Appendix.

century . Laid on its side with its ends curved , it is the letter M , as seen in many inscriptions in the Lapidarium Septentrionale . It is a well-known Freemasonic sign . An eminent antiquary , visiting Carlisle Cathedral , thought he had found the Labarum or sacred monogram on a Roman stone on the outside of the nave . Careful scrutiny has convinced Canon . ChalkerMr . Creedand myselfthat the

, , , supposed Labarum is only a variation of the hour-glass . It is laid on its side , and a perpendicular line drawn through it . What appears to be the top of the P is a flaw in the stone . * The universal N form , as Mr . Godwin calls it , occurs in about as many variations , including therein the Z forms . It occurs from Carlisle to the Holy Land ; from the eleventh to the sixteenth century .

The pentacle , or Seal of Solomon , a five-pointed star , formed by a continuous line , occurs twice . This is a widely-spread sign , and is found on a Saxon fibula of the seventh century . It is a Freemasonic sign . The hexapla does not occur in the Carlisle marks . The A , both topped and plain , occurs in several varieties , the shape of the cross stroke being differenced . Topped , it is found in Samaria and over

Europe . So is the double Y , the V ' s overlapping , which also occurs as W . Two V's also occur in several combinations ; a single one inverted is said to be the "JlabeUwn ; " also the masculine principle ; upright the feminine . But the Mason who cub these marks probably regarded them as mere signatures , whatever their origin may have been . The cross with ' stopped ends occurs at Carlisle , as at Furness , Gloucester , Fountains , York , etc . It is the first mark on Plate I . One variety of it is fitchee or pointed at the foot . The cross-crosslet also occurs . Very ornate crosses occur in the ohoir at Carlisle .

The pheon appears at Carlisle . The horizontal 73 does not , but it appears erect , aiid also turned round . Several of the marks apparently originated in Runic letters . Of nine other Mr . Godwin has shown the similarity to letters of the Lycian alphabet . The most curious of the Carlisle marks are evidentl y those from inside the Cathedral in Mr . Creed's fourth and fifth divisions , Plates II . and III . More than one would appear to be monograms or initial letters . There is one very curious one

which resembles a stocking . At Strasburg and at Norwich the outline of a human leg occurs . The Archajologia , vol xxxiv . p . 33 , contains a plate of Mason ' s marks from Scotland , and also a plate of Mason ' s marks from the cash book of St . Ninian ' s Lodge of Freemason ' s , Brechin . The Builder for 1863 contain ' s a series of papers by Mr . J . E . Dove , in which he attributes very recondite meanings to

many of the forms used as marks , but the Masons used them as mere signatures , and attached no other meaning to them . Since writing the above remarks , I find that the fourth volume , " Proceedings Antiq . Soc . Scotland , " contains a large collection of Mason-marks copied from Melrose Abbey , Dryburgh , Jedburgh , Elgin , ancl several other places . There is also a short paper by John Alex . Smith , M . D ., sec . S . A . Scot ., who divides the marks into two classes—the False or Blind Mark of the apprentice , displaying an equal number of points ; and the True Mark of the fellow-craft or passed Mason , which always consist of an unequal number of points .