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Original Correspondence.
for ; and it is to be hoped that those who have the interests of the Institution at heart , and would rather increase than diminish its usefulness , will attend and oppose the confirmation of the alteration , which was only carried by a very small majority at a very small Court . I remain , faithfully and fraternally yours , October 3 rd . VICE-PATRON .
UNDUE SOLICITATION . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — In your last issue there is a letter purporting to have been written by the Duke of Buccleuch to Lord R . Kerr , in which his Grace says -. " Having on a former
occasion declined to become a Freemason , when named for a high office in the Craft . " Will you , or some of your readers who approve of this sort of thing , explain how they reconcile the solicitation here implied and openly referred to in other letters ( published with his Grace ' s ) with the undertakings of an E . A . ?
I am an M . M . under the Irish Constitution , but being at present in England I intend joining a lodge here . Previous to doing so , I would , however , like to assure myself that the declarations of Masonry are held by English Masons as something more than mere idle words . I hold—and so do all good Masons that I have spoken with on the subject
—that the brethren are individually and collectively bound by their assurances not to invite or attempt to influence any person to become a Mason . There is , of course , no definite phrase employed ; but how could any honest man accept the undertakings of an E . A . if he was about to be initiated , as the Duke of Buccleuch was invited to be , on the understanding
that he was to have a high office ? Such a proceeding is defiant of all the principles of our Brotherhood . How much so can only be pointed out when in lodge or under tile , and I must therefore be content with this somewhat bald statement . I am , Sir , yours very truly , MASTER MASON . October 3 rd .
VOTES . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , I want some votes for the election ( Boys ); how can I get them ? I am told the election is to be " very close "
and votes " scarce . " Is there any possibility of ascertaining these facts ? and how I can secure help ? Yours fraternally , A VOTER . [ The querist had better apply to some of the influential " coteries " or " committees . "—ED . F . M . I
BRO . COL . MACLEOD MOORE . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I am sure all your readers will sympathise with me in the misfortunes sustained by my dear friend and our good brother , Col . W . J . Bury Macleod Moore , of Laprain ' e ,
Canada , from whom I have just received the intelligence that , during a terrific thunderstorm , his house was struck by lightning , and within an hour was burned to the ground , the familyescaping with difficulty . Thewholeof our brother's valuable library , papers , pictures , and manuscripts have been lost , with the rest of his belongings . As a collector
of all such objects as have been included in the conflagration , I can imagine nothing more heart-breaking than this event ; and when we remember that but a few short months ago Col . Moore suffered from a double family bereavement , I think some expression of sympathy with him should be
made . He has long been regarded as a rallying point for true Masons in the Dominion , and the very soul of chivalry in the society of that favourite colony . I am , yours faithfully and . fraternally , York , October 3 rd . T . B . WHYTEHEAD .
ELECTION " CASES " AND " CASES . " To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — A man once asked a literary contributor for pecuniary aid . In answer to the question as to his vocation , the man replied that he had been a seller of literature . The
help he sought was given , with the advice " to sell in future for the people ' s mouths and not for their heads . " The man was wise enough to follow the advice , for he sold "bunches" of saveloys at the dock gates of Eastern London , and realised a fair fortune . The hardships of brain-workers , and their self-sacrificing
labours might be told in many a grim anecdote , were it the purpose of this letter to enter upon this phase of life ; but ; ts purpose is to call attention to a distinction between cases or charity . One brother , in possession of a business , may die , and his business may be carried on ; hence his family , however grievous may be the loss of the head of that family ,
have not lost the bread-winner . But take the case of the death of the principal of a scholastic college . I have such a case before me , in which a family had embarked their all —the winnings of their lives forming a capital sum , part saved and part borrowed , perhaps—which , with the
husband ' s name as , a teacher , promised to win a fair compe . tence in the brain-working task of training young men . This was the case of our late Bro . the Rev . Hennah , of the Union Lodge , No . 127 , who added to his already great burden of a principal of a college , public and minist erial duties , and died last autumn from rheumatic fever ,
Original Correspondence.
