A few hours at least should be devoted to this preliminary experience, and then you will probably be able to try the inside edge forward, which is the first step to master. With your feet turned at an angle of 45°, you will press downward with the ball of your left foot, so that you may have a secure position from which to start, and you will slide forward with your right foot only on the inside of the skate, balancing yourself entirely on that foot. You will then bring the left foot forward from the position it has held with the toe of the skate held just off the ice behind the right foot, and pressing the inside edge of the skate under the ball of the right foot into the ice, you will slide forward with your left, striking out farther and farther as you find you can keep your balance during the stroke. The position of the body should be slightly sideways, with the face in the direction of progress. To perform a half-circle and a circle will then be your aim, until you can succeed with a perfect figure of 8. By the time you have mastered this, you will be ready for the turn on both feet and the backward stroke of the inside edge, after which the forward and backward stroke of the outside edge will be your study. In all backward movement the head must be turned in the point of direction, while the weight of the body is thrown on the back part of the skate, instead of on the front part as in a forward movement. As soon as complete mastery of both edges has been gained, and that the fate of the immortal Winkle may not be yours, you have learnt the art of stopping, you will find all the simple figures within your powers. Do not, however, be hurried into trying any combination, however simple, until you have acquired the art of easy and graceful motion on the inside and outside edges, both forward and backward. The Hand-in-hand Figures are much in vogue among women in all countries, and these are pretty and effective, as well as simple to execute by anyone who has thoroughly grounded herself in the rudiments of skating. The more usual way of executing these figures in this country is for the partners, generally a man and a woman, to stand side by side, joining their right hands underneath the left, which are also clasped sideways, though occasionally what is known as the Austrian mode is adopted, viz., by the woman standing in front of her partner and bending her hands under and backward at her side, when they are taken in the clasp of the man behind.