Reviews.

understand the items aright , though some of thc grants as to the asylum affect both branches of the Institution . In 1 S 42 granted £ 400 per annum to the Male Fund , Grand Chapter granted jfroo per annum in 1 S 47 , and Grand Lodge granted another £ 100 in 1 S 5 S , in all ^" Goo , while £ 100 per annum was granted to the Widows' Fund in 1 S 55 , and another £ 100 in I * SJS , in all £ 200 , making the annual payments jfSoo per annum .

WORDS , FACTS , AND PHRASES : A Dictionary of Curious and Quaint Alatters . By ELIE / . ER EDWARDS . Chatto and Windus . This book is pretty accurately described by the title ; so far , at least , as a brief title can indicate the nature of a book . And this is a point of merit ; for the title , in some instances , has proved most misleading . Wc have felt

ourselves entrapped , or perhaps thc title has been poor and barren . Here , however , we have what we consider an honest name , so that anyone can tell , without reading thc book , the kind of reading he is likely to have . At the same time the work before us is more than a " Dictionary , " or , at all events , more than what the majority of people would understand by that word . It is something of

an encyclopedia also , though necessarily much less full . There is interesting ; reading here , as well as" definitions and explanations , and agood dealof sound and useful information on many subjects . " If you . are in search of quaint and curious matters , here they arc for you , and you may turn here for much that is practically valuable in other directions . Matters legal , theological , scientific , visionary—in short ,

there is something in these pages about everything , and the book may be read with real profit- as well as with pleasure . Thus , to give a few instances , the book will give us not only the meaning of certain words in thc way that a dictionary does , but will give us a little history of the words , the said history being often amusing ; the same with nhrases in current use . and the like . Wc ouestion if it

would bc possible to get information on certain subjects anywhere else than in this book , except by going in search of it , as the author has done—a tedious and difficult work , in some instances , we feel sure . We could give illustrative extracts had we the space at our command , which would show our readers the use and value of the book . Say that we wanted to know , in a few words , what the " act of

uniformity " was ? here we are told , simply and truthfully . The height of mountains , the depth of mines , how they came to be named , what , they are called , with the meaning of the names in question . Here wc have ready explanation . Wc have tested the book in every way we could think of , and in hardly any

instance has it failed us . Of course it is not perfect . But it is a book well worth reading , and as a work of reference it cannot fail to be always handy . All ivc need say further is that it is neatly bound , that the paper and type are all that we need look for , and that the publishers are Alessrs . Chatto and Windus , of Piccadilly , which is an additional proof that the work is of use and merit .

BOOK CATALOGUES . Robson and Kerslake , 42 , Cranbourne-street , Leicestersquare , have issued a catalogue of a collection of rare and curious tooks , No . 12 , very properly so called . We recommend " Book Collectors " to note the fact , obtain the catalopue and studv it for themselves .

Mr . J . M . Stark , of No . 10 , King William-street , Strand , has issued his 130 th catalogue , which he names "Curiosa . " We have run over it with singular pleasure . It contains some very curious , rare , and interesting works , whether as early printed books , or those illustrative of English , Scottish , and French history , and writers , monastic orders , and illustrated publications . Let our readers obtain it .

THE AIAGAZINES . "Temple Bar " is clearl y on an "incline" just now of " n-entle dulness , " from which we hope it will soon recover . " I'he Brigadier" is well told . "The Freres "are becoming heavy and sensational b y instalments . Though there is great merit in the conception and the pourtrayal of character , sometimes the interest flags .

" The Century , " formerly " Scribncr ' s , " is a very remarkable number—remarkable in its literature and m its illustrations . We specially commend the articles on Bro . President Garfield , "A Cruise in a Pilot Boat , " "The American Student at the Beaux Arts . " The accounts of Air" . Holland , the late editor , are very interesting . " The Antiquary " is full of information and interest for

those whose taste he in that direction . "The Bibliographer . " No . 1 . Is a journal of book lore , issued by Alessrs . Elliot Stock . Itisagre ' at acquisition to those who care about books . It has come forth in much strength , and seems to promise great utility and long life . "All the Year Round" isa colleclion / if interesting matter of various kinds . We never have professed to care for

