Philadelphia, they told the Chief to do just what | York, was in the Presidential chair, and he aphe pleased, and then they pulled up the stakes of their tents and fled to Baltimore. I went there too, and wrote many paragraphs for Goddard's paper. The next year, you remember, our army got nicely thrashed at Brandywine, and then the British did go to Philadelphia in earnest. Congress hurried off to York, in the interior of the State, where I too found safety and bread and butter; but our old friend, Aitkin, was locked up in the Walnut Street prison, and badly treated for a while. Finally, when the British thought a French fleet was coming to the Delaware, they ran away from Philadelphia. Congress came back, and matters going a little smoother, they began to think of independent sovereignty again. One morning in March-I think the 24th-the wet snow ankle-deep, I went to the State House for news. In the course of the forenoon James Lovell, who had been a schoolmaster in Boston, and a prisoner for conscience' sake at Halifax, but was now an active member of the Committee on Foreign Correspondence, moved the appointment of a committee to prepare a device for a Great Seal. John Jay, the fiery young Huguenot from New pointed Mr. Lovell, with Scott of Virginia, and Houstoun of Georgia, such committee. They reported on the 10th of May following. They proposed to make a seal four inches in diameter. On one side the arms of the United States, composed of a shield with thirteen diagonal stripes, alternate red and white. For supporters, a warrior holding a sword, on one side; and on the other a figure representing Peace, bearing an olive branch. The crest, a radiant constellation of thirteen stars. Motto: BELLO VEL PACE; and the legend, SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES. On the reverse, the figure of Liberty, seated in a chair, holding the staff and cap. Motto: SEMPER: and underneath, MDCCLXXVI. This report was recommitted; and just a year afterward, to a day, another report was presented. This report was almost exactly like the former, and on comparison of the drawings with pen and ink, submitted each time. I found they differed only in a single figure, and in the mottoes. The sketches, I believe, were made by Du Simitiere, who then lived with an aged widow lady a few doors from the house of Peter S. Duponceau. MDCCLXXVI. DESIGN SUBMITTED IN 1779.* "But Congress seemed hard to please," con- | Will Barton, Dr. Ben's younger brother, made tinued the Squire. "They didn't accept the the device for our great seal. Was it not he, last report, and there the matter rested, as my instead of Du Simitiere, who made the drawings friend Thomson told me, until April, 1782, when for Lovell's Committee?" Henry Middleton, Elias Boudinot, and Edward Rutledge were appointed a committee to prepare a great seal. They reported, on the 9th of May following, substantially the same as the committees of 1779 and 1780 had done. Congress, despairing of getting any thing satisfactory from a committee, referred the whole matter to Charles Thomson, its secretary, on the 13th of June." "But somebody told me that our old friend, The original design was torn, and pasted on another piece of paper, as here represented, and presenting some blots, erasures, and a line drawn with a pen across one part. The next one also shows some hints made with a pen, probably while the committee were in consultation. "No, no, Billy," said the Squire, a little impatiently, "he had nothing to do with it until the whole matter was placed in Thomson's hands. At that time I was very intimate with Thomson, although he was twenty years older than I. You remember, Billy, his thin face and figure, furrowed countenance, hollow, sparkling eyes, and thin white hair at the close of the war, though he was then only fifty-three years old. He appeared to be sixty-three, at least. Well, as I was saying, Thomson and I were intimate, and I well remember being at his house at about the middle of June, when he told me of the reference of the whole matter to him. He then showed me a large drawing made the day before by Barton, who, you know, was a fine scholar and a fair artist. He also read a description of a device, written by Barton, but differing somewhat from his drawing. Dr. Arthur Lee and Elias Boudinot, who had accompanied Thomson when he called on Barton for a device, came in the same evening, and we discussed the subject pretty thoroughly. They did not fancy Barton's design for the arms, because it was too elaborate; but they liked his small sketch for the reverse of the seal, which was an unfinished pyramid with the eye of Providence, in a radiant triangle, over