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NOTICE . ¦ —«—On and after October ist , the Subscription to THE FREEMASON will be 10 s . per annum , post-free , payable in advance . Vol . I ., bound in cloth 4 s . 6 d . Vol . IL , ditto 7 s . 6 d . Reading Cases to hold 52 numbers ... 2 s . 6 d .

Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

« i>— BIRTH . ROPER-CURZON . —On the 22 nd ult ., at Shortlands , Brigend , S . AA ' ales , the wife of Bro . Edwin P . Roper-Curzon of a son .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

—*—All communications for THE FREEMASON should be written legibly , on one side of thc paper only , and , if intended for insertion in the current number must be received not later than 10 o ' clock a . m . on Thurdays , unless in very special cases . The name and address of every writer must be sent to us in confidence .

The article entitled "Bro . Buchan and Leo" is unsuitable for our columns . EGO SUM . —The Duke of Edinburgh is not a Freemason , and as yet the only members of the Craft who are also members of the Royal Family of England are the ex-King of Hanover ( Duke of Cumberland ) and the Prince of AA ' ales .

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BOOKS RECEIVED . " Too Much Alone , " " City and Suburb , " " The Rich Husband , " "Maxwell Drewitt , " and "Phemie Keller , ' * by the author of "George Geith , " & c . F . Enos Arnold , 49 , Essex-street , Strand .

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TheFreemason, S ATURDAY , O CTOBER I , 1870 .

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TUB FREEMASON is published on Saturday Mornings in time for thc early trains . The price of THE FREEMASON is Twopence per week ; annual subscription , 10 s . ( payable in advance ) . All communications , letters , & c , to be addressed to the EDITOR , I , 3 , and 4 , Little Britain , E . C . The Editor will pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to himbut cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by postage stamps .

The Ancient & Accepted Rite.

The ANCIENT & ACCEPTED RITE .

WE have already given a sketch of several Orders and degrees connected with the Masonic body in the United States of America , and we now supplement it Avith

a few observations upon the position and practices of the Ancient and Accepted Rite in that country . It is , doubtless , well-known to our readers that thc scries of thirty-three

degrees Avere first promulgated by certain enthusiastic Masons at Charleston , South Carolina , in the year 1 S 01 . These degrees Avere unquestionably based upon what was

then called the " Rite of Perfection , " a system which comprised twenty-five grades , and it was alleged by the founders of the Ancient and Accepted Rite that the eight

additional degrees Avere originated and annexed by Frederick the Great of Prussia . But it is now generally admitted that Fritz had nothing to do Avith the

invention or propagation of the Rite , which in reality germinated from the seed sown by Baron Tschoudy and other philosophical French Masons . However , it is at least certain that the cohesion and

consistency which now distinguish the several degrees of this branch of the Masonic family , are mainly due to thc exertions of Bros . Mitchell and Dalcho , of Charleston

The Ancient & Accepted Rite.

So far back as the 20 th December , 1767 , a Brother Henry Francken opened and constituted a "Grand Lodge of Perfection , " or of the fourteenth degree , at Albany , in the

State of New York , and some time since we had the pleasure of reproducing in the columns of THE FREEMASON , a verbatim copy of the singular By-laws adopted by

this lodge . A council of Princes of Jerusalem , or the sixteenth degree , Avas established at Charleston in 178 S , and a Chapter of the 18 ° or Rose Croix , in the city of New York

in the year 1797 . The way was thus paved for the founders of the Supreme Council in 1801 , since which time Councils of the 33 ° have been formed in nearly every nation .

Among our American brethren the Rite is unmistakably popular , as is evidenced by the large number of Lodges of Perfection , Chapters , Councils , and Consistories now

under its control in the United States . A glance at the teachings of the Order will therefore not be uninteresting or uninstructive .

