Multum In Parbo ,Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

Multum in Parbo , or Masonic Notes and Queries .

CRAFT CERTIFICATE OF NO . 281 , BARNSTAPLE , OF 176 G . Your correspondent "Dryasdust" has elon ; well to transcribe the text of the old certificate of No . 2 S 1 , Barnstaple , of 6 th January , 1766 , as it is most desirable to have such documents maele public for the benefit of thc

Masonic students , now happily increasing in numbers and influence . The lodge in question was warranted in j 7 62 and was then No . 2 S 1 , thc number being altered in 1770 to 22 S , soon after which it became extinct . In 1873 , the "Loyal Lodge" was constituted in the same

town , as No . 453 ; in 1792 it became No . 3 6 5 ; in 1 S 14 , ( after the " union " ) 469 ; in 1 S 32 it was altered to 312 , and last of all changed to 251 in 1 S 63 . It was usual in those early days for the lodges to issue their own certificates , and , indeed , was even so done early this century . WILLIAM J AMES HIGIIAN .

R . W . BRO . HARRIOTT , 1729 , LIST OF LODGES , I will answer our esteemed brother ' s note shortly , having a copy of thc original of 1729 , ( not 1719 ) , and will transcribe it for thc Freemason . WILLIAM TAMES HUGHAN .

LODGE CERTIFICATES . In your last number you gave us a copy of a private lodge certificate ( Fleece Lodge , in Barnstaple ) , dated January 6 th , 1766 . Hereunder I send you a copy of a similar one , issued by Loelge Hannibal , held at the Masonic Hall , St . George's , Bermuda , dated 5 th November last , which is as follows '—

" To all whom it may concern , " Lodge Haur . ibal , No . 224 , A . T . and A . M . " Holelen under the Granel Lodge of Ireland . "We hereby ' certify that Br J . Walter Askew is a regular , registered Master . Mason , in the . Lodge Hannibal , 224 holden uneler the Grand Lodge of Ireland : that he has , during his stay vvitli us , behavcel himself as an honest and

worthy brother , and as such we recommend mm to all the fraternity around the globe . " In testimony thereof wc have hereunto set our hanels , and affixed the seal of th : loelge , at our loelge rooms , Masonic Hall , St . George ' s , Bermuda , this 5 th day of November , in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy seven .

" Admitted 10 th January , 1 S 77 , "Declared off on the ^ th November , 1 S 77 . "William Wilkinson , P . M ., W . M ., P . Tern P . J . Cheshire , S . W . Dan . Taylor , J . W . Wm . Wilkinson , Sec . " . T . SHAFLAND , P . M .

THE PLEIADES . Can one give me thc correct title of Bro . Halliburton's book " The Relation of the Pleiades to the Primitive Traditions , or the Origin of Races . " He read a paper at 33 , Golden-square , some time back on the same subject . SIGMA .

The utilisation of subterranean heat for warmine houses is suggested by an American engineer in Nevaua , who is perfecting a plan for heating the town of Virginia by means of the warmth generated in thc subterranean regions of the mines . He believes there is sufficient heat in the lower levels of thc mines to warm

every house in * . ne city , anil recommcnels a system of pipes through which thc heat will be drawn out of the mines , and distributed about thc town . The consumption of horseflesh in Paris , which commenced in i 860 in the face of great prejudices , but which steadily aelvanceel and derived a great stimulus from the siege , has this year averaged 1000 animals per

month . THE NEW HEDJCM . COLLEGE EDINBURGH . — A commencement lias been maele with the clearing of the site to be occupieel by the new Medical College , Edinburgh . The houses occupying this site were built about a century ago , and that portion of them constituting Park-place consisted of what were then first-class city residences . One of

these , of very graceful design , is considered to be the work of one of the brothers Adam . It was thc town residence of thc Campbells of Succoth , and was at one time occupieel by Sir Islay Campbell , Lord President of the Court of Session . This house , Mr . Anderson , the architect of the college buildings , proposes to re-erect and incorporate with the general design in such a manner as not to interfere with

