Sir Christopher Wren's Cipher.

as a proof to be used at any future time . " Sir David had the following explanation then , in accordance with Mr . Williams ' s suggestion , written upon the black boards , the letters to be omitted being written iu small characters to distinguish them , and backwards : — WAcCHliMArGNwETi-ICeBAuLAmNCdEWcOUcNDxINiV AvCCzO . —Wach magnetic balance wound in vacuo ( one letter a

misprint ) . The omitted letters similarly read are—Chr . Wren , judecxiv . FIcXHhEArDHwIPi-PEeSHiiANmDEdSPcOIcSExTUiBEiO JKiEYiEZ . —Fix head hippes handes poise tube on eye ( one letter a misprint ) . Omitted letters make—Chr . Wren , mdecxiiii . PlePEhSCrREwErMOeVInNGuiAVIIdEEcLScFRxOMiBEv AKzE . —Pipe screwe moving wheels from beake . Omitted letters make—Chr . AVren , mdecxiv . The three last omitted z ' s occurring in the first part of each cipher to show that that part must be taken last .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

THE LAXCASUIBE SONCf BOOK . AN eminent brother told me lately , that in the Lancashire Lodges they arc in the habit of laying on the table a book containing the words of a large collection of Masonic songs . Unfortunately he could not remember its title , and I should be obliged to any brother of that province who ivould kindly give me an exact copy of the title page , as I wish to sec the work in question .

—M . COOKE . ADMIUAL SIR I'KTEll rAI ' . KEU , BAKT . A biography of this distinguished Mason , who was Deputy Grand Master , is in preparation , but tbe writer is in want of information concerning his Masonic career , and would be glad of any dates that could be furnished him , more particularly those ivhieh are connected with his initiation , passing , & c , as well as the Lodge , or Lodges , to which he belonged . —SCEIBA .

THE STOKY OP MISS ST . LEGEI .. I have copied the following from an old magazine ; though the story has often been told before , the present version may interest some readers of the Magazine ; I therefore hand it to you for insertion if you think fit . —G . B . M . M ., Cambridge : — "The Hon . Elizabeth St . Leger was the only female ever initiated into the ancient mystery of Freemasonry . How she

obtained this honour , we shall ia ) ' before our readers . Lord Boneraile , Miss St . Leger's father , a very zealous Mason , held a warrant , and occasionally opened Lodge at Doneraile house , his sons and some intimate friends assisting ; and it is said never were the Masonic duties more rigidly performed than by them . Previous to the initiation of a gentleman to the first steps in Masonry , Jliss St . Legerivho was a young irlhappened to bo in an

, g ,. apartment adjoining the room generally used as a Lodge room . This room at the time was undergoing some alterations , amongst other things , the wall was considerably reduced in one part . The young lady having heard the voices of the Freemasons , and prompted by curiosity to see the mystery , so long and so secret ! } locked up . from public view , she had the courage to pick a brick from the wall with her scissors , and witnessed the ceremony

through tbe first two steps . Curiosity satisfied , fear at once took possession of her mind . There was no mode of escape except through the very room ivhere the concluding part of the second step was still being solemnized , and that being at the far end , and the room a very large one , she hacl resolution sufficient to attempt her escape that way , unci with light and trembling steps glided along unobserved , bud her hand ou tbe handle of the door , and

gently opening it , before her stood to her dismay , a grim ancl surl y Tyler , ivith his long sivord unsheathed . A shriek that pierced through the apartment alarmed the members of the Lodge , who all rushed to the door , and finding that Miss St . Leger hacl been iu the room during the ceremony , in tbe first paroxism of their rage , her death was resolved on , but from the moving supplication of her brotherher life was savedon

conyounger , , dition of her going through the whole of the solemn ceremony she had unlawfully witnessed . This she consented to , and they conducted the beautiful and terrified young lady through those trials which are sometimes more than enough for masculine resolution , little thinking they were taking into the bosom of their Craft a member that would afterwards reflect a lustre on tbe annals of Masonry .

