The Lord's Prayer Of The Freemason.

Lord , I implore Theo 1 Thou hasb conferred the grace to see the right By granting me the favour of Thy light . Oh ! list to me ! Let all the brothers feel Thy glory and Thy might , That stronger srow the links that unite

To one great chain that death can not destroy ; And if forlorn we walk on life's lone strand , If on the Icepole or in desert sand , They all bow down before the living God , And all the scattered brothers will at length

Devote their lives to Beauty , Wisdom , Strength , Oh I let me pray , " Thy kingdom come !" I trust iu Thee ! Show me the heights endowed by Thy grace ; Within Thv rnmnnss lot mv font , take nace .

My guide be Thy omniscience ; If selfish pride the heart yet holds in chain , Then let me soon an humble one regain . Humility ' s the Mason's noblest duty , Its holv breath mav lend us Strength and Beauty :

Therefore the prayer , " Thy will be done in heaven and on earth . " What Thine is mine should be . I do not pray for earthly power and gold ; They are but' dust that leaves the heart so cold .

Thou gav ' st me much ; but where Distiess and poverty their voice would vise , And pity pleads from wan and suffering face , Where I the wants of needy creatures see , And hear the cries of those in agony , Then to my arms the needful powers lend , That with the Mason ' s trowel I spread cement ; Oh I let me give with open brother ' s hand , Whatever in my apron gathered let me giant ;

And ior the sake of chanty pray , " Our daily bread , dear Lord , give us this day 1 " Forgive us , Lord , The paths of sin lie thick on every hand , But give that in Thy strength v e may withstand , That nevermore my heart a bitter wrath may fill , Against a brother never let me bear ill-will ! iei nis iauits wime iamoSKin

j-me wun a s cover , Let guardian angels ever round him hover ; Whose heart is pure , whose life without alloy . Thou hast with gracious love embraced us , Now we call on Thee in prayer , " Forgive us all our trespasses

As we forgive those who against us sin , ' Let our hearts be purified within . Guide us , 0 Lord ! The Mason ' s step , if life bo dark or fair ,

Must be within the compass and the squaro ; Oft in our temple , with a hand profane , The light we crave , nor let this be in vain ; Lead us from sin and from temptation far , To fairer climes where all blessed brethren are , 0 Thou who art , who wert , who e'er will be , Protect , we pray , our pure Freemasonry , So mote it be I

Great Master I Thy eternal pillars stand , Though , the great temple is not built with hand ; The structure reaches far beyond the land , And million pulses beat beneath the firmament ; Onward by Thy guide Thou tak ' st us to the far-off Orient , Where a J . * , shall ope the gates up to the temple's hall , Where worship evermore is our celestial call ;

Thine is the wisdom infinite , Thine the power , Thine the glory , And from now to all eternity and every creature will adore Thee I Amen .

Women In Masonry.

WOMEN IN MASONRY .

SOMEWHAT startling news reaches us from America . An energetic lecturer , one Mistress Lease , claims to have acquired certain information with which she proposes to undermine one of the most exclusive privileges of domineering man . The records oi f

reemasonry bear testimony to the fact that one lady at least was regularly initiated into the mysteries of the Order , but that , as I have always understood , was because—well , because there was no help for it . The inquisitive soul had secreted herself in a

temporary . Lodge Room , and had been detected . Moreover , it must in common fairness be claimed for this highly privelcged damsel , that she ever afterwards conformed to the ancient usages and established customs of the Order . iurs

. . Lease , according to a Chicago newspaper , declines to be bound by any man-made Masonic laws . She knows all there is to know—or fancies she does . which is the next best thing—and declares herself independent of any " constituted authority , " in any State , iter mission is to communicate her highly prized secrets to her

l H , women * " If Masonry is good for men , " she argues , "it is better for women , as wc are more in need of protection than men . " i am afraid this " verges on the sentimental , " as Mr . Weller the

Women In Masonry.

elder would express it , and there is a popular impression that Freemasons are a matter of fact set of beings . Developing her theory of Protection , Mrs . Leaso remarks : " Once , by giving a sign of the Order , I was saved from personal violence , and from that moment I resolved to give to all deserving women the advantages of Masonry I enjoy . " Let us by all means credit Mrs . Lease

with benevolent motives , but is sho sure she got rid of her assailant by a Masonic sign ? In the excitement of the moment may she not havo given this rascally Mason ( really Mrs . Lease is not very com * plimentary to the Brotherhood ) a dollar , or have made a significant " sign " with a six-shooter , or have whistled for the assistance of the police ? Seriously speaking , I wish the good lady did not protest quite so much .

