Original Correspondence.

ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT ELECTION IN MAY . Dear Bro . Kenning , — As I know that many brethren have many votes for these excellent Charities , I ' beg to ask for any they can spare me , as wc have every need of them for our very useful Association . Yours very fraternally , A . F . A . WOODFORD .

25 a , Norfolk-crescent , Hyde Parle , VV . April 12 , 1 SS 0 .

LONDON CHARITY ASSOCIATION . To the Editor ofthe "Freemason . " Dear Sir and LVother , — When a man , and particularly a Mason , makes a serious mistake , I hold it to bo his duty to acknowledge the same ; and if thc error has been made and statccl in print anel though the press , thc recantation should receive a like publicity .

Apply ing this rule to my own case , I am bound to confess tli . it I never was more mistaken in my life than when I opposed , as I did in your columns more than ayearngo , the formation , objects , and existence of tbe London Masonic Charitable Association . I was imperfectly informed as to thc intentions of its founders , and I failed to comprehend the work wbich they proposed to accomplish . Having , to use a colloquial expression , got hold of the stick by the

wrong end—I was firmly persuaded that mine was the i-ightenel—and I wrote several letters to you , which you were gooel enough to print , proving entirely to my own satisfaction that tbe London Association was a huge and most mischievous blunder . I think 1 characterised it by that much-abused term " un-Masonic , " and I certainly ventured to predict its speedy and ignominious collapse . It is- only right and fair to say that these strictures of

mine were both ungenerous and unjust , and events havc shown my predictions to be erroneous . Having now hael more than a year ' s experience of the London Charitable Association , 1 say , without hesitation , tbat its work is a good work ; anel very far from desiring to witness its failure , I should regard its extinction as nothing less than a calamity . As a regulating body its services in onr elections arc simply invaluable , and I have abundant evidence to

show that it has indirectly been the means eif drawing many contributions to our Charities by stimulating tbe zeal of brethren wbo hael before taken little interest in the life of our Masonic Institutions . And , above all , it hnssccurcd the election of many friendless and poor orphan children who , without tbe kind and generous aid of thc London Association , would have failed ' boneless ! v in gaining admission to our Schools .

I trust that you will be able to give this a place 111 } -onr columns ; and 1 do not fear that I shall suffer in the good esteem of worthy Masons by this unqualified anel unconditional withdrawal of an opinion founded on error , and fostered unwittingly by prejudice . I am , dear Sir anel Brother , faithfully and fraternally yours , THOS . EDMONDSTON , VV . M . 166 9 , P . M . and Treas . 1 C 5 S . London , 13 th April .

Reviews.

Reviews .

THE REALITIES OF FREEMASONRY . By Mrs . BLAKE . Chapman and Hall . Second notice . We reprint with entire approval of them tlie following pertinent remarks of our contemporary , tlie Graphic . They very much represent our own views on the subject : "To speak candidly , we feel an inclination to'light shy ' of'The Realities of Freemasonry , ' by Mrs . Blake .

Interesting and attractive as the book undoubtedly is , the non-Masonic reader cannot help feeling a little uneasy as to the truth and reliability of the matier it contains ; because , since secrecy is a distinctive feature of tlic Craft , ' how comes it , ' he asks , 'that all these details of the inner Masonic life are allowed to be published ? ' On the other hand , a Freemason would be inclined to regard the book

with some amusement ; for he , and lie alone , is able to sec bow often and how naively the author has wandered into error . \ Ve shoulel scarce !) ' be serving any good end , from a Masonic point of view , in doing so : but we coulel point out several very patent blunders into which Mrs . Blake has fallen , or has been led . She has made copious use of the misleading ' Manual' by Carlile ( whose name she persists

in mis-spelling with a ' y . ' nnel who was , we believe , expelled from the Order , and is generally repudiated by Masons ); and of Findel's ' History , ' as well as the works of several other writers on this mysterious topic . She scornfully denies that the history of the Order dates earlier than the Middle Ages—a proposition which Masons will as scornfully reject . Anent this point , we shonld like to hear

what she has to say regarding the recently eliscovcreel symbols on the obelisk lately presented to the United States . But , allowing for all its faults and thc difficulties in which thc question is involved , we cannot see that the book will serve any good purpose ; and , lo us at least , it is but another volume of doubtfulness on a subject already overflowing with mysterious uncertainties . "

CHAINE D'UNION , for March nnd April . Edited by Bro . HUBERT , Paris . We have received an unusually interesting number of this always ably edited Masonic magazine . We rejoice to think that Bro . Hubert continues to act as editor . The Chaine d'Union is completely identified with Bro . Hubert , and has a good wish got to-day .

