Reviews.

Reviews .

AN APPENDIX TO CONTRIBUTIONS TO NATURAL HISTORY , AND PAPERS ON OTHER SUBJECTS . By J AMES SIMSON . New York , James Miller . As Masons , whose business it is to pursue the hidden mysteries of nature and science , we gladly welcome the contributions of any students to these great subjrets ,

cither alone or in conjunction , a . vd whether those students be members of the Craft or no . We are not bigoted or tied do . va to old ways and opinions , simply because they are old ways and opinions , nor do we reject new works or results of thought simply because they are new woiks or resurts of thought ; but we must say lhat , on the well-worn principle of " never throwing dirty

water away till wc . have clean , " we are chary of giving u p old ideas for new ones , lest we ma ) chance to find our new ideas turn out like ' The Member's' state . nents , "both new and true , " but with the trifling drawback , that "the new are not true , and the tiue not new . " Rather do we prefer to cleave to the old and trusty wavs until the

greater advantage of the new has been fully demonstrated . We feel it necessary to state this our principle at the outset of our notice of the little work that has been submitted to us , as it may , perhaps , save us from the wrath of ts evidently impulsive author , whose pugnacious motto s : —

" Beware Of entrance to a quarrel ; but , being in , Bear it , that the opposer may beware of thee . " The book , then , having been submitted to us for review , we intend to deal with it tairly and honestly as towards the author , as towards his opponents , and as towards our readers amongst tbe Craft , and the public at large .

Taking first , then , the article "Air . Frank Buckland and the Viper , " we must say that at the first blush Mr . Simson seemed to have the right entirely on his side , for although Mr . Buckland has acted with great propriety in asking lor a considerable amount of proof before he can feel it right to accept as probable , or even possible , such an apparently abnormal phencmenon as the ingress and egress

of the young of the viper into the body of the mother through themouth , we still donot think that he is justified in simply pooh-poohing as ridiculous the statement , backed up by such testimony as Mr . Simson adduces . Doubtless if any person had staled in lhc last century that he had seen in Australia an animal which was possessed of a pouch in which it carried its young

after biith , he would have been set down forthwith as ai purveyor of " traveller ' s tales , " but it is a fact nevertheless . Why then we ask should a somewhat similar fact oe relegated off-hand to the limbus of impossible monstersi If true of the kangaroo why not of the viper ? We mus : then say iu all fairness that the burden ot disproof lies witb Mr . Buckland , and that this disproof must be thorough

and demonstrated to bean impossibility by actual and sea idling anatomical examination , and not merely disposed of by that eminent naturalist's ipse dixit . But here our coincidence wilh the views of Mr . Simson ends , f ir we can conceive nothing in worst-, taste than his personal attacks on Mr . Buckland and his fellow naturalists . Turning the other article on a similar , or rather in

reality the same subject in another dress , styled "Mr . Buckland and White of Selborne , " we cannot for the life of us imagine why Mr . Buckland is not at liberty to re-publish " VVnite" in any manner he may please , leaving , of course , the reading public t > be tlie ultimate judges ot his choice ; their approval or otherwise of his views and mode of treatment being testified iu the manner usual amongst such

reaeling public generally . Turning to Mr . Simson ' s first a tide , "John Bunyan and the Gipsies , " we ca 1 only iciort with a " tu quoque , " and condemn him in the way hedocs Mr ., Buckland , f rr expecting the public lo tike off-hand his crude and unproved assertion that John Banyan was a Gip » y , as a demonstrated truth .

Amongst others Mr . James Wyatt conies . in for condemnation ior stating a very reasonable idea in " Notes and Queries ; " now , we must say , that knowing Mr . Wyatt well as one that has spent a greater pan of his life in the Town of Bedford , a mile distant from Elstow , Bunyan's birthplace ' , we attach more importance to Mr . Wyatt ' s knowledge than to Mr . Simson's surmise . We ourselves

lived on the spot for many years and were familiar with the story of Bunyan's life , and we must sty we never heard a single person advance anything not only that would favour but eien that would for a moment give countenance to Mr . Simson ' s ( is we consider ) unsupported statement , the gist of which seems to be that—Bunyan was a tinker — many Gipsies are fond of tinkering—ergo all ( or at

least most tinkeis are , or were , Gipsies—and ergo John Bunyan was a Gipsy . Turning , lastly lo Mr . Simson ' s article " . Endowment ol Research , " we must confess that , whilst we are utterly unable to trace any connexion between the article and ils title , after reading his terrible denunciation of his opponents— " Indeed , George Borrow , Frank Backlaiirl , and

