Tylers And Tyling.

the ( irand Lodge , ni-knnwledgoiiig liis great Neglect and insolent Behaviour , and I ' aillil ' iilly promising for the future to take more care , and to behave decently . " ' I have reason to believe that Grand Lodge did not '' si ricl Iy pursue ( heir resentment , "' for when , a few yeais later , liro . Lewis pres-Mited a petition for relief , it was rei ' ei'reil to the (' oiuiniuec of Charity , anil , on the recommendation of that biidv , the ( irand Lodge voted him It ) guineas for hi . s immediate relief .

This outrageous act ol spoliation "which might have been attended wilh serious conseipieiu-es , '' especially to poor liro . Lewis , was perpetrated at the Grand feast held at , 1 . 11 < - . Merchant Taylors' Hall , on the liilh April , I 7 i ! 2 . It is mil stated whether anv hot ties of wine were " einbe / . led and carried oil '

by ( he people who had no maimer ol right to the same . Il may lie thai liro . Lewis did not clearly understand his instructions , and paid more attention to the safety of the liquids than he did to ihe solids , hence the depredations uhiongst the latter . It is just possible , too , thai this may in some slight degree account , for the free and easy way in which lie is said to have treated the complaints of his employers .

Hat what , remarkably line appetites ibe " lirethreu of Quality and Distinction - ' must have hail ; I can only count It present at that meeting who would be likely to be so denominated , unless the Grand Sfewarils themselves are included . One cannot help admiring the truly Masonic spirit displayed by the Deputy Grand . Master and the Stewards generally in their treatment , of the culprit , for they doujitless had just cause , for annoyance al the loss of their dinner . In 172 il a Bro . Kdwurd Lewis was a member of the old lodge held at the Goose and Gridiron in St . Caul ' s ( Jhurehvnrd— now the Lodge of Antiquity , Xo . 2

—and , as the old 'lylcrs name was Ldward , he was doubtless the same person . The next mention of ii Tyler that has . come under my notice is found in the By-laws of a private lodge , written probably hue in 17 ii 2 . It is the ninth in a code of l ( i rules and reads thus : " That the . Master or Secretary do give notice by Letter to till the members of the time of elect ion , or of any other emergency that at any time shall happen . Also that the Tyler do require from every brother as soon as llie lodge is closed , his aprim , and in default of that or

appearing without his apron , or wearing another , to be enierced as the majority of the Lodge shall think fit . Also that the Tyler admit no visitor into the Lodge Room exept there be some present who can vouch for his being a regular brother . " From the way the ollice of Tyler is mentioned in the foregoing cases it does nut appear to be a new or at all an uncommon tit le . The minutes of a lodge held at the Swan and Rummer ill Finch Lane , on llie lUth . March , I 7 H 1 , contain tlie following paragraph , apparently

relating lo Ihe election of a Tyler , although he is not so named , '' The question being pill thai lir . . lohiison be desired to attend lo gard the , bodge every Lodge night , and thai he be allowed eighteen pence and one pint of wine for his attendance . It past in 1 bo nllirmnl ivo , '' The words eighteen pi'in-e and one pint of wine were afterwards struck out aud " two shillings" substituted . The brother who sent me this extract inliniulcd that this pur ! it-ulur T yler evidcntlv preferred certain money to inicerlaiii wine . I may mention , however ,

thill my friend is a total abstainer from wines himself , ami no doiihl spoke feelingly on the subject . We learn from the history of the Lodge of I- ' clicily , * \' o . oS , that in 17 il 7 I he regular fee for I he Tyler was one shilling for his nllciuluiicc and a half-crown for " ili-nwing llm lodge , " thai is , when a ceremony was to lie performed he was expected to draw a certain design on Ihe Moor of the room , similar in some respects to the design on our lodge boards of the present dav . In September , I 7 i ( 7 , it was agreed lo pay the

Tyler two shillings each night , and I ' m- many subsequent years the T yler ' s I ' ee in most lodges seldom exceeded ihis amount . The sniallnessiif the fee would seemingly indicate that the earlier Tylers were not men who depended upon Tyling lodges as a means of subsistence as is the case in the present day , lint were men who followed some ordinary occupation and merely t ileil a lodge or two at night , - very similar , in fuel , lo what one inighl well imagine to have been the practice of Ihe real T y lers in the days of operative lodges when , if any stated fee was paid for their services it was probably even less than a shilling .

