Masonic Service At Manchester.

Rev . Bro . Buswell the second . The Provincial Grand Chaplain of East Lancashire , the Rev . Bro . H . Cottam , M . A ., preached an excellent sermon , suitable for a mixed congregation , composed as it was of many sections of religious faith . One noticeable feature was the presence of a Jewish rabbi , the Rev . Bro . Dr . Marks , and many members of the Hebrew Masonic Lodge , 179 S , of which

Bro . Dr . Marks is the chief officer . The choir was augmented by members of the Fraternity of rare vocal ability , and the singing certainly was excellent . The Provincial Grand Organist , Bro . James Varlcy , P . M . 350 , ably presided at the organ . The choir was under the direction of Bro . VV . Duvnville , P . M . ion . The offertory amounted to £ 20 os . 3 id ., and was in aid

of the East Lancashire Systematic Masonic , Educational , and Benevolent Institution . The following are the names of the principal officers who were present , and of the officers of the Lodge of Truth , under whose warrant this service took p lace : Bros . Geo . Mellor , P . G . D . and D . P . G . M . E . L . ; the Rev . Cottam , P . G . Chap . E . L . ; the Rev . S . Y . B . Bradshaw , P . P . G . Chap . E . L . and Northumberland ; George A . Packwood ,

P . M . S , 2 , P . G . A . D . of C . E . L . ; James Varlcy , P . M . 350 , P . G . O . E . L . ; Robert Caldwell , P . M . ion , P . P . G . Swordbearer ; Ellis Jones , P . M . 1147 , P . G . Treasurer . The officers of Truth Lodge present were Bros . James Taylor , W . M . ; John Edward lliff , l . P . M . ; T . H . Hall , S . W . ; A . Hebden , J . W . ; R . Caldwell , P . M ., Secretary ; J . A . Vincent , J . D . ; Wm . Cox , P . M . and Organist ; " Henry Dawson , P . M ., Ty ler ; and R . R . Lisenden ( Freemason ) .

Services Of The Freemasons' Lifeboat Albert Edward, Clactonon-Sea.

SERVICES OF THE FREEMASONS' LIFEBOAT ALBERT EDWARD , CLACTONON-SEA .

COXSWAIN ' S NARRATIVE . At six o ' clock a . m . on Wednesday , January 19 th , signals of distress were seen from the Middle Lightship . On account of the lowness of the tide the Albert Edward could not be launched until S a . m . ; then'with the nssistnnceof six horses the boat was drawn some distances into the water before she could be got afloat , the wind at East , blowing hard .

On leaving the pier , saw a vessel into the S . E . by S . distant about five miles . The flood tide was just made up , but the boat under the single reefed sail beat toward her . About noon we reached the wreck-, which proved to be a schooner sunk in seven fathoms , with the lower mast heads out of water . Seeing no one on the mast we made for thc . Gunfleet . On nenring the sand we observed a body floating ,

hooked it with the grapnel , but found it so . decomposed could do nothing with it . Wc crossed the sand at the West Buoy and stood towards the Heaps . Spoke a steamer steering E . N . E ., who waved for us to go to the westward ; Seeing nothing on the Heaps or Barrows w-c steered for the Middle Lightship , who reported three sailing vessels and a steamer on the Maplin Sands . On reaching

the first , laying about VV . by N . from the lightship , proved to be a brigantine with a name wc took for Porcia in the forefop . She was abandoned . Seeing a signal from the Maplin Lighthouse , we steered in a S . VV . direction and soon sighted a ship dismasted . On neaving her saw a group standing on one of the deckhouses waving a flag . We made for the port lee bow , which was clear of the raffle .

With a good throw of the loaded cane the crew seized it and hauled our cable on board . The sea was then making a clean breach over her . With some difficulty the crew , eight in number , were transferred from the ship to the lifeboat . She proved to bethebrigantinc 1 Iassclo , of Hagucsund , Capt . Tillussun , from Riga to London , with cargo of oats . The crew had been on the deckhouse since noon of the

Tuesday , having tasted nothing for thirty-three hours . We distributed all the whisky and . biscuits we had in the boat , for which they were very grateful . On leaving about 2 p . m . we sighted another vessel with mainmast gone , bearing west about four miles . On nearing her she proved to be the Martha , of Newport , abandoned . We supposed the crew had walked ashore on to Foulness , Ireland . VVr

then stood towards a steamer which was on the ridge about two miles above the elbow buoy , she being so near the shore that the crew could walk out , and showing no signals , and the tide then leaving the sand prevented us from approaching her . VVe then tacked to the southward and got in the Channel , making the best of our way for Clacton . When about three miles below the

