Masonry In Germany.

MASONRY IN GERMANY .

HAMBURG , 18 TH APBIL 1883 .

IN my first letter I gave you a short account of the Festival of the Grand Lodge in Frankfort , and if my time had not been so very limited then I should have accompanied said account with a few remarks on Masonry in general which might have come , perhaps , not quite mat a

propos on that occasion . However , better late than never . It is generally admitted that a reform of our Lodge life is essential , and it seems to me that as a first step in this direction it would be advisable for Lodges to become more scrupulous in the admission of candidates ; xve should not

count our members , btd weigh them . If the following remarks , which occurred to me after a conversation on the subject of Masonry with a conspicuous brother in this city , are the means of reminding one or other of the lukewarm or lazy brethren of their duty towards their Lodge , I shall be well paid for my trouble .

It lies in the nature—in the true and so often questioned , so often misunderstood , so often disputed nature—of Masonry that the best sho is striving for , the best she is able to accomplish , and really does accomplish , withdraws itself not only from the perception of the profane , but often

enough also of the initiated . To him , however , who only pays attention to self , and to his brethren , it mnst have become clear tbat the living , simple word , coming from and going to the heart , produces in the soul manifold emotions which will gain a certain influence on the activity of thought

and on the will . All impurity suppressed here , and all the room gained for noble exertions , is the cause of many a return from the wrong , and of many an earnest resolve to remain in the right way after this has once been gained . Not the phrase and not the ceremonies can produce such an

influence on our mind ; it is the holiness of the place , the symbol , and above all , a single tone of speech that comes from the heart ; that takes and prepares our heart and mind for good deeds . But such deeds as Masonry can boast of

cannot be registered , they cannot be expressed in numbers , measure , or weight ; they are invisible . They are the best Freemasonry accomplishes , and they hide the precious treasure of the real Masonic secret . No traitor could ever

yet betray that . If Masonry aims at the mental and moral perfection of mankind , if she strives to equalise the existing contrasts , then the question whether Freemasonry is still

in accordance with the spirit of the age appears to be almost a mockery , for in onr days those ideal treasures of mankind are endangered the preservation and furtherance of which is the aim and striving of Masonry .

And what does the Order accomplish in this respect ? We cannot , and ought not , to deceive ourselves ; the present requires more at our hands than we have

accomplished heretofore , for only as in the measure we meet these greater requirements the Order will gain authority and credit ; or , what is better still , will be better able to serve the great aims of Freemasonry .

The proposals which may be made to us to bring Lodge Hie more in accordance with the spirit of the age shonld not be spurned because something altogether new is proposed , or an old and even endeared custom is to be abolished or to be replaced by another one ; by no

means , the merits and demerits of such proposals should be well examined into and the best selected . Bat every brother Freemason should participate in such examination , at least all those who have an earnest and devout perception of their duty . " His first duty is a regular attendance

at the workings of his Lodge . Whoever cannot , and will not , make a sacrifice to his Lodge of a part of his time , otherwise devoted to pleasure , or of a certain part of personal labour , he is in my opinion no real Freemason . The good and able men amongst us do not see themselves ,

because the lukewarm and indifferent ones stand between them . May the number become smaller if we only increase in power within . Either the combined endeavours will succeed ( only the will is to be doubted , not the possibility ) in intellectually raising the Lodge to a more

prominent position , till shebecomesapower which , through intelligence and moral efficiency , gains a powerful influence on the profane world , or she will more and more become a friendly alliance , thereby deviating from her

great and noble aims . The Lodge will become a power if men of great moral character and intelligence of the profane world , who are Freemasons without belonging to the Order , come to our temples for admittance , and become

Masonry In Germany.

working members ; a power , not in the usual sense of the word , not visible and loud , but a power deliberating in modest secrecy , whose champions , ever strengthened b y the feeling of unity , and armed with the consciousness of a widely spread confederation , will courageously struggle for light and truth .

Bemejnber ihy duty towards Freemasonry , and thou art standing in the service of the moral invariable laws of nature which you believe . "

Lodge Attendance.

LODGE ATTENDANCE .

