Notes On Literature, Science, And Art.

ing list of circulations attained by the new shilling magazines -. — Cornhill Magazine , 30 , 000 ; Macmillan , 14 , 000 ; Temple Bar , 15 , 000 ; St . James ' s 13 , 000 . Of course we do not vouch for the entire accuracy of the above figures , but we think , from inquiries made in another direction , that they very fairly represent the circulation ofthe magazines in question .

The enormous influx of visitors to the reading-room of th e British Museum ( remarks the Queen ) is beginning to excite alarm aud consternation among the habitues of that place of literature . The room itself is barely capable of accommodating 300 readers , ancl yet it is no unfrequent occurrence to have upwards of GOO applications for admission in a single day . Whore

this any real criterion of tho progress of national education , we should be the first to congratulate the country on the circumstance . Such , however , is not the case . No sooner are the doors thrown open , than this half-fledged swarm of literary locusts makes a sudden irruption into the building , settles clown upon all the vacant places , and in another moment is

revelling in the stolen sweets of Bohn ' s translation , diving into the classic depths of Smith ' s dictionaries , or culling the fairest flowers that bloom in the gay parterre of the Penny Cyclopmdia . Mr . Mason Jones , whose lectures on Milton , Swift , Garibaldi , and other celebrities , were so much admired in London the last

two seasons , is about to deliver a series of sacred orations on St . Paul , Elijah , Job , ancl Moses , in her Majesty ' s Concert Room , Hanover-square , on Sunday afternoon , giving the public free admission .

Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

The Editor U not responsible for the opinions expressed by Correspondents . ANCIENT AND MODERN MASONRY .

LETTER 5 . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —The earliest traces of Speculative Ereemasonry in England do not , according to any authority that I have met with , go back further than the year 1400 , and the Charter of Colne asserts that the name of Freemason was first conferred at Valenciennes in 14-4-0 and that then candidate for

, any initiation must be of the Christian faith . Arch Deacon Mant , no mean authority , says all Templars were Masons and according to the traditions of the Baldwyn Encampment , one of the oldest in England , the seven orders of Christian Knighthood were introduced at Bristol on the return of the Crusaders from tho Holy Land , under Richard Coeur de Lion , in 1193 . The Mount Calvary or

early Grand Encampment of England , has also practised the same degrees with S . G . and "VV . fromtimo immemorial . The Rose Croix Degree , instituted in Palestine in 1188 , was brought to England by the Templars , and Prince Edward , son of Henry 3 rd , was admitted into the Order ; by Raymond Lulle in 1196 , and upon the suppression of

the Order , in the reign of Edward II , in 1309 , the Arch Bishop of Tork who was appointed to investigate the charges against the Templars , whilst giving a very favourable account stated that some gnostic customs appear to have crept into the Order , commisseratingthe sad state of the Templars in his dioscese left destitute of maintenance , charitably disposed of them in the

Monastry of St . Mary and other religious foundations under his jurisdiction , and it is not unlikely that the Arch Bishop was a member of the Masonic lodge established under the authority of the Templars , and held in the Crypt under Tork " Minster ; this fraternal bond may account for the unusual leniency shown by him , and for the preservation and continuance of the Order , and

it is a curious coincidence that the earliest Encampment of Masonic Knights Templar in England , now extinct was formerly held in the city of York . The Royal Order of H . R . D . M . was founded by Robert Bruce , 1314 . If these dates are correct , and I see no reason to doubt them , Christian Masonry may fairly claim to be at leastas old , if not older , than Speculative or Modern Masonry ,

and indeed our Craft Ritual contains innate evidence insupport of such an assumption . The degrees of Entered 1 Apprentice , Fellow Craft , and Master Mason differ butlittle from the chivalric steps Esquire , Knight Companion , and Knight Commander ; and many learned Masons are of opinion that the myth-historical murder of our Master EL is but a type of the real fate of

the-Grand Master of the Templars , Jaques de Molay , who endured excruciating tortures , and suffered a cruel death rather than betray the secrets of his Order . Many of our rites , too , assimilate very closely with those of the higher degrees . The Royal Arch , that strange anachronism , tells its own date ; neither the Egyptians , Jewsor Greeks understood the princile of the Arch

, p , and no Roman Arches can be proved to be of a period anterior to that of the Christian Era . But though I may entertain doubts about the great antiquity of St . John's Masonry , I reverence the Craft ; I consider it as at present constituted , as perfect as any human Institution can be . I look upon it as a consecrated and timehallowed platform , upon which our Masonic brethren of

whatever creeds , nations , or languages , may meet on terms of mutual equality and brotherly love . This uni-, versal bond would , however , be injured , if not irremediably broken by any allusions to Christianity being introduced into Craft Masonry , or if any attempt was * made to prove , or try to prove that the first three degrees or the Royal Arch had a Christian reference . I would , not , therefore , alter a line , word , or sign in her

ceremonies , or remove a single landmark of the Order . Our highly-esteemed and learned Bro . the Rev . G .. Oliver , B . B ., is anxious to establish this very connection ,, for he says , Landmarks , vol . ii ., p . 665 , " If Ereemasonry does not contain any direct reference to our holy religion , its morality , beautiful though it be , would not be sufficient to save it from public obloquy in this Christian

country . " In the absence of such an admission , Freemasons might 2-easonably be deemed a useless and frivolous pursuit , and it would be difficult to remove thepopular objections which have been arrayed against it ,, but if we admit with him , " that Freemasonry has been made a vehicle to embody the most prominent tj-pes of the Messiahthe founder of the Christian reliion

cele-, g brated in Blue Masonry as the G . A . O . T . U ., and in Red as the king , priest , and prophet of his people , " it is impossible to deny that the light on this subject becomes clearer in each succeeding degree , and is brought to a full effulgence in the exquisite mysteries of the Rose Croix under the veil of which is concealed some of the most sublime truths of Christianityand

; the doctrine of human redemption when the noblest stately soldier of the Temple walks forth armed in all parts with the whole and invincible armour of God to fulfil his glorious mission . Why , then , this want of brotherly union between the high and low grades P "Why is Craft Masonry commonly known as St . John ' s Masonry , and why are the lodges dedicated to St . John the

Baptist but because he was the forerunner of our Saviour and laid the first parallel line of the Gospel . Let us therefore follow the example of the second St . John , who finished by his learning what the other commenced by his zeal . Let us lay aside all petty jealousy , and work henceforth with true brotherly love , and let our onlyemulation be to do the work of our Lordand finall

, y place the great corner-stone of our salvation upon an edifice perfect in all its parts , and creditable to the builder . M . H . SHTJTTLEOWORTH , 30 ° , G . "V . Chancellor . Buckhurst Hill , March 24 , 1862 .