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Article SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN'S CONNECTION WITH FREEMASONRY. ← Page 2 of 2 Article A PUZZLE SOLVED. Page 1 of 1 Article A PUZZLE SOLVED. Page 1 of 1 Article REVIEWS. Page 1 of 2 →
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Sir Christopher Wren's Connection With Freemasonry.
had been what in his day were called Grand Masters of Masonry ; but I think we may charitably assume that iu calling them Grand Masters ho merely wished to imply that eithor as architects or grand patrons of architecture they were friends of the guild of Freemasons . I seo nothing out of place in designating William of Wykeham Grand Master of Masons . Bofuro his appointment us
keeper of tho Privy Seal to Edward III ., his election as Bishop oi Winchester , and his promotion to the office of Lord High Chancellor of England , he had been Surveyor of Works at Windsor Castle , and it was under his superintendence that the Castle was rebuilt . He became subsequently Chief Warden and Surveyor of tho King ' s Castles of Windsor , Leeds , Dover , and Hadlaoi , and other castles and
manors . Tho only art or scienco ho cultivated to auy extent is supposed to have boon that of architecture , and we are indebted to him for tho foundation and erection of Winchester College aud Now College , Oxford . I do not imagine that any but an ignorant brother would tako this to mean that William of Wykeham was Grand Mastor in the same sense as tho Pririco of Wales is . It means
that in his day lie was tho Grand Patron of Architecture , and in his official capacity as Surveyor of Works to the King he would necessarily have under his control , or bo brought into contact with , the chief Masonic bodies . So with Inigo Jones , who was first architect to the Queen of James I . and the Prince of Wales , and then Snrveyor-Geueral of the Royal Buildings , I consider him to have l » een
Grand Master in a like sonso , and so , too , Sir Christopher Wren , who held similar offices . I seo nothing incongruous in calling them Grand Masters in tho sense of official patrons of the guild of Masons . As to tho charge that Wren neglected the Lodgo in Loudon , we must remember that , in 1710 , when the last stone was laid of the lantern of the cupola of St . Paul's , Sir Chistophor was
seventyeight years of age , and , therefore , it caauofc bo wondered at that he should take littlo or no part in the work of the Lodges . And as the speculative system was then beginning to prevail in the Lodge 3—it is evident this must havo been tho easo ; for wo cannot imagino that the Lodges met in 1717 , aud agreed upon a new system without some previous consideration of the subject—thero is nothing strange in tho election of Mr . Anthony Sayer , Gentleman , as Grand Master , when
tho most distinguished brother , then eighty-five yoars of age , was probably too feeble to tako an active part iu their work . That a good deal of nonsense has been written about Freemasonry is beyond question , bnt Wren is rightly an honoured name among Masons . Let Bro . Norton turn his attention to such so-called Grand Masters as St . Albans , St . Augustine , St . Dunstan , and others , and the more he belabours the Masonio myths of which they are the heroes the better work he will be doing . Fraternally yours , A LOVER OF HISTORIC .
A Puzzle Solved.
A PUZZLE SOLVED .
BY BRO . JACOB NORTON .