Middle Lightship , saw signals going up from the Mouse Li g htship . The cold being so intense and the crew of the bngantine so near exhausted , we felt sure they would no ! live the night if we went to the Mouse . VVe had great difficulty in keeping- life in them by constantly rubbing their limbs , tliey being afraid they would not hold out until wc reached the land . VVe arrived at Clacton about 4 a . m . on

Thursday , and handed the crew to Mr . Bates , chief officer of Coast Guard , who took- them at once to the Osborne Hotel , where all their wants were soon attended to . In addition to these services the Albert Edward made a noble effort to safe a portion of the crew of the ill-fated Indian Chief , but was unfortunately unsuccessful . ^ The boat was out on that occasion twenty-four hours . For all

these services the National Lifeboat Institution has made very liberal payments to the crews of lifeboats , andin reference to the services of the boats of the Institution generally , we may mention that during the recent storms they have saved the following shipwrecked crews : French Ketch Mawae de Ciel , 4 ; Dutch Steamer Enerst , 7 ; Spanish Brigantine Rosseta , S ; Ship Indian Chief , of

Liverpool , 12 ; Barque Herthn , of Christiansund , rendered assistance ; Brigantine 1 Iassclo , of Hagucsund , S ; Schooner Minnie Coles , of Southampton , saved vessel and crew ; Brig Visitor , of Whitby , G ; S . S . Trafalgar , of London , 23 ; Barque North Wains , of London , 21 ; Schooner Rosa Josephs , 5 ; Smack Fishguard Lass , of Abersoch , 3 ; Schooner Miss Bock , of Carnarvon , 5 ; Fishing Boats

Magdalen and Star of Peace , 12 ; ' 1 wo Fishing Boats of Berwick on Tweed , saved bonis and 9 ; Fishing Coble Lively , of Kedcar , 2 ; several Fishing- Cobles , rendered assistance ; Sloop Ruby , of Goolc , assisted to save vessel and 2 ; Norwegian Schooner , 3 ; Brig Matilda , nf Gothenburg , rendered assistance ; and Brig G ) 'da , of Swensdall , 9 . Total 143 lives , besides four vessels .

Old Matured Wines and Spirits . —J . E . Sn , ixn & Co ., Wine Mcrchnnls ( Kxperts and Valuers ) , 2 , Albert Mansions , Victoriastreet , London , S . W . Price lists on application . —[ Aovr . ]

Esoteric History Of Freemasonry.

ESOTERIC HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY .

WILLIAM J AMES HUGHAN . All who have taken interest in the Ancient and Accepted Masonic Rite will be aware of the immense services rendered to that body by one of its chiefs , General Albert Pike , of Washington , District of Columbia . 1 have had the good fortune " to receive copies of the Official Bulletin of the Supreme Council , as issued , and have many times essayed

to write a notice of a part , but never managed to compile aught satisfactory ; for the contents are so varied , curious , and suggestive , that a single article would be useless . At length ! have decided to deal with any separate contributions—brief and suitable for the Craft generally—from the pen of Bro . Albert Pike , and for the first attempt have selected one with the above heading . The author ; begins , "There is little of intrinsic value in published Masonic

history , consisting , as it does , in the mai . i , of monotonous details of occurrences that cease to be of interest to anyone the day after their happenings , and of wranglings and controversies about trifles . " Surely , if this account be true , we must all feel that the less we have of "Masonic History" the better , and true it is of much that has passed muster until the last few years . Taking the statement as in the main of a retrospective

character , it cannot be denied that the intrinsic value of most Masonic works is very little indeed . Happily , however , the facts of Masonic history have been-sought after lately , and there are now published works which cannot be described in tine ' s terms herein referred to , for they are accurate and trustworthy accounts of the Craft . Then I read , " But there is an inner history of Masonry as yet unwritten , and as to which the written records do

not help us . Masonry has no traditions , for what it calls such , and its legends , are all of modern manufacture # * # _ ' » Granted . There is an inner history , and to secure its realisation and publication Bro . Pike has done much himself in his several works , but its appreciation and understanding does not depend so much on printed matter as in careful Masonic study , and to the Craft generally , I fear this question will remain as much a mystery as to the

profane . As a matter of fact , the symbolic in Freemasonry is more truly hidden than even what we term itssecrets , and the revelation thereof , save to the truly initiated , is certain not to be accomplished . To the enlightened Mason there is not an old word or custom , not a "' sign " or a " tool " that fails to contribute hints as to the old inner life of the Society , and the true method of interpreting- its rituals and ceremonies . "The symbolism of Masonry is its life . * *

