Masonic Notes And Queries.

Domino 1011 . " And under the apex of the gable in front is the double triangle . Who was Eichard Dale , to what Lodge and Chapter did he belong , and are any of his descendants supporting and enjoying his privileges ? OLD MASONIC FUBKIl'UEE . Allow me to inquire , through the "Notes and Queries" of the

Freemasons' Magazine , if any one can tell me where I can meet with old Alasonic furniture ? By this I do not allude to strictly ancient furniture , but to that which a Lodge may have cast aside , owing " ; to the munificence of its members in providing new , and which could be repaired at a small cost . My object in making this inquiry is to present some such chairs , pedestals , & c , & c , to a new undertaking . Perhaps any brother , or Lodge , knowing of such articles , or having them to dispose of , will kindl y address a note to me at your office . —M . D .

Literature.

Literature .

EEVIEWS . The Shot Gun and Sporting Rifle , and the Dogs , Ponies , Ferrets , $ -c ., used with them in the various kinds of Shooting and Trapping . By STONEHEXGE " ; Author of "British Rural Sports . " Numerous engravings . London : Koutledge and Co . TPHEX a thorough sportsman like Stonehenge sits clown to write a

work on a subject of which he is an acknowledged master , we always are apt to expect a very high performance ; but in the work before us we have much more than our most sanguine expectations could have led us to imagine . For years we have been extensivel y acquainted with sporting literature , and in most works which treat of guns and gunnery we have been considerably bored ( no pun is intended , gentle reader ) by a jumble of halftechnical

and mechanical instructions of how to take a gun to pieces , clean it , put it together again , with sundry pages of disquisition on the weight , the length and the guage of the barrel—no doubt all very useful in their way ; but to those who love sport and get but a few chances to indulge , we counsel give to seek a respectable gunsmith , have their shooting iron put into working orderand on their rejoicingNow Stonehenge ives

, go way . g us all this information , told in a simple easy way so as to " beguile our laucy while imparting knowledge . So also with the horses and dogs . In this part of The zhol-gun , and Sporting Rifle we arc told a good deal about breeding , stabling , and kenneling ; it is done in a way that renders it easy to retain , and not in learned jargon , but helped out by anecdotes of the experience and vicissitudes of the most celebrated amateurs , pointing out their success or failure b of

y means some quaint saw or happy allusion . Stonehenge is also no mean naturalist , and you have descriptions of plumage , eggs , and species so cleverl y introduced that , instead of being tired by such descriptions , they grow upon the reader and make him desirous of an intimacy with so observant and pleasant a companion as our author is . All kinds of game come in for a share of attention and there is an associationanecdote that

, , , or quotation bears upon each iu its turn . Beading of the dotterel , the tale of the voracious feeder who appropriated an entire dish of those dainties which had been provided for a large party , comes strongly to the recollection , and you can picture him resistina ; the

sumest on 01 his longing vis h ris that he should try a bit of something else with his "No , no , thank you , sir , I'll stick to the little ' mis " in the ii mts for beginners who are learning to shoot at sparrows iromatrap we are told—" should they ( the sparrows ) be too quick , put their heads through a hole in a small niece of naner which will retard their fli ght ; " or , " a very good plan for begiXrs is , to get a friend to throw a potato or turnip into the au varying its direction at each throw

. " There is one very startlinoassertion made by Stonehenge , viz ., "that there are few office * 1 vTtw T + e i m ° re hi ghl * dwel ° P ° % and mental qualities tiun that of the man appointed to the task of gamekeeper . " This vZ TfV ° i i 0 t See in tlle same ] i S as our anthor > "or do wo it ink- the model coming gamekeeper has yet appeared but we may be imstaken and for the honour of thadltJwe hope we ai ' c aptC 011 the

ofWnd o ° ' -l >™™ g of dogs by a well laid system Z . T 11 , i P mllsm » cnts , nothing can be more admirable , and n , „ bV gf' 1 C 1 " m ' ™ y WntS from U whi <* *™ W 1 * extremely Sou C W'lP * * - ™ "th ° » c general word of commem hmdi I i n f 'f ° - c . 7 * P ortsm ™ to possess himself of this nmre ^ li "' V ntorfiHn , "S . volnmc ' curing om - readcrs thnt a IVr f oomprclicnavc ™* than The Shot Gun and Pifle u not to be found among the literature of the sporting world .

