Masonic Notes And Queries.

THE CHERUBIAt ON GRAND LODGE SEAL . Is there any peculiar meaning attached to thc figure representing the Cherubim on the seal of our Grand Lodge ? —ONE IN S EARCH OI ? INFORMATION . — [ There is . It is highly symbolical . Consult Calmet ' s or Robinson ' s Dictionary of the Bible , under the head " Cherubim . " ] MASONIC VOLUNTEERS . I send you the following notethinking it may be of

in-, terest to many of our brethren AA'IIO so ably support the Rifle Volunteer movement . —H . H . At a meeting of the lodge in Red Lion-street , Wapping , held on Tuesday , the 24 th of April , 1798 , Peter Hellish , Esq ., in the chair . Taking into consideration the present situation of public affairs , and animated hy a firm attachment to our king , and lo \ 'e of our countryand justly sensible of the blessings and

, privileges Ave enjoy , in common AA'ith our felloAV-subjects , do resolve to associate , for the purpose of acquainting ourselves with the use of arms , not only to protect ourselves and properties , but also to defend our invaluable Constitution of King , Lords , and Commons , under Avhich Ave live , from all the attacks of its avowed and secret

. That we Avill at all times he ready to be called out into service , in case of an actual invasion , for the protection of the folloiving parishes , viz ., St . John's , of Wapping , St . George ' s-in-the-East , and St . Paul ' s , Shadii-ell . That Ave will obey such rules and orders as are or shall be agreed on for the government of the said association ; and Ave pledge ourselves to each other to observe , and strictly adhere to the same ;

and also to conduct ourselves , on all occasions , so long as Ave shall continue members , in such manner as we shall best promote the existence , reputation , and honour of the associatiou . That this association do serve Avithout pay , to arm and clothe themselves at their oivn expense , and that this corps shall be commanded by its OAA'H officers , chosen by ballot , and approved of by the King . Several other resolutions for the regulation of the society were adopted , after ivbich the meeting dissolved . .

[ We are much obliged for the above interesting note , but it cannot now be used as a precedent in face of the declaration of the Secretary at War ' s dictum , which last Aveek laid down thc law io tho offocb that MO secret , society could form its members into a Rifle corps . This was in reply to the application of the Foresters ; and a doubt may arise whether such ruling extends to our Orderseeing Freemasonry is

, acknowledged and tolerated , in special terms , by Act of Parliament . Still , so many Masons are to be found in the movement , enrolled in various corps , that had there not been good grounds for the course pursued Ave are AA'ell satisfied that a Masonic Rifle Corps AA'ould have been established long ago . ] THE QUEEN OP S 1 IEBA .

What has the Queen of Sheba to do Avith Masonry ?—TITUS . —[ If you ought to knoAV , ask some of the fathers of the Craft—William Watson , for instance ; if not , don't be too inquisitive ] THE CEREJIONt 01 ? INSTALLATION . How do those lodges manage Avho have only one P . M ., and no visitors of that rank , Avhen they proceed to install a W . M . ?—TITUS . —[ Never having heard of such a case , we cannot say . To the other portion of tho query , NO!—emphatically , NO !]

KNIGHTLY EXPULSION . Suppose a K . T . to disgrace himself and tho Order , how is knightly expulsion carried outp—B . J . 0 . —[ We beg you will not suppose anything of tho kind . Read any textbook on chivalry , or look through THE FREEMASONS MAGAZINE carefully , some five to ten years since , and there you Avill find a case of expulsion , but not quite so delectable as you put it . That to AA'hich we allude Avas a matter of

insubordination . You cannot expect us to pioint out the exact place , for obvious reasons . ] LADDER OE SEVEN STEPS . _ Being a visitor to a lodge recently , I saw an old-fashioned piece of marble , having various coloured hieroglyphics inserted , or let in , on the upper side . They were mostly thc Aisual Masonic symbols and tools ; but there Avas a ladder of

seven steps , the first , third , and uppermost being made four or five times as thick as tho other staves . Is there any reason for such a delineation , or Avas it chance , or a nW in the marble that caused the sculptor to thicken these three in preference to the others ; and why Avere there seven steps ; I ahvays thought thc Masonic ladder to be composed but of

Masonic Notes And Queries.

