Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
All Books intended for Keview should be addressed to the Editor of The Freemason ' s Chronicle , 23 Great Queen Street , W . C . — : o : — Freemasons' Calendar and Pocket-Book for the Year 1881 . London : Spencer ' s Masonic Depot , 23 A Great Queen-street , W . C .
THE Calendar for the new year contains sundry additional features , to which it is desirable we should call the attention of Masons , and for which we consider the Calendar Committee of the Board of General Purposes are entitled to the thanks of the Craft . In the first place , at p 74 will be found "A Table of Grand Masters for ( a ) the " Moderns , 1717-1813 ; " ( 6 ) the " Ancients , 1753-1813 ; " aud ( c )
the "United Grand Lodge of Ireland . " Then , in the "List of Lodges , " the " Ancient" Lodges are distinguished by a f . and have inserted against them the dates when they were respectively constituted . It will , however , occur to many of our readers to inquire why the letters " T . I . " ( Time Immemorial ) should have been placed against Lodges Nos . 3 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 11 , 13 , and 15 , when all who have
mastered even the elements of Masonio history are perfectly well aware that the onl y Lodges on the Roll of the United Grand Lodge of England to whioh the term " Time Immemorial" can with , any degree of justice be made to apply are Lodges Nos . 2 and 4 , the survivors of the " Four Old Lodges , " which in 1717 met together , and established the Grand Lodge of
England . It may have suited the purpose of Dermott , who was the guiding spirit of the great Secession , to wink at the senior "Ancient " Lodges advancing so preposterous a claim , or somo of the seceding brethren may have thought they wero fairly entitled to tho distinction on the ground of their having , some time during their Masonic career , been members of one or other of the original " Four Old Lodges . " A
footnote , however , should have been inserted in order to explain that "T . I . " as applied to Nos . 3 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 11 , 13 , and 15 must be taken in a qualified sense , and not as having the same force or signification as in the case of Nos . 2 and 4 . Another feature on which the Calendar Committee are to be congratulated is the insertion of a " C " against all Lodges to whioh Centenary Warrants have been granted . On the
whole , the new issue of Grand Lodge Calendar bears evidence of a greater amount of care in the compilation , though we cannot but think it must be a sore point with the Committee when they call to mind that it is quite two years since the initiative in some of the improvements we have noted was taken b y the editor of Bro . Kooning ' s Cosmopolitan Masonic Calendar . Bnt while the Committee have
introduced certain additional features which , with the qualifications we have stated , are unquestionably improvements , it is to be regretted they should have thought it wise to continue inserting information of a misleading character . We are not referring to the retention of the first of the " Remarkable Occurrences in Masonry , " to wit , that " St . Alban formed the first Lodge in Britain , A . D . 287 . " It pleases
the Committee—who , however , have cast the responsibility on " Anderson's Publication , A . D . 1758 , "—and it will amuse , withont wounding the susceptibilities of , enthusiastic Craftsmen . But Calendars aremeant for use , not ornament , and what is tbe good of noting that this , that , or another Lodge meets on the first Monday , second Tuesday , or third Wednesday , when , as a matter of fact , it only meets on its appointed
day in some six or eight months , more or Jess . Here , again , the credit of having taken the initiative undoubtedly belongs to the " Cosmo , " and it must be remembered the Grand Lodge authorities possess facilities for inserting accurate information which no amount of labour or expense on the part of tho most enterprising publisher will enable him to procure .
We would further suggest that the dates of Warrants of Constitution , or to be precise , the years in which they were severally granted , should be inserted in the case of the Royal Arch Chapters . In our opinion this Degree , which is held to be a part of pure and ancient Masonry receives but scant courtesy . It bears its share of the expenses of the Grand Secretary ' s Office , it liberally supports our Institutions , bnt its meetings are mostly formal and the
attention it attracts is—well , likewise formal . Here is a fine field in which Grand Scribe E . may expend whatever of superfluous energy may remain to him when his Grand Secretarial functions have been discharged . In fine , our desire is to see Grand Lodge Calendar , in the first place as accurate , and in the second place as complete , as it can be made , and we do not know of any just cause or impediment why it should not be both the one and the other .
