Original Correspondence.

quite right , and every Mason , or man of spirit , would take the only course to clear his reputation by taking the matter to a court of law . Apologising for taking up so much of your valuable ' space , I am , yours fraternally , S . K . Freemasons' Club , Manchester . [ We have slightly modified one or two expressions . —ED F . M . I

GRAND LODGE OFFICERS . To the Editor ofthe "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I see that Bro . "Bayard" comes again to the " charge " with another line 011 the subject . Bro . "Bayard" says his " arguments" and those of others remain unanswered , and I fancy he also wishes to

insinuate quietly are unanswerable ; but I equally think that mine , in reply to " Reviresco , " for whom , if he is the writer I take him to be , 1 have great respect , are equally in the same category . If Bro . " Bayard ' s" contention be correct , the whole practice of Grand Lodge , since 1 S 13 , has been unconstitutional . Will Bro . " Bayard " answer thc question , If Provincial

and District Grand Masters arc not in some sense Grand Officers how can they , and how do they , preside in Grand Lodge in the absence of the G . M ., the Pro G . M ., or D . G . M . ? The action of our esteemed D . G . M . ought not to be quoted as a " ruling " on a point which never was raised before . This is , indeed , " post hoc , propter hoc " with a

vengeance . There may be reasons , on the annual festival , on the appointment of officers , to couple the toast with the name of thc appointed Senior Grand Officer present , and I rather fancy that has always been the custom . _ But no "ruling" can fairly be inferred as to the respective ranks of District and Prov . G . Masters and the Grand Officers of the year . Yours fraternally , NOT INFALLIBLE .

To the Editor ofthe "Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — Permit me to call attention to page ( ii of the very cxcellentcalendar—thc "Cosmopolitan" —published by Bro . George Kenning . Under the heading of " Officers of the United Grand Lodgeof England " we find the names of those brethren

only who were invested or proclaimed as "Grand Lodge Officers" on the 30 th April , 1 S 79 . The authority of the "Cosmo . " may , therefore , be cited by "Bayard " in support of his contention that Provincial and District Grand Masters arc not " Officers of Grand Lodge . " As against this view , however , is thc contrary which will de

opinion expressed editorially by yourself , - servedly carry great weight with archaeologists and pundits of our ancient Craft . Now , as a reader and admirer of "the Four Masonic Publications " hailing from 19 S , Fleet-street , upon which of the two conflicting authorities comprised in this series , the " Cosmo . " or the Freemason , am I to pin my faith ?

Yours fraternally , A PUZZLED STUDENT . [ The "Cosmo . " only professes to give thc names of the actual Grand Officers for the year only . There can be nothing in this point . —En . F . M . ]

LODGE PRACTICE . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Will you kindly answer through the columns of the Freemason the following questions ? Are the two following paragraphs part of thc Constitution of the Grand Lodge of England ? viz . :

" If the Master die , be removed , or be incapable of discharging the duties of his ollice , the Senior Warden , nnd in the absence ofthe Senior Warden the Junior Warden , shall act as Master in summoning the lodge until thc next election of officers . " " If thc Master be not present , the Immediate Past Master , or , if he he not present , the Senior Past Master of

the lodge present shall take the chair . If no Past Master of thc lodge be present then the Senior Warden , or in his absence the Junior Warden , may rule the lodge , but not confer Degrees . " Under the sections quoted , who is the proper officer to open the lodge MI the absence of the Master ? ls it thc right of the Senior Warden or the Immediate Past Master ?

What is the custom in England ? Does the Senior Warden exercise the right , if it is his , or does he waive it in favour of the Immediate Past Master ? Please state your theory ns well as your practice . St . John , N li ., Canada " , joth August . P . M .

