Masonic Notes And Queries.

quite natural , and have nothing earthly to do with Freemasonry , unless when intentionally given by one who is a Freemason to another whom he supposes or knows to be such . School boys , for example , are often pretty well tip in these sorts of things . While upon this subject , I might refer to another interesting passage in 2 nd Samuel 1 st chap ., v . IS

, , which says , — " Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use ofthe bow , " & c , thejwords in italics here inserted mislead ; for we find J onathan before "this using the bow ; miss the words in italics , and Ave have " teach the children of Judah the bow ; " which means , teach them the song of the bow , " behold it is

written in the Book of Jasher "—that is , the song is written there . This " Book of Jasher , " if I remember correctly , is supposed to have been lost at the Captivity ; however , "the song of the bow" is preserved , and we have it in the 19 th and folloAving verses . " The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy

high places ; how are tbe mighty fallen ' . Tell it not in Gath , publish it not in the streets of Askelon ; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice , lest the daughters of the uneircumcised triumph , " and so on ¦ to verse 26 . " I am distressed for thee , my brother Jonathan . very pleasant hast thou been unto me :

thy love to me was wonderful , passing the loving of women . How are the mighty fallen , and the weapons of war perished ! " The poet might well say " perished , " for they were even worse , being laid up as trophies " in the house of Ashtaroth . " There are passages in the Bible unequalled in sublimity and noble pathos by any of the ancient Greek or Eoman poets , whom it has for ong been the fashion

to cry up so much ; their ideas were too circumscribed , and they were therefore unable to rise to the same lofty pitch as the old Hebrews , and when they do try it there is generally a touch of the falsetto about it . The notions of Godhead contained in their Jupiters , Junos , & c , curtailed their ideas . To come to the New Testamentwe find in the

, Epistle to Philemon ( Paul's polite epistle ) Paul calling Onesimus " my son , " and also requesting Philemon to receive him as " a brother beloved . " Yet we know " son" here simply means that Paul had converted him to the faith ; and we also know that Onesimus was a runaway slave of Philemon ' s

, and Paul calling Onesimus " a brother , " means that he was " a brother " in the faith , that is a Christian ; Onesimus , therefore , although a slave , is now enabled to go back to his master without any such abject bearing as the courtiers of Ben-hadad carried . ¦ S peaking of slaves , we must remember that the

Hebrew slaves were not under the same yoke as the negro of our own day ; not at all , they were more like servants , and there were certain menial duties which it was against the law to require them to do -, e . g ., an Israelite could not legally order his Hebrew

slave to bow doAvn and tie his shoes ; such a thing would have been too degrading . ( See also Deut . 15 th chap ., verses 12 , 16 , 17 ) . This enables us to see the full force of the observation in the 1 st chap , of Mark , verse 7 : " The latehet of whose shoes I . am not worthto stoop down and unloose . " It also

y enables us to understand the full force of the lesson in humility given by Jesus when he washed his disciples feet ; and why Peter was so thoroughly astonished at the proceeding , and protested against it ,

saying , " Lord , dost thow wash my feet ? " John 13 th chap . —W . P . BUCHAN . ANCIENT MEMOEANDA . Amongst some very curious and interesting entries in an old Craft Lodge Minute-book I have just had

the privilege of perusing , I find the following . Can any of your correspondents throw a little light upon it , and oblige—EXCELSIOE ? "Memorandum of the Highrodians , July , 1746 . — Enacted at a Grand Lodge held this evening , that no brother Mason should be admitted to the dignity of a Highrodian under less than a charge of 2 s . 6 d . or as the Domaskirt or Forin as John Thompson from Gateside paid at the same night os . "

Also at same entry and date : — " N . B . —The English Masters to pay for entering into the said Mastership 2 s . 6 d . pr Majority . " '' SCOTTISHMAN'' ( PAGE 443 ) . I pray our esteemed Bro . Dr . Morris to excuse me

mentioning it , but I do not remember of ever seeing " Scottishman " before ; he has taken too much rope . We say "Scot" or "Scotsman . " We speak also of Scottish scenery , lakes , or mountains , or of the "Scottish nation ; " but we do not say "Scottishmen , " it is Scots or Scotsmen . JE . g ., using the article , we might say—the Scots are brave ; or , omitting it—Scotsmen are brave . —W . P . BUCHAN .

MAEK MASONET ( p . 441 . I trust Bro . " Eeitam " will pardon me correcting him , as he is a little mistaken in his ideas . In Scotland , previous to formation of Grand Lodge in 1736 , EelloAv Crafts had their marks recorded in the lodge books ; but I know no authority for saying that

" what is now known as the Mark Master ' s degree was worked by the operative lodges of St . John ' s Masonry as part of the Fellow Craft degree . " I consider our Mark Master ' s degree to be no older than last century , and , most certainly , all Eoyal Arch * Masonry dates from the last century at

farthest ; while even regarding the Master Mason degree I cannot as yet get hold of any distinct proof of its existence previous to A . D . 1700 . —W . P . BUCHAN .

GEAND LODGE CONSTITUTION'S . We are glad to learn that Bro . W . J . Hughanwho is an honour to English Ereemasonry—is publishing Cole ' s copper-plate edition of Constitutions 1728 and the Grand Lodge Constitutions 1723 , with a preface by himself ; further , the Grand Master the Earl of Zetland has given him permission to dedicate the work to him ; this is creditable to both . —W . P . B .