02 WINTER SKETCHES. 



travelled. In some places the trees have 

 sought companionship in their loneliness, lean- 

 ing over to each other and intertwining their 

 branches. Then again are long, barren 

 stretches, small villages with meeting-houses 

 that were painted once, blacksmiths' shops 

 where anvils ring no longer, '* English and 

 West India Goods Stores " which have not 

 many English or West India goods to sell, be- 

 cause population is wanting, for farms are now 

 valueless. Occasionally as we mount a hill we 

 get a view of towns a few miles upon the left, 

 the Randolphs and the Bridgewaters, with 

 their shiny-spired churches and clustered 

 white houses and shops, manufacturing towns, 

 prosperous at the expense of other people, and 

 in the distance we hear the triumphant shout 

 of the iron horse and the clatter of his hoofs. 



Taunton, or Tar'n, as it is called by the na- 

 tives, is one of these thriving factory towns ; 

 and, moreover, it is an exceedingly pretty town, 

 but its chief attractions for us were a good 

 stable and a well-kept hotel, where it was 

 convenient to pass the night, as we had accom- 

 plished somev/hat more than half the distance 

 that separates Fall River from Boston. 



We jogged along leisurely on the next day, 



