Masonic Notes And Queries.

CONSECRATION VESSELS OP GRAND LODGE . These vessels , from what I once saw of them , struck me as being of very elegant design and classic form . Who was the artist . that planned them ?—War . E . . T . . ... FRENCH STEP-BOARDS . [ If you do not know better , we do . Never send us questions that must not appear . We are anxious to oblige all who have anything to say that does not interfere with our duty , but we cannot allow improper things to find their way into these columns . ]

TIIE CEDARS OE LEBANON . Everything connected with the building of King Solomon ' s Temple ought to have an interest for our Craft , and reading the following in a late article , I have cut it out as deserving a place in your "Notes and Queries : ""The stately cedars of Lebanon , several of which are believed to have been in their prime when Solomon built tbe Temple , stand by

themselves in a gorge of the mountain , with no other trees near them . Of ' all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted tip , ' these alone remain , for on no other part of the mountain are cedars to be found . The bark of the most ancient has been cut away in places to afford room for carving names of \ -isitors , among which one regrets to learn , is that of Lamartine . In their anxiety to protect the Holy Places it is surprising that neither France nor Russia has thought of protecting the cedars of Lebanonivhich

, have as strong a claim upon the veneration of all readers of the Bible as the shrines ancl relics of Palestine . These are trees such as those ivhich suggested to the Psalmist ancl the Prophets the noblest imagery in the Old Testament . They are , moreover , called the 'trees of the Lord / ivhich 'He hath planted . ' - "—Times Correspondent . —P . P .

ROTAL ARCH ROBES . A companion lately told me that in certain Eoyal Arch Chapters , robes for the Principals , and surplices for the Scribes , have never been worn . That some fifty years ago they were totally unknown , and certainly , at the present time , no mention is made of them under the heading "Regalia " in the Regulations for the Order of Royal Arch 2 Iasons . M y questions are , when were they first introduced , by whom , and under what authority?—SECOND CHAIR .

THE SEVEN-BRANCHED CANDLESTICK . Some authors treat this as a Masonic Symbol . Is there any recorded representation of it extant?—E . Q . —[ Plenty See any book of JeAvish Antiquities , on the Catacombs of Rome . In the Museum of Naples , amongst many others , is one of the stones taken from a Jewish tomb , bearing the folloiving inscription : — "Here lieth Quiutianus , Gerousiarch ( i . e ., a chief elder ) , of the Synagogue of the Augustenses , ¦ who lived 50 years . His falling asleep was in peace . " This is surmounted by a delineation of the seven-branched candlestick . ]

MASONIC CARICATURES . Where can I find a list of caricatures in which Masonry , or Masonic implements , are introduced . I am told , amongst the older caricaturists they were not uncommon?—ELIO ' . THE 3 I 0 ST PERFECT 3 IAS 0 N KNOWN . Who was the most jierfect Mason known in England ? I ask this in the past tense , as it ivould be invidious to extend it to the present . —E . C . L . B . —[ Never mind the tensebut

, tell us in ivhat sense you mean . The most perfect Mason , in one sense , must have been Dr . Perfect , Prov . G . M . of Kent . _ In another sense , any brother who has been perfected in every degree . Yet , again , the most letter perfect brother ; and lastly , in our opinion , that brother who did his duty to Gocl , his neighbour , and himself ]

JACOBITE GRAND PIASTER . Did any of the nobles of Scotland who took side with the Pretender belong to the Craft?—MCPIIER . . —[ Yes . The Grancl Master Mason of Scotland in 1742 was William , 4 th Earl of Kilmarnock , AATIO . engaging in the rebellion of 1745 , was attainted of hi gh treason , and executed on Tower-hill . August 18 th , 174-6 . In the same family connection , viz .,

the Earldom of Errol , there was another Grancl Master Mason in 1751 , James , Lord Boyd , 13 th Earl of Errol , of whom it is related that he officiated as Constable of Scotland at the coronation of Geo . III ., in 1761 , and neglecting , by accident , to pull off his cap Avhen the King entered , he apologized for his negligence in the most respectful manner ; but his Majesty entreated him to be covered , for he looked on his presence at the solemnity as a very particular honour . ]

JIASONTO LANGUAGE OF THE EAULY AGES . When I was a young man , I used to read in a very desultory manner , and never troubled myself to make a note . Since then I have frequently lamented the practice , and never more than on my becoming a Mason . I had frequently met with stray notes on Masonry , which I passed over , but , if I could refer to now , would , I am sure , bo invaluable . Such a one recurred to me latelyand I send

it-, to you in the hope that some brother may have employed his time better than I did , and noted the place of its occurrence -. — " la the early ages it was believed that the secret societies created for their own especial uses languages differing in roots arid grammatical construction from the vulgar tongue . In such speech the initiated were enabled to converse aloud , even in . the presence of those who did

not belong to their association , and ivithout any fear or chance of detection . " Such is the sense of a passage I have once read ; and I shall be obliged to any brother who will point out Avhere the original idea is to be found . —CAXIX ..

OLD LODGE BOOKS . Is there any way of ascertaining what lodges have perfect sets of their minute-books , ledgers , & c . ? I am inclined to think but very few , for I have recently seen all that -were to be found of those appertaining to two of the first lodges iu the Craft , both above a century old . A , as I will call it-r begins Avith a visitors ' -book in 1778 ; minutes about 1790 ; a hiatus iu both from about 1802-19 ; and some of the

entries so Avretchedly imiierfect that it is a work of labour to make out their meaning . In many cases they were supplied by the Tyler , who seems to have had more consideration for the records of the lodge than any of its members . B starts with a minute-book in 1823 : for a time beautifully kept ; then comes an interregnum of confusion ,. Avhich is succeeded by neatness and regularity . Lately ,

however , it becomes again wholly unintelligible ; and , to crown all , there is not so much as a list of the members , or their addresses , for the last four years ! Might it not be worthy of consideration if the Board of General Purr poses , Avho have the power to call for books or papers , were to issue an order that all lodge books disused for one year should be deposited hi the Grand Secretary ' s

office , and every lodge should be compelled to send all their old books there , in preference to allowing them to be made pipe-lights of for the benefit of the brother host ' s parlour customers ? One word or two on this point will assuredly call forth some stringent action to prevent old records being so shamefully treated as in the two cases above mentioned . —Ex . Ex .

AA'ARRANT OF CONFIRMATION . Any lodge that holds under a Warrant of Confirmation , and would kindly furnish a brother with a ' - copy of that document , would oblige Ex . Ex .

NOTES ON LITERATURE , SCIENCE , AND A TIT . Dr . W . Tyler Smith , in his opening address to the students for the present session at the medical school in connection ivith St .. Mary ' s Hospital , Paddington , bore the following noble testimony to the value of the press to the profession : — "In the medical press , they had an important engine of progress . The existence of this

power and its flourishing condition depended greatly upon their tendency to associative labour . Into this treasury was poured . . week after week , the labours of the best men in the profession , and its directors shape ancl produce these exertions so as to vender them useful to the medical public . The medical press was to the body medical , what medical men wore to the public . The press , more

than any other influence , moulded the profession as a body ' politic . By its agency extravagancies were checked , grievances pointed out and redressed , discoveries made known , and abuses prevented . In a word , the press , as a whole , was an embodiment of the public opinion of the profession , ancl when it ceased to be this it failed in its influence . It was perfectly

democratic , as open to the voice of the youngest student as to the utterance of the highest persons in the profession . It was a great educational instrument , modifying the laws , iustitn-