Original Correspondence.

therefore in 1723 , when he died , and the first edition of the " Constitutions " came out , he may have been deliberately ignored . Be this as it may , the " points " mentioned by Bro . Gould have been very familiar to Yours fraternally , THE EDITOR OF YOUR CYCLOP / EDIA .

BRO . WILSON AND THE BOYS' SCHOOL . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I enclose copy of a letter I have addressed to the General Committee of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , and if you can find a corner for it , I shall feel much obliged . Yours fraternallv , S . B . WILSON .

COPY . " 27 , Walbrook , E . G ., " 30 March , 1 SS 1 . "To the General Committee of the Royal Masonic In stitution for Boys . " Gentlemen and Brethren , —

" In order that unnecessary expense might be avoided , my solicitors submitted the following names to Mr . Stanley , thc representative of the House Committee , for him to select one to act as referee on my claim for professional services to the Institution : Sir IT . A . Hunt , C . B . ; George Pownall , Esq . ; John Whichcord , Esq . ; Arthur Cates , Esq . ; W . J . Gardiner , Esq . ; Joseph Lavender ,

Esq . ; and W . 1 Iudson , Esq ., all of them being , as you are aware , gentlemen of the highest character and standing in the profession . " After a long lime had elapsed for consideration , Mr . Stanley suggested Mr . J . E . Saunders , of Finsbury-circus , a gentleman of equal character and standing with those 1 had named , and my solicitors immediately agreed to accept his decision .

" The House Committee have now refused to agree to the proposal of Mr . Stanley , their own representative , and consequently I had no alternative but to give instructions to proceed with the necessary steps for the enforcement of my claim , but I think it only right to lay the present position of the matter before you , as the conduct of the House Committee must have the effect of running up heavy and unnecessary law charges , which must eventually fall on the Institution . " Yours faithfully and fraternally , "S . B . WILSON . "

Reviews.

Reviews .

LE MONDE MACONIQUE FOR MARCH . Paris . This French magazine , ably edited by Bro . Grimaux , has much of interest for French readers , and is a useful record of French Freemasonry . It records among other facts that a group of lodges at Seville has formed a fourth Grand Lodge in Spain , accepting the formula of the

Congress 01 Lausanne . In fact it seems in some way to be an " emanation" from that body , and it has seceded from its Lusitanian or Portuguese mother Grand Lodge . AVe confess we do not profess to understand how a Masonic body can "hail" from a Portuguese Grand Lodge . Sagasta , the present Premier of Spain , is a member of the Masonic Order .

THE MASONIC AGE . St . Louis , Ala ., U . S . Wc have read the February number of this most interesting little Masonic serial with pleasure . The magazine is very well edited , and contains some very well written articles . It reflects credit on all concerned in its management .

THE THEATRE . Third Series , 16 , Vol . 3 , 4 . C . Dickens and Evans , 26 , Wellington-street , Strand . This is a serial devoted to the "drama , music , and the line arts . " It is edited by "Clement Scott , " and appears to have much to interest its readers , and as a class magazine is evidently of considerable merit .

BOOK CATALOGUES . J . Salkeld , 1 , Orange-street , Red Lion-square , has in his catalogue 1771 , among several very curious books , a remarkable collection of "Street Literature , " for those who collect such " oddities , " and a very singular collection of Miscellaneous Tracts . He has also some most curious old "Broadsides" from thc libraries of David Laing , Kcnelm IT . Digby , and others .

THE BIBLIOGRAPHER'S MANUAL OF ENGLISH LITERATURE . By W . T . LOWNDES . Corrected and enlarged by H . G . BOHN . New edition , 4 vols . George Bell and Sons , York-street , Covent Garden , What a useful book is our old familiar friend W . T . Lowndes , and as enlarged bv 11 . G . Bohn csnecriallv so .

Armed with it , and liaving mastered it , the "Bibliomaniac " of the day is independent of booksellers' catalogues , and can Ihimself easily " price " rare editions and forgotten issues . It is , however , a study—a good hard study —in itself , and there is no Royal road to " bibliography , " or " book-buying , " as there is to anything else .