The Rite in America , as in England and other countries where Craft Grand Lodges exist , disclaims all authority over the first three or symbolic degrees of Freemasonry ,

although it is considered advisable to confer these degrees on candidates , according to the " Ancient and Accepted Scottish " system , prior to their promotion to the

grade of " Secret Master , the fourth in the series . In this degree the aspirant is admonished to rise above the earth , and to climb the skies of spiritualj-rnowledge ; for

there , and not upon the earth are Truth and the lost Word to be found . He is informed that each degree in Ineffable Masonry is intended to inculcate a moral lesson , and

the practice of some particular virtue ; that advances are made only by assiduous application , that each step is progressive , and conveys new light and instruction , and that

every doctrine and ceremony has its mystical reference , Avhich is not always apparent at first to thc untutored Mason . Finally he is crowned with the laurel as an emblem of

success in his career as the minister and priest of Truth , and with thc olive , as a symbol of the peace Avhich should ever prevail amongst the servants of Avisdom .

In the fifth degree , or " Perfect Master , " the brethren mourn thc loss and extol the memory of an eminent Mason , Avho Avas indeed a perfect Craftsman . By the funereal

gloom which surrounds them , and by the presence of the melancholy tokens of death , they are reminded of the nothingness of man , and thc immensity of God . They are

adjured to learn and to do , for this is thc work of the soul on earth , and as the tree grows under thc influence of air and dew , rain and light , si thc spirit of man imbibes

knoAvledge and understanding from study and labour . In the sixth degree , denominated " Intimate Secretary , " is related a legend respecting the unwise curiosity of

Joabcrt , a confidcntal friend of King Solomon . For this indiscretion he nearly forfeited his life , but as his intentions were good he was eventually restored

The Ancient & Accepted Rite.

to favour . The precepts of the seventh degree are exceedingly beautiful , the candidate is received as a "Provost and Judge , " and the duties of one who has to

judge his fellow-man are clearly and accurately defined . How true is this passage : " There is scarcely one of us who has not at some time in his life been on the edge of

the commission of a crime . Every one of us can look back , and , shuddering , see the time when our feet stood upon the slippery crags that overhang the abyss of guilt ; and

Avhen , if temptation had been a little more urgent , or a little longer continued—if penury had pressed us a little harder , or a little more wine had further disturbed our

intellect , dethroned our judgment , and aroused our passions , our feet would have slipped , and we should have fallen never to rise again . " Therefore the Provost and

Judge is enjoined to be not only impartial , but mild and charitable in his judgment of others . The 8 ° is called " Intendant of the Buildings , " and his chief employment is

to carry onwards to completion the great Masonic works of charity and benevolence . He is taught to regard the earth as a place for the exercise of the noblest passions , the

loftiest virtues , and the tenderest sympathies . He still advances towards the light which symbolises Truth—moral , philosophical , and even religious truth , so far as

relates to the great and essential principles of each . He is told , " The Sphynx was a symbol . To whom has it disclosed its

inmost meaning ? And who can interpret the eloquent silence of the pyramids ? " As a Knight-elect of Nine , the neophyte reverts to his former doleful lamentations

for his deceased Master . He visits the gloomy caverns of sin where ignorance and vice are smitten by his valiant hand , and he becomes the avenger of

slaughtered innocence . This allegory is continued , and receives further illustrations in thc io ° , or " Elected Knights of Fifteen . " The candidate is then created a sublime

Elected Knight , a degree which is intimately connected with the two preceding grades . The 12 ° is designated " Grand Master Architect , " and unfolds the outline of that

celestial geometry which is more fully elucidated in thc thirteenth and fourteenth degreesnamely , the Royal Arch of Enoch and the Grand Elect Sublime and Perfect

Masterbriefly termed " Perfection , " or thc " Lodge of Perfection . " This is the culminating point of the ineffable degrees , and its lessons are , if possible , more

dignified and solemn than any of the series . The Perfect Mason ' s reAvard is the knowledge of thc true . God , a faint but

lasting appreciation of His nature and infinite attributes , a confidence in His AVI ' Sdom and justice , and an implicit trust in His beneficence and love .

Our space Avill not permit us to extend these explanations to any greater length at present ; but if acceptable to our readers ,

we will continue our remarks upon the remaining degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Rite in a future number .