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" chapiters , lily-work that stood upon the pillar and it was " elevated five cubits ( seven and a half feet ) round about which " there was net work interwoven with small palms made of " brass and covered the lily-work . To this also were hung two

" hundred pomegranates in two rows . The one of these p illars " he set at the entrance of the porch on the rig ht hand ( or south ) " and called it Jachin , and the other at the left hand ( or north ) " and called it Boaz . "

In erecting these pillars it has been suggested that Solomon had reference to the pillar of cloud and the p illar of fire which ¦ went before the fsraeh ' tes in the wilderness , the right hand or

south pillar representing the pillar of cloud , and the left hand or north p illar , that of fire . They were not merel y erected as ornaments to the Temple , but as memorials of God's goodness ancl his repeated promises of support to His people .

It will be notified that the dimensions , twenty seven feet b y six in diameter , represented unusual stability . They were not meant as supports for the roof . The presence of the ornamentation on the top of each ol them would in itself make it

impracticable . Again their hei g ht , including the " chapiter " was but twenty three cubits , whereas according to ii Chronicles , iii , 4 , and Josephus ( ANT . viii , iii , 2 , ) , the porch was a hundred and twenty cubits .

Moreover , Hiram was not the " builder of the temple , but simply the decorator . It was not unusual for temples ( o be so decorated , and Benzinger ( Biblical Arch . 'i . 'ologv ) points out that such arr to be found among both Syrian and Phienicinn remains .

As to their names . The reference to tin * great grandfather of David , in the ritual , is quite gratuitous , as it is perfectl y certain there was not the sli g htest connection . Gesenius suggests they were named after the donors , or , alternatively , the artisans who constructed them , and Ewald ( Gesch iii , 4 ) suggests they were called after two of Solomon ' s sons .

Alter standing for 427 years they were broken up by Nebuzar-adan , 588 Li . C , as recorded in Jeremiah Iii , 21 . The two p illars were remarkable b y reason of the " chapiters " which surmounted them . In many of our lodges , these are represented by the two globes , celestial and terrestrial ! As a

matter of fact considerable doubt exists as to what they reall y were . The Hebrew word is ] -n ! TQ ( l ^ otercl ) . Its root is to be found in the word - JJ - Q ( Kcfer ) , signifying a crown , and it is thus used in Esther , vi , 8 , to describe the royal diadem of the King of Persia . The chaldaic version exim-ssl y calls the

chapiter , a crown , but Rabbi Solomon , in his commentary describes it as a g lobe , and Rabbi Gerstrom says it was like two crowns joined together . Lig htfoot says it was a " huge oval , five cubits in its longest axis , which sat upon the column and g lowered around it , being considerabl y greater in diameter than the pillar itself . "

The lily referred to , as decorating the chapiters , was the N ymphaea lotus , or lotus of the Nile , not the common lil y such as is referred to in Luke xii , 27 . The lotus was a sacred p lant among the Egyptians , and appeared extensively in their temple decorations .

The custom alread y referred to , of surmounting the p illars with the celestial and terrestrial g lobes must have arisen from the fact that the constellations used to be found engraved on the pillars which decorated the porch of the Kgyptian temple of Anion .

It has been conjectured that the p lan of thc ornamentation was as follows . The lotus petals sprang out from the summit of the p illar at the junction of the chapiter , and after gentl y curving round it they drooped towards the pillar in a manner similar to the Acanthus leaves on the Corinthian column .

About two-fifths of the distance from the bottom of the chapiter , or just below its greatest diameter , or most bul ging part , there was carved a tissue of net-work extending over the whole upper surface . Around the bottom of this net-work was suspended a series of fringes on which again were carved two rows of pomegranates , a hundred in a row .

Thc ori g inal or Scriptural symbolism of the pillars is thus described b y Dudley ( Naology , p . 121 ) . " The p illars represent " the sustaining power of the great God . Thc flower of the lotus " or water-lily , rises from a root growing at thc bottom of the " water , and maintains its position on tlic surface by its columnar

" stalk , which becomes more or less straig ht as occasion requires . " It is , therefore , aptly symbolical of the power of the Almi ghty " constantl y employed in the preservation of the world . Thc " chapiter is the bod y or mass of the earth . The pomegranates " being a fruit remarkable for the number of their seeds , are

" symbolic of fertility , and thc wreaths—or network—spread " over the surface , indicate the courses of the heavenl y bodies " around the earth . " lt will occur to the reader lhat all this is very fanciful , and in fact any intelligent student could quite as easil y and with quite

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as much reason appl y half a dozen other explanations , all equall y suitable as the above . We have come across a number of adaptations to Alasonic symbolism , which are all as fanciful as that quoted , and the truth is that in the first instance the pillars were introduced into the

lectures as parts of historical detail rather than as significant symbols . The catechism of I 731 describes their name , their size , and their material , but says nothing about their Masonic import . If the porches of our lodges are to be adorned at all in this manner , the idea ought to be carried out thoroughly .

