The Sunday globe., 1901-05-05
SIXTEENTH CENTURY RELICS.

A friend of The Sunday Globe Mr., A..
L. Richardson, well known to many of
the older citizens of Washington, and
noted for his curio collection, which he
keeps in a room devoted TO that pur-
pose in his handsome residence in
Georgetown, invited the writer, as a
lecial favor to The Sunday Globe, to
inspect the very interesting relics and
other curios one day the past week.
The first piece of brick secured from
the battered walls of Fort Sumter after
the surrender was the first curiosity we
examined. The ragged end showed
where a cannon ball had rudely torn it
from its fellows, In the same receptacle
was a small panel from door in house
in Boston, owned and occupied by John
Hancock, of revolutionary fame. The
house was built in 1887, and was dis
mantled in 1868. Lying by the side of
this was a square block of hard wood
taken from the hull of the famed war
ship Constitution that did such yeomen
service on the sea in the war OF 1872. A
similar block near it was a piece from
the hull of the British ship "Minden,"
on board of which Francis Key was inn
prisoned at Fort McHenry, when he
composed that soul-inspiring strain,
"Tbe Star Spangled Banner" In this
same drawer in a large scrapbook we
found some old and time-stained manu-
script, some of which antedated the
American Union $50 years or more. A
deed of conveyance, written on parch-
ment, was dated January 10, 1549-l7
days before the head of Charles l. rolled
into the basket. The writing was in
black ink, and very legible and easily
read, considering that it was written ia
the kings English of more than 300
years ago. Lying loose between the
leaves of this scrapbook was a coverless,
water-staIned and dirty little volume in
manuscript, which proved to be the log
book of the barge Lovely Man," flat
boat that had floated from Louisville to
New orleans in 1907, about the time
the backwoods boy, who afterwards
became President, made trip down the
same waters, Capt. Lewis West was the
skipper of the Lovely Nan and author of
the volume in question. Also in the
same unsafe condition between the
leaves of the scTapbOok was an old coll
ored plat of what is now New York, as
it appeared in September, 1864. 1t was
then known as New Amsterdam, and
was only built up along the lower end of
Manhattan Island. The map is well ex-
ecuted and is so well preserved as to give
rise to the suspicion that it may only be
a fac simile.
In the same place we found copy OF
the first issue of the New York CONNER
Vfn Il Ina 4 tn n.l
4, 1871 1t is tour-page paper about the
size OF two pages of The Sunday Globe,
and is well filled with advertisements
and marine intelligence. Among the
advertisements was one Of the exhibition
of Learned pig" that could do won
derml things which proved that in ye
olden times the public was just as guilt !
BILE and just as susceptible to the soft !
Establishments of the humbng as il is to- |
day. Among the foreign news was a
speech by Carnot in the Chamber of |
Deputies and a proclamation of Bona !
part to the army OF Italy. Folded with |
the Commercial Advertiser was a copy OF |
a Chinese almanac printed on very thin |
and soft paper, but as we were in some |
what OF hurry we did not stop to peruse |
it at any length; in fact, we didn't even !
take the trouble to ask its age, so we can !
not say whether il is al ancient relic or |
not. Lying loosely in the book fmonga
mass of Confederate money was a Hun
garian 81 bill,which stipulated upon its
face that it should be paid one year afler
the independence of Hungary should be
by the Austrian govern
ment. This little scrap Of paper served |
as a reminder of Kossuth and his de-
spairing fight for liberty in the old world |
againstsuch fearful odds, Kossuth tomb
less, Washington and Bolivar sleeping
their last long sleep under piled granite.
That is the difference between failureand |
success Returning again to the scrap
book we found pasted in 1t long letter
of secret instructions from Patrick
Henry, and in his own hand, to Gen.
Rogers Clark, who was then operating
with the army In South Carolina. IL was
written from headquarters and bore date
Of l77s. The writing was fair, but the
was tame when compared
with those fine bursts of elOquence that
80 delighted us in our school boy days.
Next in the list was a letter from Albert
Gallatin in French to Monsieur Henry
kalissuwiski, We read IL through as
carefully as we did the Chinese almanac,
but found nothing in IL that would Justify
US I'm making extracts from it. 1t bore
date Of Is $. Next comes q commission
10 John Patterson, of Ohio, as u. ;. Mar
shall, signed 10y Andrew jackson as
President of the United States and Mar
lin Van Buren, as Secretary of State, and
bearing date of April 20, 1920. The patron
saint of Democracy was not sparing of
NIX, and impressed his name upon the
paper In the same distinct manner that
ne impressed his own Individuality upon
his party and administration. Then fol-
Jws several undertakings by different