-I 
     
    
   
   
    
     I 
     
     THE QUEEN'S OONSCIENUIJ. 
     
    
   
   
    
     l 
     
     l 
     
     m ‘ I 
     
     [ I-‘ro Chantbera'a Jonrnal. ] . 
     
    

    
     Moat persona of an inquiring turn of mind. 
     
     npnn lagging that the Lord Lhaocellor oftlte 
     
     lriiiutloin. for the time balsa, is the keeper of the 
     
    

    
     itsen’s Conscience, inay be presumed to ask 
     
     themselves the qoeattoii _l|°'- ll ll“ "_’'!l"‘'"‘’" 
     
     of an old, and the formation of a new mtntltfyv '0 
     
     very immaterial a thing as I o0nI¢'6fl°° '33“ 5“ 
     
     taken from the anion of one individual. Ind 
     
     placed in that o another. _ 
     
    

    
     Bot royal conscience; Refill,‘ "°'d""“l"‘ “ '° 
     
     say, the royal olleial oonecienoe—for that alone 
     
     is in the possession ofthe minister-is not l>)'_ I"? 
     
     means so dsatiute oftangible aubataiioe as might. 
     
     from the nature of ordinary eottsctetice, be sup- 
     
    

    
     used zit is in fact,ae c.ip:-ble of betn-.t placed 
     
     the sovereign in the hands of the chan- 
     
     cellor and carried home by him in his coat 
     
     pa?‘ oi. as is his liandkerchief or snuff-box. 
     
    

    
     I,diaregarding all the severe penal enact- 
     
     ments relative to burglary, you were, some quiet 
     
     evening, to break and enter the dwelling-house of 
     
     the lilgb efieial just menttoiied, and taking advan- 
     
     tage of his absence in the country. Were. l" tum, 
     
     on; the pile. of papers which diiubtless choke tip 
     
     his eaerutoire, you would probably meet with a 
     
     neat leather-covered boa. about eight inches 
     
     square, the royal arms richly emblazoned upon 
     
     which, together with the Braniah lock seouriiig_ 
     
     it, would indicate the contents to be of noordin-V 
     
     uy ulna. Carrying the illegal proceedings of; 
     
     which we have presumed you to be capable Illll| 
     
     further, and breaking open the box itself. 10“ 
     
     would meet with two ailver disks, closely fitting 
     
     one to the other, in appearance not virrv unlike 
     
    
   
   
    
     .the repayment of the loan. 
     
    
   
   
    
     llAS7.Alt.l)’S (-'A7.E'l"l‘E, NOVEMBER 29. 
     
    
   
   
    
     When I shall shoot in you ynrrow ; 
     
     And in token thiit this thing is south. 
     
     Ibile the war withsnyfung tooth, 
     
     Before Meg. Mood and Mnrgerie, 
     
     And my third son Henry. 
     
    

    
     The keepers of the great seal in ancient times 
     
     —much the satne as at [)|'Bst:ltl—eXac|('ll good 
     
     round sums of money before they would affix it to 
     
     ant dociinieut ; and one can scartci-.ly itn:i_vinc ilie 
     
     enormous profits made, some 600 or 700 years 
     
     ago, by the fortunate holders of it. 
     
     iti want of inoticy. put the t-iistmly of his seal tip 
     
     for sale, and one Walter Gray bought it (oi 5000 
     
     tnirlte—a siiin equivalent to about .t.'6l,0U0 of 
     
     the presentday; but gave it up in :i few years. 
     
     for the still more llt(!|‘tillVt: dignity of Archbishop 
     
     of York. 
     
    

    
     Another ofits custndiati-i, John Mauiisel, neu- 
     
     lectiiig to di~'tribute the cliurcti-patroiiage as it 
     
     fell vacant, which it vested in him, held at one 
     
     time 700 livings ; and it good I50 tears latvr, so 
     
     great was the sum of tiiuney whit-li the revenue 
     
     of his office perniitted Chancellor Beaufort to lend 
     
     to Henry V., that the sovereign placed his crown 
     
     in the hands of his chancellor, as ti guarantee for 
     
     ltl(lt’.t:(l, the vast 
     
     wealth which its holders were enabled to realise, 
     
     coupled with the enortnous owers which the 
     
     custody of it gave thcin, rendered it absolutely 
     
     necessary to the safety of the sovereign. that his 
     
    
   
   
    
     seal should he ititrusIed_only to the liands of per- 
     
     sons well disposed to the cause ; 
     
    

    
     titties, it was frequently a very difficult ttiuttcr to; 
     
     find a safe guardian for it. , 
     
    
   
   
    
     iliately hecotnes iiivesii-il 
     
     lottvr proceeding from the IUVt'3tt!|j_'lt. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Pt-rhsipa tio one ever hall is greater ideti of the. 
     