"Jack Doyle ' s Daughter , or to like "The Question of Cain . " " Mohammedan Religious Orders , " " That Parrot , " "Tom Sheridan , " " The Holy City of Kairouan , " "Something about Signatures , " and "Ignorant Talk , " are all well worth reading . We think " A Breach of Promise" a well told story , though in' the ' new style and craze of sensationalism . Why cannot we have reasonable tales without the constant dreadful ingredients of murder , robbery villany , madness , Sec , Sec . :

ROUTLEDGE ' S CHRISTMAS NUMDEK is in all respects equal to its predecessors . The eight full-page plates , al | coloured , arc from designs by such well-known artists as R . Caldecott , C . Dclort , Adricn Marie , and Gustave Dore . In addition are numerous smaller illustrations by Ernest Guest , Lieut .-Col . Seacombe , R . A ., and others . The stories , which are highly appropriate to thc season ,

include one by Miss F . Locker , entitled " Greystoke Hall . " "The Little Gentleman , " h y Bro . Lord Brabournc , better known to the world as Right Hon . G . F . Knatchbull-Hugessen . "Nil Desperandum , " by R . Alountency Jephson , and "The Doll's Journey from Alinncsota to Alaine , " hy L . AL Alcott . Nor must the contribution " An

Anabaptist Wedding in Alsace , " by Aladame dc Wilt , nee Guizot , be passed over without a line to the effect that it is neatly written and very interesting . In fine , the number is in all respects to be commended . SNOW TIME AND GLOW TIME . —Being the "Little Folks Annual " for 1 SS 2 . ( Cassell , Petter , Galpin ; and Co . ) We congratulate thc little folks generally , for whom this

Reviews.

annual is specially published , on thc excellent combination of stories and illustrations , together with calendar , puzzle book , & c , which the enterprising caterers for their amtisementand edification , Messrs . Cassell . Galpin , Potter , & Co ., have this year provided . Among the stories which have attracted our notice are "A Christmas in the Arctic Sea , " " Raffcy , the Pony , " "A Journey to I . azyland , " and the "Wonderful Voyage of Alaster Van Dump . " There are

also "Some Fireside Games , " and " Father Christmas's Welcome , " words and music by Charles Bassett . The illustrations , which are numerous , are worthy of all praise . THE STEADFAST AIM : Christmas Number of the " Quiver" for 1 SS 1 ( Cassell , Petter , Galpin , and Co ., London , Paris , and New York ) . —The eight stories comprised under the general head of "The Steadfast Aim " are by authors whose contributions to the literature of the

day , whether periodical or otherwise , arc , for the most part , pretty generally known , and as generally and deservedly appreciated . Among them must be enumerated ' " Thc Root and the Offspring of David , " a paper for Christmas , by the Right Rev . Ashton Oxenden , D . D ., late Lord Bishop of Montreal ;' " Tom Yorke ' s Legacy , " by Edward Garrett , with five illustrations by Robert Barries ; " No Room , " a Christmas story for children ,

by the author of " Brave Little Hearts , " with illustrations by AL L . Gowj "A Christmas Carol , " words by George Wcatherley , music by G . J . Elvey , AIus . D .. Organist of St . George ' s Chapel Royal , Windsor ; "A VVhit ' e Christmas Flower , " by F . AL F . Skene , with three illustrations by Arthur Hopkins , one of which makes a very pretty

frontispiece ; and the "Old Mill Wheel , " told in her well-knotfTi style , by Afrs . G . Linnreus Banks , with illustrations by G . G . Kilbasne . Our young friends , the readers of the "Quiver , " will be delighted with the contents and illustrations , whether taken separately or as a whole .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

Masonic Notes and Queries .

ARBROATH . "Entered Apprentice Student" might have guessed , 1 think , from his own complaint that " Fallon" was a printer's error . The words I wrote were " Fellowes's Mysteries , & c . j " buttheprinter thinking , perhaps , he knew better than the writer what he meant , and seeing " Fallou " lower down , jumped to the conclusion lhat " Fallou was

intended . 1 do not know whether Bro . Gould took his illustration from " Cordiner" or from thc quotation in " Fellowes , " but I remember looking into the question years ago , and gave it up , because I found somewhere that the seal really represented the " martydom of Thomas A . Beckett . " Having seen a good deal of capitular and abbey seals , " prima facie , " no such a ' word is likely to occur on a seal as " Initiation . " If such a word could be

supposed , then it would be " Initiatio , " which answers to the Greek " Muesis , " or admission to the mysteries . But I am not aware of any such monastic or mediaeval use of the word . Probably " the seal can bc obtained . If such a seal be extant it would support Findel ' s theory of " Alonastic or Benedictine Ritual , which , though Schauberg utterly abandons , Findel still adheres to , as in his recent " Grundsatze der Freimaurerei . "