IN 1757 , P . D . G . M . Dr . Manningham wrote to Bro . Saur , Grand Warden of the G . L . of Holland , in which letter ho denounced tho imposture of the so called Scotch Rito Masonry , Templar Masonry , and other Masonic moonshine , which came into voguo a few years before tho dato of the said letter . After apologising for not having answered Bro . Saur ' a letter before , Dr . Mauningham went on to state as follows : —
" I was determined to consult brethren in Scotland , particularly our Bro . Lord Aberdour , who is son and heir to the Earl of Morton , and an exceeding good Mason , and as such ho has filled the chair in Scotland , and his Lordship is now elected Grand Master of England . "
The abovo plainly implies , that the same Lord Aberdour , who served as G . M . of Scotland , was elected iu 1757 G . M . of England . Guess , then , my surprise , when I learned from Bro . Kenning ' a or Bro . Woodford's Cyclopedia , that G . M . Lord Aberdour of England was a different person from the Grand Master of Scotland ; thus on tho 1 st page yon will find the following paragraphs : —
" Aberdour , Sholto Charles , Lord , Grand Master of the Scottish Grand Lodgo for 1755 and 1756 . " And again , — "Aberdour , Sholto Douglas , Lord , Grand Master of the English Grand Lodge from May 18 th 1756 " , until 3 rd May 1762 . " And still again , on page 273 , you will find in the list of Scotch Grand Masters the following : —
" Sholto Charles , Lord Aberdour ( 10 th Earl of Heatou ) , 1755-5 !; . " The last quotation proves that tho two Lord Aberdonrs were not even related to each other , for according to Dr . Manningham , tho English G . Jf . Aberdour was the son of the Earl of Morton , whiie according to Bro . Woodford , the Scotch G . M . of 1755-56 was tho 16 th Earl of fleaton . Hie puzzlo then is , which of the two
statements is true ? I am aware that our Masonic authorities of the last century were great blunderer * , and such being tho case , Dr . Manningham may have been misinformed . But I also know that Masonic writers i > : this century are likewise apt to blunder ; aud although tho Craft is greatly indebted to Bro . Woodford lor his archa- ' utogicul researches , yet , with alt duo respect to that distinguished , brother , 1 have no
hesitation in saying , that Bro . W . is not only liable to jump to wrong conclusions , but that ho would even dogmatically defend thoso conclusions as long as he possibl y could do so . This characteristic is not , indeed , peculiar to Bro . W ., but it is the prevailing weakness of professional Masonic writers generally , and of Masonic editors particularly ; and iu justice to Bro . Woodford , 1 must concede that ho is by no means the worst of his class in that
A Puzzle Solved.
respect . But as already said , Bro . W . is liable to make mistakes , and I need not go out of the way to prove it ; for instance , ho says that Lord Aberdour was elected ISth May 1756 G . M . of England * but Lord Aberdour was not so elected beforo 1757 . So , lookiug at the question on both sides , I thought at first that the puzzle could not bo solved even by a Philadelphia lawyer . I tried , however , to
find a book on the Scotch Peerage ; but , unfortunately , the book I saw was very moagro , it did not even refer to an Earl of Heatou . I next consulted Bro . Mackenzie ' s Masonic Cyclopasdia , and found that it agreed with Bro . Woodford '?) , but Bro . Mackenzio made an addition that I must call attention to , for , according to Bro . Mackenzie , tho English G . M . of 1757 was the 16 th Earl of Morton ( 16 th ?)
I next happened to recollect that in 17 o 6 , Lord Aberdour , the Scotch Grand Master , granted a Charter to St . Andrews Lodgo iu Boston . The original copy is still preserved , indeed , I saw it moro than once : the Charter , however , was printed in St . Andrew ' s Centennial Memorial , a copy of which was then presented to me by tho compiler thereof , and here is tho name as written on the said charter : —
" Sholto Charles Doncjlas , Lord Aberdour , Grand Mastor of Free aud Accepted Masons of Scotland . " Hero then , it would seem , that two Scotch noblemen , not related to each other , lived at tho same time . Each of them was a Lord Abordonr ; each was christened Sholto Douglas , each was a member of tho Masonic fraternity , and each was a 16 th ; one was
the 16 th Earl of Ileaton , and the other the 16 th Earl of Morton ! This coincidence seemed to mo too wonderful to be true , and I , therefore , canio to the conclusion that Dr . Manningham was right , and our cycloprcdists were wrong . I did not , indeed , for a moment suppose that either of these editors was gnilty of knowingly and intentionally splitting Lord Aberdour into two ; but I imagined that
somo careless scribbler had omitted one of his lordships given names here , and another omitted another name there , and that some Masonic luminary , thereforo , jumped to the conclusion that thero were two Lord Aberdours , and so he named ono Sholto Charles , and the other Sholto Douglas ; and that our Bro Woodford copied from that source without investigation .
This induced me to consult other works , among which I hunted np Entick ' s Constitution of 1767 , and Laurie ' s History of Free , masonry in Scotland , and , sure enough , I bocame satisfied that these worthies were the originators of the blunder . Laurie clipped the name of Douglas , and Entick clipped the name of Charles from , his Lordahip'a Christian names . Now , with regard to Lanrie , St .
Andrews Charter ,- above quoted , demonstrates his shortcoming , ' and as to Entick , it is well known that he caused me once a great deal of trouble to find out the namo or title of the English G . M . of 1732-33 . Entick called him " Viscount Montacute , " but in reality his title was proved to have been "Viscount Montague . " With all these facts before us , ordinary writera would probably
concede that there was but one Lord Aberdour . But in this case I had to deal with Masonic editors , who , as already intimated , are extremely reluctant to give up their notions ; they might , perhaps , acknowledge that Lanrie misled them about the Scotoh Grand Blaster's name , but they would still challenge me to prove that the Rev . Bro . Entick was wrong .
