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,