Fire At Freemasons' Hall.

FIRE AT FREEMASONS' HALL .

TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF " THE TEMPLE . "

ON Thursday , shortly before midnight , a fire was discovered at the Freemasons' Hall , Great Queen-street , London , and by the time the fire engines arrived , the elegant hall known to Craftsmen as " the Temple " was completely destroyed . Fortunately the fire was confined to the room where the Quarterly Communications of the

United Grand Lodge of England are usually held . We regret to say all the valuable portraits with which this apartment was adorned are completely destroyed , the roof having fallen in , and nothing but the hare walls are left standing . The room had not been used for some days ,

and the origin of the fire is a mystery . The " Temple " now destroyed waa built in 1775 , when the adjoining Freemasons' Tavern was a coffee-house . The pictures to which we have already referred were portraits ; with the single exception of Lord Ripon , of all the Past Grand Masters of

the Order , consequently , from a monetary point of view , no estimate can be formed of the damage done . Most of the loss is irreparable . We paid a visit to the scene this ( Friday ) morning , and from the apparent lack of public interest the catastrophe

seemed to evoke we were for the moment led to hope the first accounts had been grossly exaggerated . Unfortunately , however , inside the building the extent of the damage is too palpable . While the offices and business parts of Freemasons' Hall have escaped the ravages of the fire , the elegant Temple has been totally destroyed .

The History Of Freemasonry.

THE HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY .

( Continued from p 235 . ) 'PHE fifth and concluding chapter of the first volume of ^ Bro . Gould ' s History of Freemasonry treats of " The Companionage , or Les Compagnons du Tour de France ;" and is by no means the least interesting section of the

work , so far as it has been published . We frankly confess that until we read this chapter , our knowledge of the subject it treats of was very limited , and as it is not unreasonable to suppose that many other brethren , with fewer

opportunities than necessarily fall to our lot of studying the history of Freemasonry and kindred associations , are as indifferentl y informed as we were till lately of an institution which has flourished for ages , and still flourishes in

France , it may be we shall deal with it at even greater length than usual . Broadly stated , says Bro . Gould , " the ' Companionage ' { Oompagiionnage ) means tne associations formed by the

journeymen of France for mutual support and assistance during their travels . " Though many of its regulations will " compare with those of the German fraternities , " in

others " the difference is strongly marked . " Among these points of difference Bro . Gould notes , that while "in Germany each craft was a separate entity , and in many cases the members of a trade in one town had no bond of union connecting them with a similar Bntderschaft of another _ S _ 5 [ P » beyond the ordinary results following the exercise of

a common employment , " the Companionage comprised " three great divisions ; to one of these each trade . belonged , whilst in these handicrafts some members belonged to one division and some to another ; and these three division swere extended throughout France . " Again , " the French

fraternities practised a veritable initiation—a mystic reception —and treasured venerable legends ; " whilst " the affiliation of the German craftsmen was a simple burlesque ceremony , enriched by a certain amount of symbolism . " But what is more especially noteworthy is , that it not only

has these points in common with Freemasonry , but also others . Thus , " its existence was patent to all , and readily acknowledged ; with its works of charity and festivals the public were familiar , but its legends , its ceremonies , its signs and tokens , were shrouded in mystery , and even a

bare allusion to them was considered highly culpable . Although latterly , by enlightened members of this fraternity it has not been considered improper to partially unveil its legendary lore , yet to this day no revelation of its more important secrets has been made . " Tet Masonic writers ,

remarks Bro . Gould , have treated the institution with indifference , and , more remarkable still , in spite of the frequently recurring feuds between the different corps and the bloodshed they entailed , the public has manifested towards it the same feeling .

It was not till 1841 that any one came forward to throw a light on the subject , and then Agricol Perdiguier , himself a Companion of more than ordinary intelligence , published his " Livre du Compagnonnage , " his objecfc being to put an end , if possible , to the fratricidal strife

which had prevailed among the various factions of the Companionage . The work caused a profound sensation in France , and the late George Sand invited Perdiguier to visit her , and furnished him with funds to make afresh the tour of the country , and " preach his new Gospel to his

fellows . She further helped to extend the knowledge of the subject among the French people , by publishing the same year her novel , " Le Compagnon du Tour de France , "

aud her example induced others , many of whom were themselves Companions , to follow Perdiguier ' s and her footsteps . Having reiterated his surprise that our Masonic writers should have concerned themselves so little about

the subject , on the ground that " its ceremonies and legends are so interesting of themselves , its resemblance to our present system of Freemasonry so obvious , " Bro . Gould goes on to describe the Institution as it was in 1841 , the date of Perdiguier ' s work already referred to . Since then ifc

has undergone many changes , though " in one form or another it still exists . " " Railway travelling has done much to modify it ; the journeyman no longer tramps

from one town to another , nor does he usually live so absolutely from hand to mouth ; many of its regulations have consequently fallen into disuse : its old enmities and feuds are especially out of date . "

As has already been said , the Companionage comprised " three great divisions , " each of which , we are told , " revered and claimed origin from a traditionary chief , the hero of a legend , who was supposed to have conferred a charge ( devoir , i . e . duty ) on his followers . The

Companions called themselves the Sons ( enfants , children ) of this chief : hence the three classes were denominated the Sons of Solomon , the Sons of Maitre Jacques , and the Sons of Maitre Soubise . " The most ancient of these were the Sons of Solomon , originally Stonemasons only , but who