Masonic Notes And Queries.

THE ENGLISH HIGH GRADES . I do not sec that Bro . Yarker ' s last note requires much answer from mc . He gives up 16 S 6 as the date of the Irish Templar Priest , and seems now to relegate it to 1743 . The evidence at York of it is quite late eighteenth century , if not early nineteenth century , really and truly . As regards 16 SG and Ashmole , I am not aware that Ashmole ever talks

of 1 CS 6 , or "Rosicrucianism . " This is Nicolais's theory , but utterly unsound and untenable . Ashmole was initiated at Warrington in 1 ( 146 , and attended a meeting of a Masonic lodge , not the Masons' Company , at the Masons' Hall , Basinghall-street , in 16 S 2 . Wc have no further traces of him , unfortunately , in his connection with Masonry . That the meeting in 16 S 2 was a meeting of a lodge , not the

Masons' Company , has been proved 111 the Freemason , as the records of the " Masons' Company " show that Bro . Wilson was Master of the company in 1 CS 0 that Ashmole was not a member of it , and they have the record of their meeting in 1 GS 2 , but not as Ashmole mentions . Ashmole was a member nf an Hermetic and Astrolngical society , and revived , or aided to revive , the annual festival and sermon of the Astrologers , and mentions it otten in his diarv . Under

Lilly , in " Running ' s Masonic Encylopredia , " will be found a list of Astrological celebrities , who formed nrobably an Hermctical society . But I am not aware that in any other works Ashmole mentions the " Rosicrucians , " and shall be much obliged to Bro . Yarker , or any one else , to point out such a passage . Why Bro . Yarker should have fixed on 16 SG as a revival date , 1 know not . I only wish we could get a glimpse of pre-1700 Masonry . MASONIC STUDENT .

THE CERNEAU COUNCIL . There has been a conflict in America anent the Supreme Councils , and perhaps on both sides a little abatement must be made as to statements , & c . But I confess for one , that having looked into the matter , simply as an historical

question , I am inclined to think that the statement published in the Freemason is as nearly correct as can be , the more so as it is so moderate in tone and suppresses , as I am informed , much that might have been said fairly and simply on the high grounds of Masonic toleration . MASONIC STUDENT .

BRO . YARKER AND MYSELF . I note that Bro . Yarker says he cannot argue with mc satisfactorily because he cannot speak plainly . I am sorry for him , as I always do , and find no difficulty in doing so , in the Freemason . But then 1 am not { quite so "combative " as Bro . Yarker , and if I don't agree with a writer , I don ' t

" abuse the plaintiff's attorney . " With due submission to Bro . Yarker , if he will allow me to say so , he weakens his cause and his case by writing too severely and personally . After all , what do such differences matter ? Surely as Masons we can speak well of each other , think well of each other , and agree to differ ? . ' MASONIC STUDENT .

LIST OF LODGES . I have been comparing the list of lodges by Cole in 1762 and a list of lodges by Cole in 1770 , and find that No . 27 , Madrid , No . 49 , Paris , No . 73 , Aubigny , of 1762 , are " out" altogether in 1770 , Valenciennes , No . GG in 17 62 , is No . 55 in 1770 . No . 65 , Boston , in 17 G 2 , is No . 54 in 1770 . The last number in 17 G 2 in 305 , in 1770 , 4 GG . A . F . A . VV .

COLE'S CONSITITUTIONS . A second edition of 1731 , as it is called , has been recently sold by Wilson , King William-street , Charing Cross . In Cole ' s List of Lodges of 1762 he announces as "just published , " the "United Constitutions , " & c ., and gives the title page of date MDCCLXII ., but says nothing about the edition . A . F . A . W .

I am in possession of a new Cyrop .-cdia or the " I ravels of Cyrus , " by Sir Andrew Ramsay . London , ( 17 G 0 , in pencil ) , printed for T . Wilcox , Strand . It is two volumes in one . It has both a French and an English title page . Its original " approbation " is signed by " Saurin , " and dated Paris , April , 5 th , 1727 . A . F . A . VV .