In this dilemma , I thought of writing to tho E . W . Bro . Hervey , also to Bro . Hnghan , and others j when all at once , I happened to recollect that we had here , in the Masonic Temple , Cole ' s Engraved List of English Lodges for 1761 , with the name of Lord Aberdour on its front page ; and , without further circumlocution , here 13 his Lordship ' s name as on the said Lodge List , viz . : —
" The Eight Honourable Sholto Charles Douglas , Lord Aberdour , Grand Master , 1761 . " Further comment is unnecessary . But I shall only add , that this Aberdour x > uzzle resembles strongly the puzzles iu the well-known Comedy of Errors , but with this difference : in the comedy two persona are mistaken for one , but here one person was mistaken for two . BOSTON , 21 st June 1878 .
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
All Books intended for Review ahould be addressed to the Editor of The Freemason's Chronicle , 67 Barbican , E . C . American , und other Drinks . —Upwards of Two Hundred of tho most
approved Hecipes , for making tho Principal Beverages used in tho United States and elsewhere . By Leo Engel , of the Criterion , late of New York City , U . S . A . London : Tinsley Brothers , 8 Catherine-street , Strand .
WE are still in the dog days , aud may anticipate a return of the hot weather which was prevalent till a few days since . Any work , therefore , which initiates us into tho mysteries of compounding cooling and refreshing drinks , will bo of great service . This little work , however , takes a wider range , and contains recipes for every
description of drink , as well those which are suitable as a beverage in tho winter , as those which are so eagerly sought after , and imbibed with so much zest , in the height of summer . A mere hurried glance at the contents of this useful book , a study of one or more recipes taken at hazard , is enough to make the mouth water , and given tho implements and materials for a few experiments , to test instantly the
merits of Mr . Engel s experienced advice . Being , ourselves , of tbo Epicurean school of philosophy , we have an abiding faith in the necessity of employing ali possible skill and care in the preparation of food of every description , be it solid or fluid . Wo believe in gastronomy , and consider that a study of , at all events , its general principles , by all classes of people is desirable , if not absolutely necessary . To practise even fairly well tie art of eating an . d , drink ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Sir Christopher Wren's Connection With Freemasonry.
had been what in his day were called Grand Masters of Masonry ; but I think we may charitably assume that iu calling them Grand Masters ho merely wished to imply that eithor as architects or grand patrons of architecture they were friends of the guild of Freemasons . I seo nothing out of place in designating William of Wykeham Grand Master of Masons . Bofuro his appointment us
keeper of tho Privy Seal to Edward III ., his election as Bishop oi Winchester , and his promotion to the office of Lord High Chancellor of England , he had been Surveyor of Works at Windsor Castle , and it was under his superintendence that the Castle was rebuilt . He became subsequently Chief Warden and Surveyor of tho King ' s Castles of Windsor , Leeds , Dover , and Hadlaoi , and other castles and
manors . Tho only art or scienco ho cultivated to auy extent is supposed to have boon that of architecture , and we are indebted to him for tho foundation and erection of Winchester College aud Now College , Oxford . I do not imagine that any but an ignorant brother would tako this to mean that William of Wykeham was Grand Mastor in the same sense as tho Pririco of Wales is . It means
that in his day lie was tho Grand Patron of Architecture , and in his official capacity as Surveyor of Works to the King he would necessarily have under his control , or bo brought into contact with , the chief Masonic bodies . So with Inigo Jones , who was first architect to the Queen of James I . and the Prince of Wales , and then Snrveyor-Geueral of the Royal Buildings , I consider him to have l » een
Grand Master in a like sonso , and so , too , Sir Christopher Wren , who held similar offices . I seo nothing incongruous in calling them Grand Masters in tho sense of official patrons of the guild of Masons . As to tho charge that Wren neglected the Lodgo in Loudon , we must remember that , in 1710 , when the last stone was laid of the lantern of the cupola of St . Paul's , Sir Chistophor was
seventyeight years of age , and , therefore , it caauofc bo wondered at that he should take littlo or no part in the work of the Lodges . And as the speculative system was then beginning to prevail in the Lodge 3—it is evident this must havo been tho easo ; for wo cannot imagino that the Lodges met in 1717 , aud agreed upon a new system without some previous consideration of the subject—thero is nothing strange in tho election of Mr . Anthony Sayer , Gentleman , as Grand Master , when
tho most distinguished brother , then eighty-five yoars of age , was probably too feeble to tako an active part iu their work . That a good deal of nonsense has been written about Freemasonry is beyond question , bnt Wren is rightly an honoured name among Masons . Let Bro . Norton turn his attention to such so-called Grand Masters as St . Albans , St . Augustine , St . Dunstan , and others , and the more he belabours the Masonio myths of which they are the heroes the better work he will be doing . Fraternally yours , A LOVER OF HISTORIC .
