Masonic Notes And Queries.

labours will be incomplete , the talent committed to us will not have been improved according to our opportunities , and those who write of us will be obliged to say , that we have neither put our bauds to the plough , nor 'looked bach' "History , ' says De Lamartme , ' is the legitimate repository of the records of the civilreligiousand moral condition of nations

, , at various periods of their existence . It is the written world—human nature in relief , evoked from its ashes , resuming soul , life , motion , and speech before us and before posterity , and affording , for our instruction , a lesson and example for the future in the eternal drama of humanity , represented in this vast arena , girt with

tombs , of which the dust is the ashes of what once was man . History is the picture of human destiny , which memory presents , to excite , sometimes admiration and applause , at other times horror and aversion , accordiug as virtue or crime , barbarism or civilization , are placed before us , but always with advantage to ourselves . In a word , history is to a nation what the faculty of memory is to individuals—the link of unity aud continuity between our existence of

yesterday and our existence of to-day ; the basis of all our experience , and , by experience , the source of all improvement . ' "' Without history , then , there would be no social advancement , no progressive civilization in a nation . With history , we scarcely need any other lessou .

History knows all things , contains all things , teaches all things ; not in winged words , which strike the ear without impressing the mind , but in great and striking actions . It renders us impassioned aud enthusiastic sharers in the scenes of the past , filling our eyes with tearsand making our hearts palitate with emotion

, p ; and in so far as our distance from the event makes us more impartial , and impartiality induces justice , we derive much more moral benefit from the contemplation of the past , than even from the observation of the present . As regards the men of other days , there is nothing to warp our consciencesno personal

; interest to corrupt us , no popularity to fascinate , uo acknowledged hatred to repel . We consider , revolve , aud decide with the impartiality aud unerring judgment of innate and unbiassed rectitude .

" Truer words were never spoken , and they are just as applicable to our institution as to nations . We have a past , extending to the very birth of our country . It has been illustrated by successes and reverses , by men palsied in the day of trial , and by hearts that would not bend to the storm ; by great souls that ,

impressed with the right , could not be made to swerve from it , even by the relentless fire of persecution ; by names not bom to die ; by an influence on society and . social progress , that the world has not yet learned to appreciate , and yet we are allowing it to pass into oblivion . We are ever busy on the walls of our

temple , but refuse to look back at the work of our predecessors , or held up to our neophytes the benefit of their example . Brethren , these things ought not so to be ; it is clue to ourselves , to our society , to our age , to those who shall come after us , and judge us hy the work of our handsthat this omission be

cor-, rected , this blank filled up ; that it be done now , while yet the day lasteih and ere the night come , in which no work can be performed . " The question here presents itself , 'How is it to be accomplished ? ' To which we answer that nothing

is wanting but the will . Let that be made apparent and the ivay will soon follow . Various plans have been suggested , but their difficulty has been that they contemplated throwing the entire labour on a single brother , without providing the material , or any certain method of obtaining it , and it follows , of course , that under such conditions nothing will be accomplished .

In Germany , a sort of Historical "Union has been established , and it is working admirably . There is , if we understand it aright , a central society , with corresponding branches throughout the country , and their united efforts are directed to the gathering of materials from which iu time a Masouic history ,

worthy of the name may be written . Ln this country we have the Historical Society of the Grand Lodge of Connecticut , under the care of Bro . N . N . Barrett , who has already accumulated a mass of documents and relics of great historical value ; aud iu the city of New York , the Latomia Society of Atlantic Lodge . They have a large aud valuable library , to which additions are constantly being made ; and this , so far as we know , is all the Masonic Fraternity of our

country can boast of , in the way of effort to collect material for history . M . W . Bro . Lewis called attention to the subject in his address before the Grand Lodge of New York , in 1860 , but we are not aware that any response has followed , or indeed , that any attempt has been made to ascertain what his plan is . " Our own suggestion isthat a central society be

, formed under the auspices of the Grand Lodge , and that branch societies be established in every county in the state , like those iu Germany , and that each one devote its efforts to the collection of documents , statistics , personal reminiscences , and Masonic relics , to be ultimately deposited in the archives of the

central or Grand Lodge Society , as a fund of material from whence the historian may draw his iuspiration and daguerreotype for posterity the shadows of the past . Some brother can be found in each county willing to devote a portion of his time to so laudable au enterprise ; we will cheerfully chronicle the result of their labours , and thus we shall arrive at the great desideratum of an intelligent and authentic Masonic History . "

THE CUBIC STONE . What is a cubic stone like ?— -G . R . —[ It has six equilateral sides . One contains the Freemasons ' Alphabet . Another a key to certain words in various degrees . The third a series of cheles , squares , aud trianglesthe explanation of which can onlbe iven

, y g orally . The fourth , a triangular star of nine points , embracing the Divine personages and the sciences , elements , planets , & c . - The top is the letter G . encircled by nine five-pointed stars engraven on a circle . The sixth side , or base , is of course blank . ]

THE KNIOHTS TEMPLAE , OEEICEES . Wishing to trace the officers aud their dutie 3 amongst the Knights Templar , and compare them with our own Order at present , I hope you will give me some explanation ou these points . —MILETES AK-oiiiCA-srjE . [ " The allowances and train of the Master were

suitable to the rank which he was to support in the world , and to the dignity of the Order which he represented . He was allowed four horses , and an esquire of noble birth . He had a chaplain and two