of
St. Mary's;[37] but above all, distinguished as the first focal point of
Anglo-American civilization within the present boundaries of the
State[38] of Maryland.

St. Mary's, which also had been purchased from the Indians--how
honorable to the memory of those who took part in that transaction!--and
which had borne the appellation of Augusta-Carolina, included a
territory of thirty miles, extending toward the mouth of the Potomac,
and embracing the St. Mary's, which flows into that river. Within this
country was also the small city, which had been founded upon the site of
an aboriginal village, and which, like the river upon which it stood,
derived its beautiful name from the Blessed Virgin. It was the chief
star in a constellation of little settlements and plantations, and for a
period of about sixty years was the provincial capital of Maryland; a
city of which nothing now remains deserving the dignity of ruins; a few
relics only are preserved, the records and everything belonging to the
government having long since been removed to Annapolis, but a spot
still consecrated in the affections of the country.

Judging from the number of wholesome laws enacted in 1649, as well as
the shortness of their session--for it did not include twenty-five
days--it would seem, the assemblymen of this year were certainly not
very fond of talking or speechmaking. It appears, also, that some of
them, like our Saxon forefathers, could neither read nor write. It can
be proved from the records that two of them, at least, were in the habit
of making a signet mark. But did they not leave a mark also upon the
country and upon the world?

The "Act Concerning Religion"--for that is the title of the law--forms
so important a link in the aim of this narrative that its leading
provisions should be stated. The design was five-fold: To guard by an
express penalty "the most sacred things of God"; to inculcate the
principle of religious decency and order; to establish, upon a firmer
basis, the harmony already existing between the colonists; to secure in
the fullest sense freedom, as well as protection, to all believers in
Christianity; and to protect quiet disbelievers against every sort of
reproach or ignominy. In determining the different lines and landmarks,
a regard, of course, must be had to the spirit of the charter, to the
theological notions of the age, and to the character of the elements
which then composed the population of the province.