Masonic Notes And Queries.

for attaining it , its Arcana excepted . By A BROTHER , London : Sold by Longman and Co ., and by "W . Hodgetts , Birmingham . 1820 . I have been particular in giving the entire title-page , because I am desirous of ascertaining the author ' s name . The whole occupies 118 pages , and after the words " the end " is the imprint of " "William Hodgetts , printer , Birmingham . " Who wrote that work ? is the query of SPES .

ANCIENT PATRIARCHAL CROSS . Can you give any information as to what connection the cross ( of which I send a drawing ) has with the Craft ? It was purchased at Malta , and has all the appearance of being very old . I should add that it is made of pure gold . It is supposed to belong to some of the hiher orders of Masonry . —GILBERT H .

g SANDERS , P . M . 176 , and P . G . S . W ., Isle of Wight . — [ We have taken counsel with two very high Ereemasons who have spent much of their time in Malta , and they most decidedly pronounce against its having a connection -with any of the higher grades of Ereemasonry . Our own opinion is that it is a patriarchal

cross belonging to a dignitary of one of the Eastern —perhaps Greek , or Uusso-Greek—churches . A very similar example may be seen in Dr . King ' s History of the Greek Church in Russia . Presuming the letters to be copied with accuracy , they do not indicate great age . Neither do the rounded forms at the extremities of each limb betoken a remote antiquity . ]

CORNELIUS AGRIPPA . "We often hear of Cornelius Agrippa . How can I form any idea of Avhat he was ?—A . G ^—[ By reading the two following extracts from his Avorks : — " "When Adam was in Paradise , the angel Raziel appeared to him and gave him a book containing all the secrets of natureand all " the divine wisdom . This book

, , handed down miraculously from generation to generation , reached the hands of Solomon , Avho learned from it his matchless sagacity . It Avas lost , perhaps , or destroyed in some of the JeAvish convulsions ; but some stray scraps of its cunning floated down the tide of time to certain Jews of the middle who

ages , embodied them in Avorks of high and holy import . These works were said to relate to the Qaballa . They purported to furnish a key to the hidden meaning of Scripture , which hidden meaning was to be discovered by a subtle study of the letters , words , and sentences

of the chapters of the Old Testament . Especially vital was the spelling and pronunciation of names . It was by a right knowledge of names which , the Scripture tells us , are written in heaA'en , that the ancient prophets performed their miracles , and above all other names in importance was the name of Jehovah . ' Whoever' said the Cabalists' Knows the

, , true pronunciation of the name Jehovah , had the world in his mouth . ' The mirijic word is a spell by the aid of Avhich all miracles can be performed . "In The Second Booh of Magic , he begins his inquiry into numbers thus : —The Pythagorean preferred , above all othersthe number four . It signifies solidit

, y as the origin of a square . There are four elements , four seasons , four qualities of things—heat , cold , dryness , and moisture ; four letters in the name of God in most languages ; four evangelists in the Bible ; four beasts standing round the throne in Revelations . Five is the sign of wedlock , being composed of a

female number tivo and a male number three . Six stands for the world . Seven was entitled the vehicle of life as containing the body and soul , that is to say , the four elements of the body—spirit , flesh , bone , and humour ; and the three elements of the soul—reason , passion , and desire . Man ' s life is divided into stages of seven Avith the tenth seven it ends . There

years ; are seven main parts of the body . Beyond seA'en days life cannot be sustained without food ; beyond seven hours it cannot continue without health . Seven is the number of rest , as the Lord rested on the seventh day , whence it was a sacred number among the Jews ; in Hebrew , to seven meant to swear . There

are seven planets ; seven angols round the throne i seven openings in the head . Eight- signifies justice , because Avhen divided it forms perfect and equal halves , each of which may be subdivided equally . So on to one hundred each number has ' a significance of its own , which , rightly interpreted , and considered in conjunction with the stars , may help the understanding of many things which seem obscure or accidental . " ]

A REGARD EOR VOWS . Men generally think there is some weight , and awe , aud terror in a vow ; and even the profanest of men stand in fear of breaking foolish and rash vows . In Proverbs vii . 14 , the harlot thus speaks : " This day have I paid my vows . " I have

known where awicked fellow , having made a VOAV that he would never go in at his neighbour ' s door , durst not , for his vow ' s sake , go in at the door ; but would be content to creep iu at the windoAV . And another , that having made a vow that he Avould not go in to such an alehouse of so long a timedurst notfor his

, , vow ' s sake , go into it ; but could be content to be carried in . NOAV , hoAvever these wretches dallied with God and trifled Avith their views , and their own souls , yet they showed that there is some awe of a vow , eA'en upon an ungodly heart , and that that stands over them as Avith a Avhip and scourge . —Lightfoot .

CRAFT DATES . Can you inform me by what rule of arithmetic the dates on our Craft ancl Royal Arch certificates are calculated ? I was admitted into Masonry in February , 1 S 56 , and my certificate says A . D . 1856 , A . L . 5856 . Now , I believe that Our Saviour was

born in the year of the world 4004 , to Avhich if we add 1856 , the result will be 5860 . Perhaps you may be able to explain this , Avhich to me appears an anomaly . My K . T . and Rose Croix certificates are dated correctly . —A P . M . OF 47 . —[ A similar query to the above was answered in our issue for December 10 th , 1864 . It will he found at page 445 , under theheading " Chronology of Ereemasonry . "

THE FOUR OLD LODGES . "What were the names of the four old lodges that are so often spoken of as uniting to form a Grand Lodge in 1717 ?—X . T . Z . —[ They had no names at that time , but were called " the lodges at the Goose and Gridironin St . Paul's Churchyardthe Crown

, ; , iu Parker's-lane , near Drury-lane ; the Apple-tree Tavern , in Charles-street , Covent Garden ; and the Rummer and Grapes Tavern , in Channel-roAV , "Westminster . "—See Preston ' s Illustrations , sect , vii . ]