time.

There is, however, a compensation in the dullness of country life, which
may be expressed in the word nature. The real architecture of Concord
was not in private or public edifices, but in its magnificent elms,
whose branches spanned the streets like the arches of a Gothic
cathedral. The largest of them stands in front of the town hall, and its
trunk measures just sixteen feet in circumference; though Doctor Holmes
has failed to enumerate it in his list of the great trees of the State.
Another on the road to Lexington is remarkable for its straight stem and
perfect wineglass form. In autumn the scarlet maples set between the
elms are no bad substitute for stained-glass windows.

There were no fine pictures in the town, but every turn of the river
disclosed a landscape equal to a Claude or a Kenset. It is rare good
fortune to live by a river of clear, pure water which serves equally
well for boating and swimming or skating. There are very few such
rivers. In the larger ones the current is usually too strong to make a
long rowing expedition pleasant entertainment, and tide rivers are
always inconvenient. In small rivers shoals and sand-bars commonly
abound. River skating, also, is a science by itself, and requires, like
Alpine climbing, well-seasoned knowledge and experience. It is a very
different matter from whirling around in a city rink with half an inch
of snow on the ice. The young men of Concord used to skate to Lowell, on
favorable occasions, and back again, nearly thirty miles in all, and
thought nothing of it. Concord River with its grassy banks, picturesque
bridges and continual change of hill and meadow scenery is one of the
prettiest that can be found anywhere.

Then such walks and drives as there were in the town! From Concord