The Cosmopolitan . Calendar for 1881 . London : 198 Fleet Street , and 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 Little Britain , & c . ; also at Liverpool , Manchester , and Glasgow . BRO . KENNING , as proprietor and publisher of the " Cosmo , " is to be congratulated on its early publication and the great improvement
noticeable in its contents . We state in our notice of the Gran d Lodge Calendar that he has the credit of having taken the initiative in reapect of inserting the dates of the "Ancient" Lodges—an initiative which Grand Lodge , after the lapse of some two years , has thought it wise to follow . We are also heartily glad to see he has introduced a
farther reform , and has given , as far as they were obtainable , the actual days when Lodges meet—a piece of information which is very necessary , and which some day , perhaps , Grand Lodge , with its greater facilities for issuing a completely accurate Calendar , will in its
wisdom see fit to publish . We may add , that it devotes greater space to the Mark Degree , and that the particulars of Freemasonry in other countries is far more extended than in former years . It has now reached its eleventh year of issue , and is a credit to all who have had a part in its production ,
Reviews.
Amabel Vaughan , and other Tales , ^ 'c ., being the Second Series of Tales , Poems , and Masonio Papers , by Emra Holmes . With a Masonic Memoir of the Author by George Markham Tweddell , Fellow of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries , Copenhagen ; Corresponding Member of tho Royal Historical Society , London ; Member of the Snrtees Society , & c . Author of " Shakspere , his
Times and Contemporaries ; " " Tho Bards and Authors of Cleveland and South Durham ; " & o . Truro : Lake and Lake , Princes Street . London : Freemason Office , 198 Fleet Street , and at Bro . George Kenning ' s Masonic Depdts—London : 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 Little Britain , and 175 Aldersgate Street . Liverpool : 2 Monument Place . Manchester : 47 Bridge Street . Glasgow : 9 West Howard Street .
SOME time since we reproduced in our columns the Masonic Memoir of Bro . Emra Holmes , but had wo not done so , Bro . Holmes is so well known as an able , active , and energetic member of the Craft , that no more than a passing note of reference to it is required , with tho two-fold object of pointing out , in tho first place , that his Masonic career has beeu iu the highest degree creditable to him , and in the second place ,
that Bro . Tweddell ' s work o . f compiling tho memoir is in every vvay worthy of that brother's reputation as a man of letters . Nor , as the volnme of tales has been some time before tho public , need wo bo at the pains of devoting much time or space to a consideration of its contents . Bnt though the public may bo fairly familiar with them by this time , we cannot deny ourselves the pleasure of saying a few
words of well-merited eulogy . Very different in our opinion is this second series of tales from that wo hacl occasion to notice in an earlier volnme . That had nothing to commend it beyond tho purpose for which it was published , which was , if wo remember rightly , ono most honourable to the writer ; but iu this book tho subordinate and principal tales show both constrnctivo ability as well as descriptive power
on the part of Bro . Holmes which are worthy of praise , and for whioh , to say sooth , we shonld not have given him credit . Amabel Vaughan is the most elaborate , and gives the greatest proof of tho powers wo have just attributed to the author . Nor is it only in respect of its construction this tale deserves mention ; it contains much that is interesting , and will bo absolutely news to many among our readers .
We refer to the account furnished of the inner life at Christ s Hospital—or the Blnecoat School , as it ia more familiarly known—both in London and at Hertford . From what we havo heard from those who were educated there , it is only possible for us to come to the conclusion that what is said as to the severity of the floggings , between thirtv and forty years ago , is exaggerated ; but in other respects we
believe it is fairly accurate . There is enough of circumstance in the description to induce tbe belief—even if wo were not already aware of the fact—that the anthor speaks from a personal experience of tho institution . There is no doubt , too , that great improvements have taken place since the time referred to , while for all the unpleasant reminiscences of the floggings , there is a kindly tone throughout
which does credit to the writer s heart . This account , however , is quite subsidiary to the plot of the story , in which the principal characters , besides Amabel or Mabel Vaughan , are Reginald Fitzgerald ancl Marcus Seaton . On the events of the story we will not dwell ; to give even a sketch of them would spoil tho pleasure of intending
readers , and is unnecessary in the case of those who have read the tale . "Another Fenian Outrage : A Tale for Freemasons , " is highly amusing , in testimony of which we quote the earlier part of the ceremony employed in initiating Marmaduke Forester into the mysteries of Ancient Masonry : —
" As Mr . Forester stood till the last stroke of twelve should admit him into the citadel ( as he was told to call it ) , a profane ear might have caught sounds which were , at all events , a good imitation of boisterous langhter ; but in the perturbed state of our hero ' s mind , they only represented the mocking groans of the ghostly visitants of that haunted mill .
