The Masonic Properties Op Numbers.

the present . I have in preparation some farther illustrations of the Masonic properties of numbers , which I hope to present to you at our next meeting . I am afraid that the subject we hai'e been considering may have appeared to you , perhaps , not so amusing as yon had expectedittobe . ButI believe , brethren , that nothing which actually enlightens us on Masonic symbols—nothing which

opens up to us a new path of inquiry into the Masonic lore of literature and tradition , can be irrelevant to the great purposes for which we have all enlisted under tho banners of Masonry . And it will never be found uninstructive , to deviate a little from the main highways and broad-beaten tracks of Masonry , to follow for awhile its leasant b-lanes and flowery footpathsso long as we

p y , take care to cull the flowers as we go . In this belief I shall hope , my friends , to meet you again shortly , when I purpose laying before you the symbolisms of the higher numbers beyond four . The unexpected amplitude of the subject has led me to treat longer of the first four numbers than I had originally intended . I thank you all for kind and patient attention to my lecture ;

your aud I sincerely hope that we may altogether daily progress in the study and practice of our most noble art ; that Freemasonry may extend to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea ; and that thus harmony , fortitude , temperance , and justice may become the ruling virtues of mankind I END Of LECTURE TIRST .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

MASONIC TEACHING . Besides the ceremonies in loclge , the lectures , aud some few books , how can the brethren gain knowledge ? Ought not the Master of every loclge to be able to instruct those AVIIO desire information?—G . 0 . S . ~ [ Freemasons anxious for such knowledge must work out the problem for themselves . Ton are not the

only one Avho complains of a want of instruction . In an old number of tho Indian Freemasons' Friend is a letter , which we partly reprint , to show you how the same idea is entertained thousands of miles apart , and the yearning there is for real light . Our contemporaries' correspondent writes thus : — " There is no

doubt much truth in the communicated article , entitled ' Evening Thoughts on Masonry ; ' aud yet there is , to my apprehension , a degree of unmerited severity in the denunciations in which the writer indulges against those who speak lightly of Masonry , when , perhaps , they are only unable to appreciate and comprehend the

beauty and bearings of our Masonic principles , and my defence for my unhappy brethren is , that they are nninstructed ; for I hold it to be impossible to knoiv and not appreciate true Masonry . I quite go along with your correspondent Avhen he declares that admission iuto our Order is much too indiscriminate , and that many are made Masons whoby their

educa-, tion , habits , and very natures , are unlit to comprehend one iota of Freemasonry . And yet I believe that there are many persons who possess all the qualifications to enable them to rise to eminence in the Craft , and I would go farther , and say there are many who prove their fitness to be members of our Order ,

who cry out with impatience , ' What good is Masonry ? Here have I taken my three degrees , aud prithee wherein am I benefitted ? ' This is not the language of indifference or antagonism , but of laudable anxiety and impatience . Let us look into this question from my point of view . I ask what is Masonry ? Is it an

art ? Is it a science ? Is it a system of morality veiled in allegory ? If it be an art , ivho is to teach it ? If it be a science , who is to expound its princip les ? If it he an allegory , who is to unlock itsmysteries , explain its hidden meaning , dei r elop therelative dependence of its parts , and display the beautyand compactness of the ivhole figure ?

Ma-, sonic lore is unwritten , so that the student is at a serious disadvantage . If he ventured on the arduous , task of self-instruction , he would be met ivith difficulties at every step ; and if many inexperienced Masons made such wild attempts , we should soon have a number of expositionsall honest enoughno

, , doubt , but in such great variety as to destroy theunity of our system , and endanger an adherence to the established landmarks of tlie Order . The simple truth is , that the Worship ful Masters of our lodges do not sufficiently devote themselves to the particularduty which their very name implies , namely , that of

teaching . I need scarcely say that the administration of the degrees conveys the most deep and valuable instruction , and aids the reflections and speculations , of the most interesting character ; but it can exercise this influence on the mind of the enlightened Mason only , and must be insufficient of itself to teach the

nninstructed the hidden mysteries of the Craft . Yetit is to the ordinary work of the loclge that the novice for the most part , has to depend for all his knoAvledge of Masonry as an art , a science , or an allegory . If , then , they should find that they are baffled in their inquiries , aud cry out in their impatience , ' What good

is it V AVIIO can blame them , and Avho Avill not pity ancl assist the anxious inquirer ? I have been induced to say a word in justification of the tone of impatience and despair Avhich your correspondent so much deprecates , as I have knoivn it more than once wrung from good and true men AA-IIO have sought fox Masonic instruction , and sought in vain . " ]

rEHSECTJTION AND INTOLERANCE . Beading some Indian newspapers in a file of the last year , I came across the following in a number of the Hindoo Patriot for August . It may be worth while to insert it only for the purpose of supplementing the instances you have already recorded of Freemasons suffering persecutionand showing that

the-, intolerance extended to us does not appear to be confined to Soman Catholics exclusively . —Ex . Ex . — " We announced in our last issue that Baboo Khetter Mohun Gangooly , a Pleader of the High Court , has been initiated into the mystic Craft of Freemasonry . We have since been informed that some of his bigoted

relatives have been persecuting him for this act . They are , it appears , labouring under an impression that by entering the fraternity of Freemasons , Baboo-Ehetter Mohun has abjured his national religion . This is an egregious mistake . Freemasonry is not Christianity . In fact , it has no other religious basis than the fundamental principle of belief in the existence of one true God . The Freemason has no

distinct church of his own . Christian , Mahomedan , or Jew is alike Avelcome to his Craft . Be the religious persuasion of a brother what it may , if he be not an atheist , pantheist , or a polytheist , and if he acquiesces in the Catholic princip les of the Craft , there can be no obstacle to bis initiation . As a distinguished Mason , the Earl of Carnarvon once expressed himself , alluding to the persecutions which so many