Memoirs Of The Freemasons Of Naples. No. I.

his ardour , did but increase his passion for Freemasonry . When he met any of those Avho had assisted at his reception , he saluted them as a brother , but they pretended not to know him . At first impatient , afterwards furious , he traversed the city of Naples , and made to each person the sign which they had assured him was

that of a Mason , but no return was given to it . From that time his love for the society Avas turned into hatred . He found at last that he had been duped . One of the spies of Pallante had noticed the signs of Rho , and did not fail to report it to the judge , who had discovered this sign by some traitor , and in which he had instructed his emissaries . This informer of Pallante Avas one of those

wretches who , in spite of the police , are so frequent in great cities , where they exercise the profession of procurers . His name was Gaetano Massini , a native oi Florence ; his surname Avas Spadincorpo , from a thrust he had received in the exercise of his trade . With this

person Pallante conceived the folloAving scheme to gain OA-er the Milanese . Spadincorpo became acquainted with him accidentally—it was the more easy , as Rho was then out of place parading the square of the Palace Royal , as was customary for servants seeking employment , and the indolent part of' the common people . After some preliminary conversationSpadincorpo promised to

pro-, cure him a good place on a certain day , and told him also that he had something actually in view for him . Rho promised to be grateful . They appointed a time to present him to this new master . Spadincorpo conducted him on the appointed day to St . Salvadore , or the Jesuit's houseAvhere Pallante had shut up their .

, papers Spadincorpo pretended that his new master , for particular reasons , would see Rho in the third apartment . He introduced him into a large hall , in which hung the portraits of the King of Spain and the reigniug Prince of Naples . He desired him to take notice of them , and then left the room , and Rho to his own contemplation .

An instant had scarcely elapsed when Rho saw a meagre old man enter the room , AVIIO feigned great surprise at seeing any one there . He had his hat slouched over his lace , covering a round wig ; his eyes , squinting and fierce , pourtrayed fury and astonishment . It is wellknOAvn a squinting look , though it may not disfigure so much a good visage , sits horridly on an ugly face . ( To be continued . )

Stray Thoughts On The Origin And Progress Of The Fine Arts.

STRAY THOUGHTS ON THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF THE FINE ARTS .

Br DIAGORAS . PART XIV . ( Continued from p . 102 . ) "When Lombardy embraced the Christian faith , its rulers were emulous of filling their dominions with churches and monasteriesthus calling into activitthe

, y guild of builders , composed of those Avho , after passing the fixed stages of apprenticeshi p , were receiA-ed as masters , and entitled to exercise their art as "Free and Accepted Masons . " But Lombard y alone could not find a sufficiency of employment for these companies ; they accordingly sought another sphere , and in the North of

Europe , where the spread of Christianit y produced a corresponding demand for sacred edifices , they found ample occupation . These companies of Masons beinoendowed bythe Popes Avith peculiar privileges and n ' o-hts ! went from city to city , and country to country , regulating for themselves the price of their labour , and prohibiting any one from entering into competition with them who did not belong to the Craft or guild . Whether they went m search of emp loyment of their own accord , or whether

they were called to any country by some craftsman , who had preceded and prepared the Avay for them , they were always headed by a " chief surveyor , " or "master , " Avho governed the Avhole party , and appointed one man out of every ten , holding the title of " Avarden , " to overlook the niue others in their work . For the purpose of securing to themselves all the privileges of their craft

, the Free and Accepted Masons guarded with peculiar care the valuable knoAvledge they had acquired , and only gradually revealed it to members of the Order after certain periods of probation , and on proof of their merit and ability . Making their art a perfect mystery to the public at largethey also carefully concealed and even

, destroyed the calculations and working plans which they had to regulate their labours , so that the uninitiated might not have any trace of the means by Avhich they executed their works . Thus did the architects of the sacred edifices derive their knowledge from the same source , and obey the rules of the same school ; and

thus is explained the otherwise inexplicable fact of the similarity of construction and design in buildings the most remote from each other , and which are knoAvn to have been erected almost simultaneously . Hence , also , the rapidity Avith which changes in the style of architecture Avere knoAvn aud adopted in different

countries more or less distant from each other . The progress of architecture received a check on the approach of the thousandth } -ear after the birth of our Saviour , doubtless OAving to the very prevalent idea that He would reappear at this time , and that in conjunction Avith His reappearance would bo the destruction of the Avorld . It Avas not until time fled on . aud men had in

some measure recovered from their torpidity and terror , that they could apply themselves to the ivork of repairing their churches and monasteries , or the completion of those which had been left unfinished during the general apathy and dismay . "But subsequently to this the number of churches rapidl y increased , and many a superb and stately edificemany a gorgeous ilemay be traced to

, p , the " Free and Accepted Masons " of the tenth century . The Crusades , which ensued in . less than a century after the bygone millenium . greatly increased the revenues of the Church , and Avere consequentl y the means of augmenting the number of religious structures in every Christian country . At the same perioda great

improve-, ment took place in . civil architecture . Many of the nobles , bound for the Holy Land , sold privileges and enfranchisements to the cities under their control , thus producing an increase of wealth to the citizens . Tliey began to crave for aud to erect buildings for civil purposes , which Avere often extensive and magnificent . In

the cities of tho Adriatic Avere seen the first magnificent toAvn halls , and later , they may he traced in Germany ; from thence they Ai-ere adopted in Belgium , Bruges , Ghent , and Antwerp . I have already stated that the introduction of the arch was productive of great and important changes in Roman architecture . One of the features of the " style which succeeded the Roman was

that Avhich is now called groined vaulting . The idea of this sty le , must soon have presented itself to any one employed in the construction of a common cylindrical vault , since the intersection of two of the latter would produce the groined vault . The ribs of the groins were made to rest on columns , and the differences of character

in that species of architecture called the GOTHIC arose from the various modes of arranging this system of arches . The st yle of building which Avas prevalent in Europe , from the fall of the Roman Empire till the sixteenth century , has been classed under the general name of GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE . This name has been objected to as being incorrect , and as com'eying an erroneous idea