Charle-S V \ aterton , may be described without offence (!) as three impulsive , headstrong , ex-cathedril-talkiiig deigmatists , incapable , when left lo themselves , of constructing an argument of a complex natuie , or of giving a satisfactory exposition of an intricate subject that could stand serutiny . To train a thittecn-iiicn bomb on them in that icspect ,

Would he superfluous , lor a thimiilcfull of ' sparrow-hail ' would suffice , "—we are not at all surprised at thc Scotsman ' s estimate ot his bmik . — " 1 he volume is altogether a literary curiosity , u eseiiting a combination of bigotry and egotism , mch as it would not be easy to parallel ; ' '—1 . 01 ait we al ali a ^ tuiibhed

Reviews.

at the verdict , of which he so bitterly complains , passed upon himself by " a London j mrnal . "— " We can stand all this pretty well , but wc are up in arms when George Borrow .... is taken to task in a cold-blooded in inner for all sorts of misleading statements . and is to be proved altogether an incompetent and misleading guitlc on the subject . This

is to much for our equanimity , and we honestly confess that we are weak enough to prefer George Borrow ' s stories to Mr . Simson ' s arguments "—and we must further acknowledge that we most cordially join in the Reviewer ' s ironical " parting shot , " which is—in short , thc world is full of blockheads , but there is one wise man left , and bis name is Simson .

Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

Multum in Parbo , or Masonic Notes and Queries .

OLD LONDON LODGES . I go on to-day with another batch . In i 73 6 , thc lodges from No . 20 to No . 40 are as follows 1—21 , Anchor and Baptist ' s Head , Chancery-lane . 32 , Swan , Fish Streethill . 23 , Half Moon , Cheapside . 24 , Swan and Royal Oak , White Cross-street . 25 , Punch Bowl , and Ladle , Greenwich . 26 , Brett ' s Coffee House , Charles-Street . 27 ,

Crown and Sceptre , St . Martin ' s-lane . 28 , a lodge at Bath . 29 , a lodge at Bristol . 30 , a lodge at Norwich . 31 , a lodge at Chichester . 32 , a lodge at Chester . 33 , a lodge at Chester . 34 , a lodge at Carmarthen . 35 , a lodge at Gosport . 36 , a lodge at Congleton . 37 . Sash , Moorfielels . 38 , Three Tuns and Bull's Head , Cheapside . 39 , Swan and Rummer , Finch-lane . 40 , St . Pauls' Head ,

Ludgate-street . 41 , Vine , Holborn . 44 , Salutation , Billingsgate . 43 , King ' s Arms , Strand . 41 , The Swan , Long Acre . 45 , White Hart , Bishopsgate-without . 45 , Mount Coffee House , 47 , Three Crowns , Stoke Newington . 48 , A lodge at Salford . 49 , Castle and Leg , Holborn . 50 , A lodge at Madrid . 51 , A lodge at Gibraltar . 52 , A lodge at Warwick . 33 , Hoop and Griffin , Leadenhall-street . s +,

Rose and Crown , Greek-street , Soho . 55 , Richmond loelge , Suffolk-street , 5 O , Crown and Anchor , Short's Gardens . 57 , Red Lion and Ball , Red Lion-street . 5 8 , a lodge at Oxford . 59 , a lodge at Scarborough . Oo , Three Tuns , Billingsgate . Thus it will bi noted , of the lodges from 21 to 60 , in 1 13 ^ . rS are Provinci ll and Foreign lodges , leaving 34

London lodges . In 1738 , thc following list seems to cover all these London lodges . 21 , Half Moon , Cheapside . 22 , Swan and Cocoa Tree , Whitecross--trtet . 23 , White Horse , Wneeler-strect . 24 , Forrest ' s Coffee House . 25 , * ash and Cocoa Tree , Moorfields . 26 , Sun , Hooper ' s Square . 27 , Sun , St . Paul ' s Churchyard . 28 , Angel and Criwu , Whitechapel .

