The visitor leaves Clifford's room and makes his way into the open attic, for he came up two stories by the secret staircase and is now under the sharply pointed roof and surrounded by trunks, chests, and bandboxes. This is a good place to understand the structure of the house. The main building had at first just two gables in front and one at each end; then a wing was built on in front, covering one of the gables, which was largely cut away. This wing had three gables, and the porch, which was built in the angle of the wing and the main house, was roofed by another gable. An old plan of the house shows a wing built on to the lean-to in the rear, which was probably roofed by another gable; so the house in the time of the first two John Turners probably had eight gables. It seems likely that the third John Turner took off the porch gable, which must certainly have been very troublesome, as its position made it a pocket for the ice and snow. If we omit the porch gable, assuming that it was gone long before the Ingersolls bought the house, we find that the rest correspond very closely to Hawthorne's description of them as they are mentioned in different parts of the novel. The stump of the cut-off gable is a great object of interest in the attic, as is also a piece of the old front door, which is studded with nails after the fashion of the early colonial days. One flight below the attic is the great chamber, Phoebe's room in the story. This splendid, great, sunny room has fine panelling, dating from about 1720, and good examples of early furniture. To give an idea of how the room looked when first built the guide moves aside the Queen Anne mirror and opens a small door behind it, cut in the wall of the room. This reveals one of the great supporting posts, which is roughly carved in mediaeval manner. This post, with its companion beams and posts, once stood out in the room, but since the panelling was put in, that is nearly two hundred years ago, it has been hidden from sight. This silent witness indicates the great age of the house, which has outlived so many styles and fashions. Another flight below is the parlor or "grand reception room," as it was called.