book2

HIS PLACE OF BESIDENCE. 15
trees, but other portions
were highly cultivated.
It was a delightful spot, and as healthy as it
was delightful. And yet, in shunning the city,
Mr. Williams had not been able to escape the
city customs and fashions. These, in the small
towns and villages, follow close upon those of
the city.
The churches and schools are affected by
these customs. Once the country churches were
plain : now they are almost as stately, as costly,
and as richly furnished as those of the city.
The schools too were continued, in former times,
in the country, five or five days and a half of
every week. Sometimes, in fact, (though the
practice was wrong,) the teacher made up lost
time on what should have been the vacations of
the Saturdays; so that the school continued,