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line written above the signature , and showed it to Brother Nickerson , who frankly admitted thafc the signature did not resemble the writing in the St . John ' s Lodge record , signed " P . Pelham . " I then made Brother Nickerson a present of the facsimile of P . Pelham ' s signature , and told him to preserve it in his archives . It seems , however , that he forgot all about it .

The first document in the Grand Lodge record is Price ' s Deputation , and fche second document in the said record is the petition signed by eighteen Brethren to Henry Price to constitute them into a Lodge . Now , in the proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts of 1871 , facing page 296 , the reader can see a facsimile of the original petition , and on page 297 the petition in print ; and now 1 will place fche two copies of the said petition side by side , which must convince anyone that Charles Pelham ' s transcript is not reliable :

Copied from the original manuscript ( See Mass . Proceedings of 1871 , page 297 ) . "T HE HUMBLE PETITION of the Following Subscribers in behalf of themselves , and Worshipful and Antient Brotherhood Belonging to

the Society of Free and Accepted Masons now residing here , & c .

"To the Rfc Worshipful Bro ' rMr Henry Price Deputed Provincial GM for these parts By our Rt Worshipful & Worshipful Bro Rt Honble Ant Lord Visct Montague G . M . of Great Britain as per His Seal , & signed by our Rt Worshipful Bros

Tho Batson Esq . D . G . M ., G Rooke & Ja . Smythe , Esqs . S . & J . Wardens as per Sd Deputation , Dated in London , the 13 th day of April Anno Domini 1733 , and of Masonry 5733 , SHEWETH ,

" Thai your PETITIONEES are very Sensible of the Honour done to us

here by your Sd Deputation , & for as much as WE are a sufficient number of Brothers regularly and duly made soe in his Majesty ' s Kingdoms of Great Britain & Ireland as appeared to you on examination & are now desirous of Enjoying each other ( as well

as those made here per their respective names hereunto annex'd ) as MASONS in a Regular & Constituted LODGE for our Harmony & Union together as well as our Brethren y t may att any time arrive here or such as may be made Bro ' rs hereafter yt is to

say in due manner and Form . THEBE - FOBB WE Request as well in our own name and names as well as all other Brethren it may Concern yt you will Please to give the necessary orders to all our Brethren within yr Limitts & Power to give their due attendance

on you att a Seasonable hour to assist you & the Rest of the Brethren in their Capacity towards Constituting a Regular Lodge at the sign of the Bunch of Grapes in King Street known by the name of ye house of Mr . Edw'd Lutwytch on Monday the

30 th Inst , whereby we may be enabled to assist one an other in the true and Lawful Works of ANTIENT MASONS or atfc any other Place or Places as may Seem more meet & Bequisite to our G . M . his Deputys & y rest of the Bro ' s may agree upon &

then and there to make such Private Laws and Rules not exceeding ye Bounds Prescribed to us in our Printed Book of CONSTITUTION OB YB DEPUTATION & as will be approved and Confirmed of by them According to Antient Right and Custom & Such

Lodges to be held on Every Second & Fourth Wednesdays in each month for ye Common Good of us & Brethren YOUB Compliance herein WE - doubt not will reflect much the honour of masons and masonry by

Enlarging it wth many worthy Gentlemen in this Town and Elsewhere Residing WE are wth Respect Sir your afft Bros & Serv'ts . "

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As copied by Bro . Nickerson from the Massachusetts record of 1733 . " The Brethren being Regularly met at the house of Edward Lutwych afc ye sign of the Bunch of Grapes in Kingstreet Boston , New England , on

Monday , July 30 th Anno Domini 1733 , Masonry 5733 , Unanimously agreed to Pefcfcifcion our Rfc Worsl Mr . Henry Price , Provincial Grand Master , to constitute them into a Regular Lodge , and did according Present the following petition , viz .:

" To the Rt Worsh'l Bro Mr Henry Price Deputed Provincial Grand Master of Free and Accepted Masons of New England , by our Rt Worsh'l Brother and Rt Honourable Anthony Lord Viscount Montague Grand Master of England , as P . Deputation

sealed with the Office Seal and signed by our Rfc Wors'l Brothers Thos Batson Esq Deputy Grand Master & Geo Rooke and Jas Moore Smythe Esqr Grand Wardens . Dated in London ye 13 th Day of April Anno Domini 1733 , and of Masonry 5733 . " The Humble Pettition of the

following subscribers in behalf of themselves and Worshl and Antient Brotherhood belonging to the Society of Free and Accepted Masons now Residing in New England . " S HEWETH That your Pettitioners are very sensible of Honor done to

us here by your said Deputation and forasmuch as We are a sufficient number of Brethren Regularly made and are now desirous of Enjoying each other , for our Harmony together and Union as well as our Brethren that may afc anytime arrive here or such

as may be made Brothers hereafter fchat is to say in due Manner and Form Therefore We Request , as well in

Our own name and names as in the name and names of all other Brethren it may Concern , That you will please to give the necessary Orders to all our Brethren within your Limits to give their due attendance and assistance in their several and

