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do duty for the setting maul in thc course of one of our ceremonies . This , of course , is quite wrong . Thc gavel was generally of metal or flint , whereas no metal tool was ever found within the precincts of the temple . Then , in many

lodges there is to be found a little ivory mallet on the Master ' s pedestal , to be used for the purpose of calling brethren to attention , in addition to the actual gavel , which is used in such cases , confined to its place among the working tools , and along with the chisel ' and thc 24-inch gauge presented to the entered

apprentice . The former of these customs is probably due lo Oliver , who in several places speaks of thc " common gavel or setting maul , " and the latter is of French origin , thc name given both

to the gavel and the Worshipful Master ' s emblem of authority being Le maillot . The question is , whether the working tool in the First Degree and the emblem of the Master ' s authority should be one and the same thinsr . In the address of the

Installing Master there is nothing to indicate this necessity , and thc fact that in the installation ceremony the gavel is very often called the Hiram . What Mackay says on thc subject , however , is worth reproduction :

" As the lodge is an imitation of thc temple and each member of thc lodge is a stone thereof , so by thc influence of the gavel all the ebullitions of temper and the indecorum of frivolity are restrained , just as the material stones of that building v . ere , by the same instrument , divested of their asperities and

imperfections . " We are disposed to think then , that the gavel or maillet of the Worship ful Master and that presented to the initiate should be identical in pattern . The term gavel has reference lo ils shape , which is that of

thc gable end of a house . It should resemble a right-angled triangle whose hypothenuse rests on a square or rectangle , the graceful curves so often found being quite out of keeping in a Freemason ' s lodge where right angles , straight lines , and perpendiculars arc supposed to dominate .

Thc gable in its turn comes from the German gipfel , meaning a summit or a peak , the reference being , of course , to the

cutting edge . The name Hiram , by which the gavel is sometimes alluded to , does not seem to possess much justification . In fact , it is

not often heard in the lodges and it is chiefly referred to m the stereotyped phrase , in which the newly-installed Worshipful Master " trusts that when the time comes for him to hand over thc sravel to his successor , he may , etc ., etc . "

In the lectures we are told lhat the gavel is used to knock off all superfluous knobs or excrescences , and , therefore , it represents the voice of conscience . The connection of ideas is not obvious and the application appears far-fetched , but we do not suppose that there will ever be any alteration .

In the installation ceremony the gavel is simply described as thc emblem of authority , and Mackey's reasoning , quoted above , seems to afford all the justification needed . The newly-installed Worship ful Master is told that he is to take care that the gavel is always answered Ry the Wardens when it is used , and this brings us to a consideration of its

emp loyment in lodge . It is first sounded when thc Worshipful Master rises to open the lodge . Op inions differ whether or not the Wardens should respond . Wc are disposed to think they should not , inasmuch as the lodge is not yet formed . On the other hand , it may be

argued that the Wardens arc-, to a limited extent , the equals of the Master , and their office is a continuous one not dependent on the incident of the lodge being opened . If is m xl heard when tbe lodge is declared open , in whatever Degree , and it is then properly answered not only by the Wardens , but by the Inner and Outer Guards .

According to the directions in the ritual , thc further use of thc gavel , whether in the E ., W ., or S ., is dependent on thc amount of disorder that may be going on . But the Worshipful Master , ns a rule , has verv liberal ideas of the use of the symbol

of authority . He uses it . every lime he rises in his place to call thc brethren lo attention . This means a constant pounding of the pedestal , and , as corresponding pounding goes on , in response , in the West and South , il sounds as il a saluting battery were stationed within the lodge precincts .