PROCESyi'ERBAl ., Sir . I . ui'is III ' OONIS , 10 , Passage VYnleau , Paris . This is an interesting account of a meeting nnd presentation to Bro . Hubert for his long and faithful services to the Craft . No honour lias been more truly earned nor more Masonically deserved .

MAGAZINES . We omitted to notice in our last " 1 be Contemporary , " which , however , like several others , works upon a " Icnaiii , " whereas I ' recinasonswi'cannot follow it . Wecannot discuss political romplir . ili'ins or affairs of Slate . "The Atlantic Monthly" will be especially welcome to the "Men of Kent . " "The Gentleman's Magazine . " Those of us who re-

Reviews.

membered it in older form , and appreciated "Sylvanus Urban , " vvill hardly , wc fancy , take to it in its new "line of county . " Praed once sang of " Trifles for the ' Morning Post , ' and ' nothings' for ' Sylvanus Urban , ' " but with the old " Gentleman's Magazine " are bound up many pleasant associations . It is marked , however , now by much able

writing . We also can mention favourably "The Argosy , " "Belgravia , " "Time , " "North American Review , " and the "Victorian Review , " as we'll as "The American Art Review . " Indeed , the multitude of monthly magazines is a serious trial for us all .

MAY'S BRITISH AND IRISH PRESS GUIDE . F . L . May and Co ., 159 , Piccadilly , London . This carefully compiled press guide has just made its appearance for 18 S 0 , and fully bears out thc statement of the publishers that they " have , in accordance with their usual custom , endeavoured to increase the utility of tbe

work by improved arrangement of tbe contents . Wc bave tested the information given in several instances , and in many cases have not only found what we looked for correctly given , but more than we hael expected . The statistics at page 4 , giving a return of the Press of to-day under various aspects , are of considerable interest , and add much to thc value of the " Guide . "

Music.

MUSIC .

BRAMHAM MOOR AND THE . FIVE-AND-TWENTY COUPLE . VV . POLLIN anel T . S . LEE . Cramer and Co . All Yorkshircmen have beard of Bramham Moor and George Lane Fox . We understand that this "morccau " is spoken of as a gooel and spirited composition .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

Masonic Notes and Queries .

SOLOMON'S SEAL . As I sec in the last Freemason , as quoted from the Gentleman ' s Magazine , tb . at the Pentacle ancl Pentalpha , or T ' entegram , is called Solomon ' s Seal , J beg fo observe that this is a complete fallacy and error . Solomon ' s seal is the Ilexaplaor Hexagram , the elouble triangle emblem ofthe Royal Arch . The " Pentaculum Salomonis , " or

fivepointed star , is . 1 figure of the I Icbrcw cabahstic . il formula ? , and as such incorporated in medirevnl charms , and preservetl in Hermetic writings , but it is not Solomon ' s seal . It has no doubt been called Pythagorean , and if so is probably traceable to Kgyptian symbolism . Both the Pentagram anel Hexagram are of ve . 'y old use . Sec also Eenning ' s Masonic Cycloptedia . MASONIC STUDENT .

Hael not Sir Cbristophen Wren a son called Christopher , and was be a member of the Lodge of Antiquity ? Had he not also a grandson ? Was it not from the papers of the grandson that Ames published the Parentalia ? MASONIC STUDENT .

Bro . Goulcl will find the Latin diary of Sir Christopher in Elmes's Life , where it purports to be given "verbatim " and " in extenso . " If it is neither , it is of course worthless for the purpose of evidence or argument . MASONIC STUDENT .

SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN . Bro . Gould a little mistinelcrstands thc drift of my few remarks . They were not meant . to discourage cneiuiry or disparage criticism , in both of which , I believe , with himself , and in both of which he is doing good service . But what 1 was afraid of was this , that in our haste to arrive at something better than mere Masonic tradition we were

going lotlo away with Masonic tradition altogether . This I bold , with all tine tleference to Bro . Gould , to be a mistake . Let ns take Wren ns an example of this . So far as Bro . Gould has most ably pointe'd out , all thc evidence of his connection with Freemasonry is based on tradition , and that tradition first published by Anderson in 173 S . Aubrey's evidence , such as it is , was first , 1 believe , alludeel