THE VOICE OF MASONRY for March . Chicago . Maintains its nigh character and its Masonic " good form . " It is a very remarkable specimen of Masonic serial literature . We wish it all success , and are always Pleased to read it .

• -HE FREEMASONS' CALENDAR AND DIRECTORY FOR LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND , 1 SS 1 •' THE FREEMASONS' MANUAL AND OFFICIAL DIRECTORY FOR THE PROVINCE OF KENT , 1 SS 1 .

Tie practice of issuing provincial directories is a very commendable one , for although the " Freemasons' Calendar and the "Cosmopolitan Masonic Calendar" contain a vast amount of information relative to Alasonry throughout the world , it is impossible that they can furnish all the minute details relative to Alasonry in each province . These useful directories supply that want , and , knowing as we do

Reviews.

how much-labour such publications entail , we think that the compilers of such works deserve the thanks of their brethren for undertakimr , without fee or reward , such arduous duties . Bro . S . S . Partridge , P . G . Sec . for Leicestershire and Rutland , has again " fathered the ninth issue of the

Directory of that province , and Bro . T . S . Warne , P . P . G . Sec . Kent , has done equal service for his province . The latter , as containing the larger number of lodges , is the more voluminous , but both appear to be equally accurate and useful .

DEBRETT'S HOUSE OF COMMONS AND THE JUDICIAL BENCH . London : Dean and Son , Fleetstreet . This useful and carefully compiled work has just made its appearance for 1 SS 1 . The general election having taken place since its last appearance , a striking change appears to those who have made themselves familiar with recent

issues . From a careful examination of that portion of which wc have a personal knowledge we can speak confidently as to its accuracy . The arms of allM . P . ' s avid English Judges , or at least those who are fortunate enough to possess them , are , as usual , attached . A useful feature in this issue is the section entitled " Changes since the General Election , " which supplies in a summarised form

information not elsewhere procurable . The whole of the information appears either to have been furnished or verified by the persons themselves , hence its absolute accuracy can be relied on . Thc volume presents the same features of excellent typography , engraving , and binding as its predecessors ; and both editor and publishers are to be congratulated on the production of such a valuable handbook .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

Masonic Notes and Queries .

Is Bro . Whytehead right in his assumption that no Grand Lodge at York existed before the Revival under Drake ? Surely the evidence is entirely the other way . Is the address of the J . G . W . in 1726 a mythical address ? Was Drake not J . G . W . then ? What about the earlier minutes and " Presidents ? " Bro . Whytehead is generally so accurate that I am inclined to think his last "deliverance " a " lapsus penni . " MASONIC STUDENT .

MASONIC BOOK . I sec in a catalogue that Linnecar ' s Works of Wakefield , 17 S 9 , are for sale , price 3 s ., and also a curious Alasonic tract , called " The Cat out of the Bag , " & c . Is anything known about the latter ? BOOKWORAI .

EUPHUISTS . I have always understood that the proverb " Alind your p ' s and q's , " took its rise from the liability of compositors to mistake those two letters . "Mind your n's and u's " might be another version with advantage . Two such

blunders in my query in the Freemason ofthe 19 th Alarch , converted " Euphues " into , " Euphnes , " and " Euphuists " into " Euphnists , " thereby puzzling poor " Enquirer , " who writes in the issue of the sGth Alarch to ask my meaning , and by a third such blunder has his query turned into

nonsense . G . H . I . IT

AN OLD SONG . I am glad to inform your correspondent " Tenor " that the old song he inquires about , commencing Ye thrice happy Jew , Whose hearts have been true , is to be found in page 347 of "Book of Constitutions , " formerly belonging to Honour and Perseverance Lodge , at Cockermouth , constituted in the year 1788 , and subsequently

removed to Batley , under the title of Nelson of the Nile . Unfortunately the title page of the book is missing ; but it may be a guide to your correspondent if f add that the last "annualassembly andfeast " of Grand Lodge is dated Thursday , June ist , 175 S . 1 believe , however , the book was published in 1763 . I shall be pleased to forward " Tenor" a copy of thc song , which is too long for your columns , seeing that it contains eight verses .

