The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1889-07-20
OLD MUsKETs.

couple OF OLD muSKeCS STAND up IN cor
ner. Their claim to distinction rests upon the
ary period. They have hint-locks and are as
cumbrous and unwieldy as a gun could well
be. On the cheek-piece of one are the letters
7 A NJ, cut deep into the hard wood by some
presevering forefather. In the heel-Plate of
the same gun is large rOund-headed screw,
protruding 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
operators shOulder-a very discOuraging re-
suit, not calculated to steady the patriots
nerves or to aid in the slaughter. The barrels
of the muskets are about IS bore and very
thin. No once 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 a
bigger risk than any accident insurance poll
cy would cover; he had very narrow escape
An original 1S-star flag flaunts itself in a
glass case. 1t is somewhat the worse for wear,
but it is unmistakably one of the ''rale ould
stock"
SEALS OF 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 over an
inch long.
This little seal was succeeded in 164S by one
properly with the extent and importance of
the province. 1t was made of silver and was
81 inches in diameter. The only change in
the design was the substitution of a fisherman
and farmer for the two leopards rampant,
which had supported the 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 had 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 1648 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 1648-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 oys-
ter tribe. The eccentricities which might prop
erly be looked for in the museum oyster are
absent at Annapolis. The bivalves are exhib-
tied merely to show the readiness with which
they attach themselves to anything and the
tenacity of their grip. They are displayed in
connection with bottles, rubber-boOts, tobacco
pipes anu ouCH OtUcT VI VlTCu WHICH,
were dropped into the briny by some careless
or unlucky dredger. An oyster and rubber
boot seem to have natural affinity for each
other-the oyster hangs on like an ofice-hold-
er. The shell of an Australian oyster, brought
over to set an example to the Maryland edibles,
is preserved because of its extreme size. 1t is
foot long and the molluse 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 a
number of well-preserved animals and birds,
but to the average 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.. Greeley. After a while
when the collection is moved into the new
building, the boots will be protected by glass
case; at present they are on table without de-
fense against the moth and rust which corrupt,
and unprotected from the assaults of the
thieves, who, at times, "break through and
steal."- Washington Star.