Architectural London In 1884.

marble , and granite , and also of superior classes of washable bricks of different tones of colour , accompanied by terra-cotta ornaments of superior character , which will have come into general use ; but other materials , which are also destined to play a conspicuous part in the London architecture

of the future , will by that time have been called into requisition . In conclusion , it may be stated , that whether such wholesale and sweeping alterations bejto the taste of the great mass of the public or not , they will most certainly take place within the next

quarter of a century ; or , in their stead , something equally extensive and very much of the same character . Those , for instance , whe are lamenting the contemplated destruction of some of the beauties of Finsbury , to make way for railway stationswill have to submit to their hard fate *

, for these and moz * e wholesale changes than can yet be conceived will inevitably take place . The only thing to be guarded against is , not to allow * open spaces to be filled up , —rather make more , for such breathing * spaces form the very luugs of

the metropolis . Another thing is , for the future , to prevent positive disfigurements , such as the threatened one at Ludgate-hill , the injuriousness of which will probably be reduced by a rider to the bill , early in the coming session . In the main the metropolitan railways will lead to many

opportunities for architectural embellishment * and if the companies are restrained from stretching * great ugly iron boxes across roadways , in conspicuous situations , like the tubular viaduct at Yauxhall , we shall get good instead of evil out of all their proceedings ; especially if in passing the Thames

they can be made to go under it instead of over it . -On the whole , it may be safely asserted ( without referring- to our new churches , or our great joint-stock hotels , or new public buildings ) , that a splendid architectural future is iu store for London , and that the remark of the Roman oratorthat

, Augustus found a Rome of brick , and left one of marble , may yet be fitly repeated in regard to London in the reign of Victoria , if our sovereign should be blessed with that length of days which is heartily desired by all her subjects .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

WAS SHAKESPEA . 1 M 1 A KA . SOS ? It would be an easy task to prove that Shakespeare was of any aud every profession , trade , and calling . His works abound with allusions which may be construed by all according their own theories . I , therefore , am incliued to think Shakespeare was a brother , for in

" Antony and Cleopatra , " Act ii ., Scene 3 , the following passage occurs : — "My Octavia , Head not my blemishes in tho world ' s report , I have not kept my square ; but that to come Shall all be done by rule . " This certainly smacks strongly of Masonic sentiment .

Can any of your readers help me to other passages , so as to set at rest the question of William Shakespeare being a Freemason ? "While on this point , I would digress a little . If the Shakespeare Committee really want to make one of the grandest displays ever attempted , let them enlist the services of the whole

body of metropolitan Freemasons . Every paltry provincial town has a Masonic procession once or twice a year , but for nearly three quarters of a century such an event lias never taken place in London . If leave can be obtained , and sufficient time be given , Freemasons of every rank , grade , degree , or order would

congregate from the most remote part of the "United Kingdom to take part in a procession in honour of the bard of England . Such a display would be no mean novelty , aud from the scores upon scores of distinguished men , who are members of the Craft , would be a sight of immense interest . We want a novelty , and this is one , the suggestion of which is at the service of the Shakespeare Committee . If the idea is properly taken up and carried out , I should

imagine there would be an assemblage ot more than 100 , 000 Freemasons auxious , willing , and ready to take part in such a national cause . —BAimonr-n . — [ Whether Shakespeare was a Freemason or not i & very unlikely to be proved either from his writings or any documentary evidence . If Bardoiph imagines , there would be any brethren vain enough to

sporttheir costume in the streets of London , on such an occasion , he is more sanguine than we are . If he will take the first unit aud the following cypher as the amount as likely to share in such a demonstration , we think he will be much nearer the mark than he now is with his absurd estimate , gathered from sources

altogether beyond our reach of imagination . We do not think it at all complimentary to our Order to to assist at a clique fiasco , aud hope w-e shall not be . called upon to appear as one of the ten or ten-thousand Masonic guys , who Bardoiph wishes to see hooted aud laughed at iu the streets of Loudon . The Mock Masonic procession in Hogarth ' s time , put a stop to such absurdity for ever . ]

MASONIC niSTOBIOAL SOCIETIES . The establishment of Masonic Historical Societies has been ably advocated iu America , and brought forth good fruit . An address to the Craft was published by Bro . John W . Simons iu 1 S 60 , which is too valuable not be re-produced . He writes thus : —

" Amidst the duties and pleasures of the present , we seem to be forgetting the past , and , in our anxiety for the future , lose sight of the benefit to be derived from an acquaintance with the words aud deeds of our predecessors . We are , in brief , living only for the time-being , and neglecting opportunities

vouchsafed for placing , in a permanent form , the historical details of the generations that have preceded us . Individuals , it is true , have gathered into their private collections a vast amount of valuable matter , and the marked events of our past career have been storied by the Masonic press ; but the reminiscences of men ,

the local transactions of places , if known at all , are far beyond the reach of ordinary students even iu our day , and must , unless , some effort be made to collate them , be utterly unattainable in the next generation . We need a history of Masonry in the colony and state of New York , tracing its eventful career from its first introduction to the present time , and without it , our