Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

Multum in Parbo , or Masonic Notes and Queries .

GLEANINGS UV AN OPERATIVE AND Srr . cui . ATIVE MASON . The term "Freemason" appears formerly to have signified no more than the present name of mason—a stone-cutter—who worked with a

chisel , as distinguished from one who could onl y dress stone with an axe or hammer , and build walls , in which sense it is still used in some parts of the kingdom , it is not improbably aeontraction of " Free-stone-mason . "' Dunns : the

middle ages the Craftsmen of almost ever } ' trade formed themselves into societies or guilds ; and prescribed rules for their governance , which were recognized b y the hi g her powers , who also , sometimes , conferred particular privileges upon

them . The Masons in some parts ol Europe were earl y united in an association of this kind ; for they are found to have been established as a free Guild or Corporation in Lombardy , in the tenth century , but whether this society was

descended from Dionysiasts ol Antiquity , or ori g inated in a later age , has not been ascertained . In Normand y they appear to have become associated in 1147 , when , as in the middle ages , architects , as distinct practitioners , were

scarcely known , and but little more than the general form and arrangement of a building were prescribed b y those who superintended its erection , much of its beauty mint have depended on the skill of the workmen to whose control

the subordinate parts were ent-usted : the Masons therefore must have had the power ol largely influencing the appearance of the structures on which they were employed , hence it mi g ht be expected , that at a time when the greatest

architectural splendour was sought after in ecclesiastical edifices , the artificers , on whom so much depended , should have been especially

patronized b y the dignitaries and Iriends oi tin Church , and this is found to have been the case some Popes are morded as having issued bull ; conferring especial privileges upon them .

Although the Guilds of most other trades have been abrogated , the Society of freemasons has preserved its existence , and in modern times has been spread over the greater part of the civilized portion of the world , and its laws are recognized by Ki ' . ies and lYinces . —W . I ..

NOTES ON TIII : UNITJ : D ORIII ' . KS or TUH TK . MI'I . H AND HOSPITAL . I have read liro . Buchan ' s criticism on m \ " Notes . " and am flattered at his condescending to note them at all . At the same time , 1 am

bound to state that he . hardl y seems to have noticed , in objecting to the statements 1 have put forward , that I quote chapter and verse for every assumption , and that when he speaks of mv mistakes , he really is accusine - others , and not

myself , of erroneous assertions . For instance , we are cooll y told that because Bro . Bnchrm had a conversation with a brother in Edinburgh , " who believed otherwise , " we are to assume thatthough Professor Avtoun . wrote the famous Templars '

Song I'have quoted , he did not believe what he wrote . Who is the wonderful brother Bro . Btichan had the conversation with ? For my part , I prefer taking Professor Aytoun and his own words , to Bro . Hughan ' s ih . \ e diiil . Bro .

Jiuchan objects to my statements as to the antiquity of the Scotch lodges , and speaks of my mistakes as lo the Glasgow lodges ami the emblems in the cathedral there . If he refers to my lecture , he will see 1 am merely quoting liro .

Kerr . If Bro . Buclian will onl y read the last published Grand Mark Lodge papers , he will Jind almost word for word the passages I quote , and I am yet to learn that he is a better or more reliable Masonic authority than Bro . Kerr . It is

a question how long ago speculative Masonry was practised , and we all know our erratic brother ' s pet 1 7 17 theory , but 1 have reason to believe that there is no misprint as to Royal Order

documents being 200 years old . Bro . Buclian says that Bro . Pennccuick ' s statement as to the Blue Blanket having its rise about J 200 " is a mere fancy . " So are a great many things else in tnir friend ' s eyes . The whole of our most dis-

Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

tmguished Masonic traditions are mere fancies : and even the volume of the Sacred Law is , in Bro . Buchan ' s eyes , little more than a mere fancy . —EMKA IIoLMKS .

The Recent Royal Visit To Lathom House.

THE RECENT ROYAL VISIT TO LATHOM HOUSE .

It will be pleasant news to the whole masonic body , especiall y those within the Liverpool district , to know that the munificent hospitality shown to Her Royal Hi g hness the Princess Mary of Cambridge and his Serene Highness the Duke of 'feck during their visit recently to

Lathom House and Liverpool , as detailed m Tin Freemason , by Bro . the Right Hon . Lord Skelmersdale , V . W . P . D . P . G . M . of W . L ., and Bro . John Pearson , S . D . 680 , when Mayor of Liverpool , has not been fa-gotten by the Royal Visitors . The following letter from Bro . Lord Skelmersdale was received by Bro . Pearson , on

Friday last , on the eve of his retirement from ofiice as chief magistrate of the principal seaport in the world , and its contents will doubtless give the hi g hest satisfaction to all classes in the important county more immediately interested : — " Panshanger , Hertfort , Nov . 7 , 1 S 72 . " Dear Mr . Mayor , —

" I have this day received a most gracious letter from II . R . II . the Princess Mary , of which by her desire , 1 send you the following copy : —¦ " 1 must ask you to convey to the-Mayor of Liverpool our heartfelt acknowledgment for the gratifying reception we met with at his hands ,

as wcil as at tnose of the inhabitants of his town . I cm never forgel the welcome Lancashire has given me and my husband ; and I never felt more proud and happy to be an English Princess than on this occasion , when 1 once airain had

before me so striking a proof of the loyalty and deep-rooted attachment that exist for the Queen and the Royal House . I need scarcely assure you that 1 shall not fail to let the Queen know how enthusiastically \ oyal Lancashire is .