it. Finally, Thomson showed us an exceedingly simple and appropriate device, which Adams had sent to him from England, and approved of. Hoping something as good would be made by his own countrymen, he had withheld it, because it had been suggested to Mr. Adams by a proud member of the British aristocracy. All agreed that the device from England was the best yet offered. Thomson reported it to Congress on the 20th of June, and it was adopted. So you see that we are indebted for our national arms to a titled aristocrat of the country with which we were then at war!" "Is it possible!" we exclaimed. "Do you know the name of that titled Englishman ?" "One thing at a time," said the Squire, filling his pipe. "Let me tell you first about Barton's device. He proposed an escutcheon with a blue border, spangled with thirteen stars, and divided in the centre, perpendicularly, by a gold bar. On each side of this division, within the blue border, thirteen bars or stripes, alternate red and white, like the American flag adopted on the 14th of June, 1777. Over the gold bar an eye surrounded with a glory, and in the gold bar a Doric column, resting on the base of the escutcheon, having a displayed eagle on its suminit. The crest, a helmet of burnished gold, damasked, grated with six bars, and surmounted by a red cap of dignity, such as dukes wear, with black lining, and a cock armed with gaffs. For supporters: on one side the Genius of America-represented by a maiden with loose auburn tresses, having on her head a radiant crown of gold, encircled with a sky-blue fillet, spangled with silver stars, and clothed in a long, loose, white garment, bordered with green. From the right shoulder to the left side, a blue scarf with stars, the cinctures thereof the same as in the border. Around her waist a purple girdle fringed with gold, and the word Virtue embroidered in white. She rested her interior hand on the escutcheon, and in the other held the standard of the United States, on the top of which was perched a white dove. The supporter on the other side was a man in complete armor; his sword-belt blue, fringed with gold; his helmet encircled with a wreath of laurels, and crested with one white and two blue plumes. With his left hand he supported the escutcheon, and in the other he held a lance with a bloody point. Upon a green banner, unfurled, was a harp of gold with strings of silver, a brilliant star, two lily-flowers, and below two crossed swords. The two figures stood upon a scroll, on which was the motto DEO FAVENTE, which alluded to the eye in the arms, meant for the eye of Providence. On the crest, in a scroll, was this motto: VIRTUS SOLA INVICTA." "What a complicated affair," I remarked. "Can you explain the meaning of all the parts of that elaborate design?" I inquired. "Not half of 'em," said Uncle Billy, with a chuckle. "You see, Squire, the boy has put you on a sand-bar by that question. I thought you sailed a little too careless, with the wind in your eye, not to fetch up all standing pretty soon." This challenge aroused the pride of the Squire, and he summoned all the powers of his wonderful memory to his aid. "Can't explain 'em, eh," he said, knocking the ashes from his pipe, laying it upon the table, and bringing the points of his forefingers to- | with green, denotes youth and purity; the purgether. "We'll see." "First of all, the ARMS. The thirteen bars or stripes represented the Thirteen States, and the stars on a blue field denoted a new constellation, in allusion to the new empire formed in the world by the confederation of the States. This, you know, was the device of our flag, and did not thus originate with Barton. The stars disposed in a circle, the emblem of eternity, denoted the perpetuity of the confederation. The spread eagle, you know, is the symbol of supreme power and authority, and represented Congress. The Doric pillar, the most perfect of the orders, represented Fidelity and Constancy, its parts taken together forming a beautiful composition of strength, congruity, and usefulness, the attributes of a well-planned government. The eagle being placed on the summit of the column, was emblematical of the sovereignty of the United States. The eye, of course, is the All-Seeing one of Providence. The helmet represents sovereignty, and the cap is the token of freedom, as used by the old Romans. The cock represents vigilance and fortitude. The fillet, the glittering stars, and the American flag, denote the genius of the American Confederacy. The white dress, trimmed ple girdle and radiant crown symbolize sovereignty, and the word VIRTUE implies that that should be the chief ornament of the Republic. The