Clear and cold and windy.

January 25.

A very cold day. Saw a man in Worcester this morning who took a pride in never wearing gloves or mittens . Drives in the morning. Said he succeeded by keeping his arm and wrist well covered. He had a large hand, one of his fingers as big as three of mine. 

But  this morning he had to give up. The 22d, 23d, 24th, and 25th of this month have been the coldest spell of weather this winter. Clear and cold and windy.

H. D. Thoreau, Journal, January 25, 1854

A very cold day . . . the coldest spell of weather this winter. See January 25, 1856 ("The hardest day to bear that we have had, for, beside being 5° at noon and at 4 P. M., there is a strong northwest wind. It is worse than when the thermometer was at zero all day. "); January 25, 1857 ("Still another very cold morning. Smith's thermometer over ours at -29°"); Compare January 25, 1853("There is something springlike in this afternoon . . .The earth and sun appear to have approached some degrees."); January 25, 1855 ("It is a rare day for winter, clear and bright, yet warm . . . You dispense with gloves. "); January 25, 1858 ("A warm, moist day. Thermometer at 6.30 P.M. at 49°.") See also January 25, 1860 (""The finest winter day is a cold but clear and glittering one . . . Also warm and melting days in winter are inspiring, though less characteristic.)