Masonic Notes And Queries.

eating two popular works in which the queriest can trace the subject for himself . These are Mrs . Jameson ' s Legends of the Saints and Martyrs , and the same lady ' s Sacred and Legendary Art . ' ] JOSHUA OR JESnUA . If "P . P ., " whoin No . 282 inquired the

ortho-, , graphy of the name of the 3 rd Principal in the II . R . A ., will refer to the books of Ezra , iii . 8 and Haggai , i . 1 , he will find authority for using either of the above modes . —A . W ., 253 .

" GRAVE MEASURES . " Perhaps the threat of having recourse to "grave measures" against a Masonic delinquent may be analogous to the mysterious ceremony of " naming" a member of the House of Commons . Iu either case its is probable that the obscurity which envelopes the

modus operandi would act as a sufficient check upon a further infraction of discipline . At all events , it is on record that a Speaker of the House of Commons having threatened to " name" some one ( with the usual result of bringing the culprit to repentance ) , was asked what he should have done had the hon .

member continued contumacious . He replied that he really did not know , but believed that the consequences would have been awful . —A . W ., 253 .

BRO . W . C . CLARKSON . Referring to the Freemasons' Quarterly Review , vol . vi ., 1 S 39 , page ISO , I find the following obituary : — " On the 13 th December , Brother W . Comerford Clarkson , of Doctors' Commons , aged 82 , P . G . T . aud P . M . of the Grand Masters' Lodge . He served the

office of Grand Steward for the Globe Lodge , and was a member of the Grand Stewards' Lodge at his decease . —A . W ., 253 .

GRAND PURSUIVANTS . A question was asked by " t-lt , " in No . 277 , respecting the status of the Grand Pursuivant , but I do not see that an answer has been given . It may be interesting to remark that , prior to the year 1810 , the office , if it could be so called , conferred no actual

Masonic rank , either present or past . Early in that year ( April 29 ) an honorary Grand Pursuivant was appointed by tbe Duke of Sussex , G . M ., in the person of Bro . W . Rule , whose death took place in November last , as noticed in No . 2 S 2 of the FREEMASONS MAGAZINE . The duties of the office comprehended the superintendence of the proceedings of the scrutineers at the meetings of Grand Lodge , & c . —A . W ., 253 .

RAIN AND SECRECY . _ In ' No . ' 27 G , "S . S . " inquires "Whathas rain to do with secrecy , and how can an intimation of wet weather be applied as attending to caution ? " Perhaps the following couplet will answer the query : — " Trusty brother , take care , Of eaves-droppers beware . " —A . W ., 253 .

PERSECUTION . From the Gentleman ' s Magazine , July , 1737 : — "The Society of Freemasons , latel y detected at Florence , makes a great noise . They pass there for Quietists , but it is here said they are of the Epicurean sect , and that there is no law too severe to deal with them .

The Pope sent the Father-Inquisitor post to Florence iu order to prosecute them , at the request of the Great Duke of Tuscany , who was absolutely resolvedto extirpate the whole sect . " As his Highness is since dead , and the Duke of Lorrain , who was made a Freemason in England , is to succeed , this persecution may not go far . —A . W .

THE DOOR OE EREEMASONHY . In America they often speak of the door of Freemasonry in somewhat of the followingstyle . Apopular paper gave it as follows : —There stands the door of Freemasonry—not " partly open , " but " closely tiled " —inhospitablyclosed andguai'dedlikethe gate of Eden ,

, by the ( laming sword . No invitation seems extended to the curious stranger to view the treasures that maybe concealed within ; no hospitable warder stands without to invite the weary traveller to enter and refresh himself . No seductive entreaties allure tbe

passerby ; but all is forbidding , dreary , dark . And yet , over this apparently impenetrable portal are inscribed , in classic Greek—the language of the ancient mysteries—the cheering words TO Kpovown ororyEcre-cu" to him that knocketh it shall be opened . " Here , surely , are words of cheering , hospitable importaud they should be sufficient answer to the too

, often repeated accusation that Freemasonry is an exclusive institution . A knock , a single knock , shall lower the point of that ever-vigilant sword ; shall turn the hinges of that ever-bolted door , and give to the knocker a ready entrance . Why , then , do not all men accept this general and

generous invitation , and judge for themselves of the value of the treasure which that door conceals ? or , why is the promise , thus made to the ear , so often broken to the sense , and they who have confidingl y knocked for admission been so frequently repulsed ? The first question involves no charge against

Freemasonry , and may , iu a few words , be dismissed . It is no fault of ours that all men will not seek admission into our Order . Its cause lies in the very infirmity of human nature . Men are ever reluctant to try untrodden paths . They fear to enter upon unknown scenes . They have no knowledge from experience of how much beautyaud truthfulnessand

, , science , and religion there is in Freemasonry ; aud ignorant , therefore , of the good that is awaiting them , they have no incentive to remove their reluctance , no encouragement to banish their fear . Were the doors of Freemasonry thrown widely open , the timid , and the idleand the indifferentmiht ive the institution

, , gg a passing glance , which , brief as it would often be , might still tend to remove their prejudices . But the door is closed—the invitation is wanting—we dare not and cannot persuade their entrance , and the simple words , " to him that knocketh , it shall be opened , " have no power to awaken unborn desires into life .

But the second question is of deeper import to us .. It involves a charge of broken promise and deceptive speech . We say "to him that knocketh , it shall be opened , " and yet how many have knocked and been sent empty away . But we have our defence against the charge .

Freemasonry is no robber ' s cave , whose portal must fly open at the " open sesame" of every intruder , pronounce the words in what tone he may . No . The knock , whose magic influence we feel , must be of a