dove on the standard denotes the mildness and justice of the government; the white plume was a compliment to the French Allies; the green banner, with a golden harp, symbolized youth and vigor, harmony and concert. The brilliant star represented America as chief in the contest, and the lily-flower-the fleur de lis-was expressive of gratitude to France for its support. The crossed swords denoted the state of war, and the armed man with his flag, related totally to America and the time of the Revolution. There, Billy," said the Squire, rubbing his hands triumphantly, "isn't that as good an explanation as Will Barton himself could have given? On a sand-bar, eh!" "Why, my old friend," said Uncle Billy, with a pleasant smile, "I knew you could tell all about men, and circumstances, and such like, but when I found your tongue reeling off such a yarn about coats of arms which so few people in this country know any thing about, or are fools enough to care any thing about, I thought you were getting into dangerous waters with your craft. But your good old pilot, memory, never failed you yet, and I don't believe it ever will as long as there is a plank of the old hulk left. Now wind up your skein, Squire, by telling us about that English aristocrat who invented our national arms, and then we'll adjourn, for it's bed-time for youngsters like us." "Well, you know John Adams was sent to England, in the fall of 1779, to negotiate for peace. His fame and his official position gave him great prominence, and he became acquainted with many men of all respectable classes. Among others who took quite a fancy for Adams was Sir John Prestwich, a baronet of the West of England, who was a friend of the Americans in that long quarrel, and was an accomplished antiquarian. In conversation with him one day on the bright prospects of the Americans, Adams mentioned the fact that his countrymen had not yet decided upon a national coat of arms. Sir John suggested that an escutcheon bearing thirteen perpendicular stripes, white and red, like the American flag, with the chief blue, and spangled with thirteen stars, would make a fine device. And to give it more consequence he proposed to place it on the breast of a displayed American eagle without supporters, as emblematic of self-reliance. That simple and significant device pleased Adams, and he communicated it to his friends in Congress. Thomson liked it, too, but, for reasons I have named, he withheld it until the last. Congress was pleased with it, and in the Journal of the 20th of June, 1782, you may find the great seal thus described, if my memory does not deceive me: "ARMS.-Paleways of thirteen pieces, argent and gules; a chief azure; the escutcheon on the breast of the American eagle displayed proper, holding in his dexter talon an olivebranch, and in his sinister a bundle of thirteen arrows, all proper, and in his beak a scroll, inscribed with this motto: E PLURIBUS UNUM.'" "Hold on a minute, Squire!" interrupted Uncle Billy; "you're talking above my comprehension about paleways, and argent, and gules, and dexter, and sinister talons. What does all that mean?" "Why, Billy, I thought you knew something of heraldry. Paleways means perpendicular bars, like a picket-fence; argent and gules mean white and red; and dexter and sinister mean right and left. The motto is, MANY IN ONE-Many States in one Confederation." "Yes, I know E PLURIBUS UNUM well enough; but the rest was Greek, or Latin, or Indian to me. But go on." "FOR THE CREST.-Over the head of the eagle, which appears above the escutcheon, a glory Or (that is, golden) breaking through a cloud, proper, and surrounding thirteen stars, forming a constellation, argent (white stars) on an azure (blue) field.' "REVERSE.-A pyramid unfinished. In the zenith an eye in a triangle, surrounded with a glory, proper. Over the eye these words, ANNUIT CEPTIS (God has favored the undertaking). On the base of the pyramid the numerical letters MDCCLXXVI; and underneath the following motto: NoVUS ORDO SECLORUM-A New Series of Ages, denoting that a new order of things had commenced in this Western World. Such was the seal then adopted, and such yet remains the arms of the United States. Congress then ordered a seal half the size of the great one, to impress wax and paper, as you now see it upon this commission signed by my old and trusty friend, Charles Thomson. They also ordered a smaller seal for the use of the President of the Congress. It was a THE PRESIDENT'S SEAL... Over small oval about an inch in length, the centre covered with clouds surrounding a space of open sky, on which were seen thirteen stars. these the motto, E PLURIBUS UNUM. The