The Thunderstorm . By CIIAKLES TOJILINSOK . WE hardly know how to class this work , for it is not technical enough to be scientific , nor is it so destitute of magnetic observations to be merely a collection of anecdotes of li ghtning and thunder . There is no doubt a vast amount of information , of which wc are hi want , scattered up and down in magazines , newspapers , and the current literature of the times which , if brought

into a focus , would do the state some service . Of this latter class we take the Thunderstorm to be an exponent of a large amount of facts and anecdotes relating to lightning . Speculation has long been rife as to the effects on crops in the neighbourhood of telegraphic wires when acted on by electricity , and , without offering any opinion of our own on the point , we shall present our readers with an extract from Mr . Tomlinson ' s work to show

how the wires themselves are affected by an approaching or passing storm . Our author tells us" Some curious effects of atmospheric electricity in the United States of America have been communicated by Professor Loomis to the An--nalen der Physilc mid Ghemie , which he thinks to be due in great measure to the more abundant display of electrical phenomena in that country than iu Europe . The telegraphic wires , he remarks , are very

sensitive to an approachiug thunderstorm , and they often become highly charged , even when the storm is so distant that neither is the thunder heard nor the lightning seen . Under such circumstances , if one stand in the room of a telegraphic station , and place one band upon a telegraphic wire , and rest the other ou the wire which communicates with the earth , a sharp shock is felt in the arms , aud sometimes across the breast . This shock is very painful ; although when the two wires are brought within striking distance of each otheronly a faint spark is to

, be seen . But when the thunder-cloud is near , such experiments are dangerous . In such case , a thunder cloud passing over the wires may charge them to such au extent that the electricity may fuse the thin wire of the electro-magnet , and reuder the magnet itself unserviceable . Ou some occasions an explosion takes place in the telegraph-room sufficient to fuse thick wires , aud to expose the clerks to considerable danger . A weak charge of atmospheric electricity has the same effect on the wires as the current of a voltaic battery ; it makes a point in the

telegraphic register . If , however , a storm pass over the wires , these points become numerous ; and as they show themselves between the points of a telegraphic message , they make the writing indistinct , and often illegible , so that on such occasions the clerks usually suspend their labours . "

All of us , more or less , know that many animals are highly charged electrical machines . Even our children know that by stroking puss ' s fur the wrong way in a dark room , electric sparks arc generated , and some few of us have had some severe shocks from the t jymnolus electricus , or electric eel , but it was something new to us , and we hope will prove interesting to our readers , to come to the

following" But some of the most remarkable electrical phenomena are observable in the houses of New York , where the rooms are covered with a thick carpet , and strongly heated by means of a hot-air apparatus . If oue move upon such a carpet with a sliding or scraping-motion , and then present the knuckle to a metallic conductor , such as the handle of the door , an electric spark , accompanied by a cracking noise , will be perceived . If one goes in this way once or twice quickly along the carpet , the spark may be three quarters of au inch long brilliantand

ac-, very , companied by a tolerably loud noise . This phenomenon is common to almost every house in New York , where the rooms are covered with a woollen carpet , and are well warmed and dry . Professor Loomis visited a lady in New York , where the phenomenon was exhibited in a marked degree . She made one or two short strides upon the carpet , and then sprang up so as nearl y to touch the metahvork of a gas chandelier . As soon as her finger approached within striking distance of the metal , a

dazzling spark was seen , accompanied by a noise which might have been heard in the next room through the closed door . AVhcn this lady moved across the carpet towards the speaking-tube ( which in America takes the place of bells ) , in order to give a direction to a servant , she received au unpleasant shock iu the mouth unless she first touched the tube with her | hand , in order to get rid of the electricity with which she was charged . AVhen she went out of the parlour into tho next room , and happened accidentally to step on the brass plate upon which the door

swung , she received an unpleasant shock . AVhen | a visitor called and advanced to shake hands with her , he also received a similar shock : and if a lady advanced to salute her , she received an electric spark on her lips . AVhen her youngest child went across tho room to open the door , the shock sometimes made it cry ; but the elder children would glide about upon the carpet and then approach each olher to exchange sparks by way of sport . These phenomena are so common in " Sow York that they scarcelexcite remarkThe electricitproduced in

y . y this way exhibits the usual phenomena of attraction and repulsion , and will ignite inflammable substances , such as ether . If one jump a few times with a sliding sort of motion , and then approach the knuckle to a warm gas-burner ( as when the gas has been burning and is extinguished and then turned on again ) , it is easy to kindle the gas . In all these cases the electricity is excited by the friction of the shoes upon the woollen carpet , "