236 AMERICAN HOMES ‘AND “GARDENS 
of the old slave quarters, long since removed, but 
the exact site of that building is not now known. 
An interesting feature of the exterior of the 
old mansion is a lightning-rod claimed to 
have been put up under the personal super- 
vision of Benjamin Franklin, and said to 
be the first one erected in the State of 
New Hampshire. 
Turning to the right, one passes 
from the hall into the great drawing- 
room, with its high white-paneled 
walls. At one side of the room is a 
broad arched doorway, where a large 
pipe-organ formerly stood, while a 
corner of the room is occupied by a 
fireplace faced with splendid old 
Dutch tiles. Quaint bits of pottery 
and metal of early make, together 
with beautiful old chairs and tables, 
some of them rare Chippendale and 
Sheraton pieces, have been used in the 
furnishing of this room. On the walls 
hang several fine portraits, painted by 
the famous Copley, all of which were 
originally encased in Paul Revere 
frames. A fire which swept through 
the town many years ago necessitated 
the removal of the pictures, however, 
and before their return the frames, 
with the exception of one, had mys- 
teriously disappeared. So it happens 
that Mrs. Jonathan Warner is the only one who smiles at 
the chance visitor from a heavy gilt frame. Included in this 
family collection are the portraits of Captain Macpheadris, 
his stately wife, and of the dignified Jonathan Warner. Miss 
Mary Warner, too, is pictured as an old-time belle, robed in 
stiff brocade and rich lace, and brings to one’s mind the days 
of long ago when the spacious drawing-room was converted 
into a banquet-hall and later became the scene of a stately 
old-fashioned dance. One seems almost to hear the rustle 
of silks and the soft click of high-heeled slippers, while fair 
ladies in wonderful gowns, and dignified gentlemen in ruf- 
fled shirts, embroidered coats and small-clothes, long silk 
stockings and silver- 
buckled slippers flit 
by in imagination, as 
they would have 
done in reality, had 
one visited in the 
days when the Hon. 
Jonathan Warner 
entertained with 
lavish hospitality. 
But not in the 
drawing-room _ only 
does one find the 
atmosphere of  by- 
gone days. In the 
living-room, directly 
across the entrance- 
hall, there are a mul- 
titude of things to 
attract the visitor’s 
dit Giemiee 1@) nese lenis 
room, like most of 
the other apartments 
in the house, is pan- 
eled in white, and its 
walls offer a most 
effective background 
Jonathan Warner’s military suit 
The great secretary in the living-room 
June, 1909 
for the queer, old-fashioned pictures and long, 
heavily framed mirrors which hang upon them. 
Priceless old mahogany abounds, and among 
the most notable pieces of furniture is a 
magnificent secretary. The shelves behind 
its glass doors were originally filled with 
an excellent collection of old books, but 
owing to the loss of part of them one 
compartment was left empty, and has 
since been taken for Indian relics. An- 
other most fascinating bit of furniture 
is a diminutive desk, said to be an ex- 
act copy in every detail of the original, 
which was brought to America by 
John Alden. 
Like the drawing-room, the living- 
room boasts of a fireplace, framed in 
quaint, imported tiles, but in place of 
grate or andirons, there is a Franklin 
stove, surmounted by a queer coffee- 
urn, once the property of Governor 
Langdon. From a historical point of 
view, however, this stove is far less 
interesting than one which is still in 
use in an upper chamber of the War- 
ner mansion. That stove, although 
not nearly so pretentious in appear- 
ance as the one in the living-room, has 
the distinction of being one of the 
three in Portsmouth which were set 
up by the famous Franklin himself. 
Needless to say, to the tourist’s mind such fame more than 
atones for any deficiency in ornamentation he may have 
observed. 
Old-time furnishings are used in the chambers, as the 
beautiful carved four-poster shown in the illustration will 
testify. With its snowy canopy, ruffled counterpane and 
exquisite hand-knot spread, this old bed is surely far more 
suggestive of rest and pleasant dreams than some of the 
gaudy, elaborate affairs displayed in the shops to-day. Odd 
candlesticks, vases, and such curiosities as foot-stoves and 
powder-horns, add to the picturesqueness of the rooms, and 
at the same time enhance the flavor of romance which 
clings to every nook 
and cranny of the 
historic old man- 
sion. 
The \pviesiemt 
owner of this de- 
lightful house, with 
its wealth of valu- 
able antiques, is 
Mrs. Penahallow, a 
direct descendant of 
Hon. Jonathan 
Warner, whose 
name the structure 
still bears. Proud 
of her remarkable 
possessions, this for- 
tunate woman takes 
the greatest pleasure 
in caring for her 
treasures and in 
showing the house 
to occasional visit- 
ors. Nothing of 
interest is passed 
over from the row 
of old-time fire- 