" I have great p leasure in thus conveying to you II . R . 1 l . ' s most kind expressions . ' Bc ! ic \ c me yours trul y . , Siim . siKKSiiAi . r .. ' ¦' The Worshipful the Mayor .

The Songs Of Masonry.

THE SONGS Of MASONRY .

The songs formed in earl y times show a striking feature in what may be called the domestic manners of the . Masonic institution . Nor has the custom of festive entertainments been yet abandoned , in the bcinnmi ' - of the eighteenth

century songs were deemed ol so much importance , that they were added lo the Hooks of Constitutions in Gnat Britain anil on the continent , a custom which was followed in America , where all our earl y monitors contain an abundant suppl y of lyrical poetry . In the constitutions published in

1723 , we find the well-known Entered Apprentice ' s song , written by Matthew Birkhead , which still retains its popularity among Masons , and has :. tt . lined an ilevation to which its intrinsic merits , as a lyrical composition , would hardly

entiile it . Songs appear to have been incorporated into the ceremonies of the Order at the revival of Masonry in 1717 . At that time , to use the language of the venerable ' * . Iliver , " Labour and relres-hinelit relieved each other like two

lovinobrothers , and the gravity of the former was rendered more engaging by the charactcrsiic cheer-Iillness and jocund gaiety of the latter . " In those days the word " refreshment" had a practical meaning , and the lodge was often called from labour , ' that the brethren might indulge in innocent gaiety , of which the song formed an

essentia ! part . This was called harmony , and the brethren who \ vi ve blessed with talents for vocal music were often called upon " to contribute to lhe harmony of the lodge . '' Thus in the minutebook of a lodge at Lincoln , in the year

17 J 2 , which is quoted b y Dr . Oliver , the records . show that lhe Master usually" gave an eleerant 1 t . . ^ charge : also went through an examination , and the lodge was closed with song and decent merriment . " In this custom of singing there was an established system . Each officer was furnished

The Songs Of Masonry.

with a song appropriate to his office , and each degree had a song for itself . Thus in the first edition of the Book of Constitutions we have the " Master ' s Song , " which , says Dr . Anderson , the author , is " to be sun » with a chorus , when the Master shall o-ive

leave—either one part only , or all together , as he pleases ; " the " Warden ' s Song , " which was" to be sung and played at the Quarterl y Communication ; " the "Fellow Craft ' s Song , " which was to be sung and played at the grand feast ; and lastly , the " Entered 'Prentice ' s song , " which was " to

be sung when all grave business is over , and with the Master ' s leave . " In the second edition , the number was greatl y increased , and songs were appropriated to the Dep . Gr . Master , the Secretary , the Treasurer , and other officers . For all this provisions were made in the Old

Charges , so that there should be no confusion between the hours of labour and refreshment ; for while the brethren were forbidden to behave ' •ludicrousl y or jestingly while lodge is engaged in what is serious or solemn , " they were permitted , when work was over , " to enjoy themselves with innocent mirth . "

lhe custom of singing songs peculiarly appropriate to the Craft at their lodge meetings , when the grave business was oyer , was speedil y introduced into France and Germany , in which countries a large number of Masonic songs were written and adopted , to be sung by the German

and French Masons at their " table lodges , " which correspond to the " refreshment" of their English brethren . The lyrical literature of Masonry has in consequence of the custom assumed no considerable magnitude , as an evidence of which it may be stated that Kloss , in his

Bibliograph y of freemasonry , gives a catalogue —by no means a perfect one—of two hundred and thirteen Masonic song books , published between the years 1 7 , 54 and ij ^ j , in the English German , French , Danish , and Polish languages . The Masons of the present day have not

abandoned the usage of singing at their festive meetings after the lodge is closed , but the old songs of Masonry are passing into oblivion , and we seldom hear any of them , except sometimes the never-to-be-forgotten Apprentice ' s song of Matthew Birkhead . Modern taste and culture

reject the rude but hearty stanzas ol the old songmakers : and the more artistic and pathetic productions of Mackav , Cooke , -Morris , Dibdin , Wesley , and other writers of that class are taking their p lace . Some of these songs cannot be strictly called

Masonic , yet the covert allusions here and there uf their authors , whetherintentional or accidental , have caused them to be adopted b y the Craft , and placed among their minstrelsy . Thus the wellmown ballad of " Tubal Cain , " by Charles Maci ;\\; always has an inspiring effect when suiisr

it a lodge banquet , because of the reference to his old worker in metals whom the Masons oiidl y consider as one of the mythical founders if their Order , although the song itself has in its vords or its ideas no connection whatever with 'Veeinasonry . Burns' " Auld Lang Syne" is

another production not strictl y Masonic , which has met with the universal favour of the Craft , because the warm fraternal spirit it breathes is in every way Masonic , and hence it has almost become a rule of obligation that every festive party of Freemasons should close with the great Scotchman ' s invocation . to part in love and

kindness . But Robert Burns has also supplied the Craft with several purely Masonic songs , and his farewell to the brethren of'l ' arholton Lodge , beginniii " - —

" Adieu ! a heart-warm , fond adieu , Dear Brothers of the M y stic tie , " is often sung with pathetic eifect at the Tabic Lodges of the Order . As alread y observed , we have many productions of our Masonic poets which are taking the place ol the older and coarser songs of our predecessors .

it would be tedious to name all who have successfull y invoked the Masonic muse . Masonic songs—that is to say songs whose themes are Masonic incidents , whose language refers to the technical language of Freemasonry , and whose spirit breathes its spirit and its teachings—are now a well-settled part of the literary curriculum of the Institution . At first they were all festive in .