[ We have ourselves no doubt whatever that the I . P . M ., and inhisabsence a P . M . nf the lodge , is the proper person to take the chair . We do not profess to understand how any doubt can arise . A S . W . can " rule " the lodge under certain circumstances , but unless nn Installed Master he cannot , we hold , lake the chair . —V . n . F . M . J

A QUOTATION . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and lirother , — Since I wrote to you I have looked into the " paternity " of the " quotation , " nnd find , as liro . Levander truly says , that it is nut in Ovid . Fncciolali tells us that

it is a " vulgar proverb , " or " common proverb , " widely used , whose author is uncertain , and so McDonnel repeats in his useful little " Dictionary of Quotations . " Until Bro . Levander questioned its " I Ividian origin , " like many more , I believed it to be from that voluminous writer , and even the fine " French Gradus , " ( . 1 far better one than our English Gradus ) , under " Cliarybdis , "distinctly ascribes it to Ovid .

Facciolati says that the true form was " Incidit in Scyllam cupiens vitare Charybdin . " 1 have seen somewhere the old form " cvitarc " used instead of " vitare , " otherwise my version , "barrin " the writer , agrees with the example given us by Bro . Levander . If my memory is not at fault , there is a " discussion on the line in " lioswell ' s Johnson ; " I cannot , unfortunately , refer to my copy of that

interesting work to-day . Bro . Levander has made good his " point" as to the " non-Ovidian " origin of the line , and his letter convinces me , if any of us should need convincing , how carelessly we all quote familiar sentences and give to them an erroneous paternity . In all probability Facciolati ascribes to it its true origin , and P . G . De Lille probably uses it as an apt quotation , it being older much than his time . FRATER SCIIOLASTICUS .

The Gathering Of The Knights Templar At Chicago.

THE GATHERING OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR AT CHICAGO .

To thc Editor ofthe " F " rcernason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I promised you a fourth and last communication concerning the grand triennial conclave at Chicago . Now that the affair has closed , the eulogists have all ceased to

eulogise , the grumblers have commenced to grumble , the anti-Masons , whose voices were silenced during the weeks of preparation , are noisy in their slanders . Now is a good time to look back over the "foughten field , " and ask , what of it ? It was a grand and splendid success in the only wai- in which success was sought , viz .: "in bringing

together a vast collection of Templars , and so enlarging the social circle . " Nothing else was expected of it by sensible men . 'That the hot season , the crowds of thieves , thc crush of visitors , the over-loaded railway trains , and the petty cheatings of barbers , hack-drivers , and attendants would occur was anticipated by all experienced knights , and they did not go home to "rumble , but to

praise . But the youthful , the inexperienced , the greenhorn who expected ail his bills would be paid , and a guard of honour detailed for his special benefit—he is loud in his denunciations . The papers of St . Louis , Cincinnati , and Louisville , in which cities bitter and implacable rivalry exists against Chicago , teem with the most outrageous falsehoods concerning " Conclave Week . " This too was to

be expected , although there never was better attention paid to Press delegates than by the Press Committee of Chicago . 1 enclose you a ticket ( of which 150 were issued ) in proof of it . In that excellent sheet the Keystone there is a quotation from the Chicago Times that is both cruel and unjust . Based upon that , the Keystone Editor compares thc

hospitality of Philadelphia on similar occasions with that of Chicago . The comparison will provoke a smile from all who have attended Masonic gatherings in Philadelphia . That every delegate to a Masonic gathering shall pay for his own transportation and supplies applies to Philadelphia equally with all cities , and the "hospitality" referred to can only apply to a public

dinner . Now , the Chicago knights , who taxed themselves on an average of loodols . each for the entertainment af their guests , were prepared to give such a dinner . It was the very cheapest thing they could have done . But the expected crowd of 'Templar-guests rendered that impossible , and so , as a noble institution , they hired theatres , and made them free to'Templars ; they hired steamboats , they

furnished elegant fireworks , they did ill that could be done to entertain and satisfy their guests . And now , depleted in pocket , worn out in body , many of them sick with overwork and anxiety , they read the comments in the Press with a sort of feeling that is very unlike that experienced hy St . John the Evangelist . There was one feature in the grand procession of August 17 th which to me was of special interest . Knowing

