Masonic Researches.

and my old friend , Mr . Lancelot Morehouse , rector of Portwood , "Wilts , was wont to make this mark at fire top of his missive letters , as the Roman Catholiqu . es do the ? £ , aud he told me ( 1660 ) that the firreek Christians did so . " " '' The figure of three triangles intersected ( adds ~ W

Keunet ) , and made of five lines , is called the Pentaagle of Solomon , and when it is delineated in the ( body of a man it is pretended to touch and point out fthe five places wherein our Saviour was wounded . And therefore there was the old superstitious conceit , ifchat the figure was a fuge demonum—the devils were isfraid of it . "

NOTE . The " Pentaculum Solomonis , " the " Driden-fus " of the German magical writers , and which is regarded lit the present day by tbe superstitious in Germany ¦ as an effective hindrance to the power of witches , is -said to have its origin in the secret doctrines of the Pythagoreans , and to have been from thence trans'fftrred to the mvsteries of Druides . Be this as it

• may , it is certain it was looked upon m the middle ages as a sign of immense power ; and at the present moment the magical Pentalpha , iu the western window of the southern aisle of "Westminster Abbey , is one of the emblems which still exist , and tell to the initiated that the black monks who once chanted 'in the choir were deeply read in accult science . "We

are not , therefore , surprised to find it treated of iu Dr . Carl Grabner's " Bilder der "Wunderkunst und des Aberglaubens , " 8 vo ., "Weimar , 1837 , p . 86 , or that Goethe should have made Eaust avail himself of its

influence" Fur solcbe halbe Hollenbrafc , 1 st Salomonis Schlussel gut ;" teat it would scarcely be expected that a belief in its influence should be gravely avowed in a work published at the commencement of the nineteenth century .

" It is always necessary to have this Pentacle in ireadiness to bind with in case the spirits should refuse to be obedient , as they can have no power over the TExorcist while provided with and fortified by the 3 ? entacle , the virtue of the holy names therein written presiding with wonderful influence over the spirits .

It should be made in the day and hour of mercury upon parchment made of a kid ' s skin , or virgin , or pure clean white paper , aud the figures aud letters wrote in pure gold , and ought to be consecrated and sprinkled ( as before often spoken ) with holy water . " —Barret ' s "Magus , " book 2 , partiii . ( 109 . )

a Anecdotes and Traditions , illustrative of Early lEuglish History and Literature , derived from MS . Sources . " Camden Soe , 1839 . Hoping the above may serve to interest , if it be not of any other use to your many scientific readers , I am , yours fraternally , MACCAIDUS , 1 , 075 .

Custom House Officials.

CUSTOM HOUSE OFFICIALS .

a DUE EDITOR or THE rEEEitAsoi's' AtAcuziifE AJTD ATASOXIC lrniEoii . Dear Sir and Brother , —I perceive in a recent impression of the Standard , a letter referring to the aaiderpaid condition of the Custom House officials .

Custom House Officials.

the writer of which signs himself ""Masonic . " INow the letter referred to is a perfectly correct account of the condition of the particular class ; and I have no doubt that the writer was actuated'by the best motives in writing it ; but I think , as a Mason , that he was not justified in connecting the Craft in any with

way the object he had in view . I am not quite sure that I am correct in the view I take of this matter , but my ideas of Masonry , as I have learnt it ,, are , that it ought not to be used as an instrument in promoting any agitation for any purpose foreign to itself ; and though , in this particular instance the object is a

laudable one , the principle remains the same , that no member of the Craft is justified in preventing the uses of his Masonic profession by an appeal to the general public in that character . I am aware there is a growing tendency , in the present time , towards making ( what I cannot but consider ) this improper use of

, the Masonic privilege ; and if it is allowed to continue unchecked , I feel certain that it will have a most disastrous influence upon our whole body . If it is allowable to make use of it for any one purpose unconnected with the interests of the Society , it must be also in every otherso long as the purpose to be

, gained may be considered a good one ; hut where would this end ? In the opinion of some people the object which all ought to strive to attain would be religious equality ; with others , political reform is the only object to be sought for . In this way the important influencewhich a body so extensive as that

, of Freemasons possesses , would become the potent genii which every leader of party , whether social , religious , or political , would strive to command , aud the result wonld be fatal to our body .

I may be wrong in my surmises , and I may also be wroug in my ideas as to the latitude allowed to Masons in using the influence they possess in bearing that name . If so , I shall be happy to be informed more fully on the subject by some older Mason than myself , many of whom I recognise as constant correspondents to your Journal ; but I should not have

called attention to this particular instance ( which I consider a most laudable one in itself ) were it not that I continually see cases in which Masonic influence is appealed to , and , in many of them , iu direct violation of our obligation . I am , dear Sir and Brother , Yours fraternal ! v , " W . I . A .

[ We entirely agree with the opinions expressed by the writer of the above letter , and as the subject is worthy of the most serious consideration by the members of our Order , we give the letter insertion in its integrity , aud feel obliged to the writer for bringing forward the subject . We trust more official check will be given to the practice , as it is becoming an evil of such magnitude , and still rapidly increasing growth , it requires censure from the Masonic pow ers that be . —En . F . M . ' ]

A CHINAMAN SUPI'O ETIFG- A HOUE MISSION . —By the last China Hail Mr . Whompoa , the hospitable Chinese merchant at Singap-.-re , sent £ 50 to the Eoyal Naval Scripture Reader ' s Society . This is the third donation of like amount bestowed by this kind-hearted and charitable Chinaman upon royal naval associations .