thc aesthetic effect of the Anatomy Court , of which it will form a feature . Another of these houses belonged to the Taits of Harviston , and in it the present Archbishop of Canterbury was born , his mother having been a daughter of the Loi-, 1 President Campbell above referred to . The interiors of these houses contain admirable specimens of mantelpieces , doors , ecc , similar in Style to those so much

affected by the modern Queen Anne school . These Mr . Anderson proposes to utilise as f . ira-i practicable in the new class rooms . To carry out the portions of Mr . Anderson's design absolutely required will entail a cost of about £ 188 , 000 . Towards this sum the public have contributed about £ 90 , 000 , and the Government have promised to contribute £ 80 , 000 conditionally upon the public

subscribing thc balance . —Builder . A statue to Thomas Campbell has been erected at Glasgow , thc poet's birthplace , anil forms a companion to the figure of Burns , at thc side of the Scott Memorial in George Square . The bronze statue is 9 feet high , and represents Campbell in the costume of the Prince Regent's perioel , holding a pencil and scroll .

Notes On Art, &C.

NOTES ON ART , & c .

A -folk-lore bociety lias just been formed for the purpose of preserving the fast-failing relics of our popular fictions and traditions , legendary ballads , local proverbial sayings , superstitions , and old customs . Accoreling to the prospectus the new society " will gather together the folk-lore articles scattered throughout English

literature , and such communications on the same subject as may be forwarded direct to thc society , anel select therefrom articles of special interest forpublication by thc society ; and , as opportunities offer , it will print such accounts of thc folk-lore of thc colonies and also of other countries as may serve to illustrate and explain that of our own . As thc society increases and its means further develope , it is intended to extend the field of its labours so as to include the

collection and publication of the folk-lore : of aboriginal peoples . " Among thc members of the Council are Mr . F . Ouvry ( President of the Society of Antiquaries ) , Professor Max Miiller , Mr . W . R . S . Ralston , M . A ., and Air . Edward Solly , F . R . S . Mr . Thorns has consented to act as director of thc society , anel Mr . G . L . Gomme , of 26 , Merthyr-terrace , Castlenau , Barnes , has undertaken the duties of honorary secretary .

About jo telephones are now in practical use in Cincinnati as a means of communication between business establishments . The longest connecting wire is from it distillery in Cumvninsville into thc city proper , about five miles . The telephone has , however , been tested on the police telegraph in that city , equivalent to nearly a hundred miles of wire , anil is said to have given satisfactory results . Philadelphia Ledger .

THE GULF OF MEXICO . —Professor A . Agassiz , with an assistant , is to be ; accommoelated on board thc United States Coast Survey steamer Blake , which has just sailed on a surveying cruise that will occupy this winter . \ iy a stuely of the animals dredgeel from the bottom of the gulf , Professor Agassiz will be enabled to make important comparisons with thc fauna of the Atlantic , and especially

as to growth , habit « , migrations , and changes of living forms found in the waters near thc British islands and the Scandinavian Peninsula . The expedition is under thc command of Lieutenant-Commander Charles D . Sigsbee , United States Navy , who has had several years' experience on coast survey eluiy , and has been notably successful in deep-sea soundings . —Natm-e .

PURE WATER . —In the last session of the Deutsche Gcscllschaft fur dffentliche Gesundhcitspfiege , Dr . Falk described anew method of testing thc purity of drinking water by electrical experiment . From researches carried out in the laboratory of thc School of Artillery in

Berlin , it appears that the conductive properties of water for the electric current vary Tapidly according to its degree of purity , the resistance decreasing with the purity of the water . It is possible , in this manner , to detect with great ease the presence of small quantities of organic matter in water . —Nature .

