A Clergyman's Contribution To Masonic History.

A CLERGYMAN'S CONTRIBUTION TO MASONIC HISTORY .

BY BRO . JACOB N ORTON .

I MUST premise that since my remarks were printed on the " Scarlet Book , " I have been assured by Bro . R . Macoy , of New York , that Bro . Rob Morris was not the

author of the said book , and as my guess was wrong beg Bro . Morris ten thousand pardons for guessing that he was the author thereof .

The Rev . Bro . ( I suppose ) Joseph Wild , D . D ., published a series of Discourses in 1879 ; all of course proved to be in accordance with , the predictions of the prophets . In the

20 fch and 21 st Discourses he treats about a town in Ulster , once called Lothair Groffin , but afterwards named Tara . In Tara they played on a harp , exactly of the pattern of the harp of David , which is celebrated in song as

" The harp that once through Tara's halls . " * In Wales , they played ou a similar harp , which proves that the Welsh and ttie Ulaterites were cousins Now , as Isaiah said something about " the isles of the sea , " he , of

course , referred to the English isles . We all know that the Jews were taken captives by the Assyrians . But fortunaiely the tribes of Dan and Simeon were engaged in the mii'Uir and shipping business ; hence the . said two tribes

£ /<> r > iwny in their ship- - , and sailed t > the "isles , " foretold *» v the prophet . The Simeonites took possession of Wales . and 'lvi D mites hecame the rulers of Ireland , in Ulster The U' -nites were particularly favoured by the Lord , for Kome how or other a descendent of Duvid became their

king ; a defendant of the King of Ulster became afterwan is . King of Scotland ; hence Her Majesty Queen Victoria is a direct descendant from King David . It is also well-known that Nebuchadnezzar plundered

the temple of all its valuables , but it does not seem that he was smart enough to get hold of the " Ark of the Covenant . " The Rev . Brother , however , has learned from Jewish historians tbat tho prophet Jerem ah managed to Wde the Ark . But where did he hide it ? Well ! the Rev .

Brother is very sure that Jeremiah carried the Ark of the Covenant to Tara , and there it remains to this day , and il certain mounds in Ulster could be removed , the original Ark would be recovered .

Now Tara very naturally succeeded Jerusalem in holiness after the latter was destroyed , for not only was idolatry abolished by the Tara-ites when they first settled in Ireland , but their descendants were also foremost in

spreading Christianity . In short , Tara was the legitimate dwelling p lace of Melchisedec , and the head of the Christian Church ought to have resided in Tara . But the wicked

Pope of Rome would not suffer it . So , by hook or by crook , at the instigation of a Pope of Rome ( I do not know which Pope ) , the Irish Jerusalem was destroyed , and all that is left of it is a mound .

After quoting Pinnock ' s catechism on the History of Ireland , in which some wonderful things are proved of tbe connection of the Hebrews with Ireland , that even "some

of the tribes of Joseph settled in Ireland , and after citing profane and sacred historians to prove his theory , the Rev . Brother goes on to say : —

" Another lino of argument in favour of Tara may be submitted from Freemasonry , this ancient and most honourable institution . The prophet Jeremiah no doubt was a Mason , and one of high degree . This was , on the human

side , his passport from country to country . The ancient Khasdim , or Chaldeans as we may say in our Bible , were tbe heirs of Shem , whose family built the Pyramid . Abraham came from the land of Kasdims . He was a

Khesed trustworth , for that is what the Hebrew word Khesed means . If you wish for instance of this applied , read 1 Kings xx . 31 . Ben-hadad insulted Ahab , was finall y defeated by the host of Israel . Ben-hadad then hid

himself in a house in A pheck . At this point of despair his servants , knowing their Master to be a Khesed , or Mason , told him they had heard that the kings of Israel were so

also . Some of them , attired as Masons , prepared to test Ahab . With their aprons on and a cable tow round their neck they entered into Ahab ' s presence , saluting him , saying , ' Thy servant Ben-hadad saith , I pray thee let me

* The book is headed , " How and when the world will end , " by Rev . Joseph Wild , D . D ., Pastor of tbe Union Congregational Chnrch , Brooklyn , New York . Author of works on " The lost Ten Tribes , " & o . Printed by James Hu ^ g ias , 373 Pearl Street , 3 S . W .