seal of the President of the United States now is round, you know, with an eagle upon it." Uncle Billy now arose to depart, when the Squire said, "A few minutes more, my old friend, and I will go too. Do you remember that curious article on Merlin's prophecy, which appeared in one of our Philadelphia papers while the Federal Convention that formed the Constitution in 1787 was in session ?" "I do not." "I do; for I extracted it from an old volume, published in London in the year 1530,* and appending to it my own interpretation, published it over the signature of 'T,' the middle letter of my name, you know. That prophecy is said to have been uttered more than a thousand years ago; and it seemed to me to refer directly to America, its settlement, our Revolution, and our flag and coat of arms. Shall I repeat it, with my interpretation?" "By all means," we both exclaimed. Uncle Billy filled his pipe again, and the Squire began: I. "When the Savage is meek and mild The frantic Mother shall stab her Child.' The settlement of America by a civilized nation is very clearly alluded to in the first line. The frantic mother is Britain. America still feels the wounds she has received from her. II. "When the Cock shall woo the Dove, The Mother the Child shall cease to love." The Cock is France; the Dove is America-Columbia, from Columbus; colombo, a pigeon. This union is the epocha when America shall cease to love Britain; for so I understand the prophecy, in which there is manifestly an equivoque, which is one of the most striking char acteristics of the ancient oracles. III. "When men, like moles, work under ground, The Lion a Virgin true shall wound.' In many parts of Europe there are subterranean works carried on by persons who never see the sun. But perhaps the solution may more particularly be referred to the siege of York, in Virginia, where the approaches were carried on by working in the earth. In the second line there is another equivoque. We are told by Mr. Addison, in his Spectator,' that a lion will not hurt a true maid. This, at first view, seems to be contradicted by the prophecy; but, on examination, it will be found that, at the epocha referred to, the Virgin, Columbia (or perhaps Virginia, by which name all North America was called in the days of Queen Elizabeth), shall wound the Lion, that is, Britain, which shows the precise time when the oracle should be accomplished. * See Swift's Works, vol. iii. p. 214. Edition 1766. IV. "When the Dove and Cock, the Lion shall fight, The Lion shall crouch beneath their might.' This clearly alludes to the successes of the united forces of America and France against those of Britain. V. "When the Cock shall guard the Eagle's nest, The stars shall rise all in the West.' For the solution of this oracle, as well as all the rest, we are indebted to the engraving of the Arms of the United States, in the Columbian Magazine, for September, 1786. America is clearly designated by the eagle's nest, as it is the only part of the globe where the bald eagle (the arms of the United States) is to be found. Thus this hitherto inexplicable prophecy, may now be easily understood as meaning that when the Cock, that is, France, shall protect America (as she did during the late war), the stars, that is, the standard of American empire, shall rise in this western hemisphere. VI. "When ships above the clouds shall sail, The Lion's strength shall surely fail.' It is very remarkable that the first discovery of the amazing properties of inflammable air, by means of which men have been able to explore a region, till then impervious to them, happened in the same year when Britain's strength was so reduced as to oblige her to acknowledge the independence of America. The boats in which the adventurous aeronauts traversed the upper regions, are the ships here referred to. "Thus far the prophecy seems to have been already fully and literally accomplished. It is to be hoped that the accomplishment of those which remain is not far remote. "When seven and six shall make but one, The Lion's might shall be undone.' This oracle clearly alludes to an epocha not far removed, as we may hope; for when the thirteen States shall, under the auspices of the present Federal Convention, have strengthened and cemented their union, by a proper revisal of the Articles of Confederation, so as to be really ONE NATION, Britain will no longer be able to maintain that rank and consequence among the nations of the earth which she hath hitherto done. "So I interpreted the oracles in March, 1787. How well the last two have been since verified, you can judge. The States declared free in 1776 (seven and sir) were made really |