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Article PERSONALITY IN MASONIC WRITING. ← Page 2 of 2 Article Original Correspondence. Page 1 of 1 Article Original Correspondence. Page 1 of 1 Article Original Correspondence. Page 1 of 1 Article Obituary. Page 1 of 1
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Personality In Masonic Writing.
•written , but then , remembering the infirmity of men and Masons , as we do not nrofess to be infallible or impeccable , we are g lad to note how fevv have been our " backsliding ? , " we are proud jn realizing how much that is valuable and worth reading is preserved for us and our posterity iu the
frank and fiee pages of the Freemason . Still we cannot be "insensible if we would , and we ought not if we could , " to a certain hasty aciimouy and petulant personality of tone , which render the weight of Masonic correspondence the most difficult portion of a Masonic Editor ' s duty to
manage and to accomplish The discussion may be on some trivial subject , a question of ritual , arcbfcology , grammar , in fact anything at all , it matters not , and , certainly , far too often , the unfortunate wight who commences a discussion is at once overwhelmed with an accusation of
personal intentions , and personal objurgations , or his intellectual abilities are doubted , even , sometimes , his moral character is hinted at . It is the old bitter style of controversy , though without excuse in a Masonic paper , because the subject is not worth if , and as Freemasons we
profess always to be fair , courteous , considerate lo each other . We do not say that in all such foolish correspondence and puerile logomachies there are not faults on both sides , because there undoubtedly are , but what can be the Masonic character or sympathies of that brother who ,
because he disagrees with another brother , stiaig htway connects a literary question with a purely personal contest , or forgets the " Diversions of Ptirley , " and hints that his adversaryit is lucky if he does not say it tight out—is an ass . It is somewhat difficult , no doubt , to limit
the fair ri g ht of repartee and replication , or to iltclare what is too acrid anel what is too scathing in the "retort courteous , " "more Masonico " above all , and hence many expressions are to be found in Masonic correspondence which a sterner critic vvould have perhaps expunged , a more
decided " censor" would have obliterated . But let ns rejoice to think that we can speak and wiite in this gootl old land of ours as we like , within , as we said before , of course , proper limits , and let us console ourselves with this reflection ,
most suitable to much passing correspondence of the hour , that after all it matters littlo whether it is read or unread , that it pleases some and does not injure others ; above all , that if " fine words buttei no parsnips , " equall y as surel y "hard words break no bones . "
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
[ Wi tlo not hold ourselves responsible for , or even approving ( f , the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish in I spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . J
MASONIC GllAMMA . Il . To Ihe Editor if the " Freemason . " Utar Sir anil Brother , — It is i | tiite refreshing to have to reciprocate Bro . Kenneth "Mackenzie's fraternal tenour anti spirit of correspondence , and Bro . Fenn's clear and courteous note , and to turn away from that ineptitude , and 1 fear I must
atld vulgar personality , which my humble communication has evoked . I am very snrry now that 1 wrote at all , in that the " tone anil temper " which mark two of the replies to my letter are as bad as bad can be-, in my humble "pinion , and quite disheartening , alike Masonic-ally and asiheticall y . Hut kt these few words suffice on a very disagreeable and unworthy subject : I , In reply to my
"io . Kenneth Mackenzi .-, 1 beg to say that , following his good advice-, I have looked into I'eter Roget ' s Thesaurus , ***** •, I gth edition , and find , as Bro . Mackenzie has stated , 'hat he recognizes " exceptional . " I have not , however , "' en sti fortunate as to find the word in the "Diversions ( f I ' urley , " though my examination has been , necessarily , tursory , and I may have misunderstood the "drift" of Bro .
- "' ickinzic's remark . As Bro . Mackenzie sees , my only ^ 'jtct in writing was a wish to uphold the purity of our j ^ 'glish language , according to tbe standard authorities , ijut 1 was quite prepared to admit , as 1 did all through , 'he use of "exceptional" as a translation of " exceptionnc- ! , " [ ' such use could be validated by authority . 1 was i | uite aware , as I said at thc out-. et , that it is usee !—I have , no
[" U eifien used it myself—in " common conversation "" sli pshod writing , " but 1 was dealing with an official -- "' iitiieiit , and not ihe free and easy utterances written as l'atole t , l each passing hour . Bro . Dron has all along , - <¦ ' ]• apparently , incapable eif realizing what it was 1 was " ¦ iiing at , " and as I am not compelled to pive either
pople liains * , as well as lo furnish grammar lor them , " "it- abnormal case evidently of Bro . Dion , 1 respectfully K to decline the herculean labour . Pcihypssomc of my •ade-is may recall Diydei- ' s lines in "Absalom aud •^ hitophel , " ' The midwife laid her hands on his thick skull With this prophetic blessing , ' be thou dull . ' "
Original Correspondence.
