Royal Arch.

Comp . G . Smith , as H . ; and Comp . S . T . Foat , as J . The following junior officers were also installed : Comps . A . J . Hawkes , S . E . ; G . Nash , S . N . ; R . J . Pope , P . S . ; W . H . Gibson and T . Packhana , A . S . The chapter being closed , the companions partook of a sumptuous banquet , served in Messrs . Sayers and Marks' best style . Among those present at the dinner table were Comps . H . Davey ( Mayor of Brighton ) , J . H . Scott , P . Z . ( Deputy Grand

Master of Sussex ) ; V . P . Fr man , P . Z ., Prov , G . Sec . ; J . W . Stride , P . Z . ; W . Huds P . P . Z . ; W . Smith , P . Z . ; Day , M . E . Z . Royal Sussex ; Watts , M . E . Z . Hartington ; Henty , M . E . Z . Cyrus ; R . H . Ellman , M . E . Z . South Saxon ; C . J . Smith , M . E . Z . Yarborough ; Farncombe ( Lewes ); W . T . Clarke , J . Ridge , W . Smithers , R . T . Nye , Sturt Weston , Sayers , Marks , and others . The usual toasts were given and heartily received , and an exceedingly pleasant evening was passed .

DARTFORD . —High Cross Chapter ( No . 829 ) . —The installation meeting of the above chapter took place on Tuesday , the 21 st ult ., at the Bull Hotel , Bro . Bray ' s house , and was a most successful and pleasant gathering . The chapter has for its M . E . Z . one of the most popular and respected Masons in Kent , viz ., Comp . the Rev . W . A , Hill , G . Chaplain England and Kent , while among

its ranks are numbered such Masons as Comps . C . Andrews , W . Russell , Flaxmen Spurrell , T . J . Barnes , G . M . E . Snow , and T . Smith , names in Kent as familiar as household words . The chapter was opened at 3 . 30 precisely by the M . E . Z ., Bro . Hill ; C . Andrews , as H . ; and H . S . Thompson , J . Among the officers and companions present were the following : —Comps . W . Russell , P . Z .,

Scribe E . ; T . J . Barnes , P . Z . ; R . Russell , Scribe N . ; A . Spencer , P . S . ; F . Spurrell , 1 st Asst . S . ; H . Polter , 2 nd A . S . ; H . S . Neate , 2 nd A . S . ; T . Smith , P . Z . ; G . Martin , Janitor ; R . French , T . R . Cnapman , \ V . Hicks , T . W . A . Meah , J . Spurge , C Steatford , G . Churchley , B . K . Sharpe , P . G . H . ; and C . Jolly ( Freemason ) . The minutes of the last meeting having been confirmed , the ballot was taken

for Bro . J . Aillud , 613 , and Bro . G . "W . Mitchell , 700 , which proving unanimous they , with Bros . T . W . Wallis and J . E . Meredith , who hail been previously approved of , were , with the usual ceremonies , exalted to the Sublime Degree of Royal Arch Masons . The report of the Audit Committee having been received , anel proclaimed very satisfactory , the installation of the Principals and

officers took place as follows : Comps . C . Andrews , Z . ; H . G . Thompson , H . ; R . Russell , J . ; R . P . Atkins . Treas . ; W . Russell , P . Z ., S . E . ; A . Spencer , S . N . The whole of the beautiful ceremonies were splendidly worked , Comp . Barnes aiding materially by his perfect knowledge of the ritual . The business being concluded , the chapter was duly closed in solemn prayer , anil the companions

adjourned to a superbly served banquet , specially prepared by Comp . Bray for the occasion . The usual loyal and Arch Masonic toasts having been enthusiastically honoured , that of "Lord Holmesdale , the G . S . of Kent , " was given in eulogistic terms by Comp . Andrews . He said every Mason in the province heard ihe name with reverence and respect . Since his lordship had taken an interest in

Masonry it had increased greatly , and Royal Arch Masonry had under his lordship's guidance taken great strides in the province . He asked them to drink the toast with all the enthusiasm it deserved . To the toast of " The Grand Officers of the Province , Present and Past , " Comp Barnes , whose name was coupled with it , replied , and thankee ! them for the hearty manner in ivhich they had received it .

