A New Masonic History.*

As to Bro . Hughan ' s second proposition , " What is Freemasonry ? ifc would be difficult to find , either in the pages of this new history or in thoae of any other work , a more perfect and practical reply than the " pure and simple" ritual itself supplies , "A system of morality , veiled

in allegory and illustrated by symhols . " That men should he " good and true" in all their relations as social beings the burden of its appeal , and the refrain reverberates now , as ifc has ever done , throughout all the pillars of its work . It inculcates and leads up to a greater appreciation

of moral law and philosophy , and makes more perfect the natural sense of right and wrong . What more can be said of the " system" that could be further explanatory , or more exhaustive ? Its allegories and symbolic illustrations render its ritual a work of art , —a poem which

appeals to the humblest mind , and a lesson that it can understand , —and , whether connected with the " Old Charges" or ceremonial wotk of Operative Mason-y dnring the " period of some six centuries , " over which , an Bro . Hughan considers " tbe actual history of the Graft

extends , " or with the ritual alone of Speculative Freemasonry adopted in 1813 , they should be conserved in their absolute integrity . This , to our mind , is the paramount duty of present-day Freemasons , —the preservation of the old principles , the old usages , the old landmarks , the

old'traditions , as they have been transmitted to onr forefathers , and are expressed in the forms and language of fchat ritnal ; and which they are morally and Masonically bound to transmit to their posterity pure and unsullied as then received . That carelessness and indifference are now

but too effectually impeding that duty and permitting , without interference , the emasculation and , if continued , the ultimate destruction of the true meaning and common

sense of the grand old ritual , we view with sorrow and alarm . But so it is ; and the question most pertinent to the Freemasonry of fcho present day is nofc , "What is it ? " but What will it become ?

To Bro . Hughan's third question , " What is Freemasonry doing ? " no better answer can be given than his own . " It must be lived to be effective . " Whether or not the two former questions are answered in the pages of this new history—and we cannot determine that they are—thero

can be no doubt as to the correctness and value of the reply to this last . We leave it , for reflection , to the minds of those who desire above all things in connection with the Order tbat the morality its votaries profess should , by the practical performance of its tenets , " show to the world at large the beneficial effects of onr Ancient Institution . "

With regard to American Craffc Masonry we can add but little to the remarks already made on the several essays which chroniclo its history . Wo are distinctly told that American Freemasonry properly dates from tha Revolution , in the last quarter of tho Eighteenth Century , prior to

which the Lodges owned allegiance to the Grand Lodge of England ; and thore is nothing stated which can in any way afford ground for the belief that the ethics of Speculative Freemasonry were known through any other source . Ifc has been suggested that the finding of a presumed

gravestone at Goat Island , in Annapolis , bearing a Masonio device , and the date A D . 1606 , as narrated by Brother Nickerson in his monograph ( Division VIII ., Chapter VI . ) is conclusive proof that Speculative Freemasonry was practised in America at that time ; but against that

presumption must be set the fact that the configp-ation of the Square and Comp . sses was a well known Operative Masons' Mark fonnd in buildings of far more ancient date , as for example , in the twelfth -century , in the Crypt of Canterbury Cathedral , Fountains Abbey Chapter House ,

and Tervaulx Abbey ; and later iu many ecclesiastical and other buildings of importance . A careful inspection of the reproduction of Masons' Marko , the compilation of Brother Hughan ( page 570 of the " History " ) aud a perusal of

Bro . Robinson ' s description of the seven divisions or eras of the Craffc History in Upper Canada , under the heading of " British America , " may help to satisfy the doubting mind that the suggested ' - proof " above referred to cannot be relied upon .

