Mark Masonry.

g iven from the chair and heartily responded to , and the brethren separated at an early hour , highly p leased with all they had seen and heard . GIKR . AI . TAR . —Gibraltar Lodge , No . 43 . —The regular meeting of this lodge was held on the 25 th ult . In addition to the election of several joining members , and the advancement of three brethren , the annual election of the

AV . M ., treasurer , and Iyler for the coming year had to be carried out . The ceremony of advancement was performed by the AV . M ., Bro . AVebstcr , in his usual clear and impressive style . The elections then commenced , and after the usual scrutiny , Bro . Balfour Cockbum was declared elected AV . M . by 34 votes out of 37 , and Bro . Trenery , Treasurer by an equally powerful majority . The

AV . M ., Bro . A \ ebstcr , in an eloquent speech then addressed a few complimentary words to the AV . M .-elcct , and congratulated the lodge on the prospective attainment of a AV . M . who had already proved himself so competent in the management of other equally important Masonic charges . It is worthy of notice that the Gibraltar Mark Lodge is a firm supporter of the rule

requiring candidates for the chair to be Masters or Past Masters of a Craft Lodge , and also to have served lhe office of AA ardcn of a Mark Lodge . Notwithstanding the continually-floating population from which this lodge gathers its brethren , the great majority of the members

being in the army , navy , or civil service , it has never yet had occasion to apply to Grand Lodge for a dispensation to break through this regulation , thoroughly competent and properly qualified brethren having at all times been forthcoming for election , and never at any time was the lodge more flourishing and vigorous than at present .

Scotland.

SCOT LAND .

V GLASGOAV . COMPLIMENTARY SUPPER .

On Friday evening , the 9 th inst ., about thirty gentlemen , including those without as well as those within " the light , " met in Thornton ' s Restaurant , Argyle-street , Glasgow , in compliment to Bro . John Davidson , I . P . M . of Lodge Commercial , Glasgow ,

No . 360 , on the occasion of his relinquishing business on bis own account to join the firm of Messrs . Duncan , Campbell ancl Son , wholesale stationers , & c ., Glasgow . Bro . J . D . Portcous , R . AV . M . Lodge Commercial , presided , Daniel AA ilson , Esq ., officiating as vice-chairman ; and amongst those

present were : Bros . James AVallace , P . G . J . D . ; J Brode , P . M . Lodge Commercial ; John Urc , Sec . Lodge Commercial ; G . B . Adams , John Rattray , Henry Purncll , Capt . Gilchrist , C . H . Fox , and R . M'Kenzie . The non-members of the Craft included Messrs . AVilliam Gilchrist , John Younp- , AVilliam

Rankin , James Kay , John Mann , Donnison , & c . After the customary loyal ancl patriotic toasts had been disposed of , the Chairman , in brief and felicitous terms , proposed the toast of the evening—¦ '' Health and prosperity to Mr . Davidson "—who , we may mention , has on three several occasions been elected Master of the Lodge Commercial since

its consecration , just twenty years ago , in 1551 . The toast having been honoured with enthusiasm , and acknowledged in fitting terms by the guest of the occasion , a few other toasts were given and responded to—especially that of " Ours , " a geological club of Glasgow , of which Bro . Davidson has long been a distinguished member . Songs alternated with toasts , throughout a most agreeable evening .

By request , we add to our report of the presentation to Bro . Buchanan , last week , the speech made by Bro . MTherson in proposing '' The Guests of the Evening" : — Ladies , gentlemen , and worthy chairman—My rhyme will not be so long as a sermon ;

I ' o make it short and it condense AVill be my part and no pretence . In looking round the hall , 1 am afraid That I some grave mistake have made In trying to speak on this grand occasion , Tiiis the evening of your presentation

Given to him you may rely on—P . M . Bro . John Buchanan . Our proper motto aud more proper plan A \ r as to acknowledge the merit of the worthy man ; . His humble efforts followed one on lhe other ,, He was , indeed , the Mason friend and brother ,

And in the Cralt was prompt and steady , AVith liberal open-h . mdedness was ever ready . Faith , Hope , and Charity in triangular form ' Did many of his actions kind adorn — For that latent power he well did feel AVhich did tiie goodne-: s of his heart reveal .

Now , to the partner ol his ample board May love , peace , and truth all afford That bliss of mind which is untold , And in vigorous force be uncontrolled . Then to their basket and to their store May each good be real , and each better than before .

And as years fly bye , and time doth glide , Find them in comfort by their ain fireside . Brethren , fill your glasses , let not a drop be lost , While the health of the evening ' s guests we toast . Their continued prosperity is our earnest desire , Then give with due Masonic fire .

