Masons' Marks.

prove , that King Charles Martel gave certain privileges , and probably a charter , to the Parisian operative Masons , and also that Albanus probably obtained a charter , and that Athelstan incorporated the Masonic guilds . But these two latter statements , though both probable

and possible , still require historical proof . King Athelstan undoubtedly is credited with having granted Charters to various guilds , and there is no a priori reason why our Masonic tradition should not be historically true . Charlemagne and Hugh Capet , probably also did

so , as the "Builder" says , but still , strictly speaking , not by any historical evidence , or extant charter that we are aware of , and though as we said , it is highly probable , that is all we can say , as probability is one thing , and proof is mother . It is onlv a probability so far : it is not

proven . We should be glad of distinct authorit ) for the statement , that Pope Nicholas III . granted the Freemasons a charter in 1278 , and that John de Medicis , in 1445 , became Grand Master of Freemasons . Where is this stated ? we would

respectfully ask , and should be obliged to our contemporary if he would kindly point out to us . Such a statement as this , if made by any competent historian , ought to be proveable , and of it proof must be forthcoming . We do not remember to have seen the statement before , but

it is nevertheless not at ali an improbable one . That Leo X . as well as Clement VIII . were Grand Masters of the Order , we confess , we doubt very much indeed , and should be deeply obliged to our friendly contemporarj-, if he can throw a little light on such statements , as if they are

true , they are most important , and such facts are worth a great many fictions indeed . We are aware that some of the German writers have talked of Papal Bulls recognizing the " Steinmetzen , " and our own Dugdale appears to have had the same idea , but , so far , we have

never been able to found any valid authority for any such statement . We are inclined ourselves to believe that such Bulls were issued from Rome at a time when the building art was purely under the control of the religious fraternities and the Monastic orders . But still , we should like to see the proof . A little Chaiter of three

or four lines would be worth a very great deal , indeed , a Bull would be invaluable for once , and we indulge the hope that such will yet turn up , when . some future Hughan will write the history of our great Order . We thank the " Builder" for one of the most interesting and suggestive extracts " de rebus Latomicis " we have for some time been permitted to read .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

IWe do not hole ! ourselves responsible for , or even AS approving ofthe opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish , in a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . —ED ]

MASONIC PROFESSION AND PRACTICE . To the Editor of the Freemason . D .-ar Sir and Brother , — _ I am only a young Mason , but although this cammumcation at first si ght may appear to have a re-Wlious tendency . I am ouite urenarcd to bow to sunerior

judgment , wisdom , and experience . As a matter of fact , I write mainly for information , and if I appear harsh in some of my criticisms I must plead a wrong comprehensie'n of Masonic matters and an erroneous impression as lo the object of Masonry in j » eneral . I Was initiated intn the Ma « nnic lir .-ilhrrlinoil sr . me vparfi

"nee in a provincial lodge composed of educated men of perhaps rather a Bohemian turn of mind , and we met regularl y every month all the year round . Although our 'inscription fee would have fully warranted such a procedure we did not have the customary banquet after lodge , and onl y allowed ourselves this feast on the night of installation . On ordinary lodcc nights we sat down to a

Plain supper , after which a glass and song passed away " >« r time until wc broke up . > ou can imagine by this that our lodge fund in hand j ! "'" all y considerable , while the allowances made to nuigent brethren and the remittances of subscriptions to ose who could no longer afford to pay it were nuttier ""' ** '' PP eare ( ' t 0 me as carrying out some of fou ' n j '"s uPon wn'cn tne practice of Freemasonry is

„ . " ° "o longer belong to that lodge . I left the earn " J 01 , rh ° od and came to London . Soon afterwards I loel adm'ttance as a joining member to a metropolitan . 8 t , which I now belong to . In point of subscription it I equal to mv mnth ., iA- I ..., : „„„;„ , „ r .-...,.. „ .

year / u CeCds the Iatter - We meet six times in the I tal . have a champagne banquet at each meeting . If joif * ' * lsit 0 r with me I pay £ 1 10 s . for him , and the Tn « result' w lodge P ridcs itself u P ° n its hospitality , sistanre 1 ! ' almost upon every occasion when ascollectinn t ' ° be ven that c *"" be easily refused , a " « t . on has to be made in the lodge .

Original Correspondence.

