"AT THE RINK."

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2886, 30 April 1888, Page 3

"AT THE RINK."

Tho Kinking Boom in Masterton, continues with unabated intensity, and the <mmc roar of roller skating may be IiSR proceeding from the Theatre Royal almost any time between seven o'clock in the morning and ten o'clock at night. We went in on Friday and Saturday and viewed the proceedings in safety from the gallery, Things were interesting, There were numerous accomplished rinkists, whose intrepidity and grace were marvellous, and the ladies fair, of form and figure divine, werebewitchingin their seraphic gliding movements. The novices, however, made the most impression on the spectators—and also on the floor. They found the exercise exhilirating, not to say intoxicating. The proprietor, Mr G. Coker, had thoughtfully provided seats for their' accommodation. These they despised, "and the guileless and spontaneous way in which, as nature's children, they sat 011 the floor was refreshing in the ex treme. Sometimes a lady and gentleslll would together face each other in hispimtive attitude, They all seemed perfedtliappy, for although soniedisplayed an expenditure of energy which with a steam hammer or a pile driver would be invaluable, their perseverance as amateur rinkists never flagged for a moment. We, with remembrances of boyhood's precautious in a somewhat different difficulty advised a friend of ours to pad himself with cotton wool. He did so. His first exploit was, with the pride that comes before a fall, to try and " cut a figure of 8." He cut his head instead. He then saared less ambitiously but still disastrously, and had to spend Sunday in bed in absolution. He says there is not much difference between drinking and linking. In the one case you lose control of your head and in the other of your feet, and the result as regards a downfall is the same in either. He took that cotton wool out of his clothes in slabs, and is willing to sell rjjjfa low rate as Oamaru stone, Yes, linking is a glorious amusement,