Contents.

CONTENTS .

LBADKRS— PAGB . An Instructive Lecture ... ... ... ... 3 S 5 The Grand Lodge of Iowa ... ... ... ... 3 $ 5 Grand Lodge Library ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 S 6 Provincial Grand Lodge of Hants and the Isle of Wight ... ... 3 S 6

The Craft Abroad ... ... ... ... ... ' ... 3 S 7 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 S 7 Masonic Notes ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 S 9 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... 390 Obituary ... ... ... ... ... ... ... "" 390 The Tombs of the Kings Golconda and Mosques of Haidarabad Deccan

viewed Masonically ... ... ... ... ... ... 390 Mark Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 392 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 394

An Instructive Lecture.

AN INSTRUCTIVE LECTURE .

One of the ablest and most instructive addresses it has been our privilege to publish is that which appeared in these columns last week . It was delivered at the installation meeting of the Lodge de Gocde Hoop by the Orator , and though , as he very truly said , it would be impossible , at the close of a " protracted

and exacting ceremonial" to give an adequate description of "the history , principles , aims , and prospects of Freemasonry , " still wc think it will be generally allowed that thc orator contrived to furnish ,, even in outline ; a good deal more valuable information

than could have been expected under the circumstances in which he was placed . With much of this information our brethren have alread y become familiarised through the we' 1-ni gh innumerable lectures and addresses of a more or less similar character

which have been delivered by others on similar occasions or at tlie consecration of new lodges ; but there is also much else in tin address which , if not absolutely new to thc reader , is plated before him in apparently a new aspect , and one so

attractive withal as to merit thc closest attention Such passages are those in which are described " the striking " inalogies to some of our allegories , symbols , and rites ,

vvhich occur in the mysteries of Ancient Egypt , " & c , but more particularly as regards ¦¦ thc Druses of the Mount Lebanon district . " of whom it is said that " their moral Law is summarised

in thc lirst three out of the seven articles in their religion , as f ' - 'llows : Belief in God and in His Eternal Truth , thc exercise ol brotherl y love , and the practice of Charity , all o ( vvhich arc identical with our brotherly love , relief , and truth . " Another striking analogy , on which the writer laid stress , between these

ancient mysteries and Freemasonry is to be found in thc common possession b y both of them of " the allegorical legend , l '' e princi pal incidents of which turned on the death by violence ¦ il lhe hands of treacherous friends of some god or hero , such as

tli . it of Osiris among the Egyptians , and Balder thc Beautiful le-ong the Scandinavians , " on the one hand , and our Third -- ' - 'gree Legend on the other . Equally deserving of note are thc

/¦ 'marks as to the distinction between the spurious and true 1 ' ( - 'masonry of antiquity and what is said concerning the - '• xenes .

. Perhaps the most important of all is what our Bro . Orator ¦ » reported to have said towards the conclusion of his address

11 J- 1 '" -it the Order to vvhich we are proud to belong , though ' » wedl y not a church or a form of religion , is to the philosophic Y'cmason a ver y important witness to God in the history of e world , and as such alone—if for no other reason—deserves

An Instructive Lecture.

to exist as an institution retaining its own immemorial distinctive features . " In these days there is an ever-increasing tendency , more especially among the brethren in the United States , to look upon Freemasonry as a Society with a mission to

fulfil , while in England the tendency is in the direction of an overwhelming preponderance of attention to the Charitable Institutions which the Order has established and which in the opinion of many are the "be-all and end-all" of

Freemasonry . We arc necessarily very proud of these Institutions , but we take leave to point out , firstly , that Freemasonry is not the only Society which has Institutions of this kind , and secondly , that we did not become Freemasons merel y to support them . We must bear in mind what the lecturer said at this installation

of Lodge de Goede Hoop as to the greater necessity there is nowadays to look at Freemasonry as a philosophy whose teachings arc conveyed by means of allegories and symbols , lest " we insensibly come to regard the Fraternity as something only a

little better than a huge benefit society . " The amount now annually levied upon the Craft in order to maintain our Institutions is very considerable , amounting more nearly to £ 50 , 000 than £ 40 , 000 , but , as we have said , there was no need for us to become

members of the Order for the mere purpose of supporting such institutions , vvhich exist without limit as to numbers in every part of the United Kingdom . Let us remember that Charity , while it is in its broadest , deepest /* and truest sense a

fundamental principle of Freemasonry , is by no means restricted to the maintenance of such Institutions as we , like other Societies , have established for the benefit of our decayed members , their widows , and their offspring .

The Grand Lodge Of Iowa.

THE GRAND LODGE OF IOWA .

In the previous articles wc have written on the subject of Freemasonry in Iowa , thc pleasant duty has devolved upon us of speaking in terms of commendation of the prosperous condition to vvhich the Craft in this State has attained and the

admirable manner in vvhich its affairs are administered . . The former , indeed , is the consequence of the latter , and the latter in its turn is due to the fact that those who have been successivel y elected to preside over the fortunes of the Grand Lodge have

been men of great ability and sound judgment , while they have had thc supreme advantage of being assisted in their arduous and important duties by breihren ol equal ability and judgment and at the same time of greater experience in Masonic

government than themselves , thc most prominent among their leading executive officers being Bro . THEODORE S . PARVIN , Past Grand Master , whose occupancy of the office of Grand Secretary lacks only a fewyears in order to be co-equal in duration of time

with the Grand Lodge itself . It would , in fact , be next to impossible to make any reference , however brief , to lowan Freemasonry at any particular epoch in its history without finding it necessary

to introduce the name of this respected brother as the suggester , promoter , or originator of some step , or some course of policy or that was calculated and intended to be of service to thc cause

of Freemasonry , and which , when adopted or carried out , was found to have been of material benefit to the Craft . Bro . PARVIN has been from the very outset one of thc central figures in Masonry in this State , and in speaking of its proceedings ,

may , without exaggeration , or vainglory , add " quorum pars magna fui . " But the greatest of his many services , the service with vvhich his name will ever be associated , is the establishment