met and talked with lumbermen, teamsters and others
who had just driven down from Upton. They usually
reported that the snow was deeper and the cold bitterer
there than at Bethel for the two localities have appreciably
different winter climates. But the difference is one of
degree rather than of kind and without doubt the
general conditions and aspect of the country about the
lake from December to March are essentially the
same as those about Bethel.
  It must be confessed that I began my first winter
at the latter place with some misgivings for I dreaded
the cold and such woods as were within easy reach
of the village did not seem likely to offer many
attractions when deeply buried in snow. But as so
often happens in such case my apprehensions proved quite
groundless. Indeed I soon found that out-of-door life