Masonic Notes And Queries.

occur . ? . I presume that he cannot be aware of the true history of this famous lady or he would not have applied to her the epithet of •"• Mythical . " Sho was a personage of veritable -flesh and blood—the Hon . Miss St . Leger , daughter of Bro . Lord i ) oneraile . She married a Mr . Aldworth , a gentleman of

high family and position in the county of Cork , Ireland . Her son , Mr . St . Leger Aldworth , married Lady Letitia Have , daughter of the Earl of Listowel , an Irish nobleman . I had the pleasure a few years since of making the acquaintance of a brother clergymanthe Rev . Mr . AldworthRector of a parish in

, , [ Norfolk , a grandson of the lady Freemason ; and although not himself a member of the Order , he was very proud of his Masonic ( if I may be allowed the expression ) descent . Another grandson of the Lady Freemason is married to Lady Mary Bernard , eldest daughter of the Earl of Bandon . who wasfor some

, time a parishioner of mine . The Hon . Mrs . Aldworth ' s apron is still , if I mistake not , in the possession of the First Lodge of Ireland .

If any of the foregoing statements are incorrect , some of our Irish brethren will , perhaps , kindly set me right . —J . KIKUSTOK . JOSEPH BAESAMO ClUdS THE COUNT DE CA & LIOSTEO . In " Eccentric Personages , " by Wm . Russell , LL . D ., I find the following remarks on this celebrated

charlatan , and consider that they may possibly be interesting to the readers of this MAGAZINE : — " He met with a book , as it is said , written by George Coftou , an Englishman which professed to detail the mystic ceremonies of Egyptian Masonry . The hint sufficed . The Count de Cagliostro at once gave out that he

was a native of Medina , and had been educated at Mecca , the holy city of the Mahometans , where he was known by the name of Aeharat . The Prophets , Euock aud Elias , who were the true founders of Egyptian Masonry , had visited him in the body , and commanded him to go forth aud initiate the western

nations into the sublime redeeming mysteries of which they gave him the key , nominating him at the same time Grand Kofti of the Order . " " But for irrefragable proof of the fact , it would be incredible that so gross an imposture could impose

upon a child . Its success was prodigious . Lodge after lodge was established , and the worship of the new Messiah—which he in substance proclaimed himself , and was proclaimed to be—grew in fervency and faith . Disciples would remain for hours together prostrate before Joseph Balsamo , wrapt in contemplative awe and wonder . His wifethe loveliness of

, whose face the hand of time had begun , though lightly as yet , to lessen , shared in these divine honours . She was the Archpriestess , the female Kofti of the Order . The precious pair had discovered a mine of wealth which seemed inexhaustible . " Still the best-laid schemes of mice and men gang

aft a-gee . The Grand Kofti ' s pretensions to miraculous curative powers , his knowledge of the future , the pretence that Egyptian Masonry was a divine institution , were fiercely ridiculed by two exceedingly powerful bodies , the physicians and the priests . The physicians of Strasbourg refused to allow Balsamo to practise m that city . He nevertheless maintained his popularity by distributing , gratis , amongst the poor

Masonic Notes And Queries.

medicaments which wero very possibly as beneficial in many cases as any to be found in the pharmocopceia of orthodox practitioners . The priests awaited their time . " It is added : — "lie left England , and by the persuasion of his wife betook himself to Home . There

he was suddenly arrested whilst engaged in pretended tricks of diablerie , by the officers of the Holy Inquisition , aud imprisoned iu the castle of Saint Angelo . There was a long tedious trial . Cagliostro was found guilty of being a Freemason and sentenced to death . Pope Pius VI . commuted the sentence to

imprisonment for life . He was transferred to the fortress of San Leu , where he died , in 1795 . His wife was condemned to pass her life in a convent . "—J . K .

GIPST INITIATION . Is the following paragraph from the above-quoted work , "Eccentric Personages , " to be considered mere badinage , or is there an unconscious use made iu it , of the language of Freemasonry ? I am not aware that the author is a member of our Order .

Dr . Russell gives a very graphic biography of Bampfylde Moore Carew , who , it will be remembered , although the descendaut of an ancient Devonshire family , was induced , in consequence of a school-boy escapade , to enroll himself among the Gipsies , and finallythrough his adroitness and chicanerywas

, , raised to the dignity of King over this singular community . When describing Carew ' s initiation into Gipsyism , Dr . Russell makes the remarks to which I desire to draw attention : — " His Majesty , Clause Patch , addressed them upon their duties to society—tlie society , of course . It

was a highly philosophic lecture . The community into whose ranks the young men ( he had three companions in folly ) had voluntarily enrolled themselves was very ancient , aud dated from time immemorial . Like all other professions , its members lived by tho necessities , the passions , and the weaknesses of their

fellow-creatures . Yanity , greed , and compassion , are the chief characteristics of the human race ; these constitu ted the stock-in-trade of the Bohemian people , and would prove , as long as diligence and fidelity to the rules of their ancient community prevailed amongst them , an unfailing mine of wealth—with much more to the same effect . " —J . K .

Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

The Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed & y Correspondents . GEMS FROM BRO ! LAWRENCE STERNE . TO TIIE EDIIOE OE THE rEEEaTASOXS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC JIIBIIOIS . DEAH SIE AUD BBOTHEE , —I think the author of the above article in your number of 22 nd ult . is under a

mistake in styling the Rev . Lawrence Sterne "brother . " I have an edition of his works , with a life of the author prefixed , edition 179 S . In the concluding part of the memoir are these words— " This monumental stone was erected by two brother Masons ; for although he did not live to be a member of their

Society , yet ail his incomparable performances evidently prove him to have acted by rule and square , they rejoice in this opportunity of perpetuating his high and irreproachable character to after ages . " Yours fraternally , W . M . 1101 .