Multum In Parbo; Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

Multum in Parbo ; or Masonic Notes and Queries .

- MISSING MS . CONSTITUTIONS OF THE FREEMASONS . NOW tbat another MS . has been unearthed , several of my friends are anxious to know how many are yet undiscovered . Those familiar with the " Old Charges of British Freemasons " will be aware that the following are chronicled amongst the missing MSS . The Wilson MS ., thanks to

Bros . Woodford , Ellis , and Nixon , is now removed from that category : — " York MS ., " No . 3 , of A . D . io > . ' Dr . Anderson ' s MS . " ( Constitutions 1723 , & c . ) " Stone ' s MS . " ( Constitutions 17 : 58 , & c . ) "Dr . Plot ' s MS . " ( History of Staffordshire , idS 6 ) "Dowlanei ' s MS . " ( " Gentleman ' s Magazine , " iRlv )

" Dr . Rawlinson ' s MS . " ( Transcript , about 1730 . ) " Wilson ' s MS . " ( lately discovered . ) " Krause ' s MS . " ( probably a compilation . ) Then there are printed transcripts of MSS . of which the originals have been traced , or believed to be so , viz .: " Robert ' s MS ., " 1722 ( " Harleian " MS ., No . 1942 , 17 th century ) .

" Briscoe ' s MS ., " 1724 ( uncertain ) . "Cole ' s MS ., " 1726-9 ( uncertain . ) "Mrs . Dodd ' s MS ., " 1739 ( variation slightly from Cole ' s ) . There is also "Woodford ' s MS . " ( a transcript of " Cooke ' s MS . " )

Bro . Woodford and myself have traced of late years several valuable MSS ., including "York MS ., No . 1 , " " Grand Lodge MS ., " " Hope MS ., " "York MS ., No . 6 , " " Alnwick MS ., " " Password ' s MS ., " and " Wilson ' s MS .. " not forgetting the valuable assistance of fellow Masonic students and friends .

I have also traced , with the valued aid of co-workers , a transcript of the " Chester MS ., " which I now possess . Bro . Jacob Norton has been the means of the valuable " Scarborough MS . " being found , and Bro . Woodford of the " Gateshead MS . " being published . There are still other MSS . to trace , including the " Wren MS ., " " Hargrove ' s MS ., " and " Dermott ' s MS . " WILLIAM J AMES HUOIIAN .

Consecration Of The Royal Naval College Lodge, No. 1593, Greenwich.

CONSECRATION OF THE ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE LODGE , No . 1593 , GREENWICH .

The magnificent pile of buildings on the river-front at Greenwich has recently undergone n fresh vicissitude . For many generations it was a favourite Royal palace , enlarged and beautified by successive sovereigns ; for several more an asylum for our worn-out seamen -, anil three years

ago the old pensioners were quartered out , and the palace converted into a great naval college , where about 250 ofiicers are iu regular residence , and studying their profession scientifically . The studies comprise mathematics , applied mechanics , physics , chemistry , fortification , nautical astronomy , navigation , naval architecture , marine engineering , steam , meteorology , maritime and

international law , and modern languages—in fact , everything which can be of use to the accomplished naval officer . No other country in thc world can boast of such a splendid professional university , and the consequence is that there arc at present studying at the college ofiicers from the Italian , Spanish , Prussian , Swedish , anil Danish navies , who have been sent by their governments , anil permitted

by ours , to share in the advantages of its training . On the 22 nd of February the old palace was , very probably for the first time , the scene of a Masonic ceremonial . A number of the officers and staff of the college , being desirous of forming a lodge in connection with it , had forwarded the usual petition to the Grand Master ; and in the absence of the Prince of Wales the Earl of Carnarvon had

granted a warrant Ior a lodsre , to be called the Royal Naval College Lodge , and helel within the precincts of the college . The consecralion took place in thc cast , or Queen Anne ' s , wing of the building . The lodge-rcom , under the superintendence of Bro . Captain Blakey , P . M ., had been tastefully decorateel with Masonic banners and naval flags , the Union Jack itself being appropriately used to cover the

lodge board during the earlier part ofthe ceremony . The furniture of the new lodge not being ready , the St . George's Lodge , No . 140 , kindly lent theirs for thc occasion . The Consecrating Officer was Bro . the Rev . Thomas Robinson , M . A ., P . M . 88 , 709 , P . P . G . S . W . Kent , P . P . G . C . Cambs . The brethren having entered the lodge-room in procession , Bro . Robinson took the chair , and appointed