    
   
   
    
     importance uftlw M.-altif the ltiii:_tti'otti than the ill- 
     
     fated Charles l.. and very muclt deli-_rhted was lie 
     
     when it ttiessenger cattie to him at York hearing 
     
     this iitiportatit itistriiiiieiit, which he fully hell '1?- 
     
     ed had fallen tiito the power ttftho parlianietit. 
     
     lti proportion as he was rcjoit-.t-il, hoiicver. the 
     
     parliaitient \\ as di.-icoiicerted, when they discover- 
     
    
   
   
    
     through their lingers. The king could issue 
     
     what-‘vet prnclatiiatitiiis or other ttistrutnetit he 
     
     thought pr -per, and that in a pt'lft’t‘.ll_v legal inan- 
     
     ner while lllry tlietnselvrs could not fill uullltr place 
     
     til it deceasi-tl int-mher ol'tlit~ir own bo y, or per- 
     
     form a single act of state in which the great seal 
     
     was tieceasary. Delifiertititig, and uaiiiiig, and 
     
     going to prayers inatiy tiincs, they resolved to 
     
     fortnti new seal for their tiwti particular the. 
     
     The resolution ivasa notable one; lnit there 
     
     Here few Wyotis in those days, antl those who 
     
     did exist, had it very righteous dread of at certain 
     
     old statute of Eduard lll., whicli declared that 
     
     aiiv person imitating, forging. or couiiterfeiting 
     
     the king’s great seal should sulf-r death as 
     
     at traitor ; and \\'hich statute they had not the 
     
     least doubt would be rignriiuslv etiforci-tl, should 
     
     fortune again sitiile upon the king. and they be 
     
     found to have perforiiicd such treasonahle act. 
     
     Money. however, like love. coiiqtters all things; 
     
    
   
   
    
     and 5,, ,_.,,,|,. and after some time. a hold mdlt nziineii i\lzisicr two or tin-an inches 
     
    
   
   
    
     Syinonds was foutid. who agreed—for £40 paid 
     
     owti, and £60 to be paid when the work was 
     
    
   
   
    
     so the hiavo most ottrefull 
     
     the kingloui being over le 't 
     
     'seal ; 
     
    
   
   
    
     provided against 
     
     without I great 
     
     the standing rule being, that when I 
     
     l'resli one is reqiiirotl, the old seal is not& 
     
     stroyed till the new one is com leted. 
     
     birth of the new seal is it matter 0 much form 
     
     ittnd ceremony. The sovereign summons the 
     
     ‘privy-coiincil, and a wiirrunt is directed to the 
     
     royal engraver. calling upon him to attend the 
     
    
   
   
    
     with the dignity of: laws have declared that tb?.klng'never dies, 
     
    
   
   
    
     John. bi-,in2.¢'tl that the eiiibli-in of sovereignty had slipped 'council, with designs for the required instru- 
     
    
   
   
    
     ment. These being chosen. the matrix itaelfie 
     
     put in hand ; and upon its completion another 
     
     council is held, at which the new seal, if ep- 
     
     proved, is trunsferaod from the sovereignl 
     
     own hands into those of its future kee or, 
     
     who. by such transfer, taken upon liimselt all 
     
     the digiiities we have before 1lIt‘lIll0nCtI- n 
     
     o'den tiincs itnotherlittle cerciiioiiy was nlwa is 
     
     observed: the new clinnci,-llor had personal y 
     
     to aflix the soul to it document, in the presence 
     
     of the council, in order. we suppose, to. show 
     
     that he understood the duties of his oflice—— 
     
     just us the shcriflii of Loiidoti and llliddlesex, 
     
     at the present day. give proofs of their educa- 
     
     tion and ability, by counting some hobnnils, 
     
     and chopping some sticks in the Court of Ex- 
     
     chequer, hefoife taking the otths of oflice. 
     
