In the early days, a little after the building of the house, there was a great demand for lead to make bullets for the Continental army. It has been discovered that in the upper casements of the house, in rooms which were rarely occupied, the lead weights are wanting. This leads one to believe that the old tradition of their being melted during the time of the Revolution for ammunition may be true. In the attic is a mark which shows the house to have been built by English architects. This is an inside dormer window used in those days by architects in the motherland for ventilation. This idea is rarely if ever carried out in a house where the architects or master builders are of this country. On the death of Colonel Lee, the house was occupied by his widow, who continued to extend hospitality to the townspeople and visitors from other places, much as during her husband's lifetime. At her death the estate passed into the hands of her son, and afterwards was owned and occupied by Judge Samuel Sewall. A grand old landmark this colonial mansion makes, and even now the old sea captains climb to the gray cupola to scan the horizon for incoming ships, much as they did in the days of long ago. CHAPTER VII THE LADD-GILMAN HOUSE Closely linked with romance and history is the Ladd-Gilman house, one of the notable colonial houses at Exeter, New Hampshire. This mansion was not always of its present dimensions. When built by Nathaniel Ladd in 1721 it was of brick and about half the size of the present structure. It is situated on a large area of land, with a frontage on Water Street, on a part of the original lot that was purchased of Oliphalet Coffin in the year above mentioned. For many years this estate was held in the possession of the Ladd family, descending from father to son until 1747, when it was purchased by Colonel Nathaniel Gilman, a leading citizen of the place and a man of influence. Gilman came from a family which had been prominent in the town for many years. [Illustration: PLATE XXXI.--Ladd-Gilman House, Exeter, N. H.] Here in 1752 his son, Colonel Nicholas Gilman, then only twenty-one years of age, brought his bride, Anne Taylor, a very beautiful young woman who had descended from Puritan ancestors and who was very popular with the patriots of that day. During their residency the house, considered at that period one of the best in Exeter, was enlarged to its present size, and the exterior was entirely covered with wood to correspond with the additions.