the seeds of which were caught while poor Hennah was carrying out a self-imposed task of preaching . His well , founded college had to be sacrificed now the master ' s hand was withdrawn ; and the young widow has to face the world with her sorrows , her three children , and her task of brainwork in the heavy duty of a teacher . She seeks for the
election of her eldest of three sons , Frederick Wolfe Hennah ( 41 on the list ) , and the goodness of the case is vouched for by a noble list of names . The case is exceptional , for the poor father was a good ; worker for education , for the Craft , and for religion . He was a good patriot , and was a good worker in all and all ; but ,
unhappily , being a brain-worker and not a trader , the foundations he had laid for his family ' s future have perished with the life of the founder . My reason for troubling you with this is to solicit the help of the unattached voters . I am a poor hand at begging votes ; and at the last election the brethren of poor
Hennah's lodge—to which he had belonged all the days of his Masonic life , up to the day of his death—did not regard his as a " local " case , because he lived in London . I hope they have recalled this error , and will add their votes to those I can collect . I am , Sir , your obedient and faithful servant , I . WHILE , P . M . 22 S , M . E . Z . 22 S .
HOW HISTORY IS WRITTEN . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I quite agree with "A Student of History " as to the desirability of writers in leading public journals , and , indeed , in every kind of publication , being strictly accurate in their statements . I trust , therefore , your
correspondent will be kind enough to excuse me for pointing out that it was Alexander I ., not Alexander II ., who died at Taganrog in 1 S 25 . Alexander IL , nephew of Alexander I ., was foully assassinated in St . Petersburg , in March , 1881 , and his son , Alexander III ., is the present occupant of the imperial throne of all the Russias . Believe me , fraternally yours , Q .
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
THE SOLUTION OF THE PYRAMID PROBLEM ; OR PYRAMID DISCOVERIES . By ROBERT BALLARD , C . E . New York : John Wiley and Sons . 1 SS 2 . The above somewhat bold title heads a new contribution to the literature on the Pyramids . Many have been the solutions of the " problem " brought forward , astronomical , mathematical , astro-theological , Szc ., & c , and the number
of secrets said to have been concealed in the Great Pyramid is endless . Certainly , 109 pages is but little in which to explain a new " solution , " but it is probably owing to the fact that nothing of the " inspiration" theory is included , and the fact , as told by the author , that " a glimpse at the Pyramids three and twenty years ago , and the meagre library of a nomad in the Australian wilderness" have been all he has had to work upon . His
" solution " will be found stated in a few words on page So , as _ follows : "I must be excused by geometricians for going so much in detail into the simple truths connected with right-angled trigonometry . My object has been to make it very clear to that portion of the public not versed in geometry that the Pyramids of Egypt must have been used for land surveying by right-angled triangles with sides having whole numbers . " This theory is elaborately
worked out and carefully stated ; but we notice that to a great extent many of the calculations rest on an entirely new measurement of the cubit , which our author appears to have named the R . B . cubit , after himself . Egyptologists tell us that the Pyramids were tombs , and in that of Mencheres , or Mycerinus , the sarcophagus and wooden coffin of the King were found . His was the third Pyramid of the celebrated group at Gizeh , and less in
proportion than the other two built respectively by Cheops and Cephren . Mr . Ballard allows ( p . 42 ) that the builders " may perhaps have made the entombment of their kings one of their exoteric objects , playing on the morbid vanity of their rulers to induce them to the work . " Cheops reigned sixty-three years , and Cephren sixty-six , according to Manetho . Mencheres , following the same author , occupied the throne for sixty-three years .
The Pyramids were usually finished during the lifetime of the kings whose bodies were to be concealed in their recesses . The above calculation would , if approximately correct , give a total for the three reigns of about 150 to 200 years , and this period would be still further extended if the supposition be correct that the Pyramid of Mencheres was left unfinished , and only completed by Nitocris , a queen of the sixth dynasty . To satisfy the requirements of these
facts , we must allow a continued design of the directors of such buildings in Egypt lasting at least throughout two hundred years , in order to make complete these magnificent " theodolites . " Is it probable also , as advanced on page 57 , that " the summit of Cheops appears to me to have been left incomplete , the better to get the range with Cephren for lines down the Delta ? " the Pyramid of Cephren having been built after that of Cheops . That
the Pyramids are placed according to the points of the compass there is no doubt ; but this was done , Egyptologists inform us , because the sides were dedicated , for mythological reasons , to the four cardinal points . The Pyramids of Gizeh , like most of the others in Egypt , form the centre of a necropolis . It is true that Cheops , Cephren , and
Mycerinus appear to have been honoured by special worship , but their Pyramids , like others , formed this centre , the space round and near them being occupied by the smaller tombs ( Pyramids ) of their relations . Mr . Ballard , on page Si , seems to lean towards a possibility that the passages , chambers , & c , of these vast mounments may have had some use in what he calls " the hanky-panky of the ancient cere-
Reviews.
