Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
"It Is Easy To Promulgate An Error, But Very Hard To Eradicate It."
The Edwin of 627 was neither son nor brother to a King Athelstan , bnt because he was baptized at York , and his name was Edwin , and be built a churoh , thoreforo Bro . Woodford wants us to bolieve that the legend is mainly true , but that it refors to tho said Prince Edwin of 627 .
Dr . Oliver was not only a supporter and defender of old errors , but was also a promulgator of new errors ; thus , in hia " Revelations of a Square , " he says , that D . G . M . Dr . Manningham was very much offended at learning that some W . Masters , to please Jewish Masons , omitted the name of Jesns from tho prayers ; thereupon , the D . G . M . consulted Dr . Anderson , and the two Dootors conjointly composed a
prayer ending with Jesus ; and the u . L . ( between 1752 and 1754 ) approved of tho said prayer , and the prayer was printed in the Pocket Companion of 1754 . This story has been repeated many times by our American advocates of Christianized Masonry , and Dr . Mackey even embalmed it—prayer and all—in his Masonio Cyclo . psodia . At last , I wrote to the R . W . Bro . Hervey for information as
to whether there was any evidence to sustain tho story . Bro . Hervey answered most decidedly in the negative . In tho meantime I found in the Gentleman ' s Magazine of 1739 , that our Dr . Anderson died 28 th May of that year ; this settles the question about Anderson's composing a prayer in 1754 , or fifteen years after ho dipd . The truth is , with tho exception that snch a prayer was printed in 1754 ,
all the rest of the story is a pure fiction—the invention of Dr . Oliver . But as Dr . Mackey repeatod tho story that Dr . Manningham " was the author of the prayer . . . which was presented by him to the Grand Lodge and adopted as a form of prayer to be used at initiation of candidates , " * the defenders of our Christianized ritual , may yet again and again quote the Oliver fictiou , backed by Mackey , and palm it off on their uninformed audience as a historic fact .
The antiquity of our ritual , is another error believed by our " bright Masons . " Some believe that King Solomon composed it . The late Dr . Winslow Lewis ever used to say , "thoy believe that King Solomon worked in tho English language . " Others suppose that the ritual has come down to us from tho Lodge of the holy St . John at Jerusalem . This Masonic St . John ' s Superstition , is still ,
rampant in our midst , for instance , ask an American Mason " Whence come you ? " and he will answer " From the Lodgo of the holy St . John at Jerusalem . " To bo snre , everybody knows that it is not trne ; nay , he himself knows it is not true , because ho was never near Jerusalem , and , perhaps , never outside of his State . Bnt it is still more ludicrous when you put tho above question to ono who has been ' to Jerusalem—such for instance as the famous Bro . Rob Morris , who
knows no such a Masonic Lodge in Jerusalem exists , and who is not so foolish as to believe that thero ever was such a holy Lodge of St . John at Jerusalem . But yet , when Bro . Morris is asked " Whence come you ? " he answers , with a most serious , reverential , and sanctimonions face , '' From tho Lodge of tho holy St . John at Jerusalem . " This St . John ' s nonsense , was very justly ridiculed in a poem in 1751 . The poem begins as follows : —
" Freemasons , as the story goes , Have two saints for their patrons chose , And both SAINT JOJINS—one the Baptist , Tho other the Evangelist . The Baptist had a Lodge which stood , Of old , by Jordan ' s ancient flood , Bnt for what secret canso tho other
Has been adopted for a Brother , They cannot , and I will not say . f In 1851 , 1 petitioned the G . L . of Massachusetts to discard sectarianism and tho St . John's from the ritual , the petition wns referred to a learned Rev . D . D ., who reported in 1852 . Among other matter , ho quoted Dr . Olivpr ' s statement , that the earli ' pst ritnal contained
the following question and answer , viz . : —Q . " Whence come you ? " i A . " From the holy lodge of St . John . " ( The word " Jerusalem " has evidently been added since ) . The Rev . Brother ' s report satisfied the G . L . that it was " sound on the goose " as far as " ancient landmarks " were concerned , and therefore , Massachnsetts Masons still continue to come from the Lodge of the holy St . John at Jerusalem .
