Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Corresp ndents . We cannot undertake to return rejectett . communications . All Letters must hear the . name an ' address of the Writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .

OUTSPOKENNESS .

To the 'Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR Sin AND BROTHER , —I admire candid criticism , the freo expression of a man's unbiassed opinion , delivered without fear of consequences , but I hold that a man is bound to express that opinion in language which is in no way likely to givo offence to those who may differ from him . Bro . Norton has , to use the every-day phrase , " tho

courage of his opinions . " He says what he thinks without exhibiting any desire to curry favour either with the select few or the multitude , and , from passages in tho article of his yon published a fortnight since , it is evident that the idea 6 f wounding other people ' s feelings is furthest from his thoughts . Yet I trust he will pardon me for suggesting thafc tho trenchant blows he is in tho habit of

dealing out on occasions would be none the less effective , if he combined the suaviter in modo with the fortiter in re . I will givo you an illustration of my meaning . Many people in the good old days laboured nnder the idea—and there are still those who agree with them—that in order to give tho duo amount of emphasis to every opinion or statement , a few choice expletives culled from the least

respectable portion of the English vocabulary shonld be prefixed . Dr . Johson showed tho extreme folly of this notion when he shamed an abusive Billingsgate fish-hag into a terrified silence by calling her a parallelopipedon . Similarly it strikes me that Bro . Norton ' s contention as to the Masonic value of the A . and A . Rito would bo to the full as telling , if he somewhat mitigated the force of his language .

Ifc is not essential to the sacred cause of truth to call him a liar who speaks an untruth . Shakespeare , in his inimitable way , has furnished a scale of the charges which , in such circumstances , one man may bring against another for saying the thing that is not . The difference in these charges is as the difference between the rough and perfect ashlars . The properties of both are identical , that is , the

dimensions , tho contents , & c , but the one is pleasing to look upon by reason of its smooth and polished surface , tho other is sound and true enough , but ugly or at all events unattractive to the eye . I know it was not necessary for Bro . Norton to speak so scornfully of the A . and A . Rite and its worthy supporters in order to prove the feebleness of its claim to be an original and valuable Masonic Institntion . If Bro .

A . is ambitious cf being a 33 "degreer" or 95 " degreer , " —to use Bro . Norton ' s own term , —ifc is a very harmless ambition and will in nowise injure the purity of Bro . B . 's Craft Masonry . Many of our foremost Craftsmen both in England and the United States are partial to the High Grades . They regard them aa an ornamental adjunct to true Masonry . Some of the " High Grades" may think

them necessary to the elucidation of tho higher mysteries of occult science , but that fact cannot affect tho virtue of Freo aud Accepted Masonry , as it is defined in the Book of Constitutions . No one is ever hoaxed into the belief that the High Grades are a sine qua non of Masonic perfection , unless it be with his eyes open , in which case he clearly loses all claim upon our sympathy . Bro . Norton

himself must smile at the tremendous vigour he occasionally displays against the picturesque phantasies cf the various classes of High Rites , when a mild reproof or a gentle sarcasm would answer his purpose as well . I acree with Bro . Norton iu his estimate of the trno Masonic value of these Rites , but not in his denunciation of them . The edifice of

Freemasonry is not as solid as I take it to be , if a few pretty but unnecessary decorations are made fast to its walls . •If the building falls , the ornaments fall likewise , but ifc is not necessary to the security of the former that the latter should remain part and parcel of it . I do not imagine there are many brethren who are likely to fall into tlie capital error of mis-estimating tho relative values of a building

and its decorations ; the former is indispensable , the latter are not . If there arc such , then , as I have said before , by reason of their perverted judgment , they have lost all claim upon onr sympathy . I think your contemporary is quite right in preachiug forbearance towards those holding opposite opinions , even thongh , through the

weakness of human nature , he may not always practise what he preaches . Trusting Bro . Norton will forgive me for inflicting on him this little homily , and will take the suggestions I have offered in good part , I remain , fraternally yours , "A SOFT WORD TUIINETH AWAV ANGER . "

THE A . & A . AND THE A . & P . RITES .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEMI Sin AND BROTHEK , —1 have taken " 32 ° . ' s" advice , and though the fable he refers to was not unfamiliar to mo in my boyish days , Ihave been at the pains of re-studying ifc very carefully . But thongh , from the causticity of his opening remarks , I expected I might derive some benefit from acting on his suggestion , I am sorry to sav

I have—owing possibly to the natural obtuseness of my mtellectnal faculties—been quite unable to sec in what way the fable is applicable to me . It will bo time enough for me fo exclaim against the maturity of the high grades when I have tried to obtain them and failed . But up to the present time I have not thought it worth while even to solicit the privilege of incurring heavy expenses for tho privi-

Correspondence.

