"The years came and ... the years went, seven in all, And all these years had Martha Hilton served In the Great House, not wholly unobserved: By day, by night, the silver crescent grew, Though hidden by clouds, the light still shining through; A maid of all work, whether coarse or fine, A servant who made service seem divine! Through her each room was fair to look upon; The mirrors glistened, and the brasses shone, The very knocker at the outer door, If she but passed, was brighter than before." Then came the strange marriage scene: "Can this be Martha Hilton? It must be! Yes, Martha Hilton, and no other she! Dowered with the beauty of her twenty years, How ladylike, how queenlike she appears; The pale, thin crescent of the days gone by Is Dian now in all her majesty! Yet scarce a guest perceived that she was there Until the Governor, rising from his chair, Played slightly with his ruffles, then looked down And said unto the Reverend Arthur Brown: 'This is my birthday: it shall likewise be My wedding-day, and you shall marry me!'" Governor Wentworth died in 1770, three years after the coming to America of Michael Wentworth, a retired colonel in the British Army. Mrs. Wentworth married him, and he became the second lord of the mansion. During his residence there Washington was welcomed to the house, one day in 1789. Martha Wentworth, the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Wentworth, married Sir John Wentworth, an Englishman, and they lived in the old house until 1816, when the property passed to a family of another name. [Illustration: WARNER HOUSE, PORTSMOUTH, N. H. _Photo by Frank Cousins Art Company_ See page 395] There are a number of houses in Portsmouth which tell of the ancient glories of different branches of the Wentworth family. Perhaps the most famous is the Warner house, which was begun in 1718 by Captain Archibald Macpheadris, and was finished in 1723, at a cost of L6,000. Mrs. Macpheadris was Sarah Wentworth, one of the sixteen children of Lieutenant Governor John Wentworth, and sister of Governor Benning Wentworth. Their daughter, Mary, married Hon. Jonathan Warner, who was the next occupant of the house. The property is known by his name, rather than that of the builder--perhaps because it is so much easier to pronounce! The house is now occupied by Miss Eva Sherburne, a descendant of the original owner. The Warner house has a lightning rod, which was put up in 1762, under the personal supervision of Benjamin Franklin. It is said that this was the first lightning rod erected in New Hampshire. [Illustration: _Photo Copyright by Detroit Photographic Company_ WADSWORTH-LONGFELLOW HOUSE, PORTLAND, ME. See page 400] XCI THE WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW HOUSE, PORTLAND, MAINE WHERE HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW SPENT HIS BOYHOOD