personally almost every other man of the 15 , 000 or 20 , 000 , I saw my whole country represented—the men of Maine walked with the men of Minnesota ; the hunters of buffalo with thc hunters of the alligator ; the angler fur Oregon salmon with the angler for St . Lawrence pike , the grower of cotton , the grower of wheat , the producer of barley , and the producer of rice ; the mechanic and thc

merchant walked together ; the mountaineer , strong-limbed , the bilious sugar-planter , the bull-whacker of the plains , the soft-skinned denizen of the city . Men to whom the tides arc as familiar as the rising of the sun hob-nobbed with men whose only knowledge of the tides comes from thc Entered Apprentice ' s lecture . The steamboat man , the logger , the toiler of the sea , thc delvcr in the deep

crypts of thc Cornstock Ledge , the gold-washer of California , the miner of Pennsylvania , the salt-boiler of New York , the quarrymen of Massachusetts , citizens from all out cities—New Orleans , Louisville , St . Louis , Cincinnati , Detroit , New York , Boston , Richmond , Charleston — walked lovingly side by side . Men who had wrestled in

fiercest light during our Civil War strove noiv as earnestly in communications of fraternal love . Ministers and members of all religions ( whose centre is Golgotha and its cross ) harmonised on that day , their only creed being "the Father and His adorable Son . " The sentiment on every tongue was" Christ rules the earth to-day ,

Light ol I lis cross illumes ; His hcauseant on High display , And stir the rolling drums . " I am sure that I express the sentiment of many thousands who stated in my satisfaction during conclave week that

this grand and expressive demonstration must not he reduced to the level of a " wretched failure , " as certain Presses would do it , but placed on record as an immense success in bringing cut the masses of the Templars and so increasing the social joy .

ROI ! MORRIS La Grange , Kentucky , August j . - ' th .

Tothe Editor of the" Freemason . Dear Sir and lirother , — An American Past Grand Master—Bio . Rob Morris—refers , in your last impression , to the Chicago Pageant as being , "in some respects the most extraordinary Masonic event of the age . " Permit me to challenge the accuracy of this statement

and to demur to the title " Masonic being in any way applicable to the gathering which yonr correspondent describes . If , indeed , proceedings become Masonic by reason of Masons talcing part in them , a band of "brethren " donning the modern costume nf "Ethiopia" might with equal propriety stylo themselves the " Masonic ChristyMinstrels , " their entertainments becoming of course " Masonic events . "

'The continued existence of real Masonry in the United States is both a wonder and a mystery . 0 ;; csuch exhibition ( in this country ) as the Chicago Pageant of Knights 'Templar would not improbably result in the secession of at least half thc members of our English lodges , whilst a general " skedaddle" by the remainder might be confidently expected on the introduction of the androgynous

system , or " Ladies' Masonry , " so commended hy Bro . Morris . The following remarks , taken from the Times , may seem to Bro . Morris somewhat unneighbourly , but 1 venture to think they echo very fairly the prevalent English opinion both in and out of the Craft , in regard to such a display as Bro . Morris has taken upon himself to chronicle .

The Gathering Of The Knights Templar At Chicago.

Your contemporary observes : "This Degree—Knight Templar—is a favourite one in the United States , partly because the clothing is very showy , and partly because all its members cease to be plain Jones , Brown , and Robinson , and become , for thc time being , Sir Thomas Jones , Sir John Brown , and Sir Joseph Robinson . It is their custom to have an annual gathering in some city , where they

parade in public , and march about with a mock military air . When the International Exhibition took place in Philadelphia in 1 S 76 , the Knights Templar assembled there to the number of Sooo , and proved themselves to be the most extraordinary sight which had been provided for the astonishment of the foreign visitors . " It is , however , only just to state that all American Past

Grand Masters are not of the same mind with Bro . Morris . R . W . Bro . J . T . Heard , a former Grand Master of Massachusetts , thus expresses himself in the Keystone of 24 th January last : " Let Masons give their time and money to the three symbolic Degrees—the first three Degrees—and devote all their energies to make them attractive and instructive , in my opinion there is nothing in the first three Degrees , or what is sometimes called Blue Masonry , which

docs not challenge the best talent and most earnest effort of every Mason to promote . The thing needed , it seems to me , to increase the efficiency of the Masonic Institution is that every Mason should devote himself to the advancement of the influence , character , and honour of Freemasonry , _ as it was a hundred years ago , and discard the follies which have since obtained , and are to some extent recognised , as Higher Degrees . " S ' ours fraternally , ANCIENT LANDMARK .

