Freemasonry Requires Master Building.

masonry is the curse of the Institution . Too many are in it who are not of it . Too many professed Freemasons are comparatively ignorant of Freemasonry . Selfish motives have brought them to the Craft . " The loaves and the

fishes are too much in view , just as many join a church for policy or popularity . Freemasonry needs a revival . It may be said to be a noble Institution , terribly wounded in the house of its friends . What is said about Freemasons

is not half so important as what is done b y them . To deal justly with all mankind ; to walk circumspectly before God and the world ; " to afford succour to the distressed ; to divide our bread , if need be , with the industrious poor , and

to put the misguided traveller in the way , are duties of the Craft suitable to its design , and expressive of its usefulness . " In this way are we to build a structure , noble in appearance , glorious in character , and durable to the end .

In conclusion , brethren , let me say , if we wish to profit by Freemasonry , let us study well the tracing board Bro . Rob Morris has , in his " Odes and Poems" on Masonry , well said of the jewels contained here :

A bundle of maxims , qnaint , ancient and trne , A code of good morals for me , sirs , and yon , To warn ns , aud guide us in what we should do . " Here are the Square of Morality , the Level of Equality

the Plumb of Rectitude , the Hourglass of Time , the Gauge of Equal Distribution , the Compass of Prndence , the Trowel of Peace , the Gavel of - Divestment and Order , the Sheaf of Wages , the Cabletow of Covenant , and the Apron

of Innocence . These are among the jewels of the Craft which ought to be studied b y us and practised in life , as thus shall Freemasonry have influence for good beyond what is now realised by it .

The Great Pyramid And Freemasonry.

THE GREAT PYRAMID AND FREEMASONRY .

ONE of the greatest intellectual pleasures which Freemasonry confers upon brethren whose ears are open to hear all that the Craft authoritativel y teaches , and whose eyes are open to see all that it introduces to their

view , is the enjoyment that flows from a contemplation of the magnificent edifices which Operative Masons have erected , in various ages of the world . Stupendous in size , they challenge our wonder ; exquisite in workmanship , they

elicit our admiration ; original and perfect in architectural design , they are comparable only with themselves . All of them are in some sense mysteries , and their architects and

builders were mystics . They were erected b y skilled class artificers , not by common builders . These artificers invariably possessed secrets , which were of two classes , and resulted from each other . First , were the secrets of the

art , which were strictly confined to those who were adjudged entitled by character and ability to receive them ; and second , were the secret methods of recognition , which enabled these Masonic artists under all circumstances to

know each other . We have valid reason to believe that these artists were our ancestors in the Craft , and that their secret modes of recognition have in part at least been perpetuated to the present day .

Nearest to our own time , in the order of erection , were the abbeys and cathedrals of Great Britain and the continent of Europe . The fabric rolls of York Minster , of Cologne and Strasburg Cathedrals , and similar structures ,

are a mine of information concerning the labours of the Craft . But prior to the Middle Ages , when the most of these edifices were constructed , all the way back through the centuries to the beginning of the historic era , we find

distinct traces of the handiwork of Operative Masons . Wherever there was signal skill exhibited in the rearing of stately structures , there we see the evidences of the Craft ' s existence . Wherever the one secret art and

mystery of Geometry was employed in connection with the building art , there were Freemasons . That world-wonder , the Great Pyramid of E gypt , although so ancient , so mysterious , and in some respects

so incomprehensible , has , especially for the last thirt y years , been the centre of attraction for the studies and speculations of Freemasons . It is such a masterp iece of scientific construction , so vast in its proportions , so

evidentl y symbolic in many of its features , that it is natural to suppose it must have been the handiwork of the Operative Masons—the Freemasons of their time—who lived and pursued their vocation in E gypt . No common

The Great Pyramid And Freemasonry.

builders could have erected the Great Pyramid , aud it is a question whether any builders could erect it to-day . Certainly there are now none who possess , in such rare

combination , the ability to design , the power to execute , and the philosophic knowledge of which the pyramidbuilders evidently were masters . The building of magnificent cathedrals and great pyramids is a lost art .