29 , King s Arms , Strand . 30 , Swan Tavern , Long Acre . 31 , Swan and Rummer Tavern , Finch-lane . 32 , Mount Coffee House . 33 , Globe Tavern , Fleet-street . 34 , Fishei ' s Coffee House , Burlington-street . 35 , Hoop and Griffin , Leaelenhall-street . 36 , Royal Oak , Seven Dials . 37 , Old Man ' s Coffee House , Charing Cross . 3 8 , Anchor and Crown , King-street . 39 , Star and Garter , Sr . Martin ' s-lane . 40 ,

St . George , St . Mary Axe . Thus it will be seen that 21 in 173 6 ha * Lercomc No . 19 in 1738 ; and No . 29 in 1738 seems to be the same as No . 23 in 1 736 ; while No . 23 in 1736 becomes No . 21 in 1738 , and No . 24 in 173 6 is trre same as No . 22 in 1738 . No . 23 in 1736 has changed in 173 8 into 23 , and 26 in 173 G seems to have disappeared . No . 24 in 1738 is the

same as 27 in 1736 as 1 have before pointei out . Nos . 28 , 2 9 > 3 ° , 31 , 32 , 33 , 35 , 3 ( 1 are Provincial lodges , but which are said to retain their numbers on the list according to their date of constitution . This fact deserves to be remembered . In 1738 , No . 25 answers to No . 37 , 173 O ; while No . 26 in 1738 cannot be traced in 173 d . No . 27 in 1 738 answers to No . 40 in 1736 , while 28 in 173 6 cannot be

traced . No . 29 in 173 8 is apparently the same as 41 in 17311 . Nos . 30 , 1738 , is the same as No . 44 , 1736 ; and 31 in 1738 is iirdentica ! wilh 39 of 1736 . This one fact shows us how much attention has to be paid to these numbers and how erratic they are . No . 32 in 1738 is the same as No . 46 in 173 6 ; while No . 45 in 1736 appears to he missing in 1738 . No . rj 8 , in

1738 is identical with 47 in 173 O though No . 34 in 173 8 is evidently identical with 49 in 173 O . 1 may observe here that in 1736 Nos . 40 , 50 , 51 , 52 , arc again foreign and provincial lo Iges . No . 35 , in 1738 is the same as No . 53 in 173 6 ; and No . 36 in 173 S appears to answer to No . 54 in 1736 , No . 55 in 1736 is the same as No . 37 in 1738 and

No . 38 of 173 ( 1 is , I apprehend , the same with No . 5 O in 1736 . No . 39 in 1 738 is the same as 57 of 1 73 6 ; while No . 40 iu 1738 answers to No . Oo in 173 S . Nos . 5 8 and 39 in 1736 are provincial lodges . 1 hope in another note to finish the London Lodges of 1738 , but I stop here to day for fear of weary ing my readers . MASONIC STUDENT .

OLD MASONIC BOOK . Bro . Frcelerick J . Hibbard , of this city , has sent us a valuable copy of an old Masonic work , for transmiss on to our Grand Lodge Library . The title-page reads : " The Freemason ' s Companion , or Pocket Preceptor , compiled

for the use of the Craft . By John Phillips , P . M ., of Lodge No . 2 , and Chief J . of the H . H . A . C . No . 52 . Philadtlphia : Printed by Bartholomew Graves , No , 40 , North Fourth street , 1805 . " Brethren do well who make their Grand Lodge Libury the depository of lave and curious Masonic warks . —Keys ! one .

AWFUL iNTELLiuiiN'ci-. —Tlie first lady lawyer in Switzerland who has ever obtained the degree of " Drcleur cu Droit "has j ist successfully pissed hei examination . Mdlh . Fanny Beiliuc come I 10111 St . Petersburg , and has been studying at the Bctoc University ,

Notes On Art, &C.

NOTES ON ART , & c .

Exhibition Souvenirs continue to be the rage in Paris , and while humble visitors content themselves with a penny medal , a twopenny fan bearing a plan or picture of ihe buildings , or a pen , paper-knife , or tiny

operaglass , containing microscopic views , wealthy Parisiennes wear the " Exhibition Bracelet , " a gold circlet , ornamented by a representation of the Trocade ' ro in bas-relief , and pierced with innumerable holes , through which can be seen minute pictures of the gardens and the animals illustrating the four quarters of the globe .

