Masonic Notes And Queries.

sion of the Union A - E . 1813 is , I believe , contained in the following passage : ¦— " The Holy Bible , spread open , Avith the square and compasses thereon , waa laid on the ark of the covenant , and the two Grand Chaplains approached the same . The recognised

obligation was then pronounced aloud by the Rev . Dr . Hemming , one of the Masters of the Lodge of Reconciliation ; the whole fraternity repeating the same , Avith joined hands , ancl declaring— ' By , ' this solemn obligation we vow to abide , and the regulations of ancient Freemasonry now recognised strictly to observe . " —CHABEES PUETON COOPEE .

ST . ALBAS" AND EEEEMASONEY . Can any of your Masonic readers tell me where I can find any information confirmatory of the supposed connection between St . Alban , the proto-martyr of . England , and the Ereemasons ? In the Book of Constitutions , compiled by order of the Grand Lodge of 1784 it is mentioned that St . Alban aided Carausius

, in building Verulam , and that he obtained from the king a charter for the Freemasons to hold a general council , and was thereat himself as Grand Master , and helped to " make Masons , and gave them good charges and regulations . "—E . A . H . L . in Notes and Queries .

BOOKS UPON E 1 IBEEJIS . A Brother will find the following passage in the "Academy , " No . 7 : — "Books upon emblems form a distinct and extensive branch of literature , which has now nearly fallen into oblivion , yet in the lGfch and 17 th centuries it was in great popularityand

, learned authors devoted themselves to this class of composition . The works of Pliny , Gilian , Dioseorides , and all the ancient naturalists were ransacked for emblems derived from the instincts , attributes , and properties of nature , animate and inanimate . "CHAKEES PEBTON COOPEE .

" TEE TATLEB , " JUNE 1709 . Brother - >¦ * * The passage of The Taller , June 9 th , 1700 , in which it is said of a certain class of men that they had their signs and tokens like Preemasons , is well known to the Craft both in England and in the United States . It is the earliest passage

of the kind mentioned in my " Common-Place Book " The formation of a plan for the collection of similar passages in books printed before the Eevival lias been often suggested , but it has never been so fortunate as to attract useful notice . —CHABEES PUBXON COOI ' .

" EEBonEB" AND " DOKnirEH . " In the A'ery interesting and striking article on the Precbristian Cross , " in the Edinburgh Setlew for January last , I find some terms of aiitiquarianism Avhich are new to me . " Dolmen'' I know : according to Mrs . Bury Pallisser it is derived from the Breton

daul , a table ; ancl man , a stone . "Menhir , ' on the same authority I learn , comes from main , ancl Mr , long , in the same language . But what is a " feroher ?" and is a Gueber " dokhmeh" one of those strange conical temples of Persia where the sacred fire is kept continually burning ? It would be Avell if the writers

of articles of the kind in question would make it a rule to accompany any new terms they may have occasion to useAvith some passing note of explanation . —D . BLAIE . [ The value of essays like that in question is sadl y

diminished for the want of a little pictorial embellishment . In attempting to satisfy present requirements , of course we cannot hope to succeed better than the reviewer . A feroher is the hieratic symbol of the solar deity , and which may be seen on many of the steles

or graved tablets exhumed from the ruins of Nineveh . It has also been found in Mexico and Central America . Sometimes it is simply depicted as a pennate circle ; at others the demi-figure of the god , with expanded wings , and in the act of discharging an arrow from his bowisas the author of the essay remarks

, , , " the highest or most assthetical of its various developments . " The term feroher is common enough in archaeological publications , but we are ignorant nevertheless of its origin and etymology . The doJclimeh or ossuary of the ancient Parsees is a low round tower built of large stones , and usually elevated upon a

platform , of the same material , into the open top of which human bones were promiscuously cast , after the flesh had been torn from them by vultures or other birds of prey , and when they had been sufficiently blanched by the rain . ( See Chardin ' s "Travels , " vol . viii . pp . 96 and 378 . ) Similar structures are

scattered about the hills which surround Lake Titicaca , in South Peru . Dokhmehs and fire-altars are totally distinct monuments . Por a description of the form and uses of the last mentioned , see Sir "Win . Ouseley ' s " Travels in Persia , " vol . ii . p . 80 . According to his report , fire-altars were composed of single

upright stones , about 10 ft . high by 3- _ -ft . broad at the base , with a small cavity at the top , wherein the sacred fire was placed . Similar monuments have been found , strange to say , on the island of Tinian , one of the Marian or Ladcones , group—a fact which effectually disposes of the vulgar belief that the inhabitants were unacquainted with fire before the advent of the Spaniards early in the sixteenth century . —ED . Notes and Queries . ' ]

GEAND MASTEES OE EEANCE . I find the following in the " Calendrier Magonnique du Grand Orient de Prance Supreme Conseil pour la Prance et les Possessions Frangaises ( 98 e Annee ) " : — 1725 . Lord Dervent-Waters . 1736 . Lord Comte d'Harnouester . 1738 . Le Due d'Antin .

1743 . Louis de Bourbon , Comte de Clermont Prince du Sang . 1771 . Le Due de Chartres . 1795 . Eoettiers de Montaleau ( sous le titre de Grand Venerable ) . 1805 . Joseph NapoleonEoi d'Espagne .

, 1852 . Le Prince Murat ( du 19 Pevrier , 1852 , au 31 Octobre , 18 Gl ) . 1862 . Le Marechal do Prance , Magnan ( decret de l , Empereur , en date du 11 Janvier , 1862 ) . Grand Maitre elu le 20 Mai , 1864 . 1865 . Le General Mellinet , senateurcommandant

, superieur des Gardes Nationales du departement de la Seine , etc . ( elu le 9 Juin , 1865 ) 1 S 70 . Le P . Babaud-Laribiere , avocat—ancien representant du peuple , redacteur en chef des "Lettres Charentaises" ( elu le 10 Juin , 1870 ) .

THE FIVE-POINTED STAB ON THE AMERICAN EEAG . I beg to offer what I conceive to be a true explanation of the five-pointed star on the American flag . It