at the point of junction between the Old Boston Road and the New Road, and
nearly opposite to tha termination of the long avenue that led to Rosehill,
originally a seat of the Watts'. The house stood a short distance above the
present Union Square, and not far from that of the present Gramercy. It
was, or is, a brick-house of one story, with a small court-yard in front;
the House of Refuge being at a little distance on its right. If still
standing, it must now be one of the oldest buildings of any sort, in a town
of 400,000 souls! As Mr. Speaker Nicoll resigned the chair in 1718, this
house must be at least a hundred and thirty or forty years old; and it may
be questioned if a dozen as old, public of private, can be found on the
whole island.

As the regular family residences of the Nicolls were in Suffolk, or on
their estates, it is probable that the abode mentioned was, in a measure,
owing to an intermarriage with the Watts', as much as to the necessity of
the Speaker's passing so much time at the seat of government.--EDITOR.]

[Footnote 12: The church is now (1845) being converted into a Post-Office.]




CHAPTER VII.

"Sir Valentino, I care not for her, I."

"I hold him but a fool, that will endanger
His body for a girl that loves him not."

"I claim her not, and therefore she is thine."