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Article CORRESPONDENCE. ← Page 2 of 6 →
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Correspondence.
undoubtedly , is derived from Jewish history and tradition ;* but the sublime truths veiled therein are undoubtedly Christian ; indeed tbe whole scheme of Human -Redemption is veiled in Jewish allegory , and all the types of Christianity contained in the Old Testament arc , or were , incorporated into the Masonic system . Such are my views of Freemasonry , and such , as the Master of a Lodge , is the nature of the instruction I have ever considered myself called upon to afford to the Brethren in the inferior degrees .
You will probably expect that I should assign somo reasons for having arrived at the above conclusion , differing , as it may , from that of others . In the first place , I have never met with any other idea in the provinces ( where , I must say , there is a much closer adherence to the ancient landmarks than among the London Lodges , ) until within the last few years , when distance has been annihilated by the railroads , and manj r of the provincial Brethren have availed themselves of the opportunity to attend some of the Lodges in the metropolis , in order to promote a greater degree of uniformity in the mode of working . It was during
one of those now easy visits , that I attended some of the Lodges of Instruction , and being previously well acquainted with the ceremonies and lectures as hitherto practised in our Lodges in the provinces , that I easily detected variations in thc forms and language . I observed many alterations and omissions ; and you may judge of my surprise when , on closer examination , I discovered that those alterations and omissions were principally confined to those points which had
the most direct reference to some of the most important truths of Christianity . I was not a little mortified ; and being at a loss to account for this essential difference in the mode of working , I afterwards had some conversation with several of the Brethren on tho subject , when one of them called mo aside , and said , " You have touched upon a tender subject , which we cannot well discuss in Lodge , but we must refer you to the Duke f for a solution . " On my return home , I hesitated for some time as to whether I should continue to attend the Lodges as heretofore , but on the next Lodge day I attended as usual , and
hearing the lectures very ably delivered by the W . M . in the usual phraseology , without omitting any of those references to Christianity omitted in the lectures which I had lately heard at the Lodge of Instruction , I determined to examine the ancient landmarks ; and having in my possession a copy of the first Book of Constitutions , published under the authority of the Grand Lodge of England , together with some of the Masonic authors of the last century , I again read them attentively , which confirmed me in my convictions as to the genuine working and pure unsullied system pursued in our Provincial Lodges , and
consequently the innovations or rather deviation of the London Lodges . Some conversation followed in which it was proposed to bring the matter before the Grand Lodge . I then wrote a letter to the Duke of Sussex on the subject , intending to publish it , but before I had sent it I heard of the illness of His Eoyal Highness , which terminated his earthly career ; my letter , consequently , was not published . But to return from this digression . I was about to account for the opinions I had formed respecting the origin and design of Freemasonry . There is something in first impressions , and it must be admitted that the impression which is
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence.
undoubtedly , is derived from Jewish history and tradition ;* but the sublime truths veiled therein are undoubtedly Christian ; indeed tbe whole scheme of Human -Redemption is veiled in Jewish allegory , and all the types of Christianity contained in the Old Testament arc , or were , incorporated into the Masonic system . Such are my views of Freemasonry , and such , as the Master of a Lodge , is the nature of the instruction I have ever considered myself called upon to afford to the Brethren in the inferior degrees .
You will probably expect that I should assign somo reasons for having arrived at the above conclusion , differing , as it may , from that of others . In the first place , I have never met with any other idea in the provinces ( where , I must say , there is a much closer adherence to the ancient landmarks than among the London Lodges , ) until within the last few years , when distance has been annihilated by the railroads , and manj r of the provincial Brethren have availed themselves of the opportunity to attend some of the Lodges in the metropolis , in order to promote a greater degree of uniformity in the mode of working . It was during
one of those now easy visits , that I attended some of the Lodges of Instruction , and being previously well acquainted with the ceremonies and lectures as hitherto practised in our Lodges in the provinces , that I easily detected variations in thc forms and language . I observed many alterations and omissions ; and you may judge of my surprise when , on closer examination , I discovered that those alterations and omissions were principally confined to those points which had
the most direct reference to some of the most important truths of Christianity . I was not a little mortified ; and being at a loss to account for this essential difference in the mode of working , I afterwards had some conversation with several of the Brethren on tho subject , when one of them called mo aside , and said , " You have touched upon a tender subject , which we cannot well discuss in Lodge , but we must refer you to the Duke f for a solution . " On my return home , I hesitated for some time as to whether I should continue to attend the Lodges as heretofore , but on the next Lodge day I attended as usual , and
hearing the lectures very ably delivered by the W . M . in the usual phraseology , without omitting any of those references to Christianity omitted in the lectures which I had lately heard at the Lodge of Instruction , I determined to examine the ancient landmarks ; and having in my possession a copy of the first Book of Constitutions , published under the authority of the Grand Lodge of England , together with some of the Masonic authors of the last century , I again read them attentively , which confirmed me in my convictions as to the genuine working and pure unsullied system pursued in our Provincial Lodges , and
consequently the innovations or rather deviation of the London Lodges . Some conversation followed in which it was proposed to bring the matter before the Grand Lodge . I then wrote a letter to the Duke of Sussex on the subject , intending to publish it , but before I had sent it I heard of the illness of His Eoyal Highness , which terminated his earthly career ; my letter , consequently , was not published . But to return from this digression . I was about to account for the opinions I had formed respecting the origin and design of Freemasonry . There is something in first impressions , and it must be admitted that the impression which is