the following officers pro tem : —Bros . Scard , W . M . 140 , S . W . ; White , W . M . 1174 , J . W . ; Dr . Crittenden , W . M . 548 , I . G . ; Captain Blakey , P . M . 184 , 1174 ( II . M . S . "Arrow " ) , D . C . ; and Lieut Symes , Organist . The lodge having been opened in thc three degrees , the brethren of the new lodge were arranged in order , ane ! thc petition and warrant read by Captain Blakey . The brethren having

signified their approval of thc ofiicers named , Bro . Robinson proceeded to consecrate the new loelge , and delivered an eloquent oration on the connection between Freemasonry and religion . The procession was then re-formeel , the consecration elements being borne by Past Masters Trill , Warne , and Bumsted , the censer by Captain Blakey , and thc salt by P . M . Bristow . The Union Jack having been withdrawn from the lodge board , the lodge was duly

consecrated and dedicated , with the usual prayers and grand honours . A Board of Installed Masters , eighteen in number , was then formed , and Bro . Robinson installed in the chair Bro . Robert Kalley Miller , M . A ., F . R . A . S ., Professor of Mathematics and Fellow of St . Peter ' s College , Cambridge , P . M . Isaac Newton University Lodge , 859 , P . P . G . J . W . Cambs . The brethren ; having re-entered the lodge , the W . M . was saluted in due form , and invested as his Wardens the two

Consecration Of The Royal Naval College Lodge, No. 1593, Greenwich.

brethren named in thc warrant , Lieut . Willcox and Lieut . Pascoe . He also appointed and invested thc following officers : —Bros . Lieut . Bourke , S . D . ; Lieut . Knowles , J . D . ; Lieut . Stapleton , I . G . ; Paymaster Skinner , Sec . ; and , for the evening , Captain Blakey , P . M . Dr . Pink was elected anil invested as Treasurer . On thc motion of the W . M . votes of thanks were th-n given to the

Rev . Bro . Robinson for the beautiful and impressive manner in which he had performed thc ceremonies of consecration and installation , and also to the Masters and Wardens of the St . George ' s Lodge fur signing the petition and lending their lodge furniture . The following members of thc college were then proposeel for initiation : —Messrs . Pole and Gleed , instructors in mat ' rem .-rtic ; Lieerts .

Strange anil Jones , Lieut . Schmcman ( Russian Imperial Navy ); Sub-Lieuts . Fraser ane ! Elwes , Armstrong , surgeon ; Attwood , engineer ; and Hodges , hall porter , as serving brother . Bro Robinson , the Consecrating Officer , was proposed as a joining member . Hearty good wishes for the new lodge were offeree ! by a large number of visitors , and the lodge was closed in due and ancient

form . After the banquet , which was held at the Trafalgar Hotel , the W . M . proposed "The Queen and thc Craft , " remarking that the familiar old toast might soon have to be given in a different form , as a Royal Titles Bill had been brought befo-e the House of Commons , although its se-crets had not yet been divulgee ! . The Queen was the daughter

of a Mason , and the mother or mother-in-law of four , and was a warm ami liberal patroness of the Order . In preiposing " The Most Worshipful Grand Master , " Bro . Miller eulogized the Prince of Wales ' s hijrh and gracious qualities and Masonic zeal , anil said that while Masonry in some countries was suspected , perhaps with truth , of being used as a cloak for revolutionary designs in religion and politics ,

Engli-rh Masons coulel point with pride to the faet that the head of their Order was one who would be in time not only head of the State , but heae ! erf the Church . "The Past and Present Grand Ofiicers" was coupled with the name of Bro . Binckes , P . G . Steward , the W . M . saying that Bro . Lord Balfour of Burleigh , P . G . S . W ., woulel have been present hail not the festival of the Prince of Wales ' s