lege of wearing a grander apron than I possess , or a gorgeous scai-f , aud it may he a cocked hat or other paraphernalia . All I sought , in my harmless letter , which has so disturbed " 32 ° . ' s " equanimity was , to draw attention to the amusingly lofty scorn with which the A . and A .. Rite regard thoir brethren of tho A . and P . Rite . I feel sure no ono objects to either of them conducting its own affairs in its own

fashion , but oven if I had nofc paid somo attention to the history of Freemasonry , the Constitutions of Grand Lodge toll me clearly enough what pure and ancient Masonry is , and it does not need much intelligence to discover that tho A . and A . and the A . and P . Rites hare no part in Masonry as so defined . I havo no doubt they are very interesting to those who aro admitted iuto the several degrees under each , but they aro no more necessary to the stability of legitimate

Freemasonry than would bo the study of the Eleusinian mysteries or of the doctrine of Pythagoras . lam not envious of either of these rites , because I am not a member . What I wish to say is , that such virtue as they may possess ia derived from Craffc Masonry , without which as a foundation they must como to the ground . This ought to be no news to " 32 ° , " but I vouch for its boiug an historic truth , unlesswhich could not well have happened—all the historians of Freomasonry havo conspired together to misrepresent facts . Yours faithfully , CRAFTSMAN .

CHARGES FOR BANQUETS .

To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —1 am very glad you have drawn attention to the high rato of charges too often made for tickets at tho banquets held after the annnal meetings of our different Provincial Grand Lodges . I think it is impossible for any one to take exception to your very sensible remarks . You very properly draw a distinction

between the brethreu to whom guineas are of little or no consequence and the far larger number with whom ifc is a matter for consideration , whether or not they are justified in dining regardless of the cost that may be incurred . As to the happy few , let them dine , say I , as sumptuously as they please , but afc the same time let ; some regard be shown for the less wealthy majority , whose purses are not so well

lined , and whose balances at their respective bankers—if they nave a banking account—are not always very considerable . It must be remembered that one of the principal objects of these Provincial gatherings is to bring together as many members as possible , but this desirable object is likely to be frustrated if the price of the dinner-ticket is fixed too high . Moreover , the dinner is only a part

of the clay ' s expenses . Brethren from a distance must pay travelling fare ; then , iu a small way , there are all kinds of potty contingencies to be provided for , aud it seems to me a little unreasonable in the case of worthy brethren who take an interest in tho concerns of their Province , and aro desirous of making the acquaintance of tho members of other Lodges to mulct theiu so heavily , as is the case in

many instances . I dined ou Saturday last with the Provincial G . Lodge of Surrey , at Sutton , and so enjoyable was tbo dinner that 1 send you a copy of tho menu * for insertion if you think proper . Well , this excellent dinner , wine included , cost me fifteen shillings—a prico which cannot be deemed excessive , and I see from your advertisement columns thafc afc the P . G . Lodge banquet , Hants and Isle of

Wight , at Audover , ou Tuesday , tho price of a ticket , wine and dessert included , will be half-a-guinea . Again , at many a high-class London hotel or restaurant I can dine , not en prince , bnt well , for a few shillings , the menu including soups , fish , entrees , & c , aud a pint or bottle of wine suffices . Why , then , as you justly argue , should I be required to pay twice the amoant at

an hostelry in some small provincial town , where rents , & c , are much lower ? I like to pay my legitimate share of the expenses on any occasion that I make one of a small or large party , bub I object decidedly to paying twice as much as is necessary , because a few of my brethren are desirous of " doing the grand . " I know a Lodge held within twenty miles of Loudon where , when the labours

of the evening are' ended , the members sit down to a nice little dinner , served iu good style , and the charge is only half-a-crown apiece , each brother exercising his own discretion as to the liquor he drinks . Installation night is the single exception to this rule . I will conclude this letter with tbe story of au amusing incident which occurred to a friend of mine who , with some others , went down

to Richmond on a day s pleasuring , and ordered dinner afc the Star and Garden , where different dinners are served at different tariffsthat is , you may order a six shilling dinner , an eight shilling dinner , and so on . After an appetising stroll they returned and dined well at the rate , as fixed , of six shillings . When the bill was presented the waiter was noticed to be smiling blandly , and he was asked the

reason ; he explained that , owing to a slight mistake , such as will occur in the besfc regulated hotels , my friend and his companions had been served with ar . eight shilling dinner , while another party of visitors , mustering the same iu number , had ordered an eight shilling dinner and had been served with a six . The latter ,

however , expressed themselves as delighted with their fare , and had gone away some time previously , in happy ignorance of the mistake . From which I deduce this moral , that the enjoyment of the dinner is not the greater the higher the prico that is paid for it . Yours fraternally , GOURMET .