Bro. J. C. Parkinson, P.G.D.

journey from Pesth , which rests on the ledge of the bookcase , turns the conversation abruptly from literature to viniculture ; and as you chat pleasantly of many countries , you cross the entrance-hall to the diningroom , where you see Mr . W . P . Frith ' s portrait by himself , commenced in 1 S 39 and finished after a lapse of thirty years , and the Queen Anne plate

presented to Mr . Parkinson by Sir George Elliot , "in recognition of important services . " In the corridor outside you are interested in the romantic reminiscences of a rack of walking-sticks . Henry M . Stanley cut one at Ujigi , " where I found Livingstone , " and gave it to J . C . Parkinson : Max Wirth gave him another at Vienna in 1885 ; in 1880 he brought one from Bombay , and in 1 S 6 9 another from Jericho .

Ml you see in this historic Victoria-street flat begets a craving for knowledge , and you return with your companion to his study in the hopes of hearing something of his life before he forsook , to a certain extent , the domain of literature for that of finance . Joseph Parkinson comes of a race of successful merchants : he received his earliest business training in the York City and County Bank at Malton , in the heart of the country sacred

to horse-rac . ng and training stables . He remembers affectionately many northcountry worthies of the Turf , the ringing of the church bells when a Malton horse was victorious , and the falls and rises of the local banking accounts in accordance with the varying fortunes ot the Malton stables at Doncas ' ter or Epsom . Lord Ossington gave him a place in the Revenue Department at Somerset House , and it was there that he made the

acquaintance of Alfred Dickens , who helped him to gain his first footing in journalism and literature . The Civil Service was then a terra incognita ; the signification of " something under Government" was as vague as that of " something in the City ; " but Mr . Parkinson produced a concise manual which made the lunctions of the new Commissioners in Cannon-row clear to the general public . His colleagues had hardly recovered from their astonishment at his audacity when the adroit handling of a weekly letter to

a provincial newspaper introduced him to Mr . J . R . Robinson , of the Daily News . His graphic and minute account of the execution of the " Flowery Land " pirates was read aloud to a crowded House of Commons , and his success as a contributor to the London press was soon assured . Then came the time of Poor Law reform , and Mr . Parkinson espoused the cause of the weak with much eloquence and energy . In a short while , Joseph Parkinson had become a prolific writer of articles to order , and Charles Dickens welcomed him on the stall of All the Year Round . Some of the commissions

he received for work from the great novelist are well worth recording . Here is a random specimen from Mr . Parkinson's album which has never yet seen the light : "All Year Round Office , 12 th Feb . 1867 . I want the most ferocious and bitler attack made upon the President of the Poor Law Board , under the title of ' What is Sensational ? ' which can possibly be made by

you , a writer who respects himself and his vocation Is it sensational to be poor , abject , wretched , dying ? . . . . Is the commonest humanity , the narrowest charity , sensational ? What is this official's view of the New Testament ? A sensational performance , surely ! The Good Samaritan ? A ( highly sensational character ! The Twelve Apostles ? What a sensational dozen ! Their Divine Master ? Inconveniently and notably sensational ! "

Two years later , Mr . Parkinson published a volume of his collected sketches , entitled " Places and People , " beginning with Jamrach ' s and ending with Sunday dog-shows . He is next seen amongst lshmail Pasha's guests at the opening of the Suez Canal , where the Empress Eugenie and the Crown Prince of Prussia met , in happy unconsciousness of the impending war . He visited Palestine and proceeded to India as the

historiographer of the submarine cable . The outcome of the expedition was a second volume , "The Ocean Telegraph . " In 1886 he married a daughter of Sir George Elliot , but continued his literary work with undiminished ardour till 1873 , when he was first associated with his father-in-law in some of the important commercial enterprises in the concerns of which he has ever since played a prominent part . Commerce and finance have

gained what literature has lost . The once brilliant writer in the Daily jVews is now an authority on all questions of exports and imports , the geological leatures of new " winnings , " inventions for securing safety of life in mines , and many other equally abstruse subjects . He has seen the trade of Newport quadruple since he undertook , eleven years ago , the management ol the Alexandra Docks ; he discharges the onerousduties of J . P . and

