With regard to the other design, of the eagle, with the lyre on its breast, and the stars of the constellation Lyra, I can only say that I possess the seal which was the original form in which the device was presented. There it has the motto, _Nunc sidera ducit_, taken from the Astronomicon of Manilius, describing the effect of the Lyre of Orpheus, "At Lyra diductis per coelum cornibus inter Sidera conspicitur, qua quondam ceperat Orpheus Omne quod attigerat, cantu, manesque per ipsos Fecit iter, domuit que infernas carmine leges. Hinc coelestis honos, similisque potentia causæ: Tunc silvas et saxa trahens, nunc sidera ducit, Et rapit immensum mundi revolubilis orbem." II. 331-337. It is my opinion that, although this last line does not appear, my father had it in his mind when applying the device to the American passport, but I have not had the leisure to look for any explanation he may have himself left of it. His papers are voluminous, and I have barely as yet glanced at any part of their contents. This must be my apology for sending you so unsatisfactory a reply. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, (Signed,) CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. The following is a translation of the above quotation:-- Conspicuous among the stars, its horns wide spread over the heavens, is the Lyre, with which Orpheus was wont to captivate everything to which he addressed his song, and even made a journey through Hades itself, and put to sleep the infernal laws. Hence, its celestial honor; and, by the same power with which it then drew rocks and trees along, it now leads the stars, and _whirls along the immense orb of the revolving world_. This last line shows that the constellation Lyra, as an emblem of union for the United States, would have been an amplification of the attribute of "fascination" ascribed to the Rattlesnake, as an emblem of union for the United States, in the account we have already given of the Rattlesnake as such, in describing the standard of the commander-in-chief of the American navy; for the constellation Lyra would not only imply "that those who consider the liberty and blessings which America affords, and once come over to her, never afterwards leave her, but spend their lives with her," but that by their union and harmony the United States would "whirl along the immense orb of the revolving world," to follow their example in their forms of government.