toby tbe Halliwell 111 1 S 42 or thereabouts . This evidence of Anderson is that on which the statements of all subsequent Masonic writers rest . Now this fart I freely admit . But where I wish to put in a " caveat " is here . Though this be admittedly so , it does not , nevertheless , shut out anotherfact , that wc may yet stumble upon evidences

confirming the connection of VV ren with Freemasonry ; anel so I venture once again to-elay to ask Bro . Gould not too decisively to pronounce against the "Wren tradition . " We are always in danger in Freemasonry of two extremes —hyper-credulity anel hyper-incredulity—anel at present I venture , pleading the privilege of old age and grey hairs , lo rt : commend caution anel hesitation .

SEN EX . P . S . —If it be true , as 1 hope it is , lhat there is a chance of some publication , sooner or later , of the archives of "Old Antiquity , " I for one would rather not speak positively now one way err the other .

MASONIC STATUTES . ( Continued from page 15 S . ) Though the preceding note refers to the "Social" as distinguished from the "Craft" Guilds , it applies with equal force to the latter of these associations . Air . Smith says : —( P . 150 ) "The absence of any ordinances in the returns made ( to the law of 13 SS ) by the Craft Gilds is

much lo be regretted . The ordinances of the Gilds of Crafts would be of quite as much interest as those of the Social Gilds . " 'This deficiency , however , he himself supplies , and we find ( at p . 315 ) , a nongst the ordinances of the Craft Guilel of 'Tailors , at Exeter , that there were to be four days of regular meeting of the Guilel— " and att tha ' elavys , the otlie and the Ordynawnse-ys and Constytusyons

shall be r .-idde . " In a petition fo Parliament against this Guild ( 22 Edw . IV . ) , by the Mayor and Corporation of Exeter , it is complained that " they oft-tymes haue made and caused to be made ilyvers Coniieiit ' tcles , Commocions , " ele . 'The

expression t ' oiit'eiiliiii's would see-in to Ire here employed in the ; sense of irregular or unlawful " Chapters' ' or -secret meetings . Colour is lent to this supposition by the phraseology of a proclamation of the "Mair , Shirrenes , and Aldermen" of the City of London in 13 S 3 { 7 Rich . II . ) which orders— " that noman make none Congraciouns ,

Masonic Notes And Queries.

Conucnticules , ne assembles of people in pviue neu apert ( in private nor openly ) , withoutc leire of the Mair ; ne oner more in none maiicrenc make alliances , confederacies , conspiracies , ne obligaciouns forto bynde men to gidre ; upon peync of emprcsonement , vche ( each ) man that is yfoundc in swych tlcfaute , ancl his bocli at the Kyngges will " etc .

There can , it is conceived , be but little doubt that at thc General Meetings ( or Assemblies ) of nil Crafts , Mysteries and Fraternities , by which names the trade Guilds of the middle ages were indifferently described , it was the practice to regulate the price of their merchandise or of tbeir labour , and to assert thc prerogative of domestic legislation , by passing such ordinances as tbey deemed suitable

anel necessary for thc proper government of their members . Such a remarkable occurrence moreover , as the Assembly of nil the members of tbe building trades , in a general convocation , besides conflicting with thc inherent and independent Constitutions of the individual Crafts , which were marked features of tbe Guild system , woulel have been banded down to us on more certain authority than

the preamble of an ancient statute , ancl thc apocryphal records of our subsisting fraternity . In a sister kingdom , where " the legend of thc Guilds " points to Kilwinning as the birth-place of Scottish Masonry , the feature of an "annual assembly" has similarly been engrafted on tbe old Masonic tradition . Commenting thereupon , Bro . D . M . Lyon observes : — " He ( Bro . Laurie ) does notsecm to havc been staggered

in his belief by reflecting on the improbability of Masons from Aberdeen , Perth , St . Andrews , Edinburgh , and other places , in an age when long journeys were attended with both difficulties and danger . " ,, travelling to a distant obscure hamlet to adjust differences in connection with their handicraft . Altogether , the story of the ' Hereditary Grand Master' and his annual assemblies at Kilwinning is so myth-like , that we decline to accept it as a historical fact . " —Bro . Gould ' s " Finn- Old Lodges . "

1 have received a communication from Bro . the Rev . VV . C . Lukis , Rector of Wath , P . M . S 37 , and P . l' . G . Chaplain , in whicb be tells me he has found amongst some old papers , late tbe property of Dr . Slukeley , a tracing of part of "the first and last pages in a vtlliiin . MS ., being Constitutions of the Freemasons , exhibited at the yearly meeting of the same at Stationers' Hall on St . John's Dav , 1 7 21 , by