monial connected with the mysteries or religion of that period . " This , no doubt , is possible ; and we have long held the opinion of a probability , as suggested by Mr . BaPlard , of other passages and chambers below those now known . The British Museum Papyrus , purchased from Mr . Rhinrl , having been mentioned , it may be of interest to those who wish to follow out the geometrv ' of the Egyptians to know thatfirst '
— commented on by DrS . Birch *—it was published by Dr . Eisenlohr , in 1 S 77 t in facsimile , with a translation , & c . Unfortunately , however , although it professes to be a copy of a much earlier document , the papyrus , as we possess it , does not date earlier than the XX . Dynasty . It contains much that is curious and valuable , relating to the measur ing of fields
, pyramids , & c ; but we doubt if anything will be found in it to assist Mr . Ballard ' s " solution . " We commend to the notice cf those who interest themselves in what is called Hermetic Masonry , the chapter dealing with the cabalistic figures , the pentangle and thcpentalpha , the of which
origin has given rise to much speculation . They are thus explained by Air . Ballard , ( p . 101 . ) "It appears most probable that the star Pentalpha led to the star Cheops ( the pentangle ) , and that the star Cheops was the plan used by the ancient architect , " in laying out the Pyramid .
To whatever use the Pyramids were afterwards put by the Egyptians , we cannot but agree with the opinion of M . Pierret , keeper of the Egyptian Anti quities in the Louvre , who speaks very strongly on the subject when he says : " It outrages all which we know of Egypt , and all which archaeology has taught us about the monumental customs of this country , to see anything else in them than tombs . "
A REGISTER OF THE SCHOLARS ADMITTED INTO MERCHANT TAYLORS' SCHOOL FROM 15 G 2 to 1 S 74 . Vol . I By the Rev . C . J . ROBINSON , M . A . I-arncombe and Co ., Lewes . We have glanced , and only glanced , at the first volume of a very elaborate work , "The Register of Merchant Taylors School , " vol . 1 ., which contains the list of ils
pup from 1562 to 1699 . The fact that we have here the records of an English Craft Gild School for 300 years is a fact in itself to command attenlion and claim respect . Founded in 1560 , practically by the liberal initiative of a member of the Merchant Taylors' Company , Richard Hills , supplemented by the kindly aid of the Company or Gild , it soon became a valuable educational establishment , and admitted within its walls not
only the sons of non-members of the " Craft , " but also the scions of wealth y and noble families . In 1561 the Company purchased one moiet y of an old mansion , —the two moieties only coming into its possession in 1 S 59 , —and there , until the great fire of London , the school flourished , maintaining , more or less , 250 scholars . In 1 G 71 fresh steps were taken to restore the schoolwhich
, was completed m 16 75 . 1 he building had no architectural pretentions , but underwent several alterations from time to time to fit it for the useful work of education carried on within its walls . In 1 S 61 the Company purchased of the Governors of the Charter House the site of their school premises ( now located at Godalming ) , live-and-a-half acres , for £ 90 , 000 , and at a further cost ' of £ 40 , 000 erected scnooi to contain scholars
a 500 , and a proportionately increased staff of masters . It is a most interesting fact that for 300 years , this great City Company has with unselfish Iarge-heartedness maintained this oreat and important school , and its future seems to promise a verv brilliant reflection on a laborious and valuable oast Among its alumni may be mentioned Edmund Sncnser '
Lancelot Andrewes , Ralph Hutchinson , Giles Tompson , Thomas Dove , Henry Withers , Sir William Paddye , Sir Thomas Ca . » sar , Matthew Gwynne , Edwin Sandys ' John Spenser , Sir William Stonehouse . John Bucke " . l' ¦ , , ? 1 h , tel ° c' «> Henry Campion , and not the least , John Stowe , and many more , not onlv useful and worthy citizens of " London Town " but men who rose to the highest positions in Church and btate . It is impossible to look at such a work as the one
before us , being only vol . 1 , without feeling stronclv what a debt of gratitude we owe to those greater and lesser public schools of ours ; our grammar schools and our Comoanv foundations for the education of large classes of Englishmen of all ranks and conditions . We sometimes overlook what has been done , and in that inevitable impatience of each passing age often think that it is our duty and mission tn find fault with what has been , and by destroying whS ha £ to claim for
uune mucn goon ourselves the credit of original construction . 1 here is the greatest difference in the world between wise reparations and needful changes , which the lapse of time , altered circumstances , and differing habits of society all but imperatively demand , and that headlong haste with which we seek to d . scredit what is old , because it isold ; touprootancientfoundations , andtodivertlon < rrnn tinned grants and bequests . Just now , when sn m ,,. !?; . . '
