New Materials For The Life Of John Flaxman, R.A.

" To Allan Cunningham , Fsq .. " 74 , Upper Norton-street , April 7 th , 1835 . "DEAE SIE ,- —I was much surprised at receiving a letter addressed to Miss Elaxman , as it is now nearly two years since I lost that dear and valued friend .

" In reply to your letter , I will take upon myself with pleasure to ansAver your questiou , as there are few circumstances in my brother-iu-laAv ( Mr . Elaxman ' s ) life that I am not Avell acquainted Avith , having been his and my sister ( Mrs . Flaxman ' s ) constant companion ever since their return from Ital y , in 1794 ,

till the very last moment of their earthly existence . " In answer to your question concerning the medal , — -It was some years after Mr . Elaxman ' s return from Italy that he first saw the medal of Buonaparte at a friend ' s house in London , and he always said and thought that the profile of Buonaparte , during his early career , bore a strong resemblance to Augustus Ca 5 sar . "

We now come to a grievance of five years' standing . Miss Denman continues" I regret that when you favoured Miss Elaxman and myself with a visit , previous to the publication of my brother ' s life , you did not avail yourself of our offer of looking over itas we could have pointed out

, to you many errors which are now in it . ¦ " I also greatl y regret that you made use of any part of those two works from Avhich you have made so many long extracts . They were never intended for the public , and when I showed them to you I most expressly said : — ' These are private works ; they

were made for the gratification of my sister ; now they are mine , I hold them sacred , and I only show them to you that you may the better understand the character of the man Avhose Life you are writing ; and I must beg you Avill not make any other use of them in the work you are now writingas I do not

, wish them to be made public . If , at any future time , I may have reason to change my mind , I shall then bring them out in a way most congenial with my own feelings , and in a way that shall not detract from the fame of this great and good man ; ' and you then promised you would not .

" I was so much hurt by this breach of confidence that neither Miss Elaxman nor myself could at that time thank you as we othenvise should have done for your kindness in sending us your little interesting volume . —I remain , dear Sir , yours truly , " MAEIA DENMAN . "

" What promise , if any , as Miss Denman alleges , my father made I cannot tell , nor can I see aught but a good service rendered to Elaxman ' s memory in the way the story of the ' two works' is told in Elaxman ' s Life . My father was never in possession of the volumes ; the extracts made were made in Miss Denman ' s houseandif my memory does not errin

, , , Miss Denman ' s presence . The lady , someAvhat difficult to please ( as I know hy my OAVII experience of her when I was honorary secretary to Watson ' s fine statue of her brother ) , relented ere long , re-read the Life , and transmitted to its author such queries and notes as occurred to her . These annotations

( new and of moment ) I purpose giving in a second communication ; here , however , I may relate what Stothard told my father , in Chantrey ' s studio , — ' I have read , ' said Stothard , 6 th July , 1839 , ' your Life

New Materials For The Life Of John Flaxman, R.A.

of Elaxman , and am much pleased with it . ' ' Mr . Elaxman , ' Miss Denman records in her OAvn handwriting , ' had the hi ghest regard and friendship for Mr . Howard , both as an artist and a man ; but his old friend Stothard he could only admire—as an artist . ' Why ? "PETER CUNNINGHAM . " ( To be continued ) .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

ORDER 01 ' ST . JOHN OF JERUSALEM . [ The following communications have recently appeared in our contemporary , JSfoles and Queries , relative to the above Order . They will , doubtless , have some interest for many Knights Templar . ] This Order is UOAV a part of the Order of Knights Templarwhose head-quarters are at Freemason's Hall

, , London . The Grand Master for England is William Stuart , Esq ., and his deputy , Colonel G . A . Vernon . — H . FISHWICK . " Can any of your correspondents kindly inform me where I am likely to obtain authentic information relative to the present state and position of the English Langue of this Order ? Who are its dignitariescouncil & c ?

, , and where do they meet ?—CONSTANT READER . " " Surely your last correspondent does not wish us to believe that the present so-called Order , and the present so-called Order of Knights Templar , have any connexion with the mediajval Orders of the same name , further than the name ? The present Orders are surely only offshoots of the Freemasons' Society , and established for

the gratification of personal vanities and display . Should he really mean that there is a connexion by descent , in each case , no doubt , your readers would be glad to have the statements . —W . P . "

"I have a roll of the Knights of St . John of the Langue of England , which is very much at the "Constant Reader ' s " service , although , from the mode in which it came into my possession , I entertain considerable doubts as to whether it contains much that is authentic touching ' the present state and position' of the Order . The pages in question were discovered amongst the papers used by a London

publishing firm ( that of Hurdwicke , I think ) , for packing books to forward in the country . From this circumstance , and from the fact of the roll not recording any appointment of later date than 1855 , 1 fear that my proffered gift is of little or no value , and it is more than possible I am performing a useless act in writing this subject , unless a final suggestion that the' Constant Reader' should appl

y to Mr . HardAvicke , 192 , Piccadilly , for the information he requires , be productive of any good effect . "—ST . SWITHIN . " The English Langue of this Order , about which a " Constant Reader" enquires , is not part of the Order of Kinghts Templars , and has not the slightest connection Avith the Masonic grade styling itself by the same name . The English Langue is an acknowledged branch of the

Order of St . John of Jerusalem , which has existed for more than seven centuries ; and been settled in the Holy Land , in Rhodes , and in Malta . The head of the Order in England is his Grace the Duke of Manchester , Grand Prior of England , and President of the Capitular Commission . " —JOHN WOODWARD .

ODD FELLOWS . The Odd Fellows maybe looked upon as a continuation of the Gregorians ; the most successful offspring of the most successful of the societies , which sprang up on publicity , being given to Freemasonry in the beginning of the eighteenth century . This opinion is fortified by a note in Notes and Queries , 3 rd S . II ., p . 447 , where a