Is Taste As Expensive Indulgence ?

The secret of this , however , may lie in its simplicity , entirety , and fitness , without extraneous parasitical ornation . It is the whoie truth and nothing but the truth , which no one can gainsay . But it may cause exclamation , —How could there be so much excellence for so little money ? Why , indeed ? Because tasteful judgment had been exercised from beginning to end . Therefore it may be fearlessly asserted that an indulgence in

taste is not a wasteful expenditure of cash , but a source of true and refined pleasure . A general cultivation of this , too , is a national advantage ; encouraging , as it does , a higher class of artisans , and elevating the ideas of the people generally , not only in matters of art , but in every branch of social economy ; all catching gleams of the sunshine of refinement , by which dark places of ignorance are lighted up , showing them in all

their tawdry hideousness , and leading to their abandonment , in favour of ways and pursuits resulting from better information , of which there is still plenty of need , and for which there is ample scope without fear of over education . An indulgence in true taste , therefore , may be said to be a safe investment of capital . " THOMAS GOODCIIIED , " in the Builder .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

O . B . OP MASTERS OP SCOTTISH LODGES . Many Scottish Masons look upon tho installation ceremony as a useless modern innovation ; hence a great proportion of lodges neglect to instal their Office-bearers . By Grand Lodgo laws , the R . W . M . Depute Master and Substitute Master are bound at their installation to take the following O . B .: — "I , in the presence of the

G . A . O . T . U ., do solemnly promise to perform tho duties of the office of Master ( or Depute Master , or Substitute Master , as the case may be ) , faithfully , zealously , and impartially , to the best of my ability , during the ensuing twelve months , unless a successor shall have been previously appointed and installed in my stead . That while in the chair I will not jDermit or suffer any deviation

from the ancient customs and landmai'ks of the Order , recognised by the Grand Lodge of Scotland , nor administer , or cause to be administered , any ceremony contrary to , or subversive of , our Constitutions . That I will maintain pure and unsullied the genuine tenets of the Order . That I will observe , and as far as lies in my power , strictly enforce , those charges and regulations to

which I have now given my assent , and otherwise conscientiously perform my duty as Master of the Craft . So help me God . " An oath of similar importance is also administered to the Wardens and the other Office-bearers , the whole ceremony of installation being performed in a "just and perfect lodge , opened in the Apprentice Degree . " —D . MURRAY LYON .

ORNAN ' S THRESHING FLOOR , I have heard a song sung by some of our Irish brethren . I think the title of it is " Oman ' s Threshing Ploor . " Can any of your correspondents across the Channel supply the words of the song . —I . N . 0 . 1 ST . C . ( Glasgow ) . THE COUNT CAGLIOSTRO .

In answer to the inquiry-of a brother at Cambridge , it is the once notorious Count Cagliostro who was tried at Rome and condemned to death for being a Freemason . The sentence hears date April 7 , 1791 . There was a commutation of tho punishment to perpetual imprisonment . A report of the trial was published officially . According to my memorandum , it professes to give an

account of the principles of the Freemasons . . The book is extremely rare , and has never come in my way . The authority for my memorandum I have entirely forgotten . —CHARLES PURTON COOPER . IS FREEMASONRY THE SAME EVERYWHERE ? We are often told that Freemasonry is the same every"where . Is this the fact ?—B . C . —[ Yes , in some cases . The brethren all over the world have a great love to see

Masonic Notes And Queries.

themselves in print , and everywhere there is an immense amount of twaddle printed , in the shape of speeches about Freemasonry . ] PROFESSOR BUHLE ON FREEMASONRY . Where are Professor Bnhle ' s remarks on Freemasonry to be found ?—R . B . 25 . —[ lit eight large folio volumes .

See also a series of articles on "Ancient AA 7 riters and Modern Practices , " in the 4 th vol . of TUB FREEMASONS ' MAGAZINE , 1858 . ] THE LETTER G . Wanted , some further explanation of the letter Gthan that afforded by the lectures . Where can I get it?—T . T . —[ See Ashe ' s Masonic Manual"On

, the letter G , and Relation existing between Geometry and the Masonic Institution , " which will be found under Argument xii ., p . 125 of the old edition , 1825 . ] HIGH PRIESTHOOD . "B * * * * " has to thank several brethren for their replies to him in a recent number . May he venture to ask

for further information , on the subject ? If so , he would be glad to know who was the founder of the degree , and if it is not American , compiled from the rite of the " Initiated Brothers of Asia , " which took its rise at Berlin , in 1780 , and about which two pamphlets appeared , also at Berlin , in 1787 , which are noticed as numbers 225 and 226 of Thory ' s " Catalogue . " "B * * * * , " of course , is not a ,.

High Priest , and has no intention of incurring the penalty for passing himself off as such , but simply seeks knowledge as far as it may be legally communicated tohim , and for which he would be thankful . —B * * * * .

Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

The Editor is not responsible for Vie opinions expressed ly Correspondents . "FREEMASOJSTRY A LUXURY . " TO TEE EDITOR OP THE FUEE . UASOXS' ItfAGAZIXE AND MASOXIC MIHr . OH . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , . — -For some time past youipages have been filled by correspondents , who have

endeavoured to prove the universality of Freemasonry , and show that there is more in the Craft than a mere convivial society . At the last Grand Lodge , the Grand Registrar is reported to have quoted from the Duke of Sussex , as he stated , to the effect that " a Mason ' s lodge was a Mason ' s church . " Unorthodox as tho sentiment is , from whatever quarter it comes , it may pass muster

as the expression of one of the Grand Officer ' s opiuions , particularly when be safely quotes a previous use of the dogma . But how it narrows tho question no one seems to consider , for it makes Freemasonry a sect —and not a very brilliant sect , either—doing entirely away with all pretensions to purity of doctrine ; for , if a church admits Christians , Jews , and any amount of freethinkers as a portion of its disciples , its consistency must be of a most curious compound , and its tenets still moreextraordinary .

Definitions of Freemasonry seem to bo pretty rife jusfe now , as the following extract from a report of the late meeting of the Boys' School , inserted in the Daily Telegraph of tho 20 th instant , shows . It there states that : — " Bro . Udall also moved , after rule 31 , to insert the following rule : — 'They are to receive and examine the petitions of candidatesand to place on the list for election those who appear

, eligible for admission , with power to reject any petition if they consider the petitioner ' s case does not come within the class of those intended to be aided by this institution , notwithstanding the correctness of all the certificates required . ' He said at present , no matter in what way a person became a Freemason , the committee were bound to receive his petition . He maintained that Freemasonry was a luxury , and no man ought to

become a Freemason unless he had power to support it . " And so Bro . Udall believes Freemasonry to be a luxury 1 He ignores its benefits to mankind at large , and thinks