CHAPTER IV
AT MONSON ACADEMY
We were in East Windsor for about a week;
then we went up to Monson, Mass., to enter the
Academy there. Monson Academy was, at one
time, quite a noted preparatory school in New
England, before high schools sprang into
existence. Young men from all parts of the
country were found here, undergoing preparation
for colleges. It was its fortune, at different
periods of its history, to have had men of
character and experience for its principals. The
Rev. Charles Hammond was one of them. He
was in every sense a self-made man. He
was a graduate of Yale; he was enthusiastically
fond of the classics, and a great admirer
of English literature. He was a man of
liberal views and broad sympathies. He
was well-known in New England as an educator
and a champion of temperance and New
England virtues. His high character gave the
Academy a wide reputation and the school was
never in a more prosperous condition than when
27
