A _swing_ is a very useful adjunct to the amusements of the country, as many grown-up people are as fond of swinging as children. The most simple kind of swing is formed by tying the two ends of a strong rope to the branches of two trees which may chance to be conveniently placed for the purpose, the rope having been previously passed through two holes in a piece of flat board, which serves for the seat. A swing of this kind requires no attention but turning the seat the wrong way upwards in wet weather, and taking the rope down in autumn, as it will become rotten from exposure to the wet during winter. The seat should also have two strips of wood nailed on its under side, across the grain of the wood, in order to prevent it from splitting open, which it would otherwise be very likely to do, from being exposed to the alternations of wet and dry weather. Where there are no trees conveniently situated for a swing, two upright pieces of wood may be driven into the ground, with hooks or rings affixed to the upper part, to which other hooks are attached that have been previously fastened to the ends of a strong piece of rope. A swing of this kind is generally furnished with a chair or boat, and it is more fitted for a court or some piece of enclosed ground than for the open pleasure-ground. At the Duke of Devonshire's, at Chiswick, a hammock is hung between two trees for the purpose of a swing.
If you have a _boat_ on your water, take care, when it is chained up in the boat-house, that it floats in water, and does not lie in mud. Pleasure-boats should be painted every year, and always be kept perfectly clean and dry in the inside. They should never be exposed for any length of time to the heat of the sun, and if the smallest opening is perceived it should be mended immediately. Great care should be taken, in a small pleasure-boat, to stand up as seldom as possible; and never to be tempted by the wish of seeing any particular object, to rush suddenly from one side of the boat to the other.
_Skating_ is a winter amusement, but it is a very healthy one, and one in which a lady can, without any impropriety, indulge. The principal thing to be attended to, after having provided yourself with a pair of good skates, is to learn to balance yourself properly first on one foot, and then on the other. When you first begin to move, you will find it very difficult to avoid falling the moment you attempt to move one foot without the other; and it will probably be all you can do to keep yourself erect, even if you slide awkwardly along with both heels close together. When you do venture to separate your feet, you must contrive to balance your body so as to keep your ankles directly over your skates, and not to suffer the skates to bend under them in a slanting direction. When you see experienced skaters with the steel part of their skates cutting the ice in a slanting direction, you will observe that their skates only follow the same inclination as their bodies, and that the steel of the skate is still exactly under the ankle of the foot. When you begin to skate properly, the leg that is upon the ice should be kept quite straight and the weight of the body thrown upon it, while the other leg should be kept straight also, but in a slanting direction, and with the toe pointing downwards. It is well not to look at either the ice or the feet, but to keep the face erect and looking forwards. When persons first begin to skate they balance themselves with their arms almost involuntarily, and, when one foot is off the ice, they raise up the arm on the opposite side to prevent themselves from falling. This is excusable in a beginner; but, as it has an inelegant appearance, the habit of doing so should be shaken off as soon as possible. The best way is to fold the arms across the breast, or to carry the hands in a muff. The greatest care ought to be paid to carrying the body gracefully and elegantly, and avoiding all sudden jerks. Skilful skaters make the figure of eight or the cross-roll, as it is called, with the greatest facility; but figure-skating is rather the accomplishment of a gentleman than a lady, who should be contented to glide gracefully and easily along.
