Masonic Notes And Queries.

beginning of last century . I think that those of my brethren who understand the history , etc ., of architecture will know what I mean . —W . P . BUCHAN . STMBOIISlt IN BOSITN CHAPEI . Inter alia , in his remarks upon Roslyn , Billings

ebserves , — " But whether , in this late specimen , the artist was influenced hy the spirit of symbolisation which imbued Vincent de Beauvais and his followers , may be doubted . The influence of these encyclopaedias in stone was dying out . " The following from Mackenzie's Imperial Dictionary will also be useful , —

" Vincent of Beauvais , a Dominican of the 13 th -century , regarded as the precursor of the encyclopaedists , at a time when the word encyclopedia was not invented . He was reader to St . Louis , King of France , and tutor to his children . He compiled a summary of general knowledge , under the title of

"Speculum Majus , " containing subjects of a natural , philosophical , and historical kind . As the work contains the opinions of authors who are not now extant , it possesses considerable curiosity ; in general , however , it only displays the ignorance and superstition ¦ of the age in which it was written . Vincent is supposed to have died about 1264 . —W . J . P . "

MASONIC EEEOETING ( p . 282 ) . Will "Crescent" explain what he means hy " an unqualified brother , " at page 283 , especially in connexion with the office of Master ?—PICTUS . MASONIC EEEOETING . —BY CRESCENT . I consider " Crescent" is mistaken upon this

subject . Instead of considering that the Magazine should be a faithful " Mirror , ' ' he would have it only to record the fair side of matters ; all cancerous sores he would have plastered over , etc ., whereas , if there be anything going on that is wrong in principle , there is nothing like setting it in the Mirror to put things

right . A little ventilation does good , and so did that which " Crescent" refers to at foot of page 283 , first column . More , read the lodge reports published since , and it will be seen that that was merely a passing gale , and that one of the principal supporters of the then victor is his then opponentshowing that

, a passing " spar" left no un-Masonic feelings of envy behind it . Then , as to the remarks of ¦ " Crescent " upon the antiquity of " Masonry , " he is simple indeed . As to operative Masonry , the antiquity oi it is admitted by all ; but , as to speculative Masonryif he considers it to be older than a century

, and a half , let him prove it , and also show how old his pretended "traditions" ofthe Craft are ? He should remember that truth is of more importance in Masonry than pandering to mushroom traditionary pseudo-Masonic notions . —OBSEEYEE .

BEOS . HUGHAN , AND BUCHAN . Bro . Hughan says ( p . 289 ) , before 1717 "Masonry was practised as a secret society , and on a different basis , to any other trade incorporations or guilds . " "Will he explain this and show wherein the particular difference consisted ? alsowherein consisted Ma

, *' speculative Masonry" which—page 288—he says ¦ existed " before 1717 ? " Bro . Buchan then , at page 287 , asserts that there * " ? l 7 n S speculative Masonry , or Freemasonry , before 1717 ; but that the old Masons' societies , as he

elsewhere says , were merely similar to those of other coexistant trades -, therefore , Bro . Hughan has to prove that speculative Masonry existed before 1717 ; whiie Bro . Buchan has to show that other trades had secrets and words and grips as well as Masons . Come to the point . —POINTED .

THE EITUA 1 QUESTION . The remarks of Bro . Hyde Clarke ( page 289 ) are very apropos . It would he premature at present to attempt to lay down any authoritative ritual , let us exactly understand our historical position first , after which there might be some hope of our would-be ritual-reformers giving something sensible and permanent . — "W . P . B .

SCOTCH LODGES . As " R . W . M . " admits that he never even heard of a certain part of the O . B . which I saw administered in a Scotch lodge , he cannot be accepted as much of an authority . In reply to his remarks , I have simply to say that I spoke of what I knew , and testified to what I bad seen . —J . A . H .

EDUCATION . That there is great necessity for the spread of education amongst the Freemasons cannot be doubted ; that there is great necessity for the spread of education amongst the masses cannot he doubted ; that " more light" is needed everywhere cannot be

doubted ; in fact , this is heing felt now almost everywhere , and the cry is over all the land , — " Send the schoolmaster abroad . " This is a matter which particularly interests Freemasons ; with them all men , independent of their particular creed , who believe in God are eliible as membersthey give " liht "

g ; g alike to the Jew and Gentile , the Saxon or the Turk ; consequently , to be consistent , they ought to see that the "light" that is the light of education is given to all members of the rising generation apart from any sectarian creed . Independent of any religious dogma , our coming men ht to have given to them such

oug a secular or unsectarian education as will enable them to think and judge for themselves ; while religious teaching , heing a thing per se , could be given at home or at the Sunday-schools . * In 1738 Pope Clement SH . remarked that " a society had been formed into which persons of all religions and all

sects are indiscriminately admitted . " Well , the sooner Pope Pius IX . can say that " National schools have been formed into which children of all religions and all sects are indiscriminately admitted , " the better . The progress of the world is hound up in that one word "Education . " By-and-hye , we trust it will assist in beating the sword into the ploughshare , and the spear into the pruning-hook!—W . P . BUCHAN .