     But the seals used in olden titties, although 
     
    

    
     rcttt in name, were COIIl]);ll‘itllV8ly small in 
     
     actual dimensions, being in most not ubove 
     
     in,diuniutcr ; and settling I 
     
     doctiiiicnt with them was perhaps little more 
     
     troublesome than sealing iin oi-tiinnry letter. 
     
    
   
   
    
     An aniusing iiistance of this occurred whett‘¢"'"‘l'l9l”l"'“’ milk” 3 MW 303'. the l'aC~simllie The great seal scents, liotvi-ver, to have in- 
     
    
   
   
    
     . . ~ I 
     
     Henry III. found it i-t-ceesary, tipoii a certain‘ 
     
    
   
   
    
     ofthe one iii the possession of Charles. This 
     
    
   
   
    
     creased in size, in it direct ratio with the 
     
    
   
   
    
     ioccasion, tti leave his kitigdoiii for a short time, ; l-t¢'3l"|lll€ Was tnttde, and used by the parliament increttelni! POW" 0f “'0 3°V'~‘l"‘li'-'t" ll l'°P"°59lll3s 
     
    
   
   
    
     ",0 bright m, .,,,,c,.,,.,, M, wm,,,,,, },a,,,“e, ; g and could find no one ulioin he thouulit worthy Q’ Unlll ll"! C"'nt|WH_\\'t'alllI Wm‘ suflicietilty Eetlletl and at the present day is so large, that the 
     
    
   
   
    
     and these disks, ii_pnn beintt flplfaledi “"‘“l‘l 
     
     reveal, upon the inner surface of one. a deeply- 
     
     cut device of her present Majesty enlhrottetli Willi 
     
     the cardinal virtues round her ; and upon the 
     
     om", . yepfelanlflliofl of the same exalted iiiili- 
     
     vidual on acaparistined horse,attended by a patio. 
     
     a__'l‘lie two pieces ofsilver are doubtless reckoned 
     
     by the ehacellor among the choicest of his_trea~ 
     
     sures ; for not only does the more possession of 
     
     them. unconfirmed by commission, .appotnlm8fl'i 
     
     or any document what ver, ctiiistitute liitn the 
     
     second man in the ltitiii om, the supreme judize 
     
     of the Court of Chancery, the speaker of the 
     
     House of Lords, and the possessor ofa salary of 
     
     .€l4.000 a year, with immense patronage both 
     
     in the church and in the state; but the being 
     
     intrusted with1§em is the greatest mark of con- 
     
     fideiice the sovereign can bestow, being no less 
     
     than placing at his disposal nearly every power 
     
     of the royal prerogative. _ 
     
     The two silver disks are, in fact, the matrix by 
     
     mggng of wdiicli is ftirmed that enormous wait- 
     
     seal. in bite and appearance something like it 
     
     well~buttered muffin, coinmonly known as the 
     
     ‘Great ' of England,’ and which _is appended 
     
     to all those acts of the sovereign which it is the 
     
     royal pleasure publicly to make known to the 
     
     e|b‘ect. _ 
     
     ealed with this, whether by lawful authority 
     
     or not, every document which can emanate from 
     
     the govereign is rendered valid. and irrevocable 
     
     without the consent of the three estates of the 
     
     Itu;ao that its holder can, if he chooses to 
     
     y his trust, pardon the most heinous offender 
     
     confer on whomever he pleases the highest title 
     
     of nobility, or gfntit charters to all the towns in 
     
    
   
   
    
     [he kingdom ; he can, in fact, make use of almost 
     
     all those prerogatives which law and custom have‘ 
     
     placed in the hands of the sovereign, to ho t-_xt-.r-i 
     
     cieetl for the good of the subject ; and therefore, i 
     
     when in possession of the iiiipnttllll l"5l"|"l6||t.i 
     
     he is not iinfitly said to be the keeper of the‘ 
     
     Queen‘: conscience. { 
     
     It seems rather singular, considering the great 
     
     iinportanco always attached to this emblem of 
     
    
   
   
    
     the sovereiun‘e hands at all ; yet, from the earli- 
     
     est times, we nod it in the possession of: certain 
     
     ‘Lord Keeper.’ Before the time of Edward the 
     
     Confelsor, indeed, it is doubtful whether the 
     
     epvereign had any tangible conscience at all, for 
     
     I O 
     
     ratili by a cross made in gold ink ', but as sooti 
     
     as the great seal came in fashion, some man 
     
     eminent for his learning and attainments was 
     
     selected toxake the custody of it, the sovereign 
     
     hanging it rid his neck. rid telling him to use 
     
     lt‘tu the honor ofGotl and is king. 
     
