Correspondence.

of warfare . Really this is too bad . Pictus should have " got up his subject a little better" before he rushed into print . Let him turn to the 1 th chapter of Nehemiah and read the last eig ht verses . Among them occurs the following passage -. — " They Avhich builded on the Availand they that bare burdens ,

, with those that laded , eA ery one Avith one of his hands wrought in the work , ancl with the other hand held a weapon . For the builders , every one had his sword girded by his side , and so builded . " Now , I do not assert , wkateA * er I may believe , that these builders were Masons . It is sufficient for me that

they Avere men . They were ready at any moment to leave off operating upon the rough or smooth ashlar and betake themselves to fi g ht ; and , if men could do this , it may be safely asserted that Masons could do it IikeAvise . Curiously enough , too , as if Pictus were determined to " hang himself , " he states as a

culminating piece of satire , — "But , hark , the trumpet sounds , " & c . Now , among the verses I refer him to , ¦ will be found the passages : — " And he that sounded the trumpet was Avith me . And I said unto the nobles and to the rulers and to the rest of the people . The Avork is great and large , and we are separated

upon the wall , one far from another . In what place , therefore , ye hear the sound of the trumpet , resort ye thither unto us ; our God shall fight for us . " I think I have now " made out my case , " as the lawyers say , and that no one Avill be disposed to again ridicule the idea of " our Masonic predecessors getting into the saddle . " Will Bro . Pictus allow me to suggest

, in a fraternal spirit , that the not very complimentary term , he applied to my little effusion may , perhaps , with greater propriety be applied to the latter part of his letter . It would have been quite pardonable in me to have been guilty of a little absurdity when speaking metaphorically , but to ridiculefacts is quite unpardonable . Had I not already trespassed too much on your

valuable space , I could , dear sir and brother , quote other instances where men worked in momentary expectation of being engaged in mortal combat . I cannot , however , conclude without referring to an error which , in my

opinion , Pictus indulges in . He appears to think that Masonry is weakened in the opinions of educated men by associating it with any romantic histories . I altogether disagree with him . Far better that we should associate with tho Craft some beautiful legend , or some chivalrous romance , than unite it solely with the symbols of sensuality and materialism . Which is preferable ?

To have outsiders say , — " Oh ! tho Masons assert that the Templars Avere Freemasons , that the Fraternity existed at the time of the building of the Tower of Babel , " or for them to observe , — "Oh ! the Masons are jolly good felloAvs , ana give capital feeds , but have no pretensions to intellectuality or antiquity . " Does not nature overlay tho naked rock Avith . tho velvet moss ?

Does she not entwine the knotted and knarled trunk of the lofty oak with the creeping tendrils of tho " dainty ivy ? " And why should not we adorn the rock of Masonry in a similar manner ? The Craft does not depend for its support upon any one of the legends with which it is associated , any more than , to use my own simile , the rock is supported by its mossy covering , or the lord of

the forest sustained by tho clinging arms that wrap him in their manifold embrace . Whatever may be one ' s belief in the connexion between Masonry and the romantic stories of byegone times , they cannot fail to arrest tbe attention , enlist the sympathies , and excite the admiration of all educated and thinking members of the Fraternit y . Unfortunately , I regret that the same cannot be asserted respecting its modern associations . Yours fraternally , Cr . ux .

Ar00901

THE MASONIC MIRBOR . * * All communications to be addressed to 19 , Salisbury-atresfc , Strand , London , AV . C .

Masonic Mems.

MASONIC MEMS .

THE UNIVERSAL MASONIC CALENDAR , BIAKY , AND POCKF / D BOOK FOR I 860 . —A second edition of this useful and compi-eliensivo publication lias been just issued . It can bo obtained at the office of the FKBEAIASONS' MAGAZINE , 19 , Salisburystreet , Strand , London , or in Glasgow , iu addition to the regular agents .

Dome LOBUB oi ? INSTRUCTION ( No . 933 ) . —The brethren of the above lodge have engaged the Masonic room at Auderton ' s Hotel , Fleet-street , for the evening of Wednesday , the 17 th . inst ., for the purpose of hearing Bro . J . G , Stevens , P . M . of Yarboro' Lodge ( No . 555 ) , and Hon . Sec . of Doric ( mother ) Lodge ( No . 933 ) , give a reading from "Oliver Twist ,- " tho

episode of Bill Sykes and Nancy being selected for the reading . After which Bro . Stevens has also kindly consented to introduce the company to the celebrated " Mrs . Bullwinkle . " The hearty co-operation of the Craft is on this occasion earnestly solicited , as the entire proceeds of the reading will be applied in aid of the Masonic Girls' School Fund . The reading will eommenco at

7-30 precisely . Admission , by ticket , free ; but a collection will be made in the room at the close of the reading . Tickets may be obtained at Auderton ' s Hotel ; of Bros . D . Scurr , G . Snow , J . G . Stevens , C . Ireland , T . J . Barnes , and others .

MASONIC LIFE BOAT FUND . —AVe aro requested to mention that a committee is about to be formed for carrying out the purposes of the fund , and the Secretary ( Bro . Anthony Oneal Haye ) will be glad to receive the names of brethren willing to serve upon it . When the committee is formed , a . list of subscriptions received will bo published .

Glims SCHOOL—We desire to bring before the notice of our numerous readers as worthy of their support , the case of Alice Ritsou Molineaux , aged eight years , a candidate for admission at the ensuing Election for the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls . Her father was for twenty-one years Assistant Locomotive Engineer to the London , Brighton , and South Coast Railway

Company . He died very suddenly in November 1 SG" , leaving a Widow and seven children . The Widow has since been confined of a posthumous child , making eight in all , and as six of these are wholly , and the two cldosfc nearly dependent upon hoi-, we need hardly say it is a case particularly deserving- the interest of all Freemasons , and more especially , perhaps that portion of

them belonging to or in any way connected with railways . Bro . Molineaux was a very rising man in his profession , but unfortunately was unable to leave his widow and . large family provided for . He belonged to the Royal York Lodge at Brighton , No . 315 , of which he had been n member four years . Bro . George Hawkins of the Loudon Brighton aud South Coast R . iihvay ,

Brighton , will bo happy to receive proxies . The daughter of Mrs . S . Palmer is a candidate for admission . AYe understand this to be a truly deserving case for fraternal sympathy . Wo are requested to mention that Clara Mercedes Wicks , who has been three times a candidate for election , comes up again in April . Shy has tho support of the Norfolk

Provincial Lodges , and the case is a very deserving one . Also the case of Theresa Mary Claiscn , which is warmly recommended and which is peculiarly distressing .