Masonic Notes And Queries.

taxes that , as soon as you were dead , your people , not being able any longer to stand such " grievious yoke " even from a king , protested against such proceedings and revolted , left your son , and his successors but a fragment of your kingdom . It seems to me that many brethren do not realize the fact that there were many magnificent Egyptian

, Assyrian , & c , noble edifices in existence long before , as well as co-existaut with , Solomon ; and that Solomon's Temple , when built , would be no more the ne plus ultra than the Cathedral of Salisbury would be when it was built . So far as operative Masonry is concernedthere were other grand temples

, many , & c , in existence about 1 , 000 years B . C . besides Solomon's—Solomon ' s being merely a drop in the bucket . The great prominence , therefore , given by some to the supposed connexion and influence of Solomon with Masonry or operative Masonry is simply a mistake ; and it would have mattered little to

operative Masonry in the 10 th century B . C ., whether Solomon had been born or not . Many feel it to be otherwise , however , with " Freemasonry ' ' in the 18 th century A . I > . ( especially ancient Freemasonry ?) because its framers choose to adopt the building of Solomon ' s Temple as the scene and era of their drama ; does it therefore follow that said drama ( or Masonic ceremonies ) , per se , is therefore as old as Solomon ?

Certainly not ; or we must also say that Shakespeare ' s tragedy of " Julius Cajsar " is now 19 centuries old because Caesar is one of its leading characters . I intend to give some data by and bye , as soon as I have time ; meanwhile , " A Masonic Student" might —if he can— " name any individual raised to the

M . M . degree , and the lodge which gave it" about 200 years ago . I asked that question before—viz ., at page 288—but , perhaps , it was not then observed . I therefore ask it again . Further , as to what " A Masonic Student'' says of the water-mark on a paper being about 1620 it only shows that the writing on

, it could not be lefore that date , but it might be a century or more after . It will require something more tangible than what we have yet got from " A Masonic Student "— " as it appears to me , though I may be wrong , that he has not as yet studied much of the evidence existing in respect of the customs and

usages of the Masons of the middle ages . " *—to upset the remarks of the Editor of the Magazine as given July 16 , 1859 , which I now quote , — " We have not the least doubt that the MS . in question , so far from being of the year 1600 , as supposed by Mr . Halliwell , is not more than 130 years old ; and we are of this opinion , first , from internal evidence , and next , from the doctrines being of the period we have assigned . ' '—PICTUS .

SOLOMON AS UNIVEESAL GKAUD MASTEE . It is well known that King Solomon employed many masons at the building of the Temple , & e . He is therefore designated by " the Masons ' ' as their ¦ Grand Master ; but Solomon likewise employed many tailors at the making of his garments , < fec . ; he

is , therefore—or , at least , he equally ought to be designated—their Grand Master also , and so on ad infinitum . JSrt / o—as may fairly , logically , and , shall I add , historically , be deduced—Solomon is entitled to the honourable distinction of being nominated an "Universal Grand Master . " The exclusive use of

the title " Grand Master , " in connection with him , assumed by "the Masons" is , therefore , most unwarrantable . The representatives , still extant , of . all crafts or trades then in existence cannot surely be alive to the immense importance and dignity that would accrue to them by their hailing from such a

personage as Solomon for their " Grand Master , " or they would certainly assert their equally just and lawful rights . —W . P . B .

MASONIC EUBBISH . Before any worthy builder begins to lay the foundations of his intended structure , he first clears away the rubbish , so that said foundation may have a firm and solid bed on which to rest ; so should it be with the historian of English Freemasonry . First clear

away the rubbish—an immense mass of which has colllected since the first quarter of last century—then , getting at the solid rock , set the foundation firmly on the true unyielding base of solid fact ; thus , having got a good start , go ahead with the structure . It is lost time to build on a false foundation , as

the work would have to be done over again . There is no time lost , therefore , in searching for a sure foundation ; work well begun is half finished . Meanwhile , while some are disposing of the rubbish , others , of course , may be squaring stones for the builder . —W . P . B . THE THBEE GEACES .

The above seems to me to contain more meaning , or to be more like the real old Masonic ladderof three steps or degrees , than the common ladder with three steps we generally see . When I say " Masonic ladder , " I mean that the above Christian " emblem " of the three graces—Faith , Hope , and

Charity—contains the idea which gave rise to the common Masonic " ladder " of three steps . —W . P . B . THE MYSTIC . TH SAPIENTIiE SPECULUM . Having succeeded in deciphering the secret characters of the Mysticum Sapientiaj Speculum , an elaborate engraving of the Hih Degreespublished

g , in London in 1789 , of which an original ( Lambert , Sculptor ) , is in my possession , I should much like to compare notes on the subject with any brother holding the keys to these ciphers . A copy of this curious Masonic engraving will be found in the Revelations of a Square . —DNALXO .