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IMPORTANT NOTICE . We have great pleasure in announcing that we have decided to publish THE F REEMASON —commencing toith Volume III ., January 1 st , . 1870—on toned paper , and icith old-faced type , similar to that used by the Pall Mall Gazette and other hi g h-class publications . The she will also be ¦ permanentl y enlarged to Sixteen Pages , and , toith other improvements contemplated , THE F REEMASON will then be the leading weekl y organ of the Craft throughout the g lobe .

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TO ADVERTISERS . THE Circulation of THE -FREEMASON being now at the rate of nearly Half-a-MilliOn per annum , H offers peculiar facilities to all who advertise . It is well-known that the Fraternity of Freemasons is a large and constantly increasing body , mainly composed of the influential and educated classes of society ; and as ®( rc Jf . mmctS 0 it la now the accepted organ of the Brotherhood in the United Kingdom , and also enjoys an extensive sale in the colonies and foreign parts , its advantages as an advertising medium can scarcely be overrated . For terms apply to GEORGE KENNING , 3 ( k 4 , LITTLE BRITAIN , LONDON , E . C .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

AH communications for TUB FREEMASON should be written legibly , ou one side of the paper only , and , if intended for insertion in the current number must he received not later than 10 o ' clock a . m . on Thursdays , unless in very special cases . The name and address of every writer must be sent to us in confidence M . M . —Masonic Lodgo Music , by Baker , of Liverpool . Sold by Geo . Kenning , London .

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CJKjfrcemits0ttt SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 13 , 1869 .

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THB FKBKMASON is published on Saturday Mornings in time for the early trains . The price of Tun FmmMsoif is Twopenco per week ; quarterly subscription ( including postage ) 3 s . 3 d . Annual Subscription , 12 s . Subscriptions payable in advance . All communications , lottors , Jfcc , to ba addressed to tho EDITOR , 3 & 1 , Little lirit & iu , K . O . Tbo Editor will pay Careful attontion to all MSS . ontrnstod to him , but cannot undertake to return thorn unless accompanied by postage stamps .

Masonry And Mysticism.

MASONRY AND MYSTICISM .

GIVEN a cosy arm chair by a glowing seacoal fire on a bleak winter ' s evening , and there is no enjoyment we relish better than a dreamy glimpso into the weird world of magic . Start Dot , gentle reader , we use the word

philosophically , and stript of its vulgar surroundings it comprehends all that is strangely spiritual , intangible , and shadowy in human existence . Every man possesses in thought a dominion of his own , peopled with shapes more or less

unsubstantial—Eidolons that glimmer into being like the struggling rays of dawn , and vanish suddenly vvgairi n \ tc > tbe impalpable gloom of ni ght . To what extent these phantasma affect our external lite few can tell , as much depends

upon the character of the scenes in which we mingle daily , but it is evident that men of intellect whose faculties arc most iu harmony with the beautiful in nature retain those vague impressions longer than others . We are not speaking now of poets , whoso

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psychological studies naturally lead them in this direction j we are content to take the ordinary earnest thinker , whose visions at times reach back to the dim and sombre past , and we

will ask him whether there is not a secret charm in those manifestations which link the spirit with all that has gone before , is now , and shall be hereafter ] This commune with unrealities

this dalliance in the fairy-land of thoughthas given birth to mysticism , the philosophy of occult and wondrou s g ifts , the culmination of all that can delight and yet appal the daring soul .

borne minds can fitly interpret these perceptions through the medium of splendid imagery ; others invest them in the obscurest shrouds of thought , recording their impressions in language at once perplexing and alluring .

It may fairly be said that all nations have had their eras of mysticism , but Germany has ever maintained a pre-eminence in this respect since the impulse given to religious thought by the Reformers in the sixteenth century . From the

wild theories and confused speculations of the alchymists and natural philosophers who flourished at an earlier period , it seems but an easy transition to the ecstatic reveries of a Jacob Behmen or a Swedenborg . But these enthusiasts ,

notwithstanding their dreams of the supernatural and impossible , left a visible mark on the literature of their age , and have impregnated the ideas of metaphysicians even to our own times . The ethical lore of Kant , the analytical acumen

of Schlegel , and the profound philosophy of Goethe are more or less tinged with this mystical spirit , and it is needless to add that its influence permeates indefinitely the works of their admirers and disciples . Unquestionably one of the greatest

developments of mysticism ever witnessed was Rosicrucianism , whose involved and complicated symbolism is itself a study worthy the labours of a race of hieroglyphic-interpretcis . The key to the mystery will , however , be found in the