three staves ?—DEXO . —[ The Masonic ladder lias many rounds or staves . We can well understand a Craft Mason believing only iu three , but Craft Masonry is not the whole of Masonry . ] " AIKLAKXTK THE Al'AXDEREtl . " Some years ago , long before I AA-AS a Mason , I read Mehnoth tlie Wanderer , and some one told me it had some connection

Avith the Freemasons , and a family of the same name in the West of England . I have since hoard that there really is a Bro . Mehnoth in the locality spoken of . Has it anything to do ivith his family ?—ELTON . —[ How should Ave know ? "We read Mehnoth the Wanderer thirty years since , and forgot all about it . Perhaps the case " Elton " puts may be as likely as that of thc "Wizard of the ISforth and Dr . James

Anderson , the author of the first edition of The Booh of Constitutions , being bound by some mystic tie . Certainly the one is a first-rate conjuror , and the other , in his day , tuas looked upon as something a tinge Avorsc , although he Avas a Presbyterian parson . Sames do not ahvays refer to families , more especially those found iu works of fiction . ]

Notes On Literature, Science, And Art.

NOTES ON LITERATURE , SCIENCE , AND ART .

Mr . AT . CareAV Ilazlitt , in his recently published History of tlte Venetian Republic , gives the folloiving pen-picture of the City of the Sea during mediaeval times : — " Let the mind's eye coneeh'e a rnder Amsterdam , a city permeated by canals , and divided into deep ivater-streets of IOAV wooden tenements interspersed , even someAA'hat thickly in the leading thoroughfares , with dAvellings of greater pretension hiiilt on a better model and of a more - durable

material , and studded in every quarter ivith Christian Temples for the most part of the plainest architecture , not a few on the other hand possessing considerable beauty of structure , though more remarkable for the richness of their ornamentat on than for the regularity of their design . Let us present to our fancy a few hundred lamps fed Avith olive oil , distributed through the streets and alleys , commencing at the Sacred Jfiche at the corner , and reneived at each third or fourth door , shedding over the

surrounding' Rpnee a I ig-ii t , a little more powerful indeed , bat far less brilliant , than that Avhich is emitted by the gloAV-AVorm . Imagine thoroughfares similar to those in the Dutch capital , sometimes finding their termination in the Lagoon , more frequently abutting upon squares skirted on three sides by public or private edifices , and on the remaining side opening from a wharf-lined quay to the sea . Picture those quays and squares a scene of perpetual hustle and excitement , the theatre of an Ymintevrupted procession of men . On one spot a group of sailors , loosely dressed in jackets and caps , are quarrelling , perhaps about their last wager . Within a stone's throw of theplace where thesejnien are standing , is a decently attired female ,

ivho is kneeling in an attitude of devotion before an image of the Virgin , inclosed in a recess at the angle of the nearest street . At another point , tivo persons Avho , if a judgment may be formed from their exterior , belong to a much higher class of society , are conversing together in a subdued tone . The elder of the tivo , a Venetian , patrician , is drawing the attention of his visitor , a . gentleman of Verona , to a large house of the Loinbarrliu type immediately before them on the riht handtheresaid the Venetian

g ; , , had lived in former times a celebrated member of his family , and there ivas his memory still cherished hy his descendants . A little further onivard to the left , he points out a second building of equal pretension , where tho existence of a terrible plot , lie whispered , had of late been discovered by the government . After : i short pause , the tAA'o passengers proceed on their ivuy , warned of the approach of the hour of vespers hy the hells of many churches , AA'hich are mingling their chimes in the stillness of a summer evening . A

little beyond the busy and croivded metropolis lay a region more sparsely populated , Avhere the eye is relieved by patches of verdure anil strips of meadoAV-land , as Avell as occasional plots of ground laid out in gardens mid planted inclosnres still consecrated to the vine and olive , and still unaffected hy the increasing demand for building space in a rising city . Here and tiim-e , too , may be observed fish-ponds ( Piscine ) , stagnant and miasmatic . Such Avas the Venice which Avrigo Dandolo kneiv , AA'here Marco Polo drew his

first breath , in which Marino Faliero passed his youth . " Sir . President Buchanan is preparing , for the New York Ledger , a sketch of the life of AVilliain Loii'iides , formerly a member of the House of Representatives . The Critic says : — "Ivfr . George jtfarkhain TAveililell , of the Industrial School , Bury , Lancashire , basin the press a second edition , enlarged and improved , of his interesting ivork , ' Shakspere , his Times and Co iteiinioraries . ' "