Canyngton Priory And Fair Rosamund.

sake he had greatly enriched this hitherto small _ and indigent house , and had given lands for the sustentation of the tomb and the maintenance of the lights , he imperatively commanded the nuns to take her out of the church , ancl to bury her with other common people , as the connexion betii-een her and the king had been base and adulterous ; and to the end that the Christian religion might not be vilified , but that other women might thus be deterred from similar evil ways . ( Higden Polychron , sub .

Hen . ij . Rog . Hovedcn , fol . 405 b . Brompton , in Scrip t , . x . col . 1235 . Leland , Coll . j . 291 Pabyan , sub . Hen . ij ., & c . ) In obedience to the Bishop ' s mandate the tomb Avas removed from the church , and erected in the chapter-house , it bore the following epitaph , containing the obvious play upon tbe lady ' s name , ancl declaratory of the unhappy contrast ivhich death had effected : — "Hie jacefcin timiiia Rosa munrli Rosa munda

. non ; Non l'cdolct , sed olet , quae redolere solet . " The tomb remained an object of much interest and respect , until the dissolution of the house . It was then destroyed , and a . stone was discovered with it , bearing the simple inscription , "TmniA RoSAJro-ND-E . - " The bones were found uncleeayecl , ancl on the opening ' of the leaden coffin AA'hich contained them , says Leland , " there Avas a very swete smell came out of it . " ( Lei . fragin bibl . Cott . Dugd . Mon . iv . 365 ) . Another eye-witness

, describes it as having " enterchangeable Aveavings drawn out and decked Avith roses red and green , and the picture of the cup out of which she drank the poyson given her by the queen , carved in stone . " ( Mr . Thomas Allen , in . Hearne's AA'ill . Newbrige , ij . 739 . ) A stone coffin , said to be that of Rosamund , was still to be seen at Godstow Avhen Hearne Avrote his " Account of some Antiquities in and about Oxford , " but was regarded bhim as a " Fiction of the Vulgar . "

y I hardly need add that the history of this unhappy lady , of whom the reader now possesses all that can be gathered from olden sources , and more , perhaps , than can be accepted as true , ivas a favourite subject of mediieval romance , and that all kinds of embellishments were imported into the story in order to impress a salutary caution against any imitation of the heroine .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

men PRIEST IN R . A . - MASONRY . The Irish Eoyal Arch Masons g ive their three principals the titles of High Priest , Iving , and Scribe . Did they ever bear such names in England ? —N . P . 0 . — [ Yes . Eead a letter thafc appeared afc p . 697 , of the fifth vol . ( 1858 ) of THE FREEMASONS MAGAZINE , Avhere the whole subject of Eoyal Arch chai-ges is ably treated . ] KNIGHTS OP MALTA LODGEHINCKLEY .

, Will one of the brethren connected with the Knights of Malta Lodge , Hinckley , Leicestershire , kindly inform me of the reason why that lodgo took its name ? It seems an anomaly in Craft Masonry . —E . E . INDELIBILITY OF MASONRY . Where can I find auy good exposition , of the indelibility of Masonry ?—[ The best argument may be drawn from

youroAvnpersonal experience : you cannot divest yourself of being a Mason if yon would . So one else can do this for you . Ifc is impossible for a man , after having been initiated , to place himself in the same position he Avas in before that ceremony . He may be a non-subscribing brother ; , lie may totally absent himself from all Masonic intercourse ; he may even rail afc tho craffc ; bnfc for all

this he is none the less a Mason . A brother may be suspended , or excluded , either of which shuts him out from Masonic privileges ; but there is no poAver Avhich can take from him tlie knowledge he gained on admission or by subsequent diligence . Masonry , therefore , is indelible , ancl , like holy orders , " once a priest a priest for ever , " so a brother is " once a Freemason a Freemason

for ever . " ] THE MARK DEGREE AND ITS DIFFICULTIES . How are the conflicting jurisdictions under ivhich the mark is administered , in this country , to bo reconciled ? —M . M . UL . —[ Ifc is a vez-y delicate question , bnfc to our minds easy of solution . If ifc can be shown that all parties are anxious to effect a union , fche steps to be taken

