Masonic Notes And Queries.

GALILEO . Brother , —Be not surprised at anything you have seen , at anything you have heard . An uninstructed man cau compare himself to Galileo , aud his shallow , Avorthless theory , to the immortal Italian ' s proposition that the earth moves round the sun . —A PAST PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTEB .

A PRECEPT . Engage not iu controversy with the writer who wants knowledge , wants skill , and wants taste . —From a MS . entitled " Precepts for Authors . "—A PAST PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTEB .

THE TRUE , THE GOOD , THE BEAUTIFUL—EXPLANATION . See the communication ante page 226 . A critical young Oxford brother will perhaps find the communication less unintelli gible ; if for " productions of a kind altogether different from his own production

representing the opposites of what is true , what is good , and Avhat is beautiful , " he roads ( as I meant to write ) , " productions of a kind altogether different from his own—productions representing the opposites of what is true , what is good , and what is beautiful . " —A PAST PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTER .

"THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE . " A distinguished member of Grand Lodge , and constant reader of our periodical , requests that tho following passages may be reprinted . They a . ie taken from my communication "Freemasons' Magazine , " vol . 12 page 203 : —¦ " The usefulness of * The Freemasons '

, Mnga' / ine' is certainly considerable at present ( March 1865 ] , but this usefulness may well be looked upon as nought in comparison with what it mi ght become , wore the lodges not so indifferent regarding its success as they appear to be . * * * Write to Bro . J . M . that in the judgment of a Past ProA-incial

Grand Master for Kent , the lodgo that does not subsaribe to "The Freemasons' Magazine" omits to do an important act AA'hich , for numerous reasons , AVO aid most undoubtedl y be for the good of Freemasonry in general , and of itself in particular . * * * There is no institution which tlie press , when under skilful

and discreet management , may not be brought to benefit , and to an extent that few can imagine , except those AA-hose attention has been directed to the subject . * ' »¦ * Of all the establishments , social and charitable , Avith which I am acquainted , English Ireemasonry is that Avhose influence and prosperity

might , in my opinion , be most strengthened aud increased by judicious recourse to the coiu'eniences and powers furnished b y the art of printing . " * *—CHARLES PITRXON COOPER .

ADMISSION OF CANDIDATES . I find the following as the introduction to an old work on Masonry , published in Paris * . — L'ordre des Francs-Masons est une association d' homines sages et vertueux , dont l ' objet est de vivre dans uneparfaite egalito , d ' etre intimement unis par les liens de

1 ' estime , de la confiance et de l ' amitie , sous la denomination de freres , et de s ' exeiter les uus les autres a la pratique cles vertus . D'iipres cette definition il est de la sagesse et de l'interefc de toutes les LL . \ de n ' admettre dans leur sein que des sujofcs dignes de partager tous ces avant-

Masonic Notes And Queries.

ages , capable d ' atteindre le but propose , et dont elles n ' aient point k rough aux yeux de tons le Masons de 1 'Urn vers . Les LL . ., pour la gloire et la prosperity de l ' ordre , ne peuvent apporfcer tort de scrupule , d' exactitude , et de severite dans 1 'information sur les sujets qu leur sont proposes . —MASONIC INQUIRER .

BIBLE OF BRO . ROBERT BURNS . The distinguished honour is claimed by the Grand Lodge of Georgia of having in its possession the ancient Bible used hy Burns in his Lodge , and which can be seen at every meeting of Macon Lodge , Constantine Cliapter , or the Grand Lodge . It bears the

evidence of its antiquity in its printing , quaint illustrations , and binding in hoards of the " beechen tree . " Its history is traced to its "deposit in our archives" in the following extract from the proceedings of the Grand Lodge of I 860 : " Bro . D . G . Chandler presented a Bible , in

German Text , from Colonel Henry P . Thomas , of Gwynnette County , obtained from an elderly Scotch lady , Avho states that it was her grandfather ' s family Bible : thafc he Avas a member of Dumfriesshire Lodge , in Scotland , and the Bible now presented Avas used in that lodge when Eobert Burns presided over it . It is now presented to be deposited in the library

of the Grand Lodge , and the following memorandum to be printed and permanently affixed to the same : "This hook was presented to the Grand Lodge of tlie State of Georgia on the first day of November , 1860 , by Bro . D . A . Chandler , in tlie name of Co ! . Henry P . Thomas of GAvynnette County . It was obtained by Col . Thomas from a Scotch lad ]* ninet

, y years of age , who states that it was lier grandfather ' s family Bible . Her grandfather was a natiA-e of Germany , Avho intermarried with a Scotch lady and settled in Dumfriesshire , and Avas a member of the Masonic Lodge at that place when the poet Burns presided over the Dumfriesshire Lodge , and family

tradition says that it was at that time used iu the Lodge . It lias been preserved since that time with great care , on account of the reminiscences that cluster around it ; aud has been surrendered up with the express understanding that it be by Bro . Chandler delivered up to M . W . G . M . Eockwell , aud deposited iu the Grand Lodge of Georgia , to be preserved . "

CATHEDRAL BUILDING IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY . "We have only to look at the state of the building trades , as reported upon to the Chapter of Reims at tlie end of this century , and the commencement of the sixteenthto see the state of anarchinto which

, y all this order had from these causes fallen . Under the reign of Louis XL , a fire occurred which burnt off the roofs and destroyed the upper portion of the masonry , and all the various trades Avere called in to advise how it should be re-built . Then came the delegates from the masons , and the carpenters , and

the plumbers ; there Avas the 'JNFoble Grand' of the Ancient Order of Blacksmiths , and the Most Wise from evervAvhere , and a pretty mess they made of it . Each trade worked independently of the other ; they destroyed the harmony of the- building , and found none amongst themselves . The plumber sent his water-spouts AA'here he liked , quite irrespective of