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particulars , and numerous anecdotes , some of which are new , several old , and others hardl y worth preservation . The circumstances under which some of his well known Masonic effusions were penned , are alluded to and an interesting reminiscence is given of " Hi ghland Mary , " singularly enoun-h m connexion with Burns as a Mason . The lovers , at their last interview ' exchanged Bibles ; in the volume which the bard presented to the object of Ins love , was written his name and a verse of Scripture , with the addition of his Mason ' s mark : —

"Tho use of this mark appears to indicate that Burns had been made a Mark Mason previous to his elevation to the rank of a Royal Arch Companion , and that ho attached a peculiar sacredness to tho inscription of his mark , regarding it without doubt , as an additional pledge of truth and fidelity . " ' At the time when Burns had attained to the zenith of his fame as a poet , the Masonic order in Scotland comprised among its members individuals of high rankand men of great intellectual attainments Edinburgh tooat

, . , that period , was still the residence of the Scottish nobility and srentiy , and its society was brilliant aud distinguished , into this circle , the poet was received with the honours due to his genius ; the introduction , in several instances , being effected through the medium of the Lodges , at which he was a pretty regular visitor . Our author gives a not uninteresting list of the celebrities with whom Burns was then associated b y the ties of brotherhood ; aud notices several important Masonic eventsin which he was concerned

, ; most of these have been full y described , at various times , in our pages . Wc will here extract Bro . Hunter ' s refutation of the assertion that has too often been made ( and which we were sorry to see revived in some journals on the late festival occasion ) , that Burns was rendered an intemperate man in consequence of his connexion with Freemasonry . Bro . Hunter says : — " His brother , Gilbert , says that his becoming a Freemason ' was his first introduction to the life of boon

a companion . ' Now this is in direct opposition to what he himself states in reference to this matter . Ho says that when ho was attending the school of Hugh Rodger , at Kirkoswald , for the purpose of acquiring a know " ledge of mensuration , surveying , dialling , & c , which was four years previous to initiation as a Mason , he 'learned to fill his glass and to mix ' without f ' oar in a drunken squabble . ' - ~ VYo have no reason to believe that the humble members of tho Tai-bolton Lodge indulged in excessive potations at their meetings . They certainl not total abstainers

y were . Thoy had no objection to take a swatch of Manson ' s barrels , and to spend ' the cheerful , 'festive night ; ' but there is no evidence to shew that they systematicall y violated the principles of Masonry by an intemperate indulgence in the use of spirituous liquors . Burns , all the time that he lived in the neighbourhood of Tarholton , is not known to have been more addicted to drinking than his rustic compeers . Gilbert expressly states that he was a most sober individual , and that he was never once seen intoxicated till the celebrity he acquired as a poet caused him to be much sought after as an agreeable companion and a man of mark . Burns himself , no doubt , says that he

was' Whiles daizt wi' love , whiles daizt wi' drink , Wi' jads or Masons . ' But this seems to he nothing more than another example of that poetic license which he employed in his ' Earnest Cry and Prayer , ' where he proposes to drink the health of the statesman , Pitt , nine times a week , in Nanse Tinnoek ' s hostelry in Mauchline , in which , he says , he was sometimes in the habit of studying politics over a lass of guid auld Scotch drink declaredto her d

g . Now , Nanse , ying day , that the chiel Burns had in this matter spoken ' in a most regardless manner ; as ' to the best of her knowledge , he had never drunk three half mutchkins in her house during the whole course of his life . After he came to Edinburgh ho was much taken out by all classes , as well as by Masons ; and yet his friend John fvichardson , the law student , with whom he lod ged for some time after his arrival in '