A Puzzle Solved.
A PUZZLE SOLVED .
BY BRO . JACOB NORTON .
IN 1757 , P . D . G . M . Dr . Manningham wrote to Bro . Saur , Grand Warden of the G . L . of Holland , in which letter ho denounced tho imposture of the so called Scotch Rito Masonry , Templar Masonry , and other Masonic moonshine , which came into voguo a few years before tho dato of the said letter . After apologising for not having answered Bro . Saur ' a letter before , Dr . Mauningham went on to state as follows : —
" I was determined to consult brethren in Scotland , particularly our Bro . Lord Aberdour , who is son and heir to the Earl of Morton , and an exceeding good Mason , and as such ho has filled the chair in Scotland , and his Lordship is now elected Grand Master of England . "
The abovo plainly implies , that the same Lord Aberdour , who served as G . M . of Scotland , was elected iu 1757 G . M . of England . Guess , then , my surprise , when I learned from Bro . Kenning ' a or Bro . Woodford's Cyclopedia , that G . M . Lord Aberdour of England was a different person from the Grand Master of Scotland ; thus on tho 1 st page yon will find the following paragraphs : —
" Aberdour , Sholto Charles , Lord , Grand Master of the Scottish Grand Lodgo for 1755 and 1756 . " And again , — "Aberdour , Sholto Douglas , Lord , Grand Master of the English Grand Lodge from May 18 th 1756 " , until 3 rd May 1762 . " And still again , on page 273 , you will find in the list of Scotch Grand Masters the following : —
" Sholto Charles , Lord Aberdour ( 10 th Earl of Heatou ) , 1755-5 !; . " The last quotation proves that tho two Lord Aberdonrs were not even related to each other , for according to Dr . Manningham , tho English G . Jf . Aberdour was the son of the Earl of Morton , whiie according to Bro . Woodford , the Scotch G . M . of 1755-56 was tho 16 th Earl of fleaton . Hie puzzlo then is , which of the two
statements is true ? I am aware that our Masonic authorities of the last century were great blunderer * , and such being tho case , Dr . Manningham may have been misinformed . But I also know that Masonic writers i > : this century are likewise apt to blunder ; aud although tho Craft is greatly indebted to Bro . Woodford lor his archa- ' utogicul researches , yet , with alt duo respect to that distinguished , brother , 1 have no
hesitation in saying , that Bro . W . is not only liable to jump to wrong conclusions , but that ho would even dogmatically defend thoso conclusions as long as he possibl y could do so . This characteristic is not , indeed , peculiar to Bro . W ., but it is the prevailing weakness of professional Masonic writers generally , and of Masonic editors particularly ; and iu justice to Bro . Woodford , 1 must concede that ho is by no means the worst of his class in that
A Puzzle Solved.
respect . But as already said , Bro . W . is liable to make mistakes , and I need not go out of the way to prove it ; for instance , ho says that Lord Aberdour was elected ISth May 1756 G . M . of England * but Lord Aberdour was not so elected beforo 1757 . So , lookiug at the question on both sides , I thought at first that the puzzle could not bo solved even by a Philadelphia lawyer . I tried , however , to
find a book on the Scotch Peerage ; but , unfortunately , the book I saw was very moagro , it did not even refer to an Earl of Heatou . I next consulted Bro . Mackenzie ' s Masonic Cyclopasdia , and found that it agreed with Bro . Woodford '?) , but Bro . Mackenzio made an addition that I must call attention to , for , according to Bro . Mackenzie , tho English G . M . of 1757 was the 16 th Earl of Morton ( 16 th ?)