The writings of Bros . Findel , Lyon , Hughan and others , disabused the minds of some brethren ; tho majority , however , are still grovelling in Egyptian darkness ; and it is no wonder tbey are so , for , first , nit more than four per cent , ( if as many ) subscribe for a Masonic publication ; second , as a rule , American editors are averse
to publish truth whenever it conflicts with their prejudices or vnuity ; and , third , there is a want of candonr combined with courage on the part of those who know tho truth to make it known in the Lodges and Grand Lodges ; and hence , as long as the present ritual continues to bo repeated in our Lodges , the ninety-six per cent , of our Masons
"It Is Easy To Promulgate An Error, But Very Hard To Eradicate It."
who never trouble themselves with reading anything but newspapers , will continue to believe in tho ritnal as " gospel truth . " But with all these drawbacks , tho dawn of reason is gradually looming up ; a visible change has come over tho scene in qnarters where it was least expected ; for instanco , onr learned Dr . Mackey , who has promulgated and defended moro Masonic moonshine than
any other writer , except Dr . Oliver , hns become sceptical about tre Solomonic origin of Masonry , and about the Templar legends . His change of opinion is plainly indicated in two articles printed in tho FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE , 31 st August . Tho article on page 148 is from Dr . Mackey ' s pen . Again , in his Lexicon , priuted some twenty years ago , Dr . Mackey
asserted that the Saints John wero " eminent Masons , " but in his Masonic Cyclopaedia , tho Masonry of tho Saints is ignored . Trne , our Doctor halts half-way , he still hankers after legends , he pats Bro . Woodford on tho shoulder for bolstering up a legend , he still believe 8 ancient landmarks , and he still pretends to come from tho Lodge of the holy St . John at Jornsalem ; tho truth is , it is hard to part with
long cherished errors . We cannot , therefore , expect more from Dr . Mackey ; ho did , however , mako some progress , and we ought to be thankful for a little . Tho change of opinion for the better among a few prominent Masons has , for reasons already given , prodncod no corresponding change in the rank and file of tho brotherhood . As an i'lnstrntion
of this , I was amused to read in the Masonic Review , Cincinnati , tho sarcastic remarks of Bro . E . T . Carson , who probably owns ono of the largest , if not tho largest , Masonio library in the world . Bro . Carson refers to the Cincinnati ritual worshippers as " conscientious Masonic mnles , " who aro discussing in the Lodgo of Infraction as to whether , according to the " Preston -Webb work , " it is more
proper to say , " Come out here , Pat Marooney , " or " Pat Marooney , come ont here !" Another instance of gross ignorance mav be seen in the criticism of the Editor of the Canada Craftsman ( see FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE , 31 st August , p 147 ) . Dr . Mackey dated to state , in the Voice of Masonry , that " tho Templar Order of the present day is not
identical with the old Order of the Crusades . There is no doubt that Dr . Mackey was , within a few years , a firm believer in the Templar legends , bnt ho has changed his mind , and dares to come out with tho trnth ; and thereupon the edit' -r of the Craftsman pitches into poor Bro . Mackey right and left . Of conrse , our readers of the Craftsman are persuaded that its editor is far more
profoundly learnpd in Templar and other historic lore than jr . Mackey . But tho fact is , onr Canadian Knight Templar editor knows no moro of the history of the Templars than what ho heard on tho night whon he was invested with the cached hat , or what the vain . glonVns Grand Prinrs nnd Grand Praters havo palmed off on him ; and this he calls history !
It is a cnn ' ons fact , that while Dr . Markey was groping in dark , ness , such writers as our Canadian editor used to look np to him as a Masonic oracle . But since our Doctor began to manTest somo common sense in his writings , he lost caste among tho orthodox . And this experience itself of Dr . Mackey furnishes an additional illnsrrntion to the truth of my text at th head of this pnper , viz .: " It is easy to promulgate error , but very hard to eradicate it . "
The Lady Freemason.* (Honourable Mrs. Aldworth).