W . F . LAAIONBY 37 , Alountain View * , Cockermouth , Alarch 26 th .

Ihe " verses" are to be found by themselves , though marked No . 1 , of a song contained , in the "Secrets ' of the Freemasons Revealed , " & c , alluded to in last Freemason , and which song has nine stanzas , with the " chorus " attached to each . They are , I am inclined to think , somewhat rare , though 1 have seen them somewhere , unable as I am , except in this pamphlet alone , to lay my hand on a reference . M . S .

SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN . I have read Bro . Gould ' s most interesting paper , but find nothing to controvert , but a good deal to support my belief in the Masonic membership of Sir Christopher Wren . The simple fact , that several contemporary non-Alasonic journals give him the name of "Freemason" is , to some extent , most corroborative evidence of the statement of Anderson in 1738 . Bro . Gould ' s ingenious " gloss" that

the ivord - ^ Freemason " means the " operative character" is an impossible one to receive in the eighteenth century , and 1 am a little astonished that with his usual acumen he did not note the unreality of any such explanation . From 1717 , " Freemason " meant , in common parlance , a " speculative Mason . " Before the middle of the seventeenth century Bro . Gould might have , perhaps , some reason in his explanation . A MEMBER OF NO . 2 .

THE ROSICRUCIANS . In Henry Morley's life of "Cornelius Agrippa , " Vol . 1 ., page 58 , occur the following passages : "Secret societies , chiefly composed of curious and learned youths , had by this time become numerous , and numerous especially among the Germans . " * * * *

"Towards the close of the sixteenth century such associations , the foundation of which has been a desire to keep thought out of fetters , were developed into the form of brotherhoods of Rosicrucians . " * * * The brotherhoods of Rosicrucians are still commonly

Masonic Notes And Queries.

remembered , but in the social history of Europe they are less to be considered than those first confederations of " Theosophists , " which nursed , indeed , mystical errors gathered from the Greeks and Jews , but out of whose theories there was developed much of a pure spiritualism , & c . What is the historical evidence of such statements ? ROSY CROSS .

DIONYSIAN MYSTERIES . —We need not dilate upon these mysteries , as we shall revert to the general question under Alysteries , which see ; but simply mention that they were dedicated to Bacchus , and were much esteemed in Greece and the Asiatic region . They are said to have been originally Egyptian , and were probably preservative of some portion of primaeval truth . They seem to have pointed to death and to resurrection , and probably , under

mystic emblems , were significative of man ' s eternal existence of God . The Dionysian mysteries , like others , seem to have given to the initiate both exoteric teaching and esoteric signs of recognition . Some , however , doubt this . But see Mysteries . We may observe tbat a good deal of nonsense has been written about these mysteries and others , and that much that is advanced is purely apocryphal . — Kcnning ' s Cyclopaedia of Freemasonry .

Provincial Grand Lodge Of Staffordshire.

PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF STAFFORDSHIRE .

The installation of Bro . Major George Singleton Tudor as Provincial Grand Master of Staffordshire Freemasons took place at the Borough Hall , Stafford , on Monday ,. the 21 st ult ., in the presence of upwards of two hundred and fifty brethren , including several visitors from Grand Lodge ,

and from other provinces . Since thc lamented death , in Alay , 1 S 77 , of the Earl of Shrewsbury , who had been the ruler of the Craft in Staffordshire from 1 S 71 to that date , the province had been under the direction of Bro . Melntyre , Grand Registrar . At the first annual meeting of the Prov . Grand Lodge after the death ofthe Earl of Shrewsbury Bro . Tudor succeeded Bro . Frank James in the office of Dep .