'I'he regular ( irand Lodge of I ' ngluud was undoubtedly established in 1717 , and it is much to be regretted that we have no written records of ihis important event or the subsequent Iransaetions of that august body | ii- , ii > l- tei llie year I 72 , 'i , when Ihe existing minutes of the Grand Lodge begin . So far us I have been able to learn Dr Anderson was the first to publish in t ho Const il utioiis of [ JUS ihe history of the formation ofthe ( irand Lodge and llie names of the dill ' erenl ( irand (( Hicci ' s who were appointed dining the first six years of ils existence . On page 110 of this book he savs : " Saver , titaiid Master , commanded the Masters and

Wardens of Lodges lo meet the ( irand oliicers inery Quarter in ( , ' oinmuniealuii ! at tlle place thai he should appoint in liis Summons sent liy the Ty ler . " I imagine that Anderson wrote this early portion of his hislorv of 1 ' rociiiusoni-y from notes of the l'moi'i'dings , probably taken on loose sheets of paper which Were not ileemeil Wollby of presei val ion after he had ill ilised them . However that may be , if llie ( Irand . Masier of 1717 really used the words imputed lo him by Anilei'Miii , ami I M - I - no reason to doubt it , it isqiiile clear that he at all events in list have been familiar wil h the lit le and duties of a Tyler .

We are especially fortunate in possessing I lie original records of I he ( irand Lodge of the "Ancients" almost from the beginning of ils organisation as a governing body , which we have reasons for believing was in July , 1751 , whereas , iheir lirsl minute book , now extant , was begun on llioiilli February , 17 *> 2 , by the celebrated Laurence Dermott , their clever and energetic ( irand Secretary .

Those records contain many references to the ( irand Tyler , the lirst being in the minutes of a Grand Committee held " . Inly liilh , ! 7 < iii , when the Grand Secretary humbly , begged thai some certain person should be appointed to deliver the siimiii-mses for the finure , that he , the said Secretary , was under the necessity of delivering or paying tor the delivery of I hem for some months past , which servitude was exceedingly troublesome lo him as he was obliged to work

1 " . ' hours in llie day for the master painter who employed him . He was asked why the Grand Pursuivant or the Grand T yler did not deliver the summonses ' ¦ To which he replied lhat they would not . deliver ( hem until they were first paid for service done during the time Mr . John Morgan was Grand Secretary . It was therefore , ordered that the Grand Secretary shall pay the Pursuivant or Grand Tyler two shillings for each time of summoning .

We learn Irom this historic incident that the working man ' s '' eight hours a day" was not then " within measurable distance , " tool that it was possible ill those days for " a slriko" to be settled without material injury to either party . The next item gives rise to some little Self-gratiilalion at ( he non-existence of "the good old limes . " It is found under date ( Ith of December , 17 "> 8 . " -Many coinplaiiils were he . iril against the Grand Pursuivant I Grand T yler charging each of ( hem wilh neglect of duly . Order'd . That if either the Grand I'urs't or the ( irand Tyler shall hereafter sull ' e :- any member of the Grand Lodge

to depart without leave from the Presiding Olluvr , such I'urs't or Tyler shall forfeit his or ( heir night ' s salary or wages . " This seems rather harsh treatment , although the " salary " of the Grand Pursuivant was only four shillings : ! meeting , and that of the ( irand Tyler half that amount . I am happy io say that rule is not now in operation . Tbe following extract from the minutes is not strictly connected with Tyliug , although the defendant in the case had been Grand T yler for several years , and had but recently been promoted lo the superior ollice , and as ( he matter in question relates to hats it may not be deemed very much out of place in a paper on the subject of Tylin-i .