Degrees arc mere vehicles ol its doctrine . 1 ruly so , but whilst agreeing with this definition , so terse and . suggestive , I fail to comprehend how my brother can state there are no old Masonic traditions when so many copies still exist of the Masonic charges from the fifteenth century , and these apparently being but transcripts of . still earlier documents . May wc not fairly claim for the" St . Alban ' s , " " Edwin , " and " York- " traditions and antiquity sufficient to constitute

them worthy of consideration and respect ? 1 touch not on how far they are historically correct , but as old traditions they have been accepted by Operative and Speculative Freemasons alike , for very many centuries . As to Degrees , I have long maintained their modern institution , for to be a Degree , as I understand the term , there must be something esoteric , to be revealed only to those elected , and kept from all others . Brother Pike says Ancient Craft Masonry

consisted of but "the two Degrees of Apprentice and Fellow Craft ; and so its own Constitutions undoubtedly prove . The Master ' s Degree was added afterwards . '' 1 ask for inforni . itioii . What "Constitutions" prove this ? Where is to be found this evidence of antiquity of the first two Degrees ? It is clear that no proof whatever has yet been submitted of any Masonic Degrees being worked before the last century , understanding the term to mean separate ,

distinct , and secret ceremonies known only or communicated to a privileged few , to the exclusion , for a time at least , of others who nevertheless were still members of the Fraternit ) -. This is my claim , made on behalf of several earnest and devoted students , such as Bro . Robert Freke Gould , who lias done a noble part historically for the Society in the publication of his " Four Old Lodges and their Descendants , " & c . With Bro . Pike ' s warm recommendation of

Grand Secretary Lyon's History of the "Lodge of Edinburgh , " & c , 1 thoroughly concur , but I cannot accept the following : " It proves to us that the old charges and constitutions were originally Scottish . " I quite believe that " what is now known as Freemasonry succeeded thcatsociations of Operative Masons . " I am not aware of any old document which even claims a Scottish origin for these "Old Charges . " Before me are

copies of all the known Masonic MSS , relating to this subject , and so far from their tending in the direction stated , they decidedly lean towards an English origin ! All the versions of the general Masonic charges or Operative Constitutions contain the St . Alban , Edwin , and York legends ( vide the Melrose , Atcheson Haven , Aberdeen and Kilwinning—Edinburgh MSS . ) , and in some of them are curious references to the King of England .

The "Melrose MS . No . 2 , " a transcript of one of 15 S 0 , circa provides for the following agreement amongst others : " Be you treu to ye King of England without treason or any other falsehood , " and a similar clause occurs in the " Kilwinning-Edinburgh " MS . of 1 G 70 , circa , " Also that ye should be leidgemen to the King of England without treason or any other falsehoode . " The various MSS . of a purely local character , such as the "St . Clair MS . " 1 G

00-2 S , " Shaw's Statutes , " 1598 , & c , I need not consider , as the } ' contain nothing in confirmation of Bro . Pike's statement '; hence 1 cannot but discard such a view of the origin of the Craft , because not proven . General Pike ' s next declaration is , "Two things are clear , that the English Freemasonry of 1717 was not the earliest nor the only pure and true Freemasonry ; and that the Freemasonry of our Blue Lodges is a very different tiling in many ways from the original English

Freemasonry . " These concise and , to many , startling assertions 1 believe to be true , and completely in accordance with what we know of the past and present history of the Society . Indeed , in some respects , we should go farther , and say that the " Blue Lodges " need not be singled out , for all modern Masonry , by whatever denomination it is known , is vastly different from what Freemasonry was in the olden time . Of that there cannot be a doubt , though what little has been retained ( of the little that could be ) , 1 presume is mainly , if not exclusively , to be found in the

Esoteric History Of Freemasonry.

"Three Degrees" as now worked , though I envy not the man who undertakes to point that little out ! Lodges were working- in Scotland , and also in the north of England , when the Craft was , what is called , " revived , " in London , 1716-7 , and there are many more evidences of the vigour and character general ^ of the Craft in Scotland as a secret operative Fraternity from 1600 to 1720 than in all the world beside . This fact is certainly curious and

suggestive . That lodges of Freemasons were working in England and Scotland long before the last century is quite established . In the north there are records extant of lodge meeting's dating from the first decade of the seventeenth century , and many singular details of these assemblies have yet to be duly noted and appreciated . On Masonic Symbolism , General Pike , as far as I know , is without an equal , and so I am content to accept his

beautifully worded principles and explanations of our symbols , unquestioned and with due admiration . How far , however , we should acknowledge that " the presence of these symbols proves that men who were adepts in the Hermetic Philosophy made the ceremonials of the Blue Degrees , " is not for me to say in a short article , especially as the same brother states that " to the ^ ommon Craftsman these meanings were unknown . " It is surely a hard and