THE RELIGION OF TEMPLAR MASONRY . "The report on Foreign Correspondence to the Grand Commandery of Knights Templars of the State of Ohio , " just published , is one of the most interesting publications of its kind of the year . I am indebted to Bro . E . T . Carson , its author , and to Col . MacLeod Moore for early copies , and have no hesitation in saying that the report should find

a place in every Alasonic library . Its principal feature is a paper by Bro . Carson on the Trinitarian Question , which for some time has agitated the minds of American and Canadian Templars . The Great Prior of Canada ( Col . Moore ) has always insisted on the necessity of a belief in the Doctrine of the Trinity as a qualification for the Order of the Temple , whilst on the other hand , the American

J crnplars demandnosuch test , and a certain section 111 the American Order have strongly opposed any attempt at its adoption . Bro . Carson has taken up the subject in a thoroughly scientific manner , and from an historical point of view , and he heads his essay with the question "The Holy Trinity : Does belief in this dogma constitute apart of a Templar ' s Creed ? " He begins by showing that the

belief in the Trinity was a cardinal dogma of the Christian religion when the Order of the Temple was instituted , and as that bod y was sanctioned by the Church , such a belief was imperative in its members . He then goes on to show that in almost every Christian denomination the Trinitarian Dogma still holds good , and that , therefore , any organisation claiming Christian orthodoxy must necessarily include

I lie Trin'tanan belief . Bro . Carson gives facts and figures lo prove that out of twenty-one millions and a half of Christians in the United States only half-a-million are anti-Trinitarians , and , therefore , must be regarded as heterodox , and he shows that in the whole world only about one per cent , of so called Christians are anti-Trinitarians , and that the Apostlc ' . i Creed is practically the creed of all Christians

at the present day , as it was when the original Order of the Temple ( nf which the present system is a modern adaptation ) was founded , and lit asserts , with a strong probability , that the agitation against the dogma is the work of a very small but noisy minority . But now comes the most interesting part of Bro . Carson ' s essay , interesting alike ( o Templars and the Craft generally . The Order of thcTemplc is

Masonic Notes And Queries.

supposed to have been first heard of in connection with Masonry about the middle of the last century , but the why and the wherefore of the connection between the two has always been a doubtful question . Our author suggests a solution which certainly seems feasible . At any rate it is to my mind one of the best that has yet been put forward . He proceeds to show that until the revival , in 1717 , Masonry

was essentially Christian and Trinitarian . This is patent , of course , from the old Constitutions , from which Bro . Carson quotes , commencing with the Halliwell Constitutions of 1390 ( ajmd ) , and successively taking the Cooke M . S ., those preserved at York , and | the Passworth M . S . of 1714 , thus bringing the question down to the date of the revival . In the first printed Constitutions we are distinctly told that the members

of Grand Lodge "findinggrcat fault with all the copies of the old Gothic Constitutions , Bro . James Anderson , A . M ., was ordered to digest them in a new and better method . " This Bro . Anderson did by carefully eliminating all doctrinal dogmas , which ' were probably therefore , the parts with which the brethren "found fault , " and leaving only the test of a belief in the G . A . O . T . U . The 1723 Constitutions , as our

brothcrsaj's , are the earliest in which there occurs noallusion to Christ , the church , Mary the mother , or the Holy Trinity . This course of . ' action , the outcome of a Unitarian element in a Grand Lodge , our author thinks must bave been very distasteful to members who were churchmen , and he believes that within a few years of the publication of Anderson's Constitutions , some of the brethren who

wished to preserve the Christian features of the old Order without severing themselves from the Craft , formed the Order of the Temple in connection with their lodges , and thus perpetuated , "under the cover of Black Masonry , " the teachings formerly promulgated in all lodges of belief in Christianity or the Church . Bro . Carson thus sums up the result of his argument . " That belief in the Christian religion , including the Holy Trinity , was a dogma of the

early Masons : that the early Templars were simply Masons who united themselves together for the purpose of preserving to Masonry , though in an added grade , what they regarded as one of its landmarks . " The paper is really most able . The writer quotes largel y from the Constitutions published by Hyham and others , and gives chapter and verse for everything , and if the Freemasoncould find space for the entire essay I think its readers would appreciate its research and the skill displayed bv the writer . T . B . WHYTEIIEAD .