On the 22 nd December , I 7 ( 12 , " lirol her Davidson , of No . 21 , made a complain ! ngaiusi Richd . Gough , the Pursuivant of I he Grand Lodge , dial ging the said ( lough with lakingn Hal and some drinking glasses out of the Lodge No . 21 in a felonious manner" Ac .

" L ' p'in Kxauiiiiatiiiii il appear'd lhat some brother ( in a jocular ni ' iiiner ) had put the Glasses into llie said ( lough ' s pocket without his knowledge , and as to the llat . it appear'd lhat some person having laken the said Cioiigh ' s'lJal , he ( Gough ) also look a not her Mat instead of his own . " The oliicers of many lodges having given Gough an excellent character , it was

"Unanimously agreed that Richd . ( lough is iiioeenl of tin ; Charge laid against him , and thin the Hal now in llie possession of Mr . . Davidson shall bo iniined nelv delivcr'd lo I he said Mr . Gough , which Hal he the said Gough shall keep unlil IU ' SIIWII shall be returii'd lo him . " This weighty mailer was sell led al a Grand Lodge of I ' lnergeiioy , probably

sum ied for Ihe purpose , ulllnuigh there were one or two minor dilferences of opinion adjusted at I he same I ime . Some , at any rale , of the brethren of the present day si ricl ly adhere to llie old ctisloms , I ' m- several similar eases have come under my own nolice . bin foriiinalely I hey have always been " settled out of Court . "

Here is number . small item irom the same source , which I write with dillidence : On'thellh of December , 1771 , il was' order'd that I wo blue cloth gowuds be provided for ihe Pursuivant ami T yler and not to exceed Kighl Pounds , " and at a subsequent meetingof the Steward ' s Lodge , two gold-laced hats were ordered for the same oliicers .-il a cosi of Cli 7 s . ( id . Whenever I conleinplale on the magnificent appearance which nnisl have been made bv mi' venerable

predecessors in those " 111 in- cloth gownds" and " gold-laced hats , " it is not lo b « wondered at thai I should feel sonieihing like envy and an overpowering sense of my own insignificance . On ihe P . Hh . Inly , I 7 SI > , Great Coals for the Pursuivant anil Tyler were paid for lo the amount of to Us . . "id . Sad to relate , the Grand Pursuivant was called In account by ihe Deputy Grand Master on the 27 th December , of the same year for having lost his gown , and he failing to give satisfaction

was suspended unfit the next ( irand Lodge . In those days llie Grand T yler had a good deal more out of door ' s work to perforin than he lias now . such as unending the funerals of departed brethren ami walking in procession lo the Grand Feasl and also to church on Sainl John ' s days , on which occasions a cloak or a great coat would naturall y he very acceptable .

The minutes of the Lodge of Perfect Friendship . Ilulh , of iyth June , 177 * i , contain the following curious paragraph : —¦ "The . Masier produced a summons from lloberi Hovers , Masier of y' White Hart Lodge , requiring his attendance , y same was sent to the ( wo Wardens , which being deeni'd an insull , was oidor ' il lo lie burni by ihe common Tyler , and was so done " Owing In waul of light on the subject i fail lo see where the insull came in . bin I am inclined lo lliink thai these Iwo lodges Were not on such amicable terms as is desirable in the Crul ' l .

. The members nf i . | , Lodge of I ' orl ' oei Friendshi p evidently made no very great effort to live up lo the name they had chosen , for the lodge was erased by the Grand Lodge in IH 2 I . for " internal discord . ' ' In the history of the Lodge of Antiquity , So . I ";( , Wigan , we . learn . that |\ liiiiies Rigby produced a eerlilieale from No . 1 ! I 2 and took tlie obligation as Tvler to sland ( he same for Iwo vears . "

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