Masonic Notes And Queries.

of our late Bro . Stephen Jones . Perhaps it may not be deemed out of place to supplement Bro . How ' s communication with some further facts which are gathered from various obituary notices . Bro . Stephen Jones was the son of Mr . Giles Jones , formerly secretary to the York Buildings Water Company , was educated at St . Paul's School , and afterwards placed under an eminent sculptor , hut ou account of some difference he was removed from that

situation and apprenticed to a printer in Fetter-lane . On the expiration of his articles he was engaged as corrector of the press by Mr . Strahan , the king's printer , and ivhere he was brought into close and daily intercourse with our late Bro . William Preston , a junior partner in that establishment . At the end of four years lie removed to the office of Mr . Thomas AVri ght , in Peterboroughcourt , ivhere he remained till the death of his employer in March ,

1797 , an event which terminated Mr . Jones's immediate connection ivith the printing business . He then became the editor of the Whitehall Evening Post , hut on the decline of that paper he was appointed to the management , and became part proprietor of the General Evening Post . This paper , too , he was destined to see gradually fall in circulation till it merged in its contemporary the St . James ' s Chronicle . Bro . Jones became also , on the death of

Mr . Isaac Kced , the editor ofthe European . Magazine , and was for some time the conductor of the first issue of the Freemasons ' Magazine . Iu the Masonic Craft Bro . Jones was very ... deeply versed . He was a man of genial sympathies and a . great pro- _ moter of social gatherings , and it is to he regretted that , in common with the times in which he lived , his habits were inconsistent with that strict attention to business that can onl y secure a competence to those connected with the press . He

was a man ot considerable talent in his day , and his Biographical Dictionary , in miniature , ran through many editions . He also republished Keed ' s Biographia Drama tica , in four volumes , and was most unmercifull y attacked by an article on it in the Quarterly Review , his critic censuring him for retaining many of the entries that had appeared in the previous edition , and not giving him credit for the very large mass of new matter which he

had incorporated into the later performance . This attack caused him to print a pamphlet , entitled llgpercriticism Exposed ; in a Letter to the Readers ofthe Quarterly Review , Svo ., 1812 ; but , it is said , this was the most unfortunate ' step he could have taken , as he never prospered afterwards . From 1799 , for many years , he selected an annual volume from the newspapers , under the title of TheSpirit of the Public Journals . His other works arcAn

^ , Abridgment of Burke's Reflections on the French Revolution , 12 mo ., 1791 ; Monthly Beauties , 8 vo ., 1793 ; An Abridgment of Ward ' s Natural History , 3 vols ., 12 mo ., 1793 ; A History of Poland , Svo ., 1795 ; Dodd ' s Beauties of History , Enlarged , 12 mo ., 179 G ; An Abridgment , of Donald Campbell ' s Journey ' to India , 12 mo ., 179 G ; Masonic Miscellanies , 12 mo ., 1797 , of which there were several editions

, the last being in 1813 ; A Pronouncing and Explanal . org Dictionary of the English Language , Svo ., 1798 ; Gray ' s Poetical Works ( Illustrated ) , Svo . 1798 ; Burton ' s Anatomy of MelanclioliL 2 vols ., 1800 : Blair ' s Chronology Continued , fob , 1803 ; Davies ' s Life of Garrick ( new edition , with additions ) , 2 vols ., 8 vo ., 1808 ; Preston ' s Illustrations of Masonry ( with additions ) , 8 vo ., 1821 . w-o . Stephen Jones departed this life on the 20 th of December , 1828 , in King-street , Holborn , having heen for some time a sufferer from dropsy . He was in his sixty-fifth year at the time of his decease . —MATTHEW COOKE .

AIIASUEP . US FROMANTIEL . Who was Ahasuerus Fromantiel ? He is mentioned in some old books and pamphlets of the seventeenth century as a most '" genious mechanick . " Was he a Mason ?—SENEC .

Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

__ <^ L-lnE EDITOR does not hold himself responsible for any opinions entertained by Correspondents . ' ] UNIFORMITY OF WORKING . THE EDITOR OI ? THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZIXE AND MASONIC MIRROR . j ' VR SIR AND BROTHER —I deem it a subject of legitimate

n ; , in re l at ? ifferences i if an }' . exist in our universal brotherhood an j ™ 1- ites and ceremonies ; and your valuable Magazine , is ofintii- nd ver . V appropriate medium for the dissemination iiteiugence that will aid in the examination of this subject , are in V t 0 he lrnportant determining whether the landmarks danger—whether they have already been invaded , and il

so , where and how far—and thus enable thinking Masons to take measures for the restoration of all deliciences , and the abrogation of all excrescences . Though restrained in a communication intended for publication , from going into details , I will be as explicit as prudence and justice will permit , 1 desire to set on foot an inquiry as to what changes in ritual exist , where they orig inated , and to what extent

they have spread ? Among the many writers on the subject of Freemasonry , there are but few who show a desire to examine the subject , except upon a basis which is circumscribed by our oral lectures and the jurisprudence of the Order . I fear that too many of our brethren are not aware of the extent or even the nature of that "Antient Hidden Freemasonry " to ivhieh allusion used to be made in the lectures ancl teachings of the institution in days that are past , and to which Hutchinson , Preston and others have so forcibly alluded in their writings .

Our Grand Lodge , at its annual session in June last , reviewed the working of the Grand Lecturer ; and by a re-election of Bro . Drew who holds that responsible office showed their approval oi his work— - yet it differs in many trilling points from the working as taught in times past . Now is it not of importance that we should trace these and other discrepancies to their origin , and thus arrive at the best and most reliable remedy for the evils with which we are threatened ?

\ JIt does not follow that Bro . Drew's system is not legitimate or antieut , because it differs from that which has prevailed " from time immemorial , " in some sections of the globe ; nor is it to be received as a standard without examination and comparison . With what?—wh y with the landmarks of the institution as developed in the designs drawn upon our Masonic tressel board . Nor does the state of New York stand alone in this respect ,

many other state jurisdictions are pursuing similar means to enforce peculiar S 3 'stems of work , denouncing all others , and awakening strife and contention , where amity and union should exist unbroken and impregnable . This evil is not confined to the United States of North America —your own Grand Lodge can furnish clear and undeniable proofs on the subject to which I am referring , and to which I refer at

this time to lead to inquiry , as before stated , on the point of danger , to be effected by the deviation from any of the landmarks of antient hidden Freemasonry . Are ive not , as a body , too negligent of those antient landmarks—are not our Lodges , universally , remiss in the study and development of them—are we doing our duty to the fullest extent b y inducting our members into the mysteries of godliness

and the development of the true interpretation and exposition of the esoteric system of ethics , morality , and truth , which lies concealed in our symbolism ? I do not expect that these inquiries will be fully met in the columns of your Magazine , but I do hope to elicit attention and arouse those who can exert influence to awaken a desire to know

these mysteries ; for I am persuaded in my own mind that ivhere there is an honest desire for information and enlightenment for pure and legitimate purposes , that enlightenment will be afforded b y the G . A . O . T . U ., who will illuminate every mind that is a fit receptacle for the mysteries . Should you deem these remarks suitable and likel y to awaken thought on this important subject referred toI trust your

Maga-, zine will be made a medium for the diffusion of such illustrative remarks as may occur to any of your readers , or to yourself . I see , by your issue of the 9 th Jul y , that you have changed the form—this I regard as an improvement , and . trust you will find a corresponding disposition to be liberal on the part of your readers .

I also see that Bro . Elisha D . Cooke is in your midst , and although I am not personall y intimate with him , yet , from his connexion with Bro . Rob Morris , of the "Voice of Masonry , " I am pleased to find he is received with that attention wliich should always exist among the fraternity ; and I do hope he will be granted all the facilities our English , Scotch , ancl Irish brethren possess to acquire information in regard to the history and

principles of Masonry , as no one is better calculated to lay such matters before the Craft universally than the editor of the " Voice , " for whom Bro . Cooke is acting . The fraternity in the state of New York is again united , and there is now but one Grand Lodge in this jurisdiction . The process of " healing" the illegitimates will , ere this reaches you , he fully consummated upon honourable and truly Masonic principles . The General Grand Chapter of the United States will hold its triennial session in September ; as will also the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar , when many subjects will be acted upon