tooishly and unjustly said about the City Companies it is well to remember that themselves , the growth and outcome of the institution and mun . cipa self-government , like the Merchant Taylors' Company , they have done much both for education and _ for charity , and that the proposal to rates
? ave cne oy impounding the gifts of their members , long-existing donations , and large-hearted allowances 7 s neither a proof of sagacity nor honesty , in that it shakes faith m the very donation and reversion of property and seriously affects the tenure of all scholastic foundat ' ions and mterferes with the free discharge of ancient tu " ts '
wnere mere are anuses , let them be rectified ; where there is malversation or m . sapprobation let it be punished ; where the original intent of the charity has been forgotten let it revivednut let rtd
ue ; us av . honestly the injustice of appropriating funds granted specificall y for tne pu a P ^ Jvr WhlC f hCy a r '' r aila , ' mother a nd a very different one . 1-or under the moving claims of amendment and the pubic welfare , the claims of education , & c we discern the least pleasing theories of plunder and spoliation Ih , Merchant Taylors' School seems to have kept to its idea for 300 years ( and lono- mat S to do
so ;; the idea , let us remark , of William of Wykeham , that there should be two great dasses taught , those who were the poorer sons of members nf the fraternity , and those who could afford to pay something towards their education . _ The Merchant 1 ' aylors' School enjoys a high and increasing reputation .
I " , ?? fS [ ' £ yPr- S . " iSOS . Page 108 . t ' Em Mathematisches Handbuch den alten Aejrvoten " Leipzig , 1 S 77 . I wo vols , bjpien .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Original Correspondence.
for ; and it is to be hoped that those who have the interests of the Institution at heart , and would rather increase than diminish its usefulness , will attend and oppose the confirmation of the alteration , which was only carried by a very small majority at a very small Court . I remain , faithfully and fraternally yours , October 3 rd . VICE-PATRON .
UNDUE SOLICITATION . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — In your last issue there is a letter purporting to have been written by the Duke of Buccleuch to Lord R . Kerr , in which his Grace says -. " Having on a former
occasion declined to become a Freemason , when named for a high office in the Craft . " Will you , or some of your readers who approve of this sort of thing , explain how they reconcile the solicitation here implied and openly referred to in other letters ( published with his Grace ' s ) with the undertakings of an E . A . ?
I am an M . M . under the Irish Constitution , but being at present in England I intend joining a lodge here . Previous to doing so , I would , however , like to assure myself that the declarations of Masonry are held by English Masons as something more than mere idle words . I hold—and so do all good Masons that I have spoken with on the subject
—that the brethren are individually and collectively bound by their assurances not to invite or attempt to influence any person to become a Mason . There is , of course , no definite phrase employed ; but how could any honest man accept the undertakings of an E . A . if he was about to be initiated , as the Duke of Buccleuch was invited to be , on the understanding
that he was to have a high office ? Such a proceeding is defiant of all the principles of our Brotherhood . How much so can only be pointed out when in lodge or under tile , and I must therefore be content with this somewhat bald statement . I am , Sir , yours very truly , MASTER MASON . October 3 rd .
VOTES . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , I want some votes for the election ( Boys ); how can I get them ? I am told the election is to be " very close "
and votes " scarce . " Is there any possibility of ascertaining these facts ? and how I can secure help ? Yours fraternally , A VOTER . [ The querist had better apply to some of the influential " coteries " or " committees . "—ED . F . M . I
BRO . COL . MACLEOD MOORE . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I am sure all your readers will sympathise with me in the misfortunes sustained by my dear friend and our good brother , Col . W . J . Bury Macleod Moore , of Laprain ' e ,
Canada , from whom I have just received the intelligence that , during a terrific thunderstorm , his house was struck by lightning , and within an hour was burned to the ground , the familyescaping with difficulty . Thewholeof our brother's valuable library , papers , pictures , and manuscripts have been lost , with the rest of his belongings . As a collector
of all such objects as have been included in the conflagration , I can imagine nothing more heart-breaking than this event ; and when we remember that but a few short months ago Col . Moore suffered from a double family bereavement , I think some expression of sympathy with him should be
made . He has long been regarded as a rallying point for true Masons in the Dominion , and the very soul of chivalry in the society of that favourite colony . I am , yours faithfully and . fraternally , York , October 3 rd . T . B . WHYTEHEAD .
