scotland railway, the afternoon train from Aberdeen to Keith, on Saturday, was stopped at Inch by a lingo wreath, A train to the MacDuiF section was buried in snow to the top of the engine funnel, and the Banff and Deeside Extension line was closed—No fewer than 13 trains—lo passenger and 3 goods—were snowed up on tho Caledonian and Great No.ith railways. No trains left Aberdeen for the north. The London which should have reached Aberdeen on Sunday, only arrived on Monday'aftei'noon by the aid of five powerful engines. The passengers were subjected to much discomfort, having in several case 3 had to remain in the train all night. There was a further fall of snow on Wednesday morning, and traffic remained suspended. Oil Thursday morning there were indications of a thaw.