Iu reference to the Mark Master Mesons' degree the only addition we can make to our previous remarks is an expression of regret that the particular labours of a brother to whom thy present organization of the degree is mainly

due , have nofc been referred to in any manner in the contribution of Bro . Chapman to the 13 fch Division of the "History . " Whilst fully recjognising the inestimable services rendered by the then Grand Master of the Order

A New Masonic History.*

the late Rev . Canon Portal , and his associates in the organization of the present " Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of England aud Wales , " A . D . 1856 , it ahould never ba forgotten that to the indefatigable endeavours of Bro . Frederick Binckes , its first Secretary , and at thafc time also

Secretary of tho Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , ii due the present flourishing condition of Mark Masonry as an independent branch of the Masonic system more closely allied than any other to the symbolic and universal scheme of Freemasonry . He ia , happily , still amongst us ,

and it ia certainly no other than just thafc his connection with Mark Masonry should be remembered when its history is written . To him is also mainly due the introduction of the Cryptic Degrees into England , in 1871 , whioh degrees , as we have already remarked , form the

principal rite in what is now known aa the Allied Degrees . These capitular degrees are doubtless peculiarly attractive , . ind are of the " universal" character . They are instructive in many respects , and their ethical elements are many and

deserve commendation . But they are not at all necessary corollaries to pure and simple Freemasonry , and ou that account are not so zealously practised in England as they have been , and we believe still are in America .

We have , in the foregoing pages , said all we think necessary regarding Knight Templary and other Concordant Orders , and must now hasten to a conclusion of the task we have undertaken . It has been written elsewhere that " no man can give an account of the Order of Freemasonry ,

of its origin , of its history , of its object , nor any explanation of its mysteries and symbols , which does not leave the mind in total uncertainty on all these points . " Whoever wrote this is not far wrong , and substituting " donbt" for " total uncertainty , " the pronouncement appears still to hold

good ; for we cannot find in this History any of the points finally settled . There ia a near approach to the trnth as to origin and object , but no finality . Brother Hughan ' s questions are , in a sense , unanswered . The work ia undeniably an earnest attempt to set before the Masonio

Craffc a true and faithful acconnt of all that can possibly be ascertained in relation to the Institution of Masonry , whether in its operative character , teaching the useful rules of Architecture , for an indefinite period antecedent to a change in purpose and effect , or its subsequent Free and Accepted or Speculative and universal system of symbolic instruction in morality

and good fellowship . Ifc is certainly the comprehensive account ifc professes to be ; and is free , as far as we can j udge , from bias . It is possible tbat " all the stories have been told" before now , and fchat there may nofc be a large proportion of the work bufc has seen the light of

publication in some shape or other . Nevertheless , fche ingathering of hitherto detached fragments of Masonio information , supplemented by recently expressed opinions of many who have given Masonio history a special study , has resulted in a thoroughly reliable historical narrative

of pasfc events with which acquaintance should be made by all metabers of the Order . Unfortunately , whatever may be thought to the contrary , the world is not run now-adaya on Masonic lines , or the exhortation to make " a daily advancement in scientific knowledge , " which has been delivered to each one of its members , would bear better fruit than it does .

AN INTEBESTINO SHAKESPEARIAN HELTC . —Shakespeare ' s Will . — Any person desirona of inspecting the actnal last Will aud Testament of the immortal bard of Avon can do so by visiting Somerset House and paying a shilling . The visitor is conducted to a dimly , lighted room in whioh this preoions relio ia preserved , and is not a little astonished to find it securely fixed in a series of frames

proteoted by glass . The Will remained for m-iny yeara without any attempt being made to preserve it from the wear to whioh it was subjected . In iced , the reference to the Will daring the period ab whioh it was unprotected has slightly worn away the writing at the folds of the paper . It is a remarkable faot tbat for every Englishman who visits "Somerset Honse to inspect it , there are nt least two

American- ? . The Will has been reproduced in fac-aimile at distant intervals . In 1661 a fac-aimile ( now oat of print ) was pnblished at six shillings , and so scarce were the copies for a period that as much as a sovereign , was paid for good impressions . Messrs . Catsell and Company have recently reproduced the Will , and are issuing a copy with tha First Part of their " Royal Shakespeare , " pnblished

on the 26 th inst ., the price of the Part , including the Will , being but 7 d . The facsimile of the Will is printed on paper of antique style , and in ink similar in colour to tbat of the original document . The " Boyal Shakespeare" is illustrated with Steel Plates from Original Drawings by FrankDioksee , R . A ., C . Green , R . I ., 0 . Gregory , R . W . S ., and other artists , and includes Dr . FaraivaU ' a Introduction and . Life of Shakespeare . . : ^ vi #