The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1882-07-22
The Great Seal.

The mere holding of the Great Seal of
England entities its fortunate custodian to
some 100000 year, to immense patron
age in Church and State, to be Speaker of
the House of Lords, Privy Councillor,
and the head of all judicial authority in the
kingdom, to be designated Lord High
Chancellor of Great Britain, and Keeper of
the Royal conscience, and to rank (next to
the royal family as the second subject in
the realm 1t is very difficult, if not i'm
possible, to say when England first had a
great SEAL Seals were not much used by
our Anglo-Saxon ancestors, but came large
ly into fashion during the Norman reigns
The gilt crosses or marks of Edward the
Confessor, and other Saxon Kings, can
scarcely be called Seals, and partook more
of the character of signatures of an Hitter
ate age; but grand and perfect seal of
William the Conqueror exists, having the
monarch crowned and throned on the one
side. and mounted on horseback on the
other, attitudes which have been invariably
observed to the present day
One remarkable circumstance conEaeted
with the Great Seal, is It's progressive
growth a. size as time advanced. Origi-
nally, eight hundred years since, not larger
than the top of an ordinary modern teacup,
it has been gradually enlarged from age to
age, till it offers now the size and appear
ance Of muffin, and it requires to be en-
closed in tin box for protection. Indeed
80 cumbrous and unwieldy had the Great
Seal become, that some three or four years
since an Act of Parliament passed-con-
tanning very extraordinary provisions d.
recting that all the minor. and many even
Of the more important documents passing
under it. should for the future be auihen-
ticatcd by paper rqfsr Of moderate
size which should be gummed ON the
instrument, and be deemed and taken
To be the Great Seal itself
The Great Seal has only three times
been loss, twice temporarily. and once per
manently. James IL. On leaving the king
dom on his alxlicaticn, threw the seal into
the Thames. whence, however, il was next
morning fshed up and brought 10 Whitehall
Lord Eldon buried it in his garden in Queen
Square during one night when his house
caught Gre, n he thought in the confusion 1t
might be stolen. And, writes the Chan
eellor in his diary. when the FIRE was ex-
tinguished, quite forgot in the morning
where | had buried i, and while the ear
riag.e waited to take me 10 Court, my lady
and | and all the household, were dibbing
With pieces af stick, ill We luckily found
it Lord Thuriow, who always held It
during the night in his bedroom, had it
actually carried of By burglars, from whom
L was never recovered. A Priyy Council
was called the next day, new seal was
rapidly made, and during the remainder Of
his continuance in Office, Lord Tharlow
invariably deposited It Of nighs under his
pillow.
Dewn to 1918 the Great Seal itself was
made If copper. since then silver has been
The metal employed Il is in two halves,
soinewhat hike two very thick bright TIN
saucepan lids, fitting closely together, their
inner surfaces deeply scuipssired with the
royal dcvices intended to b formed ON the
wax when squeezed between them.
instruments having limited duration
are sealed With yellow wax Others sup
posed 10 exist in perpetuity such as pat-
enss oE peeFage, etc, zTc cxenplihed under
ggysa wAx. and IN the case of some letters
ratent likely 10 ba exposed 10 good deal
ef knocking about, or journeying from
piacc 10 place, sach ss were the Asps<e
Commissions, the wax seal was stamp
after being ingenioazly enclosed in cream
colorsd loatber