Facts, Suggestions And Questions.

or when , tho said Lodges began to confer the Third Degree , whether the Degree was conferred in the Lodge , or by a semi-dependent Master ' s Lodge ? And if so , when was that Master's Lodge established ? And were tho two Lodges always governed by tho officers of the Lodge ? Also as to when tho said Lodges began to charge ono fee for the whole three degrees . I know of no ono better able to undertake

that inquiry than our Bro . Hughan . I havo never flattered Bro . Hughan ; more than onco , I havo pitched into somo of his theories ; but , nevertheless , ifc cannot be denied that the Craft is more indebted to Bro . Hughan's publications for a knowledge of English Masonic history than to all other English writers combined . If there is any

merit in the questions suggested in th * jse communications , it is mainly due to him , for if he had nofc published the " Old Charges , " the old Lodgo Lists , and various other old matters , the topics discussed in those papers would never have entered into any one ' s mind . I therefore hope and trust thafc Bro . Hughan will supply the desired information , which , for obvious reasons , I am unable to furnish .

Reviews

REVIEWS

All Books intended for Beview should be addressed to the Editor of The Freemason ' s Chronicle , 67 Barbican , E . C . Subtle Brains and Lissom Fingers . By Andrew Wynter , M . D ., Author of " Curiosities of Civilization , " " Our Social Bees , " & c . New Edition , Revised and Enlarged . By Andrew Steinmetz , of tho Middle Temple , Barrister-at-Law . London : Hardwicke and Bogne , 192 Piccadilly . 1877 .

( Continued from page 171 J " A Day with the Coroner " is painfully interesting , while in the paper on "Vivisection , " Dr . Wynter takes the side of thoso who consider vivisection is necessary for tho proper study of physiology , but in a foot-note Mr . Steinmetz tones down his remarks , observing that the medical profession is itself divided as to the expediency of

the practice in a scientific point of view , and , further , pointing out that the Act of Parliament recently passed is directed against the abuse of vivisection , and nofc its legitimate use when imperatively required . " The New Hotel System" is admirably written , and furnishes a good idea of the Grosvenor and the manner in which it is conducted . The additional conveniences which are now provided

in this and similar establishments which have sprung into being of late years , commencing with the Great Western Hotel , make our first class hotels very different from what they were some thirty years ago . The Clarendon and Long ' s ancl Mivarfc ' s still maintain their prestige , and aro as much frequented as ever by their patrons . But whereas in former days these wero

almost the only habitable hotels , and those who are not princes or nobles wero unable to establish a footing in them , now people of moderate means can be comfortably housed and fed on moderate terms . The details as to the underground offices are most interesting . We find mention of the bakehouse , tbe fish-store , the ice-house , " the den of Boots , '" the washing-room , the platc-room , the still-room ,

and the store-room , the contents of which last are extraordinary . " There is a chest of cigars , for example , and not far off a hogshead of sugar , or a chesb of tea ; mops , brushes , packets of blacklead , house-cloths , are stored away on shelves with neatness and regularity . " We learn farther that " ifc is a rule of tho establishment thafc a certain article is to last a certain time , and when ifc is worn out it

must be brought back to the store to be exchanged for a new one . All the dkbris are immediately chopped up and destroyed , so that there can be no possibility of putting them into circulation again . Stock is taken of the stores once a month . Thus , as far as possible , waste and theft , those fruitful sources of bankruptcy in ill-managed hotels , are provided against . " Then as to the butchery , " which is ,

in fact , a butcher ' s shop , with this exception—that every article is prepared for the spit at a moment ' s notice . The fowls aro trussed ; the cutlets are trimmed and bread-crummed ; the ham and bacon are prepared over night for the morning meal ; the quails have their aprons of bacon fat properly fastened on , and constant forethought is exercised for the advent of tha irascible traveller who wants an

elephant steak in five minutes from the time of ordering it , and keeps on ringing the bell until ifc is served . The larder is calculated to feed the mouths of Gargantua . " One of the most readable papers of the series is a notice of " the ' Times' Newspaper of 1798 . " The following in Whitehall is characteristic of the period , and is quoted as showing " the license which

roughs were allowed in those days . A mob on the previous evening had gathered round the entrance of the Admiralty in honour of the greafc victory . "They insisted on every person of genteel appearance pulling off their hats ( sic ) . Six officers passing along were ordered to pay the same compliment to the nobility , ancl , refusing to do so , the populace attempted to force their hats off . The officers

drew their swords , and it is said thafc somo persons were wounded . The same night there seems to have been an unusual amount of catcalling and abuse of the musicians at Drury Lane , " because , having been wearied with playing' Rule Britannia' and ' God Save the King , ' they would nofc listen to a boisterous cry on the parfc of some individual for 'Britons , Strike Home , ' a demand which was silenced

by some ono singing out in tho gallery * Why damn it , they have , haven't they ?'" Then we are told that " John Hanning , tho seaman , who killed one of tho prcssgang at Newhaven , was discovered hanging in his cell this morning , " and elsewhere , that " Mr . Vernon of the Treasury , and another gentleman , travelling in a post chaise , were stopped near Merton , by two footpads , and were robbed of all their valuables . " Then there is mention of an affair of honour

between Captain H and Colonel A , and also of " a forcible abdugUon of a Mm Mitchell , by a gentleman , iu the County t of Cork . "

