The Mysteries Of The Great Universe Of God.

flashing onward with unconceivable rapidity through illimitable space . And then , in every drop of water that we drink , incredible multitudes of living creatures , invisible to the naked eye , of a minuteness beyond belief , yet organized , living , feeding , devouring each the other ; no doubt with consciousness of identity , and memory , and instinct . Such are the mysteries of the great Universe of God and yet

; we would fain know by what process He created it ; would understand His powers , His attributes , His emanations , His mode of existence and action ; the plan according to which all events proceed— -that plan profound as God himself ; would know the laws by which He controls the universe ; would fain see and talk to Him face to face ; and are unwilling to believe because we do not understand . .

He commands us to love one another , to become like little children . He tells us that to love Him and to love our neighbour are the great commandments , obeying which we shall live ; and wc dispute and wrangle , and hate and persecute each other because we cannot all be of one opinion as to his essence , or agree upon a complete inventory of his attributes , or believe that this doctrine or that is heresy or truth drenching the world with blooddepo

; , - pulating realms , and turning fertile lands into deserts , for the glory of God and to vindicate the truth ; until , for religious wars , persecutions , and murders , the earth for many a century has rolled round the sun , a charnel house , steaming and reeking with human gore , the blood of brother slain by brother for opinion ' s sake , that has soaked into and polluted all her veins , and made her a horror to her sisters of the universe .

And if all men had always obeyed with all their heart , the mild and gentle teachings of Masonry , that world would always have been a paradise ; while intolerance and persecution make of it a hell . For this is the Masonic creed : believe in God ' s infinite benevolence , wisdom and justice ; hope for the final triumph of good over evil , and for perfect harmony as the final result of all the concords and discords of the universe ; and be charitable , as G ' od is , towards the unfaith , the errors , tlie follies and the faults of men ; for all are one great brotherhood . —Albert Pike .

Archæology.

ARCH ? OLOGY .

CELTIC REMAINS AT BEAUGENCY . AN interesting archaeological discovery has been made by some French savans , at Bcaugcncy ( Loiret ) . In the winter of 1 S 57 certain workmen , employed in excavating the side of a hill , above which rises the viaduct to Beaugency , were surprised by a fall of earth mixed with cinders , charcoal , and calcined bones , from a itthe virtieal wall of which they had destroyedAt the bottom

p , . of Hie heap they found a vase in a good state of preservation , which they broke , hoping to mid coins in it , but they were disappointed . In the space of three months twenty-three similar pits were successivel y discovered , and the fragments of urns which they contained were smashed and dispersed . One vase only , which is now in the Orleans museum , was saved by the care of M . Desjobert , notary of St . Ay , who put the pieces together . 11 discoi

ns 'ery threatened to be forever lost to science for want of some one who could appreciate it , when chance brought the Viscount du Faur du Pibtac on the spot . The Account , who has made Gallo-Celtic remains his study , heard of the pits of Beaugency . He went to tlie spot , examined the workmen , and soon began to suspect that he had under his eyes a real Celtic cemetery . Through the intervention of the of Orleanshe enabled

Mayor , was to superintend in person certain excavations . New pits were opened , and his conjectures were changed into certainty . Tlie ivhole present analogous characters ; all have an average breadth of fifty inches , and a depth of three yards and three quarters ; all contain a mixture of earth , cinders , and calcined stones , underneath which is constantly found the jaw bones of pigs , and the bones of other domestic animals ; then occur fragments like flower

of vases , pots narrowed at the top ; finally , all these pits terminate in a small circular hole , hollowed like a basin , and destined to bear the cinerary urn . The Celtic cemetery of Bcaugcncy is one of three important archaeological discoveries made of late years in the department of the Loiret . The two others were the Roman cit y explored by M . Marehaud , near Ouzouer-sur-Trezc ' e , and the Gallo-Roman baths of Monthuoy .

BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION . At the last meeting of this society the chair was taken by T . J . Pettigrcw , Esq ., when Messrs . II . Hensmaii and G . Lewinc were elected Associates . Mr . S . Wood exhibited three \ ery fine Greek

Archæology.

corns , a tetradrachm of Alexander the Great , a chalcos of Philip Aridams , and a didrachm of Dyrrhachhim . Mr . Oliver exhibited an arch-topped casket , impressed in gold , with richly-bordered pannels , containing different subjects . It is of the close of the sixteenth century , and probably from the South of Germany . Mr . Black produced a smaller , but not less elegant specimen , with secret draw , & c . Mr . "Wills exhibited an iron key of the fifteenth

century , measuring nearly a foot in length , and said to have belonged to St . Alban ' s Abbey . He also produced an early padlock and key of iron , asserted to have been found in the Thames in 1856 . The fabric is of African manufacture . Capt . Tupper exhibited a fine specimen of a sign-key , measuring two feet two inches . The bow is seven and a half inches' across , and in the form of the escutcheon of a lock . It is of the sixteenth century .

Mr . W . II . Fonnan also exhibited a sign-key of a somewhat later period , and of beautiful manufacture , the bow being highly floreatcd . Mr . Corner exhibited a variety of antiquities , lately received by liiin from Gibraltar , among which were several Roman styles , hooks , and fibula ; , a leaden weight , and a fine pectoral cross of copper , the front surface plated with gold and engraved with a diaper pattern . It is of the thirteenth century .

Dr . Kendrick exhibited a curious and interesting article , a fragment of a small cross of willow wood , discovered upon sawing a beam forming the oaken lintel of a fireplace in Shakspeare ' s house at Stratford-upon-Avon . The cross had been concealed in the timber , and the opening closed by a bit of deal . Mr . C . Knight has recorded that in the " spiritual will" of John Shakhe professes himself a Roman Catholicand directs masses

speare , to be said for his soul . The will has been printed in Reed ' s and Drake ' s Lives of the Poet . Mr . Cuming made a communication on the subject , and illustrated the practice of employing crosses and other objects to avert the action of evil spirits . Mrs . White exhibited several antiquities : a Samian patera , found at the Moat , Iligham , Kent ; a bronze key of the thirteenth century , found at Missendeu ; a key ( Roman ) of the fourth century ; a leaden

figure of the Saviour , from a crucifix found in the sewer at Clerkenwell , near St . John ' s Gate ; a paalstab , from Llangollen ; a bronze head , from Pompeii ; a bronze horse ; an abbey piece , found at Canterbury , & c . Discussion upon these several objects occupied the entire meeting .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

into . LIXXECAR . Who was Bro . Limiecar , the author of the words of the Masonic ode "Let there be Light ? " —VERAX . THE PLATOSIC HOMES . From whence arc the platonic bodies derived , and what are they ?—K . K . Y . —[ They are geometrical signs , and were adopted

by Pythagoras in his secret philosophy . They are—the right angle , a symbol of morality and justice ; the equilateral triangle , a symbol of God , the essence of light and truth ; the square , a symbol of the divine mind , or the laws of natural religion ; the cube , a symbol of the mind of man ; the dodecahedron , a symbol of the universe . ] ROYAL ARCH RECORDS .

Which are the oldest Chapter records yet in existence ?—N . APROX OF THE 32 ° . ¦ While I have seen the members of the 30 ° and 31 ° , and some of the 32 ° wearing collars , and without aprons , I have seen a brother of the 32 ° wearing an apron . If the members of the 30 ° arc privileged to appear in inferior Chapters without apronswh

, y arc not those of the 32 ° ? And is a member of the latter degree justified by the Grand Lodge of Ireland , Supreme Councils of England and Scotland , and Grand Orient of France , in wearing an apron at all ?—18 SUVIEU . GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE ANJJ EHEEJIASONIIV . Ill the course of my reading , I made the following extract from

Tytier ' s History of Scotland , ( vol . ii . p . 276-8 ) , which I forward to yon , as well worthy of being transferred to your columns . — MATTHEAV COOKE . " The art of executing large and magnificent buildings in timber frame work , was carried to high perfection in the northern countries of Europe during the tenth , eleventh , and twelfth centuries . It had made great in landand there known and practised in the

progress Eng , was building of churches , under the name of the Teutonic , stylo . Owing however to tho perishable nature of ilie materials , aud to accidents by fire , these churches were frequently either destroyed or reduced to a state of extreme decay ; so that the ruinous state of the ecclesiastical edifices in tho northern parts of Europe became a serious subject of