Notes On Literature, Science And Art.

NOTES ON LITERATURE , SCIENCE AND ART .

BY BRO . GEORGE KAUKHAU TWEDDELL , Fellow of the Royal Society if Northern Antiquaries , Copenhagen ; Corresponding Member of the Royal Historical Society , London ; Honorary Member of the Manchester Literary Club , and of the Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society ,

1 AM glad to learn that ten thousand people visited the Brown Free Museum , Liverpool , on Boxing-day , without the slightest disorder taking place . Museums are far too thinly scattered in the provinces , and even where they do exist are too often kept " select" from the people whom they

ought to he helping to educate , for my own part , I will never consider we do our duty fully as Craftsmen , until we provide suitable halls for the celebration of our beautiful rites , ( apart from the polluting influence of common taverns , )

where "the study of the liberal arts , that valuable branch of education , which tends so effectuall y to polish and adorn the mind , " may be regularly ancl earnestl y not only recommended to our consideration , but effectually cultivated . And in connection with every Masonic Hall , I would have a museum , —of which more anon .

When gas first began to take the place of oil in lighting up our streets , one of the greatest difficulties was to get rid of gas tar , and I know of one manager of gas-works who ran it into a very deep well as the easiest way he could hud of

overcoming it . But chemistry soon found out better uses for what had before been waste , ancl mauve and magenta ancl other beautiful anauile dyes , as well as scents and flavours for pastry , were soon eliminated from what had before been a nuisance

; just as good food will one day be produced abundantl y by aid of the filth which at present pollutes our streams . Two French chemists , Persoz and Jeannolle , are now manufacturing various sorts of printing inks from the refuse of the

gas works , from other tar , ancl from the heavy oils of petroleum , resin , wood , & c ., which are found to mix readily with lamp black and other dry colours in powder . For

typographic printing , 100 parts of tar , 36 of lamp black , 10 of Prussian blue , aud ten of glycerine , are said to be the ordinary proportions . The production of coffee is said to have been increased during the last half century from 1900000 cwt . to 8500000 . The

,, , , Belgians and Dutch are the greatest consumers , in proportion to their population ; the Swiss ancl Danes come next . Great Britain is below even Germany , Sweden , France , and Austria ; Hungary and Russia the lowest of all .

Some time ago many friends of the American 'Republic were greatly afraid that the large immigration of Chinamen would swamp their institutions in the states they settled in , ancl lead to general arnachy . The San Francisco Chronicle takes a widely

different view of the matter . " Already , " says that journal , " 130 , 000 Chinese have established themselves in our midst—30 , 000 in San Francisco . Whatever industry they have attacked they have captured ; whatever they have attempted they have

mastered ; wherever there has been an encounter between them ancl our own people they have come off victorious . Ancl these are said to be the very offscourings of the Chinese ports—these are the vagrants whom China has cast off upon us as an

undesirable home element . If , then , such results come to us from contact with 130 , 000 of their lowest grade of intellecttheir paupers ancl obscure ones—what shall be the measure of their success when

free intercourse , open ports , and the attractions of foreign commerce , pour upon our shores the numbers they can spare from their four hundred millions of population , ancl their leading men , with subtle intellects , come in contact with our plodding

minds 1 Who shall dare say which is the superior race , until the conflict is overl Every contest between ourselves ancl the Chinese hitherto has been to them a victory . " Few of us see clearly the great civilizing work which is now going on ,

guided by the unerring hand of the Great Architect of the Universe , in bringing all nations , tongues , and kindreds more into peaceful contact with each other ; ancl never had our honoured Craft more important work to perform than in the present day . Let each of us , therefore , be more and more determined to act up to the sub-