Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

ILLUSTRIOUS BRETHREN . An old non-Masonic print says , — " Wellington an d Nelson were of our fraternity , and so were Sir John Moore and the first Napoleon . " Where Avas Sir John Moore made ?—V . M .

REASONS FOR BEING A SEASON . I have often been asked why I am a Mason P No doubt the same question is addressed to many brethren , but it may be of use to the younger ones if I tell them hoAV I answer it . I find in all the authors of Masonic writings thafc they agree that our institution is a good one . Ifc prepares the mindby a course of strict discipline

, , aud by storing it with the most useful science , to vigorously prosecute those schemes which have for their object the promotion of its best interests and the increase of the general stock of social enjoyment . By an intercourse with society the faculties of the mind become expanded , the understanding improved , and the taste and judgment refined .

THE ALLEGORY OE THE CUBE . Will you give me some insight into the Masonic allegory of the cube ?—JUSTICE . —[ Take the following from an old charge . Ifc does appertain to all degrees , but does not go so far as some do in its esoteric sense . "The square and cube are both important and significant symbols . As an emblem of rectitude of conduct in all the

duties and requirements of life , as typical of moral worth , stands the square ; while , in combination with solidity or the cube , it is further typical of that firmness of purpose and immovable [ determination in well doing Avbich belongs to the upright , perfect man . Nor Avas this symbolic interpretation coniiued to the Masonic Order alone . The poetic and imaginative Greeks equally adopted it . With them , as with us , religion was truth . The cube was its perfect emblem ; and hence

Hermes or Mercury , their divine embodiment cf this profound principle , Avas always represented as a cube . Indeed , in their more primitive days , all their gods were represented thus , and Aristotle has said that " lie who valiantly sustains the shocks of adverse fortune , demeaning himself uprightly , is truly good and of a square posture , Avithout reproof ; and he who would assume a . square posture should often subject himself to the perfectly square tests of justice and integrity . ' Butas I have

, already said , there is equally a symbolism in the placing ot this " corner-stone' in the north-east angle of tho building . As the sun , which , rising from the East , sheds its golden rays over the darksome earth , thus awakening to material life and light the night clad nature of this nether world— ever onward , Westward

—so , in the rich imagery of Orientalism , typical of intellectual advancement , is that point of the compass justly looked upon as the cradle whence sprung religion , art , science , and civilisation . And thus , mindful of the world debt which we owe , one of the perfect faces of this ' square ' looks to the source of all those rich inheritances through which man ' s nature has been taught to knoAV and bless the gifts of God . But tbe other of these outward faces looks to the North—the region least

touched by tbe meridian ray—ancl thus typically considered the place of intellectual and moral darkness , Fit juxtaposition ; for , as light , with her truth-revealing beams , dispels the huge phantasma of uncertain night , so is it ever the work of religion , wisdom , and civilisation to shed their mild yet strong and vivifying rays over the blighting influences of ignorance and superstition . And so , beyond the general aptness of this allegorical instructionthe neophte of our Order justlfind

, y may y in this stone , ancl in its position , a lesson of wisdom and of worth . Placed within tho bright circle of these intellectual influences , yet in close contact with the outer world , he may not hold himself aloof from those less fortunate than ; himself ; but , on the contrary , should find a wide field upon which to exercise the virtues of temperance , fortitude , prudence , and justice . The sublime truths which have dispelled the boreal

darkness of his own soul , tell him as well-that upon that heartstone within him , squared to justice , fair dealing and honourable purposes , cubed to the beauty of that solid worth which wisdom gives him in her lessons of self-discipline and charitable forbearance , plumbed to the upright action , and polished to all

the amenities of life , he is to build that self-temple Avherein shall be enshrined , as in the temple of old , the skeldnah of ineffable effulgence . " ' ] BKO . ns . ANDERSON ' S DEFENCE ou MASONRY . In Bro . Dr . Oliver ' s Bevelations of a Bqitcure , is the annexed sentence : — " Dr Anderson wrote his celebrated Defence of Masonry , in

Avhich he treated thejwork of Pritchard with great consideration . He took his stand on high ground—gave his adversary every fair and reasonable advantage , by assuming that if all he had advanced Avere correct , still Masonry would be an admirable institution , and answered his book seriatim like a gentleman and a scholar . When the Defence came out , and the subject was canvassed in the lodge , some thought he had conducted the dispute with greater mildness than the fellow deservedbut

; Bro . Anderson contended—and truly , as I thought at the time —that 'it would be giving our opponents too serious an advantage to treat their productions , how absurd soever they might be , either with flippancy or severity . ' " Where can the defence be obtained?—BOOKWORM .

FREEMASONS HALL . Will there he any objection to my proposing to clear the entire property in Great Queen Street , in a plan I intend sending in for the new buildings ?—Aw ARCHITECT . [ None in the least , but take our advice , don't do any such thing . Freemasons' Hall is looked upon Avith great pride by a very large portion of the Craft , and woe be to the unlucky Avighfc Avho would presume to make a clean sweep of it . ]

THE PRINCE OE AVALES GRAND MASTER . If the Prince of Wales is initiated , Avill he not be made Grand Master?—Fox . [ We can't tell . Remember the saying of that sly old fox , Louis Phillippe , " the pear ' s nob ripe . " ]

ORIGIN OE THE STRONG-MAN LODGE . In the work before alluded to , Bro . Dr . Oliver ' s Bevelations of a Square , is au anecdote , not very Avell knoAvn , declaring how the Strong-man Lodge came by its name . Writing of . Dr . Desaguliers , he tells us : — "The career of this worthy brother was marked : by many essential benefits to Masonry . He established several new

lodges , and based them on such sound principles that one of them at least is iu existence at this very clay . The Strong-man Lodge was numbered 68 in the lists of 173 S , 176-1 . , , and 1767 , and was established according to the former authorities , 2 nd of February , 1733 , and by the latter , February 17 th , 1734 . Its origin is somewhat extraordinary , and worth hearing . About the year 1730 , or it mig-ht be a year or two later , the attention of Bro . Desaguliers was attracted by reports of the great

strength and muscular power of a man named Thomas Topham , who kept the Red Lion public-house , nearly opposite the old hospital of St . Luke , and was called , by way of eminence , tbe Strong-man . It appears that he settled down in this locality , from its vicinity to the famous ring in Moorfields , where athletic exercises were performed , —such as boxing , wrestling ,

swordplay , - and cudgelling , under the superintendence ot Old vinegar , whom I remember well . As was his name so was his nature . A most truculent-looking fellow , with a flat nose , swelled cheeks , low forehead , broad across the back , shoulder-of-mutton fists , and the strength of a giant ; and yet Topham found no dilficulty in lowering his pride ; and he overthrew him in the ring as if he bad been made of cork , amidst the shouts and halloos of the fancy , and to the supreme delight of those whom the potency of

Olcl Vinegar had hitherto forced to succumb . The first public feat which Bro . Desaguliers saAv Topham perform for the purpose of actually testing his strength was this . A powerful ' carthorse was harnessed and placed on one side of the low Avail which then divided the upper from the lower Moorfields , and Topham on the other . Taking hold of the end of the traces , the fellow planted his feet firmly against the wall , and told the spectators to flog the horseAvhich they didwithout producing

, , any effect ; for the biped proved to be the most powerful animal of the two . He afterwards pulled against a pair of horses ; and Dr . Desaguliers was firmly persuaded that ' if placed in , a proper position , he Avould have sustained the efforts of four horses , Avithout the least inconvenience . ' ' I have witnessed several