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Article MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. ← Page 2 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Notes And Queries.
EEELECTED EAYS OE LIGHT UPON EREEMASONRY . I have just had the pleasure of perusing Bro . Garey ' s "Reflected Rays , " as edited by our wellknown Bro . James Stevenson . It is not a historical or critical workhut a most interesting and useful
, repertoire of allusions , & c , to many portions of our ( when properly performed ) beautiful rituals and ceremonies . As the price is only one shilling , it ought to be in the hands of almost every brother who takes an interest in the working of the Craft . The emblematical frontispiece is pretty good , so also
are the engravings prefixed to the different parts , as well as others scattered throughout its pages . The sketch upon page 28 referring to the " sacred number Fifteen , " reminds us of a mystery often worked out in our schoolboy days long before we attained to " the 47 th problem of Euclid" pourtrayed at page 51 .
, Altogether I have much pleasure in recommending this neat little " pocket compendium " to the notice especially of young brethren and youthful officebearers . —W . P . B .
ROSXYN CHAPEL . Very luckily I happened to see the following , more especially as Mr . Ferguson is an author upon whom one can depend , lie can give a reason for his faithit is from the Daily Review .- — "Mr . Fergusonthe celebrated author of "The
, Historj of Architecture , " and many similar works , has latel y been visiting Roslyn Chapel , ancl has become , we believe , quite confirmed in his ideas that this beautiful structure is built upon models from the north of Spain ; and that the architect , if not a Spaniard , was intimately acquainted with the
interesting ecclesiastical buildings in that part of the world , and used them as his model . " In his " Handbook of Architecture , " 1855 , Mr . Ferguson said . —• ' From the knowledge we now have of styles , there can be little doubt that his architects came from the north of Spain . In fact , there is no
detail or ornament in the whole building ivhich may not be traced back to Burgos or Oviedo ; though there is a certain clumsiness botli in the carving and construction that betrays the workmanship of persons hut little familiar with the task they were employed upon . The chapel is smallonlGSftb 35 ft
, y . y . internall y . The central aisle is onl y 15 ft . wide , and has the southern peculiarity of a tunnel-vault with only transverse ribs such as those found at Fontifroide and in almost all the old churches of tho south of France . "
Mr . Billmgs , in his "Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland , " says , — " It was founded in the year 1416 b y * the representative of the semi-Royal House of Sinclair—a man whose list of noble titles , beginning with Prince of Orkney and Duke of Oldenburg , has been noted for its almost Spanish
tediousness . Onl y the chancel of the edifice was compleated . " f As to the well-known " Prentice Pillar" here , Slezer calls it the " Prince ' s Pillar . "—W . P . BUCHAN .
CELESTIAL MYSTEEIES . Will Bro . Melville he good enough to give his opinion as to the age of the antique coin figured bv
him ou page 210 , and also as to the time when people talked Latin at Corinth ? These points , if satisfactorily cleared up , may by possibility throw a little light on his paper , which certainly requires a great deal of explanation to render it intelli gible to an ordinary terrestrial like myself . —F . I . W .
EEEEMASONEY ABOUT 152 YEAES OLD . I was very glad to see Bro . Sanderson ' s article at page 222 , and also to find him saying , " at most' the bone of contention ' is only a matter of a few years less or more ;'' and with him I desire to see the point more clearly defined than it has yet been ; to
do this we must have the customs and usages of the other co-existing trades previous to 1717 . Further , we must draw a line of distinction between an old operative Mason's lodge with its friendly society and a lodge of speculative Masons ; other trades I consider had also their friendly societies attached and admitted non-operatives . The Masons hitherto have had all the say , but justice and truth demand that the other trades should now be heard . — W . P . BUCHAN .
KINO OP PRUSSIA . It is noticeable that the grand banquet given to Bro . the King of Prussia in his late visit to Kcenigsberg was held in the Freemasons Hall of that city , showing that he and the authorities of that city were not afraid of publicly going into the Devil ' s House . —A .
BEOS . DE . J . T . DESAGULIEES , LL . D ., E . R . S ., ANB JAMES ANDEESON , A . M . Allow me to give the following notice of these two distinguished brethren , as contained in " The Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biograph" published
y , by W . Mackenzie , Glasgow .- —• " Desaguliers , John Theophilus , was horn in France in 1683 , but was educated and continued to reside in England till his death iu 1749 . He contributed some valuable papers in optics , mechanics , & c , to various scientific societies . He published a ' Course of
Experimental Philosophy , ' ivhich was much esteemed in its day . The transactions of tbe Royal Society contain interesting papers communicated by him . "" WJt . Ii . "
Anderson , James , a Scotch genealogist , lived in the earlier half of the ei ghteenth century , and was pastor of a Presbyterian church , iu Swallow-street , Piccadilly , London , ancl also Chaplain to a lodge of Freemasons . It was , doubtless , his holding the latter office that led him to publish , in 1723 , a book called ' The Constitutions of Freemasons . ' His genealogical
works , which are the result of some labour , but display little judgment , are— 'Royal Genealogies , or the Genealogical Tables of Emperors , Kings , and Princes , from Adam to these times ; ' and a ' Genealogical History of the House of Tvery , ' prepared and published at the expense of the Earl of Egmont . —A . M . "
At page 144 of his History , I observe Findel saying , — "Desaguliers was the son of a French Protestant clergyman , and was born at Rochelle in 1683 . . ... He died 1743 . " Which is right , 1743 or 1749 ? At page 38 of the 1723 Constitutions , we have" XVII . James Anderson , A . M . The author of this hook . Master . " Therebv showing he was the Master of the lodge then . —W . P . B .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Notes And Queries.
