The Freemason And His Hat.

seen his hat ! Ho did more , however , he sympathised , like a good Mason , as ho is , with his uncrowned Brother from tho west , and lifting up his voice made resonant proclamation : — " Gentlemen!—a Brother has lost his hat . " There was a general commotion . Every man inspected his "tile" andsatisfied that it was his ownprotested

, , , the fact . But here was a mystery . No one had left the room , and yet there was a beaver forthcoming for every man but our friend , which would not have been the case had somebody simply made an exchange in mistake . The hour for turning out in procession had noiv arrived . What was to be done ? Our friend ' s suspicion—or rather

the light of his mystic lantern—still gravitated towards the hat in possession of the D . Prov . G . M . But it was a delicate matter to manage . He could not quite go the length of taking the article from the great man ' s hand to identify it ; neither , from the way in which it was held , could he get a friendly peep into its inside . The moment , however , was critical ; it was his only chance of attaining the object for which he had undertaken a journey of forty milcs . So , once more , making a dead point at the hat , he ventured an interrogatory hint : —

" I ' ut , sir , are you sure you have not made a mistake ? " " Sir , I assure . you , " was the purport of the reply , " I cannot be mistaken . This hat is my own , and , upon my word and honour , I know nothing of your ' s . " Accompanied , too , wc dare say , with a look ivhieh indicated a rising suspicion that our friend must have been au acquaintance , quite latelof Mr . Gariiettof Druistan Lod .

y , , go Clearly there was no help for it . The Brethren , after offering their condolences , withdrew , and our bareheaded friend was " left behind lamenting , " to pay the penalty of a decent attention to his toilet . Soon brazen-throated trumpet and big drum announced the passing

spectacle"Hoy ! the merry masons , and ho ! flic merry masons , And licy ' . tho merry unisons sill inarching along !" with tho Deputy Provincial Grand at their head in very grand style indeed , evidently not unconscious that himself and Brethren wore the cynosure of all eyes , the suspected hat on his cranium notwithstanding . Meantime , our friend , left to his oivn resources , sat down ,

we may be sure in no merry mood , to study what had all of a sudden become to him the serious question , " Who has stolen my four-and-nine ? " Revolving his lantern full upon the circumstances , the mystic '' light" bye-and-by shono into and revealed another opening lor research . He touched the bell-pull . A waiter entered . " John , were any of the gentlemen upstairs before being in this room P "

"Yezzir . " "Who ?" "The Deputy Provincial Grand , zir . " _ " I have it now , " thought Bro . ' . "Then ( to John ) will j-oii bo so good as to see whether there is a hat in the room he was iu p " " Yezzir . "

John disappeared for a moment , and returned with the intelligence that there teas a hat in the apartment . Then up went Bro . , and found a hat in appearance tho twin brother of his own , and that fitted him to a hair ' s breadth !

The 1113-story ivas now solved . Tho D . Prov . G . M ., his inhid absorbed in the great events of the day , had ' left his own "tile" upstairs , and , in perfect oblivion of the fiict , iiiiiocciitly picked up and appropriated our friend ' s in its place . Bro . waited patiently till tho Masonic proceedings were over , and the "Brethren of the mystic tic " returned . entered

As they re- , the D . Prov . G-. M . ivas hailed with the exclamation , " That is my bat , sir !" "Impossible : " was the reply ; and if the suspicion of Bro . ' s connection with Dtuistan was formerly entertained , it now became conviction . A few rapid words of explanation , however , made the dumbfounded D . Prov . G . M . conscious that the mistake

The Freemason And His Hat.

was wholly his own ; and with many apologies , the hat which had been the occasion of ths hit-le comedy , was transferred to its owner , who , as he clapped it on his head with a bang , received the congratulations of his friends , one of whom styty observed" Richard ' s himself again ! " —Whitehaven Herald .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

