Note 516 — NEW ENGLISH CANAAN OR NEW CANAAN. (continued 3)

The “covered case,” in which Governor Winthrop is supposed to have brought over the charter of 1629, is still to be seen in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth at the State House in Boston; and that in which Endicott brought over the patent of 1628 was, it may be inferred from the text, similar in appearance. It very much resembles the case for “some instrument of musick,” being a flat, narrow box, 2 feet 10 inches long, by 3½ inches wide and 3 inches deep. It has a species of circular annex, so to speak, at its middle, intended to contain the seal. This annex, like the box, is of wood, and is 7 by 8 inches in surface, and the same in depth as the main case, of which it is a part. The whole is covered with stamped leather, now brown and mouldered with age. There are, however, some things about this case which suggest doubts as to its having been made quite so early as the time of Charles I.