THE LADY FREEMASON . * ( HONOURABLE MRS . ALDWORTH ) .
THE Hon . Elizabeth St . Loger claims a placo in the annals of noted Irishwomen , from the strange circumstances which have concurred to hand down her name to posterity . In the only portrait of her ever known to have been taken , she is represented as wearing
her Masonic jewels and apron . Tho face is that of a woman of about five-and-thirty , with a pleasing Madonna-like cast of countenance . Benevolence and strength of character are striking features in what —considering tho dotails we have of her life—must bo a faithful likeness .
The subject of this memoir was the youngest child and only danghter of the Right Honourable Arthur St . Leger , created first Visconnt Doneraile , 23 rd June 1703 . and o ' ' his wife Elizabeth , the daughter and heiress of John Hayes , Esq ., of Winchilsea . She was married to Richard Aid worth , Esq ., of Newmarket , County Cork , who was the son of Sir Richard Aid worth , Provost Mareschal of Munster ;
bnt the date of tho marriage is uncertain . Lord Doneraile , the father of the Hon . Elizabeth St . Leger , was a zealous Freemason . He held a warrant , which empowered him occasionally to open Lodge at his own residence , Doneraile House , whero , it is reoorded , the duties of Freemasonry wero never more rigidly performed than by tho Masonic brethren of Lodge 150—the
number of tho warrant . ? In the performance of these rites , Lord Doneraile was usually assisted by his son and by some intimate friends . The meetings were sometimes held in the town of Doneraile , but more frequently at Doneraile House , as in the instance about to be related . Either in the year 1732 or 1733 , when Elizabeth St . Leger wa 3
about nineteen or twenty years of age , the Lodge was held one night at her lather ' s residence . Whether by design or accident cannot be confidently affirmed , but the fact remains that she certainly was in tho room adjoining the one where tho Lodge was being held on this particular occasion . This room was at tho time undergoing somo alterations . Amongst other things , the wall had been considerably
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
"It Is Easy To Promulgate An Error, But Very Hard To Eradicate It."
The Edwin of 627 was neither son nor brother to a King Athelstan , bnt because he was baptized at York , and his name was Edwin , and be built a churoh , thoreforo Bro . Woodford wants us to bolieve that the legend is mainly true , but that it refors to tho said Prince Edwin of 627 .
Dr . Oliver was not only a supporter and defender of old errors , but was also a promulgator of new errors ; thus , in hia " Revelations of a Square , " he says , that D . G . M . Dr . Manningham was very much offended at learning that some W . Masters , to please Jewish Masons , omitted the name of Jesns from tho prayers ; thereupon , the D . G . M . consulted Dr . Anderson , and the two Dootors conjointly composed a
prayer ending with Jesus ; and the u . L . ( between 1752 and 1754 ) approved of tho said prayer , and the prayer was printed in the Pocket Companion of 1754 . This story has been repeated many times by our American advocates of Christianized Masonry , and Dr . Mackey even embalmed it—prayer and all—in his Masonio Cyclo . psodia . At last , I wrote to the R . W . Bro . Hervey for information as
to whether there was any evidence to sustain tho story . Bro . Hervey answered most decidedly in the negative . In tho meantime I found in the Gentleman ' s Magazine of 1739 , that our Dr . Anderson died 28 th May of that year ; this settles the question about Anderson's composing a prayer in 1754 , or fifteen years after ho dipd . The truth is , with tho exception that snch a prayer was printed in 1754 ,
all the rest of the story is a pure fiction—the invention of Dr . Oliver . But as Dr . Mackey repeatod tho story that Dr . Manningham " was the author of the prayer . . . which was presented by him to the Grand Lodge and adopted as a form of prayer to be used at initiation of candidates , " * the defenders of our Christianized ritual , may yet again and again quote the Oliver fictiou , backed by Mackey , and palm it off on their uninformed audience as a historic fact .
