Information Wanted.

INFORMATION WANTED .

By BRO . JACOB NORTON .

THE following was copied from fche " Gentleman ' s Magazine , " to which I respectfully call attention of Masonic students . A NARRATIVE of tho Persecution of Hippolyto Joseph da Costa Pereira Furtado de Mondcnca , a native of

Colonia-do-Sacramonto , on the River do la Plata ; imprisoned and tried in Lisbon , by the Inquisition , for the pretended Crime of Free-masonry . To which are added , the Bye-laws o £ the Inquisition of Lisbon , both antient and modern ( never beforo published ) , taken from the Originals in one of the Royal Libraries in London . 2 vols . Svo . Sherwood and Co .

With much regret we learn from this Narrative that the Inquisition still continues , with all its dreadful horrors , in Portugal . The Author of this " Narrative" is duly qualified to describe its dreadful horrors , having suffered ten years imprisonment for tho alleged crime of Free Masonry . Fortunately , however , he escaped and lived to tell the tale .

" From my earliest infancy I had accustomed rn > self to consider tho existence of tho Inquisition in Europe as a system formed by ignorance and superstition , and therefore I had always viewed it with horror ; hut little did I over dream of becoming myself a victim of its persecution . It is hardly credible that in the

nineteenth century a tribunal should exist , that , without any apparent cause , or without any violation of the laws of the country , should feel empowered to seize individuals , and try them for offences which must be considered imaginary , if they aro not to be found , which is the case , in the criminal code of thc country . " The volumes arc inscribed * .

" To the British Nation , at large , and more particularly to the most antient and venerable Society of free and accepted Masons , who have the honour at this time , and have had for theso 20 years , of possessing His Royal Highness the Princo Regent for their Grand Master , this work is humbly and most respectfully dedicated ,

as a token of his admiration for their Constitution , and as a pledge of Gratitude for their universally acknowledged philanthropy , which is not merely confined to Europe , but has extended its influence to the most distant corners of the Globe , by The Author . "

Mr . Hippolyto da Costa ( of whom a good portrait is given ) is Editor of the Correio Brazilienso , a Portuguese Journal published in London , on loyal but independent principles ; and seems fully entitled to the protection and patronage of tho Prince Regent of Portugal , and of tho British Nation . Some account of his Relations was given in our lasfc , p . 21 . The secrets of tho Prison House aro faithfully revealed ; and tho work abounds with useful information .

P . 143 , Vol . 82 , part 1 , Feb . 1812 , Gent . Mag . In the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE of 4 th May 1889 , the reader will find an account of a Trial of a French Freemason in Spain by the Inquisition , which I copied from Lleaenfc ' s History of fche Spanish Inquisition . The above extract from the " Gentleman ' s Magazine " furnishes a

clue to another Trial of a Freemason by the Inquisition . Now if I had access fco the two volumes by Bro . da Costa referred to above , I would take greafc pleasure in copying from the said volumes everything that I supposed would interest the readers of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . That

is , I would give an account of Bro . da Costa s imprisonment , trial , and final escape ; I would also copy the Byelaws of the Inquisition , if I found them interesting . Unfortunately , however , I cannot find Bro . da Costa ' s books in Boston , and I , therefore , ask some English

Brother fco do thafc unto me which I would have done unto him , if I had the power to do . The two volumes of Bro . da Costa can doubtless be found in some London

Library , and as he has dedicated his book fco the Masonic Fraternity , a copy of them may be found in Grand Lodge Library in London . I hope therefore that some good Brother will furnish the desired information above indicated . BOSTON , U . S ., 22 nd March 1894 .

"A History Of Freemasonry."

"A HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY . "

AT Bow County Court , before Judge French , Erskine ancl Co ., publishers , of Birmingham , sued Henry William Boorer , furniture dealer , Hubbard Street , Bow , for 5 gs . for books supplied . This was a case affecting a large number of Freemasons throughout the country , against many of whom similar actions are now

pending . Defendant was called upon by plaintiff's traveller and induced to sign an order for the delivery , in quarterly parts , of a book styled " The History of Freemasonry , " to be completed in three volumes , at 35 s each . When the parts began to arrive defendant found that the book was an old one published ten years ago , and he refused to go on with the contract .

Judge French ( examining the order ) : It says the book is to be completed in three volumes . To my mind that implies that it is to be a new work . In that ca .-e defendant would be justified in

refusing it . His Honour added that it was certainly a point which was open to argument , and lie would reserve his decision in that case till thc hearing of further similar cases which would be argued by counsel next week . —" Morning Post . "

The Antiquity Of Freemasonry.

THE ANTIQUITY OF FREEMASONRY .