D . L . for Monmouthshire to the satisfaction of the county , he makes excellent speeches at all kinds of convivial gatherings , and , as becomes an eminent Freemason and Grand Officer , is said to be one of the most effective exponents of the impressive ritual of the Fraternity . He has revived the Needlemakers' Company and the Bard of Avon Lodge , which both enjoy his special protection , and hardly a minute of his working-day

is ever unoccupied . He is generally to be seen in the Row early in the morning , and is rarely missed at " first nights . " He is explaining to you with commendable lucidity the last international copyright complication , when a note comes from Mr . Henry Irving , which compels him to return to the all-important question of the approaching expedition in the Fulda ,

concerning which Mr . Joseph Parkinson entertains the most pleasurable anticipations ; and it will doubtless be a consolation to the Welsh bards and sages who are now assembled in all the panoply of Druidic splendour at Caerwys to know that their talented confrere " Aman " has been within the last few days the guest of the President of the United States , and the object of a festive American welcome .

Ii. Constitutions Of A.D. 1738-46.*

II . CONSTITUTIONS OF A . D . 1738-46 . *

The 2 nd edit , of the Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of England is a much more important work , in a literary sense , than that of the premier volume of 1723 5 ' as the History is of a much more interesting , extensive , and modern character . For the first time we obtain particulars of the " Revival" of 1716-7 , and an accountjof the origin and progress of the first Grand Lodge . The official Records do not begin , strange to say , until

1723 , so that were it not for such a work as the 2 nd edit , of the Constitutions , we should lack an official narrative of the Proceedings from 1717 to then . It is quarto in size , as its predecessor , the Title page being as follows " The New Book of Constitutions of the Antient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons , containing their History , Charges ,

Regulations , & c , Collected and Digested By Order of the Grand Lodge from their old Records , faithful Traditions and Lodge Books , For the Use of the Lodges , By James Anderson , D . D ., London . Printed for Brothers Caesar Ward , and Richard Chandler , Booksellers , at the Ship with Temple Bar ; and Sold at their Shops in Coney-street , York , and at Scarborough Spaw ,

Ii. Constitutions Of A.D. 1738-46.*

MDCCXXXVIII In the Vulgar Year of Masonry 5738 . " The Frontispiece is similar to the one of 1723 , by Bro . John Pine , the Engraver of the "Lists . " Then follows the " Dedication to the Most High , Puissant and most Illustrious Prince Frederick Lewis , Prince Royal of Great Britain , & c . A Master Mason and Master of a Lodge . " This is signed by James Anderson ( the chief Author ot the Work ) , making with the Title vi . pages .

The Arms Plate of the Prince ot Wales is by "J . Pine , Sculp . " The Author to the Reader" beginning at page vii . runs on to x ., also signed by James Anderson , and dated " From my Study in Exeter-Court , Strand , 4 Nov ., 173 S , " in which it is stated "The History is now in three Parts , and each Part in seven Chapters . " At page xi . " The Sanction " is given ( including the approval of the Earl of Darnley as G . M . and the Grand Lodge

on 25 Jan ., 173 S ) , signed by the Marquis of " Caernarvon , " G . M ., John Ward , D . G . M ., George Graham and Andrew Robinson , Grand Wardens , and " John Revis , Secretary , " but bears no date . As the Grand Master however was installed on April 27 , 1738 , the period in which it could occur must have been between then and the end of the year . My impression is that the Book of Constitutions , 1738 , was sanctioned at the Installation Festival by Lord Carnarvon , but that it was intended to have been

published early in the year as at page 199 . " The Approbation of this Book of the Constitutions , " signed by Lord Darnley , and his chief officers is inserted , so that evidently the unpaged sheet of the " Sanction " following immediately after page x . ( with a fine Arms Plate at the back ( really p . xi . ) , utilized from the one engraved for the List of Lodges by Pine ) , was rendered necessary by the unexpected delay . It is quite clear that the volume was not for sale until early in 1739 , for one or more ot the Lodges on the List of those for London was not warranted until that year .