In regard to ono point only does Mrs . Lease show that she knows how to bo cautious . She declines to say how she became possessed of tho secrets she is so anxious to impart for the approbation of her down-trodden sisters . She obtained them " legitimately " she affirms , and with this assurance her critics must be satisfied . Nobody is likely to doubt this . If she wheedled them out of her

father , or brother , she only availed herself of a " legitimate" right of the gentle sex ; and if her husband was , like Cassio , " so loose of soul" that in his sleep he muttered his affairs , no one can blame her for marking well his nocturnal babbling ( though , to be sure , there is always the danger that a Masonic nightmare may prove misleading in matters of detail ) . Even if it should transpire that she dragged forth the hidden mysteries by the simple process of

hypnotising an unsuspecting Past Master , she may claim to have risked much for the enlightenment of her sex . But , for the present , Mrs . Lease means to keep her counsel on this matter . She knows " everything , " and that is enough . Without delay she is going to initiate her lady friends—how she is to accomplish this feat unaided will puzzle male dullards not a little—and for my part I am not going to blame a female of so much natural enthusiasm for conjuring up visions of a glorious " Masonic Sisterhood I "

Indeed , there is hardly any limit to Mrs . Lease's sanguineness . " If the men decline to recognise my converts to Masonry , " she defiantly says , " we can act independently of them , and time will force them to co-operate with us . " As a rule " the men " do not require much pressing to mingle with the ornaments of the other sex , but it grieves me to suggest that they are likely to draw the line at such adventurous spirits as this American champion of

Women ' s Rights is likely to attract to her side . " Women , " exclaimed one of the wittiest and most popular of Mrs . Lease's countrymen , "have a sphere of their own , and when they forget that sphere they air an emphatic noosance . " Our fair reformer trusts to " time , " be it noted . So may " the men . " Very little " time " will suffice to show the impracticability of the latest movement for the " emancipation of women . "—Derby Reporter .

Roman Catholics And Freemasons.

ROMAN CATHOLICS AND FREEMASONS .

AN unpleasant incident is reported , says a contemporary , to have taken place at the funeral , at Plymouth , on Wednesday of last week , of Dr . Aubrey Thomas , medical officer to the Plymouth Union . Quite recently the deceased had become a convert to the Roman Catholic faith . Ho was a prominent Freemason , and a large number of persons connected with the Order attended the

funeral as a mark of respect . At the cemetery , however , they were met by the Rev . Father Keily , the officiating priest , who informed them that the Masonic Order , being a secret society , was not recognised by the Catholic Church , and requested the Brethren to remain away from the graveside during the funeral service . The

request aroused keen resentment among the Freemasons present , and several expressed themselves strongly in favour of disregarding it . Wiser counsels , however , prevailed , and further unpleasantness

was avoided by the Freemasons watching the interment from a distance , and at the conclusion of the religious service proceeding to the grave and dropping the sprigs of acacia which they carried , upon the coffin .

The following letters have appeared in the ' ¦ Western Morning News " in connection with this event : — Sir , —Kindly allow me to correct any false impression that has been occasioned by a report of Dr . Thomas ' s funeral . It looks as if I had presided over a Freemason ceremony . Dr . Thomas became

a Catholic some time ago , and as a necessary preliminary solemnly abjured Masonry in my presence . As a Catholic priest I declined at the cemetery to perform the service unless the Masonic procession guaranteed to stay outside the Catholic ground . This condition was observed . To prevent mistakes I had made my

objection known in the proper quarters beforehand . When I had left the ground I am given to understand some function was performed by a Masonic gathering . 1 only wish to state I had nothing whatever to do with the matter , and would not for a moment tolerate such an abuso by sanction or presence .

JOHN KEILY . Plymouth , 22 nd March 1894 . 0 0 0 Sir , —I notice with pain a letter in your issue of Thursday , signed John Keily , relative to the funeral of the late Dr . Thomas . Your

report of the proceedings was correct , and Mr . Keily has gone needlessly out of his way to imply a breach of faith on the part of the Masonic body . The facts are that it was the expressed wish of Dr . Thomas , my friend and brother for a quarter of a century ,

about three weeks before his death , that I should arrange tho attendance at his funeral , which we then hoped might not happen for a long time , and late on the evening of his death on tho Sunday I was with his widow , and explained what the Masonio arrange-