EEELECTED EAYS OE LIGHT UPON EREEMASONRY . I have just had the pleasure of perusing Bro . Garey ' s "Reflected Rays , " as edited by our wellknown Bro . James Stevenson . It is not a historical or critical workhut a most interesting and useful
, repertoire of allusions , & c , to many portions of our ( when properly performed ) beautiful rituals and ceremonies . As the price is only one shilling , it ought to be in the hands of almost every brother who takes an interest in the working of the Craft . The emblematical frontispiece is pretty good , so also
are the engravings prefixed to the different parts , as well as others scattered throughout its pages . The sketch upon page 28 referring to the " sacred number Fifteen , " reminds us of a mystery often worked out in our schoolboy days long before we attained to " the 47 th problem of Euclid" pourtrayed at page 51 .
, Altogether I have much pleasure in recommending this neat little " pocket compendium " to the notice especially of young brethren and youthful officebearers . —W . P . B .
ROSXYN CHAPEL . Very luckily I happened to see the following , more especially as Mr . Ferguson is an author upon whom one can depend , lie can give a reason for his faithit is from the Daily Review .- — "Mr . Fergusonthe celebrated author of "The
, Historj of Architecture , " and many similar works , has latel y been visiting Roslyn Chapel , ancl has become , we believe , quite confirmed in his ideas that this beautiful structure is built upon models from the north of Spain ; and that the architect , if not a Spaniard , was intimately acquainted with the
interesting ecclesiastical buildings in that part of the world , and used them as his model . " In his " Handbook of Architecture , " 1855 , Mr . Ferguson said . —• ' From the knowledge we now have of styles , there can be little doubt that his architects came from the north of Spain . In fact , there is no
detail or ornament in the whole building ivhich may not be traced back to Burgos or Oviedo ; though there is a certain clumsiness botli in the carving and construction that betrays the workmanship of persons hut little familiar with the task they were employed upon . The chapel is smallonlGSftb 35 ft
, y . y . internall y . The central aisle is onl y 15 ft . wide , and has the southern peculiarity of a tunnel-vault with only transverse ribs such as those found at Fontifroide and in almost all the old churches of tho south of France . "
Mr . Billmgs , in his "Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland , " says , — " It was founded in the year 1416 b y * the representative of the semi-Royal House of Sinclair—a man whose list of noble titles , beginning with Prince of Orkney and Duke of Oldenburg , has been noted for its almost Spanish
tediousness . Onl y the chancel of the edifice was compleated . " f As to the well-known " Prentice Pillar" here , Slezer calls it the " Prince ' s Pillar . "—W . P . BUCHAN .
CELESTIAL MYSTEEIES . Will Bro . Melville he good enough to give his opinion as to the age of the antique coin figured bv
him ou page 210 , and also as to the time when people talked Latin at Corinth ? These points , if satisfactorily cleared up , may by possibility throw a little light on his paper , which certainly requires a great deal of explanation to render it intelli gible to an ordinary terrestrial like myself . —F . I . W .
EEEEMASONEY ABOUT 152 YEAES OLD . I was very glad to see Bro . Sanderson ' s article at page 222 , and also to find him saying , " at most' the bone of contention ' is only a matter of a few years less or more ;'' and with him I desire to see the point more clearly defined than it has yet been ; to
do this we must have the customs and usages of the other co-existing trades previous to 1717 . Further , we must draw a line of distinction between an old operative Mason's lodge with its friendly society and a lodge of speculative Masons ; other trades I consider had also their friendly societies attached and admitted non-operatives . The Masons hitherto have had all the say , but justice and truth demand that the other trades should now be heard . — W . P . BUCHAN .
KINO OP PRUSSIA . It is noticeable that the grand banquet given to Bro . the King of Prussia in his late visit to Kcenigsberg was held in the Freemasons Hall of that city , showing that he and the authorities of that city were not afraid of publicly going into the Devil ' s House . —A .
BEOS . DE . J . T . DESAGULIEES , LL . D ., E . R . S ., ANB JAMES ANDEESON , A . M . Allow me to give the following notice of these two distinguished brethren , as contained in " The Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biograph" published
y , by W . Mackenzie , Glasgow .- —• " Desaguliers , John Theophilus , was horn in France in 1683 , but was educated and continued to reside in England till his death iu 1749 . He contributed some valuable papers in optics , mechanics , & c , to various scientific societies . He published a ' Course of
Experimental Philosophy , ' ivhich was much esteemed in its day . The transactions of tbe Royal Society contain interesting papers communicated by him . "" WJt . Ii . "
Anderson , James , a Scotch genealogist , lived in the earlier half of the ei ghteenth century , and was pastor of a Presbyterian church , iu Swallow-street , Piccadilly , London , ancl also Chaplain to a lodge of Freemasons . It was , doubtless , his holding the latter office that led him to publish , in 1723 , a book called ' The Constitutions of Freemasons . ' His genealogical
works , which are the result of some labour , but display little judgment , are— 'Royal Genealogies , or the Genealogical Tables of Emperors , Kings , and Princes , from Adam to these times ; ' and a ' Genealogical History of the House of Tvery , ' prepared and published at the expense of the Earl of Egmont . —A . M . "
At page 144 of his History , I observe Findel saying , — "Desaguliers was the son of a French Protestant clergyman , and was born at Rochelle in 1683 . . ... He died 1743 . " Which is right , 1743 or 1749 ? At page 38 of the 1723 Constitutions , we have" XVII . James Anderson , A . M . The author of this hook . Master . " Therebv showing he was the Master of the lodge then . —W . P . B .