ELECTION " CASES " AND " CASES . " To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — A man once asked a literary contributor for pecuniary aid . In answer to the question as to his vocation , the man replied that he had been a seller of literature . The
help he sought was given , with the advice " to sell in future for the people ' s mouths and not for their heads . " The man was wise enough to follow the advice , for he sold "bunches" of saveloys at the dock gates of Eastern London , and realised a fair fortune . The hardships of brain-workers , and their self-sacrificing
labours might be told in many a grim anecdote , were it the purpose of this letter to enter upon this phase of life ; but ; ts purpose is to call attention to a distinction between cases or charity . One brother , in possession of a business , may die , and his business may be carried on ; hence his family , however grievous may be the loss of the head of that family ,
have not lost the bread-winner . But take the case of the death of the principal of a scholastic college . I have such a case before me , in which a family had embarked their all —the winnings of their lives forming a capital sum , part saved and part borrowed , perhaps—which , with the
husband ' s name as , a teacher , promised to win a fair compe . tence in the brain-working task of training young men . This was the case of our late Bro . the Rev . Hennah , of the Union Lodge , No . 127 , who added to his already great burden of a principal of a college , public and minist erial duties , and died last autumn from rheumatic fever ,
Original Correspondence.
the seeds of which were caught while poor Hennah was carrying out a self-imposed task of preaching . His well , founded college had to be sacrificed now the master ' s hand was withdrawn ; and the young widow has to face the world with her sorrows , her three children , and her task of brainwork in the heavy duty of a teacher . She seeks for the
election of her eldest of three sons , Frederick Wolfe Hennah ( 41 on the list ) , and the goodness of the case is vouched for by a noble list of names . The case is exceptional , for the poor father was a good ; worker for education , for the Craft , and for religion . He was a good patriot , and was a good worker in all and all ; but ,
unhappily , being a brain-worker and not a trader , the foundations he had laid for his family ' s future have perished with the life of the founder . My reason for troubling you with this is to solicit the help of the unattached voters . I am a poor hand at begging votes ; and at the last election the brethren of poor
Hennah's lodge—to which he had belonged all the days of his Masonic life , up to the day of his death—did not regard his as a " local " case , because he lived in London . I hope they have recalled this error , and will add their votes to those I can collect . I am , Sir , your obedient and faithful servant , I . WHILE , P . M . 22 S , M . E . Z . 22 S .
HOW HISTORY IS WRITTEN . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I quite agree with "A Student of History " as to the desirability of writers in leading public journals , and , indeed , in every kind of publication , being strictly accurate in their statements . I trust , therefore , your
correspondent will be kind enough to excuse me for pointing out that it was Alexander I ., not Alexander II ., who died at Taganrog in 1 S 25 . Alexander IL , nephew of Alexander I ., was foully assassinated in St . Petersburg , in March , 1881 , and his son , Alexander III ., is the present occupant of the imperial throne of all the Russias . Believe me , fraternally yours , Q .
