Reviews.

the more we study these rules , the rrore we feel persuaded of their unreality , by whomsoever as Merzdorf has it , ( for he clearly comes to the same conclusion with us ) , the forgery was made . Whatever they may be they are not 13 th Century Regulations . We may add that the alleged MS . contains 3 6 Regulations . The same remark applies to the " Liber Consolamenti "

which is said to he Codex . XXXL , in the Vatican Library of the " Acta cor . tra Ordinem Militia : Templi . " This contains 20 regulations , and is said to have been transcribed by " Frater Robcrtus de Samford" Procurator of the Templar houses in England , the 4 th of the Kalends of July , 1246 , and to have been put together by Frater Roncelinus . We are struck with its incongruity , and even

impiety , its mixture of the devout teaching of the baptism of the Holy Spirit , and the extraction of the " Idol " Idolum Baphoraetum from the " Pyx . " The prcceedings of the chapter are termed " Perfectione Consolamenti , " which may be translated as Merzdorf has it , the perfection or fulfilment of the spiritual baptism , answering to the Illuminatin mentis of the Gnos'ics . No collation has been

made , as we said before , of the other MSS ., and we confess to the fear that in some mistaken zeal this is also a " fraus pias . " The 4 th MS . is a " Rotulus Signorum " a roll of signs which mark the " Fratres Militia Templi , " and all those , lay or clerical , who belong to the Secret Order of thc Elect . It is said to be Code * . XXXII . Vatican , as before , but has not been collated . It professes to have been translated by

Frater Roncelinus , in 1 240 , also . We regret that we must pass the same judgment upon this collection as on the others , saying that it is unreal , unhistorical , and unauthentic . Whether Miinter , as ehe late Bro . Merzdorf seems to surmise , had some hand iu these documents , when at Rome , it is perhaps impossible to say , but until their

reality as MSS . is established , they must be open to the gravest doubts , and even if the handwriting be of the 13 th century , they would still , we fancy , be a controveMal preparation , to justify the arbitrary acts of Pope and King in the destruction of the Templars , though , as we have before observed , the absurdity and impiety of these regulations must strike all conversant with the annals of those

imes and the sentiments of that epoch . To suppose , for instance , that the Knights fighting in the East were conversant with the controversies and sectional movements of offshoots from the Romish Church , thc " benihomines , " rf Lyons , the Waldenses , the Albigenses , & c , is too much for our credibility . It is quite impossible to conceive that any possible

connection could exist as between Mahommedan teaching and Christian Knights , or that the Templars could sympathize with thc alleged Pantheistic writing of Amalaricus de Bena and David de Dinanto . In fact these statutes would make the Templars . 1 sort of originators of frecthought , to say nothing of free love I In our opinion the internal evidence of the collection is

fatal to them , and ; they constitute a deliberate forgery , for some purpose , which does not yet clearly appear . We have clearly pointed out that the words " Magistri Massoneri " are not the Latini y of the 13 th century , and there we leave thc matter , though thc fact of a connection between thc Operathc Masons and the Templars may be true enough pel se . The allusion to " Abrac " in respect of

the Masons is also a late expression , and clearly points to a compilation for a purpose . We shall await curiously thc result of a possible search in the Vatican Library , as though we may be wrong , we are inclined to think that the existence of these alleged MSS . is not only

questionable in itself , but that it they be extant , they certainly do not represent the chirography of the 13 th century . As •3 II 1 century documrnts , we reject them without any hesitation whatever , simply on that internal evidence which sometimes speaks most clearly , and renders the tatk of the expert comparatively easy .

Sketches Of Masonic Character No. Ii.

SKETCHES OF MASONIC CHARACTER No . II .

BRO . T 1 MMINS IN WALES . We all of us know Bro . Timmins , of the Lodge of Gaiety , No . 3000 , and what a rising young man and Mason he is . Hear him talk , you would suppose that in hiin were centred all the learning of Anderson , and all the archaeology of Oliver , all the indefatigable labours of W . J . Hughan , all the steady application of D . Murray Lyon ;

and we need hardly add , that , in his own lodge , he is considered a first-rate authority on all Masonic matters , whether they be of history or etiquette . So much so that no one ventures to contest his opinion , no one dares to dispute , his " dictum . " He is excessively strong , above all , on the Book of Constitutions . Once upon a time , in an evil hour ftr us , we ventured—actually ventured—tojtake

