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men , " and the word " gentleman" re-echoes from one end of the country to tlie other . Gentlemen by birth , gentlemen by education , gentlemen by profession , and gentlemen by I don ' t know what . Two centuries

ago all the honourable posts in the law and army were , as was then the custom all over Europe , confined to thc gentry . A gentleman could only be an officer in the army or a Barrister in the Inns of Court , which accounts for the coats of arms that decorate

the halls ofthe lemplc and or Lincoln s Inn . But in other countries , when tlie tires e tat , or plebians , became too important to be excluded from these offices , the law that excluded them was usually repealed ;

but in England a different course was pursued—thc law was maintained , but broken through on even' occasion , and as officers and lawyers still maintained that none but "Gentlemen" could be admitted , Barristers

and Captains were at length styled Esquires , and Ensigns and Attorneys Gentlemen . Some centuries ago , thc higher orders were alone distinguished by a suavity of manners . Hence a polished man was said to have thc

manners of a gentleman , and no doubt thc barbarity of thc lower ranks might have induced thc higher ranks to maintain that there was no polished man but a gentleman . When , however , the benefits of education

had descended lower , and plebians had become polished , the saying should have been disused ; but here again thc inferiors turned the tables against their superiors , by retorting that , if there were no polished man but

a gentleman , every polished man must be a gentleman . Thc title of Gentleman is now almost , if not entirely , swamped in courtesy , and wc are now accustomed to apply it to those who combine with " respectability of

position " the advantages of education and refinement . There are , however , exceptions to most rules , and a short time ago I found one to this . A friend of mine , the son of a worthy and esteemed tradesman in this

town , desired to join a Masonic lodge . He is a young man of integrity , intelligence , education and character , but was rejected , because a few aristocratic (?) Masons had determined not to admit any tradesman !

I do not wish to be sarcastic in commenting upon thc proceedings of my brethren , but I must say their decision certainly astonished me . Do they know what a tradesman is ? I am almost inclined to

believe they do not , by the fact of these very exclusive individuals principally consisting of tailors , shopmen , clerks of various kinds , small ship-brokers , and others of a similar stamp . On the other hand , as they

do not recognise gentility by moral or intellectual endowments , what do they mean by " gentlemen" ? Who are gentlemen ,

according to their very logical notions ? Are they aware that the nurse of James I ., who had followed him from Edinburgh to London , once entreated him to make her

son a gentleman ? " My good woman , " said the king , "a gentleman I could never make him , though I could make him a lord . " Bonaparte , too , when in thc plcntittidc of

his power , though he created dukes , grand dukes , and even kings , never ventured to make a gentleman . In Bailey ' s Dictionary ( edition of 1707 ) we find a gentleman to be " one who received his nobility from his

ancestors , and not from the gift of any prince or state . " Gentility , according to heraldry , is superior to nobility ; gentility must be innate , nobility may be acquired ;

noblemen may be only persons of rank and distinction , but gentlemen must be persons ° f family and quality . Could any title of the peerage add to the nobility of that Hampden upon whose sarcophagus is in-

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scribed , "John Hampden , twenty-fourth hereditary lord of Great Hampden" ? None but gentlemen , according to Riixner ' s Furnierbuch , who were able to prove their descent from four grand parents of coat armour—or , as the Germans express it , to prove four quarters—could offer themselves as combatants at the grand national tournaments in Germany , and every German gentleman is not less proud in showing the

name of his ancestors in these lists , than our families of French origin at finding their names on the roll at Battle Abbey . The English gentry alone were formerly

Knights Templars , and until the reign of Henry VIII . only English gentlemen of four quarters were admissible into the Orders of Malta or of Saint John of Jerusalem .

If , then , we object to tradesmen of character and position , where arc we to look for the rara avis—gentleman ? Hull . ' \ V . B .

Israelitism & Freemasonry.

ISRAELITISM & FREEMASONR Y .

Thc very interesting articles of Bro . Carpenter , on " Israelitism and Freemasonry , " have drawn such general attention to the fate of the lost ten tribes of Israel , and have excited so much interest ,

that no apology is necessary for prosecuting further inquiries into the subject , especially as Bro . Carpenter ' s articles have come to a close . Permit me to suggest to Bro . Carpenter that he would lie

conferring- a great favour on his numerous readers , if he would kindly give a resume' of his articles , so that one might see , at a glance , the conclusions he has arrived at , and ( if necessary ) tlie reader might refer to

the articles themselves in order to examine the arguments on which such conclusions arc based . It will be obvious that , for various reasons , such a resume could be best prepared by the writer of the articles ,

and therefore I urge on Bro . Carpenter the propriety of so doing . I attacli so much importance to this matter ( knowing that THE FREEMASON has been purchased and read even by strangers simply because it

contained articles on this most interesting question ) that , if Bro . Carpenter ' s numerous engagements will prevent him from carrying out this suggestion , I will myself ( though closely engaged in my professional

avocations ) undertake the task , rather than that it should remain undone . It is to be hoped , however , that Bro . Carpenter will see the

utility of thc suggested resume , and will kindly undertake to do thc work , which can be carried out so much better by him than by any one else .