Lodge fallen upon the sameevenmg . Bro . Binckes responded in his usual hearty manner , and , it need hardly b-r saiel , improved the occasion by aelvocating the claims of the Masonic charities in general and of "Our Beys" in particular . The W . M . then proposed in warm terms "The Consecrating Officer , " who assumed the gavel , and returned the compliment . It had given him great pleasure

to consecrate the lodge , especially as his son ( Lieut . Robinson , II . M . S . " Excellent , " W . M . 709 , ) was one of the founders , and as the VV . M . was a member of his own university , and wore the purple of the same province as himself . " The Visitors " was responded to first by Bro . Scant , W . M . of the- St . George ' s , and then by a number of other brethren , among them Bro . Manuel , St . Peter ' s College , Cambridge , J . W . of the Isaac Newton , the W . M . 's

mother lodge . The W . M . then saiel that as the lodge had not yet any Past Matters of its own he woulel take thc liberty of substituting for the usual toast " The Health of Past Master Blakey , " to who--e zeal ami energy bath the foundation of the lodge and the success of its first meeting were in a great measure due . Captain Blakey responeled , and Lieut . Willcox , S . VV ., returned thanks for " The Ofiicers . " Thc lodge not having as yet a Tyler , the closing toast was given by Lieut . Bourke , S . D .

Consecration Of The Upper Norwood Lodge, No. 1586.

CONSECRATION OF THE UPPER NORWOOD LODGE , No . 1586 .

Freemasonry is 'indeed making rapid strides in its onward progress . The number of lodges under the English Constitution , as announced at Grand Lodge on Wednesday last , is on the verge of 1600 , while the agenda paper contained thc names of no less than eighteen for which

warrants had been issued since the last Quarterly Communication , and the quarter ' s return lor the Lodge e ; f Benevolence amount to £ 890 7 s . 1 id , those for general purposes to £ 1573 4 s . od . These sums are independent of the particular and special charities of the fraternity , which arc fast bordering on a revenue of £ 30 , 000 per annum , divided almost equally between the three . One of the last additions of the working list of this grand

result is No . 158 ( 1 . consecrated at Upper Norwood , on the 16 th ult ., at tlie White Hart Hotel , the locale , the extern ? . position and internal accommoelatiun and appliances of which could not be surpassed in the whole province . Major General Brownrigg , tbe R . W . P . G . M . for Surrey , coulel not be present- to take part in tbe ceremony , but his place was most ably filled by the W . Bro . II . E . Francis , P . M ., Prov . J . G . D . Surrey , specially appointed Deputy for the

consecration . He was assisted in the ceremony by W . Bros . XV . Hammond , P . M . 201 , 1326 , and 1512 , Prov . J . G . D . Middlesex , acting as Chaplain ; James Kew , P . M . 197 , acting as Installing Master ; while W . Bro . James Coward , P . M ., P . G . Org ., presided nt the 1 rgan , assisted in the musical department by Bros . G . E . J . Fox , 1339 , and John Stedwell ,

172-Among the brethren present , in addition to those already named , were the founders of the lodge-, Bros . W . J . Miller , P . M ., W . M . designate ; VV . Hopekirk , P . M ., S . W . desig . nate ; G . Cragg , J . W . designate ; W . Drake , P . M ., anil John Hammond , P . M ., the selected Secretary and Treasurer of the new lodge , respectively ; E . Kidman , G ,

Paull , C . Pugsley , J . Crouch , Pringle , Bowyer Grist , and Ledger . Among the visitors were noticed W . Bros . G . J . Kain , P . M . 284 and 766 , P . Prov . G . Sec . Warwickshire ; Edward Hopwood , P . M . 141 , W . M . 1512 ; G . Benham , W . M . - ¦ 339 ' , P . Sawjcr , aud others . The brethren assembled at 5 . 30 p . m ., formed in procession in the ante-room , and marched to the lodge-room

Consecration Of The Upper Norwood Lodge, No. 1586.

n Masonic order , when the Consecrating Master took the chair and appointed his Wardens pro tem ., Bros . E . Hopwood and Beuliarn respectively . The Consecrating Master then addresstd ' thc brethren on the nature of the meeting . The Consecrating Master now called upon the Secretary to read the petition to the Grand Lodge , and the warrant

or charter thereto granted by the M . W . G . M ., or , in his absence , rather by the R . W . the Pro G . M . Thereupon thc founders were duly constituted into a regular lodge , under the title of the Upper Norwood Lodge , No . 1586 , on the register of the Granel Lodge of England , after which Bro . Francis gave a most eloquently written oration , which was listened to with breathless attention l > y the whole body of

the assembled brethren . It urged upon the founders of tire lodge the absolute necessity of exact working in their new loelge now that there were so many pressing into our ranks ; it inculcated a strict adherence to those ancient landmarks by which the Order had been enabled to survive the wreck of mighty empires and to resist the destroying hand of time ; it impressed upon thc brotherhood the great duty of

carrying out the professions of thc Order into real practice in the three great principles of brotherly love , relief , and truth—thac the best exponent of these grand , these revered principles was a hearty support of the three great institution .- , which had become the pride and delight of the fraternity anrl the wonder of the world . It further called upon the brethren to practise out of the lodge those crane !