The eminent geologist the Rev . W B . Clarke , died at Sydney , of natural decay , on the iOth of June . He was a Suffolk man , b & rn in 1 798 , and ordained by Bishop Bathurst in 1821 . In 1839 he left his Dorsetshire vicarage and emigiat d to Sydney . He retired from clerical work in 1870 . The Sydney Morning Herald says ol him — "In 1819 , while at Cambridge , he wrote a poem on

' Pompeii , ' in competition for the Chancellor's gold medal , and his essay was considered second only to that of Thomas Babington Macaulay , to whom the prize was awarded . He was one of the eight compilers and contributors to the ' Mitre Hymn Book , ' and he was one of the joint editors of the Cambridge Quarterly Review during his residence at the University . ' His contributions to the science of geology

and mineralogy would alone fill a library . Perhaps his largest and best known work was that entitled 'The Southern Goldfields , ' which contains an exhaustive description of the auriferous deposits throughout Australia . This work was written in consequence of Mr . Clarke having been commissioned by the Government to vfeit and report upon the principal gold-producing localities in the colony . Some

two or three years ago Mr . Clarke was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of England—an honour which has been so rarely conferred upon colonial ' savans' that Mr . Clarke valued it perhaps more than all the other distinctions he had won , especially as the honour was conferred upon him by the unanimous and spontaneous action of the society . "

Iwo American brothers , named Andrews , have crossed the Atlantic in the " Nautilus , " a sailing boat , whereof the dimensions are—length overall , 19 ft . ; brealth , Oft . 7 " m . ; and depth , 2 ft . 3 ' in . She draws 6 Jin . of water . They left City Point on the 7 th of June , and reached Mullion Co \ e on Wednesday last . The men say they had never been to sea before , but had coasted in fishing-boats . One , the elder , is by trade a pianofortemaker ; and the younger , Walter , a joiner .

One of Her Majesty ' s grandchildren has recently appeared in print as an author , or , at least , translator . Her Royal Highness Princess Victoria , eldest daughter of the Grand Duchess of Hesse , has published a translation in German of a Sermon to Children , preached in Westminster Abbey bv the Rev . T . Teignmouth Shore , Hon . Chaplain to the Queen . The work , which is published in Darmstadt for a charitable object , does the greatest credit to the Royal and youthful translator .

The Department of Oriental Antiquities of the British Museum has just obtained , by purchase , some inlet esting cuneiform inscriptions , in a series of small contract tablets , elated in the reign of Mithridates IL , or Artabanus IL , one of the Arsacian Kings of Babylon . These tablets are of very great importance , on account of their being elate I with the dual system of both the Seleucidae and the

Arsacian a : ras , and thus fixing by indisputable authority the starling points of both these epochs . Of the seven tablets obtained , there are three that bear thc double calculation of dates—the earliest being ' •Month Sedat ( 11 ) 18 th day in the 154 th year—which equals the 218 th year of Arsaka—King of Kings . " There are also in the series two in the 1 , 5 th or 219 th year of Arsaka—and four which

bear only the date eif the years reckoned from the revolt of the Seleucidie . The revolt of the Seleucidze took place in B . C . 312 , and by these tablets we find that 84 years after , or in B . C . 228 , that the revolt of Arsaces took place , and the Arsacian epoch commenced . The lesser date , therefore , 155 th year , will give us the year B . C . 93 , which falls in the reign of Artabanus IL , the sixth of the Arsaces . or Mithridates II ., These tablets , with the exception of one dated in the

reign of Pccorus , which is in the museum at Zurich , are the latest examples of cuneiform writing known . They are contract tables relating to loans of money , and their material is very coarse and thc writing careless . It is also to be noticcel tbat , with very few exceptions , the contracting parties arc designated by Semitic names , indicating , apparently , that this mode of record was confined almost solely to the conservative Semitic merchants of Babylon . — A cademy .

The exhibition of the works entered for the National Art Competition was op : ned to the . ublic on Tuesday , thc 13 th inst ., in the Exhibition Galleries on the west side of Exhibition-road , South Kensington . Tne exhibition consists of about 1400 works selected from 138 , 045 works sent out from 142 schools of art throughout the kingdom , for the annual examination

at South Kensington , The subjects of the competition are 1—Figure drawing and modelling , painting in oil and water colours , and de-ign especially as aoplied to manufactures . The piiz-s awarded are k t / : u medals , silver medals , bronze medals , prizes of books , aird the Princess of Wales's scholarships , which are awarded to the two female students who take the highest prizes o the year in

the national conipetiti in . Besides these distinctions , whicn are awarded by the Science and Art Department , scvcial valuable money prizes are given annually in connection with the nation il competition for specified subject s of design , the pnncipri of these Ucing the Plasterers' Company's piiz ! . lor d . sillis for plasterers' work diawn in monochrome or modelled in plaster .