Vandyck In England.

¦ ¦ Qdte 'Street , -London , is an ori ginal ! of . Bei- -. ' 'Si'f Jbhfy Of Sir Anth . Van D yke , all at length , leaning again ,. , a rack , with a play-book , colitSiilplating . It is a p iece of gTSai value . " * The original , more , as Sir Joshua thought ^ in than Vand is ftt

Jansen ' s manner yck ' s , f Dr . Lee ' s , at Hartwell House , in Buckinghamshire . Dr . Lee is descended from the Sucklings . I will mention finally that Evelyn records his having seen at Bennet , Lord Arlington ' s , " two of Vandyck's , one of Avhich was his [ Lord '

Arlington ' s ] own picture at length , Avhen young , in a leaning posture ; the other , an " Eunuch singing . " Of the boy Bennet I know nothing more . The " Eunuch singing" is , I presume , the picture thus described at fol . 499 of the appraised catalogue of King Charles I . ' s collection : —

"St . James ' Y Singing Man , by S Anthony "Vandyke . £ 20 . Sold M Jasper y" 22 March , 1649 , for £ 23 . " PETER CUNNINGHAM , in the Builder .

Masonic Eclecticism.

MASONIC ECLECTICISM .

A striking characteristic of Freemasonry is its universality . It is peculiarly cosmopolitan in its adaptations . Wherever man finds a place to inhabit , Masonry may there find a home . Seas , rivers , or mountain ranges , may form what has been termed the natural boundaries of national territoriesbut they

, prove no bai-riers to the spread of Freemasonry . It asks not the candidate for initiation into its mysteries to what nation he belongs , or AA-hat creed he professes . These distinctions , however much the world may regard them , Freemasonry does not for one moment

consider . Yet , on the other hand , while viewing these circumstances of place of birth , or articles of belief , as unimportant , regarded as conditions of eligibility , Freemasonry has no tendency to denationalize or to weaken attachment to religious faith .

Adhesion to Freemasonry is consistent with the most zealous devotion to religion . Freemasonry teaches nothing which is in any way calculated to render its votaries indifferent to the claims of country , or the cause of truth . Tho pious Christian , the devout Jew , the Wahomedan in Turkey , the worshipper of the

grand Llama in Thibet , the simple follower of the Great Spirit AVIIO roams the Western wilds , the Calmue Tartar who scours the plains of central Asia , the conservative aud self-complacent Englishman , the restless and change-seeking Frenchman , the speculative and

dreamy German , the haughty and jealous-tempered Spaniard , the passionate Italian , all these may discover in the lod ge that which harmonizes with their diverse natures . In the lodge the Unitarian may meet the Trinitarian , and the Crescent may confront the Cross .

Tet how can this be ? How is it that out of so many nnharmonious elements , discord does not arise ? It -, nn strikes a cord in the human is tki F _ . ee _ m . v _—„ " -- ^ an breast deepef- tllaii tile IdvS 6 f fldtiQflalifcfj aee ^ . ,

afctachni eitit to ddctriiies . It is that i . iiicdvera iii tlli sentimeht arid princi ple of brotherhood , a fundamental soffleiliifig Underl ying nationality and arbitrary faiths —a platform 6 ii which all may unite , a level , on which all mankind may stailct . Out of this cosmopolitan featuresprings that other

, Masonic virtue , liberality of mind . In this respect the cause of religious freedom owes much to Freemasonry . The debt mankind owe to this institution for the mental enfranchisement which characterises the present age , is infinitely greater than professional reformers are disposed to acknowled

ge . The spirit of toleration with which Masonry inspires its disciples , admirably qualifies the mind for an unrestrained and disinterested search after truth . Penetrating beneath the foundations of creeds , and

discovering under them all a substratum of truth common to the whole , the Freemason learns to seek it everywhere ; and there is thus developed in him a spirit of eclecticism than whicli nothing is so well calculated to secure his progress in knowledge . The whole world of facts is open to him as a book which he is free to readwhen and where he will . And who

, so well prepared rightly and full y to construe the sentences of truth with which he meets , as the man who has learned to love and to seek truth for its own sake , and who has been taught to p lace it higher in his estimation than the interests of sect or nation ? This is what we term the Eclecticism of

Freemasonry , aud Avhich Ave hold to be one of its most distinguishing features . This is what was meant hy the ancient English Mason , AVIIO , when called up for examination before King Henry VI ., said that among the secrets held by Freemasons , was the " arte of ffyndynge neue artes . " To qualify the mind for the search of new truth , Ave must establish its perfect freedom .

vv hile such is the eclectic tendency of Freemasonry , it may fail to impart its aspirations to every member of the Craft . There are those , no doubt , on whom these teachings have been thrown away . Instead of being characterized by the many-sidedness ( to employ a Germanism ) whicli a genuine Masonic eclecticism is calculated to endoAv them withthey acquire a

one-, sidedness , near akin to bigotry and blindness . At times Ave see this spirit taking possession of Masonic authorities aud Masonic writers , leading them to exhibit one-sided statements on questions at issue , and to conceal from the Craft facts , the publication of which would facilitate the formation of Aviclerand

, therefore truer views . Wherever this disposition is exhibited , it should meet with condemnation . It is decidedly un-Masonic—audit becomes an openquestion Avhether the interests of truth or of cliques are uppermost in the minds of such individuals . They who Avould keep the Craft in ignorance of aught which

concerns it , must be counted as among its foes . The mission of the true Masonic journalist is to diifuse , not all the darkness , but all the li ght in his possession , that he may thereby become the disseminator of truth rather than the apostle of ignorance . —American Monthly .