Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-06-22

'Is lie Oss CA Il OnDh
of having the covers outlast the leaves. II
Curator Shafer was so inclined he might bonn
bard the state-house with his stock Of bound
records without doing any material harm to
the bindings which are on those whose exist
ence antedates the war of 1912. For the large
volumes. heavy boards of brown hemp fiber
were used. covered by sheep-skin that has not
yet broken in any place. Some of the books
are vellum bound and on the front cover, in
an oval. is the inscription For the Uses of the
Province of Maryland" The gliding of the
letters and the border is as clean and bright
to-day as 1t was when the careful old master
binder peered at il through his great horn
trimmed spectacles and pronounced it good. A
few OF the record books have brass corners and
locks, but the secrets thus protected are not to
be recognized to-day; they are apparently or
binary records.
The museum proper is by no means as ex-
tensive an affair as Maryland should have at
its capital. The few cases are crowded to-
gether, and classification or arrangement is
almost impossible. II is understood. however,
that a large room is being fitted in the addi-
ton to the state-house to receive the curios
which have fallen into the careless hands Of
the state. Mr.. Shafer has displayed what there
Is to the best possible advantage, but he needs
much more space and liberal appropriation.
COL. aREESBERBY's COFFIN.
grim relic is the piece of mouldy black
walnut which was part of the coffin in which
reposed the remains of Col. Nicholas Green
berry and his wife. The couple we're among
the earliest settlers, and when they died, which
they did in 1894, they were entombed together.
Last year, and very Unexpectedly. the place of
their sepultare was discovered while some i'm
provements were being made. For some time
previous members of the Maryland historical
society had been endeavoring. unsuccessfuly,
locate hppansn rs cf4 af:np
would make plain the position of other places
OF historic interest. Accident discovered the
spot, and there was great rejoicing among the
historians. Investigation showed that the two
bodies were encased in lead-5O0 pounds Of
the metal being used. The coffin was much
decayed. and inside there were only the skulls
and pelvic bones of the two people, who, with
others, arrived at Old st. Marie's City on the
oath day OF November, 1888. The museum
also contains large piece OF the trunk of the
tree under which the colonsts camped when
they landed on that November evening.
BALTIMORE IN 1852.
An old print of Baltimore as it appeared in
1852 shows about twenty-five houses, all of the
most ordinary description. Beneath It hangs
fac smile of a sketch of Annapolis made in
water colors in 1871 by the Chevalier Colbert, a
Knight of Malta and a direct descendant of
Colbert. the minister of Louis XIV. The sub
ject of the sketch would at once be recognized
by any one who knows Annapolis, although
nearly one hundred years have elapsed since
the chevalier put 1t on paper. To be sure there
are more houses now and little less grass, but
the main features of the landscape are the
same.
OLD MUsKETs.
couple Of old muskets stand up in a corner.
Their claim to distinction rests upon the fact
that they were used during the revolutionary
period. They have iint-locks and are as cum
brous and unwieldy as gun could well be. On
the cheek-pieee OF one are the letters I A NJ,
cut deep into the hard wood by some persever-
ing forefather. In the heel-plate of the same
gun is a large round-headed screw, protrudng
considerably and evidently put in to replace
the original fastening. When the old musket
was discharged the recoil must have driven
that screw half an inch into the OPERATOR
shoulder-a very discouraging result, not cal
culated to steady the patriots nerves or to aid
in the slaughter. The barrels of the muskets
are about 65 bore and very thin. No one can
realize the courage which animated the boys
of '76 unless he looks at the thinness of those
barrels. The last man who pulled the trigger
OF one OF those guns ran bigger risk than any
accident insurance policy would cover; he had
q very narrow escape.
An original thirteen-star flag fiaunts itself in
glass case. 1t Is somewhat the worse for
wear, but it is unmistably one of the ''rale ould
stock"
SEALS OF THE STATE.
The state seals have a little case all to them
selves. The first in order of precedence is the
private seal of Lord Baltimore, which did duty
on the official documents of the province for a
long time. 1t is oval in shape and little over
an inch long.
This little seal was succeeded in 1913 by one
which in size was believed to comport more
properly with the extent and importance Of the
province. 1t was made of silver and was So
inches in diameter. The only change in the
design was the substitution of a fisherman and
afarmer for the two leopards rampant. which had
supported the central SHIELD In 1898 the great
seal was changed again. Its central figure was
that of a female holding in her hands the scales
Of justice. The bandage, which has usually
been used to blindfold, was not used here,
probably to insinuate that MARYLAND Justice
had its eyes open and could not be deceived
An iron seal-an eagle in a thirteen-pointed
star-was the correct thing in 1917, and it was
used for number of years. In 1854 the
services of the eagle were dispensed with and
the seal OF 1645 was taken up. 1t was, however,
changed by the removal of the royal emblems
which stood between the two male figures.
That arrangement lasted until 1876, when the
general assembly took the matter in hand once
more and finally restored the seal of 164S-
royal emblems and all but reduced in diameter
to three inches.
THE OYSTER.
NO Maryland museum could possibly be
complete without few specimens of
the oyster tribe. The eccentricities which
which might properly be looked for in
the museum oyster are absent at Annapo-
lis. The bivalves are exhibited merely to show
the readiness with which they attach them
selves to anything and the tenacity of their
grip. They are displayed in connection with
bottles, rubber boots, tobacco-pipes and such
like Articles of vertu which were dropped into
the briny by some careless or unlucky dredger
An oyster and rubber boot seem to have a
natural affinity for each other-the oyster
hangs on like an office-holder. The
shell OF an Australian oyster, brought over to
set an example to the Maryland edibles, is pre-
served because of its extreme size It is a
foot long and the mollusc which inhabited it
must have been two inches thick.
PRIVATE HENRY's BOOTS
Of Maryland cereals, marbles and minerals
there is an interesting display, and there
are q number OF well-preserved ami
mails and birds, but to the aver
age visitor these exhibits are as nothing
when compared with the pair of boots which
Private Henry wore when he was shot by order
of Lieut.. Greedy. After awhile when the COL
lection is moved into the new building, the
boots will be protected by glass case; at pres
ent they are on table without adequate de-
Tense against the moth and rust which cor
rupt, and unprotected from the assaults Of the
thieves, who, at times, "break through and
steal"