MANUSCRIPT: AC. Pencil. Dated: Monday. A.M. Addressed on the fold: William A. Dickinson, per Mr Baker.

PUBLICATION: Home 66-67.

Austin was a student in the Classical Department of Willston Seminary for the term ending 10 August 1842, and for the year 1844-1845. This letter was probably written in the autumn of 1844, when the early appearance of frozen ground would draw comment. Mrs. Bingham's speculation seems reasonable: "'Mr. Baker,' the bearer of the note, may have been the prosperous farmer Alfred Baker, or his brother Osmyn, a well-known lawyer who moved his office from Amherst to Northampton in 1844" (Home 66).