A Clergyman's Contribution To Masonic History.

live . ' And he said , ** Is he yet alive ? He is my brother . ' Now the men did diligently observe whether anything would come from him , that is , whether he would make a sign or not , and did hastily catch it , and they said , ' Th y

brother Ben-hadad ' ( giving back the sign ) . Then he said ' Go , ye , and bring him . ' Thus at once they were friends . Ahab even invited him to his carriage , but the people understood not the conduct of Ahab toward Ben-hadad .

" Jeremiah , I believe , founded a degree in Masonry upon the hiding of the Ark , aud which degree , as recorded b y him , will continue till the time it is found ( see Jer . iii . 16 ) . The Prophet was a Grand Master . This accounts for

Masonry of this degree pointing to Ireland as the place of its ori gin ; from there it went to Scotland , which at this day has the oldest and purest Masonry ; Mother Kilwin . ning Lodge dates from 1128 A . D . And , strange to say , the same authorities that overturned Tara have often tried

to destroy Masonry . The Benedictines , as every one knows , were Masons , and they included popes , kings , and the influential of their day . The Benedictines were the builders of the great cathedrals and massive structures of

those ages . The very words free and accepted mean that Masons were free from the restrictions of bulls and edicts of the Popes . So the very name , Free and Accepted , is a monument , like the name of Tara . Bishop Gilmour , of Ohio ,

warns his flock not to touch Masonry . The fact is , the whole order of the Romish Church is taken from Masonry it was copied from the Grand Master down to the Entered A pprentice . It is not that the Church of Rome hates all secret

societies ; no , no ! for within her pale are several of her own creation . The Mason , the nearer he lives up to his oath , the better he will be in himself towards others . But take a Jesuit—this is an oath-bound society—and the more

he lives up to his oath the more wicked he will be in himself , and the more dangerous to all ' heretics' or non-Catholics . A good Mason is a good man ; a good Jesuit is a bad man , for the very keeping of his oath obliges him to be so . "

I learn from the list of contents treated in the above Lecture , that Grand Master Jeremiah instituted the ninth degree . But not being a ninth degreer , I cannot understand where the Rev . Brother learnt that the servants of

Benhadad wore aprons and gave the Masonic sign ? Moreover , every ninth degreer is willing to swear that Solomon constituted the ninth degree . These questions , however , I hope will be investigated by our learned Rosicrucian

Adepts . And I would further respectfully suggest , to remove the mound in Ulster where Tara was located ; for who knows whether the Ark of the Covenant may not be found there ?

I must here call attention to a discovery , which is as important as that of Jeremiah ' s Grand Mastership . In the September Number of the Voice of Masonry , page 733 , there is a communication headed " Masonry and

Freemasonry , ' wherein the learned writer proves that the " Sons of God " constituted Freemasonry . I hope , therefore , that the said article will be reprinted in the

FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE for the edification of our English brethren . This is essentially an age of discoveries ; and the discoveries above indicated will demonstrate that

American Masonic lecturers and writers , more especially our high degreers , are not at all behind the age . BOSTON , 30 th August 1886 .

Masonic Character Building.

MASONIC CHARACTER BUILDING .

( Continued from page 163 . )

THB whole world , all its peoples , stand to-day in some pronounced attitude toward divine revelations and the great moralities . We here each have , in the eyes of others and others in our eyes , well known and understood relations to cardinal truths and principles , revealed or

other-An Address by Bro . George Wells Lamson , Grand Orator , before the Grand Lodge of Minnesota , 18 th January 1886 .

wise accepted . The trend of our lives is in a certain main direction . The general and usual expression ot our words and acts are for and against certain things .

Swayed by suddenly appealing motives , puzzled by unexpected complexities , startled by some unfamiliar fear , or invited by some illusive joy , we may at times step into