Whence Freemasonry Came.

control of the local authorities in designing and executing their plans ; free from the necessity of performing military service , in fact they \ f ere free Masons . And to these fraternities we can trace the origin of the word " free " in the

name of our Order . These privileges had the desired effect , and gathered at Rome skilled architects , artisans , civil engineers , men capable of building a city , and embellishing

it with the most stately and beautiful buildings ancl public works . The fraternities prospered at Rome , and the beautiful remains of their works are yet a source of pleasure

to thousands of tourists annually . Passing rapidly , however , we find that when Rome resolved on the conquest of Britain , a few years before the beginning of fche Christian era , numbers of those

fraternities were attached to the Roman legions that were sent to Britain , for the purpose of erecting fortifications , selecting , arranging and fortifying camps , and taking all necessary steps to secure and protect what Roman valour won . Here , as in Rome , they had entire charge of the fortresses , public buildings ; in short , of all

work requiring either scientific knowledge or skill . Constantine the Great , proclaimed Emperor A . D . 306 , being converted to Christianity , immediately gave a now impetus to building by ordering the erection of Christian temples . Among the very first to be begun in England were St . Paul ' s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey . However , intrigues at Rome bringing on

internal wars , compelled the abandonment of Britain by the Roman legious in the fifth century , after about five hundred years of possession . Thereupon those warlike German tribes , the Angles and the Saxons , and later the Danes , invaded Britain . For centuries , the island was but little else than a field for war and bloodshed , and public work was almost suspended . Tho fraternities , however ,

continued their organisation , with varying degrees of prosperity . Early in the seventh century the cathedrals afc Rochester and Canterbury were founded . During this century , also , we find persons who were not Operative

Masons admitted inside the Lodges , and known as " accepted" Masons . " Just when or how this custom originated we do nofc know , but " accepted " Masons are mentioned in the seventh century , about twelve hundred

years ago . Peace being afc length largely restored , King Athelstan being himself , as history tells us , a friend of education and a lover of the arts of peace , determined to begin the work of rebuilding and restoring the destroyed public buildings , and erecting new ones . Accordingly , he ordered the Masonic fraternities to assemble in general convocation under his son , Prince Edwin , at York , in the year 926 , and granted them the charter of York . In the proclamation ,

after referrnng to the devastations produced by the baxons and the Danes , these words occur : " But the pious King Athelstan , who has much esteem for the art , and who has established many superb edifices , has desired to make up this deficiency . * * * It is in this intention that he has remitted to his son Edwin an edict by which the Masons can have their own government , and establish all proper rules to

render their art prosperous . Behold then in the pious Prince Edwin your protector , who will execute the orders of the king , and who would encourage and exhort you no more to fall into past faults . " Thus reaffirming to them

their freedoms , and admonishing them to make good use thereof , thenceforward the Order flourished ; kings and princes were its Grand Officers , and the immense palaces ,

cathedrals , monasteries , now standing in England , are the result . At length , in 1717 , when the Lodges of London , under the supervision of Grand Master Sir Christopher Wren , had finished the rebuilding of St . Paul ' s , after the

Great London fire , the following resolution , memorable in our history was adopted : —¦ " Resolved , that the privileges of Masonry , shall no longer be confined to Operative Masons , but be free to men of all professions , provided thafc they be regularly approved and initiated into the Fraternity . "

And although " accepted " Masons had long existed , this resolution broke down all barriers between Operative Masons and other professions , and made the Order what it is to-day , a purely philosophical institution . Thenceforth

the Order had nothing to do as an Order with architecture or building , but confined itself entirely to philosophic Masonry . We have thus , as I think , correctly the origin of the name " ' Ancient' ' Free' and ' Accepted , Masons . " Certainly the organization is an ancient one ; the name

Whence Freemasonry Came.

" Free" originated twenty-five hundred years ago ; " Accepted " Masons have existed afc least ; twelve hundred years . As already stated , each word in the name of our Order marks an era in its growth . So , step by step it has

advanced , adjusting itself to the necessities of each age , ever holding itself true to its prime objects—the formation of the beautiful aud the preservation of the true in art and in morals . And thus it has grown , until now no more must tho initiate spend long and weary years toiling in tho

quarries , or with chisel and mallet carving things of lifo and beauty out of inanimate stone , or the hours of the night iu learning these secret principles of form and beauty and symmetry that must take shape in the building he is

assisting to erect . Henceforth the Masonic field is the moral world . Brethren , are we "duly and truly" prepared for the contest ? The true Mason can be no sluggard in the work of life . There are for us the hours of study ,

the years of toiling to shape out of the moral character a thing of beauty that shall harmonize with the true and tho good , that ifc may live with them in peace for ever . Oar symbols tell us that theso natures of ours are given us for development . That the grand result to be obained in thia life is to learn the right and the true and to do them willingly and gladly . That by a law of our nature wo grow

constantly , and that this growth is limitless—we musb grow whether we will or no . Wo can only choose tho method . It is either as the fruit and the flower grow , , upward toward tho light and sunshine , or downward as tho poisonous vine that , scorning the light , reaches over tho

precipice and down for its sustenance to the noisome exhalations of the gloomy depths below . Wo grow towards our loves . If wo love the pure we grow in purity . If we lovo the corrupt and base , we grow in corruption and baseness . Brethren , have you ever thought how wonderful are the capabilities , how fearful aro

the possibilities of human nature ? Moses ancl Plato , Nero and Caligula , Wilberforce and Jeffries , Washington and

Benedict Arnold ; Peter , in the gloom and darkness of the nighfc by the flickering camp-fire , with fear and trembling denying his Master to a woman ; that same Peter in the broad sunlight , before king and priest , proclaiming , dying for his Master ; Saul , persecuting to the death the new doctrine—Paul , the marfcyr , dying for the

new doctrine—all are evidences of the capabilities and possibilities of the nature within us . From the lowest depths where every impulse and every passion is mastered by evil ; to the highest plane where all the desires and all

the aspirations are for the greatest good , all is within the limits of the possible for every one . Aye , they but mark degrees on an ascending or descending scale upon which we are moving . Tho direction is of our own choosing , We will grow in the principles of our noble Order , or we will sink beneath them . Are we stronger to-day than

yesterday r If nofc , we are weaker . The Grand Master of the moral universe tells us that he who improves his knowledge of the right to-day , will the better know the right to-morrow . That he who neglects the right as he knows ifc to-day , will be less able to distinguish ifc

to-morrow- Ifc is a law of our being that the exercise of our moral powers is requisite to their development . As well might the prize fighter seek to win the bloody triumphs of the ring without the physical exercise thafc

hardens and develops tho . muscles . As well might tho mental athlete , on an infinitely higher plane , seek to win the grand prize of mental victory without long hours of deep study and earnest labour , as for the seeker after moral growth to hope to win the unfading laurels , the

wreaths of victory thafc shall never wither , without daily effort for our correct moral growth . In vain are all our symbols , if we fail to profit by them ; and worse than vain

are they if , knowing them , we turn from thoir teachings and do evil . Our name is a symbol . If " free " from all evil , we shall be " accepted " afc last as fit stones for that

living temple of the Master builder hereafter— " Free and Accepted Masons" for ever . —Voice of Masonry .

The Elocutionist , edited by Mr . Edwin Drew , starts the New Year in a fresh cover , is printed on superior paper , and undoubtedly must be useful to all who desire to improve their powers of delivery .

Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to send for half a dozen copies of " From Morn till Eve , " a most charming little everyday text-book , with thirty-eight diffierenfc illuminated designs and texts , with verses by Miss Havergal .