Prov . G . M ., a position which he ( Bro . Tudor ) had formerly occupied . Bro . Tudor is highly esteemed as a Mason , and tbe announcement tbat his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales , as AT . W . G . AL , had appointed him R . W . G . AT . of Staffordshire gave universal satisfaction . To this feeling no doubt may be attributed the large attendance of brethren on Monday .

The Earl of Lathom , D . G . AI ., attended to perform the installation ceremony , and amongst those who were present were Bros . Col . Shadwell H . Clerke , Grand Sec ; F . Richardson , S . G . D . ; H . T . S . Baring , J . G . D . ; W . B . Hughes , ALP ., D . G . AI . North Wales and Shropshire ; Capt . Hunter , P . P . G . M . Aberdeenshire ; Foster Gough , P . D . P . G . AL ; Frank James , P . P . D . G . AL ; F . B . Spencer ,

1149 , P . P . G . W . Surrey . The Provincial Grand Officers present were Bros . W . Bayliss , S . W . ; R . Tooth , Reg . ; J . Bodenham , Treas . ; W . Cartwright , Sec ; the Revs ., E . C . Perry and J . Birch , Chaps . ; W . E . Parkes , S . D . ; G . Pitchford , J . D . ; K . ATacrae , Sup . of Wks . ; T . E . Fowke , A . D . C . ; R . Tolson , P . G . P . ; T . Bedsmore , P . G . O . ; T . Woolridge , J . B . Al-Callum , 1 . Haves , I .

Alottram , T . Rigby , T . Wood , Stewds . ; and H . Bagguley , Tyler . The following also signed the Tyler's book : C . Fendelow , Past Prov . Grand S . W . ; C . Graham , 624 , P . P . G . S . W . ; W . IT . Hales , 41 S . P . P . G . S . W . ; Derry , 4 S 2 , P . P . G . W . ; ] . F . Wileman , 54 G , P . P . S . G . W . ; Al . Barker , 1792 , P . P . G . ] . W . ; T . Turner , 460 , P . P . G . R . ; T . Taylor , 41 S , P . P . G . S . W . ; J . D . Hewson , 72 C , P . P . G . W . ; I .

Newman , 539 , P . P . G . J . W . ; — Alatthews , P . P . G . J . W . ; G . Spilsbury , 726 , P . P . G . J . W . ; J . L . Warren , 72 ( 1 , P . P . G . R . ; J . Steene , 52 C , P . P . G . R . ; H . Kitson , 526 , P . P . G . R . ; A . G . Prince , 546 , P . P . G . J . D . ; J . Ingamells , 4 60 , P . P . G . J . D . ; T . Bickley , 418 , P . P . G . J . D . ; J . Rogers , 418 , P . P . G . D . ; B . G . Call , 539 , P . P . G . D . ; James Walker , 419 , P . P . G . D . ; H . Woodhouse , 726 , P . P . G . D . ; T . B . Afunday , 1039 , P . P . G . C . ; R . Gibson ,

419 , P . P . A . D . C . ; T . M . Humphries , 539 , P . P . G . Supt . of Works ; J . S . Crapper , 41 S , P . P . A . G . D . C . ; T . T . Tozer , 347 , P . P . G . C . ; G . Higham , 526 , P . P . G . Supt . of Works . ; W . Randall , 4 S 2 , P . P . G . C . ; W . J . Goddard , 624 , P . P . G . Supt . of Works ; R . Dain , 98 , P . P . G . A . D . C ; A . Caddick , 6 C 2 , P . P . G . Supt . of Works ; W . Needham , 9 ( 16 , P . P . G . Supt . of Works ; W . Jones , 4 60 , P . P . G . Supt .

ot Works ; ) . A . Newnham , 526 , P . P . G . Supt . of Works ; J . Webberle ' y , 54 6 . P . P . G . P . ; S . Hyslop , 4 60 , P . P . G . P . ,-j . W . Hancock , 1060 , P . P . G . P . ; VV . Vernon , 456 , P . P . G . S . B . ; Thos . Parton , CG 2 , P . P . G . S . B . ; F . Arkir . stall , 662 , P . P . G . S . B . ; J . Lucas , 624 , P . P . G . S . B . ; H . Langman , P . AI . 419 ; VV . Lowe , W . AL 624 ; J . W . Parkes , P . M . 4 S 2 ; J . G . Ainsworth , P . M . 4 C 0 ; S . Clapp , P . M .