Reviews

In another part " we havo a hint , too , of a project on foot which has since been realised—namely , a tunnel under tho Thames ; but , in this instance , between Gravesend and Tilbury , " and , again , there is quoted tho following : "Among tho wonders of tho present day , Mrs . Siddons ' s lato achievements at Brighton , Bath , and Loudon ,

shonld not be forgotten . She positively performed at each of thoso places within the incredibly short space of ninety-six hours . Tho following programme of a file at Maiden Castlo , near Dorchester , on tho anniversary of tho birthday of tho Duchess of Wurtomburg , shows tho class of amusement which was then in favour even with tho Court : —

' lo bo played for afc cricket , a round of bcof , each man of the winning set to havo a riband . A cheese to bo rolled down tho hill—prize to whoever stops it . A silver cup to be run for by ponies , tho best of threo heats . A pound of tobacco to bo grinned for . A barrel of boor to bo rolled down tho hill ; a prize to whoever

stops it . A Michaelmas goose to bo divod for . A good hat to bo cudgelled for . Half a guinea for the best ass in three heats . A handsome hat for tho boy most expert in catching a roll dipped in treacle and suspended by a string .

A leg of mutton and a gallon of porter to tho winner of a race of 100 yards in sacks . A good hat to bo wrestled for . Half a guinea to the rider of an ass who wins tho best of threo heals by coming in last . A pig ; prize to whoever catches him by tho tail . "

The article on " the Restoration of onr Soil , " as showing what may be done by utilising our sowago , is most valuable . Ifc seems curious to learn that what is looked upon as quite a recent discovery shonld be traceable to China , whose inhabitants " never fail to return , to the soil those materials that they have talcen from it . " This is explained by tho circumstance that the market gardener who brings tho day ' s

supply of vegetables to tho honse , takes away with him its sewage . Equally surprising is it to learn that for over two hundred years there has been a district , in the vicinity of Edinburgh , where sewage manuring has been in force . There are now about two hundred acres " irrigated with the flow of the sewage of aboufc 80 , 000 of tho population . " This land , originally worth five shillings an acre , is now worth

£ 30 an acre . As many as live crops have been taken iu a year , at an expense " of nofc moro than ono pound per acre for the labour in irrigating . " But ono of the most conclusive evidences is that quoted as having been given by Mr . P . Skinner Miles , of King ' s Weston , before the Select Committee on tho Sewage of Towns . Mr . Miles , we are told , " did not content himself with building an expensivo drain , bufc ,

following the lead of Mr . Alderman Mechi , ho determined to collect the sewage of his house ( containing thirty persons ) , together with the rain-fall , into a closed tank , containing about 7 , 000 gallons , which lie ventilated by a pipe running up tho chimney , which effectually took away all smell . Tho sewage was conducted by pipes to aboufc twelve acres of grass , and to two acres of ploughed land , aud distributed by

means of a gntta percha hoso . Tho result is thafc those Holds havo improved in value from £ 2 15 s an aero to £ 5 10 s , whilst tho produce has been immensely increased—two crops a year , so thick that they cannot stand up , and tho crop is always good , if tho season be wet or dry . " Other cases aro mentioned , and , in tho result , it is brought home to tho reader in tho most forcible manner that , sooner or later , if the soil is to continue to be as productive as it is now , to say

nothing of its being made more so , it will bo necessary thafc we should utilise our sewage . In "Half Hours at the Kensington Museum " are noted tho principal wonders to be seen at thafc magnificent home of art and science . Perhaps the most curious is that contained in the second half of tho essay . We have , first of all , an account of tho food of man , ancl thou man himself is reduced to his elements . A case ticketed " Ultimate

elements in a human body weighing 154 lbs . furnishes the matter tor the account . " Everybody , " says the author , " wants to look at his own contents , and , consequently , tho glass case is generally crowded ; and we fancy many an old-fashioned person is inclined to doubt that his corpus can be converted into such a ' doctor ' s shop ' as ho here sees solemnly ranged in bottles of all sizes . Can ifc be possible thafc the tank , containing sufficient water for a good sized vivarium ,

represents the amount of thafc element in an average man perfectly frco from dropsy ? Whon we are told that a human being of tho moan size contains 111 lbs . of pure liquid fluid , we can understand why there are so many thirsty souls in the world . Then wo see his fat in a bottle , looking like so much bear ' s grease , and find there is 15 lbs . weight of it . His 15 lbs . of gelatine looks painfully like tho gluo oi commerce . Still more monstrous does it seem to think that his too

solid flesh is reducible into the phosphates of lime , carbonates of lime , and tho various sulphates of iron , magnesium , potassium , sodium , silicum , and fluorine , which wo see paraded before us with such hard , dry , chemical cruelty . But what are those largo white blocks meant to represent ? These are tho measures of our gases . Thus we aro told that a block ono foot square represents tho

amount of oxygen in our economy , bat that our hydrogen would occupy 3 , 000 such blocks ! Good gracious ! enough to build a pyramid , to say nothing of the chlorine and fluorine ! Wo enter this department with feelings of curiosity , bat leave it with wonder , ancl a sense of the reductio ad absurduni to which our chemists havo reduced imperial man himself . " The picture of the Roast Boef of Old England is not particularly

inviting , especially as regards the prize cattle afc the Smithfiold Club Cattle Show . A Vest Mortem examination of several of tho finest specimens of stock disclosed a considerable amount of disease in tho internal organs , fatty degeneration of the heart being a common symptom . The paper on " Physical Education " is excellent in tone . Tho following is specially to bo commended . " Physical force is ignored , A boy must not bo whipped at school if ho has done wrong , but the enlightened philanthropy of the present day substitutes an ,