Respective Capacitys toward Constituting a Regular Lodge this evening at the sign of the Bunch of Grapes in Kingstreet known by the name of the House of Mr . Edward Lutwych or afc any other place or

places as our said Rt Worsh'l Grand Master shall think proper to be

then and there held and Constituted according to Ancient Custom of Masons , and such Lodges to be held on every second

and Fourth Wednesday in each mon th for the Common Good of us and Brethren : Your Complyance herein We doubt not will Dedound to the Honour of the Craft and to encourage many worthy gentelman to become

Brethren and Fellows of this Rt Worsh'l and Ancient Society , and your Brethren and Petitioners shall ever Pray . , Dated afc Boston in Now England , July 30 th , 1733 . 5733 . "

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I shall add thafc each of the above copies of the petition wind up with the signatures of eighteen petitioners . Now , as ifc cannofc be disputed that Charles Pelham was the fabricator of the Massachusetts Grand Lodge record , which

contains a good many fibs , hence , after comparing Pelham ' s transcript of the above petition with the original manuscript , I could come to no other conclusion than that Bro . Charles Pelham was also the fabricator of Henry Price ' s Deputation of 1733 .

I shall now call attention to another unwarranted assumption of Bro . Nickerson . On page 402 of his book begins a copy of a letter ; the original manuscript of that letter was written by Charles Pelham . The reader will find part of the letter in the November ( 1890 ) number of the " Masonic Beview , " and how the original copy thereof was shown to me by Dr . Winslow Lewis in 1869 . That letter is introduced by Bro . Nickerson as follows :

" Copy of a letter written by Henry Price to the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of England , desiring a Deputation for Jeremy Gridley . The said letter is addressed to " Worthy and Dear Bro ' r , " but there is nob the slightest hint as to who fchat ' •Worthy and

Dear Bro ' r" was . The letter is unsigned , and is dated bfch August 1755 . Now , it is my firm belief that no such letter was sent by Price fco anyone in England , nor was ifc written for the purpose of sending to England . This said letter was designed by Price to cause his contemporaries to believe that he was

corresponding with some English Masonic dignitary , and that is all he intended it should do . It is as much a fraud as the statements in the record of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts were that he ( Price ) sent Deputations and Charters to

Philadelphia , to North and South Carolina , to Nova Scotia , and other places . It is as much a fraud as the Henry Bell letter of Pennsylvania was a fraud . Brother Gardner printed the same letter in the Massachusetts proceedings of 1871 , page 364 , but Brother Gardner had not the hardihood to state that ifc was

addressed fco the Grand Secretary of England . Bro . Gould , and especially Brother Henry Sadler , ransacked the archives of the Grand Lodge of England , and neither of them could find a letter from Henry Price to a Grand Secretary of England fchat was

written before 1768 . Nor did Price claim in any of his letters to a Grand Secretary of England thafc he had ever written before 1768 to any Grand Secretary of England . It is , therefore , simply absurd for Bro . Nickerson to assert thafc the letter dated 1755

was addressed by Price to a Grand Secretary of England . And I will only add thab I think it is high time for Massachusetts Grand Secretaries to cease palming off false histories upon Masonic readers .

Ifc has often been said all is fair in love or war , but we do not agree that lotteries are fair , even when the object is love for the cause of Freemasonry . We have previously condemned the action of Scottish Brethren who have arranged " drawings" for the purpose of raising money for Masonic objects , and take the opportunity of again doing so , in view of the notices that have

recently appeared in some of the Scottish papers in regard to a " Masonic Prize Drawing , " on behalf of the building fund of a proposed Masonic Hall . There were fifty-five prizes , the chief being a piano , value £ 25 ; a pneumatic cycle , worth £ 20 ; and a £ 10 note . We do not know how these drawings are possible in face of fche law against lotteries , and should very much regret a prosecution resulting from a " Masonic " venture .

Alison , in his " History of Europe , " relates that at the battle of Leipsic a Prussian soldier owed his life to his being a Freemason . He had been dismounted by a French Hussar , whose sword was raised to kill him ; but he made the Masonic sign of distress , and was spared . Whether the Frenchman had

to reckon with his military superiors afterwards we are nofc told , bufc fche story proves , if proof were needed , thafc Masonry carries benefits with it . Just now South Africa seems to have taken the place of ancient Eome , and become the sink into which all the world pours its refuse , and a home letter illustrates the benefit ,

in that seething mass of scoundrelism , of being able to give the sign of an English gentleman . But whafc is fche sign ? A young Englishman had been sent out to the Cape , to make his way up country , or wherever he could , with hopes unlimited , but money so strictly limited that he soon found himself penniless . On his

beam ends , he was both surprised and rejoiced to see an advertisement " for an English gentleman , " and lost no time in applying . The advertiser replied , asking him to dinner , which he gratefully accepted , for more reasons than one . The repast was satisfactory in every way , and at the end of it he was engaged . On the strength of a few days' service he ventured to ask his

employer why he had selected him , as he learned there had been many applicants . "I saw you were an English gentleman , " was the reply , " I watched you all through your dinner , and you never once put your knife in your mouth . "— " Leeds Mercury . "