are these . To got Mark Masonry acknowledged by the Grand Lodge of England , the Grand Conclave , and the Supreme Grand Council , not as in any way connected with either of them , bufc , pure and simple , as a body of Freemasons , known to be such and meeting under their own by-laws for performing a special rite . Then let all Avho hold allegiance fco Scotland , or Ireland , ask fco be

relieved from that allegiance , and those who have thrown off the yoke , let them ask to be recognised ancl , if ifc is the fees question only thafc stands in the way of recognition , make a proposal to be recognised , on payment of a certain sum , say £ 50 , or £ 100 , which would be more than any foreign jurisdiction could expect to realise for years . Wo see no other way to bring about this union , but , until something of the kind is done , there must be district jurisdiction . ]

THE PHILOSOPHICAL ItlRATJITES . Is there a Masonic degree called the Philosophical Hiramites ? I was asked to join them , and shown some rules and by-laws ivhich , evidently , pro-supposed me a Master Mason X . X . [ No . It is a very clever hoax concocted by one or two brethren well known in fche Craffc . We wonder you did nofc detect tho humour of the badinage . The very allusion to holding lodges on the top of Primrose Hill , or in the Vale of Health , Hampstead Heath , shows the fun of the thing . ]

G . L . G . O . E . D . 31 . A . "brother has a seal on which , is a mallet , chisel aud square , ancl around them the letters G . L . G . O . E . D . M . Is ifc Masonic , and what do the letters stand for ?—B . THE NUMBER 01 ? PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGES . How many Prov . G-. Lodges are there in England ?—METROPOLITAN . —[ Such a query is too bad . Take your Pocket-book and reckon how many provinces there are ,

and if you havo not obtained one , get a copy forthwith . The profits are devoted to charity , ancl no Mason should be without one . Our time is rather more valuable than to count up what you can clo for yourself . ]

AMERICAN ACCOUNT 03 ? ROYAL ARCH STANDARDS . The following is too good to be lost ; therefore it is to be hoped you will embalm it amongst your " IN otes and Queries , " as an example of American working . —Ex . Ex . " There is pvohably no chapter , at least none under the jurisdiction of the Grand Chapter of Neiv York , ivhich has achieved a higher reputation , not only for the excellence of its work , but also for the splendour of its properties , than Zetland Chapter

( No . lctl ) , in this city . " In addition to the usual paraphernalia and equipments of its sister chapters , its hall is adorned with the shields of the twelve tribes of Israel , while tho East is enriched by the banners of the leaders of the divisions under which the tribes marched . On these banners , of the appropriate colours , are exquisitely painted the devices by ivhich they were distinguished , the Oxthe Lionthe Eagleand the Manthe Avholein

coinbi-, , , , , nation , forming the Cherabim . " At the last convocation of this far-famed chapter , the acting R . A . C , in describing the banners , gave a new A'ersion of them Avhich , in a historical point of view , is too good to be lost ; and , if he be correct , such novices as Drs . Oliver ancl Mackey , in the Eoyal Art , had better look to their laurels , hard earned though they ivere . The new reading ivas as follows , and , Ave regret to caused a general cacchination those whopuffed up

say , among , iu their own conceit , made light of the researches of their ivell read companion . After designating the banners by their colours , he continued the explanation : the intelligence of the Ox ; the strength and courage of the Eagle ; the swiftness of the Lion ; and the—the—the all combined in the Man , thus forming the Cherubim .

" Our sober-minded and , in manner and appearance , Quakerlike D . G . H . Priest was present on the occasion , and seemed to enjoy , if the contortions of the muscles of his fece were any indication , the efforts of the R . A . C . exceedingly . Surely it can no longer be doubted that Masonry is a progressive science , and that the longer we live the more ive learn . " ¦ THE SPIRIT OE MASONRY ! WITH A VENGEANCE . _ . To shoAv to what lengths tho unhappy civil strife is carried in America , the subjoined cutting , from a Neiv * York paper , bears witness . In our own peaceful landwc