THE ADMISSION OF VISITORS . To the Editor af the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — The following is thc order issued by Grand Lodge with respect to visiting brethren , referred to by your correspondent , " Read , Mark , and Learn : " Yours fraternally . P . M .

• ' United Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of England . 'The Rt . lion , the Earl of Zetland , K . T .. & c * ., & c , & c . M . W . Grand Master . ' * W . Master , " I . 'im desired by the Board of General Purposes to inform you that it has come to their knowledge that at the present time there are persons claiming to be Freemasons

and who pretend to hold lodges , but who arc not acting under any regular or recognised Masonic authority . That such persons are in the habit af attending at the meetings of regular lodges of Freemasons and endeavouring to obtain admission on the alleged plea of belonging to thc Fraternity . " The Board arc of opinion that under these

circumstances more Ihan ordinary caution should be observed when a stranger seeks admission to your lodge , and they consider that a simple examination as to a knowledge of Freemasonry is not in itself sufficient , but that a stranger presenting himself for admission to your lodge , and not properly vouched for by some well known brother , should on no account be admitted without the production of his

certincate from the Grand Lodge to which he claims to belong , and satisfactory identification of the applicant with thc brother named in such certificate , or other proper vouchers of his having been initiated in a regular lodge , and the Board desire tu direct your attention to the regulations in

reference to visitors contained in the Ancient Charges and the Book of Constitutions , which you are bound to observe . " The Board advise that ' the production of such certificate , or other vouchers , and proof of identity , be required in the first instance , and before any examination takes place .

" You will cause this letter to be read in open lodg e at thc first regular meeting held after its receipt , and you will afterwards have it transcribed on your minutes . " It will be well that you remind the members of your lodge that thev can hold no Masonic communication with

persons belonging to irregular lodges without incurring very serious penalties . " I remain , W . Master , your faithful servant and brother "WM . GUAY CI - AHKE , G . S . " Freemasons' Hnll , London , W . C , ' * [ une 3 rd , 1 X 67 . "

SHAKESPEARE'S HOUSE . ** XVa f . il-e flu ' s letter from the Antiquary . To the Editor of the "Antiquary . ' ' Sir , — 1 addressed the following letter tothe Globe last year , in the hope <> f the public interfering to save the house in Aldersgate-street once owned and probably inhabited by Shakespeare , and which is described in your first number .

May I ask you to place it on permanent record 111 your pages ?—A letter appears in your issue of Thursday , May 15 th , from an " Architect , " calling attention to the doomed destruction of Shakespeare's house , and remarking on your article of the day previous . I also noticed your expression of regret at its near demolition , but 1 am not so

satisfied as to thc necessity for its destruction as "Architect" appears to be . The "exigencies of commerce" do not surely require the destruction of one of the few remaining records of an age long past , that are still left to us in this great City . The City of London , we know , is not remarkable for the conservation of ancient buildings , and the most interesting relics are swept away to make

room for six-stoned warehouses , without a sigh of regret or a voice being raised against it by citizens . Shakespeare ' s house in Aldersgate is one of the most interesting buildings in England . Often in passing it 1 have stopped to admire its quaint and picturesque appearance , and viewed with mingled feelings uf awe and reverence the residence of the greatest dramatist England ever had . Efforts should _ be made to preserve the house , and one of the most meritorious

uses thc Corporation could make of its money would peto buy thc property , and keep in proper repair a building hallowed by such a name as Shakespeare . Their money would be more profitably spent than it now is , when large sums are annually wasted in gormandising . I will not touch on thc architectural merits of the old house . Abler pens than mine can do that , and they would tell you that from an architectural point of view alone it is very interesting , and well worth preserving . 'The "Antient Monuments Bill