analogy existing between the rites of the brethren of the Rosy Cross and the ceremonies practised in Freemasonry at the present day . The ancient Rosicrucians were essentially immatei-ialists—they looked beyond the visible

world to the shores of the Intiinto . 1 hey reverenced moral truth , and taught men to love virtue for its own sake . In the deep recesses of their hermetic science , the solemn secrets of nature were unveiled to those whose patience

and perseverance entitled them to the boon . The problems of life , death , and eternity were ever present to their view , and their doctrines wero consequently imbued with a purer theology than that of the schools . But after a time a

schism arose in the fraternity ; revealed religion was cast aside by a section which , on account of the greater noise they made in the world , has often been confounded with the true philosophers , more especially as the latter were then known

as tho Brotherhood of the Aurora Crucis , or Golden Rosy Cross , and occupied themselves chiefly in the contemplation of things ideal and divine . There is fortunately extant in manuscript the alphabet of these devout followers of

tho cross , for such it proves them to have been . As it is a rare and valuable work , we append its full title : " The simple A . B . C ., or the doctrine of the Brethren of the Rosy Cross , intended for the

daily use of scholars who study in Ilia school of the Holy Spirit , plainly delineated in emblematical figures for those who apply themselves to Die knowledge of the light if nature and theology . " This alone is sufficient to prove that the real objects of Rosicrucianism were far different from

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those blatantly published by the sceptical secedera from the true community . The aspect , however ,-in which the point is interesting to Freemasons , is in reference to its bearings on the ritual of Masonic degrees . In this respect it will be found

that the brethren of the Golden Rosy Cross possessed the entire secrets of all the grades of Freemasonry , besides a great many more peculiar to themselves . Even the technical language used in communicating the esoteric knowledge of the

science is in many respects the same , the symbols equally illustrate profound truths , aud silently teach the most sublime virtues . The llosicrucian

philosopher took the lamp of Reason and examined his own heart ; or to use the exact words left on record , he said , " 0 mau know thyself , for in thee lies concealed the treasure of all wisdom . "

It is in its affinity to tins glorious circle of thought that Freemasonry resembles Rosicrucianism , and for our own part we shall never be content to accept the theory that our comprehensive - Craft is merely the out-growth of a mechanical

association . Evidences to tho contrary multiply the more we seek them , but we must seek them in the right direction . In the romaunts of Chaucer , the sonnets of Petrarch , the divine comedy of Dante , we shall find them . In the songs of the

Minnesingers and the chants of the Crusaders , traces will appear . Amidst the subtilties of mediaeval divines , and the enigmas of scholars , glimpses of this philosophic light can be discerned . From the ]\ ew Atlantis of Bacon to the Cosmos

of Humboldt we may follow its luminous course with undeviating steps , guided on the ri ght hand by Faitli and on the left by Reason . For example , the philosopher of Verulam introduces us to the House of Solomon , situate in the favoured isle

Bensalem , which is peace . From their towers of observation , as well as from their caverned retreats , the associates of the king survey nature in her various aspects—in cloud or in sunshine , in storm or in calm . Here we have prefigured in

profound allegory , those high hills and lowl y vales to which Freemasons repair for communion and labour . A stronger illustration will be found in Andrea ' s " Speculum lapidum , " which was adopted b y

Aslnnole as the text-book of his occult p hilosophy . It is well-known that Aslnnole was admitted into the society of Freemasons at Warrington , in 1 G-IG , at which time , according to Dr . Plot ' s History of Staffordshire , the Masonic fraternity

possessed peculiar secrets . It is also well-known that Ashmolo was initiated into the mysteries of Rosicnician philosophy by a brother of the Rosy Cross named William Backhouse , and that he learned Hebrew in order to comprehend them

thoroughly . To this celebrated antiquary we are therefore inclined to ascribe the credit of consolidating the edifice of Speculative Freemasonry . By him were gathered together those scattered elements of thought which , when

collected and combined , established on a solid basis the wondrous system of morality now practised by the Craft throughout the uuiverse .

Mysticism has contributed to this great result , and we may in a future article indicate how closel y it is allied to thoso degrees which form part of the system of the Ancient and Accepted llite .

For the present we must pause—we do not enunciate our opinions dogmatically , or wish them to be considered as ex calhedrd . It is a

subject for study and investigation , but wo have said enough to justify us in the belief we expressed some weeks ago , that Freemasonry is to be regarded as " a glorious allegory of the present life , and eternal prospects of man . "