of the boot and the sole of the skate, keeping all the straps tight, at
the same time without any undue pressure. John Bracebridge was
celebrated as a first-rate skater. His skates were secured to a pair of
ankle boots, which fitted him exactly, and laced up in front. He put
them on at the pond. There are two objections to that sort of skate.
One is, that the feet get chilled from putting on a cold pair of boots,
and if a person is skating away from home, he may not be able to find
anybody to take care of his shoes.

"Are all the skates ready?" cried Ernest.

"All! all!" was the answer.

"Then don't let us lose more time of this precious frost," he added.
"Remember, it may very speedily be over; so let us make the best of it
we can."

In a laughing, merry body, with skates in hand, they hurried down
through the grounds to the pond. It might well have been called a lake,
for it was an extensive and very picturesque sheet of water, almost
entirely surrounded by trees, with now and then an opening bordered by a
plot of grass, or a bend of the grand walk which ran round it. Here and
there was an island with a few birch-trees or willows growing on it, and
over the trees could be seen, rising in the distance, a downy hill, now
sprinkled with some snow which had fallen the night before the frost
regularly set in, and which had thus not affected the surface of the
lake. At the lower end the ground fell, and a long stream-like
serpentine channel could be seen winding away, in one place overhung by
trees, and in others between green meadows, till lost in the distance.
The lower part was, in the summer, the favourite resort of anglers, for
it contained some of the finest tench to be found anywhere in the
neighbourhood.

No time was lost by those accustomed to skating in putting on their
skates. John and Charles Bracebridge and Lemon had soon theirs ready,
and rising on their feet, off they struck like birds about to fly, and
away they went at a rapid rate, skimming over the smooth mirror-like
expanse. Ernest longed to follow, for he had his skates on, and skated
almost as well as they did; but he saw Ellis sitting down, having just
cleverly enough put on his skates, but unable to move on them.

"Come, Ellis! up on your feet, my dear fellow, and lean on me," he
exclaimed, gliding up to him. "Take this stick in your right hand. Be
sure that you can stand on your feet; your ankles are as strong as those
of other pe