Masonic Notes And Queries.

B . C . 2247 . A . L . 1757 . —The construction of the toAver of Babel , and the consequent confusion of languages , and dispersion of mankind . This gave rise to another historical landmark , Avhen at " the lofty toioer of Babel language was confounded and Masonry lost . " Masonry Avas lost , because , by this dispersion the ancient traditions of the i'ioachidoa were

corrupted , and their ancient symbols perverted . A neAV or spurious Ereemasonry , as it is called , began to develope itself in the idolatrous worship as Avell as in the philosophical mysteries of the pagans . The initiations of India , Egypt , Greece , and other gentile nations , constituted the spurious Ereemasonry of the

ancients , which continued until the universal language of the Order was recovered , and the purity of its symbols and traditions re-established on Mount Moriah , by the intimate connection of the two Hirams from the city of Tyre ( which Avas the seat of the spurious Ereemasonry ) , Avith Solomon , the chief of the pure Ereemasonry , and the descendant of the

patriarchs . And here we got another historical landmark that at " the threshing floor of Oman the Jebiisile , language icas restored and Masonry found . " B . C . 2188 . A . L . 1816 . —Mizraim or Menes , the son of Ham , passes over -into Egypt , and establishes in that country the rites of spurious Ereemasonry .

"Egypt , " says Oliver , " was the cradle of the Order of the East ; its chiefs being priests and legislators , and its occult rites being carefully withheld from the profane . " To Egypt , Europe Avas indebted for the institution of the mysteries , those secret assemblages which bore so near a resemblance to the system of

Ereemasonry in their design and organisation . Lawrie , in his History of Freemasonry , thus speaks of the origin of our institution among the Egyptians : — " In Egypt , and those countries of Asia , Avhich lie contiguous , to that favoured kingdom , the arts aud sciences were cultivated with success , while other nations Avere involved in ignorance . It is , therefore , that Ereemasonry would flourish , aud here only can we discover marks of its existence iu the remotest

ages . " He supposes that the society of Masons , originally instituted only for the mutual communication of knowledge connected Avith the profession of its members , became an object of interest to the Egyptian priests , when the latter were about to erect those large fabrics , many of which still remain , for the

celebration of their religious worship , or for the perpetuation of the memory of their kings . Hence , the priests , desirous of participating in the scientific knowledge pursued hy the architects Avhom they employed , caused themselves to be initiated into the mysteriesand instructed in the science of the Freemasons .

, "Subsequently , " he continues , " when the Egyptian priests had in this manner procured admission into the Society of Ereemasons , they connected the mythology of their country , and their metaphysical speculations concerning the nature of God aud the condition of man , with an association formed for the

exclusive purpose of scientific improvement , and produced that combination of science and theology , which , in after ages , formed such a conspicuous part of the principles of Ereemasonry . " B . C . 1913 . A . L . 2091 . —The meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek in the valley of Shaveh . Melchizedek has been enumerated by Masonic writers among the worthies of Ereemasonry . He is

supposed to have been Shem , the son of Noah , who settled in Salem , and became its monarch and high priest . He is said to have preserved the principles of Ereemasonry among his descendants , and at length to have committed them unsullied into the custody of Abraham . At all events , the meeting of the

patriarch and the " priest of the most High God" is entitled to a place in our annals , since the priesthood of Melchizedek has been adopted as a symbol of the High Priesthood of lloyal Arch Masonry . B . 0 . 1910 . A . L . 2094 . —The birth of Ishmael , and fourteen years afterwards , that of Isaac . The birth ,

under different conditions , of these sons of Abraham , gave rise to an important landmark of Masonry . Ishmael , who Avas the son of a bond-woman , was cast out ; while Isaac , who Avas the son of a free woman , was made the inheritor of the covenant . And hence , both in the true and the spurious Ereemasonry , the landmark has ever since been established , that none but the free bom can be initiated into the Order .

B . C . 1 S 72 , A . L . 2132 . —Abraham is directed to sacrifice his son Isaac , and the spot selected for this trial of his faith is Mount Moriah , which afterwards became the ground-floor of the lodge . He obeyed the divine command , and "this , his ready compliance with the will of the Almighty , " says Archdeacon

Mant , " was the first grand offering , which is , to this , day , commemorated among Ereemasons . " B . C . 1779 . —A . L . 2225 . —The vision of Jacob at Luz , Avhen he saw a ladder ascending from earth to heaven . Erom this vision we derive another landmark of our Orderthe clouded canopy of our lodge .

, A tradition says , that Jacob , on this occasion , used the Masonic stone of foundation for his pillow . As Jacob afterwards anointed the stone and called the place " Bethel , " or the house of God , the dim remembrance of this circumstance subsequently gave birthin the spurious Ereemasonryto the bellythia

, , , or consecrated stones , which are supposed to have been the origin of the idolatory of stone worship . B . O . 1491 . A . L . 2513 . —The appearance of God to Moses in the burning bush . The remembrance of

this event is preserved in the lectures of the higher degrees . The circumstances connected with that miraculous apparition are of great importance in the ritual of the holy Eoyal Arch . In a subsequent appearance , the Tetragrammaton or Ineffable Name , was for the first time

communicated—an important revelation , which has constituted the very groundwork and foundation of all Masonic science . " It is , " says Oliver , " with great propriety that a respect for this sacred name has been introduced into every degree of Ereemasonry . " It is , to the Mason , a symbol of that Eternal Truth which is

to be the object of his constant search throughout the progress in the whole system of esoteric Ereemasonry . B . O . 1491 . A . L . 2513 . —The Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt commences , and Moses , after crossing the Red Sea , erects a tabernacle , Avhich , as

an exact pattern of King Solomon ' s temple , of which , every lodge is a representation , furnished another great landmark of our Order . Eor it was here , at the foot of Mount Sinai , on ground consecrated by the presence of the Grand Architect of the Universe , that Moses , with the assistance of Aholiab and