A Masonic "Globe Trot."

namely the English speaking Masons , under English and American Constitutions ; the German Masons , under various German Grand Lodges , chiefly in Germany and certain parts of South America ; and the Grand Orient , which rules supreme in France , Italy , Belgium , and a few isolated Lodges in Asia Minor and Greece . The Scottish ritual , which not only rules supreme in the land of the Scot , is also worked in different jjarts of Germany , and , I dare say , in other countries .

Our Cunard-liner starts , and in a marvellous short space of time we find ourselves in the land over which the Stars and Stripes wave . Masonry in America is worked on , a grand scale . The accessories are magnificent . The R . A . worked in the G . L . of New York is something I shall not easily forget . At Chicago , the

Masonic Temple raises its pinnacle towards heaven , to the tune of—I think , if my memory serves me—twenty-one storeys , with several lifts continually working . A Knight Templar funeral I witnessed in New York had about 400 Knights on horseback , fully cloaked and crossed , with drawn swords , and had a strange and weird appearance in passing down Broadway .

Masons in that country are enthusiastic , very cordial , and truly Brotherly . Emblems flaunted in public , are perhaps a trifle beyond good taste . In that country , as recently as half a century ago , the death penalty was exacted from a traitor , somewhere near Albany , in the state of New York . The W . M . in the chair of K . S . has a peculiar place for his hat , which to us , English Masons , must

seem strange . Across a part of the Pacific , from 'Frisco , L found myself in Honolulu , where I fulfilled a promise I made many years ago , upon meeting King Kalakula , at . the Mark Grand Lodge , that should the fates ever take me to the realm over which he rujed , I would not fail to give him a Brotherly salute . His Majesty received

me very cordially , and placed before me a p 2 culiar " Miallech hamoves" ( Angel of death ) , vulgarly called green chartreuse . It was that dread messenger who called him to the Supreme Grand Lodge soon afterwards : I do not think that there exists at present a Lodge in the Sandwich Islands .

At Yokohama , m Japan , I visited a Lodge working under the English Constitution . In China , both in the British Island of Hong Kong , and at Canton , I visited Lodges working under the English Constitution . At the latter place , a Chinese Brother , of the Hebrew persuasion ( perfect Chinese features ) was pointed out to me ; one of the small remnant of Chinese Jews , supposed to belong to some of the missing tribes .

Arrived at Melbourne—where I was made an honorary member of the Australian Club , in order that I might take up residence there , and thus spare myself the comfortless hotels with which that city abounds—it soon became known that I was . a " chip of the block , ' and I accepted a pressing invitation to visit a Lodge . The" Brethren were somewhat surprised when , at the k . and f . degree I alluded to our friends left in the "old country" as the true " antipodeans !"

At Sydney I found a very unhappy state of things—strife , and war to the knife , among Masons ! New South Wales sought independence from the yoke of the Grand Lodge at home and established a Grand Lodge of New South Wales , under its first Grand Master Dr . Tarrant . Notwithstanding the "legitimate ' Lodges' menace that in the event of my visiting the " interloper " access to "legitimate" Lodges would no longer be accorded mP

1 nevertheless , with just a touch of that American feeling of independence innate in me , visited the rebelling Brethren The reception I received there was simply "spiffing . " The arrival of Lord Carnngton as Governor General of the Colony restored peace and harmony . His lordship had , however , a very hard task ere he finally succeeded . New South Wales Masons are no longer under the regis of the Grand Mother—I mean the Grand Lodge at home . It possesses its own Grand Lodge .

I had a run over to Fiji , and at Suva nia Viti Levu ( I trust my Brethren , that you will have no difficulty in retaining so easy a name !) I visited a Lodge working under an English Charter . Returning through the Torres Straits , I visited a Lodge under the English Constitution at Singapore , and reached the Bay of Bengal . At Calcutta I landed on the mornintr of the Tewisb rlnv

of Atonement . As I belong to that race and faith , I made inquiries for a Synagogue , and hastened there as fast as a garriwarri could take me . A magnificent edifice in the renaissance style filled with worshippers , all—men , as well as women—dressed from head to foot in pure white ; their feet even enveloped in white sandals . The whole building , including the Ark with the scrolls

of the law , draped in white silk , richly embroidered with gold and silver ; the women from time to time came down from the galleries and in single file ascended the steps leading to the Ark , and , in passing , touched with one hand a scroll and reverently touched the hand with their lips . What patricularly attracted my attention was a Chinese , a thoroughbred Mongolian , most fervently praying-, while his bodv was rocking back and frn A

worshipper standing behind me gave me a very energetic dig in my ribs with a pantomimic gesture towards the prayer book in my hand . This splendid Temple was built by a wealthy merchant of Calcutta , Ezra by name , and presented to the Jewish community . I met the gentleman with his whole famil y a few vears afterwards at a German Spa . He travelled in princely style , having a staff of about a dozen attendants , including a Chaplain , a special ritualistic killer of animals , and two cooks .