the exception alike to an antiquarian assertion , and a ronstitutional exposition . And we shall never forget Bro . P . M . Snigger ' s look of mingled astonishment and awe . " Bro . Tomkinson , " lie said , solemly , to us , " are you aware that our Bro . Timmins is considered a first-class authority on all points ; so much so that we do not like to

controvert his opinion ? As a friend and a brother , let me warn you that you will offend many of thc brethren if you openly question Bro . Timmins ' s authority , which we , in this Lodge of Gaiety , always respect ; he is such a clever young man and Mason . " Well , we took the hint , and " drew in our horns , " though on both points Bro . Timmins was lamentably

wrong and ignorant . But so it is , and we know not a few lodges where a " Timmins" exists , andwhere he dees a frightful quantity of mischief . Bro . Timmins , like all great men , must have a . holiday , and so he has started for Llandudno , with his three sisters , and a very agrreable party they make , as some young

Sketches Of Masonic Character No. Ii.

Oxford men , reading with a tutor , have found out , and who seem to prefer the bright eyes and good looks of Miss Emma , Miss Jane , and Miss Katharine , to all the classical studies and all the natural feience in the world . Timmins is not a bad fellow in himself , if he was not so bumptious and set up , and as they say " revenge is sweet , " so I have mine in the fact specially and solely reserved for

the Frecmasoi , that he is terribly bullied , and perfectly kept in order by his sisters , who will "stand none of his nonsense , " as they say , and , like British Maidens of the hour , are neither to be " put upon " nor " trampled down . " If he makes a show and stir in his lodge , it is comfortable to reflect that he is fully appreciated , and constantly

snubbed at home , and as no one , as the French say , is a " hero " to his " valet de chambre , " so when our outward tinsel and public padding are taken from us , how often do we appear , like the citizens of " Lilliput , " to the discerning vision and the calm understanding of our home circle . If the " whirligig of time brings strange conceits" with it it also carries with it a Nemesis as well .

Notes On Art, &C.

NOTES ON ART , & c .

ST . ALBAN ' S ABBEY . —An interesting discovery has just been made at St . Alban ' s Abbey during the laying down of gas pipes for the purpose of lighting up the Cathedral portion of the building . It has been considered by many authorities that the ancient Chapter-house , which was destroyed , to fix the latest time , at the early part of

the eighteenth century , stood on the south side of the slope , and this conjecture has been confirmed by the discovery of the responds and of the northern , western , and eastern walls . The respnnds are deemed the most elaborate zig-zag traceried Norman mouldings yet found in this country . It was necessary at once to cover up the interesting remains discovered , as a public footway passes over

the spot . THE GROSVENOR GALLERY . —We are informed that it is intended to open this gallery early in November with a representative exhibition of water-colour drawings and studies by deceased masters . As far as possible the collection is to be completely illustrative of the rise and growth of this branch of art in the English school . The loan

oi several important collections has already been promised . SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM . —The carpets and embroidery , the gift of His Majesty the Shah of Persia to the South Kensington Museum , have arrived . and are now exhibited in the portion of the Museum devoted to Persian objects of art .

D . tDALt'S on LAPUTA . —Among the patents for which application has been made at the German Patent Office is one worthy of special notice . The object is a " Lenkbares Flugel-Luftschiff" ( steering-winged aerial ship ) . Its inventor is George Baumgarten , Royal Chief Ranger at the forest-house , Gruna , near Chemnitz , in Saxony . A BUST OF THUCVDIDES . —A marble bust which has

been at Holkham Hall , the property of the Earl of Leicester , since the middle of last century , has just been identified by Professor Michaelis , of Strasburg , as a portrait of Thucydides ; more than that , as a much finer portrait of the historian than the only hitherto known example in Naples , where he is conjoined with Heredotus in a double term inscribed with his name . In spite of

certain peculiarities there seems to be no good reason for doubting the genuineness of the inscription . And since it would not be at all fair to suppose that the name was selected at hap-hazard , as has often been the case in modern times , we must conclude that the sculptor had before him a portrait to copy from traditionally known as that of Thucydides . It is a different question when we come to

inquire whether this original portrait may not after all have been , if not imaginary , at least very much idealised , as it is called sometimes . Against this possibility it can hardly be safe as an argument , but perhaps rather the contrary , to extract a man ' s character from his works , and then to find this reflected in his features and expression . The Holkham bust appears to have been brought from Italy ,

but it has this advantage over the Naples one , that it has been copied , as Professor Michaelis points out , in detail from an original dating from the period of Greek portraiture which followed the influence of Lysippus . A full discussion of the question relating to this very interesting portrait is given by Professor Michaelis in the " Festschrift " sent by the University of Strasburg to the sister

