38 WINTER SKETCHES. 



gone ; the city hotels and places of amusement 

 have suffered, but, upon the whole, the con- 

 sumer in this case has not suffered, and the 

 country merchant, although by staying at home 

 he loses the opportunity of getting brightened 

 by contact with the outside world, escapes 

 fleecing and demoralization. 



As this is necessarily a personal narrative, I 

 may be excused for bringing into it a personal 

 reminiscence to which I was led by the rainy 

 days at Hartford. 



Francis Fellows, a venerable gentleman in his 

 eighty-third year, resided there, and was still 

 actively engaged in the practice of law. In 

 1829 and 1830 he was one of the principals of 

 a school with a title sonorous, but not more so 

 than it deserved, of *' The Mount Pleasant 

 Classical Institution," at Amherst. Three 

 other teachers of a still more advanced age 

 still live, and all, like Mr. Fellows, are in 

 good physical and mental condition. This is a 

 proof that the large number of boys under 

 their charge treated them kindly, and to-day 

 those of us who survive hold them in the 

 highest respect and affection. 



I could not lose the opportunity of calling 

 on my good old friend, and, although I cannot 