dogmatic assertion to observe that "English Masonry has always been an utter stranger to that which constituted the very soul and essence of Freemasonry , as possessor ot ancient symbols , and as created by the adepts who helped to frame , if they did not wholly frame , the Blue Degrees . " Nowhere to-day have we Freemasonry consisting of the Three Degrees but it has emanated from England , or in other words the Grand Lodge of 1717 is the parent , directly

or indirectly , of every other Grand Lodge in the world , so far as a knowledge of the Three Degrees is concerned . Bro . Pike remarks that "in 1717 Masons' lodges are for the first time heard of in England . " Not at all ! Ashmole was initiated in a Masonic Lodge at Warrington , according to his diary , in A . n . 1 G 4 G , and we know a lodge assembled at Alnwick as early as 1701 . There are indications of

others likewise . The various important queries as to the Jacobite tendencies of our early brethren of the Grand Lodge of England I must consider another time . In an article of only some three pages it would be difficult to find the fellow of the one under review , for suggestiveness and value to the Alasonic student .

Goethe As A Freemason.

GOETHE AS A FREEMASON .

Herr Pietsch , of Leipzig , has just published a full and annotated edition of his interesting essay as Goethe as a Freemason ( " Jnhann Wolfgang von Goethe als Freimauer " ) which he delivered as a festival oration at the Goethc-Centcnary , on June 23 rd , 1 SS 0 . Very few persons , even amomgst Goethe's biographers , knew that the great

poet belonged to the Order ; and even the few who were aware of the fact will learn many details that are new to them from Herr Pietsch's diligent researches into Goethe ' s relations with the Brotherhood and his Masonic activity . It was on the 13 th of January , 17 S 0 , at the close of his tour in Switzerland with the Duke Karl August , of Weimar , that the poet first applied for reception , and his application

was made to the Master of the Lodge Amalia , Baron von Fritsch , Goethe ' s special adversary at the Court of Weimar . Herr Pietsch prints the letter of application . In it the poet says that he has been moved to apply for admission into the Fraternity in order that by acquiring the title and privileges of a Freemason he may come into closer contact with a number of eminent persons whom he has learnt to esteem .

" This social feeling alone , " he adds , "has moved me to ask for reception . " As an Apprentice , the great poet was most zealous and painstaking in the fulfilment of his duties , and co-operated actively in assisting the needy , as , for instance , at the conflagration at Gross-Brembach . " Masonic echoes , " says Herr Pietsch , are to be detected in all the works written by Goethe after the year 17 S 0 , and

particularly in his letters to Charlotte von Stein . On the 5 th of February , 17 S 2 , Goethe and his Sovereign , the Duke Karl August , were admitted at the same time to the Degree of Master Mason . Strife afterwards arose , and the Lodge Amalia was suspended from 17 S 3 to 1 S 0 S . In 1 S 10 Goethe was nominated Master of the lodge ; but he declined the honour with so much decision that the offer was not

repeated . He frequently officiated , however , as Orator ( Redner ) . On the 23 rd of June , 1 S 30 , he celebrated his fifty years' jubilee as a Mason . The address delivered to him by the Lodge Amalia on this occasion is printed in its entirety by Heir Pietsch . —The Globe .

Prince Leopold On Art For The People.

PRINCE LEOPOLD ON ART FOR THE PEOPLE .

The first meeting of the Kyrle Society has been held in the Town Hall , Kensington . Prince Leopold , the President of the society , was in the chair , and Princess Louise , the Vice-President , was also present . His ROYAL HIGHNESS said that the primary object of

their meeting was to consider suggestions for forwarding the objects of the National Health and Kyrle Societies for reducing the mischiefs arising from the present excessive production of smoke in the metropolis , but before calling on the gentlemen to move their resolutions he was anxious to make a few remarks on the work of the society in which lie took a deep interest . The germ of the Kyrle Society

was in a letter written by Miss Mill , entitled " A Suggestion to those who have Beautiful Things , " which contained an irresistible appeal for aid and sympathy in her wish to "diffuse a love of beautiful things among our poorer brethren . '' It was gratifying to observe from the reports of the society how steadily the sphere of its action had extended . No surer testimony could he given to the fact

that the Kyrle Society was supplying a crying need than was afforded by the spectacle of volunteers enrolling themselves year after year in the ranks of the society . One of the first objects of the society was to secure the preservation ol open spaces in poor neighbourhoods , for the purpose of laying them out as public gardens . His

Koval Highness related the history of the movement in which the society took part , which resulted in the acquirement of Burnham Beeches by the Corporation of London , and in the resolution of the Surrey justices to preserve the site of Horscmonger-lane Gaol . The justices , he said , had decided to keep the ground in their own hands , and had referred to a Committee the question of the best means