     " The first great scale were rude enough, the 
     
     earliest one we possess being a dab of lead. 
     
     hung by a silk string to a charter of Edward the 
     
     ottfeeeor. Lead was soon exchanged for wax ;l 
     
     and .the Conqueror. together with many of his: 
     
     rl, used grmt wax. to signify the perpet-' 
     
     ual nature of the document—a custom retained at, 
     
     the present day in the seals attached to charters, ' 
     
     patents of peerage. and other instruments having a 
     
     an unlimited ditrstion. ' 
     
     If we may credit the testimony ofSiowe upon 
     
     the subject. William I. had it curious and aim le 
     
     wt, ofaealing his grants, being none other than 
     
     ¥of putting on the wait the impression of his 
     
    
   
   
    
     royalty, that it should have been trusted out of‘ 
     
     I 
     
    
   
   
    
     to alleellt. In siippnrt of this assviriion, a 
     
     tit ficertoln manor of Hope to one l'aulyii 
     
     kydon oitod. which in inodcrn Eiiglisli runs 
     
     is follows»:- 
     
     I William. king, in the third year of my reign, 
     
     Give to tbee,l‘it.lyn Rnydnmllo ie and llopo town , 
     
     With till the bounds both up on down. 
     
     7. in heaven to eitrtlt, from earth to hell. 
     
     If rely its this king’: right is mine. 
     
     ' eresa-bew and arrow, 
     
     D 
     
    
   
   
    
     i   V 
     
    
   
   
    
     lnalurol one being the august lady so worthy of 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     arters preceding that reign are usually] 
     
    
   
   
    
     land capable ofperforiniiig the duties devolving,‘ ll’ “"9 3 will 0" "3 OW": {Wm Wll 
     
     l iip_oii the keeper of his si-al. After vainly endea-‘Gill l9"'5 Welficmelllllf ‘~‘X°l“‘l9‘l- 
     
    
   
   
    
     vouritig to fix iipon sonic male keeper, he at last 
     
     placed it in the hands of his wife, Eleanor. who 
     
     not only sealed all his writs antl cliaiters (lu|’llI_-1 
     
     is absence, hiit sat in person in the court of 
     
     Chancery, lioiirinu causes and delivering judg- 
     
     ment—her judicial fniictiona being interrupted 
     
     only for a short time by by an accident peculiar to 
     
     a letnslejndge, no other, in fact, thaniher confine- 
     
     ment! Afrer lining clitiichctl, she returned to 
     
     her duties, anti ligld the kingdom for tiearly a 
     
     ar. 
     
     Our ttncestors appear to have looked with a 
     
     sort of superstitious vcneration upon the great 
     
     seal itself, for they not only recognizetl the sove- 
     
     rrign as the fouiitaiti of justice, merry, atid 
     
     liouoiir, but they bi-Iieved that that justice, mercy, 
     
     and htiiiour must be conveyed through this ine- 
     
     diiitn alone. A rctnzirknble exetnplification of 
     
     this belief was given it-lit.-ii the infant Henry VI. 
     
     then but ninc inontlis old. was held in his nurse's 
     
     arms to preside over his first council; the massive 
     
     seal of the kitigtloin was laid in his lap,thc child's 
     
     little hands were closed over it, and ttitts it was 
     
     supposed the seal received a royal virtue: ‘and 
     
     the Master nftlie Rolls, taking it itito his custody 
     
     was presumed to be, by its possession, invested 
     
     with all the powers ofthe soveri-ign. 
     