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
THE SOLUTION OF THE PYRAMID PROBLEM ; OR PYRAMID DISCOVERIES . By ROBERT BALLARD , C . E . New York : John Wiley and Sons . 1 SS 2 . The above somewhat bold title heads a new contribution to the literature on the Pyramids . Many have been the solutions of the " problem " brought forward , astronomical , mathematical , astro-theological , Szc ., & c , and the number
of secrets said to have been concealed in the Great Pyramid is endless . Certainly , 109 pages is but little in which to explain a new " solution , " but it is probably owing to the fact that nothing of the " inspiration" theory is included , and the fact , as told by the author , that " a glimpse at the Pyramids three and twenty years ago , and the meagre library of a nomad in the Australian wilderness" have been all he has had to work upon . His
" solution " will be found stated in a few words on page So , as _ follows : "I must be excused by geometricians for going so much in detail into the simple truths connected with right-angled trigonometry . My object has been to make it very clear to that portion of the public not versed in geometry that the Pyramids of Egypt must have been used for land surveying by right-angled triangles with sides having whole numbers . " This theory is elaborately
worked out and carefully stated ; but we notice that to a great extent many of the calculations rest on an entirely new measurement of the cubit , which our author appears to have named the R . B . cubit , after himself . Egyptologists tell us that the Pyramids were tombs , and in that of Mencheres , or Mycerinus , the sarcophagus and wooden coffin of the King were found . His was the third Pyramid of the celebrated group at Gizeh , and less in
proportion than the other two built respectively by Cheops and Cephren . Mr . Ballard allows ( p . 42 ) that the builders " may perhaps have made the entombment of their kings one of their exoteric objects , playing on the morbid vanity of their rulers to induce them to the work . " Cheops reigned sixty-three years , and Cephren sixty-six , according to Manetho . Mencheres , following the same author , occupied the throne for sixty-three years .
The Pyramids were usually finished during the lifetime of the kings whose bodies were to be concealed in their recesses . The above calculation would , if approximately correct , give a total for the three reigns of about 150 to 200 years , and this period would be still further extended if the supposition be correct that the Pyramid of Mencheres was left unfinished , and only completed by Nitocris , a queen of the sixth dynasty . To satisfy the requirements of these
facts , we must allow a continued design of the directors of such buildings in Egypt lasting at least throughout two hundred years , in order to make complete these magnificent " theodolites . " Is it probable also , as advanced on page 57 , that " the summit of Cheops appears to me to have been left incomplete , the better to get the range with Cephren for lines down the Delta ? " the Pyramid of Cephren having been built after that of Cheops . That
the Pyramids are placed according to the points of the compass there is no doubt ; but this was done , Egyptologists inform us , because the sides were dedicated , for mythological reasons , to the four cardinal points . The Pyramids of Gizeh , like most of the others in Egypt , form the centre of a necropolis . It is true that Cheops , Cephren , and
Mycerinus appear to have been honoured by special worship , but their Pyramids , like others , formed this centre , the space round and near them being occupied by the smaller tombs ( Pyramids ) of their relations . Mr . Ballard , on page Si , seems to lean towards a possibility that the passages , chambers , & c , of these vast mounments may have had some use in what he calls " the hanky-panky of the ancient cere-
Reviews.
monial connected with the mysteries or religion of that period . " This , no doubt , is possible ; and we have long held the opinion of a probability , as suggested by Mr . BaPlard , of other passages and chambers below those now known . The British Museum Papyrus , purchased from Mr . Rhinrl , having been mentioned , it may be of interest to those who wish to follow out the geometrv ' of the Egyptians to know thatfirst '
— commented on by DrS . Birch *—it was published by Dr . Eisenlohr , in 1 S 77 t in facsimile , with a translation , & c . Unfortunately , however , although it professes to be a copy of a much earlier document , the papyrus , as we possess it , does not date earlier than the XX . Dynasty . It contains much that is curious and valuable , relating to the measur ing of fields
, pyramids , & c ; but we doubt if anything will be found in it to assist Mr . Ballard ' s " solution . " We commend to the notice cf those who interest themselves in what is called Hermetic Masonry , the chapter dealing with the cabalistic figures , the pentangle and thcpentalpha , the of which
origin has given rise to much speculation . They are thus explained by Air . Ballard , ( p . 101 . ) "It appears most probable that the star Pentalpha led to the star Cheops ( the pentangle ) , and that the star Cheops was the plan used by the ancient architect , " in laying out the Pyramid .