The antiquity of our ritual , is another error believed by our " bright Masons . " Some believe that King Solomon composed it . The late Dr . Winslow Lewis ever used to say , "thoy believe that King Solomon worked in tho English language . " Others suppose that the ritual has come down to us from tho Lodge of the holy St . John at Jerusalem . This Masonic St . John ' s Superstition , is still ,
rampant in our midst , for instance , ask an American Mason " Whence come you ? " and he will answer " From the Lodgo of the holy St . John at Jerusalem . " To bo snre , everybody knows that it is not trne ; nay , he himself knows it is not true , because ho was never near Jerusalem , and , perhaps , never outside of his State . Bnt it is still more ludicrous when you put tho above question to ono who has been ' to Jerusalem—such for instance as the famous Bro . Rob Morris , who
knows no such a Masonic Lodge in Jerusalem exists , and who is not so foolish as to believe that thero ever was such a holy Lodge of St . John at Jerusalem . But yet , when Bro . Morris is asked " Whence come you ? " he answers , with a most serious , reverential , and sanctimonions face , '' From tho Lodge of tho holy St . John at Jerusalem . " This St . John ' s nonsense , was very justly ridiculed in a poem in 1751 . The poem begins as follows : —
" Freemasons , as the story goes , Have two saints for their patrons chose , And both SAINT JOJINS—one the Baptist , Tho other the Evangelist . The Baptist had a Lodge which stood , Of old , by Jordan ' s ancient flood , Bnt for what secret canso tho other
Has been adopted for a Brother , They cannot , and I will not say . f In 1851 , 1 petitioned the G . L . of Massachusetts to discard sectarianism and tho St . John's from the ritual , the petition wns referred to a learned Rev . D . D ., who reported in 1852 . Among other matter , ho quoted Dr . Olivpr ' s statement , that the earli ' pst ritnal contained
the following question and answer , viz . : —Q . " Whence come you ? " i A . " From the holy lodge of St . John . " ( The word " Jerusalem " has evidently been added since ) . The Rev . Brother ' s report satisfied the G . L . that it was " sound on the goose " as far as " ancient landmarks " were concerned , and therefore , Massachnsetts Masons still continue to come from the Lodge of the holy St . John at Jerusalem .
The writings of Bros . Findel , Lyon , Hughan and others , disabused the minds of some brethren ; tho majority , however , are still grovelling in Egyptian darkness ; and it is no wonder tbey are so , for , first , nit more than four per cent , ( if as many ) subscribe for a Masonic publication ; second , as a rule , American editors are averse
to publish truth whenever it conflicts with their prejudices or vnuity ; and , third , there is a want of candonr combined with courage on the part of those who know tho truth to make it known in the Lodges and Grand Lodges ; and hence , as long as the present ritual continues to bo repeated in our Lodges , the ninety-six per cent , of our Masons
"It Is Easy To Promulgate An Error, But Very Hard To Eradicate It."