    

    
     We may smile at these rude ideas of the fif- 
     
     teenth century ; but let us not forget that nearly 
     
     400 years later, when the illness of George lll. 
     
     prevented him from giving his assent to the hill 
     
     appointing his son regent, the great lawyers of 
     
     the day, with the illustrious Camden at their 
     
     head, seem to have been imbued with pretti 
     
     ttiucli the same superstition ; for thev declared 
     
     that although the king in his natural capacity‘ 
     
     was untihlo to act as a sovereign. in his political 
     
     ciipricity he was a< licaliliy us ever—tlie political 
     
     ‘big being the great seal; and by means of that 
     
     political king the bill was passed. 'I‘ltis dictum 
     
    

    
     f l.ord Camden has received the approval and 
     
     itffirtiiatittn of Int-sycrs and politicians from his 
     
     own to we |tl‘t’§L‘l|l tiitit- ; atitl lhuretom, houevcr 
     
     al|‘IlIi.'e the assertion may appear, it is neverthe- 
     
     less true, that there are in reality, at the present 
     
     moment, two sovereigns in the country-—the 
     
    
   
   
    
     ‘< 
     
     (D 
     
    
   
   
    
     our allegiance and love ; the political one being 
     
     the two ‘silver sauce-pan lids whose history we 
     
     are examining. 
     
    

    
     ltideed, the peculiar way in which the great 
     
     sea is at present used—to render valid letters 
     
     directed by the sovereign to private individuals. 
     
     affords another proof of a belief in some peculiar 
     
     and inexplicabl virtue residing in it. Two kinds 
     
     of instruinents have‘to pass under’ the great 
     
     seal—the one class. such as monoplies of inven- 
     
     tions, eommissions.&c., directed to allthe Qticen’s 
     
     sub'eets. and called ‘letters-patent,’ have the 
     
     sea affixed by a platted silk cord at the foot; 
     
     Eometlmfli as licfore mentioned, made of green, 
     
     but ordinarily of yellow wax, which, in certain 
     
     cases, where the instrument is likely to meet 
     
     with a good deal of wear and tear, is enclosed in 
     
     bti -colored lcatlicr, upon which the nbv--rso and 
     
     reverse of the seal arr stamped. lint where the 
     
     letter is (lllt‘4'll:tl to .1 private individual, the seal 
     
     is, as in other letti-rs, used to secure it from 
     
    
   
   
    
     general ob-:.i-.rv:ition. but used in a very eingiihir 
     
     manner: the parrlinient dticiiinent is rolled tightlv 
     
     tip, forinin-,1 it little i ttntllti about two inches long, 
     
    
   
   
    
     ich all regal 
     
    
   
   
    
     seal of the kingdom. coining into the hands ofthe 
     
     parliament upon the ctipitulatior. of Oxford, in 
     
     1645, was broken in pieces by a hlacltstnitli, at 
     
     the bar of the House of Ctimznons. 
     
    

    
     since the Restoration, the great seal has once 
     
     or twice been in verv considerable tribiilation. 
     
     When James ll. was on the throne, the atrocious 
     
    

    
     etfreys was its ciistodtan: so alarmed was arues 
     
     when upon the point of ubdicnting, lest the 
     
     important instrumetit should get into the 
     
     liunds of his politii.-til enemies, that he made 
     
     Jeflreys come itnd reside in the some biiildin 
     
     with him, at Whitehall, in order that the sen 
     
     might be continually under his own observation 
     
     and protection. The day before he left the 
     
     kingdom, he took it from the cliancellor, and 
     
     whilst being ferried across the 'l‘liatiies on his 
     
     flight to Ft-aiice, he threw the ensign of royalty 
     
     into the river. fondly imagining that tho regal 
     
     fiiiictions could not he performed without it. 
     
     If indeed such had been the case, the action 
     
     wits rcntlcrcd useless, for it short titno after- 
     
     wards the ill-used seal was dragged up in the 
     
     net ofu ll“llf‘l'lfllLI, and conveyed by liiiu to the 
     
     privy-council. 
     
    

    
     In I78-l. during the cbancellorship of Lord 
     
     Tliurlow, the great s. i.‘. Wll§7'('all1/ lost. Some 
     
     burglars entered his lordship's house, on 
     
     walked oil" with it few valuables. itrnotigst which 
     
     was the seal of the kingdom, and I believe it 
     
     never was recovered. A privy council was 
     
     summoned next iiiorning,tbe loss made known, 
     
     ttnd such was .the expedition used, that in 
     
     thirty-six hours it new settl wits ‘t|'t‘p:tl‘€(I ; and 
     
     we have it on good authority tlntt. for the 
     
     retuniiiiiig eight years of his cliaiii.-llorship, 
     
     the noble lord ailwziys slept with the great soul 
     
     ttmlcr his pillow. 
     
