APPENDIX. xvii 



and recollection". Ah, what is holier to a man in his later years 



than the dissociations that cluster around the hills and fields which 



his boyish feet have trod. They make him a child again. Say 



what we may, 



" We owe 

 Well more than half life's holiness to these, 

 Nature's first lowly influences." 



The dangerous condition of the roads compelled me to take the 

 by-ways and lanes, lengthening my route many miles, reaching 

 Templeton late in the evening, cold and weary. I remained here 

 over night, expecting to find some one in the morning going to 

 Athol, eight miles distant, with Avhom I might secure a passage. 

 As no one was known to be going thither, and there was no ])ublic 

 conveyance, a lady gallantly oflTered to take me there in her own 

 carriage. The kind offer was accepted, of course ; so off we started, 

 she handling the ribbons in a masterly manner, taking the dust of 

 no one on the road, within the hour delivering her charge into the 

 hands of President Fay at the fair grounds. This kind considera- 

 tion from a stranger, and a lady, placed me in a new relation, and 

 caused me to keenly feel that 



"The heaviest debt is that of f^^ratitude 

 When it is not within our power to repay it." 



On my arrival I found the exhibition in full tide of operation, and 

 the grounds literally covered with an admiring multitude of people. 



The grounds embrace twenty-one acres, including a fine grove of 

 large trees, with a beautiful pond on one side, and when all the 

 arrangements are perfected according to the proposed plan, tliey 

 will constitute one of the most beautiful fair-grounds Avithin the 

 State. 



The half-mile track is laid out in oblong shape, giving a home 

 stretch equal to any mile course. A good substantial hall has 

 been built, 100 by 50 feet, consisting of two stories and a basement. 

 The exhibition room and offices are on the first floor, the dining- 

 room above, and the cooking department below in the basement. 

 A barn has been erected for the storage of hay and grain, and for 

 the accommodation of horses and other animals. The whole cost 

 of the grounds, buildings and improvements, has been about 

 114,000. This has all been accomplished during the jjresent season, 

 and the whole arrangements are admirably adapted to secure both 

 the comfort of visitors and the convenience of contributors. My 

 arrival being delayed itntil a late hour on the morning of the second 

 day prevented my examination of the cattle department, which was 



