Masonic Notes And Queries.

tients , but " preached the heresies of Huss and "Wycliffe , ' which would almost seem to imply that he had taken some degree in divinity , or belonged to an ecclesiastical order , because it is only the heresy , and not the preaching , that is laid to his charge . But his coming- to Scotland was a medical character , with letters from Prague attesting his great excellence in

his profession . " How long he remained , and with what success , we have no record ; hut that he obtained some distinction as a teacher and preacher is evident from the designation of arch-heretic' applied to him in the Scottish chronicles ; and that he had lived in St .

Andrews for a considerable time , seems to be implied in the expression , ' At last he was brought afore the theologues . ' The charges preferred against him were touching the worship of saints , auricular confession , and ' the sacrament of the altar , ' which would have special reference to the Cup for which Bohemia had

been contending , even before the days of Huss . He was found by his examiners well versed in theology , skilled and prompt in the quotation of Scripture , but obstinate in the doctrines of Huss and " Wycliffe . A worthy follower of that ' generous and intrepid martyr and confessor of Christ' as Luther calls HussPaul

, , had made up his mind to hazard his life for the sake of a foreign nation , who might only requite his love with hatred . * * * His was the first martyr-fire lighted in St . Andrews . " —PICTUS .

MASONIC PEEIODICALS . In the United States there are twenty-two Masonic periodicals . —J . B . OTJE BIBLICAL LEGENDS AND AlisEEICAN EEEEHASONEY . A Correspondent who makes inquiry on this subject

, the importance of which is not seen by all contributors to our periodical , should consult the writings of Bro . Eob Morris , and our late Bro . Salem Towne . — ClIAELES PtTETON CoOPEE .

LOUIS . WI . AND TIIE VAULT OE STEEL IN 11 S 9 . In the "Precis sur la Prancmaconnerie , par le Chevalier Cesar Moreau , de Marseille , 33 eme Grand Inspeeteur General , Paris , 1855 ( 8 vo , p . 1-19 ) , this passage oceurs : — " Par lesnouvelles constitutions trois Chambres

^ furent e ' rigees au sein du Grand Orient , pour I'Administration des Loges de Paris et des provinces . Le due de Luxembourg en fit l'installation et donna h cette occasion au Grand Orient uvtefele superbe . 'On n ' avait point encore vu a Paris / dit Lalande' de fete

, maoonnique plus solennelle et plus brillante . ' line Loge fut institute ala cour , et trois rois , n'ctantalors que princes , Louis XYI , Louis XVIII ., et Charles X ., devinrent membres de l'Ordre . "

This was iu 1772 . In " L'Ami du JRoi des Francois , par M . Montjoye , quatrieme partie , 1792 " ( eh . liv . p . 40 , 4 to ) , this strange paragraph is to be seen upon Xing Louis' Masonic reception on July 17 , 1789 : — " Ce seroit sans doute quelque chose que Ton eut accordejdans une journee Ton pourroit appelerla

, que journee de 1 'ingratitude , cette le ' gere marque d'honneur au rois ; inais il eitoit douteux si on la defeiroit au roi , on aux deputes qui 1 ' accompagnoient , et parini lesquels on comptoifc des Praucs-macjons . "

Mr . John Turner will doubtless perceive from Montjoye ' s remarks upon this incident that Louis Seize's intimate connection with the Masonic Order was unknown to the proprietor of L'Ami du Moi des Pran-( ois . Probably it was not generally known outside the fraternity . — " N . " in Notes and Queries .

BEINCE EDWIN ' S LEGEND , A Correspondent will find the title of the book respecting which he inquires in the note , Bro . Pindel's History , page 88— " Prince Edwin ' s Legend : Three Masonic Ballads . " By Dr . Gust . Schwetschke . Halle , 1858 . 4 to . — -C . P . COOPEE .

THE WOED " SHIBOLETH . " In an article by Bro . Eob Morris in the November number of the Voice of Masonry , ou page 485 , in speaking about the origin and signification of the word SJiiboleth , the Doctor uses this language : — " The word in Hebrew primarily implies a flood or stream . " A

little further on in the same article he says , " The word Shiboleth also means an ear of corn . " And again , in the same paragraph , we find him saying , " Any other word commencing with sh would have served the same purpose . The reason for adopting this was that it meant fooddrinkand security all in onethose

, , , three things for which the panting fugitives were shivering at the close of that awful battle . '' In Dr . Oliver's " Book of the Lodge , " chapter xi ., we find that learned author giving this definition to the word Shiboleth . He says , " This word means floods oftuater , and therefore they were made to utter the request ,

Let us pass over the water . " Now the inquiry arises just here , Lid the word Shiboleth primarily have all these different meanings or significations , or are not our learned Doctors rather romancing on the word a little ? It must primarily hare been rather a generic term to have embraced so many different meanings . For tlie purpose of arriving at a nroner understanding

of the matter , and settling definitely whatever there may be in it , we venture to propound to Bro . Morris the following interrogatories , which , for the information of your numerous readers , we hope he will—as we know he is amply able to do—answer through the pages of the Voice , that all may have the benefit of

his learning and ability . 1 st , —Was the word Shiboleth originally a proper word in any language , or was it an arbitrary articulation selected for the occasion ? 2 nd , —If so , then iu what language did it originally become a proper word ?

3 rd , —What was the original definition or signification of the word in the language * in which it first became a proper word or part of speech ? I need hardly add that there are some well-informed Masons who claim that the word was not originally a proper word in any language , but was in its origin but an arbitrary

articulation selected for a certain purpose , and had been in use among the worshippers of the true God even among the Hebrews long before Jeptha required the idolatrous Ephraiuiites to pronounce it . Por it must be remembered that long before this it had been said , " Ephrahn is joined to her idols , let her alone . " —INDIANA , in " Voice of Masonry . "

CABBALISJI . See Bro . Tarker ' s " Eoman Colleges—Old Lodges , " ante page 428 . A Correspondent , whose principal occupation for some weeks has been , as he assures