SOME of our Masonic Lecturers make very bold statements in regard to the early history of the Craft , bufc the following , from the " Oban Times " seems to allow of little , if any , further extension into the far-off realms of the past :

Mr . Wm . Campbell , Oban , recently delivered a most interesting address to the members of the local Lodge of Freemasons ( Commercial , No . 180 ) , in regard to the antiquity of Freemasonry . In tho course of the address he said . *—" From the time of Adam to Noah Scriptural history contains a complete prophecy of Christ and his sacrifice , yet the people got so

corrupted that Noah is told to build an ark as a further warning to the wickedness of the people ; and after it was built , but before its internal fittings were commenced—as wo learn from an old tradition mentioned in Bryant ' s ' Analysis , ' Maurice ' s Hindostan , ' papers on Asiatic Researches , and Faber ' s ' History of Pagan Idolatry '—the first close-tylod lodge was held in Noah ' s Ark iu tho

year 1599 from Adam , and 57 years before the flood . The first degree was wrought in tho lower , the second in the middle , and tho third in tho upper storey . Methuselah is mentioned as ono of those present , as well as several others who died , like Methuselah , before the flood . Then , a further proof of this is shown in the solar allegory as handed down to us thafc Masonry was first

practised in a close-tyled Lodge when Taurus was in the vernal equinox , Loo at the summer solstice , Scorpio at the autumnal equinox ; ancl as the rate of precision is known to all astronomers , they have calculated when the vernal equinox was in Taurus , and fine ! thafc ifc was in 1599 from Adam , and 57 years beforo tlio flood . So that astronomy proves the tradition before alluded to as correct .

What , then , is Freemasonry ? The answer is—Whero the wayfaring stranger will find a home . But what says the old Hebrew and tho Greek languages regarding the word Mason ? In the old Hebrew it means a religious sect—tlie professed devotees of fche Deity . Tho old Greek says that it signifies a peculiar family , or a particular race of peoplo , set apart for the worship of the true God . And in

the old French it has tho samo meaning as in the old Hebrew . Here , then , three different languages show what its meaning was in ancient times , and where can one find a better home than in keeping near to God ? Masonry , then , is a religion , or a believing faith in God . In 1783 Captain George Smith , Inspector of the Royal Artillery Academy at Woolwich , and Prov . Grand Master

of Masonry for the county of Kent , published a treatise on the ' Uso and Abuse of Freemasonry . ' In his chapter on the antiquity of Freemasonry , he makes it coeval with the creation . The learned Dr . Dodd , Grand Chaplain of Masonry , in his oration at the dedication of the Freemasons' Hall , London , traces Masonry through a variety of stages . Masons , he says , are well informed that thc building of Solomon ' s temple is an era whence they derive

many mysteries of their art . This event took place about a thousand years before the Christian era , consequently more than a century beforo Homer , the first of the Grecian poets . Remote , however , as this period is , we date not thence the commencement of the art ; for though -it mighfc owe to tho wise and glorious King of Israel some of its many mystic forms and ceremonies , yet certainly the art itself is coeval with man . "

Initiation Among The Druses And Freemasonry.

INITIATION AMONG THE DRUSES AND FREEMASONRY .

( From the " Asiatic Quarterly Review . " ) I HAVE a slight knowledge of the Khojahs , from the time of Hassan Sabbah , when he and Nizam-ul-Mulk and Omar Khayyam wero students at Naishapur , clown to the present Head of the sect . The subject of Initiations has a great attraction to me , —and is one I believe that will be found of great importance in relation

to many branches of Archaeological inquiry as well as in relation to our modern Masonic system . —I'his has long been my idea , and I have wrought out ono or two lines of ancient ideas on the matter , but much remains yet to be done . Our modern Masons , I find , havo not realised the importance of this subject , —and my friend Mr . Gould , although he is about our highest authority on the modern History of Masonry , takes little or no interest in it .

It is generally assumed that the rites of Masonry are ancient , ancl are of Eastern origin , but how they came West , or how the Masons acquired them , no one at present can tell . There aro all sorts of theories , —and among them is one that they were brought to Europe by the Crusaders . This is of course a possible theory , — for some things were brought to the West by these people . Still

we have no certainty of this so far as Masonry is concerned . The Druses are said to have had initiation rites , —and if so , such rites were perhaps common among Esoteric Muhainmedans . The Dervishes are said to have Masonic rites . Now any light on such rites , if they exi . sted , would be valuable in relation to tho general

subject of initiatory rites , and also m relation to Masonic rites . These remarks will show you what is wanted , and if you find anything of this kind in the MS . of the " Kelam-i-pir " which you have received , or in " Esoteric Muhammedanism " I should like to hear about it .

A paper of mine was lately read before the Royal Institute of British Architects , " On the Classical Influence in the Architecture of the Indus Region and Afghanistan . " I have given up the Greek origin , and think that some ot the influence at least is Roman , and that some of tho forms came through Palmyra . My paper is confined wholly to Architectural forms , not touching on the coins or sculpture . WILLIAM SIMPSON .