CC 2 ; F . Brandon , W . M . 41 S ; A . L . Broad , P . M . 460 ; I . Thorburnc , P . AL and W . AL 9 8 ; ] . Deeley , P . M . and W . M . 4 S 2 ; J . F . Pepper , P . M . 4 S 2 ; VV . B . Barrow , P . M . C 62 ; T . Q . Morrison , VV . M . 96 C ; J . Roberts , W . M . 662 ; P . Davenport , VV . AI . 651 ; J . Sherwin , P . AL 54 6 ; T . IT . Griffiths , P . M . 546 ; C . B . Allerton , P . AI . 546 ; W . IT . Bucknell , VV . M . 4 60 ; D . Round , S . W . 347 ; G .

VV . Alartin , J . D . 4 60 ; G . Kent , J . D . 546 ; VV . Brown , S . D . 347 ; G . H . Pick-burn , S . D . 98 ; J . Whitworth , 347 ; T . Cope , oS ; J . Proctor , 98 ; T . Pedley , LG . gS ; J . VV . C . Warmington , 1284 ; E . Sherrett , gS ; D . Smith , S . VV 687 ; 1 . Booth , gS ; G . Fleet , 637 ; E . H . Croydon , J . W . 4 60 ; T . E . Brown , gS ; VV . Cooper , J . D . 98 ; VV . Beswick , 98 ; T . Blair , W . M . 54 6 ; —Field . gS ; D . Chapman , S . D . 54 ( 5 , G . Copestake , 5411 ; W . Fleet , 6 37 ; G . W . Bayley , 539 ;

VV . lunnichff , 418 ; G . V . Greatbach , 41 S ; J . AL Darwin , S . VV . 546 ; T . Spencer , 662 ; J . Downing , C 62 ; R . Benbow , J . W . 451 ; G . Dance , S . D . 662 ; S . Evans , 662 ; G . W . Warren , 662 ; J . Snape , 460 ; F . Skerrett , 460 ; J . Cooke , 460 ; J . Clarke , J . W . 1039 ; G . Buttery . Sec . I 03 g ; R . Garbett , 539 ; J . C . Evans , 526 ; S . Burbidge , 98 ; VV . L . Armstrong , S . D . 539 ; J : Griffin , 539 ; H . Vallance ,

539 J J- Warnlow , 4 S 2 ; T . Ryder , 792 ; Chas . F . Garrett , =-39 ; J . Senior , S . W . 726 ; S . Scott , S . W . ' 72 < 5 ; J . Baker , J . D . 726 ; E . J . Mousley , I . G . 726 ; F . Greatrex , 726 ; N . Joyce , 726 ; C . H . Dudley , 726 ; A . F . Whittome , 726 ; TT . B . Livingston , 726 ; 1 " . Masters , 726 ; T . Hyatt , 726 ; S . Plant , 72 G ; H . Newton , 726 ; A . Heath , 726 ; VV . T .

Duncalf , 726 ; P . Bottrill , 726 ; A . Joyes , 726 ; R . Heath , 72 G ; R . Tomlinson , Tyler 72 G ; T . B . ATottram , 72 G ; IT . Thorn , 72 G ; W . D . Batkin , 726 ; B . T . Oswell , 726 ; J . Nutt , 726 ; J . P . Pritchard , 130 i G- Sharpe , J . W . 696 ; W . J . Boys , VV . M . 5 ^; H . R . Owen , 526 ; W . Elkington , 419 ; J . Meanley , J . W . 419 ; C . Wain , 1792 ; F . Frobisher ,