Gleanings.

GLEANINGS .

T IMELY ADMONITION . —Pronounce no harsh judgment or severe criticism without looking well at all the surroundings of the brother at the time where , as you think , he offended , without calmly asking and answering in yonr own mind , " how mnch better would I have done in his place , with his surroundings and opportunities ? " Let

the broad mantle of Masonic charity cover tho errors it is proper to conceal , bat whenever yon find thab occasion requires it , let justice be done , whatever may bo the consequences to individuals , that right may reign supreme , aud wrong be vanquished . — -Grand Master Benton , of Minnesota .

There are probably abont a million and a half of Masons in the world . Great Britain includes about one-sixth of the entire number , and the United States a still larger fraction . The estimate for tho whole of Europe is 350 , 000 , and for North and Sonth America about 650 , 000 . Asia , Africa , and the islands of the sea furnish the remain der .

ANCIENT MASONIC SCHOOL . —Tho Institution of Pythagoras , at Crotona , was a Masonio School—a school from which some of the most illustrious men of Greece derived that burning love of virtue and glory which have made their names so dear to remembrance names such as Epaminondas , Pelopinas , Aristides , Phocion , and fche

divine Plato . A very fine account of this school may be found in the " Travels of Anacharsis , the younger , " by the Abbe Barthelmy , of Prance—a work of profound learning , richly supported by ancient authorities , and exceedingly interesting . Yet amidst the present inundation of romances and novelties , ifc is seldom read , and but

indifferently appreciated , though there is no snrer nor better history of Greece amongst modern writers . Euclid established another celebrated Masonic school at Alexandria , and to him we are indebted for the solution of the Problem , the square of the hypothenuse of a

right-angled triangle is equal to the squares of the other two sides —the Forty-seventh Proposition of Euclid , one of our Masonic emblems —which Pythagoras first discovered , and which laid the corner-stone of Geometry . —Lancaster Daily Examiner .

Freemasonry is an institution founded npon and growing ont of the necessities of men as social , as intellectual , and as religious beings , and ifc deals with our social , onr intellectual , and our religions interests . It has proved capable of adapting itself to the wants of all these in all the ages of human experience . No attentive student of

Masonry can fail to perceive that there lies at its foundation a principle which makes it the great necessity of social man , and consequently a necessary Institntion growing inevitably out of his nature , wherever its better phase has reached appreciable development . Amidst all the rivalries and antagonisms which pervade active life

there is a want , a longing of the soul for union and brotherly love , and for such associate relations as shall be able to satisfy the craving of our social nature . It is upon this principle thafc Freemasonry is founded . It builds upon and aims to develope the benevolent and sympathetic phases of our nature . Hence , the Institntion

could but be founded ; it cannot fail to exist ; ifc must necessaril y grow and prosper with the growth and continued development of man ' s better sentiments . It is not aggressive , not obtrusive ; it makes no issues , nor sets up rivalries with tho other Institutions of

the day , but gathering the virtues of all the ages , it recognizes the inner cravings of the soul and the universal brotherhood of man , forgetting all else in its devotion to his higher and better needs . — Albert 8 . Waite P . G . H . P .

QUALITY IN FREEMASONRY . —Vice is unmasonic as sin is ungodly . The vicious cannot be made Masons . Masonry delights in perfect . Bess—morally as well as physically . She looks as much to the heart as to the limbs . If the limbless cannot be a Mason , neither can the heartless man . She demands that all shall be good men and true .

In her sanctuary sho has reared an altar dedicated to moral virtues . Unless Masonry is highly moral ifc is nothing . It is an association which seeks for those pleasures and enjoyments which can only be gathered from fields of high moral culture . Its aims , its objects , and

m purposes are such , thafc while ifc extends its charity to all mankind , and labours for the elevation of the human race to whatever condition ifc may exist , ifc does nofc propose to do so , nor , indeed , can lt i by throwing open its doors and gathering into its bosom the vicious and the vile . — W . H . Olaytm ; Arkansas .

PRACTICE or MASONIC VIRTUES . —Although absolute perfection in the work and lectures is a consummation devoutly to be hoped for , Jet if thia is to be attained at the expense of a more thorough knowled ge of the great principles which Masonry teaches , it will be bnt httle benefit in the end . It is not my purpose to detract in the least

from the importance of a thorough knowledge of the ritual , bnfc in 'ittaiuing this knowledge we should have a care that we do uot loss 8 'ght of the greater importance of the lessons which the ritual teaches ua . Masonry is uot a mere creature of forms and ceremonies . t ~ nian may be a correct ritualistand at the same time be a bad

, fnason . It is only when the ceremonies of our initiation—the work' Dg tools of our profession , and our symbols and our traditions , servo ° impress upon our minds principles of morality and virtue—as tt * J' cannot fail to do , if they are properly studied and understood

"~ -tbat they accomplish the purpose for which they wero intended . 11 is well to be a "bright" working Mason , but it is far better that ^ at nil times practise the Masouic virtues . — Grand Master Read . v enaont .

freemasonry ia a moral order , instituted by virtuous men , with B ?^ r ! i , l ! ewoT ^ 7 design of recalling to our remembrance the most 1 lime truths in the midst of tho most innocent and social plea-? J ) US—pleasares fouuded on liberality , brotherly love , aud charity . — fni , " 0 grand object of Masonry is to promote the bapuiness of the na « ian race . —Washington .