BASILICA seems to bave been tV . e court of justice in the Roman empire . When Rome became Christian under Constantino the Great , the basilic ; e were lent to the Christians to worship in , in consequence of the destruction of their humble tabernacles in the various persecutions ; and hence , no doubt , the early form of church architecture was the simple form of the basilica , still preserved in the Byzantine ,

or Lombardic , or Lombardo-Romanesque . A church , after a little , came to be called a basilica in consequence . As all the early church work seems to have been performed by the Roman colleges , orGuildsof Masons , which had now gradually become Christian , all the early efforts of church building followed the basilican type . The early history of ecclesiastical architecture in England is the history , after all , of

the " Romanum Opus , " which was the style followed by the Anglo-Saxons ; and William of Malmesbury tells us specially the Conquest brought in with it , under the Norman-French Guilds , a "novum redificandi genus . " The basilica was an oblong-building with a central nave , separated from lateral divisions , which we call aisles , by rows of columns or pillars . At the farther end was a semi-circular protrusion called an apse , in which was theibema , or seat of

judgment . It will be seen at once how such a form of building lent itself to religious worship , and it may be doubted whether it is not even yet more effective . Those who have seen Wilton Church , near Salisbury , will be inclined to think well of the old " basilica , " and , perhaps , to believe with Ruskin that in the Byzantine the Lamp of Beauty is to be found . The early history of Freemasonry in England is the history , as we said before , of tlie work of the Guilds of Masons , " more Romano . "

CHARMS , MAGICAL . — -Some of the old magical charms , or talismans , have Masonic emblemson them . What is also termed the Magical or Hermetic Alphabet has a curious similarity with many Masons' marks . How or why this is we cannot pretend to say ; but we have vet to obtain a -clear

explanation between FYcemasonry and lllermeticism , although such connection in some way undoubtedly did exist . Probably the Hermetic Adepts made use of the secret organization of Freemasonry for their own purposes . — Kenninir ' s Cyclopadia of Freemasonry .

Amusements.

Amusements .

COVENT GARDEN THEATRE . —The pantomime of "Valentine and Orson" has still attractions for young and old . Those of us who remember other days and older pantomimes , and gay fairies and laughing boys , may miss much of the real , hearty simplicity of the good , steady , realistic pantomime of another generation . Everything now is "spectacle : " and gorgeous array , and magnificent

" tableaux , " and brilliant dresses carry us through sometimes a dialogue and a plot which are meagre , disconnected , and inaudible . The harlequinade becomes a secondaryportion and _ feature altogether , and as long as the stage is crowded with persons who shout loudly for no conceivable cause the British Public is apparently satisfied . Still , we must not be cynical or discontented . The Covent Garden pantomime well deserves a visit .

ST . JAMES'S HALL . —Bro . Frederick Burgess ' s benefit took place at the above hall on Tuesday last , when , as usual , a most attractive programme was placed before his patrons . For the last seventeen years Bros . Moore and Burgess have catered for the public with the greatest success , each superintending personally their respective departments , and the entertainment has been noticeable

nightly for its excellence and the attention bestowed upon the visitors after the payment of their admission money . On Tuesday , in addition to the company of seventy performers , who gave several new songs at each entertainment ( there being a morning and evening performance ) , and the recently added musical sketch "Around the World in Eighty Seconds , " there appeared , in the afternoon Miss E . Farren , Bro . Lionel Brough , Mr . Ryder , Bro . E . Terry ,

Amusements.

Mr . James Fernandez , Bro . E . Righton , and Bro . Harry Paulton . who , one and all , afforded great satisfaction by their various abilities . Mr . Charles Warner was to have given a recitation but was unable to appear through hoarseness . At the evening ' s entertainment , which was , like the morning's , a great success , Mr . H . de Brenner , sang a new song entitled " "The Silvery Snow ; " Bro . G . VV . Moore ,

a plantation ditty ( also new ) called " Hannah Boil dat Bacon'Down " in his inimitable style ; and Mr . Wilson gave " Chimes of Long Ago " in such a tasteful manner as to provoke an encore . After the sketch of " Around the World , " Mr . Lacy played his clever cornet solo ; Mr . C . Swinbourne recited , with admirable effect , "TheCharge of the Light Brigade ; " and Mr . Howard contributed his

amusing ditty , "Joshua . " The Hanlon-Lees came next in their bustling scene " Une Soirree en Habit Noir , " which was one of their greatest Parisian successes , although it has not yet been produced by them in London . The sketch occupies about a quarter of an hour , but the business is as unceasing as it is uproariously laughable . ' 1 he success of the piece was , on Tuesday , so undoubted that no doubt the performers will produce it ere they leave London .

