After the death of Abraham, the house was left to Samuel, his son, in consideration of one pound and the love and affection borne him; after his death it went to Samuel's son, Captain Stevens, born in 1760. Captain Stevens, so the legend runs, was a very tall man, standing six feet four inches in his stockings at the time of his enlistment in the Continental army when sixteen years of age. Still kept in the house are his spectacles which were made to order from silver dollars which he had saved. His desk still stands in the living-room and was bought with money paid him as a soldier. It cost forty dollars even at that period. [Illustration: PLATE XXXVI.--Parlor, Adams House; Living Room, Adams House.] Entrance to the house is through a colonial porch that gives into a small hallway. At the left is a large, square room that is used as a living room. In one corner is the old desk in which is the original deed of the house, signed by Samuel Sewall and Hannah Sewall. The dwelling is a treasure-house of old colonial furniture, many of the pieces having been originally in the old Longfellow house. One of the most interesting of these is a fine example of banister chair, the one that was brought by Anne Longfellow across the fields to the Adams house when she came there a bride. On the opposite side of the house is a second large, square room, also filled with heirlooms, among which is a fine example of an 1800 mirror of the picturesque type showing "Dawn." This was also brought by the Longfellow bride. The fireplace in this house is the original one around which the Adams father and son gathered the night before the battle of Bunker Hill, to mold bullets that would be used on that occasion. [Illustration: PLATE XXXVII.--Dining Room, Adams House.] Back of this room, which is used for a parlor, is a dining-room with an old desk secretary, of 1800, showing the ball and eagle ornamentation. Here also is another large old fireplace, for the interior of the house has been unchanged since it was built by Abraham Adams, in 1676. The house has descended in a direct, unbroken line, and has been handed down from sire to son for the consideration of one dollar. It is one of the most charming of country-seats, enriched by history, and retaining still all the atmosphere of the old colonial homestead. CHAPTER IX THE SPENCER-PIERCE HOUSE