The History proper begins at page 1 of the regular text , Chapter III . ( Part III . ) , at page 106 introducing us to the " Revival " and formation of the Grand Lodge of England , the narrative of which ends at Chapter VII ., p . 159 . Then follow a list of the " Grand Masters or Patrons of the Free Masons in England , from the coming of the Anglo-Saxons to these times , who are mention'd in this Book " ( a curious collection of names ) , the " Old Charges " beginning at page 143 . This Edition of the Laws is

remarkable for an alteration in the premier charge " concerning God and Religion , " in which the new phrase occurs of " a true Noachida , " the older and better form however of 1723 , being again used in 1756 , and later editions . The "Antient Manner of Constituting a Lodge" is then duly detailed ( though some of us think the word modem would have more exactly described the formula ) and then the General Regulations are commenced , those of the " Old" being side by side with the " Neiv , " on each

page . " A List of Lodges in and about London and Westminster " occupying pages 184 to 190 , is an interesting compilation , the numbers running consecutively to 106 , but being all for London and Westminster , the numeration is of no value for comparison .

The " Deputations then follow , Prov . Grand Masters and also lodges in the provinces being included , the list ending with the lodge at Halifax , Yorkshire , of August ist , 1738 , now the Lodge of Probity , No . 61 , but then No . 176 . The " Deputations sent beyond sea , " and other items of information are then printed , and we thus reach page 199 , having the " Approbation , " to which allusion has already been made . Some of the

usual Free-Masons' songs take up the space until 215 th page is exhausted , the following page beginning " A Defence of Masonry , published A . D . 1730 . Occasion'd by a Pamphlet call'd Masonry Dissected , " which , to my mind , is one of the ablest productions ever written or published . I have never heard of , or met with this pamphlet issued separately in 1730 .

A curious composition is then reproduced , entitled " Brother Euclid ' s Letter to the Author Against Unjust Cavils , " which commences about the middle of page 226 , ending at the 228 th , signed " Your true and faithful Brother . Euclid , " ( the 47 th ' problem being depicted below ) , and dated "From our old Lodge , the Horn [ now No . 4 , London ] , in New Palace-yard , Westminster , this 2 d Thursday , or 9 th Nov ., in the Vulgar Year of Masonry

5738 . " [ Old style , of course . j The next two pages are taken up with a list of brethren and'Iodges who encouraged the author , the last two pages ( 231-2 ) having on one side the corrigenda ( addressed to the " Accurate Reader " — " Pray correct these with your pen , or any others you find ; " and on the other an advertisement of works published by the booksellers , C . Ward and R . Chandler , aforesaid .

Apparently J . Robinson , Ludgate-st ., bought the " remainder" of the edition of 1738 , and having cancelled the original title page , he had another printed and inserted , only with the year " 5746 , " instead of 1738 . As the later issue of 1746 must have been but few , compared with that of 1738 , copies are rarely met with , and the work is a curiosity , especially with a frontispiece . The volume was not a reprint , as some suppose ; but in every sense the 1738 edition originally issued , only with a new title page of 1746 as follows : —

" The History and Constitutions of the Most Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons , Containing An Account of Masonry I . From the Creation throughout the known Earth , till true Architecture was demolished by the Goths , and at last revived in Italy . II . —From Julius Ccesar and the first Arrival of the Saxons in Britain . III . —From the Union of the Crowns of England and Scotland , in the Person of King James the First to the present time . To which are added : —

I . —A List of the Grand Masters or Patrons of the Free Masons in England from the coming in of the Anglo-Saxons and their Times , who are mentioned in this work . II . —The Old Charges of the Masons , collected from their earliest Records , at the Command of his Grace the Duke of Montague . III . —The manner of Constituting a Lodge . IV . —The General Regulations of the free and accepted Masons , both Ancient and

Modern , in distinct Columns . V . — -The Constitution of the Committee of their Charity . VI . —A List of the Lodges in and about London and Westminster , with the Deputations of several Grand Masters , for the forming of Lodges in Wales , the remote parts of England , and in foreign Realms .

VII . —The Songs sung at the Lodges . VIII . —A Defence of Masonry occasioned by a Pamphlet called Masonry Dissected , with Brother Euclid's Letter to the Author against unjust Cavils .

By James Anderson , D . D . London : Printed and sold by J . Robinson , at the Golden Lion in Ludgate-slreet . In the Vulgar Year of Masonry 5746 . " [ 1746 . ] In all other respects the issue of 1 746 is that of 1738 , the book not being a reprint , as some state . The frontispice is also the same in each volume , so that , excepting the title page , it is really the same work . Strange to say , the " Constitutions " of 1738 have never been reprinted in England , and only once in the United States .