In this connection we might remark that there is , as a rule , far too much noise in lodge . Whal can , for instance , be more distressing to a candidate at the most solemn moment of his Masonic existence than to be startled by the sound of the gavel all round the lodge , and to be in a state of ignorance whether every movement might not be the signal for another . The efficacy of the gavel may be considered as varying inversely with the frequency of its employment . When lodge is

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to be closed , thc Worshipful Master gives his command to the Senior Warden to close it , and then gives the knocks of the Degree in which thc lodge is working , Thc Senior Warden says , " . . . I close thc lodge , " and in nine cases out of ten gives the same knocks . This is wrong . The lodge is closed

and the knocks given by thc Wardens and the Inner and Outer Guards should be those of tbe next Degree below , and if the lodge is being closed altogether the single knock is alone appropriate . It maybe remarked as being somewhat curious that

nowhere in the ceremonies or the lecture are the proper knocks of th's several Degrees described , and the only allusion to them at all is the reference to the text " ask , and it shall be given you , knock and it shall be opened unto you . "

When the knocks are given by thc Inner and Outer Guards , they should be given with the handle of the weapon possessed by each . There ought to be some approach to uniformity in the way the T yler announces approaching brethren . When a dilatory , but well-known , brother wishes to enter , the knocks

given by the Tyler should be those of thc Degree in which the lodge is working . When a stranger seeks admission , whose claim to be considered a Freemason at all has yet to be subjected to scrutiny and examination , a single knock should be given . When a candidate seeks admission the knocks should be those

ot the Degree thc candidate has already taken , or , if an initiate , a single knock . In the first of these cases the Inner Guard will announce " a report , " and in all the others an " alarm . " Not only is thc newly-installed Master presented with a gavel ,

but each of his Wardens is given one . This , of course , symbolises thc authority which those officers share with the Master , and it , of course , implies that the gavel may be used by either Warden without the initiative of the W . M ., should circumstances arise which appear to demand it .

Ihe question is often asked—In what Degree Grand and Provincial Grand Lodges are opened ? As regards the knocks given , they alford no information , but from the fact of none but Installed Masters and Wardens being present , the Third Degree may be presumed .

There is one other place where the gavel is often to be found that must by no means be omitted , and that is the festive board . As if detracts somewhat from its dignity to be found in such associations , calling festive' brethren to order , leading applause , and so on , we should imagine lhat the ivory mallet already

referred to at the beginning of these remarks might be more appropriately employed . We might now refer to the mallet . This implement is only found in Alark Masonry . Whereas the gavel was used in the quarries , and was made of metal , thc mallet was of wood , and

was used within the precincts of thc Temple , to dispose the finished blocks of stone in their proper courses . Thc American lectures say that " thc association of the mallet and chisel in

this Degree leaches us that thc chief benefit of education ( symbolised by the chisel ) is lo teach us to know our proper place and station in the world , having due respect to the rights and privileges of our fellows . "

The explanation in the authorised ritual of the Grand Mark Lodge is somewhat vague , and , to tell thc truth , somewhat of a platitude . The American explanation quoted is , at all events , practical . It will be observed that this involves the assumption that the mallet and the seltinrjr maul are one and the same

implement , i his is the case in America , but 111 the English Mark lecture , probably the mallet refers to the small hammer used for striking the chisel , which practically reduces us lo the blunt side of the gavel .

The Knights Templar Christmas Observance.

THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR CHRISTMAS OBSERVANCE .

The following sentiment has been prepared for Christmas Day , 1 S 99 : " To our Most Eminent Grand Master , Reuben Hedley Lloyd-May the Lord send him all the blessings which his faithful Knights wish him on this merry Christmas Day . "

To which the Grand Master will respond : "Sir Knights—May He , who provides all things , endow you with wisdom and power to illustrate in your lives and conduct the principles taught by Him whose advent we this day commemorate . "

The Grand Masters or Great Priors of England , Ireland , and Scotland will be asked to take part in this International Observance on Monday , December 25 th , at noon Eastern Standard time ( equivalent to 5 p . m . Greenwich ) , and an invitation is extended to all regular fratres to participate throughout the wide world . Bro . \ V . J . Hughan is the Representative of the U . S . A . for the K . T . observance in Great Britain and Ireland , and is awaiting the receipt of the official invitations .

II . R . I ! , THE PKINCE or WALES ' HOSPITAL FUND I * OK LONDON . —Among the latest contributions to the Prince cf Wales ' s Hospital fund for London is the follo'vinf : Donation—Tranquillity Lodge of Freemasons , No . iS *; , per Bro , P . Ornstein , W . M . £ 21 .