ntic and interesting house. Built prior to 1853 by Reuben
Roberts on a half-acre of unimproved ground, it lay "in the country" for
some years. Roberts, a Quaker of the family of Cameron Farms, died in
1853; his widow moved to New Jersey, and the house stood new and
tenantless until 1857, when it was purchased by Captain Samuel Bancroft
Hussey of Portland, Maine, as a bridal gift for his only daughter,
Melissa Ann. And thereby hangs a tale.

Gallant Captain Hussey is reported to have been a descendant of that
Christopher Hussey who arrived in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1630
and became one of the large proprietors. Intended for the Navy at an
early age he ran away to sea and became a master of Clipper ships that
raced the seas in the China trade. Captain in succession of the
_Reindeer_, the _Strabo_, earlier and smaller vessels, he became Captain
of the _Westward Ho_ on which, in 1854, he made a record trip of
eighty-five days from Canton to New York. In 1857 he speeded the same
vessel from Boston around the Horn to San Francisco in a hundred days.
Two years later he died on the _Stag Hound_ of which he was master and
part owner.

[Illustration: _The Stag Hound_, one of the great clipper ships in the
China trade]

The _Westward Ho_ was a great and beautiful ship of sixteen hundred
tons, outfitted with every comfort and luxury of her day, including
crystal, books, silver, and a melodeon on which to while away the hours
at sea. Captain Hussey was frequently accompanied on his voyages by his
wife, and for a time they lived in India, as well as many other far-off
and curious ports.

Melissa Ann Hussey[194] after her graduation from the Charlestown Female
Seminary, near Boston, made the grand tour with her father. This was not
her first voyage, as he had entrusted her to Captain Creesy, master of
the _Flying Cloud_ on a long journey from China. But on the occasion of
this grand tour graduation gift, he directed the _Westward Ho_ up the
Potomac and anchored in the then busy port of Alexandria. The city of
Washington was not very sophisticated in those days, so the official
and social set of the capital sought the theatres, taverns, and balls
of Alexandria. Statesmen had apartments at the new and elegant Braddock
House or Green's Mansions on Fairfax Street, and at this hotel the
Captain engaged a suite for himself and daughter.

[Illustration: To this house came the Portsmouth bride, Melissa Ann
Hussey Wood, with parak