    
   
   
    
     s 
     
     More ridiculous was it temporary loss of the 
     
    
   
   
    
     seal durin_r the cliancllorship of Lord Eldon. 
     
     This great jutlge had the ptofonntlest sense 
     
     of the iiiipoi-tunco of the trust rt-posed in him, 
     
     which was diiiibtlcss not diiniiiislicd by the 
     
     kind and .~iii;;iilar inttnncr iii which his sove- 
     
     reign hod convcyod it into his hands : for Lord 
     
    

    
     ldoii tells us in his dairy, that when he went 
     
     to the police for the purpose of receiving the 
     
     soul. the king (George the Ill.) was seated on 
     
     it sof:i. with his coat partially buttoned,nnd 
     
     the soul piishctl in on the left side, between his 
     
     coat nntl tviiistcont. He drew it forth on the 
     
     iippcztraitce of the chancellor, and handed it to 
     
     him with these words: ‘Here, I give it you 
     
     frotn my heart.’ 
     
    

    
     llaviiig all this continually in his recollec- 
     
     tion, his lordsliip never went to bed is single 
     
     night without having the soul in his chamber. 
     
     One night. in in year 1812, he was awakened 
     
     by his house llblltg on fire. His first thoughts 
     
     were for the sat.-ty of the seal; snntcbirigit 
     
     from the platen it-ht-ro it ltty, be rushed down 
     
     stairs and buried it in the flower-garden behind 
     
     the lioiise. l'p "l returning to his dwelling, he 
     
     says, in his «l .iry. tltiit he was ‘ so enchanted 
     
     with the pretty sight of the iiinids who had 
     
     turned out of their beds, and were banding in 
     
     htickcts of waiter to the fire-engine, nil in their 
     
     shifts, and so alttrmcd for the safety of La 
     
     lililoii,’ that in tha‘ morning he could not recall: 
     
     lcct in tlic lt'.'lSl u-/zicli flower-lied be hot! buried 
     
     t to son . ‘ You never saw, ho ndds in the 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     ‘noble keeper of it would probably burn his 
     
    
   
   
    
     _nttl sealing of any document with it; an 
     
     ;indced the services of two skillful officers, 
     
     ‘called respectively ‘ the sealer’ and ‘ the chef! 
     
     war.’ are put in requisition wlicnever the seal 
     
     . is eflixed. 
     
    

    
     As the birth of it new seal is .1 matter of 
     
     ceremony, so is also the defacing of on old one. 
     
     This operation, technically termed “,dumtts- 
     
     king.’ is erformed by §ll6'§U\'t2l'elgl1 in council 
     
     —tlie old) seal being, in tlii- eye of the law, 
     
     rendered useless nfter the sovereign has hit it 
     
     a gentle blow with n smiill lillllilnef. The 
     
     idamaeked seal is the perquisitc of the chancel- 
     
     lor, ta perquisite of more value tit the resent 
     
     day than formerl , for up to the year I 15 the 
     
     soul was made 0 co per, wlicreas now, as we 
     
     have already said, it is of silver. A very 
     
     amusing incident occurred at the dnmasking 
     
     by William IV. of the seal used by the re- 
     
     ceding king. Lord Lyndhupst held the sea at 
     
     the demise of George lV., but Lord Brougham 
     
     was its kee er when the seal of William was 
     
     ; once there were two claimants for 
     
     the dnmasked seal. one Irguim: that it was 
     
     really it seal of the preceding reign. and as 
     
     such vested in him at the dcatli of the sove- 
     
     ‘reign ; the other. that itwiis in full force until 
     
     Lit was actually defaced. The king himself was 
     
    

    
     eventually appealed to, to settle the dispute, 
     
     ;'und—as is the ease in most matters—there 
     
     [dieing much to be said on both sides. he deci- 
     
     ded that the two lords should such have half; 
     
     and very kindly ordered his goldsinith to insert 
     
     the two halves in two superb silver solvers, 
     
     which he presented to his two minister, re- 
     
     commendin them to ‘toss u ’ which should 
     
     have the obverse, and which the reverse of the 
     
     ca . 
     
     As the great seal is delivered into the bonds 
     
     of the chancellor by tho sovc-rci;:n himself, it 
     
     has from time inimemorinl been the custom for 
     
     that oliicer to render it back again ersonnlly 
     
     to his master, or at all events, on y to plrt 
     
     with it to it special messenger, nrmed with a. 
     
     warrant under the sign intitiucl, and sent 
     
     directly from the sovereign to receive it. 
     
