The Macnab Masonic Ms.*

it was placed in a permanent collection ; the sum to be paid foi the document being devoted to the Masonic Charities . " Accordingly , Bro . HuGUAN at once made arrangements for the purchase

of the copy , nominating the West Yorkshire Masonic Library as its resting-place , " wilh the warm approval and co-operation of Bro . WATSON , who likewise agreed to my condition that it should be named after the recent owner . "

As regards the document thus fortunatel y obtained by Bro . HUGHAN , and entrusted permanentl y lo Ihe keeping of the West Yorkshire Masonic Library , Bro . HuGHAN in his introduction to the MS . describes il as originally " a Roll cf paper measuring

some twelve feet in length and nearl y seven inches in width . " Unfortunately , the Roll has been divided into strips , 14 in number , the margin at the ri g ht hand having , in particular , been cut so verv closely as to cause the loss of a concluding letter or

two . The writing , however , is described as being " very distinct and clear , " and on the whole il is pronounced to be " more correct than the majority of such documents . " It is now carefully mounted throughout on line calico , while at thc foot of thc

scroll , written in red ink by—in Bro . Hi'GHAN ' s judgment—one of the Scribes , appears ( he following addition— " George Websf 1722 , being 27 years old March )" ' 25 . " It is further to he mentioned tbat the MS . "larks the Invocation as well as the

earl y pari of the Traditional Historv before 'Note I pray you , that these Seven are conlayned under Geometry , ' the lirst live lines preserved being imperfect . " It will be seen , however ,

from the copy whicii Bro . WATSON has reproduced with so much care , that the missing portions have been supplied in Italics from the " Roberts Pamphlet , " A . D . 1722 .

In assigning it a p lace in his classification of the Old Charges , Bro . HUGHAN groups the Macnab MS . with the ROBERTS Famil y and briefl y states it as F 5 accordingly ; Fl being the ROBERTS Reprint of 1722 ; F 2 , Grand Lodge , No . 2 , of the latter half ofthe

17 th century ; F 3 , the Harleian , No . 1742 , belonging to thc same period as VJ ; and F 4 , the RAWLINSON , in the Bodleian Library , of the eariv 18 th century period . There are certain varieties in ( he names due to tlie carelessness of the Scribe or Scribes who

wrote it out , "Kda" being given for "Adah" or "Ada ;"' "Nema" for"Naamah ; " " Lasuie " for"Lunie" or"Lucium ;" and " Emcas" for " Emeus . '' Bro . HUGHAN further notes sundry agreements ancl disagreements with the other MSS . of this

group , " Marble" and " Latres , " appearing in all , while the Macnab has " Alemongrecus , " in lieu of " Memon Greens , " and " Annon , " lor "Hiram Abiff , " as in Grand Lodge MS ., No . 2 ; the Harleian and Roberts having "Anon . " The wages paid in St . Alban ' s time are stated as in the other MSS . mentioned

and as in three of the four "Sheep and Lands , is substituted ( or " Lambs . " ft is Bro . iluGUAS ' s opinion , and we consider he is right , in preferring the reading in the Granil Lodge MS ., No . 2 , in the lirst of the Rules— " y tcachinge of discreet

men "—to the " or discredit ! men teaching , " of this , the Harleian , and ROBERTS' MSS . Indeed , the latter expression is meaningless when taken with the preceding part of thc Rule . He

also remarks that the nth and 12 th Rules agree with the Grand Lodge and ROBERTS , except that they are reversed , thc shorter of the two beiiif omitted from the Harleian . Nos . 21 and 22 are

also separately enumerated , as in Grand Lodge and the ROBERTS , instead of being combined as No . 21 in the Harleian , while the Ten Miles limit in No . 23 is common to all . We are further told , among other things , that the "New Articles" which are

incorporated in the MACNAliare onl y to be found in three MSS ., namely , this , the Grand Lodge , No . 2 , and the Harleian , No . 1942 , and in these ( hey are undated , while in the ROBERTS' p rint , in which they are also included , they are preceded by the

heading"Additional Orders and Constitutions made and agreed upon at a General Assembly held at . . . on the eighth Day of December , 1663 . " The MACNAB is further to be noferl as being one of a very small number " of over sixty Manuscri p ts traced " that

contain the "Charge to Apprentices . In short , the MACNAB M . S . has many noteworthy points of merit to recommend it ( o those who delight in the study of our old constitutional Rolls , . and in

our opinion Bro . HL'GIIAN , b y reason of his very able Introduction , and liro . WATSON , b y the great pains and labour he has bestowed on his reproduction , have rendered a very signal service to this branch of Masonic study .

The Macnab Masonic Ms.*

We may add that the " MACNAB Masonic MS . " is very clearly , and , as far as we can judge , very accuratel y printed in pamphlet form , and is to be had of the publisher at the very modest cost of 2 s . 6 d ., post free .

Supreme Grand Chapter Of England.

SUPREME GRAND CHAPTER OF ENGLAND .

