condition, taking life comfortably, and having the complacent air of a
well-preserved beau of the ancien regime. The Langdon mansion was
owned and long occupied by the late Rev. Dr. Burroughs, for a period of
forty-seven years the esteemed rector or St. John's Church.

At the other end of Pleasant Street is another notable house, to which
we shall come by and by. Though President Washington found Portsmouth
but moderately attractive from an architectural point of view, the
visitor of to-day, if he have an antiquarian taste, will find himself
embarrassed by the number of localities and buildings that appeal to his
interest. Many of these buildings were new and undoubtedly commonplace
enough at the date of Washington's visit; time and association have
given them a quaintness and a significance which now make their
architecture a question of secondary importance.

One might spend a fortnight in Portsmouth exploring the nooks and
corners over which history has thrown a charm, and by no means exhaust
the list. I cannot do more than attempt to describe--and that very
briefly--a few of the typical old houses. On this same Pleasant Street
there are several which we must leave unnoted, with their spacious
halls and carven staircases, their antiquated furniture and old silver
tankards and choice Copleys. Numerous examples of this artist's best
manner are to be found here. To live in Portsmouth without possessing a
family portrait done by Copley is like living in Boston without having
an ancestor in the old Granary Burying-Ground. You can exist, but you
cannot be said to flourish. To make this statement smooth, I will remark
that every one in Portsmouth has a Copley--or would have if a fair
division were made.

In the better sections of the town the houses are kept in such excellent