Masonic Notes And Queries.

It was m the fourth year of Egfrid s reign ( m 674 ) that Biscop obtained a grant of sixty hides of lands at Wearmouth , where he built an abbey , and dedicated it to St . Peter . He did much for the civilisation of the north of England by the introduction of Freemasons ( the Oraft being then , of course , operative as well as speculative ) , glaziers , painters , and singers , ' to the end , ' says Bishop

Lambarde , ' that his buildings might so shine with lvorkmanship , and his churches so sound Avith melody , that simple sounds ravished therewith , should fantasy [ fancy ] of them nothing but holiness . ' In this jollity continued these houses , ' he adds of Wearmouth and Jarrow , ' and others , by their example , embraced the like , till Hinguar and Hubbathe Danish irates ( A . D . 870 ) were raised b

, p y God to abate their pride , who not only fired and spoiled them , but also almost all the religious houses on the north-east coast of this island . ' A difference of creed must ' not prevent me from stating that Bishop did much more for the cause of progress than many bishops like Lambarde , but I like not the spirit in which the above extract is Avritten . "

SCOTTISH TEMl'LARY . Under the charters granted by the Grand Priory of Scotland , subordinate priories are permitted to form themselves into Masonic encampments or chapters of Knights of the Red Cross of Constantine , Knights of Malta , with the preceding degree called the Knights of St . Paul or Mediterranean Pass , and confer these degrees , as also

that of the Priestly Order of the Temple ; but no one can be admitted to these degrees until he has been recorded as a Templar on the roll of the Grand Priory . The K . T . degree consists of tivo parts , but there is a probationary degree ( Esquire ) of two steps , viz ., Pilgrim , and Novice-Esquire . The ceremonial of the first step is a very simple onein AA'hich the candidate is conducted though

, the outworks into the presence of the Commander , the conductor answering the challenge of the guards ; in the second stop the postulant is interrogated , obligated , and receives the passwords , signs , and tokens . In the first part of the degree of Knight , the novitiate is introduced girt as an Esquire , is questioned , takes tho vow of Profession , and is dubbed a Knight : being in the second

part of this degree further obligated and instructed in the signs , countersigns , & c , he is consecrated and dedicated to the service of the Temple , and created a Knight of the Temple and a member of the felloiv soldiers of Christ . Then there are the honorary grades of Knight Companion , Knight Commander , and Knight Grand Crossfor each of ivhieh the Grand Master ' s patent is

, necessary . There are also "Men-at-Arms" and " 'Serving Brethren , " who must be Royal Arch Masons , and take an 0 B , but do not require to go through any ceremonial . No fees are exi g ible from members of these inferior grades , neither can they be present in the Chamber of Reception during the admission of a candidate .- —D . M . L .

OSSOROOK MASONRY . I have occasionally called attention to Dervish Masonry , on which W . Bro . the Hon . J . Porter Brown , P . G . J . W . of Turkey , is -still closely employed . My attention has been called to another kind of native Masonry . In our provinces we have a class of nomades called yorooks , who are not of the orthodox sect of Turksbut are

, Kazzilbashes of a separate form of the sect of Ali . They have peculiar separate meetings and passwords , and their chief , learning that I was the head of the Masonic Order in this part of Turkey , has applied for an interview with me , which I hope ivill result in some interesting information . —HYDE CLARKE .

MYSTICISM AND FREEMASONRY . Is there any mysticism in Masonry , and hoiv shall I know it ?—C . R .- —[ There is . Freemasonry is essentially mystical , but if 3 'ou cannot see this for yourself , it ivould be useless for us to attempt to tell you , even if we could put such proofs in print . In all ages of the world

mysticism has been popular , because it is a branch of the fanciful , and its direction is so marked , its chief tenets are so welljunderstood , or , rather , so specific , that there is little difficulty in recognising it wherever we meet with it . Fancy may find its congenial sphere in the mere interpretation of the letter , but mysticism goes beneath the letter , and takes new views of the nature of things . A

mystic claims an inward spiritual sense , some peculiar divine endoivment , some clue to the unseen and the heavenly beyond that which other men enjoy . Perhaps thehighest type of modern mysticism is Swedenborganism , whose disciples find arcana , secrets , mysteries , double meanings , and hidden truths everywhere . Mysticism is , in relation to belief or knowledgeromance founded on

, real events and coloured by a peculiar school of thought , more allied to a religious poetical enthusiasm than anything ive can describe . Notivithstanding all this , some of the greatest mystics have been Freemasons , and Freemasonry without mysticism ivould be a nullity . ]

E . A . SONG . , I once heard the following verse sung in the Entered Apprentices' Song , but never having heard it before or since , am doubtful if it is part of the original . Please inform—N . S . The verse is" H OAV great Avas my maze Avhen I first saiv tlio blaze , When struck with occasion

" mystic , When knoivledge I gained , AA'lien the lodge was explained , Of a Free and Accepted Mason . " [ It never formed part of the original production of Bro . Birkhead . Such rank nonsense as the second line must have been penned by one ivho ivas hard up for a rhyme . We have seen the verse in print , and know your quotation is correct . No doubt it was thus sung in the West of England lodges before the Union . ]

DOCTOR BESAGULIERS , G . M . Where was Doctor Desagulicrs buried ? In Cawthorn ' s poem , The Vanity of Human Enjoyments , the folloiving lines occur : —• " Can Britain , in her fits of madness , pour One half her Indies on a Roman , And still permit the iveeping muse to tell ,

How poor neglected Desaguliers fell ! H OAV lie , Avho taught tivo gracious Icings to view , All Boyle enobled , and all Bacon knew , Died in a cell , AA'ithout a friend to save , Without a guinea , and Avithout a grave . " From which I infer he died in prison . The year of his death is stated to have been 1749 . —Ex . Ex .

THE GREGORIAN CHANT . The Gregorian Chant , as well as the more elaborate music of tbe mass , has been corrupted . The canto fermo suffered from the barbarous taste of the middle ages . In its primitive state it was a musical recitation , in ivhieh the notes were regulated by the quantity and accent of the words ; as is still the case with the chants employed

in the psalms . But in many of the hymns a single syllable is drawled out in a long succession of unmeaning notes , not only intolerable to the ear , but destructive of the very object of chanting , that of making the words distinctly audible . This evil exists almost everyivhere , and we need not go farther than our own Catholic chapels to be sufficiently sensible of it . But it is in

France that the performance of this part of the service is most supremely barbarous . The late M . Choron , one of tbe most learned and enlightened French musical writers , gives the following account of it : — " After having received from St . Gregory the Roman Chant , that valuable remnant of the Greek music , and having , by degreesmade great alterations in itit was at length

, , totally abandoned for absurd plain chants , composed at the period ivhen the art ivas most depraved in France . It is relatively to the counterpoint ( or harmony ) on the plain chant , that the French school is greatly defective . They have no writings on the subject , which is not