Architecture In France.

beautiful decorated work , with all the elegance of the Flamboyant Avithout its extravagance ; and , whilst I hold that the beauty of such works of ours as Westminster and Lincoln , Salisbury and Wells , cannot be exceeded , it must be granted that the French has likewise beauties in its earl y art that

ours wants . The great rose windows , the bold capitals , the grandly-sculp tured p ortals of the north , and the Romanesque work ofthe south , may all be claimed b y France as her own . This Ta as it should be . Art varies Avith the climate and the race ; and far be it from us to AA'ish that it should

be otherwise , or that such differences should not produce peculiar beauties in each land . One word I must say as to the men to whom we owe them—the architects . These men of old

are honoured still in France . The relic in all Rheims most noteworth y , perhaps , is the incised tomb of Libergius , the architect of its great church . That survives the stormy times that saw the monuments of St . Denis broken to poAvder , and as you walk up tho Avide UBAV street which Avill soon afford

a fitting entry to the cathedral , you Avill see that it is named after its architect . Can any one—can we aboA r e all—looking at such works as his , believe for one moment—the loAvering- theory constantly put by the clever author of the " Handbook of Architecture" ( and my very good friend ) , —that

they were not the products of genius ancl study , such as Avere sculpture and the painting-, but merely advanced products of the technic art ?—putting , in fact , the men who adorned the poi-tals with their figures of stone , and decorated the shrines with colour , above him who designed the

whole . To me it is a marvel that the g ifted author I have mentioned could think , for a moment , seriously , that tbe designers of these g lorious works which fill their beholders with wonder and admiration , ancl awe , could be other than amongst the highest , in the fullness of their intellectual

power . And now , in bringing to a close this sketch , which must , from its nature , be somewhat bare , I cannot avoid saying a feAV Avords as to the country of Avhich I have been speaking-. I have travelled as much as most men in most European countries ,

but in none have I found , as an utter stranger , a more kindly welcome than in France . A mischance may sometime happens ( and where in life may it not ?) , and sometimes one may meet with a surly nei g hbour , or ill-tempered host ; ancl sometimes , possibly ( though it has not fallen to my lot ) - one may meet with a lingering trace of the feeling that France and England are not quite friends .

But set out on your travels Avith a full intention of p leasing and being pleased—adapt yourselves to the customs of the land , and respect them when they differ from ours , and T know of no p lace , save our own land , where you Avill meet with more kindness , more thorough friendliness , than you will in gay , sunny France .

St. John And Freemasonry.

ST . JOHN AND FREEMASONRY .

The following address was delivered at Milton , Pennsylvania , at the dedication of the Hall of Milton Lodge of Ereemasons , June 24 , 1863 , A . L . 5863 ; being the festival of Saint John tho Baptist . By Benj . Parke , L . L . D ., Past Grand High Priest of the Grand H . Eoyal Arch Chapter , and Past E . E . Grand Commander Knights Templar , of Pennsylvania . " We need not remind the brethren that the St . John ' s have long ceased to be recognised in English Ereemasonry : —

Eight Worshipful D . Deputy Grand Master and Grand Chaplain ; "Worshipful Masters , "Wardens , and Brethren . LADIES A > D GENTLEMEX , —Both Masonic and Christian Antiquity , agreed upon the 2 ith clay of June , as the birthday of Saint John the Baptist ; and from time immemorial , have Ereemasons ancl Christians , in all civilised or Christian landsupon this daycommemorated his

, , wonderful and mysterious nativity ; and called to mind his many transcendent virtues . The one , from tradition , claiming him as their pupil in his youth , and their patron iu his manhood ; and the other , from revelation , claiming him as the Heaven-predicted child of a barren woman ; the prophet of the Highest ; the Elias which Avas to come ; tbe harbinger of the Messiah ; the first

preacher of the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins : a man great in the sight of the Lord ; filled with tbe Holy Ghost from bis mother ' s Avomb . The Avritten history of St . John the Baptist , like that of most of the other Scripture worthies , and like that of the Order of which lie Avas a member , is meagre , iu regard to the incidents of his life . Eor althouh the

g angel Gabriel Avas sent from Heaven to predict his birth , and . to declare his greatness in God ' s estimation , all that inspiration has seen fib to record of his character and doings , hardly covers a page in the Holy Bible . AVe are there informed of the godly character of his parents , ancl that the fame and expectations of him as a child , connected with the circumstances of his circumcision and

naming , Avas spread abroad throughout the country , and produced a fear on all that dwelt around about them . Tradition and contemporary history inform us that all this coming to the ears of Herod / the jealous and cruel Tetrarch of Galilee , he endeavoured to have John destroyed at tbe time of the slaughter of the children of Bethlehem ; and had his father Zaccharias slain at the temple , because ho refused to inform where the child could be found .

His mother , probably wai-ned of God ,, as Avere the parents of Jesus , fled Avith her infant son into tbe wilderness of Judea , AA'here she soon afterwards died , leaving her orphan boy in the care of the Essenes ; one of the three sects into which , the Jews Avere divided ; where inspiration informs us " the child greAV and waxed strong in spirit ; and Avas in the deserts - until his showing unto Israel . "

Ihe Essenes—Avell described by Josephus- —himself a Pharisee—and by other historians , were the least numerous , though most worthy ofthe sects ofthe Jews . They were a well organised society , under a rigid and in some respects severe discipline , remarkable for their piety and eminent for their fidelity ; trained to the exercise of charity , benevolence , and hospitality ; especially to those

of their own sect , Avhether neighbours or strangers . They cheerfully adopted tbe children of others , while young , pliable , and fit for training ; Avhomthey thereafter regarded as their OAVIA kindred , and trained , and educated , and moulded them according to their own manners and customs . " They lived , " says Josephus , " the same kind of life as do those Avhom the Greeks call Pthagoriaus . "

y "Many of them dwell in cities , and if any of them come from other places , all they have lies open for them , just as if it Avere their OAvn ; and they go among such as they never saw before , as if they bad been ever so long acquainted Avith them . Eor this reason , they carry nothing at all with them when they travel into remote