Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1888-03-17
INDEPENDENCE and the GREAT
SEAL.

E copyrighted. 1888, by FUNs 4 WAaNAl
iilS When ! was many. verv many "
by Younger than ! am now, | spent 50
mn lime with a kinSman in Philadrlp
The ~ Nm IL" ",.cpcuotHct oqia
Us Lively relies of our national birtl-til
was who spent several evenings of {;
TO week al the house OF my cousin. II
were always there together, and
chef burden of their conycrsaIi
'h' was rccoIlections OF their Young ma
the hood, aud especially of the vents
IS, The old war tor independence. = n p:
ion of which they saw, and Il part of viii,
they wcrt
c'- One of these venerable men was
stout, b%aldhcadcd, rotumd, Jolly o
ac- gentlemen. aud was known by ever
tul body as Uncle Billy." The 9TH
was Il tall, spare man, with abuudal
flowing locks, rather grave and preci,
fc, in speech, and msgistcrial in dcpor
e. mcnt. lie was generally known 4
,c- " The Squire he having been u iu.
=, ticc of the peace several surccssiv
wears in middle lie Both were NOR
than eighty wears OF age.
e. lncle Billy was the senior of III
ar two b! a few months. In his youth h,
.r was u clerk with Robert Morris, III,
,e patriotic tinancier Of the Contincnta
II Congress. Later in lite he became +,
/, successful merchant. owned Il priya,
l. leer during the second war TOR indie.
IS p~enicnce, and for more than thirty
wears had lived quietly upon an ample
competence in the enjoyment of wife.
children aud friends. The Squire in
his earlier wears had been a sort OF
miscellaneous man IA wit. a scholar TO
a~con-iderable degree, a journalist, and
a great favoritc in the best classes of
t society, and holding some public office
now and then. In person he was hand
some III torn and feature, and a little
toppish, lie had lived a bachelor. and
had saved sufficient money toward the
sunset OF life to make him comtorta.
bic without iaboring 70 it during life's
twilight.
The Squire was a genius of many
features. and had capacity for many
excellent performers. Before his ma.
.lorlly he was a sort OF sub-cdiior of
BfddtortfS Pennsylvania .Jounol, ana
ne took pride in pointing to his nrtis.
tie Reinforcement in engraving. with his
pchhnIfc. the ugly, DISCOUNTED snake
representing the English American
colonies. with the significant words
below it. "'lom or Die.n 1t appeared
at the head o. The .J0uual for many
months. to the great ANNOYANCE of the
"king's Men" who called { "a scando.
ious and salcy reflection" The SQUIRE
became a man-of-HII.work--a sort of
Calrb Quotcm-on Atkins PeDpyyl.
rama ~-ndgoz{He, when Thomas Paine
Was a frequent contributor TO its col.
Umus.
One evening | handed to Uncle Bill ,
" a document printed and written on ,
parchment, and bearing the rccumbeut
seal OF the United States, the date "a :
as 1877. asked the oraclcs to ,
explain the origin Of the seal. as it !
10 have come down to rs in !
similar form from the beginning otthe :
Uncle Billy handed the dozen. I
'leh' o me Squire, saving, "you know i,
more OF this than | do: tell the boy all i
about it, The squire looked AT il n u
moment and turning to Billy asked; ~
DO yo'l remember the fearful ,hun. n
Ter storm that swept over Philodrl. u
on the evening of July Sd. 1875 4 T.
the very cool, bracing wind from y.
nc northwest the next morning?" y
lhcIe Billy answered in the afirma- :,
rye, and then, with much animation. ~ -
some OF his experience at that r.
VentfuI time. "GeS, | remember the =
circumstance well. The Drclaratiou -
'as debatcd all the forenoon and A.. A
out two O'Clock in the attcrnoou tho q.
vote was taken. 1t was supposed 81
iht when the great act was accom-. 81
'lslpa, Congress would adjourn for
&c day. Not so. The grand work !,
rs not completed. The representa-. 81;
YES OF the people had declared the -.
.cedom and sovereignty OF the colo. ~
les, and that they formed a nntion,, ~" .a
a9Ue OF states under one govern. I,l
eh';Ii was now necessary that the sc,
;" government should have an ipsig. N;
Il OF sovereignty. SO. after disnoS. ~,
9 oi some other business, Congress ,ri
a committee OF three mem. ~.
RS TO prepare n device tor "A seal of o,,
g United States of America" H.!
When Uncle Billy had finished his am
r%rat've, the Squire said: snn
Now let us answer the lads oucs. ,ro
n about this seal:' ART
\ es' said Uncle Billy, "the appoint. NV,
mt OF that committee to devise n p,,
Il was about the coolest thing of the co.,,
y. why, the baniling was not hon L Ln
hours old, and nobody felt that il ;tn,
.n'n i'vc; yet they proposed to pre-. is ~
e acoat-of-arms, as heavy in weight MI,
sovereignty as was Saul's coat.of. w."
III brass. Let me sec, who com. W.
ed the committec?r we
FRANKLIN, Adams and Jefferson m"
I the Squire, who spoke of Franz. hu.,'
rs one supposed to know every. b,"
~ OF John Adams as the "plnnip ,ho
''ohlan with a bald head, though , nas
'ort! wears OF age; and of Jcffrr- for
n ''hat tall bean-stalk, the Young. h;a
pl tue three, who was only two.ani. WV ona
~ years OF age. But Inc Ind n an.
III OF oook,wisdom under that wi. cord
ncle Billv ro,'"'nc squire: dcvi
ersoh talking with Morris aboni h;n, I
wing Morr;s a "''oI"sr", ana him
= sketches ct a device made by a o "", !
i ilnla frenchman named Du Sin. h"I
;. The Squire then remembered "nu
on one hot afternoon franklin and aa'i
lilS came into Aitken's little back " J'e
' VIZ the French artist, and, using a "os
mai table there on which Paine WI" W',
g. examined several of his sketch. "o
'hry came to nothing" said the
ire. 1t vas not until six ycars ,f.
ne adoption Of the Declaration of Sin
pendence that Congress approved vorit'
.isn TOR the Great Seal OF The Uni. table,
" me
no dld make the approved a,r;oo error
C seal?" asked Uncle Billy. with no lnj
t as much eagerncss as tho vo,n', no los
Ter felt. "Was il not nv rr;on5 tive n
Barton, DIR. Bcn's younger broth. ter W
and,
no, Billy" the Sopirc ronl;oa feet n
r imOntiantlv. ts1,o A. -. f'""' nine