Presently , just as a policeman on his beat passed him with a sharp ' Good night , Sir , ' in reply to his polite salutation , the clock struck twelve . A door opened , and our hero entered . All was darkness , and a voice cried out in deep tragic tones' Who goes there ?' ' A spy , ' was the rejoinder , from another corner of the room , in a sepulchral voice .
' Seize him and bring him before the Grand Sophos . ' Two hands seized his , ancl he was marched forward five steps , and told that he was to stamp npon the ground at the first , third , and fifth steps , and to say Ver-y-rnm . my-ah ! This he did—taking due pains to give each syllable distinctly , and evidently feeling that there was some mysterious meaning in the same . He was told to kneel , and the voice , which appeared to be that of the Grand Sophos , who had spoken before ,
exclaimed—* To arms , brethren , and light the citadel . ' A sudden lurid glare shone out for a moment , revealing the interior of a lofty chamber ; a number of figures were seen dressed in fan - tastic gnise , all being armed with swords , whioh were drawn , and were being pointed at the unlucky wight , who looked wistfully round upon the scene . Standing on what might have been thought a beer
barrel—if anything so out of place could have been there—was a figure clothed in white , with its head in its hands , or what looked like a head . This was all taken in at a glance , for the flame burnt but for a moment and then died out , leaving a murky darkness and a faint smell as of brimstone .
' Behold , ' said a voice , ' the form of one who hath betrayed his craft !' 'Are you prepared to pass through the ordeal which all neophytes who aspire to a knowledge of our mysteries have to undergo ?' * I am sir , ' said our hero bravely . ' Jove , the fellow ' s got pluck ! ' a familiar voice muttered sotto voce ,
unheard , however , by Mr . Forester . Will you take the oath ?' ' I will , sir . ' Then repeat your name and take this book , which is the Volnme of the Coptic Law , place the same upon your breast , and say after me ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
All Books intended for Keview should be addressed to the Editor of The Freemason ' s Chronicle , 23 Great Queen Street , W . C . — : o : — Freemasons' Calendar and Pocket-Book for the Year 1881 . London : Spencer ' s Masonic Depot , 23 A Great Queen-street , W . C .
THE Calendar for the new year contains sundry additional features , to which it is desirable we should call the attention of Masons , and for which we consider the Calendar Committee of the Board of General Purposes are entitled to the thanks of the Craft . In the first place , at p 74 will be found "A Table of Grand Masters for ( a ) the " Moderns , 1717-1813 ; " ( 6 ) the " Ancients , 1753-1813 ; " aud ( c )
the "United Grand Lodge of Ireland . " Then , in the "List of Lodges , " the " Ancient" Lodges are distinguished by a f . and have inserted against them the dates when they were respectively constituted . It will , however , occur to many of our readers to inquire why the letters " T . I . " ( Time Immemorial ) should have been placed against Lodges Nos . 3 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 11 , 13 , and 15 , when all who have
mastered even the elements of Masonio history are perfectly well aware that the onl y Lodges on the Roll of the United Grand Lodge of England to whioh the term " Time Immemorial" can with , any degree of justice be made to apply are Lodges Nos . 2 and 4 , the survivors of the " Four Old Lodges , " which in 1717 met together , and established the Grand Lodge of
England . It may have suited the purpose of Dermott , who was the guiding spirit of the great Secession , to wink at the senior "Ancient " Lodges advancing so preposterous a claim , or somo of the seceding brethren may have thought they wero fairly entitled to tho distinction on the ground of their having , some time during their Masonic career , been members of one or other of the original " Four Old Lodges . " A
footnote , however , should have been inserted in order to explain that "T . I . " as applied to Nos . 3 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 11 , 13 , and 15 must be taken in a qualified sense , and not as having the same force or signification as in the case of Nos . 2 and 4 . Another feature on which the Calendar Committee are to be congratulated is the insertion of a " C " against all Lodges to whioh Centenary Warrants have been granted . On the
whole , the new issue of Grand Lodge Calendar bears evidence of a greater amount of care in the compilation , though we cannot but think it must be a sore point with the Committee when they call to mind that it is quite two years since the initiative in some of the improvements we have noted was taken b y the editor of Bro . Kooning ' s Cosmopolitan Masonic Calendar . Bnt while the Committee have
introduced certain additional features which , with the qualifications we have stated , are unquestionably improvements , it is to be regretted they should have thought it wise to continue inserting information of a misleading character . We are not referring to the retention of the first of the " Remarkable Occurrences in Masonry , " to wit , that " St . Alban formed the first Lodge in Britain , A . D . 287 . " It pleases
the Committee—who , however , have cast the responsibility on " Anderson's Publication , A . D . 1758 , "—and it will amuse , withont wounding the susceptibilities of , enthusiastic Craftsmen . But Calendars aremeant for use , not ornament , and what is tbe good of noting that this , that , or another Lodge meets on the first Monday , second Tuesday , or third Wednesday , when , as a matter of fact , it only meets on its appointed
day in some six or eight months , more or Jess . Here , again , the credit of having taken the initiative undoubtedly belongs to the " Cosmo , " and it must be remembered the Grand Lodge authorities possess facilities for inserting accurate information which no amount of labour or expense on the part of tho most enterprising publisher will enable him to procure .