The Mercers' Company have given notice that the lectures founded by Sir Thomas Gresham will be read gratuitously to the public on the following evenings at 6 o ' clock in the theatre of Gresham College , Basinghallstreet—viz ., Rhetoric ( Mr . T . F . Dallin ) , January 15 , t 6 , 17 , am ! 18 ; Law ( Dr . Abdy ) , January 22 , 23 , 24 , and 25 ; Physic ( Dr . Synics Thompson ) , January 20 , 30 , and 31 ,

and February 1 ; Divinity ( the Dean of Chichester ) , February 5 , 6 , 7 , and 8 ; Astronomy ( the Rev . E . Ledger ) , February 12 , 13 , 14 , and 15 ; Geometry ( the Dean of Manchester ) , February 19 , 20 , 21 , and 22 ; and Music ( Dr . Henry Wylde ) , February 26 , 27 , and 28 , and March 1 . The Farnesina Palace in the Transtevere , Rome , well-known for its magnificent frescoes by Raphael ,

has been closed to the public by its owner , the Duke de Ripalta , a Spaniard , on the pretext that the Govtmment works for thc improvement of thc Tiber trespassed on his grounds and enilangcred the safety of the building . Bills to this effect were posted on thc walls , but the police tore them down and declared that they were illegal , having

been placed there without the visa of the authorities . Built more than three centuries and a half ago , the Farnesina is a fine monument of the Italian Renaissance , and contains not only the mythological paintings of Raphael—notably the story of Cupid and Psyche—but works by Peruzzi , Sebastian del Piombo , and a colossal head attributed to Michael Angelo .

MUSICAL NOTATION .- — correspondent from Breslau writes to the Frankjurlcr Zcitung that the ; musical director , Heir H . J . Vincent , the latest advocate of thc new key-boarel , delivered a few days ago a lecture on this subject in the music-hall of the University of Breslau . The new key-board has already given rise to enuch eliscussion in Germany . Herr Vincent asserted that the

introeluction of a new noUtion was a " pastulate" necessarily associated with it as its written image . Both are consequences of that new view of the essentially chromatic character of the sound-world , which is ( hej seiiel ) forcing its way into universal acceptance . Both of them are thc expression of this view in its elouble relation ; for the chromatic key-board is nothing else but an embodied notation ,

while the notation may be described as an abstract written key-boarel ; they reciprocally correspond to each other . The lecturer eleclareel that the only road to a really simple theory of music was to accept the chromatic system as the origin and foundation of the diatonic . The scile of seven notes must be viewed and treated a ? a corollary

deduced from the ! scale of 12 ; therefore the chromatic is the parent of the diatonic system . But this theory leads us directly to the adoption of the new chromatic ; key-boa rd , and a system of notation adapteel to it without keys or clefs . Herr Vincent purposes visiting most of the principal towns in Germany to lecture on his special subject .

Notes On Art, &C.

Sixteen farms have been entered in competition for the prizes , to the value of £ 240 , offered for best managed farms by thc Bristol Local Committee for promoting this year ' s Show of the Royal Agricultural Society of England . The competition is limited to tenant farmers in Gloucestershire , thc Eastern Division of Somersetshire , and the Northern Division of Wiltshire . Of the number entered 13 are dairy or stock farms , only three coming in the classes for arable farms ,

Captain Nelson , of the American shi p Sacramento , recently arrived at Melbourne , reports that on J uly 9 , in lat . 31 59 N-, and long . 37 W ., he saw a sea serpent . Some 50 ft . of the monster was observable . It appeared to bc about the size of a flour barrel in girth and of a yellowish colour .

The actual demolition of Temple Bar was begun on Wednesday week . All thc stones have been carefully numbered and lettered with a view to its reerection at some future time .