who never trouble themselves with reading anything but newspapers , will continue to believe in tho ritnal as " gospel truth . " But with all these drawbacks , tho dawn of reason is gradually looming up ; a visible change has come over tho scene in qnarters where it was least expected ; for instanco , onr learned Dr . Mackey , who has promulgated and defended moro Masonic moonshine than
any other writer , except Dr . Oliver , hns become sceptical about tre Solomonic origin of Masonry , and about the Templar legends . His change of opinion is plainly indicated in two articles printed in tho FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE , 31 st August . Tho article on page 148 is from Dr . Mackey ' s pen . Again , in his Lexicon , priuted some twenty years ago , Dr . Mackey
asserted that the Saints John wero " eminent Masons , " but in his Masonic Cyclopaedia , tho Masonry of tho Saints is ignored . Trne , our Doctor halts half-way , he still hankers after legends , he pats Bro . Woodford on tho shoulder for bolstering up a legend , he still believe 8 ancient landmarks , and he still pretends to come from tho Lodge of the holy St . John at Jornsalem ; tho truth is , it is hard to part with
long cherished errors . We cannot , therefore , expect more from Dr . Mackey ; ho did , however , mako some progress , and we ought to be thankful for a little . Tho change of opinion for the better among a few prominent Masons has , for reasons already given , prodncod no corresponding change in the rank and file of tho brotherhood . As an i'lnstrntion
of this , I was amused to read in the Masonic Review , Cincinnati , tho sarcastic remarks of Bro . E . T . Carson , who probably owns ono of the largest , if not tho largest , Masonio library in the world . Bro . Carson refers to the Cincinnati ritual worshippers as " conscientious Masonic mnles , " who aro discussing in the Lodgo of Infraction as to whether , according to the " Preston -Webb work , " it is more
proper to say , " Come out here , Pat Marooney , " or " Pat Marooney , come ont here !" Another instance of gross ignorance mav be seen in the criticism of the Editor of the Canada Craftsman ( see FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE , 31 st August , p 147 ) . Dr . Mackey dated to state , in the Voice of Masonry , that " tho Templar Order of the present day is not
identical with the old Order of the Crusades . There is no doubt that Dr . Mackey was , within a few years , a firm believer in the Templar legends , bnt ho has changed his mind , and dares to come out with tho trnth ; and thereupon the edit' -r of the Craftsman pitches into poor Bro . Mackey right and left . Of conrse , our readers of the Craftsman are persuaded that its editor is far more
profoundly learnpd in Templar and other historic lore than jr . Mackey . But tho fact is , onr Canadian Knight Templar editor knows no moro of the history of the Templars than what ho heard on tho night whon he was invested with the cached hat , or what the vain . glonVns Grand Prinrs nnd Grand Praters havo palmed off on him ; and this he calls history !
It is a cnn ' ons fact , that while Dr . Markey was groping in dark , ness , such writers as our Canadian editor used to look np to him as a Masonic oracle . But since our Doctor began to manTest somo common sense in his writings , he lost caste among tho orthodox . And this experience itself of Dr . Mackey furnishes an additional illnsrrntion to the truth of my text at th head of this pnper , viz .: " It is easy to promulgate error , but very hard to eradicate it . "
The Lady Freemason.* (Honourable Mrs. Aldworth).
THE LADY FREEMASON . * ( HONOURABLE MRS . ALDWORTH ) .
THE Hon . Elizabeth St . Loger claims a placo in the annals of noted Irishwomen , from the strange circumstances which have concurred to hand down her name to posterity . In the only portrait of her ever known to have been taken , she is represented as wearing
her Masonic jewels and apron . Tho face is that of a woman of about five-and-thirty , with a pleasing Madonna-like cast of countenance . Benevolence and strength of character are striking features in what —considering tho dotails we have of her life—must bo a faithful likeness .
The subject of this memoir was the youngest child and only danghter of the Right Honourable Arthur St . Leger , created first Visconnt Doneraile , 23 rd June 1703 . and o ' ' his wife Elizabeth , the daughter and heiress of John Hayes , Esq ., of Winchilsea . She was married to Richard Aid worth , Esq ., of Newmarket , County Cork , who was the son of Sir Richard Aid worth , Provost Mareschal of Munster ;
bnt the date of tho marriage is uncertain . Lord Doneraile , the father of the Hon . Elizabeth St . Leger , was a zealous Freemason . He held a warrant , which empowered him occasionally to open Lodge at his own residence , Doneraile House , whero , it is reoorded , the duties of Freemasonry wero never more rigidly performed than by tho Masonic brethren of Lodge 150—the
number of tho warrant . ? In the performance of these rites , Lord Doneraile was usually assisted by his son and by some intimate friends . The meetings were sometimes held in the town of Doneraile , but more frequently at Doneraile House , as in the instance about to be related . Either in the year 1732 or 1733 , when Elizabeth St . Leger wa 3
about nineteen or twenty years of age , the Lodge was held one night at her lather ' s residence . Whether by design or accident cannot be confidently affirmed , but the fact remains that she certainly was in tho room adjoining the one where tho Lodge was being held on this particular occasion . This room was at tho time undergoing somo alterations . Amongst other things , the wall had been considerably