humanising principles which are taught within its walls , so that when a Mason is pointed out as surh it m ly be synonymous with saying there isa gooel and great man , who devotes himself to the well-being erf his fellow creatures and the glory of the Great Architect of thc Universe . The music , which throughout had , under the experienced skill of Bro . Cowird , been beautiiully appropriate , now

culminated in the exquisite rendering of the anthem" Behold how goorl and joyful a thing it is , brethren , to dwell together in unity . It is like the precious ointment upon the head , that ran down unto the be-ard , even unto Aaron ' s bearei , anil went down to thc skirts of his clothing . It is like the dew of Heaven which fell upon the hill of Sion ; For there the Lord promised his blessing , and life for

evermore . Thc dedication prayer , a sanctus , "Glory be to Thee O Lorel , " and the Scripture reading from the Second Book of Chronicles , and another short anthem , followed : " Glory be to God on high ; Peace on earth , Goodwill towards men . "

The completion of the consecrating ceremony was then proceeded with , the loelge fully constituted , and the Patriarchal Benediction , preceded by Haydn ' s beautiful anthem excellently sung , " The spacious ' armament on high , " Ike . The ceremony of installation was next proceeiled with . Bro . Miller , P . M ., was pres-nted for the benefit of

installation . In so doing he elilatee ! upon the Masonic qualities of the aspirant for thc chair , anil the very efficient manner in which he had already performed the eluties of that important office in No . 766 . Bro . Kew at once proceeded with the introductory portions of the ceremony . The essentials of the ritual were then proceeded wilh , curtailed in , such portions as became

unnecessary in this particular case , Bro . Miller being already a Past Master . Thc occult mysteries concluded , the VV . M . invested his Immediate Past Master , Bro . Francis , and was duly saluted , and most heartily congratulated by the large number of Past Masters present . The appointment of officers next ensued , a duty the VV . M . delegated to the Consecrating Master , and which he

performed in the same exemplary manner as the previous duties of the day . The- following is the entire appointment : —Bros . VV . Hopekirk , P . M ., S . W . ; Ge-orgc Cragg , J . W . ; J . Hammond , P . M ., Treas . ; VV . Drake , P . M ., Sec . ; E . Kidman , S . D .-, G . Paull , J . D .-, C . Pugsley , D . C . ; J . Crouch , W . S . The investiture of Bro . Pringle as I . G . w , \? postponed ,

he having been called away on business . Mention must not be omitted of the very effective manner in which the three addresses were rcmlere-el by the Installing Master , and the high appreciation he manifested of those beautiful compositions . The VV . M . now rose and said : Brethren , we who have now been constituted the responsible members of this

lodge should be wanting , not only in courtesy to those brethren who have added so much zest to tbe beauti ' ul ceremonies of this day by the talent they have brought to bear , but we should even be regardless of ourown best interests , were we to omit the expression of our heartfelt thanks for their kind assistance , audio omit at the same time to proffer to them the freedom of thc lodge . A very

hearty vote of thanks was then accoreled to those brethren , and the following were separately elected honorary members of the Upper Norwood Lodge : —Bros . H . E . Francis , P . M ., Prov . J . G . D . Surrey , for his able services as Consecrating Master ; VV * . Hammond , P . M . 201 , 1326 , ane ! 1512 , Prov . J . G . D . Middlesex , acting Chaplain en thc occasion ; James Coward , P . M ., P . G . Organist

of England , in whose hands the musical arrangements of the day were placed j James Kew , P . M . 179 , for his services as Installing Master ; and G . Fox , of 1331 , anil John Stedman , of 172 , for their valuable assistance in the musical department . The brethren severally acknowledged the compliment which hail been passed upon them by the members of the

new lodge , and each and alljwhile proffering their congratulations to the lodge , and their best wishes ( or its prosperity assured the VV . M ,, anil those that it was hoped would gradually rise to the same honourable position , that whatever they might be able individually to do to secure the success of the lodge should be freely done by them . Some who resided at a distance could not be expected to attend frequently , but whenever the summons became special and