The Fraternal Element.

m himself to govern the elements of discord aud to rise superior to their control . The fraternal clement is God ' s sphere , and in that elemeut man should live and move , for such was the design of his being . Love your brother man , is inscribed upon the records of revelation , and upon the hearts of all important intelligences . —¦ American Mirror and Keystone .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

A MASONIC JEWEL . 1 I-A * > : t shop one day last week , in the window of which hung an order ticketed " Masonic jewel , " and representing a figure , crowned with a nimbus , holding a cross in the left hand , and a lion crouching at his feet ; in the left hand corner was a shield having the appearance of a coat of arms , but it was so obscure I was unable to see what the bearings were . Can any of

your correspondents inform me of any jewel approaching to the foregoing description , and what degree it is supposed to represent ? —GODWIN . —[ We have seen the jewel to which we presume our correspondent alludes , and believe it to belong to a Scotch Lodgeit being of the same form , though with different emblems to that of the St . Mark's Lodge , Glasgow . The shop to which we allude has more than one Scotch jewel in the window , all being marked at juices beyond what they arc charged when new in Scotland . ]

I . EGEX 1 W OF SOLOMON . Are there any legends connected with the name of our Grand Master Solomon ? I ask this from my remembrance of the frequent mention of the Seal of Solomon in the Eastern Fables , aud presume ibis seal may in some way be connected with Masonic emblems . —T . CAKTEI ; . —[ There are iunumeruble legends connected with King Solomonbut few of them are translated . Onehowever

, , , occurs in Mr , Weil ' s , The Bible , lite Koran , aud the Talmud ; or SJiblical Legends of Ike Miitsnlmtius , compiled from Arabic sources , dud com / Hired with Jewish Traditions ; 8 vo ., Longman ' s , 18-16 . To the latter portion of the above query wc invite the atteutiou of our learned correspondents . A description of Solomon's seal appeared at p . 181 of our last volume ] .

NOVAE AUK MA 1 UNEUS . What is known of the degree called the Royal Ark Mariners ? — C . A . li . —[ We ! believe there arc few , if any , of the recipients of _ this degree iu England living . it may be described as being of two parts , which included , iu the first , the history of the ark being built , furnished , and stocked , the deluge , the dove and the olive branch , the subsidence of the waters , the altar of thanksgiving , and the rainbow . Tlic second comprehended Xoah ' s vineyard , his drunkenness , the curse entailed thereby on Canaan , and certain moral precepts for avoiding that sin . ]

J . AWS 01- ' THE HIGH G 11 ADES . ^ Where can . I obtain a si ght of the Constitutions of the High Grades of Masonry?—R . S . —[ Consult- the Itegiduteiir ties Checolter Mucous , on les Quatre Ordres Supcrieurs suicunl le Iteyime du Grand- Orient . -Ito . in 8 parts . Published at Paris without date . ]

MASOXKY AM ) All'l ' . Can any one help me to make up a list of paintings in which the figures are represented as giving Masonic signs ? I have a few notes towards the formation of such a catalogue . —B . —[ It must be self-evident to our brother that such information cannot he given in print . But if any one is disposed to assist " B . " in the object of his inquiry—we know him to be a brother—they do

may so privately by our hands . The subject is curious , and one worthy of investigation , for no persons are greater symbolists than painters ; and it would lie interesting to know how many of the great masters understood the symbols of Masonry , which would speak with great force to every initiate beholder . ]

HUO . GAVIN WILSON ' S SOXGS . Wanted to borrow a copy of Gavin Wilson ' s Masonic Soii"s . Can any brother oblige?—C . " ° MASONIC LlTEKATUIiE . Sir , —Hy father was a Mason , and he left a pretty large accumulation of Masonic papers . AYTiere can I find a purchaser for them ? _ —A . N . —[ ft all depends on what they are . Send them to our office and wc will look over them , when , should there be any worth preserving , we can find you plenty of purchasers . ]

MASONKY AND EGYPTIAN INVESTIGATIONS . Have the investigations of those who have explored the Pyramids , and other objects of Egyptian antiquity , thrown any li ght upon Masonry . —PIIAKOAK . —[ Our late Bro . Belzoni has been considered to have done so . ]

Masonic Notes And Queries.

