Masonic Notes And Queries.

" scintilla of a notion" such as we indicated in it ? If we say Chaucer , and he reads Dekker , whose is the fault ? Certainly not ours . It is all very well to say " expound , " but such expounding cannot he done in print , and , as a P . M ., we are surprised " G . B . of D . " should expect it . To make such a subject clear , it would be necessary to complete a new of

grammar " The Gay Science , " and indicate a course of reading which would involve no ordinary study and application . Our assertion is not one made ] iap-ha __ . ird , but the result of care , research , and some informatiod derived from a brother to whom all under him look up with reverence and affection . If " G . B . of D . " is

determined to be studious , and not simply curious , on the knowledge of Ereemasonry inthe 15 th century , he must throw overboard many of his early Craft delusions , and seek amongst ' those writers who treated of the subject , before the United Grand Lodge of England confounded Ereemasonryin its various degreesand

, , separated the English Craft Masonry from all that is recognised hy other nations . If " G . B . of D . " will read Chaucer , and not Dekker , his error will be rectified , aud he will acknowledge our view , if he can understand so plain an allegory as "Patient Grizel . " ]

THE PURPLE . Do our Grand Officers wear purple because it was ¦ the colour of Hiram , King of Tyre ?—A PROV . G . OFFICER . —[ We don't know ; nor are we sure that Hiram wore purple . There are two legends connected with its discovery—one which ascribes it to the Tyrian Herculesthe tutelar deity of the Phoenicians

, , some fourteen centuries before tho Christian era ; and the other to a shepherd ' s dog , in the reign of Phcenix , of Tyre , three hundred years before Christ . Whichever of these may be chosen by its advocates , it is well known that for ages Tyrian purple was a royal dye , and used only to cover the garments of kings

and heroes . To " assume the purple" was an indication of a very high honour indeed ; and Homer confirms the great respect which nations of antiquity accorded to those who were dressed with this tint . It is frequently mentioned in the Holy Scriptures , and was , at one time , especially consecrated ancl set apart

as belonging to God . Whether Ithe purple—which we really do not adopt , for Grand Officers use a deep blue , and purple is an admixture of red and blue—is so great and honourable that it entitles its wearers to respect , is a question you must solve for yourself . We respect the man , and not his clothing . ]

SYMBOLISM . What is the symbolism of white , crimson , and gold?—P . SOJ . — [ White—innocence and purity ; crimson—virtue , constancy , and power ; gold—truth , stability , and perfection , the metal being the most perfect of all metals , and becoming the more pure for every time it is tried bfire . These symbols are

y instructive in other degrees ; and as light , the crux , and the ros , are more clearly understood , so do these play more important parts in the great system of cosmopolitan Ereemasonry . ]

THE MOP AND PAIL . In a sheet of Masonic emblems , "drawn and coloured in the year 1758 by D . A ., " is a representation of a mop and pail . What do they mean ? —SPES . —[ Exactly what they represent . They were articles of daily utility in lodges . ]

RIGHT OF WARDENS TO INITIATE . In 1720 the Wardens and Secretary received the same OB . as the Installed Master , but did not receive the other two communications always made to him , from which I infer that as they took the same OB ., they were entitled to the same powers . —V ., A LODGE SECRETARY .

FRENCH MASONIC AUTHOEITIES . Will some brother who has a knowledge of the French Masonic authorities be kind enough to make out a list of who they are , and what rites they govern?—G . E .

SAINTS JOHN . Masonically speaking , we recognise three Saints John—St . John the Baptist , St . John ' the Evangelist , and St . John the Almoner . How is this , and why ? —JOHN— , NO SAINT . THE L 3 VITIC 0 N .

The Grand Lodge of Scotland is said to be in possession of some letters written against the relics produced by the Order of the Temple , in Paris , to show their unbroken descent . Amongst these is one , if not more , in which the Leviticon , or Templar's Gospel , is seriously attacked . How are copies of such documents to be obtained ?—Q .

ILLUSTRIOUS CAPTAIN OF THE LIFE GUARDS . A brother tells me that he kuew a very high Mason who was styled an " Illustrious Captain of the-Life Guards . " Was ever such a title known ?—A DOUBTER . —[ It was borne by the Sth S . G . I . G . of the 33 ° , at Charlestown , in 1845 . ]

THE GRAND CROSS DEGEEE . What is the Grand Cross degree frequently conferred in encampments in the north of England ?—A SOUTHERN K . T . ' GRAND LODGES . When did our Grand Lodge first commence

?—M . M . —[ In 1717 . Grand Lodges are quite a modern institution , and the earliest is our own . Previous toits establishment every lodge was independent , and all the rights attached to Ereemasonry was inherent in each individual brother . To consolidate and add to its importance , the early Grand Lodge passed a

law that no one could be made a Master Mason except in Graud Lodge . This , however , owing to the spread of the Order , and the establishment of lodges in remote places , was abandoned ; but the Freemasons of the Xork rite never countenanced any such iunovation . Indeed , from 1713 to 1 S 65 , the history of the Grand Lodge of England is nothing but a series of innovations and struggles for Masonic power . ]

COLOGNE C'ATHEDEAL . The cathedral at Cologne is reported to be the work of Freemasons . Where can a history of it be found ?—P . THE KORAN . Will some one who has studied the Koran of

Mahomet kindly inform me what events or precepts it contains that bear upon Masonic usages ?—M . M . EZECHIEL ' S " EXAGOGUE . " There are certain fragments of a Greek drama , by a Jewish priest named Ezechiel , preserved in the works of Clement of Alexandria and Eusebius , which