Masonic Notes And Queries.

TEMPLAR GRAND CROSSES . To what period of the Order does the above allude , and what is the form of the cross in question ?—J PRIVATE SOLDIEK CANDIDATES . Such are not prohibited from' being Ereemasons . They are only prohibited from being members of the lodge

attached to the regiment to which they may belong . Private soldiers may properly be proposed in any other private lodge , and I am disposed to think there be some that would not be a discredit to their proposer , but it would very much interfere with that discipline which is held , and necessarily so , in every regiment of the line , where they to belongto lodges attached to their regiments . Intimacy must not be

between a Colonel and a Recruit , which if privates were to be members of the lodge attached as aforesaid , could hardly be prevented ; jealousy would be engendered amongst the privates , and all sorts of freedom and familiarities would be attempted , only to be repressed by confinement hi the guard room . —B . E . X .

FREEMASONS HALL . In The Times of this morning is the following "ORGANS : —The Instrument now erecting in Ereemasons Hall , to be sold , & c . " Is our magnificent hall to be converted iuto a ¦ show room for whistles ?—R . E . X

MANICHEANS AND MASONRY . Some years ago , I read a book attributing the origin of Preemasonry to the Manicheans but have lost the reference . Can you refer me to it . ? Great stress was laid on the " Cleaving of the flesh " of the martyred Mani , who was said to be the prototype of the 3 rd degree . —A .

SIR THOMAS GRESHAM . My authority for my statement at the Gresham Lodge , is Bro . Preston , who says : — " Sir Thomas Sackville , who held the office of Grand Master , resigned in favour of Francis , Earl of Bedford ,- and Sir Thomas Gresham , an eminent merchant , distinguished for his abilities and great services in trade . To the former , the pare of the brethren in the northern part of the kingdom was assignedwhile the latter

, was appointed to superintend the meeting in the south , where the . society had considerably increased . Notwithstanding this newappointment of a Grand Master for the South , the general assembly contrived to meet in the eity of York , as heretofore , where all the records were kept , and to the assembly appeals were made on every important occasion . "

Notes On Literature, Science, And Art.

NOTES ON LITERATURE , SCIENCE , AND ART .

The strange ceremonies on " crossing the line" do not seem to be confined to English seamen , judging from the following extract from the firsi ; volume of Br . Scherzer ' s Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frgiate "Novara" : — " This event , which with all sailors forms a marked epoch in their -seafaring life , had in this case the additional feature of being

actually the first occasion of an Austrian man-of-war entering the southern hemisphere , and our crew , who had long before enjoyed , in anticipation , the merriment to which it would give occasion , had commenced tho ceremony the preceding evening . Neptune , accompanied by an appropriate retinue of mermaids , tritons , and nereids , appeared at sunset , to announce with the utmost gravity to the Commodore , iu a set speech , the astounding news that the vessel was entering his dominions , demonstrating the fact

mathematically by an immense sextant , a chart , and a pair of compasses a yard long , all manufactured by the ship ' s carpenter , and claiming his right to see the act of shaving and baptising properly performed on all those who for the first time came into his kingdom . Amidst ¦ streams of water from the masts and fire-engines he made his exit -down the rope ladder in a blaze of blue fire , followed by an ignited tar-barrel , which floated along like a globe of fire 011 the mirrorlike surface of the seaThe real farcehowevertook lace tho

. , , p next afternoon , when Neptune reappeared , accompauied this time by his good lady and a hopeful youth , all decked out in real sea-godlike attire , in a car drawn by six tritons , still accompanied by his farcical retinue blowing a flourish on their bugles , when , after a second set speech to the Commodore , the great ruler of the waves declared that the ceremony was now to begin . Every sailor was

obliged , whether ho would or no , to undergo , a lathering with a nasty mixture of tar and grease , and submit to be scraped by an immense tin razor ; which operation being performed , the unfortunate sufferer was thrown into a sail suspended by its four comers , and there deluged from head to foot from pails , pumps , hose , pots , dishes , aud everything else that would hold water . The officers and other gentleman escaped the ordeal by a contribution in money or wine towards the festivities . AVhen the greater part

of the sailors had undergone this process , and the scene , amidst formidable gushes of water , rioting , uproar , and excitement , had reached its highest point , behold ! a voice thundered from the quarter-deck the words ' two o'clock , ' and everything resumed its wonted aspect . " " Atticus , " writing in the Critic , on Gustavus III and Swedish literaturesays .- — " Gustavus himself wrote dramatic and other