FROM THE FREEMASON ' S ADVOCATE . WHILE in conversation with the W . M . of one of our Lodges , a short time since , he asked this question : " What can I do to increase the attendance at the communications of my Lodge ? " The question asked is a very important one , and it made a deep impression on my mind—knowing that he was not the only one that was racking his brain to devise somo means whereby he conld increase

the attendance at the communications of his Lodge . The question has been often asked , ancl probably will be in the future , and I , for one , do not know that it has been ever satisfactorily answered , either in practice or in theory . I am well aware that any one can theorise j but to put each theory into practice is entirely another affair . It is a serious question how a Master that has the welfare of

Masonry , and his own Lodge in particular at heart , can put new life into the sluggish blood of his brethren ? He often asks himself , What can he do to cause a revival amongst Masons ? Theoretically , we all have our ideas how it can be done j bnt theory and practice do not always go hand in hand . Practice fails where theory has made it perfectly plain . At the first thought one wonld naturally suppose

tbat the brethren alone were wholly to blame , and that no response bility rests upon the Officers—especially the Master—for tbe nonattendance at Lodge communications . In many of our Lodges the Masters act as if they were mere figure-heads ( such as is too often the case ) who think when the hours of labour close their labours cease ; and when the Lodge is at refreshment they put a literal construction

upon refreshments as far as the affairs of their Lodges are concerned . Now , let us take the unpopular view of the question and attempt to show that the brethren at large are not wholly to blame ; bnt that the responsibility rests , in a great measure , upon the Officers themselves , more especially upon the W . M . He may do it theoretically , but practically , at any rate , a little scolding to some of our Officers

may not do them any harm . Now , I claim that the attendance of a Lodge depends a great deal npon what kind of a Master presides over that Lodge . If he be a man of an easy , careless , don ' t . like-to-exert-himself temperament , he will conduct the affairs of his Lodge in about the same manner that he does his own affairs ; if he does not like to exert himself in them , he

will not be very apt to exert himself in the affairs of his Lodge , and that Masonic bnsiness is the last and least of his troubles . After a good deal of physical effort , on his part , he succeeds in getting to his Lodge-room , on . the evening appointed for the meetings . After he does once get there , and if there should not happen to be enough present to commence business , he sits down in the easiest position he

can find , and languidly wonders why the brethren do not turn out ; or , perhaps , he elevates his heels to an angle of forty-five degrees—Yankee fashion—and entertains his hearer or hearers ( if he has any ) with choice bits of slang and scandal . The momenta pass away , until he finally concludes to go to work , and he does it in just about as easy , indifferent a way as he does everything else . Well , he blunderingly opens his Lodge , transacts the usual routine business ,

closes it , turns out the lights and goes home—or somewhere else . " Out of sight out of mind . " Out of his Lodge-room , no thought or care , unless he is to assist in the eating degree—and he does not forget that , I assure you . " Oh no ! That is the best part of Masonry to him . Such a Master as that is not long in bringing his Lodge into the same way of thinking , and they , as well as he , lose all interest and care of the real work of Masonry . No life , no energyunless there happens to be a banquet , then :

" Alas ! what a change—What once was dead Is dead no more . " There is life enough then ; no laggards or drones then , I can assure you . The members , after a time , begin to ask themselves the question ,

that if the man they have appointed to preside over them does not manifest any interest in the Lodge , why should they ?—forgetting that if he does not they should . The influence of such a Master is greater than one would imagine . In a few years , at the most , that Lodge is numbered amongst " the things that were , " its influence gone , its mission unfulfilled , and Masonry a bye-word and reproach .

Now , what is the remedy ? In the first place , when the brethren find they have erred in their judgment , and that their Master is one of that kind of men , and that the Lodge interests are to suffer by his hands , let each one of the workers ( no use talking of the drones ) put their shoulder to the wheel and do their best to counteract the influence of the Master . Let them exert every nerve , and put forth

every energy to keep up their Lodge , even if then they may be accused of doing the work of the Master , remembering that it is for the good of Masonry that they are engaged in , not for the personal good of any one member or any particular class of members . Let this thought buoy them up , that the time is coming when a new Master is to be elected , and then let them do their duty and elect a working man to preside over them . Have a care that he has some