We would further suggest that the dates of Warrants of Constitution , or to be precise , the years in which they were severally granted , should be inserted in the case of the Royal Arch Chapters . In our opinion this Degree , which is held to be a part of pure and ancient Masonry receives but scant courtesy . It bears its share of the expenses of the Grand Secretary ' s Office , it liberally supports our Institutions , bnt its meetings are mostly formal and the
attention it attracts is—well , likewise formal . Here is a fine field in which Grand Scribe E . may expend whatever of superfluous energy may remain to him when his Grand Secretarial functions have been discharged . In fine , our desire is to see Grand Lodge Calendar , in the first place as accurate , and in the second place as complete , as it can be made , and we do not know of any just cause or impediment why it should not be both the one and the other .
The Cosmopolitan . Calendar for 1881 . London : 198 Fleet Street , and 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 Little Britain , & c . ; also at Liverpool , Manchester , and Glasgow . BRO . KENNING , as proprietor and publisher of the " Cosmo , " is to be congratulated on its early publication and the great improvement
noticeable in its contents . We state in our notice of the Gran d Lodge Calendar that he has the credit of having taken the initiative in reapect of inserting the dates of the "Ancient" Lodges—an initiative which Grand Lodge , after the lapse of some two years , has thought it wise to follow . We are also heartily glad to see he has introduced a
farther reform , and has given , as far as they were obtainable , the actual days when Lodges meet—a piece of information which is very necessary , and which some day , perhaps , Grand Lodge , with its greater facilities for issuing a completely accurate Calendar , will in its
wisdom see fit to publish . We may add , that it devotes greater space to the Mark Degree , and that the particulars of Freemasonry in other countries is far more extended than in former years . It has now reached its eleventh year of issue , and is a credit to all who have had a part in its production ,
Reviews.
Amabel Vaughan , and other Tales , ^ 'c ., being the Second Series of Tales , Poems , and Masonio Papers , by Emra Holmes . With a Masonic Memoir of the Author by George Markham Tweddell , Fellow of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries , Copenhagen ; Corresponding Member of tho Royal Historical Society , London ; Member of the Snrtees Society , & c . Author of " Shakspere , his
Times and Contemporaries ; " " Tho Bards and Authors of Cleveland and South Durham ; " & o . Truro : Lake and Lake , Princes Street . London : Freemason Office , 198 Fleet Street , and at Bro . George Kenning ' s Masonic Depdts—London : 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 Little Britain , and 175 Aldersgate Street . Liverpool : 2 Monument Place . Manchester : 47 Bridge Street . Glasgow : 9 West Howard Street .