Ancient Ruins.

ANCIENT RUINS .

Ancient Egypt , Palestine , and the Fast—Reli gion , Litera ture , S-Y . BY M . AV . ALFRED , A . M ., M . D . CHAPTER II . During the long reign of Rameses the Great , and preceding it , literature of a high order flourished in

Egypt , ancl radiated throughout the vast dominions of that sovereign in Asia , as well as in Africa . AVith the high state of military glory , there existed also evidences of immense intellectual development . Poetry of rich and exalted character was composed by Pentrf-our , the friend and admirer of his

sovereign . The books of Papyrus exhumed from the tombs attest the flourishing state of learning at the court of the Pharaohs before the Hebrews left the lands along the Nile for their Asiatic possessions . Egypt had her ' wise men , astrologers , and soothsayers , " and her physicianshad the greatest renown .

The King had his officiating priests , who pronounced for him the words of Amnion ; and from among the priests and college students were the ranks of the scribes supplied . These " wise men " withstood Moses , and performed some of the miracles which he performed . "They cast their

rods upon the ground , and they became serpents . "They stretched their rods out over the river and pools , and the fish died . " " They brought forth frogs , as Moses did . " ( See Exod . vii ., viii . ) Moses was thoroughly educated in all their learning . He was reared in a country which had carried art and

industry to a very high pitch , ancl at a time when its literature shone with great brilliancy . It is easy to recognise in the Egyptian texts the peculiar turn of verses which form the special character of the Hebrew poetry . The earliest sacred writers have directly borrowed from the priestly

annalists certain expressions whose energy and beauty have long been admired , ancl it is no mean glory for the poet Pentcl-our , and for the other men of letters assembled at the Court of Rameses Mei Amoun , to have had a considerable share in the literary education of the Hebrew legislator . (

Account E . de Rouge . ) The Pharaohs sustained about the same relation lo the religious worship of Egypt that David and Solomon , did many centuries afterwards in Palestine . The Supreme Being was known to the Egyptians by the appellation Amnion , which is only

another name for Jupiter . The Hebrew word Jehovah evidently comes from Jupiter . Dr . Clark has clearly stated this . If we decline the Latin name Jupiter , we have in the ablative case Jove , Jupiter , Jovis , Jovcm , Jove . Insteadof one syllable ,

divide " Jove into three , ancl we have Yc-ov-ah . Both Egyptians and Hebrews used a number of appellations for God , as every student knows . The Egyptians acknowledged the operations of evil spirits as clearly as the Jews , long afterwards .

A Stele , or sepulchral monument , found among the ruins of a Thcban temple , represents a sovereign from the borders of the Tigris sending a solemn retinue to Egypt , commissioned to loan an idol reputed to possess the power of exorcising evil spirits from those possessed bv them . The daughter

of this functionary was supposed to be possessed by such a spirit , and consequently a journey of three hundred leagues was but a trivial undertaking to consummate its expulsion or exorcism . So we see that the opinion which ascribes bodily infirmities to the operation of malign spirits

prevailed prior to tne days of Moses . It still prevails among the tribes of central Africa , if not in enlightened America . A \ e transcribe at ihis place a translation from the Stele of the Temple of Khons , which relates to this opinion : —

" In the fifteenth year of his reign , when his Majesty was celebratingat Thebes , that capital ancl mistress of the nations , the grand panegyric of bis father Amnion , tlie Sun , the distributor of thrones ; behold tlie arrival of a messenger , bearing rich presents from the King of lloitcliten for the ( Juecii ,

was announced to his Majesty . On being admitted to the presence of Rameses , the envoy saluted his Majesty in these words : 'Glory to thee , O Sun of nine peoples . ' grant to us the breath of life . ' Then prostrating himself , he added : 'The King , my master , sent me to thv holiness because of

Hentenn :. d , the young ' sister of the Oueen Ua-Xeferou . A secret malady consumes her . Will thy holiness deign to send her one of those men who know all things ? ' The first person sent 'being placed in the presence of the spirit that beset the Princess , ' found himself its inferior , and dare not engage in contest

wilh it . ' A second physician was sent ( Khonsou-P . i-ar-Seehcr ) , who exorcised the evil spirit , and ' I ! : 'iHennest u ;« instantly cured , and the spirit withdrew whither he saw iit . '" AVe have given but a small part of this account as found on the Stele of the ' Templeof Khons , but enough for a specimen of the whole ,

Ancient Ruins.