     Every one knows the bold Mttiid Wolsey made 
     
     when, after his fall, the Duke; of Norfolk and 
     
     Suflblk endeavoured, by a in-.-rely verbal mes- 
     
     sage from the king, to obtniii from him his im- 
     
     portzint trust; and how the noble messengers 
     
     were obliged to retract: their steps, and obtain 
     
     the legal document which the great cardinal 
     
     r ‘re It was indeed no uncommon thin 
     
     for the Tudors and Stuarts to make persona 
     
     and private application to their chancellor for 
     
     the grant seal, and to retain it in their custody 
     
     for it few days, during which they used it to 
     
     give ellcct to proclamations, pardons, and di i- 
     
     tics. to wliic they well knew their chiinco lor 
     
     would be citliertoo conscientious or too fearful 
     
     to nflix it. 
     
    

    
     The danger of losing the great setil, if conti- 
     
     nuttlly niovcdfroin place to plilcc, coupled with 
     
     the prcsttrncd necessity of it» being always 
     
    

    
     resent when the chiinccllo performs any one 
     
     ol‘ his ]li)llilt‘l|l or judiciitl (llltlt“~, its declaratory 
     
     of the zitct of his really lniving in his possession 
     
     the iiistrtiineiit frotii \'l'lllt‘l| t‘ll his power is 
     
     yours caiiscd it curious 
     
    
   
   
    
     |l'3I'lVl.‘ll has of late 
     
     ll-‘llttll to ho utioptctl. llic lirntttiliilly cmb|oi- 
     
    
   
   
    
     from which a long strip protrudes. having the d‘‘l‘‘.‘'v ‘ “"."“'l"‘-' "" "l‘”°"l““9 “~“ -"°°l“S ill“ tl'¥l‘t‘<l ptirsc U1‘ hag iiiiitlo for the rttccption of 
     
    
   
   
    
     iiatne zixiil titlt~ of the person to wlitim 
     
     tl ' 
     
    
   
   
    
     it is ad-l“'l"'l'~‘ ''-‘'''l‘'.‘' *l‘'“'” ll“-‘ “"‘"“‘ ‘lll’l’li"i-I “ill! the soul is llftlllt.‘ Lorne ‘iuf-no the Clll|Il(‘t’ll0I’, 
     
    
   
   
    
     l’('sst_‘tl writiin upon it. A picceot twine is‘,l’ll*‘ "l_ Sllcl-'** tiiilil mt (',,,“,,j it] This wits. nlitl t-xliil itcd in the (‘wart c' Cliiiiiccry. the 
     
    
   
   
    
          
     
    
   
   
    
     l tightly tied ariiind the package; it hit of \\'flX.‘““. “Cl “"“- ll"‘ lj“"’ _“‘”‘-‘ ll” f$"°“t Will ll“! lltillnii‘ of li-irils. ltlltl t-l.<ciilir-rt . in place of tho 
     
     tilioiitus big as it sixpciict-. is pressed with tlin l““'” "‘ ‘l"";§"""l l“'"‘o'.§ l°9l- , _ zitlill itself. \\'liiI'll it scldoiit if ci '1' contains, 
     
     thumb .iiitl fii_vi'r ii;nn the ends oftwinttz and A‘; iii" l‘“"""‘i ‘l“."v l"‘li'_“" "“.‘!'“'ll-“ llwll‘ :-2 -l obit-‘i i. only lill\i.ll li‘ti'tl it tiorc secure 
     
    

    
     ‘the xraliiig i--v 'l"“l' l by merely !oi1t'}ir'1t_.~:tlic tvrit “”_'l “‘ "-“l“ l.‘,'~ ll“‘ _“'’‘l “l “"3 l<‘"§'l‘”" ‘_"“ <l~ -,-.~-'t-tr‘. \vlu~n -.ii'tit:ill_\' t'ct.iiiiw"d to he used. 
     
     \\llll oi o oz il:-- it thus of the seal, ti hcn it iioni«~- l'~‘1“ it "~ "1'-“ml “"[W|"l1l“K'4‘- -\> U111‘ “' 4? ‘L  t;..,- __.--it .~'--til is t'it- \’-‘ii’ .iu:i'.hcs'is of 
     
    

    
     ‘ I