2 . Bro . Dron quotes the " Imperial Dictionary " as a " standard authority , " to which I most respectfully demur , and I fancy all "bibliophiles " and booksellers will concur with me . It is a modern dictionary , " voila tout , " but is not to be compared , I speak to experts , with Todd's edition of Johnson , or even Bailey or Webster , as a correct authority . So far , however , he is compelled to aelniit he only
knows of one authority for his use ot the word , though , thanks to Bco . Mackenzie , and now to Bro . Fenn , he . can also claim the aid of Rogct ' s Thesaurus , & c , Latham , and Webster of 1859 , and probaMy more authorities maybe found . I may mention that since I last wrote 1 have looked into the fine dictionary of the "Academic Fiancaise , " and find
'' exceptionnel " is , undoubtedly , both in its use and meaning , the origin of our word " exceptional , " and as such I quite accept it , as a ivord imported into our language . Neither do I deny that by force of habit , or use , words once alien become naturalized , so to say . No one who has studied , who realizes the richness of the Eng ish language , can wish to object to any such
proposition . Ami nothing was further from my intention , but then , as I said before , as the old proverb runs , " you can ' t make a silk purse out of a sow ' s ear , " you cannot induce a person to understand your words or your meaning if he pertinaciously and perversely will not do so . Perhaps the " hardest lines " connected with all humble little controversies , even like this , are to bc found in this fact , that
some gootlfolks rejoice in such "bad form , " or are so " very thick headed , " that , as Bertram puts it in TVie Antiijiiary , " Deuce take the formal eilel dunderhead , and his more sly associate , who speaks always under his breath ; they cannot understand a plain man's story when it is told them . " Willi regard to " stickler , " I have since found thc word in " Crabb ' s Technological Dictionary , " 1802 , where it
bears the meaning as quoted from the Parliamentary Roll of Henry VI ., of an " inferior officer , vho cuts wood in the king ' s paiks at Clarendon . " Blackie puts it in thc " Priory of Eilerosc . " As to the real meaning of the word , Bro . Dron was elislinclly wrong . Mine may be very bail taste , I may be most ignorant , I may be an uneducated " sutor , " as Bro . Dron so elegantly and so Masonically puts it , but
I prefer Todd ' s Johnson to all the "Imperial Dictionaries" in Ihe world , and if Bio . Dron will refer to it he will , I think , be greatly impreived , and , pcthaps , realize that sentence of the old Latin grammar , which I offer him respectfully and fraternally in return fer his " elegant extract , " " cinollit m- 'res , ncc silt : esse ferns . " I see thai Skinner in lis " Etytnologicoti Lingua ; Anglicaua ? , " gives " stickle " and
" slick " a common origin 111 " steck " or " stock . " But I may remark that Bro . Dron upsets bis own magnificent " dictum " on this subject , in tint he utterly ignores the common use of " stickler , " which , if liis theory be correct , t hail also a perfect right to cniplo ) . The only mistake I am conscious of is in saying too dogmatically that Johnson held exceptionable and exceptional
to be ' ** synonymous . " I , perhaps , said more than I ought to have said , or wished to say , for all that was in my minel was that as Johnson only recognized exceptionable he would hold naturally that any other adjective formetl from " exception " must have the same strict meaning . So " cadit qcajstio , " as far as I am concerned , unless indeed , I am induced by the fraternal politeness and
polished style of Bro . Dron to continue so useless a discussion . With regard to W . S . M ., I think that his Masonic acumen and charity might have led him to see that the " reader" had made a "hash " of Ihe whole two paragraphs properly . As I penned them and correcteel them there was no mistake in grammar and no bid English
whatever . If Bro . W . S . M . knows anything abaut " printing " and " chapels , " he must know what vagaries printers will fall into , and in his abundant Masonic charity he might have assumed for the nonce that the writer , who is as educated a man as himself , could not have fallen knowingly into such palpable errors . But , alas , for Masonic charity and still more alas for Masonic courtesy ! I note Bro . Fenn ' s remarks , and can only say that the
edition of Webster I saw had the word not , and Latham I do not possess . I have never denied its use , the only question in my mind was its authority as an English word . Surely that was a very fair question of literary discuss ion , giving offence to none , and by no means justifying Bro . Dron ' s violent and un-Masonic reply lo my first letter . But I hope you will be troubled no more by Yours fraternally , LINDLEY MURRAY .