Many brethren of the Mystic Tie have made profound studies of the Great Pyramid , including such Masonic scholnrs as Past Grand Master Bro . Rob Morris , of Kentucky , and Bro . J . Ralston Skinner , of Ohio . The

latest student of its mysteries is Bro . John Chapman , of Sheffield , England . During his sojourn in the " City of Brotherly Love , " a few months since , he delivered , under the auspices of Melita Lodge , No . 295 , of this city , a

lecture ou the " The Great Pyramid and Freemasonry , wnich has since appeared in handsome form from the press of Bro . George Kenning , London , and we are under fraternal obligation to Bro . Chapman for a copy . Bro .

Hughan furnishes the introduction to the work , which is dedicated to Piazzi Smyth , the astronomer-royal of Scotland , and the leading authority upon the mystic teachings of the Great Pyramid . We have read the pages of this

pamphlet with great pleasure . Ifc gathers up , in telling phrase , the results of the studies of Piazzi Smyth , Captain I ' raoy , John Taylor , Bro . Rowbottom , Mr . Casey and Robert Menzies . We cannot say that we accept all of the

deductions of these savants , but then we wonder and admire when we cannot follow . The vulgar opinion that the Grand Pyramid was only intended for a royal tomb is so palpably false , when all of the scientific features of that

great edifice are considered , that it must be dismissed as unworthy of credence by an intelligent student of history and science . All other pyramids are but feeble copies . of this great original , and the admitted fact that thei / were

only tombs , has no bearing upon the purpose of this master-piece of art and science . There were other magicians in Egypt besides those who worked wonders before the Pharoah of the Exodus . The Freemasons of

that day were magicians . They bunded , perhaps not wiser than they knew , but certainly wiser than we know , and wiser than their profane contemporaries knew . •They were , in the truest and largest sense of the term , scientists

—geometers , astronomers , mathematicians . They used , to the best purpose , the plumb , the bvel and the square , the twenty-four inch gauge and the common gavel . Their ability was as towering as the Great Pyramid they erected ,

and ifc may be that in ifc they have monumented the eternal truths of science and history . Who would not be a Freemason , with an ancestry of cathedral and pyramid builders ? Who would not be a diligent student of science ,

when Freemasonry holds tho key that will unlock its greater mysteries ? Every brother who contributes , as Bro . Chapman has done , to the popularising of Masonic knowledge , to the spreading of Masonic Light , to the

diffusion of information concerning a chef dceuvre of Masonic art , is entitled to the thanks of the Craft . So few read carefully , so few think , so few break the shell of Freemasonry to find the kernel which is within , that every

diligent student who gives the fruits of his researches to the Masonic world is a benefactor of the Fraternity . Our brotherhood needs , to-day , not more members , nor more Lodges , nor more machine manufacturers of Masons , but

more initiates of culture and reflection , more brethren who read and think , more students of Masonry , and fewer show Masons . May the Grand Architect hasten the day when the supply shall equal the demand — for quality , not quantity . —Keystone .

The Lodge of Israel Ball , in aid of its Benevolent Fund , will be held on Wednesday , 2 nd February 1887 . A new Lodi ^ -e is to be consecrated at East Cowes , on Monday , the 15 th inst . The Osborne Lodge , No . 2169 ,

will be started under favourable auspices , and there will be a large muster of brethren to meet the tl . W . Provincial Grand Master ( Bro . W . W . B . Beach , M . P . ) , by whom the ceremony of consecration will be performed .

A rich memorial window , from the studio of Mr . Taylor , of Berners Street , has just been erected in the Mission Church of Salfords , Horley , the gift of Mr . Maple , who also has made a considerable addition to the size of the Church .