MASONIC STUDENT . GRUNDSATZE DER FREIMAUREREI . This work , by Bro . Findel , is unfortunately printed "Gundsatze , " b y one of those "perversities of type " which are so annoying both to reader and to writer . M . S .

THE RABBI LEON JEHUDAH . In a copy of the "Temple of Solbmon , " London , 1725 , with which is bound up " A Description of the Tabernacle , "* London , printed in the year 1724 , I find this note inserted in MS . on a piece of paper , on which is , if I mistake not , either some lines or a cypher and also curious Rabbinical writing . The proprietor of this model is Air . Gumprecht ,

Conseilter du Due de Alecklenburg . The model is' the "Alodel ofthe Temple of Solomon , " On the reverse skle of the paper are these words , " Leon Jac Jehtida , Tratada del Tabernaculo de Aloseh . 410 Amsterdam , 1653 . Netrato del Tabernaculo de Aloseh . 410 , Amsterdam , 1 O 54 . Afbildunger Van den Tabcrneckcl . 4 to , Amsterdam , 1047 . Of thc Tabernacle of Aloscs . Amsterdam .

& c , 1 O 75 . S . Hart . It seems from the preface to the Temple that the model of the Temple , " 20 foot square 12 foot high , " was put together under the direction of a certain "Counsellor Schott , and the famous architect Erasmus , " and took fifteen years to perfect , and was shown in Hamburgh and London . But though this may be the model Dermott says he saw in 1 759 Bncl " tj 6 o , yet ft docs not to it have

correspond . We probably , in the " Description of the Tabernacle , " the Rabbi Leon's original work translated from the Dutch , as all the plates , effective ' as they ate , are Dutch , with English names and words pasted over the Dutch names and words . I , for one , do not believe that Dermott invented what he states , and , therefore , 1 hope that the Rabbi Leon's book and model may yet turn up . ANTI QUARI US .

MODEL OF THE TEMPLE . Is there not a model of the Temple in the Bodleian Library , Oxford , or Ashmolean Aluseum ? Can anyone tell us anything about it ?

PICART'S CEREAIONIES . I rejoice to see these notes . The most valuable edition is that of 1723 apparently , though I should like to see some of the four volumes of 1720 . Has anyone seen the edition of 1 S 07 or 1 S 10 , by Prudhomme , I think , in it there is an additional ; paper , as is alleged , on "Les Haute Grades , " and some " Rose Croix , " in costume : BOOKWORM ..

SIR RICHARD STEELE . What is the real authority for saying that Sir Richard Steels was an Antient Mason . ' Does it rest on this print in ' < Picart , " or on some early passages in the "Tatler ?" AL S .

MASONIC RECORDS . In repl y to " Enquirer , " thc work , & c , whicli Bro . Alathew Cooke first " unearthed " is , I apprehend , " Long

Masonic Notes And Queries.

Livers . " As regards those " Alasonic Pilgrim Fathers , " some of our American friends , like Clifford P . McCalla , may perhaps tell us something . The letters of King Charles I . and the Charter of Arras , & c , are held , I believe , to be apocryphal . The French edition of the Constitutions of 1720 , said to be published at Brusclls , 1722 , has never yet been seen or verified , as far as I know . KIoss knows nothing of it . . . uoeii-T : AIASONIC STUDENT .

INITIATION OF ASHAIOLE , Sec , 1 C 46 . The article in the " Masonic Magazine , " for December , respecting thc notable initiation of 1 G 46 , by Bro . W . Harry Rylands , F . S . A ., is really so interesting and valuable that I hope to see it transferred to the Freemason ere

long . Bro . Rylands certainly furnishes several cogent reasons for believing that the majority at least of the brethren present at the initiation of Elias Ashmole and Colonel Mainwaring were not Operative Masons , and he has spared no pains to thoroughly examine the subject . W . J . HUGHAN .