Having stated these facts , I wish shortly to refer to what my idea of Freemasonry is , and I trust that if I am wrong some generous brother may quickly put me right . One of the first precepts inculcated in the minds of young Masons is charity . Indeed , from thc ritual and traditions of Masonry I conceive the whele fabric to be based on this virtue . The next is temperance . Now , let

us take the majority of our English lodges , and consider what portion of their funds goes to charity . Many meet six times in the year , their subscription is five guineas ; they eat six banquets , and consume on an average , besides solid food of the most recherche' description and cigars , at least . two-thirds of a bottle of hock and half a bnttlt of chamDaerne oer head . Added to these exo ; nses

are those incidental to the holding and keeping of the lodge , printing circulars , & .- . The balance cannot , I opine , be large , and charity must fare but ill . I have known indigent brethren sit at the doors of these lodges anxiously waiting the result of what was being discussed inside , and as the other brethren passed by him into the lodge hnrellv a civil word of recognition woulel be errnnted to him

who once , when he hail money was a welcome brother . I have not witnessed much charity in connection with Freemasonry in England . True , we have our girls' and boy . ; ' schools , and other institutions ; but when I look at the number of applicants for shelter yearly turned awa y from their doors through lack of a sufficient number of votes , or , in other words , influence , I cannot but think that

the enorrfTbus sums now squandered in so-called " refreshment" might be made to find an asylum for all these poor people . Are not all Masons equal ? I was told so when I first joined , but I have got to learn that there are two grades of Masorrs , the one rich , the other poor . Witness the Tyler of any lodge in England , and see the treatment he eets in a rood many . Hustled hither and thither , and

often treated like a dog more than a human being . Is ' re a " brother to a king . '" Another impression I received when I first joined was that I was at liberty to enter any lodge of Freemasons throughout the world , on giving proper satisfaction of my worthiness , and joining in their meeting . Now , however , I imagine a verv cold receotion would be uiven to anv

visitor to an EnglUh lodge who had not distinctly been invited by a member of the lodge itself . I hope I am wrong in this—that these impressions have b . 'en formed through want of experience ; anil , awaiting better instruction , I remain , fraternally youis , ZAPIIOS ,

HAPHAZARD VOTING . To lhc Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir , — I read with pleasure your opinion that the present system of voting for charities was not haphazard , & c . I think you may like the enclosed little st ry , which has been lately published as a refutation of one sent out by

the so-called Voting Reform Association . They had better cast out thc beam from their own eye befoie they try to take the mote from their brother ' s . Yours , almost a Freemason , DIANA "W . PAI . EY . [ The little story shall duly appear in the "Masonic Magazine "' for October . —Eo . ]

Reviews.

Reviews .

"THE HISTORY OF MASONRY . " By B 110 . G . F . FORT . Triibner & Co . Wc have already alluded to this interesting and valuable work , one of the most important contribu'ions to Masonic history which has for some time appeared , and so has our able Bro . W . J . Hughan , in befitting terms of encomium and approval . With a change of publishers , we

are glad to recall its many merits to thc attention and consideration of our readers , and we would say to all Masonic students everywhere , and we are quite sure that Bro . Hughan will concur in our remarks , that we know of no better modern Masonic work , or one more intensely interesting in itself to the Masonic student and archaeologist . To say that we atrree in everv oosition our able brother has

taken up would not be thc case , but wc can equally recognize the value tf his work and the thoroughly scholarly way in which he has put together both his arguments and his evidences . The History of Freemasonry is so wide and so important that there is and must ever be many allowable differences respecting it , and it is impossible that we should al ! at once arrive at an uniform

appreciation of the abstract or concrete value of certain portions of general evidence , & c . Indeed , it is not too much to say that many of our theories and suggestions to-day are more or less tci tative , as it is only quite recently , in this country at any rate , within the actual memory of some of us , that we have set ourselves critically to analyze the statements anel uroofs of our

Masonic historians . Oliver , despite some great merits and a remarkable " copia verbum , " accepted far too hastil y previous crude statements of inaccurate Masonic writers , and was himself , despite his undoubted ability , industry , and zeal , somewhat promiscuous in assertion and careless as to reliable authority . Anderson and Preston previousl y did not profess to be critical ; they simply condensed and methodised the confused and chaotic mass of legends

and traditions . They reproduced , in fact , the guild version of Masonic history as it was , modernised to suit the requirements of the Order and the intelligence of their readers . They , too , had their merits , and we should be most ungrateful and unwise if we on " ex post facto " grounds ever ignored their many claims to our Masonic consideration and perusal . The German Freemasons have preceded us , i " more Germanorum , " in critical analysis , and patient study of Masonic legend and evi .