This event was transmitted to this monument long before the Hebrews possessed the Land of Canaan . But this Princess was not the only person in high rank who thus suffered . Hercules was said to have been similarly affected ; and hence Aristotle calls epilepsy Morbus Herculius ; and Hippocrates , who

wrote his medical treatise about threecenturies B . C ., styles it Morbus Sacer— -the disease caused by the gods . It was believed that God sent good and evil messengers , or angels , to perform His purposes of vengeance or of kindness . It is recorded in our sacred writings of King Saul " that an evil spirit

from the Lord troubled him" ( 1 Sam ., xvi . ) , which David drove away by his skilful performances upon the harp . Also in the New Testament we find professional exorcists , or expcllers of demons . "Then . certain of the vagabond ( wandering ) Jews , Exorcists , took

upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus , saying : ' AVe abjure you by Jesus , whom Paul preaches . And there were seven sons of Sceva , a Jew , and chief of the priests which did so . '" ( Acts xix . ) Exorcism was the professional business of a large class of "

travelling" Hebrew doctors . Christ asked the Jews " by what authority their sons cast out demons ?" ( Luke , xi . ) , showing conclusively this fact . The casting out or exorcising demons was not in dispute , but they falsely accused Christ of casting them out through " Beelzebub . "

Josephus says of King Solomon : " God also enabled him to learn that skill which expels demons , which is a science useful and sanative to men . He composed such incantations also by which distempers are alleviated . And he kept behind him the manner of using exorcism , by which

they drive away demons , so that they never return ; and this method of cure is of great force unto this day , for I have seen a certain man of my own country , whose name was Eleazor , releasing people that were demoniacal , in the presence of Vespasian , and his sons , and his captains , and

the whole multitude of his soldiers . The manner of the cure was this : He put a ring that had a root of one of those sorts mentioned by Solomon to the nosttris of the demoniac , after which he drew out the demon through his nostrils , and when the man fell down immediately , he adjured

him to return into him no more , making still mention of Solomon , and reciting the incantations which he composed . And when Eleazor would persuade and demonstrate to the spectators that he had such a power , he seta little way oft" a cup or basin of water , and commanded the demon as

he went out ofthemanto overturn it , and thereby to let the spectators know that he had left the man ; and when this was done the skill and wisdom of Solomon was shown very manifestly , for which reason it is that all men may know the vastness of Solomon ' s abilities , ancl how he was

beloved of God , ancl that the extraordinary virtues of every kind with which the ring was endowed may not be unknown to any people under the sun ; for this reason I say it is that we have proceeded to speak so largely of those matters . " ( Antiquities of the Jews , Book viii ., ch . ii . ) Fragments of these

conjurations of Solomon may be found in Fabricius . ( Cod . Pseudepigr , A ' ct . Test . p . 1054 . ) Quoting again from the Stele of the Temple of Khons , it is asserted that the second prophet sent by Pharaoh , Khonson-Pa-ar-sechcr , " On reaching the place where the Princess Benten-rest was , the

spirit lhat beset her humiliated itself before lumand said : ' AA ^ clcome to thee , mighty God , conqueror of those who rebel ! I am thy slave ; 1 shall be no hindrance to the purpose of thy journey , but shall return to the place whence I came . '" Even' reader will see at once the antiquity of the

opinions concerning the evil operation of these malign spirits . AAHicther they are substantial or not in the minutiie each must judge for himselfour duty is simply to present the facts . The inscription on each long-buried Stele , the hieroglyphic tales of the Papyri , nnd the still fresh mural paintings but so recently disentombed in

Egypt , come to us like a voice from eternity . As before stated , 1 have examined one of these Papyri which lay for many centuries on the breast of an Egyptian mummy , probably from the time when Joseph's brethren appeared before him to purchase those sacks of corn to transport back to their home in Canaan . —The Michigan Freemason .

IN - our account of the proceedings of the Mark Grand Lodge wc inadvertently omitted to note the appointment of Bro . the Rev . N . Hayeroft , D . D ., an eminent Nonconformist minister of Leicester and a very distinguished Mason , to be Grancl Chaplain . AVe ought also to have mentioned , as being present , Bro . the Rev . AVilliam Langley , P . M . 21 and D . P . G . M . M . of Leicestershire and Rutland .

The following stand over till next week : — "The Fair Sex and Adoptive . Masonry ; " "Festival of St . John the Baptist , Skiddaw ; " Reports of Lodges 7 SS , S 69 , 1222 , 1224 , 1250 , 130- ; , 1310 , 1331 j Chapter 107 ; Conclave 44 .