A few clavs later , when it became known at my hotel that I was a chip of the block , a delegation drew up at the hotel in the evening , inviting me to their Lodge . I readily iaccepted the invitation . The Lodge chiefly consisted of Babboos ( members of the learned professions ) and the working was in English , and Under the English Constitution . The whole assembly dressed in

A Masonic "Globe Trot."

white flowing robes , white head gear , & c , gave a singular aspect to the working . The banquet , in which the nectar flowed copiously , soon showed a very marked effect ; and my Brethren who acted as Deacons in conducting me to the Lodge , on our return journey from the suburbs—where the Lodge is situated— -had the parts reversed ; they were the Initiates in a state of d s , and I was their leader .

Both Agra and Delhi , through which I passed , possess Lodges . There are also many Army Lodges at different stations . At Bombay I visited a Parsee Lodge , and could not sufficiently admire their remarkable working . This little remnant of Tersians , who in order to escape persecution in their native country , in consequence of refusing to accept Islamism , fled , and found a refuge

and haven on the coast of Malabar , where they were permitted to adhere to the doctrines of their great teacher , Zoroaster . They reside chiefly in Bombay and Poonah ; they are thrifty and sober , and their women are virtuous . Although they are commonly called fire-worshippers , they believe in a monotheism , but revere , and daily pray to , the three great elements , fire ^ -the sun , water ,

and mother earth . It is for that reason that they will neither cremate their dead as the Hindoo does ; give burial in the depths of the sea or river—as a certain class of Hindoos do ; nor bury their dead in the ground . For by either of those three would they desecrate the elements which they worship . The Tower of Silence is therefore the receptacle for their dead . No one but the Priest

is allowed to enter the dread place . The body is placed on a sort of grating in amphitheatral form in the middle of the tower . The receptacles are divided into two tiers , one for adults and the other for children ; the whole is open to the sky . Two hours after "burial" the dry bones alone remain , the vultures give an account of the rest of the body .

The funeral procession through the city has a weird aspect ; the body is carried on men ' s shoulders , the mourners and friends —females are excluded—march slowly and gravely in twos , with a white band or cord held between them to denote unity . All are dressed exactly alike , the whole of the garments , including a square sort of skull cap and foot coverings , are pure white .

In Egypt I visited Lodges at Cairo and Alexandria , all under the English Constitution . I believe , however , that a few Grand Orient Lodges exist likewise . In Aoyssinia , I visited Wedah only . I am not aware of any Masons among the natives . Their

decoration , bestowed for bravery or great service to State , consists of the double triangle , the emblem of the R . A ., and is considered by Hebrews as the shield of David—or " Mogon David . " The Abyssinian , or rather the . . dynastic head , considers himself a direct descendant of King Solomon , through Sheba ( ?) .

In Greece there are Masons . I visited a Lodge at Athens ; in the square of the Royal Palace , there is , or was , a French confectionery . In a small room in the basement a Lodge is held land worked under the Grand Orient . The heat was so greatalthough winter—when I visited , that I almost suffocated ; by reason of the close proximity to the bake oven .

In Turkey . I visited Lodges at Constantinople and Smyrna ; both under the English Constitution . In Italy , the Grand Orient rules supreme . In Spain , Masonry is nil . In the principality of Monaco , a bishop , houses of ill fame in abundance , and gambling hells ; but no Masonry . In Holland the working is good and similar to the English . In Belgium—at

Antwerp—besides a Lodge under the Grand Orient , I visited one worked under the Scottish Rite . At Brussels , of the two Grand Orient Lodges , one is well worth a visit , and would amply repay an English Brother ' s trouble . Externally it has the form of an ancient Egyptian Temple , and internally is fitted very elaborately , and , from an artistic point of view , is unique in Lodges in Europe . Its mural decorations comprise the delineation of the working

of the third degree ; the events in which H . A . our Master took so conspicuous a part , all however from an Egyptian mythological point of view . That which with us is the fulcrum in the third degree , over which the c e takes s s , over which a certain sprig of acacia , the candidate has a far greater ordeal to undergo than in this country . The night before raising , he has ample time for contemplation in close proximity to those m 1 r :.. s . There he holds vigils .

In Switzerland , Masonry is under the Grand Orient , with the exception of one Lodge I visited at Geneva practising the " Rituel Eccossai . " The ordeal of the initiate is unduly severe in some of the Helvetian Lodges . In Austria , Lodges are prohibited ; a Brother desirous of visiting a Lodge has to cross the boundaries dividing Austria from Hungary . Generally the river Leitha is crossed , and Pressburg chosen .

Holy Russia ! I had some sad experiences there . I once visited that country and had the misfortune to have my apron and certificate with me . I was deprived of both by officials , and had I not quickly sought " French-leave ( with the aid of friends ) I might have exjsiated my great crime of being a Mason by a visit to Siberia . In Paris I visited Grand Lodge of the Grand Orient .

It has left a most unpleasant taste in my mouth . I saw a German Brother amply provided with credentials sent out of the Lodge , simply and purely because he was a German—and this more than ten years after the Franco-German conflict . I , not being a German , in the hurry and excitement was allowed access , without the slightest question or examination .

I was grieved at the scene I witnessed in the Lodge whilst a candidate was initiated . Bickering , quarrelling , almost right down fighting was . proceeding nearly the whole time amongst the Officers . At Nice , the only other , and I intended it to be the last Lodge which I visited in that country , matters were not much better ,.