Permit me to take this opportunity of replying to one or tsvo observations which have been made on my articles on " Israelitish Origin of the Anglo-Saxon Race . " It has been pointed out that I refer

to Josiah ' s visit to Bethel , and his destroying thc altar erected there by Jeroboam , and that a strong argument is founded thereon to prove that all the Israelites were not carried away by the Assyrians .

It will be recollected that the visit , of Josiah to Bethel was foretold by the disobedient prophet from Judah , who was slain by a lion on his return from Bethel . I am reminded that this place ( Bethel ) was in

Benjamin , and , consequently , belonged to the King of Judah , and , therefore , the argument ( based upon Josiah ' s visit ) that the

inhabitants belonged to one of the ten tribes , is fallacious . The reply to this simply is , that , although some geographers certainly place Bethel Liu in the land

Israelitism & Freemasonry.

belonging , as they allege , to the tribe of Benjamin , there is not an atom of evidence in support of that assumption , but very

much to the contrary . I have seen scores of plans or maps of Palestine , showing the land divided out among the several tribes , with as much minuteness as the counties of

England are marked out on the Ordnance survey ; but I have never been able to understand where these geographers obtained their very precise information . Some writers ( Kitto , for instance ) have got over

the difficulty , in some measure , by having tiuo Bethels—one in the land of Ephraim ( which I contend is the right place ) , and the other in the land of Benjamin ; but , with singular inconsistency , he marks thc Bethel

in Benjamin as the place where Jereboam set up his molten calves . Now , as we find that there was a chronic state of war between Judah and Israel up to the time of Jehosophat and Ahab , and that Jereboam ' s

reason for setting up the calves was to prevent his subjects from visiting the adjoining kingdom ; and as this continued to be the policy of the kings of Israel for many years , it is absurd to suppose either

that Jereboam would set up his idols in a place beyond his jurisdiction , or that the kings of Judah would allow them to remain in their dominions if they were so set up . Tlie narrative shows clearly that , wherever

this Bethel was placed , it was not within the limits of the kingdom of judah . The position of Bethel Luz is ascertained with considerable accuracy , but it is clear that

thc geographers are wrong in including it within tlie region occupied by the tribe of Benjamin . My argument , of the existence of some descendants of the ten tribes in the land of Israel , at thc time of Josiah ' s visit to Bethel , therefore remains untouched . W . E . N ., 766 .

Freemasonry At Newport.

FREEMASONRY AT NEWPORT .

The banquet of the Silurian Lodge , No . 471 , in celebration of tlie re-election of Bro . H . J . Gratte , as Worshipful Master ( it being his second year of ollice ) , took place at the Westgate Hotel , on Wednesday evening , ioth inst ., and was served up in consonance with the well-known reputation of the worthy brother , who is host of the establishment .

The regular lodge at which tlie business , concurrent with installation ceremonials , was transacted , was held on the previous Wednesday , ( for which day the banquet had according to custom , been fixed , but was postponed in .

consequence ol the death of Bro . William Williams , the respected Secretary of tlie lodge ) , on which occasion the following appointments were made : Bros . H . J . Gratte , W . M . ; Rev . Samuel Fox , I . P . M . ; W . Pickford , Treas . ; George Rogers , Org . ; C . H . Oliver . M . C . ; George ' Fothergill , S . W . ; C . W . Ingram , J . W . ; ' Charles Rowe , S . D . ;

W . Watkins , J . D . : B . Lawrence , I . G . ; Chas . D . Phillips , and \ V . H . Pickford , Stewards ; Henry Fletcher , Tyler . On Wednesday , ioth inst ., there was a Lodge of Emergency , at which several visiting brethren

from Metropolitan and other lodges attended . The . sublime degree was gone through in deference to the wishes of these brethren , who expressed themselves highly pleased with the correct and very effective working by the W . M .

The banquet at the Westgate was on die table shortly before six o ' clock . Of its excellence we have already spoken . Now , as to the proceedings . The chair , as a matter of course , was taken by the W . M ., supported on the right and

left by the following brethren : S . George Homfray , D . P . G . M . ; L . A . Homfray ( Isca ) 6 S 3 ; Rev . S . Pox ( Silurian ) 471 ; H . Hellier , 471 ; Wm . Pickford , 471 ; John Middleton , 6 S 3 ; H . j . Parnall , 471 ; John Hunter ( Moira ) , 326 Bristol ; James R . Shorland ( Colston ) , 610 Bristol ;