He thought they perhaps might have let him off and placed the honour of it in the hands of Comp . Thompson , who had been sufficiently long in office to take the responsibility upon his own shoulders . In the course of a most able address , Comp . Barnes was repeatedly cheered , and gave way to Comp . Hill , who rose to propose the toast of the evening , that of "The M . E . Z ., Ceimp . Andrews . " He

said nothing gave him more gratification than to have the privilege of proposing the toast . He was now about to ask the companions to do honour to it—it was that of their esteemed M . E . Z ., who that day had achieved the highest position in the chapter . That was not the first occasion by a great many that they had bad the opportunity of meeting Comp . Andrews , and it was totally unnecessary

for him to say that he ( Comp . Andrews ) was second to none in carrying out any anel every duty entrusted to him , especially in Freemasonry . In the High Cross Chapter they only would have goeid men as their officers , and they looked for efficiency in their M . E . Z . He felt this Comp . Andrews had earned , and trusted he might be spared for many years to enjoy the respect and esteem in which he was

held , not only by every member of that chapter but by every Alason in the Province of Kent . Comp . Andrews , in response , expressed his regret mat ill-health had prevented him not having the opportunity of being with them during the last two years so much as he should have hked . He looked forward to the time when he should be so enabled to carry out the high duties placed in his hands as would cause them never to regret having placed him

there . During the time Comp . Hill had held the position he now occupied he had honoured and dignified it . He should endeavour to follow in his footstep ? , and if he did so he should have no lent ol their approval at the expiration of his term of office . " The Exaltees " were then toasted and responded . An excellent address from Comp . Russell followed the toast of " The Officers of the High Cross Chapter . " Comp . Jolly returned thanks for " The Visitors , " and shortly after the proceedings closed .

The first meeting since the consecration of the Duke of Cornwall Lodge , No . 18 39 , was held at the Freemasons' Hall on Thursday last , Bro . J . W . Brooke , W . M ., presiding . During the evening Bro . Lieut .-Col . Shadwell H . Clerke ably delivered the Lecture 011 the Second Tracing Board . A full report will appear in our next .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

Masonic Notes and Queries .

CHARLES MARTEL . It is no doubt true that the worels " Charles Martel " do not occur in Matthew Cooke ' s MS ., and so far my esteemed friend Bro . Hughan is perfectly correct ( as he generally is ) , in the " letter . " But in the " spirit" of the Guild legend he is , I venture to think , not so , and that Bro . Fort may fairly claim the evidence of Bro . Cooke ' s

MS . For the Charles Martel , or Charles Marshall , can only be the real " Charles Martel" alluded to in the old French Guild Regulations , —quoted by Depping , — and who , the son of Pepin d'Heristal , and born about 6 S 9 , died in 742 . The fact brought out is in this old tradition , that , like Athelstan , he gave privileges and charters to the operative Guilds . It is impossible to rely too much on the

mere "dicta" of Guild legends , which often betray confusion , and are marked by anachronisms . Suffice it for us if the salient points remain intact and matters of historical fact . Such I conceive to be the case as regards " Carolus Secundus , " by whom , indeed , the Masonic scribe may mean the actual Charles the Second who made many regulations for various bodies . But

Charles Martel is the person to whom the old Guild Traditions assigns the patronage of the "Craft . " If we understand the olel Norman French rightly , he made the " Macons " free of taxes and military service . Bro . Hughan is quite right , therefore , in saying that no mention of " Charles Martel " nominatim occurs in the Halliwcll or Cooke MSS .,

but there is in Cooke ' s MS . a reference to a French King Charles , or Carolus Secundus , who , in all probability answers , ( as no other is known or alluded to ) , to the Charles Martel of the prose constitutions . The earliest prose constitution in which " Charles Martel"' is found

is Dowland ' s , if its antiquity can be maintained , and there the words " Charles Martel" are found , in conjunction with a certain "Mam us Groecus , " whoever he may really be . In the Lansdown we have the words " Charles Marshall . " I note Bro . Gould's remarks , and will allude to them again ( D . V . ) next week . A . F . A . W .

THE SUATUOR CORONATI . I hope to publish in the December number of the " Masonic Magazine" the Martyrology in the Arundel MSS ., in Latin and English , and which is a 12 th century MS . The names of the Coronati occur in the Sarum Missal , nth century , and as that was based on others , we probably go back to the 8 th century . But what I am anxious to know-is , which is the earliest MS .