University of Tubingen on the occasion of the fourth Sacularfeier recently held at the latter place . Two photographs from a cast of the bust are also given , and , to compare with them , a small engraving from the Naples trust . —Academy . A COMPANION or FAUST . —A . T . Cataldi writes to thc Time ; : — " The Caxton celebration being an event which

by its very nature can only recur at a stated future time , all that refers to it should be at once presented . Is it presumptuous in me to wish to add my mite , which I do not see mentioned in any of the interesting information afforded hitherto ? John Guttenburg , or Gutenberg , one of those to whom the invention of the art of printing is attributed , had for partner , as is well known , one John

Faust . John Fust , or Faust , had passed some time in Italy , namely in Venice , with a certain Panfilo Castaldi , of Feltre . This last is the person to whom I would call attention , as a link in the chain concerning the yet doubtful awarding of the palm fur the invention of printing . Castaldi having seen several Chinese books which Marco

Polo , of travelled celebrity , had brought from China , printed by means of wooden blocks , constructed moveable types , each type containing a single letter , and with these printed a number of sheets , some of which are preserved to this day among the archives of Feltre . With Castaldi John Faust spent some time , and acquired from him his in-YAnlinn , which , after his return to Germany , Gutenberg de-

Notes On Art, &C.

veloped with him into the art of printing . As the inven tor of this art , Castaldi's fellow-citizens erected a statue to his memory in his native town of Feltre , which lies on a height near the Piave . Is it not somewhat of a duty to recall Panfilo Castaldi ( at different times or periods vari .

ously written Catuldi and Cataldi ) at this time , to partake with others , even after so many centuries , of his meed of the appreciation which is being expressed through the present celebration in memory of one of the greatest workers in the ait of printing ? To the duty of this senti ment permit me as a descendant to call attention . "

THE SATELLITES OF MARS . —Mr . R . A . Proctor says : — " I am surprised that so little attention has been as yet publicly drawn to the interesting discovery just made , that Mars has two satellites . This discovery has been made with the great Washington refractor by Professor Asaph Hall , who has recently made many valuable observations on that exceedingly difficult object , Hyperion

Saturn ' s seventh satellite ( eighth and last in order of (] j s . covery ) . It might be worth while , by the way , with so powerful a telescope as this , to look for other Saturnian moons in the s ace between the orbits of Titan and Jape . tus , or even for small satellites of these satellites . Mivs can no longer be called , as by the Poet Laureate , ' Moonless Mars , ' though his moons must be very little ones '

for Jupiter ' s least , though so much more remote , and no larger than our own moon , is among the easiest of telescopic objects , and can even be seen in a good opera glass . From the brief telegram sent to Leverrier from Washing . ton , it would seem that the periods of the two moons are about 30 hours and about 15 hours ; their distances abuut 13 , 800 and 8603 miles respectively from Mar's centre , I

deduce these values from the statement that on August 18 ( it Washington time ) the outer attained its westerl y elongation , distance 80 min ., and that the distance of the inner is 50 min , ; period of outer 30 hours , whence distance of inner follows by Kepler ' s 3 d Jaw . From the period ami distance of the outer satellite , the mass of Mars would appear to be only 04 . thousandths of the earth ' s mass , instead

of r 18-thousandths , as heretofore estimated . The apparent diurnal motion of the outer satellite , as seen by Martians , must be from east to west and very slow , the planet itself rotating in 34 hours 37 min . 22 . 7 sec . The inner satellite presents the unique peculiarity of gaining by ita revohnional motion 011 the planet ' s rotational motion , thus rising in the west and setting in the east . Moreover , it moves

faster , in appearance , this way than the other moon moves in the usual way . " MASONIC SONGS . —A . selection of Masonic Songs set to popular airs , written by Bro . E . P . Philpots , M . D ., F . R . G . S ., is now ready , forming a handsome volume , bound in cloth , with gilt edges , 3 s . Sent post free from the office of this paper on receipt of stamps or post-office order value 3 s . 2 d . —ADVT .

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