Reviews.

deuces by nearly a century , but we venture to think , that in the long run it will be found , that the labours of our English Masonic students , including Bro . D . Murray Lyon , have done a very great deal indeed , and in a very short time , towards a correct appreciation and enli ghtened study of Masonic history and archaeology . But it is still quite clear that we arc only , so to say , beginning the enquiry . Our one great danger still lies from hasty induction , and

an impatient realism , without making due allowance for the necessarily slow process of the eradication of error and thj assertion of truth . Still the " outcome " of the last few years is very encouraging in every respect , and though the history e-f Freemasonry has yet to be written , we hail all such readable works as Bro . Fort ' s as most valuable contributions to a common end , and steps , decided steps ' in the ri g ht direction . w . r . A .

An Encyclical.

AN ENCYCLICAL .

The " Chaine d'Union "for July gives us a portion of an Encyclical taken from the " Univers , " of July 24 th , which , as Bro . Hubert truly observes , will probably awaken the religious struggle in Brazil , and render it more bitter than ever . " L'Univers . " Monday . Tulv 21 th . iHrrrfi . Rom * . —Tn

our Venerable brethren the Bishops of Brazil , Pio IX . Pope : You know , Venerable brethren , the troubles which have arisen in Brazil in these "latter days " by the act of those who , being affiliated to the Masonic sect , have insinuated themselves into the brotherhoods of pious Christians , and who , especially in the dioceses of Olinda and of Belem de Para , have broueht about a erave conflict , have been for

our soul the subject of the most bitter sorrow , for we could not without giief realize how widely the plague of this pernicious sect was spread abroad by the corruption of those fraternities , so much so , that the associations which have been formed to develope among the faithful a sincere spirit of faith and purity were reduced to a condition most miserable in the conseoueneee of the mournful

harwMiof discord , of which they were only the germs . Therefore we have judged that we ought without delay to remed y this evil . This is the reason , Venerable Brother of Olinda , why by letter of date May 29 th , 1873 , which we addressed you , we raised our voice against this deplorable perversity introduced into the Christian confraternities .

Nevertheless , using gentleness and clemency towards the members of the Masonic sect who mi ght be deceived or be led away by delusion , we suspended for a convenient season the proviso of the censures which they had incurred , in order that they mi ght use our goodness to desert their errors , and to retire from condemnable reunions in which they had been initiated . Further , Venerable Brother of

Olinda , we commanded you , that having passed thi « lapse of time , if they had not come to repentance , yo » should suppress and declare suppressed the said fraternities , in order to re-establish them in conformity to the motive of their foundation by the enrolment of new members absolutely free from the Masonic stain . Further , when in our Encyclical letter of November ist ,

1873 , addressed to the Bishops of the Catholic world , we endeavoured to warn all the faithful against the artifices and snares of the sectaries , by publicly recalling on that occasion the pontificial constitutions issued against their perverse associations , we declared that these constitutions reached not only the Masonic societies in Europe , but also all those in America , and in the other countries of

the entire world What then has not been our astonishment ? when we learnt that , drawing a pretext from the fact that to facilitate the salvation of thejculpable we had by our authority raised the interdict by which certain churches and confraternities were smitten , they have dared to spread about the report in public , that the absolute condemnation did

not apply to the Masonic society existing in those latitudes , and that in consequence their Sectaries could in safety of conscience form part of the fraternities of p ious Christians . Now to what point such obligations are distant from the sentiments of our spirit and truth . —29 th April . Pius IX ., Pope .

A Masonic Address.

A MASONIC ADDRESS .

In the Chaine d'Union for July we find the following address , or rather , an extract from an address , delivered ai a meeting of the Lodge Union , Martinique , January , 1876 : My much loved brethren , — The brilliancy of a fete eloes not suspend our labours . On the contrary , never have , fhev « r > mnrli

grandeur , so _ much sublime simplicity , as when joyous harmonies mingle themselves with our accents , at times very sad , always bitter , when we move that human clay which surrounds us all . The heart , in order to console itself , requires to hear the hymn of hope intermingled withjthe cry of despair . For it is mournful , at the same time that it is sublime , the work which we

accomplish . Fraternity alone give us the strength to follow it , after having had the benevolence to undertake it . So many hatreds explode around our steps . Oh I sad blindness . When , then , will the world render justice to itself ? It is in vain that our hearts separate themselves from all egotism , that we withdraw ourselves from paths frequented bv the crowd , that we enter into our mysterious

temple there to work—the calumnious accusations of our enemies follow us everywhere . And yet for whom do we work ? For ourselves . ' No ; for humanity . They will not even allow us the satisfaction of receiving its benedictions . I hear laughter sometimes in the profane world when we talk of our labours . Happy yet , if I hear nothing b laughter . Alas , they urge the speech of malice against