Cagliostro's Egyptian Masonry.

matter of deej ) congratulation to our Craft that the first of tho articles of "O nion , in 1813 , has so defined English Masonry that no charlatan can UOAV deceive our brotherhood , nor is there any probability of the spurious Freemasonry of former days oA'er again obtaining the countenance of Avhich it formerly boasted . AMANUENSIS .

Autobiography And Halieutics. -I.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND HALIEUTICS . -I .

OP all the different modes of preserving the records of a man ' s life and actions , the autobiographic is perhaps the most agreeable to the reader , and presents the most genuine delineation of the individual , since few men can Avrite their OAVII history without leaving irpon the pago unintentional evidences which , enable the shrewd observer to trace the

opinions and habits of life ot the writer , hoAvever guarded he may have been in the expression of his thoughts and experiences . Whether carefully compiled for the public eye , or preserved in the form of a diary intended only for the writer ' s OAVII use , or for his immediate family and friends , the labours of the autobiographer are an . unfailing source of instruction anclalmost alwaysof amusement to his

descend-, , ants and to successive generations of readers . To take tAvo Avell knoAvn examples—Pepys and Evelyn —• IIOAV much does the student of history OAVO to thorn for tho light Avhich their diaries throAV upon the manners and events of their time 1 Amusement of the most intellectual kind is

CA'er to be found iu their pages in contemplating the state of social life and customs of the period , aud examining those sketches of their contemporaries in their OAVII and the hi gher ranks , Avhich illustrate so admirably the more ponderous tomes of Clarendon and Burnet . HOAV the errors , malice , and prejudiced views of the historian , Avhich might othenvise

become impressed upon the mind of the student , are counteracted and deprived of their venom by a feAV unintentional photographs of life as it truly wan , stamped in a happy moment upon the page of the diarist : and IAOAV many circumstances , otherwise obscure and inexplicable , are made plain by their contemporary observations .

Wc have spoken of the instructive purposes to Avhich works of this kind invariably tend in a greater or less degree ; but to the " reading public" of the present day , Ave fear this Avould not be so hi gh a recommendation as the amusement Avhich is to be derived from them . And it is

very curious , that a narrative Avhich would probably be nauseating from its tediousness in any other shape , will be SAyalloAvcd Avithout difficulty when presented in the shape of a recital of the Avriter ' s own history . The appreciation ol this tact may account for the frequent use made by modern writers of fiction of the form of narration in the first person ;

the opportunity thereb y is afforded of making up for the poverty of ideas , as regards incident and delineation of character ^ by stopping the gaps Avith the author ' s sentiment , his Avitticisms , or his remarks upon things in general . Perhaps the most favourite talcs in this or any other language have been composed in this form—the story-tellers having

discovered that a man usually is more earnest in discussing his own affairs than those of other people—and thereby cunningly appealing to the sympathies of their audience . The present and the last generation have seen the publication of numerous autobiographies , some of Avhich rival in interest their ancient predecessors . Every department of

social life , and almost OA'cry pursuit of modern times , has its representative who lias given the Avorld the account of Avhat he obseiwccl Avith his OAVII eyes and IIOAV lie fulfilled his OAVU speciality , Avhatever that mi ght be . Such men as Bubb Doddington and Wraxall , have preserved a mine of facts for the commentator upon the politics and intrigues of the Georgian era ; militar y diarists Ave have Avithout end , though not many of great interest ; the memoirs of Leigh Hunt , Cyrus Redding , and Jordan , written by themselves , afford

pabulum for the literary curiosity-dealer ; Avhile to come to the present time , the literature of scandal lias been Avonderfully enriched by the great Doctor Veron and the Baroness Dudevant . There are tAvo distinct classes into Avhich we Avould divide these contributors to literature—the more pretentious , AVIIO

would dignify their lucubrations with the title of " Memoirs " —and Avhat we would term the aulobiognvphical gossipers ; and this latter section is tho one in which Ave most deli ght . It is true that Ave sometimes have to encounter tAvaddle , and sometimes prosincss , but these are but occasional drawbacks and detract but slightly from tho pleasure to be derived

from their volumes . Written as they arc , of course , by men generally advanced in years , they have the merit of possessing to our taste a peculiar ripeness of flavour , Avhile there is often a quainttiess about the opinions Avhich is refreshing in our prosaic times ; the old stories embalmed iu their pages , though they have doubtless seen long and arduous service ,

come out again , bran UCAV , to tho readers of the present day . In fact , so "far from deteriorating , gossip of this kind , like old port Avine , frequently appears to have acquired mellowness in proportion to its age . Gunning ' s " Reminiscences , " Ave Avarrant Avould not be found tedious by any member of the university or inhabitants of Cambridge , while Ave Londoners derive ample amusement from Raikcs ' s diary , or Cyrus Reckling ' s memoirs .

An autobiographer of tho latter class has lately made ] mblic a small part of his observations on men and tilings during the course of a life extended to a limit which feAV attain . He is for aught Ave know ( and Ave sincerely trust ) UOAV alive and in good health at the age of something like eighty-four or five . William Wri ght ( the name of our author )

informs us that during a great number of years he has been in the constant practice of entering in a book the result of his own observations , or authentic facts gleaned from sources Avhich could be dejiended upon and Avhich Avere Avorthy of being remembered ; and this more particularly in reference to his OAvn favourite pursuit , angling , Avhich indeed appears

to have been the darling recreation of his leisure from his earliest days . Wc beg that our readers , however , Avill not understand from this that his book is a mere dry record of Avonclerful piscatory feats , of taking baits and of gentles and gut lines—on the contrary , though full of valuable information with regard to the finny tribes aud their habits—it

contains a very interesting account of many curious and peculiar circumstances which have come under the author ' s observation during a life by no means wanting in vicissitude , ancl even adventure .

We have alluded to the diaries of soldiers and politicians —the one wc have before us may be called an autobiography of private life : it confides to us the domestic history of the author from his boyhood upAvards , at least so far ( we suppose ) as the author considers it AA-OUIC ! be interesting , during his career . What revolutions iu society and manners , in the

constitution ancl government of states , in men ' s thoughts and the Avay of expressing their ideas—have taken place during this one life . This same individual , IIOAV alive and going about amongst us , was a lad of ten years old at the period of the separation of America from England—an event Avhich seems almost to belonto a forgotten timeso much has

g , occurred since to obliterate its traces . In ten more years he hears of the sanguinary commencement of the revolution in France and the death of the sixteenth Louis . At thirt y years of age he joined with his fellow countrymen in celebrating the glory of Trafalgar . The first half of his recorded life brings him to the age of forty-twoat the time of the

, battle of Waterloo , and at the age of sixty-four , a man Avell stricken in years , he saAv ascend the throne of these realms that royal girl who has now ruled as the beloved sovereign of this mighty empire for tAvent y years . He has seen his country at Avar with all the Avorld , has seen the torch of Avar