THE TIIIUTIETH DEGKEE . At what date is the earliest trace of this degree having been worked in England ? — ONE OF THE 80 ° . — [ Surely a brother signing himself as above must know the history of that to which he belongs ? At any rate he should know that there were two sets of statutes of the Order promulgated—one in A . D ., 17 ( 32 , and another in 178 G . How long before it was in existence , he must inquire of some able member of the Illustrious College of Knights K . IL ]

THE IIOSE enoix AND ALCHEMY . Ho the members of the 18 " practise the secret of the llosicruciaus and transmute metals ? - —E . G . B n . —[ No . It is a vulgar error . They aim to transmute the dross of a lax faith into tlie spiritual gold of an unbounded belief in the three sacred persons of the ever blessed Trinity . Do not allow such old women ' s talcs to get the better of your judgment , which must tell you that the members of the higher degrees are generally men of birth and education not very likely to believe iu the virtues of " the green dragon" or the philosopher ' s stone . ]

IlEKOINES OF JElflOHO . Who , and what , are the Heroines of Jericho . I see them constantly mentioned in American Craft Journals . —BOSTON . — [ One of our transatlantic cousin ' s absurd freaks . They are the lady Masons , or Masonesses' of the United States , formed , wo believe , in imitation-of the Adonhiramite Masonry of the continent of Europe . Their signs aud passwords are well known here , but it is all a delusion . ]

HISTOltY OF INITIATION . Where are the best accounts of the Mysterious initiation among the early and latter Masons to be found?—G . G . —[ See The Freemason ' s Magazine ; The Freemason ' s Quarterly ; any Encyclopiedia , sub voce " Mysteries . " L . T . Judge ' s Le Globe , Archives des Initiations Anciennes el Motlcrues , -1 vols . Paris , 8 vo ., 18 < 3 'J--i" 2 ; Lenoir ( A ) La Franche Maconnerie rendne a sa Veritable

Oritjine , -Ito ., Paris , 1814 : ; and the Ada Lalomorum , oa Chronologic de rilistoire de la Franche Maconnerie , 2 vols ., Paris , 181-1 . These , and dozens of other works , which will be found mentioned iu notes to the above , all give the ancient and modern mysteries . ]

lOllX WESLEY AX 1 J FKEEMASONltY . in the Rev . John Wesley ' s Journal , under the date of Friday , June 18 th , 177 : 3 , is the following entry : — "I went to Ballyniena , aud read a strange tract , that professed to discover 'the inmost recesses of Freemasonry ; ' said to be 'translated from the French original , lately published at Berlin . ' I incline to think it is a genuine account ; onlyif it beI wonder the author is suffered to

, , live . If it be , what an amazing banter upon all mankind is Freemasonry ! And what a secret is it which so many concur to keep ! From what motive ? Through fear , or shame to own it ? " What is the title of this " strange tract ? " and by whom was it written ? —GEOKGE MAUKHAM TWEDDELL .

MASONIC TUAOl'ITON . In one of Dr . Oliver's books , The ' Theocratic I'hilosojihi / qj Freerruisonnj ( p . " 2-10 ) , occurs the following note : — "According to the traditions of Masonry , King Solomon , having been informed that the body of H . A . B . was found , and had been deposited on the outside of the temple , towards the north , near to a well in which his jewel had been found , was happy to have , the consolation of finding the remains of so great a man . He a strict order to his

gave Grand Inspector , the noble Adomram , that the funeral obsequies should be as pompous and magnificent as for the king himself . He likewise ordered that , al" the brethren should attend it with white aprons aud gloves , and strictly forbade that the bloody stains should be washed away until lie had wreaked his vengeance on the perpetrators of the horrid deed . "

is there any authority for one word of the above statement , or is it only a creation of the fertile imagination of the author?—A COMMON SENSE BROTHER . EDGING OF SCOTTISH . AlMtONS . Taking up the Scottish Masonic Calendar and Pocket Book for 18 ( 30 , and , turning to the list of Lodges , I was considerably astonished to find that various Lodges edged the aprons of the

members with colours which we , as English Masons , know nothing of . To show I speak by the card , I will cite some few , without mentioning their names , but only giving their numbers , and the colours they arc said to he entitled to . Thus the first or Ancient Lodge , No . 0 , is green and gold ; No . 1 , light blue ; No . 2 , crimson ; Nos . 3 and 4 , light blue ; No . 5 , white and gold ; No . ( 3 , blue and silver ; No . 7 , crimson and blue ; ± So . 8 , dark blue aud gold ; No . 9 , Green : No . 10 , ruby and silver ; No . 11 , purple ; No . 26 ,