SEAL, SEALING-WAX. 



177 



the fur is yellowish-gray, with irregular hlackish 

 spots. The phoca, lagura is a species which inhab- 

 its Newfoundland. The size is the same as the 

 preceding; the colour silvery-gray, with blackish- 

 brown spots; the sides and under surface almost 

 white ; the nails are strong and black ; the tail 

 woolly. Three other species of seals inhabit the 

 Greenland seas P. Groenlandica, P. hispida, and 

 P. barbata. The latter attains the length of ten 

 feet. It is probable that others inhabit the coasts 

 of America ; but the species of seal, in general, are not 

 well understood. The hooded seal (stemmatopus 

 cristatus) is remarkable for a globular sac, susceptible 

 of inflation, which is situated upon the summit of 

 the head of the males. It grows to the length of 

 seven or eight feet, and inhabits the seas about 

 Greenland and Newfoundland. The sea-elephant 

 (macrorhinus proboscidea), next to the cetacea, is 

 one of the largest of the mammalia, attaining the 

 length of twenty-five or thirty feet. It inhabits 

 the Antarctic seas, and is found upon the southern 

 coasts of Australasia, Juan Fernandez, and the 

 neighbouring parts of South America. It is re- 

 markable for the faculty which the male possesses 

 of elongating the upper lip into a sort of proboscis : 

 this power is only exerted at times. The canine 

 teeth form stout tusks. The voice of these animals 

 resembles the lowing of cattle. The sea-bear 

 (arctocephalus ur sinus), so named from the fur and 

 shape of the head, inhabits the coasts of the North 

 Pacific, and is also said to be found in the southern 

 hemisphere. It grows to the length of five or six 

 feet, and has small external ears. The membrane 

 of the hinder feet is prolonged into as many lobes 

 as there are toes ; and the fore feet are placed very 

 far back. The colour of the fur is brown, and 

 when old takes a grayish tint. The sea-lion (pla- 

 tyrhynchus leoninus') grows to the length of from 

 six to ten feet, and is said to inhabit both the 

 northern and southern coasts of the Pacific. The 

 colour is yellowish brown; and the males have a 

 large mane upon their necks, which partly covers 

 their head and shoulders. The nails of the fore 

 feet are very small, and in part wanting. The 

 voice of the males is very powerful 



SEAL, SEALING-WAX. To seal important 

 documents is a very ancient custom. Writers on 

 diplomatics mention, besides metals, five substances 

 on which impressions were made, or with which 

 letters and public acts were sealed, viz. terra sigil- 

 lata (q. v.), cement, paste, common wax, and 

 sealing wax. The terra sigillata was used by the 

 Egyptians, and appears to have been the first sub- 

 stance employed for sealing. The Romans were 

 acquainted with sealing-earth, and used also clay 

 and common wax, which has been employed for 

 sealing, in Europe, since the earliest times; but 

 writers on diplomatics are not agreed whether 

 white or yellow wax was first used. In the course 

 of time, it was coloured. Impressions on paste or 

 dough are of a much later origin. Proper diplomas 

 were never sealed with wafers; but kings were ac- 

 customed to seal their letters with this paste before 

 the invention of sealing-wax. Maltha also was 

 used for seals. (See Cement.} Some writers 

 assert that sealing-wax was invented about 1640, 

 by a Frenchman, named Rousseau. It was called, 

 in France, cire d'Espagne (Spanish wax). At the 

 time of its invention, a kind of gum lac, that was 

 only once melted, and coloured a little red, was 

 called Portugal wax (cire de Portugal}. That 

 sealing-wax was either not at all or very little 



vi. 



known in Germany, at the beginning of the six- 

 teenth century, may be inferred from its not being 

 mentioned either by Porta or Wecker. The French 

 have supposed that sealing-wax was used earlier in 

 the East Indies than in Europe; but Beckmann, in 

 his History of Inventions, declares himself unable 

 to decide this point. The oldest known seal, made 

 of our common sealing-wax, is that found by Mr 

 Roos on a letter from London, dated August 30, 

 1554, and addressed to the rheingrave Philip 

 Francis von Daun, by his agent in England, 

 Gerard Hermann. The next seal, in the order of 

 time, is one of the year 1561, on a letter written 

 to the council of Gorlitz at Breslau, found in the 

 archives of Gorlitz. Mr Beckmann mentions a 

 series of other old seals. The earliest mention of 

 sealing-wax in printed books, is probably contained 

 in the Aromatum et Simplicium aliquot Historic, 

 Garcia ab Horto auctore (Antverpise, 1574). It 

 was first printed in 1563 ; and it appears from this 

 that sealing-wax was then in common use with the 

 Portuguese. The most ancient printed receipt for 

 making sealing-wax is in a work by Samuel Zim- 

 mermann, of Augsburg, entitled Neu Titularbuch 

 (1579); and it is remarkable that nothing is said 

 of gum lac, at present the principal ingredient in 

 sealing-wax, at least in that of the best quality : 

 the composition approaches, on the contrary, very 

 near to that which, in diplomatics, is called maltha. 

 This invention, therefore, one might conclude, was 

 not brought from the East Indies. At the time 

 when writing was not a common accomplishment, 

 the seal very often took the place of the name, so 

 that we find eighty-eight seals attached to the 

 instrument which sets forth the election of Ladis- 

 laus, by the Hungarian estates, in 1440, and 350 

 seals attached to the statement of grievances, sent, 

 in 1415, by the Bohemian estates, to the council of 

 Constance, as we find at present crosses made by 

 Indian chiefs when they conclude treaties by 

 written instruments. To protect seals against 

 falsification, a counter seal (contrasigillwri) privy 

 seal in England) was often put on the reverse of 

 the large seal. In Germany, this was first done 

 under the emperor Henry III. ; in France, under 

 Louis VII. These small seals were in later periods 

 used alone in cases of minor importance. As the 

 seal was so important, the keeper of it was always 

 a high officer. With the Greek emperors, the 

 keepers were the logotheti; with the Merovingians, 

 the refcrendarii; with the Carlovingians, and later 

 emperors, the chancellors. The elector of Mayence, 

 the arch-chancellor of the German empire, was, 

 down to the latest times of the empire, the keeper 

 of the seals. In France, the chancellor was also, 

 originally, the keeper of the seals; but as the office 

 of chancellor could not be taken from him, a garde 

 des sceaux was appointed if the chancellor fell into 

 disgrace. The garde des sceaux had the rank, 

 official dress, and privileges of the chancellor. The 

 seals were kept in a silver box, of which he was 

 to carry the keys continually with him. The 

 royal edicts and patents were sealed with green 

 wax. Under the republic, all the royal seals were 

 destroyed. All the impressions made with them 

 were likewise ordered to be destroyed, and the 

 greatest part actually were so. Napoleon adopted 

 a seal with impressions on two sides, according 

 to the fashion of the royal times. The chancellors 

 in France were formerly obliged to seal the royal 

 orders, and it was made their chief duty to attach 

 the seal to none which were inconsistent with law 



