Masonic Notes And Queries.

that Nomao is supposed to be the ancient' Numancia . ' Wo regret that ive are unable to afford any information respecting the supposed connexion of Jfumiio with the Templars . " MASONIC VOLUNTEER TOAST . At a time like the present when the volunteer movement is uppermost in the minds of our countrymena note taken from

, Laurence Dennett's Ahiinau Rezon , may be acceptable . Under the head of "Toasts originally given in the-Orange Lodge of Belfast , No . 257 , " the seventeenth is , "May the gallant VOLUNTEERS OE IRELAND invariably unite in brotherly tics , and be as faithful to each other as Freemasons have ever been found to be . " —FULL CORPORAL .

DRIVING or PILES . When I was a young Mason , some years since , I met with an aged provincial brother in whose Masonic discourse I ivas much interested . As he had not been in a Lodge for many years , he asked me various questions , and amongst them how often we worked "driving of piles ? " I told him I did not understand himanil asked for an explanationwhich he would not ivebut

, , g , seemed to be more shy of talking to mc afterwards . Since that time I have often inquired what is meant by "driving of piles , " but have not succeeded . Can you or your correspondents tell me' ?—AIAX . —[ Scud us your full names , the Lodge you belong to , Masonic rank , & c , and wc will forward to you a description of " driving of piles . " ]

KNIGHTS TEMPLAR . Does the " Order ofthe Temple" at jiresent exist in France ? If so , who is its Grancl Master ? and what number of preceptories does it represent ? Is the ancient York Encampment still working ? Or , if dormant , how long has it been so ? And on what authority does that and the Encampments of Bath ancl Bristol base their antiquity ? If

any brother could furnish your readers with a cojiy of the " Charter of Transmission'' of the former body , and a comjilete copy of the ori ginal Statutes of the Temple , by St . Bernard , they would confer a favour on many of your Templar readers , to whom tbey arc totally unknown . At the revival of Tcmplarism , under our justly esteemed Grand MasterCol . Tynteour Grand Conclave made alterations

, , many , rejecting matter which ought never to have been rejected , and retaining what ought to have been rejected . AVhy , tor instance , ( as they have done iu America ) , did they not reject the expensive (_ Masonic ) apron?—and when giving the title of Grand Master to Col . Tynte , change that of Provincial Grand Commander to Prior —that title being at jiresent unmeaningly retained in the list of officers of Grand Conclave . The ancient term for private

Encampments was also "Preceptories , " or " Coinmauclcries , " by which name they-should still be known . If our Grand Conclave would establish more intimate relations with those of Scotland , Ireland , France , America , and elsewhere , it mi ght lead to more uniformity than at present exists , remove many anomalies which disfigure ' Tcmplarism—and perhaps pave the way to a Grand JIaster for the whole existing Order . Templary , also , having no real connexion with Freemasonry , should also have a separate ancl individual recognition from the British Government . ^

MOUVEMEST REFORMATEUR . | In a recent number of the " Revue Internationale , '" published at Geneva , an article entitled " Fraiicmaeonnerie "—being a review of Dr . Bcrchtolil ' s work " Isis " ( Fribourg 1859 ) , contains the ensuing jiassagc : — ' Le Doetoiu' Berchtold par / lit ignorer le mouvement reformateur qui s ' est tcriiiinc an Convent de Wilhelmsbad ( 1783 ) et qui engeiidi

, a -c , comme il lo dit du resto en deux ligncs , le . lyslcmereclifie de la Franc' Mucomicric Ecomiise . De ce systeme , aucu ' n rituel , aucune fomnile n ' a etc mise , au jour ; tout est reste manuscrit clans les archives des Luges nctifu-cs , en sorte qu ' on se figurerait en vain connaitre les vcritablos niystei-cs maeoniiiqiics d ' aprcs les publications qui circulcnt dans lo nionclo . Une publication pareillc no saiirait etre complete . " If any reader of periodical willthrough its columns

_ your , , iiitorm me in what book is to be found an account of tiie above mentioned " mouvement reformateur , " he will confer an obligation on several brothers resident in tin ' s department of France . —CHARLES PI . - RTON COOPER , Chateau Frampas , Montiereniler , Haute Manic , June lGth , 1 SC 0 .

THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON A MASON . Ill last week ' s number of the Freemasons' Magazine , just come to hand , a query is put to mc on a question often solved before . When youth and health admitted , 1 bad the honour of membershi p in No . -19-1 , ami often saw the signature of our late illustrious

brother , as any worthy Master Mason may , for I believe that the Lodge meets the third Monday of each month at the Freemasons ' Hall here , presided over by an excellent and experienced brother , Wm . Allen , and I have sonic recollection of Bro . Elisha D . Cooke having mentioned to me bis having seen the book and signature , when here , at the Grantl Secretary ' s office . I should be , myself , unwilling to seek permission to take tracings therefrom for what I deem a very unimportant purpose , were I even well enough . — M . FURNEI . L , 33 ° , Dublin .

THE LETTER G . Where can I obtain a satisfactory exjilanation of the Masonic use of the letter G- ?—G-. G . —[ In the second degree . Also in Ashe ' s Masonic Manual , Argument xii ., is entitled On the letter ( J , and the Relation existing between Geometry and the Masonic Institution . ' ]

VISHNU AND BRAHMA . I am anxious to trace any Masonic features that are to be found in the worship of Vishnu and Brahma . Please to indicate what are the first authorities to consult . —X . E . C . —[ The most jicrfcct work on the Deities of India and their rites is Moor ' s Hindu Pantheon , -tto ., London , 1810 . To ivhich may be added the Aseialick Researches ; or , Transactions of the Society instituted in Bengal for inquiring into the History and Antiquities , Arts , Sciences , and Literature of Asia , 20 vols ., published at Calcutta , in -ito ., between 1788 and 1730 . ]

SAMUEL PRIClIARJt ) . What is known of Samuel Prichartl , the chemist , author of Masonry Dissected ?—CIURURGEON . PROFESSIONAL LODGES . Which arc the Lodges iu which jirofcssional brethren , of all the liberal arts and sciences , most do congregate ?—C . A . B .

LODGE ACCOMMODATION . In a late number of the Magazine there is an inquiry as to the plan of a Masonic Hall . I , too , should be glad to know what constitutes the best disposition of apartments for holding , in the same building , at various times , Lodges , 11 . A . Chapters , Encampments , 11 . C . Chapters , Consistories , & c . ?•—D . E . F .

GRAND TREAS L'RERS . Is there any list , easily to be consulted , in which the names ancl dates of appointments of the Grand Treasurers of Grand Lodge are jircservccl ?—B . THE NUMUKR SEVEN . As I intend holding a discussion whether "three or seven is the

most perfect number , " would you inform mc through the Magazine , where I can get the best information on the subject . And also which you , think is the most perfect . —J ' . M . K . —[ Consult Oliver Byrne On the Power of Numbers , for the value of the two numbers in relation to each other . For their mystical perfection the Talmud , Cabbala , Mishna , Holy Bible , and Koran , will give a large amount of information . For their Masonic signification ,

refer to Dr . Oliver ' s Landmarks , Mackey ' s Lexicon , the Ceremonies and Lectures , in which there arc countless allusions to both the above numbers . "We must decline to give our own opinion on the latter portion of our correspondent ' s note , because in answering a large circle of inquirers , wc do not pledge ourselves to read up any abstruse proposition for one ( and this subject properly studied ivould swallow up weeks of reading before a definite opinion could be formed ) , while wc hope to give such general and accessible information that may be useful to ' all . ]

KEW GAIIDKXS . —The tender of Messrs . Cubitt & Co ., of Pimlico , for the erection ofthe great Conservatory and Winter Garden in the pleasuregrounds and arboretum adjoining the Botanic Gardens , at Kew , has been accepted by the First Commissioner of Her Majesty ' s Office of Works , and the ivork commenced . It will be a trifle short of 700 feet in length , covering somewhat about the same space as the Great Eastern steamship , and probably the grandest purely horticultural building in the

world . It will occupy au extensive area on the right hand side of the grand lawn avenue , leading from the Palm House to the Pagoda . Tho whole noble domain of 0 ( 10 acres is now in all its floral beauty and splendour , and beautiful almost beyond description . The new lake of live acres , with beautifully wooded islands , is situated midway between the Palm House and the Thames , ou tho left of the Zion vista . The Gardens open daily at one o ' clock ; on Sundays at two ; closing daily at sunset . All the Plant Houses and the Museums arc strictly shut at six . Free admission for all .