Mr . Payn , then Grand Master , 24 th June . " First page : "Thonked be God our glorious ffadir anel louder and former of ; heven and of cirhe , and off all thyngis that in bym is : that he wolde fochesave of his glorious Goelhed for to make so mony thyngis of divers verke for mankynd . ffor he made all thyngis for to be obedient and sojet to man ( Tor all thyngis that ben comestible of holsome nature he . . . " Last page : " That as well the lowist are as the hiest schuld

be well and trewly servyd in his art bifore said tborowowt all tbe kyngdom of Englond . Amen . So mote it be . " Bro . Lukis has also found a letter written by Bro . James Anderson , addressed to Samuel Gale , a Freemason , and son of the Dean of York , dated Feb . 2 t > , 1731 , in which he speaks of Counsellor Eelwarels , of Lincoln's Inn , as being then "Warden of the Horn Lodge , of which the Duke of Richmond is Master . " Is the original of thc above tracing now in existence ?

T . 13 . VVHYTEHEAD . [ We think that this is taken from what is called Matthew Cooke ' s MS ., but we will carefully collate next week . In the meantime we invite Bro . Hughan's attention to it as well . —ED . 'I

TIIE EARLY HISTORY OF THE GRAND LODGE OF PENNSYLVANIA . I should be greatly oblii . - ¦ !; : ; : 1 S 77 ? R . F . GOULD . NETHERLANDS . — 'The history of Freemasonry in thc Nether lands is somewhat obscure ; and recent

investigations have matle it still more uncertain . We must give ? up , we apprehend , the story of the Lodge I Jet Vmlentlal , etc ., and confine ourselves to 1731 , when an occasional Grand Lodge , under a warrant from Lord Love ! , is stated to have met . Dr . Dt ; sngulicrs being the W . M ., forthe purpose of initiating Francis , Dukenf Lorraine , afterwards the Emperor Francis I . It is but fair lo sav there is no record of such

a proceeding in the archives of the Grand Loelge of England ; but that is no argument against the correctness of it . It would appe-ar that a Count Vincent dr la Cbapelle , either on thc 30 th S'pternhcr or the' roth November , 1734 , founded a lodge under the name " Ltige du Granel Maitrc des Provinces Re ' unies et du Ressort ele la Gentjralite . " Some say that this was a Grand Lodge , and Vincent de la

Chapelle Grand Master ; but of this there is no proof , as ' 7 . v > . J . Cornelius Radcmnker is said to havc received a patent from England as Pro , ' . G . M ., anil in October , 1735 , is called by the Dutch papers Grand Maitrc . In 1735 the meetings were suppressed by edict , but this prohibition was repealed about 1740 , and from that time Masonic works were openly published , and the lodges appear to have met .

In 1740 the "Lege du Grand Maitrc took the name of "Loge ele I'Union Royale , " and in 175 ( 1 began a movement for a Grand Lodge , which on the 25 th December that year was completed ; for then the representatives of fourleer , lodges , under Bro . Dagran , assembled at The Hague , and on the 27 th thc Grand Lorlge was formed , Baron von Acssern Beycrn van Hongerhelde , a military officer , being

proclaimed Grand Master ; and Baron von Botzelaar , also a military officer , being elected D . G . M . We need not folow its fortunes further than to say that in iSifi Prince Frederick Charles was elected Granel Master , anel is still its Grand Master . In 1 S 03 there were , under the Grand

Orient , " Groin . Osten der Neelerlnmlen , " 3 S lodges in 32 towns , in activity ; 5 at Amsterdam , 3 at Rotterdam , and at the rest one each ; 4 lodges in Batavia , anrl some at the Cape of Gootl Hope , and 15 dormant . The number of Masons in Holland is not large , —probably about 2000 . — Kcnning's Cyclopedia of Freemasonry .

We regret lo . mnoiinci . ' the dentil of Bro . Alderman Bull , of Bedford , which sad event took place on Saturday last , in North Wales , whither he bail gone to vote . [ . K . SHAM ' & Co ., " Fair Traders , " Registered Wine and Spirit Merchants ( Experts ami Valuers ; , 2 , Alhcrt Mansion ! ' , Victoria-street , London , S . W . Price lists mi application . —[ Anvr . ]