TUB GOLVES BOOK . When I was admitted to the 18 th degree , I had to sign " The Golden Book , " which appeared to me to be no more than a register of tho autograph signatures of those that had taken the degree , but I find p . work published entitled . Ex-trait , du , Livre d'Or da , Supreme Conseil du 33 Degree , and described as an 8 vo . consisting of 97 pages . Is this

97 pages of names , or docs the Rite Ecossais adopt a Golden Book having instructions , history or rules which ours' docs not appear to possess ?—S . P . R . C . COI . OUltS OP HIE R . A . 15 AXXERS . What are the ground colours of the banners of the twelve tribes ? — C . E . T . — [ Judah , crimson ; Issachar , bine ; Zabulon , purple ; Reuben , red ; Simeon , yellow ; Gad , white ; Epbraim , green ; Manasseh , fleshcolour ; Benjamin , green ; Dan , green ; Asher aud Napthali , blue . ]

THE ORDER OF THE TEMPLE . In what books shall I get an account of the Statutes and Orders of tho Knights of the Order of the Temple : a society claiming to he the real Knights Templar , and having no connection with Masonic Templars ?—P . E . C . — [ See lepers relative to the History , Privileges , and Possessions of the Scottish Knights 'Templar and their Successors , the Kni

ghts of St . John of Jerusalem , in eight tracts , 4 to . —no place of publication—1828 . Also , Regie et Siatuts Secrets dis Tern-pliers , precede de VHisloire de VEtablissement , de he Destruction , et de la Continuation Moderne de VOrel-re du-Temple , publics sur les Manuscrits incdits des Archives de Dijon , de la Bibliotheqhe Corsini a , Borne , de la Bibliotheqhe Royale a Pariset des Archives de VOrdrePar 0 II

, . . . Maillard de Chamburc , 8 vo . Paris , 1810 . Also , Orclre des-Chevaliers du Temple S'tatuts des Chevaliers de I'Ordre du Temple , formes des Regies Sanctionnees clans le Couventsgcueraux et rediges an mi Send , Code Par le Convent-general de Versailles , de Van , 086 ' ( 1705 . ) . Edited by the Grand Marshall of the Order , Anguste do Flandrc —i . e ., Count Yonder Moore ot do Cruysanthcm ; with a list of the

existing members , and other documentary pieces issued since the revival of the Order—f-to . Bruxelles , 722 ( 1840 ; . And a Manned of the Knights of the Order of the Temple . Translated ( from the Paris Edition of 1707—1825 , by authority , hy the Chevalier Guyot , Printed for the Militia-of the Temple ) bg + Fra , Henry Lucas , for ' the Prion / of Jacques de Moiety . Liverpool 12 » io . 1830 Printed bDavid lesNo 71

, , . y Marp , . , Lord Street , Liverpool . At the end of this latter ivorkpp . 28-1-303—will be found " Bibliography , or Chronological Treatise of the principal Writings " , published on the Order of tho Temple . " ]

VICTOR EMANUEL . Is Victor Emanuel , the King of Sardinia , a Mason?—TACCO . —[ Perh . ups some correspondent may be able to answer the above . But we should rather think not from an edict of a former Victor EmnmicJ , King of Sardinia , issued against the assemblies of Freemasons , dated June-10 th , 1814 , and occupying four pages 4 to . filled with every crime the malice of men could invent , to lay to the chargeof our brotherhood . ] "

lUtO . THE LATE DUKE OP AVELIJXGTOIT . I find by "Notes and Queries" that many of your readersappear interested to know whether the late illustrious Duke of Wellington was a Brother ? I beg to inform 3-011 that ho was initiated by the Earl of Moira , in Lodge , No . 4 . 94 , on the Irish roll . There is a graphic account of the proceedings on that occasion , entered on a page of the minute book of the Lodge , together ivith the date and signature of the noble deceased . _ Bro . Win . Allen , with his usual ready kindness , has promised 1110 a photograph of this interesting- document ,