I next happened to recollect that in 17 o 6 , Lord Aberdour , the Scotch Grand Master , granted a Charter to St . Andrews Lodgo iu Boston . The original copy is still preserved , indeed , I saw it moro than once : the Charter , however , was printed in St . Andrew ' s Centennial Memorial , a copy of which was then presented to me by tho compiler thereof , and here is tho name as written on the said charter : —
" Sholto Charles Doncjlas , Lord Aberdour , Grand Mastor of Free aud Accepted Masons of Scotland . " Hero then , it would seem , that two Scotch noblemen , not related to each other , lived at tho same time . Each of them was a Lord Abordonr ; each was christened Sholto Douglas , each was a member of tho Masonic fraternity , and each was a 16 th ; one was
the 16 th Earl of Ileaton , and the other the 16 th Earl of Morton ! This coincidence seemed to mo too wonderful to be true , and I , therefore , canio to the conclusion that Dr . Manningham was right , and our cycloprcdists were wrong . I did not , indeed , for a moment suppose that either of these editors was gnilty of knowingly and intentionally splitting Lord Aberdour into two ; but I imagined that
somo careless scribbler had omitted one of his lordships given names here , and another omitted another name there , and that some Masonic luminary , thereforo , jumped to the conclusion that thero were two Lord Aberdours , and so he named ono Sholto Charles , and the other Sholto Douglas ; and that our Bro Woodford copied from that source without investigation .
This induced me to consult other works , among which I hunted np Entick ' s Constitution of 1767 , and Laurie ' s History of Free , masonry in Scotland , and , sure enough , I bocame satisfied that these worthies were the originators of the blunder . Laurie clipped the name of Douglas , and Entick clipped the name of Charles from , his Lordahip'a Christian names . Now , with regard to Lanrie , St .
Andrews Charter ,- above quoted , demonstrates his shortcoming , ' and as to Entick , it is well known that he caused me once a great deal of trouble to find out the namo or title of the English G . M . of 1732-33 . Entick called him " Viscount Montacute , " but in reality his title was proved to have been "Viscount Montague . " With all these facts before us , ordinary writera would probably
concede that there was but one Lord Aberdour . But in this case I had to deal with Masonic editors , who , as already intimated , are extremely reluctant to give up their notions ; they might , perhaps , acknowledge that Lanrie misled them about the Scotoh Grand Blaster's name , but they would still challenge me to prove that the Rev . Bro . Entick was wrong .
In this dilemma , I thought of writing to tho E . W . Bro . Hervey , also to Bro . Hnghan , and others j when all at once , I happened to recollect that we had here , in the Masonic Temple , Cole ' s Engraved List of English Lodges for 1761 , with the name of Lord Aberdour on its front page ; and , without further circumlocution , here 13 his Lordship ' s name as on the said Lodge List , viz . : —
" The Eight Honourable Sholto Charles Douglas , Lord Aberdour , Grand Master , 1761 . " Further comment is unnecessary . But I shall only add , that this Aberdour x > uzzle resembles strongly the puzzles iu the well-known Comedy of Errors , but with this difference : in the comedy two persona are mistaken for one , but here one person was mistaken for two . BOSTON , 21 st June 1878 .
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
All Books intended for Review ahould be addressed to the Editor of The Freemason's Chronicle , 67 Barbican , E . C . American , und other Drinks . —Upwards of Two Hundred of tho most
approved Hecipes , for making tho Principal Beverages used in tho United States and elsewhere . By Leo Engel , of the Criterion , late of New York City , U . S . A . London : Tinsley Brothers , 8 Catherine-street , Strand .
WE are still in the dog days , aud may anticipate a return of the hot weather which was prevalent till a few days since . Any work , therefore , which initiates us into tho mysteries of compounding cooling and refreshing drinks , will bo of great service . This little work , however , takes a wider range , and contains recipes for every
description of drink , as well those which are suitable as a beverage in tho winter , as those which are so eagerly sought after , and imbibed with so much zest , in the height of summer . A mere hurried glance at the contents of this useful book , a study of one or more recipes taken at hazard , is enough to make the mouth water , and given tho implements and materials for a few experiments , to test instantly the
merits of Mr . Engel s experienced advice . Being , ourselves , of tbo Epicurean school of philosophy , we have an abiding faith in the necessity of employing ali possible skill and care in the preparation of food of every description , be it solid or fluid . Wo believe in gastronomy , and consider that a study of , at all events , its general principles , by all classes of people is desirable , if not absolutely necessary . To practise even fairly well tie art of eating an . d , drink ,