Service Book known in which the names are to be found ? The mere fact of the pious legend being well known in the 1 ith century is an answer to my good friend Bro . Findel ' s theory of the German origin of English Masonry . Rome is again the source of the Christian legend as of the operative Guilds , and this very fact becomes an historical point of no little importance . A . F . A . W .

THE MELROSE MS . No . 2 . In the Freemason for September 13 th , 1879 , the date 1583 should be 1674 , the former being an unaccountable error . The fects are these—The Melrose MS . is a transcript made in December , 1674 ( by , apparently . Andro Mein ) from a still older MS . of A . u . 1581 , or earlier . The record at the end of the MS . of 1581 is the only clue at

present to the date of the original , but of course may have been added some years after the original MS . itself was written . The addition is simply a certificate from a " Master Free Mason " to Robert Wincester , a Mason , and probably relers to the latter having completed his lime as an Apprentice , A . I > . 1581 . This MS ., which we style Melrose MS . No . 1 of 1581 , was transcribed in the Records

of the Melrose Lodge during the first four days of December , 1674 , by "A . M . " ( Andro Mein ) , and is so dated , "Anno MDCLXXUil . " The " Melrose MS . No . 1 " is still untraced , but the copy of 16 74 is the one discovered by our indefatigable Bro . Vernon , of Kelso , from

whom I have hail the foregoing particulars , and I desire to have it known by the name of the "Melrose MS . No . 2 . " I am now anxiously waiting for Bro . Vernon ' s careful transcript of the latter MS ., and trust that these facts , brief , because all we havejat present , will serve to correct the errors kindly pointed out by Bro . " W . P . B . " W . J . HUGHAN .

"THE HOLY MARTVRES FOURE . " Referring to the " Masonic Cyclopaedias" respectively edited by Bros . Woodford and Kenneth Mackenzie , I find the earliest reference to this legend recorded by the former under date of the eleventh , and by the latter uneler date of the fifteenth century . In a former note I have shown the actual existence of the tradition at Canterbury in the

seventh century , and now submit a few remarks from which it may not unreasonably be inferred that a belief in the " four blessed coronati" was prevalent in Britain some centuries earlier . Bro . Mackenzie ( " Royal Masonic Cyclopaedia " ) , quoting , I imagine , from the " Roman Breviary " of ' 474 , assigns Nov . 8 , A . u . 287 , as the date of martyrdom . This , though coinciding with the era of St . Alban ' s

decapitation , given by writers of the Craft , is scarcely historically correct . Gibbon says ( " Decline and Fall , " vol . 2 , p . 458 ) -. — " Notwithstanding a celebrated era of martyrs has been deduced from the accession of Diocletian ( 284 ) , the new policy , introduced by that prince , continued , during more

than eighteen years , to breathe the mildest and most liberal spirit of religious toleration . " This writer , therefore ( at p . 468 ) , places the first edict against the Christians ( temps Diocletian ) at February 24 th , A . D . . The author of " The Life of St . Alban , " in the " Biographia Britannica , " likewise dates his martyrdom at 303 . The prosecution cf

Masonic Notes And Queries.

the Christians was very thorough everywhere but in Britain ; their immunity from repression in these islands being due to the clemency of Constantius , of whom Gibbon ( p . 478 ) observes : — " The provinces of Gaul ( under which we may probably include those of Britain ) were indebted for the singular tranquillity which they enjoyed to the gentle interposition of their sovereign . " It is , therefore ,

I think , fairly deducible that churches in honour of the victims of A . D . 303 would most probably be first of all erected in that part of the empire where a spirit of toleration alone prevailed . According to Mr . Coote ( " Romans in Britain , " p . 414 ) " St . Germanus visited the martyrium . of St . Alban at Verulamium in the fifth century ; " and this learned writer not only dates the Christianity of our

island from the epoch of St . Alban ' s martyrdom ( A . D . 303 ) , but adduces abundant evidence in favour of its continuation and perpetuation down to the arrival of St . Augustine . Of the sudden stoppage of the fire , which ravaged the city of Canterbury , A . D . 619-624 , on its reaching the martyrium of the " four blessed coronati , " Mr . Coote ( at p . 420 ) observes : — " Now Beda ' s account of the

circumstance demonstrates one of two facts—either the martyrium contained the bodies of the saints , or the martyrdoms had taken place upon the spot where the church was afterwards built . Bur . in either case the martyrium must have been , erected about the time when the woik of Satan was committed . " This writer seems to be of opinion that the martyrdom of the " coronati " was of home manufacture .