AN OLD RECORD OF AfASONS . Can " \ V . H . P .. " verify the quotation given by Anderson at page S 2 , Constitutions 1723 ? Is it in Stow , or Gwillim , or Strype—and if in Stow , in which edition of Stow ? "The Company of Masons , being otherwise termed ^ Freemasons , of ancient standing and good . reckoning , by . means of affable and kindiv

meeting diverse tymes , and in a loving brotherhood should use to do , did frequent this mutual assembly , in the tyme of King Henry V ., the 12 th year of his most gracious reign . And the said record describeth a coat o £ arms , much the same with that of the London Company of Freemasons . " Anderson then seems to express his own

views , " It is generall y believed that the said Company is descended of the Ancient Fraternity , and that in former times no man was made free of that Company until he was installed in some lodge of Free and Accepted Masons as a necessary qualification . " But that laudable practice ^ seems to have been long in desuetude . ENQUIRER .

MASTER LAAIBERT . Can Bro . Gould verify the passage in Alaster Lambert ' s " Charge of Justices of Peace , " mentioned in the Constitution 1723 , p . 57 , which deals with the 3 rd Henry VI ., cap . ! . ? LEX .

The Precedence Of Grand Officers.

THE PRECEDENCE OF GRAND OFFICERS .

The following has been issued from thc Grand Secretary ' s office : —

" United Grand Lodge of England . _ " Freemasons' Hall , " Great Queen-street , London , W . C , " oth November , 1 SS 1 . . " R . W . Sir and Brother , — " lt having been recently brought under the notice of the AI . W . the Grand AIaster _ . that a question has been raised in one of the provinces as to the relative precedence

of Grand Oflicers and Provincial Grand Officers within the respective provinces of the latter , " " His Royal Highness deems it desirable to call your attention to the matter , and to inform you that Grand Officers have a clear right of precedence , as such , over all Provincial Grand Officers , whether in their own province or not . , , " This precedence has been invariably acknowledged and

acted on , and has been the established usage and custom of the Craft for over 150 years without protest or question and in every case recorded of great Masonic ceremonials in the provinces , the official records show that ' the Grand Officers of England , Present and Past , have always taken precedence of the local Masonic authorities , of whatever grades ( other than that of Provincial Grand Alaster ) they may have been .

" The M . W . the Grand Master , as the fountain of Alasonic honour under the English Constitution , has , therefore declared that such is to be considered as being , and as having been from time immemorial , the status and precedence of the Grand Officers of England in relation to those of the respective provinces , and I am now commanded by His Royal Highness to notify the same for

your information and future guidance . " I have thc honour to bc , R . W . Sir , your faithful servant and brother , " SHADWELL I-I . CLERKE , G . S . " To the R . Worshipful . " Provincial Grand Alaster for . "

Quebec And The English Lodges In Montreal.

QUEBEC AND THE ENGLISH LODGES IN MONTREAL .

Had I known that my endorsement of the " leaderette " in the Freemason of 29 th Oct . would have resulted in my receiving so much correspondence on the subject , I should have done well to " think twice" before embarking on such an enterprise . As it is . I must ask the favour nf

replying to the several letters from the province of Quebec and elsewhere in thisgeneral manner . The kind remarks of the editor have , I * understand , been duly appreciated , though several correspondents wish he had gone a little farther , and advised the lodges to at once join the Grand Lodge of Quebec . I cannot take . that view myself . The brethren in Alontreal must be left to please themselves .

We , in this country , can only hope what they decide on in 1 SS 1-2 will be for the best . 1 think that thc sooner they decide to join thc Grand Lodge of Quebec , the better terms they will make , for it is quite evident to mc that to preserve the three lodges from ultimate extinction , and in order to continue to hold their prominent position in the city of Montreal , they should not any longer preserve their inde- pendence . Having said this much , however , simply as a

matter ol opinion , based upon the evidence accumulated , and especially noting the fact that the contributions or fees from these lodges are nothing like so large as they used to he , I ' must again reiterate my . support of the editor of the Freemason in declaring our hearty support to . such lodges so long as they elect to remain under England , " even to the last man ! How far it is wise to hold aloof any longer from the Grand Lodge of their own province , must be left wholly and solely for the members directly interested to determine ,