Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 February 1893 — Long-Distance Skating in Holland [ARTICLE]

Long-Distance Skating in Holland

Skating expeditions of great length are not unusual features of the winter in Holland. A popular feat is to visit in one day the eleven towns of Friesland, an aggregate distance of eighty miles. It is necessary to have good ice, practically clear of snow, a full moon, bright sky. and plenty or previous practice. VV. J. H. Muiler of Haarlem accomplished this-jouruey a few Winters ago in thirteen hours, of which one-hour and fifty-five minutes was consumed in resting and nourishing. Another remarkable feat is to skate from Hague to Leenwarden, in Holland. Its distinctive claim to notoriety is due to the necessity of crossing the Zuyder Zee, which is only possible qfter an exceptionally severe frost. It is on record that one Reindert Reinders delivered in one day, during the winter of 1761-64, a letter from William IV. to his mottier at Hague and returned. The distance is vaguely described by the phlegmatic natives as a “forty-hour walk.” W. Koopmans made a similar journey, recently, with important State papers, m fifteen hours. —[New Y’ork Herald. Don’t Overtax the Heart.—A physician writes: "Life would be prolonged by a little more attention to the heart, by paying a little respect to the most faithful servant we ever have. Much good might be done also if parents would teach their children the danger of overtaxing the heart. They should teach them to stop and rest a few moments during their play when they begin to feel the violent throbbing of their hearts against the chest wall.”