To whatever use the Pyramids were afterwards put by the Egyptians , we cannot but agree with the opinion of M . Pierret , keeper of the Egyptian Anti quities in the Louvre , who speaks very strongly on the subject when he says : " It outrages all which we know of Egypt , and all which archaeology has taught us about the monumental customs of this country , to see anything else in them than tombs . "
A REGISTER OF THE SCHOLARS ADMITTED INTO MERCHANT TAYLORS' SCHOOL FROM 15 G 2 to 1 S 74 . Vol . I By the Rev . C . J . ROBINSON , M . A . I-arncombe and Co ., Lewes . We have glanced , and only glanced , at the first volume of a very elaborate work , "The Register of Merchant Taylors School , " vol . 1 ., which contains the list of ils
pup from 1562 to 1699 . The fact that we have here the records of an English Craft Gild School for 300 years is a fact in itself to command attenlion and claim respect . Founded in 1560 , practically by the liberal initiative of a member of the Merchant Taylors' Company , Richard Hills , supplemented by the kindly aid of the Company or Gild , it soon became a valuable educational establishment , and admitted within its walls not
only the sons of non-members of the " Craft , " but also the scions of wealth y and noble families . In 1561 the Company purchased one moiet y of an old mansion , —the two moieties only coming into its possession in 1 S 59 , —and there , until the great fire of London , the school flourished , maintaining , more or less , 250 scholars . In 1 G 71 fresh steps were taken to restore the schoolwhich
, was completed m 16 75 . 1 he building had no architectural pretentions , but underwent several alterations from time to time to fit it for the useful work of education carried on within its walls . In 1 S 61 the Company purchased of the Governors of the Charter House the site of their school premises ( now located at Godalming ) , live-and-a-half acres , for £ 90 , 000 , and at a further cost ' of £ 40 , 000 erected scnooi to contain scholars
a 500 , and a proportionately increased staff of masters . It is a most interesting fact that for 300 years , this great City Company has with unselfish Iarge-heartedness maintained this oreat and important school , and its future seems to promise a verv brilliant reflection on a laborious and valuable oast Among its alumni may be mentioned Edmund Sncnser '
Lancelot Andrewes , Ralph Hutchinson , Giles Tompson , Thomas Dove , Henry Withers , Sir William Paddye , Sir Thomas Ca . » sar , Matthew Gwynne , Edwin Sandys ' John Spenser , Sir William Stonehouse . John Bucke " . l' ¦ , , ? 1 h , tel ° c' «> Henry Campion , and not the least , John Stowe , and many more , not onlv useful and worthy citizens of " London Town " but men who rose to the highest positions in Church and btate . It is impossible to look at such a work as the one
before us , being only vol . 1 , without feeling stronclv what a debt of gratitude we owe to those greater and lesser public schools of ours ; our grammar schools and our Comoanv foundations for the education of large classes of Englishmen of all ranks and conditions . We sometimes overlook what has been done , and in that inevitable impatience of each passing age often think that it is our duty and mission tn find fault with what has been , and by destroying whS ha £ to claim for
uune mucn goon ourselves the credit of original construction . 1 here is the greatest difference in the world between wise reparations and needful changes , which the lapse of time , altered circumstances , and differing habits of society all but imperatively demand , and that headlong haste with which we seek to d . scredit what is old , because it isold ; touprootancientfoundations , andtodivertlon < rrnn tinned grants and bequests . Just now , when sn m ,,. !?; . . '
tooishly and unjustly said about the City Companies it is well to remember that themselves , the growth and outcome of the institution and mun . cipa self-government , like the Merchant Taylors' Company , they have done much both for education and _ for charity , and that the proposal to rates
? ave cne oy impounding the gifts of their members , long-existing donations , and large-hearted allowances 7 s neither a proof of sagacity nor honesty , in that it shakes faith m the very donation and reversion of property and seriously affects the tenure of all scholastic foundat ' ions and mterferes with the free discharge of ancient tu " ts '
wnere mere are anuses , let them be rectified ; where there is malversation or m . sapprobation let it be punished ; where the original intent of the charity has been forgotten let it revivednut let rtd
ue ; us av . honestly the injustice of appropriating funds granted specificall y for tne pu a P ^ Jvr WhlC f hCy a r '' r aila , ' mother a nd a very different one . 1-or under the moving claims of amendment and the pubic welfare , the claims of education , & c we discern the least pleasing theories of plunder and spoliation Ih , Merchant Taylors' School seems to have kept to its idea for 300 years ( and lono- mat S to do
so ;; the idea , let us remark , of William of Wykeham , that there should be two great dasses taught , those who were the poorer sons of members nf the fraternity , and those who could afford to pay something towards their education . _ The Merchant 1 ' aylors' School enjoys a high and increasing reputation .
I " , ?? fS [ ' £ yPr- S . " iSOS . Page 108 . t ' Em Mathematisches Handbuch den alten Aejrvoten " Leipzig , 1 S 77 . I wo vols , bjpien .