ALHAMBRA THEATRE . —Mr . VV . T . Callcott has painted a new and beautiful act drop for this theatre , the figures being painted by Mr . J . Absolon . With the exception of a slight drapery , the whole of the curtain is occupied by an animated scene of a rural fete in Calabria . In the foreground is the representation of a rude stage , on

which are Scaramouche , Arlecchino , Colombina , and Pantalon doing their best to divert those villagers who do not prefer the rustic dance . In the rear are the remains of a mediaeval town and a lofty range of mountains . The whole effect is charming , and the grouping of the figures very lifelike .

Literary, Art, And Antiquarian Notes.

Literary , Art , and Antiquarian Notes .

The vacancy in the librarianshi p of the Gray Library at the Cape / occasioned by the death of Dr . Bleek , has at last been filled . Apolychromc terra cotta representing a Madonna after Donatello has been acquired for the Louvre . It cost with a marble bas-relief , also representing the Madonna , 25 , 000 francs .

The Bibliothcque Nationale of France has acquired a miniature by Jean Fouquet , which formerly belonged to the famous " Hours , " commissioned from him by Etienne Chevalier . It represents Saint Ann with her three daughters and their children . The donor is the Due dc la Tremo ' i'lle .

Among some recentl y discovered antiquities at Mahred , in Arabia , arc some silver coins of the age of Solomon , and inscribed with figures of men , birds , and animals . The Rappel remarks : — " Si line des raretes decouvertes dtait l ' anneau de Salomon , comme j'en conseilleraisl'usage a M . Louis Veuillot !"

Mr . George R . Witts is about to publish an archaeological map of Gloucestershire , on which will be clearly indicated the position of 112 British and Roman camps , 17 Roman villas , 43 British and Roman roads , 2 S long barrows , and a large number of round barrows . The map will be accompanied by a description of each object and a list of authorities to be consulted .

The St . Petersburger Ilcrold slates that Dr . Jagich has obtained the consent of the Russian Academy of Science to the publication , under his editorship , of a comparative dictionary of the Slavonic language . It is expected that this great work will occupy from six to ten years in completion . It will be published both in Latin and Russian . The editor reckons on the co-operation of German as well as Russian specialists in this undertaking , and

proposes to invite the assistance of Servian scholars in the South Slavonic Department . A fireatthe residenceof M . Xavier de Moncpin , at Passey , has destroyed furniture and works of art valued at 400 , ooof . Amongst the objects thus lost were Saxon and Japanese porcelains and Gobelins tapestries . Still more important is the destruction of a large allegorical painting by Rubens and of specimens of the artistic talent of Coypcl , Lestieur , Corot , Mackart , & c .

The Cambridge Free Library has recently issued a supplementary catalogue compiled by Mr . J . Pink , from which it appears that the collection has several special features . One of these is a dramatic library containing a long series of plays , old and new . Amongst them is a copy of the " Village Coquettes , " the comic opera written by Mr . Charles Dickens in 1 S 36 . There is also an interesting collection of books relating to the history and antiquities of Cambridge .

Dr . Fr . Mook , who accompanied Dr . Ribbeck on bis expedition to Palestine and Syria , has been drowned in crossing the river Jordan , which was at the time swollen by heavy rains . The party had had a very successful tour through the Dantibian regions , South Russia , and the Caucasus , and were travelling from Syria through the country east of the Jordan to Jerusalem . To save time the

expedition had constructed a wooden raft , on which they were to pass the swollen river . Dr . Mook , indeed , had twice ' crossed , but , in trying to effect a passage for the third time , he slipped from the raft , got under it , was entangled in its ropes , and thus disappeared beneath the waves . Dr . Ribbeck and the other members of the expedition , after a long search , recovered the body , which was buried at Jericho . —Academy .

The Vienna papers announce the forthcoming publication of a newly-discovered and important work by the Austrian Emperor Maximilian I ., bearing the title of " FYcytal . " It is edited by Quirin Leitner from the unique manuscript preserved in the Vienna Hof . Bibliothek . Its subject is a poetical description and glorification of tournaments and subsequent festal gatherings . Like "

Theuerdank , ' whose hero , if not its author , is the same gallant emperor , the pcem relates the perils and contests which Maximilian had to encounter when he undertook his wedding journey to obtain the fair Mary of Burgundy . All the knights and princes defeated by the emperor in various tournaments and contests have been enumerated and recorded in this work , which thus acquires a peculiar genealogical value .