of the fire, to mention the heroic work of the
custodian, Mrs. Ela, and others, who saved every article of the
precious souvenirs endangered by the fire, so that nothing was lost.

The kitchen, which occupies nearly the whole northern side of the
house, is twenty-six feet long and sixteen wide. The visitor's
attention is usually first drawn to the great fireplace in the centre
of its southern side. The central chimney was built by the pioneer more
than two centuries ago, and it has five fireplaces opening into it. The
bricks of the kitchen hearth are much worn, as might be expected from
having served so many generations as the centre of their home life. It
was around this identical hearth that the family was grouped, as
sketched in the great poem which has consecrated this room, and made it
a shrine toward which the pilgrims of many future generations will find
their way. Here was piled--

"The oaken log, green, huge and thick,
And on its top the stout back-stick;
The knotty forestick laid apart,
And filled between with curious art
The ragged brush; then, hovering near,
We watched the first red blaze appear,
Heard the sharp crackle, caught the gleam
On whitewashed wall and sagging beam,
Until the old, rude-furnished room
Burst, flower-like, into rosy bloom."

Here on these very bricks simmered the mug of cider and the "apples
sputtered in a row," while through these northern windows the homely
scene was repeated on the sparkling drifts in mimic flame. The table
now standing between these windows is the same that then stood there,
and many of the dishes on the shelves near by are the family heirlooms
occupying their old places. Two of these pieces of china were brought
here by Sarah Greenleaf, Whittier's grandmother. The bull's-eye watch
over the mantel is a fine specimen of the olden time, and hangs on the
identical nail from which uncle Moses nightly suspended his plump
timepiece.

But perhaps the article which is most worthy of attention in this room
is the desk at the eastern corner. This was the desk of Joseph
Whittier, great-grandfather of the poet, and son of the pioneer. On the
backs and bottoms of the drawers of this desk are farm memoranda made
with chalk much more than a century ago. One item dated in 1798 records
that the poet's father made his last excursion to Canada in that year.
It was about a century old when the boy Whittier scribbled his first
rhymes upo