Block Plan Op The Property Belonging To The Craft.

the society to retain the future annual accumulating fund , and would probably be more satisfactory to many of the brethren . The works might by these means be completed within three or four years ; but it would involve the necessity of granting a much longer lease than might be deemed desirable by a great nunber of the brethren , as tho building lease and the lease of tho letable state

portions of the present premises in its improved _ must necessarily go together : this however , is a point for the Grand Lodge to determine . The aforementioned calculations are perhaps too complicated ancl abstruse for the comprehension of a great majority of the members of Grand Lodge ; the general bodought therefore to rely on the judgementof the

y ^ selected few , whose report thereon should be received by them as genuine . The substance of the foregoing scheme , which has occupied my attention for many years , has on more than one occasion been read by me to the Board of General Purposes . A printed report of the sub-committee , which has been recentlissueddiffers materiallfrom the

y , very y _ foregoing ; and , although purporting to be unanimous , in reality is not so . The Board of General Purposes , from tho very nature of their constitution , is a constantly fluctuating body , ancl cannot be expected to be so well qualified for carrying out the object now under the consideration of the Grand Lodgo as a specially appointed committee .

Architecture Of Palestine From The Earliest Times To The Crusades.

ARCHITECTURE OF PALESTINE FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE CRUSADES .

( Continued from page dSS . ) Epoch of Justinian . The Emperor Justinian , no less ardent than his predecessors in erecting religious edifices , did not forget the Holy Land , but there raised a great number of such structures . All , however , which remain standing as

mementoes of him are the Basilica of Saint Mary , at Jerusalem , now converted into the Mosque El-Aksa ; tho "tower called Justinian's , at Bethlehem ; and the ruins of the Church of St . George , at Lydda , the ancient Diospolis . In other parts of Palestine , other religious monuments were erected by this Emperor , but their localities are only indicated by heaps of ruins . The

details have vanished , either from the effects of fire or violence , chiefly through Mohammedan fanaticism . The Aksa shows its Christian origin , and Procopius has left us a detailed account cf its construction ( De A . Edif . Justin . 5 , 6 ) . It has in front of it a portico with a vaulted roof , corresponding with tho seven naves of the church . The central arch is much larger than those on

either side . The exterior and interior present very pointed arches . The whole building exhibits the welliviiown plan of a primitive Christian basilica . The centre nave is supported by six large columns of breccia rosso , of Palestine , with ordinary Corinthian capitals , somewhat disfigured by incongruous details and ornament . These columns support pointed arches , above

which are two rows of windows . Tho first two lateral naves are supported by square piers -. the other four are much lower , of a totally different construction , and appear to have been added at a much later date . In this particular , I fully agree with the Eev . Geo . Williams iu his " Holy city , " that the mosque was enlarged on the east and west sides by El-Makdi , in 775 , 785 . '

In its present state , the length is not in clue proportion with tho width ; while in its primitive condition the proportions were exact , and the basilica was in the form of a cross . On the south the church is terminated by a transverse nave , separated from the grand longitudinal nave by pointed arches , surmounted at tho intersection of the cross by a cupola supported by four piers , each

Architecture Of Palestine From The Earliest Times To The Crusades.

ornamented with two columns of verd antique supporting Corinthian capitals . The cupola is a dome contracted at the base , which admirably sets off its form . It is decorated with modern paintings quite unworthy of the edifice , and with mosaics which date from Selim I . and Solyman the Magnificent . The choir was demolished by the Arabs , after having been injured by an earthquake ,

and is now replaced by a simple Arab wall , against which stands the Mihrab , ornamented with beautiful small porphyry columns . In the transverse arm of the cross the choiciest marbles are employed for the light columns , which sustain capitals of various and extravagant forms , dating no doubt from the remotest Jewish antiquity , and by no means corresponding with the elevation of the

columns . The roof of the mosque is supported by a framing of wood . Such is the result of my observations upon the Mosque El-Aksa , which the want of time prevents me from describing in fuller detail . The Tower of Justinian , at Bethlehem , built for the defence of the Temple of the Nativity , merits some notice . It is square , and measures 97 feet oh each side ; its height is 122 feet . The walls , which are 22 feet thick ,.

are solid , and built with largo blocks , which diminish with each course of stone . The Greeks , who are the possessors of the tower , in the thickness of the walls have made several chambers , which are used for the reception of pilgrims . The largest of these chambers is capable of containing forty persons . I have mentioned this edifice to show that a complete work of Justinian ' s

era exists at Bethlehem , and that , as far as masonry is concerned , it will bear comparison with that employed by Constantine in the Basilica of the Nativity . In the latter , the good Eoman style is seen ; in the tower , the decadence . The Church of Saint George , at Lydda , the ancient Diospolis , was erected by Justinian . Of this splendid edifice nothing at present remains but a portion

of the walls and the eastern choir , with some magnificent pilasters and capitals . On the south side is a large pointed arch , supported by large columns , mortised in the piers , and surmounted by Corinthian capitals . A great part of the church still remaining has been converted into a mosque by the Mussulmans . The design which I exhibit will show the date of this monument , better than any description .

Epoch of the Arais . I do not think it necessary to translate the description of the mosque of Omar , seeing that it has already been translated for the Mount Moriah . Tho whole platform is formed of the rock , which is clearly seen on going into the dwellings of the Dervishes and the guardians ; as well as in some oratories ancl in the cisterns , especially the two on the north of the Great Mosque .

Goubbet-es-Sahkrah , —the Dome of the Roch . Its plan is simple : two concentric octagonal aisles surround the circular central part , which supports a Pointed dome . The form of the dome serves alone to characterize the building . The many descriptions given of its interior prevent me from repeating it ; and I shall only remark that its doorways and windows are of

Pointed style ; that the sixteen columns standing in the inner octagon aisles are of equal height , ancl have the same capitals , but rest on unequal bases which exhibit very much the characteristics of the period of decadence to which the building belongs ; that the twelve columns , which are to be found between the four piers supporting the tympanum of the dome , have a diameter different

from the sixteen , first met with , as well as different proportions of shaft , capital , and base ; and that all these columns support arches slightly Pointed . The vaulting of the dome is of wood , covered with Arabic gilding . The tympanum and spandrels of tho arches are inlaid with elegant mosaics , which date from the time of the sultan Selim I . All these induces me to believe , accord-1 ing to history , that the mosque was erected by Abdel-el-