, works . They are worthy of a man who believed in the three Unities , " who adored Racine , detested Shakspere , and felt towards tobacco and the German language equal abhorrence . It is confessed that Gustavus was a clever rhetorician , and nothing more . And with scarcely an exception , the Swedish authors of his clay were clever rhetoricians too—shallow , glittering , cold . "

The following remarks , " On the Use and Abuse of Colours in Dress , " are from a paper by Mrs . Merrifield , in the June number of the St . James's Magazine .- — " There is one class of persons , possessed of more money than taste , who estimate colours by their cost only , and will purchase the most expensive merely because they are expensive and fashionable . Of this class was a certain ladof whom it is related thatin replto Sir . Joshua Reynolds ' s

y , , y inquiry as to what colour the dress of herself and husband , who were then sitting , should be painted , asked which were the most expensive colours ? ' Carmine and ultramarine / replied the artist . ' Then , ' rejoined the lady , ' paint me in ultramarine , and my husband in carmine ! ' AVe hear constantly of fashionable colours , and these fashionable colours are for ever changing ; moreover , we hear more of their novelty than of their beauty . All who wish to be fashionable wear these colours because they are fashionableand

, because they are new ; but they do not consider whether they are adapted to the complexion and age of the wearer , or whether they are in harmony with the rest of the dress . AAliat should we say to a person who , with the right hand , plays an air in C major , and , with the left , an accompaniment in F minor ? The merest novice in music would be conscious of the discord thus produced ; yet , as regards colours , the educated eye is constantly shocked by combinations of colour as startling and inharmonious . As the object

of all decoration in dress is to improve , or set off to the greatest advantage , the personal appearance of the wearer , it follows that the colours employed should be suitable to the complexion ; and , as complexions are so various , it is cpiite impossible that the fashionable colour , though it may suit a few individuals , caii be becoming to all . Instead , therefore , of blindly folio-whig fashion , as a sheep will follow the leader of the flock , even to destruction , I should like to see every lady select and wear the precise shade of

colour which is not only best adapted to her peculiar complexion , but is in perfect harmony with the rest of her habiliments , and in accordance with her years and condition . I have stated that the Orientals , ancl other inhabitants of tropical countries , such as the negroes of the AVest Indies , love to clothe themselves in brilliant and positive colours—reds and yellows , for instance . They are quite right in so doing . These bright colours contrast well with their dusky complexions . AVith us " pale faces " it is different : we

cannot bear positive colours in immediate contact with the skin without injury to the complexion . Of all colours , perhaps the most trying to the complexion are the different shades of lilac and purple . The fashionable and really beautiful mauve and its varieties are , of course , included in this category . In accordance with tho wellknown law of optics that all colours , simple or compound , have a tendency to tint surrounding objects with a faint spectrum of their complementary colour , those above mentioned , which require for

their harmony various tints of yellow and green , impart these supplementary colours to the complexion . It is scarcely necessary to observe that , of all complexions , those which turn upon the yellow aro the most unpleasant in their effect—and probably for this reason , that in this climate it is always a sign of had health . But , it will be asked , is there no means of harmonising colours so beautiful in themselves with the complexion , aud so avoiding these ill effects ? To a certain extent this ho doneand as follows

may , —Should the complexion be dark , the purple tint may be dark also , because , by contrast , it makes the complexion appair' fairer ; if the skin be pale or fair , the tint should be lighter . In either case the colour should never be placed next the skin , but should be parted from it by the hair and by a ruche of tulle , which produce the neutralising etfeet of grey . Should the complexion still appear too yellow , green leaves or green ribbons may be worn as trimmings