Not cast down, however, by his ill luck, the governor soon after made the house at Little Harbor his all-the-year-round home. The house became the rendezvous for prominent personages--not only in New Hampshire, but through the land. During one dinner party given to distinguished guests an important event occurred. In the governor's employ was a girl of most attractive personality, who had entered the house as a domestic, and bore the name of Martha Hilton. Her beauty attracted the attention of the governor, so that he desired to marry her. Among the guests was one Reverend Arthur Brown, of the Episcopal church. The dinner was served in the style becoming to the governor's table. Just as it was over, the governor whispered, so low that no one else could hear, to a messenger who stood near by. Then Martha Hilton came in through the hall door, on the west side of the parlor, and looking down, a blush upon her cheek, took her stand in front of the open fireplace. She did not bring anything with her, nor did she seem to expect to take anything out. The governor, his hair bleached with the frost of sixty winters, arose, and turning to the rector, he asked: "Mr. Brown, will you marry me?" The pastor looked up aghast. "To whom?" he asked. Stepping to Martha's side, and taking her hand in his, the governor answered: "To this lady." The rector still stood confounded, and the governor, angered by the delay, in an imperative manner said: "As the Governor of New Hampshire, I command you to marry us." Then and there, in the presence of the assembled guests, the ceremony was duly performed, and Martha Hilton became Madam Wentworth. As a careless, laughing girl, barefooted, and carrying a pail of water, with a dress scarcely sufficient to cover her, Martha was said to have declared: "No matter how I look, I shall ride in my chariot yet," and she now achieved her ambition. In a charming little poem Longfellow relates this incident and assures us that she filled the position with great dignity. The old governor did not live long to enjoy his New Hampshire home. His widow, however, soon forgot her solitude, after rejecting many offers of marriage, for we read of her marriage not very long afterwards to Michael Wentworth, a retired colonel of the British army. One daughter, Martha, was born as the fruit of their marriage. In 1789 Washington came to Portsmouth to visit the Wentworth mansion. He sailed into the harbor on one of his ships and was received with characteristic hospitality by Colonel Michael Wentworth and his lady, both of whom accorded him a royal welcome. The colonel was a high liver and prided himself on his horsemanship. The legend runs that he started from Boston at eight o'clock in the morning and arrived in Portsmouth at 6 o'clock in the afternoon, a feat which was considered remarkable.