Part 15 (1/2)
Everywhere through the house we find indications of the luxury introduced by the wealthy Royalists. All of the rooms are large, with high ceilings and wide windows showing inside shutters. The hand-carving is especially noticeable, being beautifully done and most original in design.
In the guest room, or marble chamber as it is generally known, cornices or moldings are exquisitely carved. There is one panelling over the fireplace that is three feet wide and five feet long, while the thickness of the walls is shown by the width of the window-seats. Each window is enclosed in an alcove, and some of them retain the original gla.s.s.
It is said of Isaac Royall, second, that his love of display and his liking for good things were known throughout the town. He was one of the most hospitable citizens, giving the finest of dinners to his friends, the Va.s.salls, who occupied the Craigie House, the Olivers, and other citizens of Tory Row, besides dignitaries of Church and State. His wines were the best, his horses and carriages the most stylish, and it was said of him that he was one of the most eccentric men in the colony.
He kept a journal describing minutely every incident and every visitor, even going so far as to tell what slippers he wore. His ambitions were political, but he was never very prominent.
At the outbreak of the Revolution, Isaac Royall left the house, and his estate was taken under the Confiscation Act. Finding that the place was deserted by a hated Tory, it was made a lawful retreat for the Continental army, and used by Colonel John Stark for headquarters. He lived there with his officers, and his regiment was quartered near by.
In the old summer-house were held many councils of war, and from here the troops went forth to fight at the battle of Bunker Hill.
During the time that General Stark and his wife lived here, which was over a year, they entertained a great deal. Molly was a most loyal wife.
At the time of the evacuation of Boston, it was said that she went to the top of the stairs leading to the roof above the attic after her husband had marched to Dorchester Heights, and watched to see whether the British s.h.i.+ps in the harbor landed troops on the north side of the Mystic. In such an event, she had orders to alarm the people.
Lee and Sullivan were quartered here for a short time. The fine old wines left by Colonel Royall did service for the officers. The cellar was ransacked in search of goodies; the soldiers, in oddly designed uniforms, pa.s.sed up and down, stacking their guns in the wide hall, while their flag of thirteen stars fluttered over the entrance.
After the government took possession of the property, it was returned to the Royall heirs in 1790, and they in turn sold it to a syndicate.
In 1810 Jacob Tidd came into possession of the estate, his wife living there for fifty-one years. She was Ruth Dawes, sister of William Dawes, who took the midnight ride to Concord, April 18, 1775. Her bedchamber, in which hangs a picture of William Dawes, has been restored by her descendants.
The house has been acquired by the Royall House a.s.sociation, being used to-day for patriotic and educational purposes. In a closet of one of the rooms is shown a tea-chest, the only one left from the memorable Boston Tea Party. Few houses in colonial history possess the interest of this one, and the Royall House stands unique and distinctive among the many colonial houses of the period.
CHAPTER XX
THE LONGFELLOW HOUSE
With the exception of Mount Vernon, there is perhaps no house better known in America than the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow house at Cambridge, Ma.s.sachusetts, its reputation having been gained from the fact that it was the home of the late distinguished and beloved poet. Here have come most ill.u.s.trious guests from all over the world, and under the roof-tree was given to Longfellow the theme for his famous poem of Evangeline, during a visit of Horace Conelly and of Nathaniel Hawthorne.
There are few mansions of more stately dignity than this large, colonial house, standing back from the main road, surrounded by smooth, velvety lawns dotted here and there with mighty elms. It was built in 1760 by John Va.s.sall, of a family prominent in the history of our country, whose name had been traced back to the year 1500, and many members of which have married into distinguished families.
John Va.s.sall was the son of ”Colonel” John Va.s.sall, who married Elizabeth Phipps, daughter of Lieutenant-governor Phipps. His uncle, Henry Va.s.sall, married Penelope Royall of Medford. These two brothers were sons of ”Major” Leonard Va.s.sall, who was twice married and had eighteen children.
John Va.s.sall, like his father, was graduated from Harvard. On January 12, 1761, he married Elizabeth Oliver, daughter of Lieutenant-governor Oliver. His sister Elizabeth had previously been married to Lieutenant-governor Oliver, who lived near by at Elmwood.
When John Va.s.sall built the Longfellow house, the estate was not so contracted as it is to-day, but embraced large grounds of more than a hundred acres. Concerning his life here, there is little known, save that the family were very hospitable and were numbered among the Royalists, who in those days formed a small colony of their own, later known as ”Old Tory Row.” This included many wealthy people of Boston who had not as yet embraced the cause of the colonists.
In 1775, at the commencement of the Revolutionary troubles, this group of men were naturally out of favor and eventually it ceased to exist.
About this time Va.s.sall left to take up his residence in Boston, and soon afterward, failing to agree with the colonists' ideas, he removed with his family to England. In accordance with the custom of that period, the estate was confiscated in 1778, shortly after its desertion by its original owner. This was some years after the encampment of continental troops in Cambridge, when this mansion, like many others, was used for officers' headquarters.
On the grounds were encamped the regiment from Marblehead under the command of Colonel Glover. This seems to have been a favorite rendezvous for the colonial troops, for later on General Was.h.i.+ngton made this his headquarters, remaining for a long period. While he was here, Madam Was.h.i.+ngton joined him, and tradition tells of much gaiety and many banquets given at the residence by the general and his wife. There are still in existence notes from his account book which deal with this house, as for instance:
”July 15, 1775, Paid for cleaning the House which was provided for my Quarters, and which had been occupied by the Marblehead regiment, 2 10_s._ 9_d._”
It is probable that this house was used for a longer period than any other during the war for headquarters of Was.h.i.+ngton, as it was not until March of the following year after the evacuation of Boston by the British that it was again left empty. In this dwelling the generals met often to hold secret discussions. Representatives from the Legislature, then convened at Watertown, held here many long conferences concerning the advisability of different schemes to defeat the British, and many people of note from all over the world came here to meet Was.h.i.+ngton on both social and political affairs.
We are told that a ”Twelfth Night” party was given in the drawing-room opposite the Longfellow study, where many entertainments took place, and that the oldest inhabitants were invited to this party. Down the stairs, where now stands the old grandfather's clock made famous by Longfellow's poems, the stately colonial dames of Revolutionary times came slowly, dressed in their silks and satins, with powdered hair and patches, to take part in the festivities within.
Longfellow's study, which is at the right of the house, and which to-day fronts the long conservatory occupying the entire side of the house, was used by Was.h.i.+ngton as his dining-room. Above it was his private office, where councils of war were held. It was a very convenient room for this purpose, being off from the main house, quiet and retired. When Longfellow first purchased the house, he also used this room for a study, afterwards converting it into a chamber.
It is said that Was.h.i.+ngton never permitted his affairs to destroy his sense of humor. During the time of his occupancy here, an elderly woman was brought before General Putnam. She was believed to be a spy, although she stoutly denied it. It is said that the general, familiarly known as ”Put,” regarded the case of sufficient importance to be brought to the attention of his commander and insisted that she come with him to headquarters. She was an obstinate woman, and having no fear of capture, resented his treatment, absolutely refusing to enter the gate to the grounds. In vain was she reasoned with until at last, in desperation, the valiant general slung her on his back and brought her up to the house. As Was.h.i.+ngton witnessed his most courageous officer entering his house in this manner, he could not refrain from laughter, which only incensed the woman all the more.