Masonic Notes And Queries.

not connected with Freemasonry , has not the advantage of resting upon Masonic ground . For the last seven years I have had no access to publications on Freemasonry , the FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE excepted , ancl my copy of that periodical is not now complete , the six first volumes having some time ago

been added to my collections in Lincoln ' s Inn library . My statement respecting the Order of the Mustard Seed is entirely founded on the article "Zinzendorf , " in the " Biographic Universelle , " tome 552 , edition of 1 S 2 S , filling seven and a half columns of that work , and written by Monsieur La Boissiere . The passage

which records the creation of the Order of the Mustard Seed , and some passages immediately following , are here subjoined , together with a few remarks enclosed between brackets , and a short appendix of inquiries . I must premise , first , that Couut Zinzendorf was born 29 th May , 1700 ; nextthat according

, to the Masonic writers named b y Bro . Hughan , the Order of the Mustard was instituted in 1739 ; thirdly , that it was also known hy the name of the Fraternity of Moravian Brothers of the Order Religious Freemasons : " Tourmente presque des son enfance par le desir d ' etre chef de secteZinzendorf etait encore

, qu' etudiant a Halle , lorsqu'il crea l'ordrede la graine de moutarde , qui avait pour embleme un eece homo , avec Tepigraphe Nostra Medela . " [ 1 . As at the end of May , 1739 , Count Zinzendorf began his 40 th

year , it is plain that the allegation of Bro . Hughan ' s Masonic writers requires for its support the rejection of Monsieur La Boissiere ' s words " il n ' etait encore qu' etudiant a Halle . '' 2 . Without good cause shown , critical science forbids the rejection of these words . 3 . What is contained in this first passage is all that is said by Monsieur La Boissiere concerning the Order

of the Mustard Seed . ] " Alors meme il se nourissait de la doctrine de Spener , qui avait forme un grand nombre de disciples dans la Saxe et surtout a Halle . " [ 4 . Spener named in this passage is the celebrated lounder of the sect of Pietosts . ] " Parvenu a l ' age oil les passions commencent a fermenter ( 13 ans ) ii

, en eprouva les orages les plus violents ,- sa bouillante imagination n ' etait guere propre a les calmer . II se livra a , tous les genres de debauches . " [ 5 . Upon comparison of this passage with the first , it would seem that the Count was not thirteen years old when he created the Order of the Mustard Seed . 6 .

Fortyfive years ago I heard the Order of the Mustard Seed , with its eece homo and motto Nostra , Ifedela , spoken of at Prague as furnishing a remarkable example of religious enthusiasm at a very early age . 7 . That there is here something needing explanation , Bro . Hughan will , I am persuaded , not hesitate to admit . ] "En 1721 quelques descendants des anciens Moraves , persecutes dans leur pays , se refugierent dans la Haute-Lusace . Le Comte de Zinzendorf leur

aecorda un asile dans le village de Bertholsdori qui lui appartenait , " <& c . [ 8 . Monsieur La Boissiere then goes on to relate the other events of Count Zinzendorf ' s life , but he nowhere hints that the Count had ever anything to do with Freemasonry , either ancient or modern , for , as he lived to 1760 , he might have been acquainted with both systemswith the

, latter as well as with the former . Appendix . —In what precedes there is , it is imagined , enough to afford an excuse for the ensuing inquiries . First , have Bro . Hughan ' s Masonic writers

taken the allegation that the Order of the Mustard Seed was instituted in 1739 , and that it was also known by the name of the Fraternity of Moravian Brothers of the Order Religious Freemasons , from the Moravian Bishop Spangenberg ' s " Biographic du Comte Nicolas Louis de Zinzendorf , ' ' eight volumes

in octavo , 1772—1775 ? Secondly , have they taken such allegation from Duvernoy ' s "Life of Comte Zinzendorf ? " Thirdly , have they taken it from the " Memoires " of Count Zinzendorf ' s Life , inserted in the "Journal Encyclopedique , " 1762 ? Fourthly , if they have not taken such allegation from

Spangenberg , Duvernay , or the " Memoires , " from what other publication have they taken it V " Fifthly , is it not in Spangenberg , Duvernay , and the "Memoires , ' ' if anywhere , that we may expect to find not only the true date of the creation of the Order of the Mustard Seedbut its real nature and its real object also ?

, Lastly , is it not in Spangenberg , Duvernay , and the "Memoires , " if anywhere , that we may expect to find how it was that the Order of tlie Mustard Seed came to be also known by the name of the Fraternity of Moravian Brothers of the Order Reli gious Freemasons?—C . P . COOPER .

THE GERMAN UNION , IEIPSIG . It is stated in the FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE of last Satuiday , that Bro . Lyon , of Ayr , and Bro . Hughan , of Truro , have received their diplomas of membership of " The German Union , Leipsig . " It is , of course to be implied this is a Masonic Union or

Society . Can any brother obligingly inform me , through this' department of the Magazine , what are the objects of this society whicli has received into its fold the two distinguished members of our Order above-mentioned , and with whose sterling and copious contributions to the FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE ANH MASONIC MIRROR its readers are so familiar . —BUTE .

ins RIGHTS os VISITORS . I find that my friend , Bro . A . 0 . Haye , disagrees with the views entertained by Bro . Dr . II . Hopkins and myself relative to the rights of visitors . Usually I am inclined to accept the opinion of Bro . A . O . Haye as final , as his vast Masonic experience ( especially as editor of the late Scottish Freemason's

Magazine ) united with a good judgment and highly cultivated mind , eminently qualify him to be a ruler in the Craft , but in the case in cjaeslion I cannot , because it is more than possible he would come to the same decision as ourselves , were he but put in possession of some facts which cannot well be inserted in

these pages . Besides , the Constitution of Maryland , or of any other Grand Lodge , do not , to my mind , reach the question at issue , because the laws of the different Grand Lodges differ almost as much as the faces of the members . What we contend for is this That so long as the Constitutions of the Grand Lodge

of England are silent on the subject of exclusion , from any such cause as the Loyalty Lodge act at Jersey , and thus indirectly confers the right upon members to visit English lodges at any time , presided there is no by-law to . the contrary , it is both illegal and inexpedient to compel any brother to leave the lodge at which he is a visitor , from the plea of private business contained in the minute book , especially when some of the members of that lodge may have