The Channel Tunnel Works at Sangatte have made special progress of late , according to Engineering . A shaft has been sunk 335 feet below thc sea , and , starting from this shaft , it is proposed to pierce an experimental tunnel about five-eighths of a mile in length . If this trial should succeed the actual tunnel would be begun at once . Mr . Charles Matthews has written to the

papers contradicting a rumour that he has an intention of retiring from the stage . He is not , he observes , " of a retiring disposition , " and is , besides , too fond of his profession to relinquish it voluntarily . POST OFFICE ORPHAN HOME . —This institution celebrated its annual Christmas Festival on Thursday , 3 rd inst ., at the rooms of the Young Men ' s Christian

Association in Aldcrsgate-strect , thc chair being occupied by , \ Ir . It . W . Johnston , acting Postmaster of the Eastern Central District , and the arrangement ; generally being superintended by Mr . W . Poevlej-, the honorary elirector and treasurer of the home . It appeared from a brief address delivered by the chairman that , although the home had been in existence for something under eight years , there are as many as 70 chilelrtn on thc books , and that

ten additional boys and girls will be brought withm its protection within a few days , making a total of 80 orphans , who will bc clothed , fed , and educated at thc expense of the institution . Thc home has for its patrons the Postmaster-General and several of the chief officers of the Post Office , as well as many of the bankers and merchants of thc City of London ; and its chief boast is that it has no building , no debt , and only one : salaried official . In fact , it is a rrooel instance of thc success of thc much-abuseel

boarding-out system . THE GUILDHALL LIBRARY . —It will be recollected that as an experiment anil in deference to the wishes of many 1-irgc firms in thc city , the ; Corporation of London determined that their library in the Guildhall should be opened to thc public for 12 months on every evening during the vveek , except Saturelay , until 9 o ' clock .

Mr . Overall , F . S . A ., thc librarian , reports that the total number of readers availing themselves of the additional privileges granted by the Corporation had been 49 , 434 —namely , those staying at 5 o ' clock , 14 , 738 , and those afterwards arriving , 34 , 6 9 6 . The average attendance each evening had been 201 readers , and , taking the months separately , it appeared that the maximum occurred

in an evening in Fcbuary ( 259 ) , and the minimum in June ( 170 ) . Thus , as might be expected , the public make more use of the library in thejwinter months than in thc summer . The c ' ass of readers using the library and reading-room in the evening would appear to bc , for the most part , young men engaged in mercantile pursuits during the day . The literature cjnsulteel might

bcthus classeel—1 , history , topography , heraldry , and biography ; 2 , philosophy , science , and the fine arts ; 3 , poetry , drama , and fiction ; 4 , voyages , traveled , anil geography ; and 3 , classical and English literature and belles-lettres . There was not a single instance of any one injuring the books intrusted to them . The works of the most popular historians had been duplicated , and a

purchase hail been made , under the bequest of the late Sir David Solomons , of a liberal selection of works upon science and the fine arts . The staff arrangements made by the library committee hail worked veiy satisfactorily . The actual cost of the evening opening had been £ 1277 for the year . In 18 74 thc total number of readers anil visit - > rs wis 173 , 559 ; in 1 S 75 , 192 , 716 ; in 1876 , 220 , 237 ; and in the

first six months of ; last year , 121 , 619 •the elaily average attendance for these years being respectively 603 , 724 , 76 7 ; and for the six months in last year , 816 . In conclusion the librarian states that , judging from thc rapid increase in the number of readers and the usefulness rf the library in all its branches since it has been opened by the Corporation as a free library , and including thc evening opening

during the past year , he was certainly of opinion that , as the facilities afforded and the gnat value of thc collection in the library became more generally known , the results in the future would bc even more favourable . The library committee , having carefully consielered thc librarian's report on thc details of thc working of the library , and having regarel to the very satisfactory

evidence as to the extent to which the public had been benefited by the evening opening , recommended thc Court to authorise its continuance , and permanently sanction the arrangements which during- the experimental perioel hael been found to provide so effectively for the care , maintenance , and supervision of th c library . This recommendation has been adapted .

Sir John Astley , Bait ., M . P ., in consideration of thc three very bael seasons which have done so much damage to agriculturists , has returned 10 p . r cent , to his Lincolnshire tenants whose rentals arc over £ 200 per annum , and 15 percent , on those uneler that amount .