Masonic Notes And Queries.

assembled and met together with the rest of the mysterious Brethren of the said Lodge , Adorned with all our Honours and Regularity . In the Five Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty-seventh year of Light , Do hereby attest , certify and Declare to all Men Enlightened , spread on the face of the whole Earth . That the Worshipful and Well Beloved

Brother John Reid bearer hereof , hath been made by us an Entered Apprentice , and as such his name is Recorded in the Books of the Grand Lodge of 'Scotland , held in Saint Mary ' s Chapel , Edinburgh , of whom we hold our Patent of Constitution and BrectioriNumber one hundred and eighty-nineand

, , conform to powers received from the said Grand Lodge , we have conferred on said Brother the Degree of FelloAV Craft , and after having sustained with strength , courage and Resolution under the most Painful Works and Wonderful Trials . We have as a reward due to his Perseverance , Zeal and

Magnanimity Raised him to that Sublime Degree of Master Mason , and admitted him as such into our mysterious and secret works , wherein he hath helped us with his Talents and Knowledge . In Testimony whereof these presents are subscribed by the Right Worshiful Thomas MestonMasterJames Ritchie ,

p , , Depute Master , John Simpson Senior and Alexander Tytler , Junior Wardens , Joseph Tulle , " Treasurer , and David Gauld , Secretary of the said Lodge . The Lodge seal being hereunto appended , and this Deploma Recorded in our Grand Book .

" Apud Gilcomstone " Thomas Meston , Master . Diem . " James Ritchie , Dep . Master . "Anno Christie , 1783 . "John Simpson , Sen . Warden . " Anno Mundi , 5787 . " " Alexr . Tytler , Jun . Warden . " Joseph Tulle , Treasurer . " David Gauld , Secrty . " The above is well written on parchment 11 | - inches

, broad and 7 f inches deep , the light blue ribbon , If inch broad , is still attached , but the seal is unfortunately gone . The parchment is dirty , and therefore old-looking , and it has a few holes in it , not from age but accident , while the signature of ic James Ritchie , Dep . Master , " is almost entirely

obliterated , being written I consider with bad ink . On turning to Laurie's , 1859 , History , page , 386 , we find , " No . 189 , St . Luke Gilcomston , " being then dormant ; it was in the Aberdeen province . And turning to the Masonic Calendar for this year , page 208 we now find that No . 1 S 9 is " St . John" at

, , Castle Douglas . I got a look at the above Diploma from our esteemed Bro . J . D . Porteous , Esq ., the principal Editor of the highly valuable " Universal Masonic Calendar . " While examining this old Masonic Diploma ( 86 years old ) the idea struck me that , since writing on parchment seems to have been

so common last century , it is nothing extraordinary that a number of forged charters should be frying about , some fellows for a hoax , or to serve a purpose , writing them out and then placing them where they might be duly discovered . However , the style of the writing soon betrays to a chartologist the real age of the pretended venerably ancient documents . —W . P . BUCHAN ' .

BROS . MELVIXLE AND W . 3 ? . BUCHAM " . I think that Bro . Buchan fairly considered Bro . Melville ' s claims to being a Masonic instructor as worthless , and hence did rig ht in stating his opinion to

Masonic Notes And Queries.

that effect in the ' Freemasons' Magazine . Therefore Bro . Melville should answer his objections through the same valuable medium , or else say nothing . The letter of the 29 th from Bro . Melville is a mere subterfuge , as no doubt the W . M . of 254 and others think . —RES NON VEEBA .

MASONET AND IITEEATTTEE . " X Some of us have heard of the assistant officers and the I . G . Whoever heard of such a toast as " Bro . N . and Literature , " "Bro . N . and Science , " or "Masonry and Literature ? "—QUIXIBET .

THE EXPDOItATIOHS AT JERUSALEM . Iu the Illustrated London News of the 24 th ult ., there appears an admirable article in reference to these excavations . The discovery of the metrics on the stones of the lower courses of the Harain Wall must be viewed with great interest ; and it is no less

strange than true that , to this very day , the stones for any great work are marked and numbered by the Masons with red paint previous to their transport from the quarries in which they are hewn . It is my own impression that a careful examination of the quarries under Jerusalem , now called the Royal

Caverns , will result in the discovery of a passage communicating with the Haram , or a spot in its vicinity . The huge stones composing the S . E . and S . W . angles of the Haram wall could have been transported from these quarries with but little difficulty up the gentle incline of a passage to Mount Moriah . —DsAixo .

" MASONIC AEOHJ 30 IOGX . ' ' At page 89 of the Magazine for February 2 , _ 1867 , there is a letter upon the above by " Juvenis , " of which , I find , I am supposed to have been the author , but that is a mistake , it was not written by me , I not having at that time been led to take any

particular interest in Masonic history or " archaeology , " but simply taking what I heard for granted , and being therefore , of course , one of the ielieviny fraternity , sailing smoothly with the stream and utterly unconscious of the breakers ahead . —W . P . BUCHAS " .

Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

The Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed ty Correspondents

BRO . MELVILLE'S DISCOVERIES .

10 THE EDITOR OF THE " FJEEE 3 TASONS' MAGAZINE AND 3 IASONIC 3 IIBEOK . Dear Sir and Brother , —I , with ( I doubt not ) many others , have been quietly looking on during the correspondence in the Magazine on the subject of Bro . Melville's discoveries , and though not much impressed Avith the contents of his first letters , cannot but feel that his two last claim our serious attention .

I think the "brotherly" spirit Bro . Melville shows in his letter on page 429 , is a marked contrast when compared with the tone in which several of his " brethren" have writteu . It is scarcely Masonic , according to my knowledge of the Craft teaching , to say a thing is "bosh" because wc cannot

under-, stand it at first sight—was it not by the so called clever men of the time that Stephenson's discovery respecting the locomotive was sneered at as only fit to be dated from such a place as " Hanwell or Earlswood ? " Let us hope ( and I now speak for myself and many