Gleanings.

IMPOSTOR . —An Englishman , who calls himself Walter Strawbridge , and claims to be a member of Humber Lodge , No . 57 , Hull , England , has been detected in the western part of Pennsylvania . He is about 5 feet 9 inches high , hair cut short , wears a moustache , dark clothes , is a good pensman , ancl—likes whiskey .

MASONIC LIBRARIES . —The New Zealand Mail says : — " The crying want of Masonry in this Colony is reading Masons . If we had more of this desirable class of brethren , Masouic literature would be treated

as something better than waste paper , aud Masouic libraries would be better supported . " What the Mail says of New Zealand is juat as true if applied generally—a few Masons , only a few , will read ; fche great majority seem to wait for everybody else to read .

The principles of" brotherly relief , truth , and charity , " are mere words— " empty brass , a tinkling sound" unless thoy are put into practice . The oldest minnte book possessed by the Lodge of Kilwinning , Scotland , is a small qnarto , bound in vellum , containing records of its transactions from 20 th December 1642 to 5 th December 1758 .

The Bishop of Lima is doing his best to prevent the Masons in Peru from building a Masonic Temple . He argues thafc the word "Temple" is not applicable to places where men meet who are without the Church ' s pale . The Revista Masonica asks " what next ?"

In Pompeii an antique mosaic has been recently found among the ruins , having tho following Blasonic emblems on ifc , viz .: " the skull and cross-bones , the level , fche square , and two pillars . As its date is prior to the formation of Guilds , it would be interesting to know more abont it .

The Grand Lodge of California recently appropriated the sum of twelve hundred dollars , to be paid in monthly instalments of oue hundred dollars , to one of its Past Grand Masters , who , in his old age , has been overtaken by misfortune . Who will say , after this , that the Masonic Fraternity is nofc a noble charity ?

The best Masons are those who have the biggest hearts and souls within them . They are those who are ready fco sacrifice something for the good of the Order . The real power of Freemasonry consists

of the amount ; of hearfc and soul to be found among its members . Tbe daughter . of a deceased Mason has been adopted by Blair Lodge , Chicago , who for years has assumed tbe entire care of the little lady .

Freemasonry , in its deep underlying principles , is essentially different from all other human organizations . We are not . only a society , but onr Craft is a grand old historic Institution ; and it is important that we should ever bear iu mind this great truth : that human institutions , unlike those of Divine origin , are not made , bufc

grow . The germs of Freemasonry aro of the highest antiquity . As these germs found congenial soil in tbe wants of our common humanity , they gradually developed under the moisture aud sunshine of Divine favonr , nntil this strong , sturdy oak of Freemasonry stands

to-day with its roots reaching so far back into the pasfc , thafc neither the storms of adversity nor the snnshine of prosperity can do more than break off a few decaying branches , or wither and dry up some of those superfluous leaves which flutter in the passing breeze . — Grand Master Elapp . of Rhode Island .

WHAT MASONS REPRESENT . —The Masons , as a class , represent ; more than any other I kuow of , the practical common sense of the whole community in its mosfc liberal aspect—solid men of judgment ,

selected from every interest in society . She seeks no political distinction , nor does sho ostracize any one for his politics . We welcome good men of all parties , aud thiuk the more they meet here on the level the better they all will be for ifc . —R . W . Bro . G . L . Woodbury .

The first Masonic Lodge in Saxony appeared at Dresden in 1738 ; within two years thereafter two others had been established in Leipzig and Altenburg . The Grand Body was formed in 1812 . In the year 1822 the Emperor of Eussia published a ukase which interdicted the meetings of Freemasons within the Empire .

The King of Portugal interdicted Freemasonry in his Kingdom about the year 1824 . MONKS AS BUILDERS . —It is stated by Stow , one of the most celebrated of the early English chroniclers , that when the walls of London were rebuilt , in the seventh or eighth century , the

Benedictine mouks in the neighbourhood of Birkenhead were sent to perform tho masonry ; and it is further stated that these mouks kept the secrets of their art with such strict fidelity that they were said to havo invented stone walls . Their workmanship was so excellent and so rare in those days that it waa considered not an erection , bufc aa invention .

Ad01102

FUNERALS properly carried oufc and personally attended in London , or Country by Bro . G . A . HUTTOJN , 17 Newcastle Street , Strand , W . C . Monuments erected . Valuations made .

Ad01103

; MASOKIC LECTLIEE . KNOBS AND EXCRESCENCES . BUG . JAMES STEVENS P . M . P . Z . is open to accept invitations £ ov the delivery of bis LECTURE La llETaosoLmif or £ 'aovisoiAi < LODGES , or LODGES OI ? lustuvctton . No Lecture fee ; travelling expenses only accepted . Address—Clapham S . W .

Ad01104

The Bevised Book of Constitutions ; Critically Considered and Compared -with , the Old Edition . London : Simpkin , Marshall & Co . 4 Stationers' Hall Court , S . C . Sent on receipt of stamps , One Shilling , by W W . Morgan , Freemason ' s Chronicle Office , Belvidero "Works , Hermes Hill , Pentonville . i