Ars Quatuor Coronatorum*

ARS QUATUOR CORONATORUM *

The Third and concluding Part of Volume IX contains , m addition to a further instalment of " A Sketch of the Earlier History of Masonry in Austria and Hungary" — continued from Vol . VIII ., page 18 S — by Bro . LADISLAS DE MAI . CZOVICII , records of the proceedings at the meeting in October , the

installation meeting in November , and the Conversazione which preceded the latter b y a few days , thc usual Reviews , Chronicle , Notes and Queries , and Obituary , and a portrait of Bro . EDWARD MACHEAN , I . P . M ., together with a Table of Contents and Index to Ili « whole Volume . As regards Bro . OK MALCXOYlCll ' S

"Sketch , " the present instalment forms Chapter V ., and in it are traced the fortunes of the Craft in Bohemia , Austria , and oilier Austrian Hereditary States . The period traversed is from about 1770 to 17 80 , in which latter year the great Fmpress-Oueen MARIA THERESA died . A mass of information , mostly

new to English Alasons , is crowded into this instalment , which , no doubt , will prove hi g hl y instructive reading to the members of the Correspondence Circle and Masonic students generally . The paper that was read b y the Secretary at the October meeting was compiled by Bro . CARL WIEKE , Grand Master of

the Grand Lodge of Hamburg , and treats of l . odge Absalom the premier lodge in the Hamburg jurisdiction . A . perusal of the paper shows that Bro . WlEBE has little faith in the story of Lord STRATHMORE having granted a deputation in 1733 10 11 German Masons to open a lodge at Hamburg , which

subset | ueiitly assumed the name of Absalom . This story he regards as mythical , and dates the ori g in of tbe lodge irom the year 1737 . In the discussion , however , which followed the reading of the paper , Bro . LANE , who was present , inclined to the 1733

theory of the orig in of the lodge , and quoted from the engraved lists of 1 734 and later years in support of his views . Bro . KUPFERSCHMIDT and Bro . Sl-ETH also took part in the discussion , the former furnishing particulars respecting Bro . CHARLES SARRY , under whom the 1737 lodge at Hamburg was

constituted , while Bro . SPETH ' S remarks had reference chiefly to lhc p leasure with -vhich he noticed the desire of our German brethren to take part in the discussion of the important questions considered by Lodge Quatuor Coronati . At the same meeting was

read a paper by Bro . WILLIAM BARLOW , LL . D ., entitled " A Curious Historical Error . " The error in question occurs in the " Constitutions of Freemasons , " published b y the Grand Lodge

of Ireland in 1858 , and is tothe effect that ALFRED THE GREAT was , on the authority of the Venerable BtDE , "initiated at the College in Mayo" in S 72 , the fact being that ALFRED THK GREAT flourished a full century and a half after BEDE .

At the November meeting , Bro . MACBEAN gave place to Bro . KUPFERSCHMIDT , as W . M . of the lodge , but prior to vacating the chair , the former presented the P . M ' s . jewels , which the lodo-e had voted to all its P . Ms ., to those of them who were present at the meeting . Having appointed and invested his

officers , and having delivered the customary address , Bro . KUPFERSCHMIDT read a paper , less comprehensive in its nature than the one he had ori g inall y announced , yet hi g hly instructive , entitled "A Glimpse at Earl y Freemasonry in Germany , " in which the author furnishes particulars as to the Constitution of

Lodge , the Ritual , the Initial Proceedings , the Lodge Room and Lodge Work , the proceedings al the Banquet , and the Clothing . The usual discussion followed , the onl y point of interest raised being the positions occupied b y the principal officers in the lodge . There is also a sketch of Bro . Ki PFERSCH . MlDT ' s Masonic

career contained 111 the speech 111 which Bro . It . F . GOULD proposed the toast of the " Worship ful Master " at the installation banquet . The Reviews include one of Bro . BARNETT ' " Lodge of Honour , " No . 526 , Wolverhampton , which celebrated

its Jubilee in October last , and of P . MACGREGOR CHALMERS ' " A Scots Mediaeval Architect . " Among the matter referred to in "Notes and Queries , " are "The French Lodge of 1755 , " " Dervish Initiation , " the " Most Ancient and Noble Order of Bucks , " and a " German Masonic Charm . "

Accompanying the above concluding Part of Vol . IX . "Ars Quatuor Coronatorum " is the "St . John ' s Card , " 27 th December , 1 S 96 , in which the W . M . and officers of the lodge tender their fraternal greetings to the members of the Inner and

Correspondence Circles . 'Ihe card itself is very prettil y designed , and there is a Frontispiece—Prince IlENRV OF PORTUGAL—in one of thc corners of which will be seen sundry Masonic emblems . This Prince HENRY was a grandson of JOHN OF GAUNT , and a Knig ht ol the Garter , and was the famous PorL 11 gue . se navigator .

* Ars Quit nor Coronalornm . Being- the Transactions of the Lodge Quatuor Coronati , No . 2076 , London . Edited for the Committee by 0 . W . bpeth , P . NT ., Sec . Vol . IX . Margate : Printed at " Ktble ' s Gazette" Ofiice . iSr / ,.