' The lady was cousin to General Anthony St . Leger , governor of St . Lucia , who instituted the celebrated Doneaster i jj t . Leger stakes . Miss St . Leger married Richard Aldworth , ' - ' l- > of Newmarket . Whenever a benefit was given at the

Masonic Notes And Queries.

theatres in Dublin or Cork for the Masonic Female Orphan Asylum , she walked at the bead of the Freemasons with her apron and other insignia of -Freemasonry , and sat iu the front row qf tbe stage box . The house was always crowded on those occasions . Her portrait is in tho Lodge room of almost every Lodge iu Ireland . " MOST EXCELLENT MASTEB .

As Mark Masonry is likely to become a necessity in English Masonry , could there be any objection to the American degree of M . E . M . being generally adopted to distinguish their AA . M . ? The advantages of this will bo so evident to every Mark Master that it is superfluous to enumerate them . The degree is extremely appropriate , and the brethren who had advanced thus far would have the defined series leading to the Royal Arch in other countries . Permit mc to recommend this to the attention of the body of Mark Masters . —A ' .

Literature.

Literature .

\ RE VIEWS . x , ~~ Pocmata . B y AXTIIOXY'OXEAL HAYE , of the Lodge Canongate Kilwinning , No . 2 . 12 mo . Paterson , Edinburgh . IT has been said , and truly , that the age in which wc live is not a favourable one for the production of great poems . Compared with the earlier portion ofthe present century , when we had ByronScottCrabbeMooreShelleyWordsworthand many

, , , , , , others , we have now but very few men of renown , and they , none of them , equal any of the forementioncd ; indeed , poetry has descended to the art of rhj-me , and rhyme , in its turn , has much degenerated . Of rhymers we have plenty , and their productions arc to be found , arrayed with gorgeous green and gold , at every railway- bookstall , as well as in the "Poet ' s Corner" of almost every local journaland still lowerdescending through

; , the epics of Messrs . Moses' oivn poet , until we arrive at the choice set of verses , on the benefit of economy , that is issued from the sign ofthe "black doll , " in every crowded neighbourhood . Amid all this pressure of poetical , fervour , alas ! we have no poets , and sadly and sorrowfully are we obliged to tell our Brother Haye that we cannot recognize in him the coming man , so ardently expected by every lover of true poesy .

" Poemata" is a scries of four larger and nineteen minor effusions . The subjects ofthe longest are "The Mirage of Life , " "Darnick , " "The Rose and the Stream , " and "Phantom Love ; " the lesser attempts are on various themes .. Let us examine the first part of the first in priority , "The Mirage of Life . " Bro . Haye commences with an introduction that , at the first lancetold us he had not learned the trick of numbers or of

g , measure ; nor do wc know who the second person , '' when struggling with the motes of light , " can possibly be intended for ; but let it pass ; perhaps ifc is our own obtuseness . Taking another portion of this invocation to the Great Architect , we havo : —

<• Oh , Thou , to ivhomtlie tanpest-laden wave 0 £ life ' s uncertain tide is known—to whom The minute particles of sea ground sand Aro writ—and all the vast uummiber'd leaves That bud in spring and In-own ' ueatli autumn ' s breath , Are marked—aid 1113- weak verse with thine inspire . " Now this is a fair specimen ofthe want of art in our Brother Haye : he takes one of the most beautiful images of holy writ ,

God's knowledge ofthe sands ofthe sea shore , and spoils it most admirably . What can it mean ? Arc the sands of the sea written and marked ? or docs the prayer , " Aid my weak verse with thine inspire , " ask for an inspiration on the poet ' s weakness , or inspiration from God ' s oivn inspired word ? Again , the word inspire is , if not bad English , at least very inelegant . The whole passage shows the mind of a poet , for every individual possessed of

sufficient perception to sec beauty , in whatever shape it is presented , is a poet in embryo ; but it by no means follows tiiat a poetical mind can clothe poetical thoughts with language , as is the case in the above extract , where nothing but a want of connexion ancl terseness of expression could have marred so beautiful an idea . Again , iu the concluding part of the introduction , we have a figure presented to us which upsets all our preconceived notions ,

of' ¦ ' The busy school : the ceaseless hum of tongues ; The unspelt lesson and the master ' s frown : The aching rod and withheld holiday . " Now , for the first time in our lives , wc learn that the rod , and not the part on ivhieh it descends , is the aching member !