The Ancient And Accepted Rite.

own commotions , and hold it the noblest ovation to triumph over thy passions . " I was Moses , the leader and lawgiver of the Israelites . I was initiated into the mysteries and wisdom of Ancient Egypt ; and that wisdom

dictated the statutes by which Israel was governed . Thou shalt take no gift , for the gift blindeth the wise and perverteth the words of the righteous . Ye shall do no unrighteousness in

judgment . Thou shalt not respect the person of the poor , nor honour the person of the mighty . Ye shall hear the small as well as the great . Ye rshall not fear the face of man , for judgment is of God . "

And the Senior Counsellor sums up thus : " Thou has heard the words of the great sages , lawgivers , and philosophers of antiquity . Behold ! the monogram of the greatest lawgiver that has ever come among men , and listen

reverentially to his teachings . If ye forgive not men their trespasses , neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses . But if ye forgive men their trespasses , your heavenly Father will also forgive you . With what judgment ye

judge , ye shall be judged . And with what measure ye mete , it shall be measured to you again . If thy brother trespass against thee , go and tell him his fault between thee and him -alone . If he shall hear thee , thou has gained

thy brother . Judge not according to the appearance , but judge righteous judgment . If thy brother trespass against thee , rebuke him , and if he repent , forgive him ; and if he trespass

against thee seven times in a day , and seven time in a day turn again to thee , saying , ' I repent , ' thou shalt forgive him . Blessed are the merciful ; for they shall obtain mercy . "

After which he invests the new Inquisitor with the white collar and the jewel of the degree , warning him that the purity of the

former and the lustre of the latter must never be sullied or dimmed by injustice , inhumanity , or impurity . In a future article we will conclude with the two highest degrees of this ancient and interesting Rite .

WE are requested to state that the Rite of Memphis is not , and never has been , recognised by the Grand Orient of France ; and , further , that it is viewed as an imposition by the heads of the Masonic Order in America , who have

repeatedly denounced the reputed "Sovereign of Memphis , " Bro . Harry J . Seymour , and his colleagues , not only as spurious Masons , but as men unworthy of credit in every respect . We

are also informed that the Rite is impious and atheistical in its teachings , and that active measures are on foot to expose the iniquity of the whole proceedings .

ON Thursday , 28 th ult ., the ancient custom of swearing in of the Sheriffs for the City of London and Middlesex took place in presence of the Lord Mayor , aldermen , and the principal officers of the corporation , the members of the Court of Common Council , the livery , & c . Bro .

F . W . Truscott , P . G . S ., presented himself and was duly sworn in , also Alexander Crossley , Esq ., as his Under-Sheriff . Bro . Young , Prov . G . W . Cambridgeshire , who had been elected to the office , was unable to attend on account of severe indisposition ( an event that had only occurred

twice ) , hut the retiring Sheriff , Bro . Jones , of the Cambrian Lodge , Merthyr Tydvil , who had so ably filled the office during the past year , consented to act until the recovery of Bro . Young . Bro . T . Beard , whom he had appointed his Under-Sheriff , will act in that capacity pro tern . "MORE than a year ago one of my children

was attacked with bronchitis , and , after a long illness , was given up by my physician as 'past cure . ' I was then induced to try your Vegetable Pain Killer , and from the time I began the use of it the child rapidly got better , and is now strong and healthy . — J WINSTAN'IEV , 10 , JVliittle-st ., L'pool , Jan . i 860 . —To P . D . & . Son . "

Illustrations Of The History Of The Craft.

ILLUSTRATIONS of the HISTORY of the CRAFT .

BY A MASONIC STUDENT . PREFACE . In consequence of a good deal of recent controversy , it has been considered

advisable to reprint the first four chapters of these " Illustrations of the History of the Craft , " which appeared , some twelve months

ago in the columns of the Freemason ' s Magazine , and which much family affliction caused the writer to leave thus imperfect and incomplete .

It is now proposed to carry on the original design , and ( D . V . ) to continue the "Illustrations" until the Revival in 1717 . Whatever may be the value attaching to the views and statements of the writer , he

hopes that his brethren will regard the " Illustrations" as a slight and humble effort , on the part of a sincere Freemason , to help forward the attempts of many able and excellent brethren , in America ,

Germany , and England , to arrive at that great " desideratum , " a thoroughly reliable and satisfactory history , of our ancient and world-wide Order . Sept . 23 rd , 1871 .

CHAPTER I . The object of this and the following papers is , to illustrate , if possible , the true annals of the Craft , and to induce a more careful study of its history and archaeology .

