Masonic Notes And Queries.

their members call upon them for assistance . It seems impossible that their recei p ts should only have averaged some £ 26 or £ 27 per annum . —Ex . Ex . THE EARLIEST LODGE RECORDS EXTANT . Which lodge can boast the earliest records extant FP . S . E . —[ St . Mary ' s Chapel , No . 1 , Edinburgh . The Lodge was founded in 1518 , and its present collection of documents commence with the year 1598 . ]

PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE BANNERS . Who can tell an inquirer what are the devices which Provincial Grand Lodges display upon their banners , and how they came by them ?—EOUGE DRAGON . TIIE MARK DEGREE . Tho Mark Degree seems carefully excluded from " Masonic Notes and Queries" aud so little seems really known of its

, history that I venture to make a wholesale query , to the effect of , what is known of the history of fche Mark Degree ? —A MASTER OVERSEER . —[ Masonic intelligence has always been freely given , and as freely inserted , in this department of THE MAGAZINE , and neither the Mark Degree , or any other legitimate subject has been excluded . If so little has been said about the Markit is because our querists appear

, to think it of very small importance , and from the sweeping question mooted by "A Master Overseer " we shall soon have the means of judging whether our opinion is founded in act , or error ; for if the latter , so comprehensive is the inquiry , that wo shall be inundated with matter in the course of a few days . ]

THE CRAFT-BUTTON . A brother tells me , on all occasions , if I ask for any explanation— " Wait 'till you get the Craft-button , " what does he mean ?—E . G . GRAND LODGE PAPERS . Has any brother a perfect set of papers issued by Grand Lodge since the Union in 1813 andif sowould he allow me

, , , to consult them ?—X . ENCYCLOPEDIA METROPOLITANS . Is the author of tho article " Masonry , " in the Encyclopedia Mctropolitana , known ?—S . E . DUMAS THE NOVELIST . Is Dumas the Novellisfc a Mason?—H , H .

THE LATE BRO . . [ How F . C . could expect us to insert such a query we know not . He should take to heart Spenser ' s saying : — " Vile is the vongeaunce on the ashes cold ; And envy base to barko at sleeping fame . " ]

Masonic Jewels.

MASONIC JEWELS .

BY BRO . G . CAWTIIORN , 1796 . Our jewels or ornaments imply that we try our affections by justice , and our actions by truth , as the workmanshi p is tried and adjusted by the square . Wc regard our mortal state , whether dignified by title or nofc , whether opulent or indigent , as being of one nature in the beginning and of one rank at its close . In sensations

, passions , and pleasures , in infirmities , maladies , and wants , all mankind are on a parallel ; nature has given us no superiorities ; for real superiority only wisdom and virtue can constitute . From such maxims wo make estimates of our brother , when his calamities call for our counsels , or our aid ; the works of charity are from sympathetic feelings , ancl benevolence acts upon the level .

To walk uprightly before Heaven and before men , neither inclining to the right nor to the loft , is the duty of a Mason , neither becoming an enthusiast nor a persecutor in religion , nor bending towards innovation or infidelity . In civil government , firm in our alliance , yofc steadfast in our laws , liberties , and constitution . In private life yielding up every prosperityinclining neither to avarice nor injusticeto

, , malice or revenge , to envy nor contempt , with mankind ; but uprightly " and with integrity should tho Mason carry himself towards the world , as the builder rises his column by tho perpendicular or plumb .

Masonic Jewels.

To rule our affections by justice , and our actions by truth , is to wear a jeivel which would ornament the bosom of the highest potentate on earth . Human nature has her impulses from desires which are often too inordinate ; love binds ivith prejudices , and resentment burns with fevers ; contempt renders us incredulous , and covetousness deprives us of every generous or human feeling . To steer the bark of life upon

the seas of passions , without quitting the course of rectitude , is of one the highest excellences to which human nature can be brought , aided by all the powers of philosophy and religion . Yet merely to act ivith justice and faith , is not all that man should attempt ; for even that excellence would be selfishness . That duty is not relativebut merely proper ; ifc

, is only touching our own character , and doing nothing for our nei ghbour : for justice is an indispensable duty in each individual . We were not born for ourselves alone , only to shape our course through life in the tracks of tranquillity , and solely to study that which should alfoi'd peace to the conscience at home ; but men were made as mutual aids to each other . No one among us , be he ever so opulent , can

subsist wifch the assistance of his fellow creatures . Nature ' s wants are numerous ; our nakedness must be clothed , our hunger satisfied , our maladies visited . Where shall the proud man toil for sustenance , if he stands unaided by his neighbours ? When we look through the varied scenes of lifo , we see our follow creatures attacked by innumerable calamities ; and were we without compassion , we should

exist without one of the finest feelings of the human heart . To love and to approve , are movements in the soul of man which yield him pleasure ; but to pity gives him heavenly sensations ; and to relieve is divine . Charity there has its existence ; its rise is from the consciousness of our similarity

of nature ; the level on which morality was created in the beginning ; its progress in sympathetic feelings , from the affections of the heart , breathing love towards our brother , coupled with the touch of original estimation in our minds , which proves all our species to be brethren of one existence . Its conclusion is , from comparison producing judgment : we weigh the necessities of our suffering fellow-creatures by

our natural equality , by compassion , our sympathy , and our own abilities , and dispense our gifts from affection . Pity and pain are sisters by sympathy . To bo an upright man is to add still greater perfection to the Mason ' s character . To do justice and have charity are excellent steps in human life ; but to act uprightly gives a superlative degree of excellence , for in that station we shall

become examples in religious , in civil , and iu moral conduct . It is not enough thafc we are neither enthusiasts nor persecutors in religion , neither bending towards innovation or infidelity ; not to be in the passive only , but we should appear in the active character ; we should be zealous practisers of , and steadfast members in religious duties . Iu civil matterswe should nofc only submit tobut execute the laws

, , of our country ; obey all tbeir ordinances , and perform all thoir precepts ; be faithful to the constitution of the realm , and loyal to our Sovereign ; true soldiers in the defence of our liberty , and of his crown and dignity . In morality it requires of us , not only that wo should not err , by injuring or betraying , or deceiving ; but that we should act uprightly in all things , in that station of life wherein Providence has

pieced us . By such tests lot the Mason be proved ; and lot him testify that his emblematical jeivels are ensigns only of tho inward man ; thence he will stand approved before heaven and before men , purchasing honour to his Masonic profession , and happiness to himself .

Notes On Literature, Science, And Art.

NOTES ON LITERATURE , SCIENCE , AND ART .

An authorised translation of Count De Jfontalembert ' s Monies of lite West , from St . Benedict to St . Bernard , is on the eve of publication . Mr . James Blackwood bus the following works in preparation : — Memoir of the Life and Writings of William Tennant , LL . D ., Professor of Oriental Languages in the University of St . Andrew ' s ; by M . P . Conolly , Town Clerk of Anstruther ,- and Biographical Portraiture , or Sketches of the Lives and Characters of a few Illustrious