Pillars of the actual dimensions may be unattainable or impracticable , but the relative dimensions ought to be preserved . The conjoint signification of the two names is stability *—but we

once observed a candidate , to whom this had been dul y explained b y the Worshi p ful Master , and who was in the act of retiring for a brief time from the lodge accidentally stumble against the rig ht hand pillar , with the result that it fell over !

In our lodges the p illars are usuall y found within the porch , but , according to Lig htfoot—r \ vho produces some very cogent arguments in his favour—they were without , in a position in which they would be seen b y all who entered . Whereas ., if they were inside , the incomer would pass them without notice .

They were said to be made of brass . But the brass of the Bible is not the same as the brass of present day commerce . The latter is an admixture of copper and zinc , and it is very rarel y found in the remains of ancient cities , Weapons and implements of copper and bronze , however , are frequentl y met

with . In Job , xxvm , 2 , brass is said to be " molten out of stone . Clearl y copper is here referred to . It is highl y probable that the p illars of the porchway were cast in bronze . In our own days the best castings are made in this metal , whereas brass castings of any size or importance are unknown . The superior hardness

of bronze makes it possible for the cast to reproduce every outline of the mould . Moreover , bronze is one of the most ancient of metals . The art of making it is referred to b y Homer

in his description of the shield of Achilles ( Iliad , xviii , 474 J , where he states that " copper and tin were brought to the furnace . " And bronze implements are described b y Rawlinson as found among Chaldaean remains dating from 2286 , B . C .

We have now dealt exhaustively with the most noticeable part of the porchway , and there remains but little else to say about it . It mig ht be asked whereabouts in the lodge room ought it to be . It is usuall y found in the N . W ., but we fancy in strictness it ought to be in the South , ft is protected by the

Inner Guard , who acts under the immediate direction of the Junior Warden . Now , the assistants of the two other principal officers , sit at the rig ht of the Wor . Master and Senior Warden , and we should suppose bv analogy that the Inner Guard should

be similarly p laced with respect to the Junior Warden . This would bring the porch to the immediate ri ght of that officer , a position which would make it easy for him to carry out his duties as to the examination of visitors . This , however , is onl y the writer ' s opinion .

The Latest Ms. Discovered.

THE LATEST MS . DISCOVERED .

I am very pleased , indeed , that Bro . Henry Sadler has discovered another old Masonic Roll , and tint he has secured it for the Library of the Grand Lodge of England . Will he please let us know ( 1 ) whit its name is to be , and ( 2 ) also more fully as to the text . The portions he supplies agree with the " Antiquity MS . " of A . D . 168 O ,

which I gave in full in my " Old Charges" of 1872 , and duly noted in the 2 nd Edition of 1 S 95 . It looks , therefore , as if it belonged to that Family known as the " Grand Lodge " Lanstloivne Branch , which includes three MSS . ( " Lansdowne , " "Antiquity , " and "Probity" ) , which mentions that Prince Edwin was made a " Mason at Windsor , " a peculiarity of that

group . The " Antiquity " scroll begins with the two clauses" Fear God and keep His Commandments , " " For this is the whole Duty ol Man , " which are separated by the Invocation" In the name of the Great and Holy God , the wisdome of the Son , and the holv Ghost , Three Persons & one God , be with us now &

ever , Amen . " The conclusion also accords with the MS . as given by Bro . Sadler , e . g ., " These be all the Charges and Covenants that ought to be Read at the makeing of a Free Mason or Free Masons . The Almighty God of J acob , who ever have you in his keeping , bless us , now and ever , Amen . " I await now a sight of the transcript , soon as made by our esteemed Sub-Librarian . \ V . J . HUGHAN .

BKO . SIR HENRV IRVING IN AMERICA . —Uro . Sir Henry Irving ' s three weeks engagement at New Yoik comes to an end to-morrow ( Saturday ) . AH seats up to tne last performance have been sold , realising a total of 81 , 000 dollars . The average receipts ior each performance ate 3240 dollars . Owing to the extraordinary success 01 his tour , Bro . Sir Henry is negotiating for the postponement of his re-appearance «" . London , with a view to extending his tour in America an additional fortnight .