4 NORTH SHORE BREEZE and Reminder 
fits which he might have received from the private prac- 
tice of his profession. To the wisdom of the statesman 
and self-sacrificing devotion of this patriot great honor is 
due and the passing years have proved the far-sightedness 
which prompted independent action and any adverse criti- 
cism is now regretted. 
His labors in behalf of the Smithsonian Institute 
were added to his other public services and his life of 
sixty years forms an epoch of influence and finds its 
true verdict in the words of his friend Mrs. James T. 
Fields. 
“Built up of our larger hope, 
Of equal laws and equal right. 
‘His home shall only oceans bind 
Nor ages quench his light.” 
Among the eighty decendants born upon Choate Is- 
land were many daughters whose excellent qualities of 
mind and heart brought to them marriages with sons of 
equally notable families and the moral loftiness, love of 
right and justice insured them in the hearts of all who 
knew them. 
There is no island which has a more distinguished 
history than has Choate Island as forty lawyers including 
the Hon. Joseph H. Choate were descendants of the first 
Choate who inhabited the island and many were born 
there. 
The House of the Seven Gables 
Perhaps the Most Interesting Place Historically on the North Shore 
S ALEM was fortunate in the devastating fire of June 
25 to have spared to the old city most of the places 
of historic interest which tourists to the North Shore 
always make a point of visiting. Chief among these 
landmarks of olden times is a venerable mansion now 
generally acknowledged as the scene of and inspiration 
for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous romance. In fact, it 
is the only house that has ever been known as the House 
of the Seven Gables, although its claim to that picturesque 
naine has been sometimes disputed. 
By the time Hawthorne came to know the house most 
of the ancient features which distinguished it were no 
longer to be seen and his knowledge of them could only 
have come through the recollections of the childhood of his 
cousin, Susannah Ingersoll, who eventually inherited the 
house in 1812. Miss Ingersoll had become a recluse be- 
cause of an unfortunate love affair with a young naval 
officer. Although she refused to allow a man enter her 
house, she did not close her doors to Hawthorne and the 
visitor to the house can picture him sitting in the com- 
fortable window seat in the parlor gazing down the har- 
bor, or ensconced in the comfortable depths of the “Haw- 
thorne chair,’—a shy dreamy youth, glad, no doubt, to 
hear all the tales of the past that his eccentric old kins- 
woran could tell him, of the times when the house had 
seven gables, and an overhanging second story, and a 
secret staircase. 
Up to 1883 the house saw many changes of owner- 
ship and in the meantime the character of the neighbor- 
hood had changed. An alien population had made a 
peaceful invasion of this old Puritan town for the purpose 
of working in the shoe shops and factories which now 
replace the old time Salem shipping. Settlement work, 
following in the wake of this influx of foreigners, was 
, 
F. W. NICHOLS 
Antiques 
73 1-2 Federal Street 
eoeee ecoeee 
Salem, Mass. 
One Superb Camel’s Hair Shawl, three Paisleys—one 
long and very choice 
started in Turner st., where the house stands today, and 
one of the settlement committee was inspired to buy the 
House of the Seven Gables and so give the settlement a 
name and a home. 
The house was thoroughly repaired and traces of 
four gables were discovered, which, added to the three 
gables remaining on the house, made seven. Several 
leading antiquarians were invited ito inspect the house, 
and all expressed the opinion that it once had seven 
gables. It never rains but it pours! Still another gable 
was found. 
The secret staircase was rebuilt according to the 
description of Mr. Upton, one of the owners, who took it 
down twenty years before. The secret staircase is not 
mentioned in the story of “The House of the Seven 
Gables,’ but the mysterious way in which Clifford appears 
in the room where the judge is sitting dead seems to indi- 
cate that Hawthorne had heard of it. 
In restoring the house some compromises were made 
with historical accuracy in fitting it for use as a settlement, 
but nothing was changed to make the house fit the story. 
Some of the word pictures used by Hawthorne in his 
story were probably flights of fancy and support his state- 
ment that he used ‘‘material of which air castles are built.” 
However, to the careful student the points of difference 
are trivial compared with the underlying resemblance 
which assures us that the ancient mansion on Turner st., 
Salem, well deserves the name by which it has been known 
for decades, of the House of the Seven Gables. 
This historic mansion is one of much interest for 
visitors to the North Shore and a visit there before return- 
ing homeward this season would leave pleasant memories 
of the historic section of the shore. 
THE WITCH HOUSE 
310 1-2 Essex Street Salem, Mass. 
SPECIAL:—One small size, beautifully marked, cur- 
One small size maple dressing table. 
One old Salem 
ly maple desk. 
One fine set of pink lustre china. 
door knocker. 
oOo 