SOME time since we reproduced in our columns the Masonic Memoir of Bro . Emra Holmes , but had wo not done so , Bro . Holmes is so well known as an able , active , and energetic member of the Craft , that no more than a passing note of reference to it is required , with tho two-fold object of pointing out , in tho first place , that his Masonic career has beeu iu the highest degree creditable to him , and in the second place ,
that Bro . Tweddell ' s work o . f compiling tho memoir is in every vvay worthy of that brother's reputation as a man of letters . Nor , as the volnme of tales has been some time before tho public , need wo bo at the pains of devoting much time or space to a consideration of its contents . Bnt though the public may bo fairly familiar with them by this time , we cannot deny ourselves the pleasure of saying a few
words of well-merited eulogy . Very different in our opinion is this second series of tales from that wo hacl occasion to notice in an earlier volnme . That had nothing to commend it beyond tho purpose for which it was published , which was , if wo remember rightly , ono most honourable to the writer ; but iu this book tho subordinate and principal tales show both constrnctivo ability as well as descriptive power
on the part of Bro . Holmes which are worthy of praise , and for whioh , to say sooth , we shonld not have given him credit . Amabel Vaughan is the most elaborate , and gives the greatest proof of tho powers wo have just attributed to the author . Nor is it only in respect of its construction this tale deserves mention ; it contains much that is interesting , and will bo absolutely news to many among our readers .
We refer to the account furnished of the inner life at Christ s Hospital—or the Blnecoat School , as it ia more familiarly known—both in London and at Hertford . From what we havo heard from those who were educated there , it is only possible for us to come to the conclusion that what is said as to the severity of the floggings , between thirtv and forty years ago , is exaggerated ; but in other respects we
believe it is fairly accurate . There is enough of circumstance in the description to induce tbe belief—even if wo were not already aware of the fact—that the anthor speaks from a personal experience of tho institution . There is no doubt , too , that great improvements have taken place since the time referred to , while for all the unpleasant reminiscences of the floggings , there is a kindly tone throughout
which does credit to the writer s heart . This account , however , is quite subsidiary to the plot of the story , in which the principal characters , besides Amabel or Mabel Vaughan , are Reginald Fitzgerald ancl Marcus Seaton . On the events of the story we will not dwell ; to give even a sketch of them would spoil tho pleasure of intending
readers , and is unnecessary in the case of those who have read the tale . "Another Fenian Outrage : A Tale for Freemasons , " is highly amusing , in testimony of which we quote the earlier part of the ceremony employed in initiating Marmaduke Forester into the mysteries of Ancient Masonry : —
" As Mr . Forester stood till the last stroke of twelve should admit him into the citadel ( as he was told to call it ) , a profane ear might have caught sounds which were , at all events , a good imitation of boisterous langhter ; but in the perturbed state of our hero ' s mind , they only represented the mocking groans of the ghostly visitants of that haunted mill .
Presently , just as a policeman on his beat passed him with a sharp ' Good night , Sir , ' in reply to his polite salutation , the clock struck twelve . A door opened , and our hero entered . All was darkness , and a voice cried out in deep tragic tones' Who goes there ?' ' A spy , ' was the rejoinder , from another corner of the room , in a sepulchral voice .
' Seize him and bring him before the Grand Sophos . ' Two hands seized his , ancl he was marched forward five steps , and told that he was to stamp npon the ground at the first , third , and fifth steps , and to say Ver-y-rnm . my-ah ! This he did—taking due pains to give each syllable distinctly , and evidently feeling that there was some mysterious meaning in the same . He was told to kneel , and the voice , which appeared to be that of the Grand Sophos , who had spoken before ,
exclaimed—* To arms , brethren , and light the citadel . ' A sudden lurid glare shone out for a moment , revealing the interior of a lofty chamber ; a number of figures were seen dressed in fan - tastic gnise , all being armed with swords , whioh were drawn , and were being pointed at the unlucky wight , who looked wistfully round upon the scene . Standing on what might have been thought a beer
barrel—if anything so out of place could have been there—was a figure clothed in white , with its head in its hands , or what looked like a head . This was all taken in at a glance , for the flame burnt but for a moment and then died out , leaving a murky darkness and a faint smell as of brimstone .
' Behold , ' said a voice , ' the form of one who hath betrayed his craft !' 'Are you prepared to pass through the ordeal which all neophytes who aspire to a knowledge of our mysteries have to undergo ?' * I am sir , ' said our hero bravely . ' Jove , the fellow ' s got pluck ! ' a familiar voice muttered sotto voce ,
unheard , however , by Mr . Forester . Will you take the oath ?' ' I will , sir . ' Then repeat your name and take this book , which is the Volnme of the Coptic Law , place the same upon your breast , and say after me ,