At that time the back part of the house was given over to a farmer and his wife, the latter caring for Longfellow's rooms and supplying his meals. During a part of the time that Longfellow had rooms here, Worcester, who wrote the dictionary, was another occupant. To this house came Cornelius G. Felton, Charles Sumner, and many others to visit Longfellow, who in 1842 entertained Charles Dickens here. In 1843 Longfellow bought the house of Mrs. Craigie. He was the last occupant, and every room in the house is connected with him. In one of the upper chambers _Hyperion_ was written, as were many other poems, including _The Courtship of Miles Standish_ and _Hiawatha_. To this mansion one pleasant day in June came Hawthorne to dine with Longfellow, bringing with him his friend, Horace Conelly. On reaching the house, to Hawthorne's surprise and chagrin, he found two other visitors, George S. Hillard and Professor Felton of Harvard College. Hawthorne had hoped in this visit to review with Longfellow old times in Brunswick and the history of some of his class of whom he had lost sight since leaving college. After the departure of the other guests, Longfellow, Hawthorne, and Conelly held an animated conversation on their literary work. At this time the story of the French Acadian girl, just married, exiled and separated from her husband, was told. Hawthorne had never been interested, but Longfellow saw in it a popular theme and with permission wrote the poem that has been considered one of his best works. [Illustration: PLATE LXXXIV.--The Longfellow House, Cambridge, Mass.] [Illustration: PLATE LXXXV.--Library, Longfellow House.] The Longfellow house faces the main road, a large, square mansion with entrance porch. The grounds are now reduced to a small area surrounding the house and are pleasantly laid out in gardens and lawns. The main door bears a ponderous knocker, and one enters a wide, dignified hallway. On the first landing of the staircase stands the old grandfather's clock so familiar to all readers of Longfellow's poems. The principal room open to the public is the library, which leads from the right of the hall, a square room finished in brown and containing many mementoes that were there during Longfellow's lifetime. This room has been left practically unchanged. Over the fireplace is a beautiful girandole, with convex glass and gilt frame and ebony rim inside. This is said to have been made in 1800--an heirloom. There are many fine old pieces of furniture, each one of which bespeaks some event connected with the poet's life. The furniture is not old-fashioned and no attempt has been made to keep it up to any period. It is simply left as a memorial in the room where Longfellow sat and wrote and received his friends. The grounds cover scarcely half an acre, but the mansion with a few modern improvements remains as it was in the early days when it was first built by John Vassall. CHAPTER XXI THE QUINCY MANSION