They have been written in no controversial spirit , but simply with a desire after truth , that we may accustom ourselves , as Freemasons , more than has hitherto been our wont , to patient study of our evidences , and historical accuracy in our

assertions . Our Masonic writers seem to have accepted far too readily , as regards the records of our Order , the good old adage , " quieta 11011 movere , " as they have all more or less adopted , without

hesitation and without inquiry , unaccredited statements and dubious assertions , for no other reason , seemingly , than because these statements and assertions had been once given forth to the world .

Not that in so doing they ever meant to impose on the initiated or the profane , to put forward an untrue narrative or a fictitious claim , but that they accepted without doubt or demur statements repeated so often that they came at last to be accepted as true !

Hence there has arisen among modern writers a grave distrust of Masonic history , as generally received , andcritical doubts have been expressed as to the validity of our Masonic claims to antiquity : many of our traditional statements are

openly assailed , and the accuracy of the dates we give under authority , relating to persons and occurrences in the past , is questioned and challenged , as we know , from day to day . Mr . Hallam for instance has asserted , that

" Masonic calumniators and Masonic paneygeristsareall equally mendacious ; '' while DeQuincy has said , " I affirm as a fact , established upon

historical research , that before the beginning of the 17 th century no traces are to be met with of the Masonic Order , and I challenge any antiquary to contradict me . ' '

Mr . Gilbert Scott talks of the "fables of the Freemasons , " and we have lately heard much harsher words used , such as " imposture , '' and the like .

Now , it is in order to lead others , even more qualified , to remove this unfair and , as I believe , unjust reproach on the Craft that these papers have been put together . If we are enabled gradually , by reliable

evidence and accurate assertions , to remove doubts , to clear away difficulties , to harmonise anachronisms , and to stimulate inquiry , we shall best

prepare the way , ere long , for a more authoritative and reliable history of our Order than we at present possess . My anxiety has been , and still is , simply , in

Illustrations Of The History Of The Craft.

the cause of Masonic truth , to lay before my brethren the humble results of earnest study and reflection—to give , what is so difficult , " novelty to what is old , and authority to what is new , value to what is obsolete , and light to what is obscure , favour to what is despised , and trust to what is doubtful . " *

May , then , these illustrations of our Craft history be received by my brethren in the spirit in which they have been drawn up—viz ., a sincere love for our useful and valuable Order , and a humble but firm belief in the essential truth of

its ancient legends and time-honoured traditions . To trace the early history of any ancient and useful institution is , in almost every case , a matter of deep interest to the archaeologist , but how much more must it be to the Masonic

student , since the early annals of Freemasonry seem lost in the dimness of ages ; and though it is a subject about which much has been written , yet , after all , how very little is really known about it ?

And if , then , we may have ourselves , with the world at large , anot unnatural curiosity in respect of the origin and progress of a society , of which so much has been said , whether for good or evil , yet it also seems to be our imperative duty to try and giveastraightforwardand intelligible account of this world-wide Order , to trace carefully the

laws which have controlled its progress , to unfold the causes which have led to its success or failure among men , and to submit to all intelligent readers the evidence and the facts , the historical proofs and the undoubted statements , on which we base the conclusion to which we have legitimately arrived .

What , then , is the true history of Freemasonry ? what is Freemasonry itself ? are questions which are often asked , and repeated to this day , with an unmistakeable expression of complacent scepticism . As we know , those of us who have studied the question , the most contradictory and the most absurd theories have been hazarded relative to

its origin and progress . To recapitulate all the different solutions , of what still to some appears an inexplicable enigma , would be also a hopeless task , and certainly an unprofitable waste of time .

We can only notice some of the leading explanations of the rise and continuance of our Order , whether from friendly or hostile writers , and which seem to demand our attention and

deserve our notice . I here are those who seem willing to trace Freemasonry to the loyal adherents of the Stuarts , as preparatory to the restoration of King Charles II ., while others , equally sagacious , would connect it with the hopes and aspirations of the exiled family of King James II .

I here area few who see in Ireemasonry a Jesuit Order ; there are some who regard it as a purely political body—the School of Illumines , the centre of revolution . Probably it is not too much to say , that by far the larger number of writers , it is looked upon as a benevolent association or a convivial club .

In former times it was the wont of many writers , Masonic and otherwise , to connect Freemasonry with the Druids , with the Culdees , and , above all , with the Eleusinian mysteries . ' No doubt Freemasonry is connected , and has ever been , with the history of secret initiation and personal probation , the great characteristic of all the early mysteries .

It may be perfectly true moreover , that Freemasonry possesses in its carefully preserved ritual and traditions some traces of the oral teaching of those early mysteries , but it is not safe , it has always appeared to me , to rely simply on an

esoteric connection , when we are asked , and naturally asked , to give a reasonable account of our outward organization , the channel by which the secrets and mysteries of Freemasonry have been handed down to ourselves .

There are three other theories of Masonic life and history which we must briefly notice . There is the view which links our Freemasonry to some early Christian body , whether