A passage , however , cited by him on a previous cage of his work ( 419 ) will make his meaning clearer : —'" By Canon 14 of the 19 th Council of Carthage , no church could be built for martyrs , except there were on the spot either the body or some certain relics , or where the origin of some habitation or possession , or passion of the martyr had been transmitted from a most trustworthy source . " R . F . GOULD .

I recently came across a part of the title page of a Masonic work , on which was " The only genuine eelition—Jachin and Boaz ; or , an Authentic Key to the Door of Freemasonry , both Ancient and Modern . " On the margin , in pencil , " 1812 . " Can you inform me if this is a well-known book , and of any value or otherwise ? J . W ., P . M . 6 99 .

Prince Leopold At Oxford.

PRINCE LEOPOLD AT OXFORD .

The annual meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Oxforelshire took place at Oxford on Wednesday , the 29 th ult . The Prov . Grand Master , H . R . H . Prince Leopold accompanied by his Private Secretary , arrived at Oxford , at 2 . 13 on Tuesday , and proceeded to his rooms in Christ

Church . On Wednesday afternoon the Provincial Grand Lodge was openeel in the Apollo University Masonic Hall , H . R . H . presiding , when the usual Masonic business was transacted and the officers for the ensuing year were appointed and investcei . All the lodges in the province were

well represented , there being a large attendance of Past Masters and brethren . The annual banquet took place in the Claiendon Assembly Rooms in the evening , which was also well attended , and the proceedings throughout were of a very interesting character . We shall g ive a full report in our next issue .

Masonic Funeral At Plumstead.

MASONIC FUNERAL AT PLUMSTEAD .

The mortal remains of Bro . Robert Lister , one of the oldest members of the Pattison Lodge , No . 913 , for some five years past Tyler of the lodge , were conveyed to their last resting place at Old Plumstead Church yard on Saturday , the 23 th ult ., in the presence of a large assembly of the brethren of the district and friends , who in life knew his

sterling qualities as a man and abrothet , anel who sorrowed for him in death . Our eiear brother was only 48 years of age , and occupied an important position at Messrs . Siemans , Bros ., the distinguished telegraphists and electricians at Charlton , near Woolwich , and we may say in reference to his position of Tyler to the Pattison Lodge , that he merely filled the office through his love for Masonry .

The emoluments arising from the office were in no instance received by him , hut were handed over to a brother , who holds several similar positions in the Woolwich district . Bro . Lister was a native of Leeds , in Yorkshire , and had been employee ! in Her Majesty ' s Arsenal for many years . He was in his earlier days one of the best bowlers in Woolwich , anil many an old cricketing brother living

around the Metropolis will remember poor Robert s left hand twisters . " lie was one of the eleven Englishmen some seventeen years ago chosen to play against an eleven of the inhabitants of Boulogne , in France , and to his fine bowling the victory achieved by the ' p : rfide Albions " was by both friends and foes attributed . Among those assembled around his grave were , of his

o-, vn lodge , Bros . Lloyd , W . M . ; C . Coupland , P . M . and P . P . G . J . W . Kent . ; E . Denton . Sec , and P . P . P . Kent ; T . D . Hayes , P . M . ; Widgery , Day , Capon , Allen , Ozer , Joskey , Watts , Grant , Ginman , Mabbctt , and Jarvis . Of the Union Waterloo , No . 13 , Bros . N . Brown , S . W . ; H . Syer , J . W . ; Hodgkisson , P . M . ; and J . Bell . Of the Cornwallis Lodge , Bros . ( largerand Peschlar . Of the Capper

Lodge , Bros . Knox , P . M ., and Risch . Of the Sydney Lodge , Bros . Moulder , S . W ., and Coombes . Bros . Gregg , Franklin , and C . Jolly , 913 ( Freemason ) . There was a large concourse assembled , and the principal foremen and employes at Messrs . Sieman ' s followed in

procession the funeral cortege ; and so has gone to his rest a good man and a good Mason , kind , generous , and loving ; his memory will ever be green in the hearts of his sorrowing family , friends , and brothers in Plumsteadaye , and wherever and to whom he was known in both private and Masonic life .