Ars Quatuor Coronatorum*

The engraving from which the portrait is taken is in the British Museum , and is b y SlMON DE PASSE the Elder , the date being circa 1615 . As usual , there is appended a complete list of the members of both Circles , with their private addresses and Masonic qualifications .

Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

We have much pleasure in publishing the following " Copy of the Report of the Examiner to the Cambridge University Syndicate " at the recent examination of the pupils of the above Institution : " To the Secretary of the Local Examinations and Lectures Syndicate of the University of Cambridge , " Sir , —I have the honour to lay before the Syndicate the following Report of my recent examination of the Royal Masmic School , Wood Green .

REPORT . " The total number of boys in the School was 253 . These were divided into six Forms , some of which were subdivided , so that , on the whole , 11 separate Classes were presented for examination . " The four highest Forms , numbering about 150 boys , were examined chiefly by printed papers and written answers , the remaining two Forms almost entirely b }* viva voce questioning * .

" ihe subjects in which papers were set were Scripture , English Grammar and Language , Shakespeare , Scott , English History , Geography , Latin , Greek , French , Arithmetic , Algebra , Euclid .

" WRITTEN EXAMINATION . " Script 11 re . —The books generally read had been I . Samuel and St . Matthew ; but in some cases the Acts had been taken as an alternative for I . Samuel . The results were , on the whole , quite satisfactory , showing what

pleased me well , a steady improvement towards the top of the School , while the work of the highest Form claimed my special notice on account of its great evenness , the four boys who composed this Form all working very neatly and gaining marks for the whole paper that were of almost equal value .

"English Subjects . —Oi these Grammar was certainly the strong and perhaps History the weak subject . But if in History the acquaintance with the details of the special period was slighter than might have been wished , it must , on the other hand , be mentioned that the Upper Forms showed a very good good knowledge of the general outlines of the -whole period .

" In parsing and analysis , all classes did well , and in many cases extremely well . In Shakespeare , too , and in Scott , some very good papers wtre done , and the number of failures throughout the School was small . " A praiseworthy knowledge of the Geography of Great Britain was shown by Form IIIA ., and of Commercial Geography by many in Forms Illn . and IIIc .

"Latin . —Forms VI . and VA . reached a decidedly good average standard in grammar and composition , and the lower classes generally proved to be quite at home in the accidence . For translation subjects , Forms VI . and VA . had been reading Cicero in Verrem and Virgil ' s / Eneid , Book XL , in which subjects a majority of boys reached at least a pass standard , whilst a few did really well . Forms V In . and IV had read a book

of Cesar with similarly good results . " Greek . —Two boys took an elementary paper and satisfied me that they were well up in the accidence of the noun and adjective . Their characters , too , were well and neatly formed . "French . —A searching general paper was very successfully attempted

by Forms VI . and VA . On a less advanced , but still not easy , paper , Form \' n . gained good and , in at least one instance , excellent marks . Form IV ., taking the same paper , showed less strength as a class , though they did well in individual cases . The lower Forms , on easier papers suited to their ages , satisfied me generally in accidence , but often failed when they came to the turning of English sentences into French .

" Ihe translation sent up—from the upper Forms in particular—was highly satisfactory . " Arithmetic . — In Form VI . there was one failure , but all the others in the class gained excellent marks . Form VA ., on the same paper , did well and showed a remarkably even front , except in the case of one boy , who was distinctly in advance of the rest . The other Forms , on papers set to meet their several standards , exhibited much variety in their work , as the marklists will testify .

" Algebra . — Form V . has been ambitious enough to ask for a paper extending to the Binomial Theorem , and one boy at least quite justified the request by gaining upon such a paper , by a most creditable performance , three-fourths of the full marks offered . Form VA . were not of course expected to attempt the whole of the same paper , but several boys did well on the first part of it , and one boy ( who showed , too , some knowledge of logarithms ) very well . The junior classes acquitted themselves , I thought , quite as well , in proportion , in this subject as in arithmetic .

" Euclid . —Forms VI . and VA . had resd six books with great care , and two boys out of four in the Upper Form and one boy in the Lower sent up admirable papers . The work of the rest was good so far as it went , the propositions attempted being for the most part logically written out and accompanied by neatly-drawn figures . Forms V . B and IV . offered two Books ; but not many , in trying the paper , got beyond the questions set upon Book I . "ORAL EXAMINATION .

" I visited the School on Tuesday , October 27 th , and two following days . Having called some time previously and been introduced by the Head Master to all the Staff , I began now at once with Form IIA—the highest of the Classes that had done little or no written work—and , with the help of

their Form Master , I put them through their paces by a rapid viva -voce questioning on all their subjects . From this class I went next to Form 11 B , and so downwards to the lowest . The results , so far as elementary knowledge went , were of at least a good average quality , while the discipline and bthaviaur throughout were , to my observation , perfect .

" Faults , and also excellencies , peculiar to each Class I pointed out at the time of my visit , but I may here further notice that a certain common fault in their viva voce answering seemed to consist in a want of confidence , shown in a disinclination to speak out . Again , though the Reading was nearly always fair or good , the Recitation was poor and afforded nothing approaching to elocution . Practice in simultaneous recitation—the Master