Ars Quatuor Coronatorum.

ARS QUATUOR CORONATORUM .

BY BEO . ROBEKT FEEKE GOULD . rpHE labours of Bro . G . W . Speth , the indefatigable Secre-JL tary of Lodge No . 2076 , may bo likened to those of Sisyphus , who , according to the raythologists , was for ever condemned to roll a huge stone to the top of a mountain , which he had no sooner done than it tumbled down again , and

renewed his labour . In tho JJecetnber of each year , a new volume of our Transactions is rendered complete , but the moment thia task is accomplished , the toil of the editor

recommences , and the same work has to be performed over again , in view of the regular appearance of the next one , in the three stages of growth to which the readers of Ars Quatuor Coronatorum have now become accustomed .

Volume V . ( 1892 ) is the most considerable of the series , and the third or last section of it—published at Christmasexceeds in bulk , and according to many opinions , in interest , any instalment of our Transactions that has hitherto preceded it . » -

In Volume VI ., however , the first number of which I am abont to review , the editor has onco more begun his weary ascent , and while he stops to take breath , before proceeding with his up-hill task , I shall sound a note of congratulation in the columns of the CHRONICLE , with regard to hia

able directorate , which taken with a similar expression of feeling on the part of Bro . Hughan in the Freemason will , I trust , convey to our Bro . Speth the assurance that his two oldest friends in the Lodge—herein only voicing the general sentiment—are simply lost in wonder at tho marvels he has succeeded in achieviner .

Having brought in Volume V . —though it does nofc fall in strictness within the scope of my remarks—I find a difficulty in parting with it , but must content myself with saying that among the papers and essays which appeared during 1892 , there are two of exceptional value and ability ,

The Proper Names of Masonic Tradition , and The Masonic Apron , by the Rev . C . J . Ball S . W ., and Bro . W . H . Rylands I . P . M . respectively . Also , that an" article of my own on

Dr . Thomas Mnnningbam , evoked a searching criticism with respect to the Date of Origin of the Grand Lodge of the Ancients , from the pen of Bro . John Lane , our premier Masonic statistician .

Volume VI . part i . commences with the reporfc of fche Permanent Committee , to whom a "landmark" was restored on 9 th December 1892 , by tho Audit dinneragaintakingplace at the house of Professor T . Hayter Lewis W . M ., after an

intermission of one year , caused by the temporary withdrawal , through illness , from office in the Lodge , during that period , of the worthy and distinguished brother by whom the fashion of annual Committee dinners has been created .

An objection has been raised , that the annual report is too diffuse , but it affords a proof , if one were needed , of the conscientiousness and exactitude , with which fche funds are administered in * the truest interests of the Society . Accounts and balance-sheets constitute very dry reading

to the generality of us . But , if we count the members of the Lodges , as well as the Brethren , who subscribe to our Transactions among the thousands who are ranged under our banner , there must be some , and I hope a good many , who subject our financial proceedings to a close and

vigilant scrutiny . The income of No . 2076 is mainly ( though not entirely ) made up of subscriptions to the Correspondence Circle , and therefore , as it seems to me , among the host of obligations under which we have all been laid , by the matchless labours of Bro . Speth , none should excite more

gratitude in our minds , than the opportunity he affords , year after year , to every member of our vast and growing association , of examining for himself , what money is received , from all sources , by the Lodge , and the way it

is disposed of by the permanent Committee . The purely literary matter contained in part i . of the new volume , begins with an Oration on Bro . W . Mattieu Williams J . D ., by Dr . B . W . Richardson , F . R . S .

The career of our Bro . Williams was a remarkable , and in many respects a unique one ; while , as all the world knows , Bro . Richardson is renowned for his eloquence . It therefore goes without saying , that the " Oration "

" was listened to with profound attention , and will be long remembered- by all who had the good fortune to be present at its delivery . On the same evening ( 6 th January ) , a model of the Tabernacle was exhibited

By The Rev, C. H. Maiden, The Local Secretary Of

by the Rev , C . H . Maiden , the Local Secretary of

Southern India , who also gave a short description of the whole structure . This was supplemented by the S . W ., Bro . Westcott , at the conclusion of whose interesting address , On the Symbolism of the Tabernacle , a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the two brethren for the instruction they had jointly afforded .

We next come to an article by the late Bro . H . J , Whyraper , entitled Lord Byron G . M , which dissents from a conjecture of my own , advanced in tho volume of onr Transactions for 1892 ( V . 93-113 ) , that a passage in Multa

Faucis , relating to the Great Schism in English Masonry , was to be relied upon . This led to a paper On the Grand Lodge of the " Schismatics" or " Ancients , " by myself , the opening words of whioh are as follows : —

" The latest of the Masonio celebrities who have figured in my portrait gallery , is Dr . Thomas Manningham , and I am now requested by the Editor of our Transactions to consider whether in any material respect , the general fidelity of that sketch has been either shaken or otherwise impaired by the criticism it has experienced .

" The remarks to which my attention has been specially invited by Bro . Speth are frotii'the pens of Bros . Lane and Whymper , and will be found in the last part or number of Ars , and the current one respectively .

" Before , however , commencing to deal with them , let me express the very great pleasure it has afforded me , that an article written by myself , should have been the means of drawing from their moorings , into the front of the

fighting line , two ' first-raters , carrying such heavy metal , as the writers I have last referred to . " Of Bro . John Lane—our premier Masonic statisticianit may be said , that he has hitherto devoted himself rather

too exclusively to a single department of research , and though calculated to shine in a large number , remains content to hold , against all comers , the field he has so completely made his own—by excelling every one of us who had entered it before him .

" Bro . Whymper , of la ! te years , has taken upon himself the role of a Missionary of the Craft in parlibus iufuleliuni , and those only whose memories carry them back to what the periodical literature of Masonry in our Indian Empire

v . as , before this brother applied himself to refine and ekvate it , can have any idea whatever of tho extent to which his own personal writings have contributed to establish the high standard of Masonic knowledge , that now admittedly exists there . " ( To be continued . )

The Lambskin, Or The Badge Of A Mason.

THE LAMBSKIN A , OR THE ' BADGE OF MASON .

THE lambskin apron is considered by Masonic authors as one of fche most important symbols known to the institution , and ifc therefore behoves us to protect ifc as such . As we all know , the whole of Masonry is taught b y

symbolism . To lose the significance of any of these typos or Bgures means that Masonry has been deprived of jusd so much of its beauty and force .

There are those who are seldom seen at Lodge , yet we can say with no degree of accuracy thafc they do not enjoy Masonry—a fact due chiefly to the depth of its teachings . It may be in the stillness of the midnight hour that they

silently meditate upon its beauties . They may think of their first admission to the checkered pavement , which is typical of human , life—of the hour when they were symbolically born—and with pleasure and pride trace their

careers from youth to manhood , and on to age . They think of thi' lymbol and that which , to the profane , is but a picture or * . asign , yet to the trained eye of the Craftsman , the mystery surrounding it is unlocked by the key of knowledge and understanding .

We are told that the lambskm apron is the emblem of innocence , and the badge of a Mason . It is an emblem of innocence because ifc is white . Ifc is emblematic of thafc

" purity of heart and rectitude of conduct so essentially necessary to gaining admission to the Lodge above . " At every step it is a consistent symbol . We frequently hear of some Brother being presented with a handsome apron , or some one offering as a prize a beautiful one .

Aro we to understand by " handsome apron " thafc ifc is a specially prepared lambskin , pure and unspotted ? If so , let us go for a moment into tbe realm of speculation , and