Masonic Notes And Queries.

lamps kept continually burning , in which are contained three skulls ( mounted on blocks ) , said to be those of the Magi , or wise men of the East , these sculls are surmounted with crowns , on which are inscribed in gems the names Gasper , Melchior , and Beltshazzer ( generally called the three Kings of Cologne ) . St . Helena is said to have obtained these skulls and deposited them at

Constantinople , whence they were conveyed to Stermbo , thence to Milan , and in 1162 to their present resting p lace . Behind the altar is the tomb of the three kings of Cologne , and behind the tomb three gothic windows cast their light over the tasselated pavement , and along the Ionic pillars . From the 12 th to the 15 th century , Cologne was one of the chief emporiums of the Hanseatic

League , concentrating all the trade of the East , and maintaining a constant and direct communication with the West . The production and arts of the East , the architecture and painting of Italy , were thus associated on the banks of the Ehine , and thus became the receptacle of many mysteries and superstitions of the East . —Massie ' s Summer Ramble . —A .

HAIL OR HELE . I see the question has been asked , Is it Hele or Hail ? There can be no doubt about the matter ; a heler or healer in the West of England , is a thatcher or tiler . Nothing can be more appropriate and comprehensive than the sentence " will always heal , seal , and never reveal . " Hail seems a modern reading of the ancient form , or the substitution of a word in common use for one , the meaning of which was not understood by some teacher of the Masonic lore . —E . S .

" NINE OBJECTIONS TO MASONRY ANSWERED The following nine objections are not new , having been published above 100 years since , but they are those frequently made use of in the present day : — 1 . That Masonic Assembles may be directed against religion in general , or at least aim to establish one denominatian of Christians on the ruins of other

every . 2 . ' . That the great mysteries of the these Assemblies lay them open to the suspicion of some secret disorder . 3 . That this society may conceal a party dangerons to civil government . 4 . That the mysterious Assemblies of Preemasons may facilitate to conspirators the means of forming clandestine Assemblies , under the pretext that they belong to this Order .

5 . That the preservation of the secret is due only to some ridiculous or shameful practice which compels the initiate to be silent after he has undergone the ceremony . 6 . Drawn from the misconduct of some members of the Order . 7 . That Freemasons , recognised as such , have been known to speak of the Order and its mysteries in such a manner as to give hut a poor opinion of them . 8 . Drawn from our exclusion of the fair sex without exception

or limitation . 9 . That it is highly imprudent and even sinful to hazard initiation into an Order , one of whose known fundamental principles is never to reveal its mysteries . To which it is believed the following will prove conclusive replies . 1 . The Masonic Landmarks are unchangeable and imperative .

2 . Masonry is a system , teaching symbollically , Piety , Morality Science , Charity , and Self-discipline . 3 . The Law of God is the rule and limit of Masonry . 4 . The Civil Law , so far as it accords with the Divine , is obligatory upon Masons . 5 . The Masonic Lodge and the Masonic Institution are one and indivisible . 6 . Masonic Qualifications regard the MentalMoral and

, Physical Mature of Man . 7 . Personal worth and merit are the basis of official worth and merit . 8 . The official duties of Masonry are esoteric . 9 . The selection of masonic material and the general labours of the Masonic Craft are exoteric . 10 . The honours of Masonry are the gratitude of the Craft and the approval of God .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

11 . Masonic promotion , both private and official , is b y Tades . 12 . The Grand Master may have a Deputy . 13 . The head of the Lodge is the Master , duly elected bv t > e Craft . 14-. The medium of communication between the head and the body of the Lodge is the Waidens . 15 . Obedience to the Master and Wardens is obligatory upon the members .

16 . Seeresy is an indispensable element of Masonry . 17 . The M . W . G . li . and his Grand Lodge , are supreme in their jurisdiction , and control both the Subordinate Lodges and individual Masons , but always subject to the Ancient Landmarks . —P . M .

Notes On Literature, Science, And Art.

NOTES ON LITERATURE , SCIENCE , AND ART .

German papers bring the news of the death of the venerable poet Justinus Kerner . He died at Weinsberg , in Wurtemberg , on the 22 nd , peacefully and in the arms of his children . He had nearly attained the age of seventy-six . All readers of German literature are acquainted with the poetry of Kerner , some of whose ballads are peculiarly sweet , simple , andgracefnl . ButKemerwasbetter known to many in another way ; less perhaps to the

honor of his intellect and acuteness—as a believer in and expounder of the once famous revelations of the " Seeress of Prevorst . " Mr . Bentloy is preparing for publication the Sporting Adven-,. tures of Mr . Baldwin , who has recently returned from Southern Africa , aud just been made a Fellow of the Eoyal Geographical

Society . Mr . Baldwin , it is said , spent eleven years in Southern Africa , during which time he is said to have very rarely seen theface of a European , once going eleven months without doing so , and never slept under the roof a house . His adventures are said to have been frecmently perilous in the extreme , as his thirst for adventure took him into districts visited hitherto

only by Dr . Livingstone . We hope Mr . Baldwin will be careful of his dates ; the public are in a mood of deep suspicion against African travellers . The Exchange , a new monthly shilling magazine , is annoueed for April , and will be published by Messrs . S . Low , Son , and

Co . It will be devoted to commerce , manufactures , and economical politics , occupying the place among the monthlies which the Economist does among the weeklies . The Queen , an illustrated weekly paper , which was started , about six months ago by Mr . S . 0 . Beeton , the publisher , has been sold by Mr . Hodgson , the auctioneer of Chancery-lane . The circulation was stated to be about 7000 weekly , which was

just sufficient to cover the expenses of production . The money sunk in the concern was about £ 3500 , and £ 2000 of that sum had been paid for wood engravings , which were disposed of with the copyright . After waiting an hour for a second bidding , the auctioneer knocked down the lots to Mr . Weldon , the publisher ,, of Paternoster-row , for £ 600 .

Professor Matthew Arnold has nearly ready for publication Last Words on Translating Somer . " It is said that the Poet Laureate has in hand an Ode , to be produced at the opening of the great Exhibition this year , and in which he will commemorate most of the public virtues of the late Prince Corsort , in terms quite in harmony with his poem

so lately published as a preface to the new edition of the Idylls of the King , " and embodying several of those lines . Dr . Forbes , the Bishop of Brechin , in the Scottish Episcopal Church , recently found in the library of Drummond Castle a'Scottish missal of the tenth century . The calendar is perfect , and is enriched with a Gaelic rubic and two Gaelic collects .