The quarteily convocation of the Supreme Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of England , was holden at Freemasons' Hall , on Wednesday evening . Comp . Earl Amherst , Grand H ., presided asM . E . G . Z ., Comp . Col . Townley Caldwell , Grand Superintendent Cambridge , as G . H .. and Comp . John Thornhill Morland , M . A ., Grand Superintendent Berkshire , as G . J . The olher companions present

were—Comps . E . Letchworth , G . S . E . ; Thomas Fenn , as G . S . N . ; Sir George D . Harris , President Com . Gen . Purposes ; W . H . Bailey , G . Treas . ; Richard Horton Smith , Q . C , Dep . G . Reg . ; Baron de Ferrieres , as P . G . S . ; W . Smithett , ist A . G . S . ; John C . Malcolm , 2 nd A . G . S . ; George E . Lake , Dep . G . S . B . ; F . S . Brown , ist G . Std . Br . ; Rowland Plumber , 2 nd ; E . St . Clair , 3 rd ; and H . Lovegrove , 4 th ; 1 . D . Langton ; Frank Richardson , P . P . G . S .,

D . C ; W . A . Scurrah , ist A . G . D . C . ; James Kew , J . Boulton , and G . Graveley , A . G . D . Cs . ; Henry R . Rose , G . Org . ; C . E . Keyser , F . H . Goldney , Thos . H . Gaidiner , W . Vincent , G . H . Hopkinson , C . F . Matier , Wm . Bywater , T . O Brew , A . J . R . Trendell , Gordon Miller , Richard Clowes , J . M . McLeoJ ( Sec . R . M . I . B . ) , J . Lewis Thomas , Sir Bruce M . Seton , W . M . Stiles , Alfred Spencer ,

T . L . Wilkinson , J . J . Thomas , James Stephens , Hugh M . Gordon , G . Mickley , Henry Sutherland , Alfred C . Spmll , George Read , Charles Belton , Dr . H . J . Strong , Robert Grey , General F . Gadsden , Thomas J . Ra-lling , Reginald S . A . Roumieu , Major T . C . Walls , Dr . Clement Godson , J . E . Le Feuvre , George E . Fairchild , and Henry Sadler , G . Janitor . Comps . W . W . B . Beach , G . J ., and Peter de Lande Long attended later in the evening .

Af : er the Grand Chapter had been opened , and the minutes of the Noverrbtr comocation had been read and confirmed , the report of the Committee of General Purposes , as printed in the Freemason last week , was taken as read , on the motion of Comp . Sir G . D . HARRIS , President , seconded by Comp . FRANK RICHARDSON , G . D . C , and ordered to be received and entered on the minutes .

Movi d and seconded by the same two companions , the recommendations in that r < port were adopted . Comp . J GLASS , with respect to the Albion Chapter , No . 2220 , enquired whether it was not pos ; ib ! e that the communications to Woodstock , South Africa , had not reached the petitioners of the chapter . Comp . Sir GEORGE HARRIS said that numerous applications had been made .

Comp . J GLASS thought thai , as the locus was in the Transvaal , there might have been some irrcgulari ' . y with respect to the delivery of the communications .

Comp . Sir GEORGE HARRIS said that the communications had been nude before there was any ( rouble in the Transvaal . Giand Chapter was th » n closed in ancient and solemn form .

Write Rose Of York Lodge, No. 2491, Reception And Dance.

WRITE ROSE OF YORK LODGE , No . 2491 , RECEPTION AND DANCE .

" Freemasons are . a selfish lot ; the chief attraction , nay , tbe very bond of their society lies in the pleasures of the table and they take good care not to extend those enjoyments to others . " Such is the taunt to which ' we all of us at some time or other are exposed . Knowing the injustice of the charge we can , of course , pass it by with indifference , content to let our candid friends find out their mistake when occasion serves , equally undisturbed even though they fail to

make the discovery . We must of course be a worthless , not to say dangerous community , or why should we incur the wrath and invoke the denunciations of Anti-Masonic Congresses ? To us within the pale , the anger and injustice of those whooughttoknowbetter , andthejealous sneers of the envious ignorant are matters of slight concern , as we are careless of the one and contemptuous of the other . We are satisfied that our motives are just , our intentions good , and our objects

unquestionably beneficial . And therewith we are content . Leaving aside the charitable aspect of the question which surely displays anything but selfishness , let us take the social phase . This , as all good Masons know , is one of the charms of our attractive institution . By its means men are brought together who would otherwise perhaps never meet , and unsuspected good points , virtues unknown are revealed and developed , which , but for our peculiar system might have lain dormant , or even have died from lack of cultivation . Let the outiide world

laugh at our customs and rail at our social gatherings , we continue our course with entire unconcern . But enough of this . Let us show by an illustration that we are not quite eaten up with selfishness—not quite so black as we are painted . Take the White Rose of York Lodge , No . 2491 , Sheffield , as a type of hundreds of others ranged under our banners . Established in 1893 , it has been exceptionally fortunate in its Worshipful Masters . Not only have they fulfilled

the necessary Masonic duties of the chair , but they have each in their turn done their best by the successful social functions they have conducted to prevent the stigini of selfishness attaching itself to their lodge . By well-arranged summer outs and capitafiy-ordered winter receptions and dances , they have contrived to make the White Rose of York a popular institution , not alone among the ladies of the families of their own members , but amid those of many others in Sheffield .

Following the lines of his predecessors , the Worshipful Master of 2491 , Bro . William Gun . stone—an account of whose installation appeared in the Freemason of thc 14 th November last , inaugurated on the 25 th ult ., the first social function of his year . In this he was ably and gracefully assisted by his wife , a lady whose genial hospitality at their country residence at Eyam in Derbyshire is so well and widely known . The handsome lodge room at Surrey-stieet was converted into a drawing room , and was fitted up with lounges and bri ghtened by cunningly , arranged