COUNT CAGLIOSTRO AND SWEDENBORGIAN MASONRY . To thc F . dilor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — The connection of the unfortunate Count C ' agliostro with various forms of Freemasonry has been reported in the most diverse ways , and very rarely with that spirit of
charity which is suppposed to animate the Fraternity- In the " Royal Masonic Cj clopaedia " some years ago sub voce Cagliostro I tried to put a new light on that career which terminated in the Castle of St . Angelo at Rome . It is impossible to deny that the pretensions of Calsanio or Cagliostro were extravagant , but they were in no way ill founded . Through a youth of misery anil squalor , not without stain , he passed into a better peiiod . Is it likely that the Grand
Master of the Knights of Malta and the Cardinal de Rohan coulel both have been such abseilute idiots as not to detect the base metal in his composition ? Even Monsieur de Surville's attendants of the police coulel not Iind him guilty of actual complicity in the aflair of the diamond necklace . The great accuser of Cagliostro was the Romish Church , supplemented , I grieve to say , by Mr . Thomas Carlyle . The other side has never been entertained by any section of thinkers , and I believe
Original Correspondence.
that there are very few who regard Cagliostro otherwise than as a swindler . "Those who know" about him , wish his memory done fair justice , and so far as Masonry is concerned that there should be something better than the caricature in which Bro . Mash appears at the Lodge of Antiquity . The connection of Cagliostro with Swedenborgian
Masonry , to which my brother " Masonic Student " refers , was brief , so far as this country was concerned . There suddenly appeared in London a certain Count Grabiancka , or Prince Sutovvski . This person attempted to open negotiations with the existing literary society known in 1786 as the Theosophical Society , established by Mr . Hindmarsh in some chambers in the Temple , Fleet-street , and
he spent several evenings with them and disappeared . It is by no means certain that this was Cagliostro . It mi ght have been the Abbe ; Pernctty in disguise , and as Cagliostro was for a short time associated wilh Pernetty , they may have coins to this countiy together . Whoever Grabiancka was , he did not seek to victimise the members of the Theosophical Society , but only mentioned that he was an
associate of a society with head-quarters at Avignon . He returned to that place and wrote a letter of thanks to the London society in acknowledgment of their kindly attentions to him . Is it likely that Grabiancka , or Sutowski , would at the same time publicly advertise for a meeting at O'Reilly ' s Tavern , when he would be immediately detected ? I
presume very few people now living knew which was O'Reilly ' s Tavern . I can enlighten Masonic antiquaries on the subject , as the place exists , and is a licensed house , right opposite Freemasons' Hall , known as the " Hercules Pillars . " I am aware that Tafel in his most valuable " Documents concerning Swedenborg , " takes great pains to
disavow thc connection of Swedenborg with Freemasonry , anil I am also aware that Bro . Samuel Beswick as strenously affirms it . The truth lies between these extremes . Ptrnelty , Chastannier , Nordcnskgold , and others formed , a Rite of Freemasonry , based on olden documents , as might be proved , which now exists in England as the Primitive anel Oiiginal Rite of three Decrees , and no
more—offering a truly philosophical explanation of the Accepted English Rite . This is accessible to brethren having received the Degree of Master Mason . It has nothing in common with illuminism , supports lather than opposes the established creeds of our time , and bears marks of having been known to those " scrupulous brethren " who in 1720 destroyed " laluable manuscripts . " True that there arc elements introduced of a
Swedenborgian kind , but I woultl recommend brethren to study the works of that great man before they decide upon their opinions regarding him . In conclusion I refer " Masonic Student " to "Thcry's Acta Latomorium " for fuither particulars about the distinctive characteristics of Egyptian Masonry , of which Cagliostro was the chief advocate . I remain , dear Sir and Brother , yours sincerely and fraternally , KENNETH R . H . MACKENZIE , IX , Supreme Grand Secretary Swedenborgian Rite . Hounslow , June 14 th , 1879 .
HOSPITAL LIBRARIES . 7 * o the Editor ofthe " Freemason . " Sir , — I think every one who has ever been in a hospital ward will agree with me that hardly a greater boon could be conferred on the suffeiing inmates than the establishment of a lending library for their use . The gift cf a
little book to some suffering ono has often induced a look of gratitude that has lived in our memory for days afterwards , and it appears to me that the establishment of a scries of permanent libraries in our London hospitals should be an easy and a pleasant duty . I will give , as a first donation , a hundred volumes of my own publications , and I have no doubt the London publishers will respond most
liberally from their wealth of literature ; but my object in writing is to ask those of your readers who have readable books , for which they have no further use , to send them to me , and so form the nucleus of a system that will , I trust , become prodigious in its proportions . Those who cannot send books will , perhaps , help us in pecuniary donations towards the same object , and I shall be happy to
receive and acknowledge all such . I shall be glad if donors will kindly send all parcels to my address , carriage paid , advising me by post-card of their despatch . Cheques anti P . O . O . should be crossed London and County Bank . Your kind insertion of this appeal would be greatly esteemed by Yours very truly , F . E . LONGLEY . 30 , Warwick-lane , London , E . C .
Obituary.
Obituary .
BRO . PAYNE . It is with unfeigned regret we have to announce thc almost sudden death of a very energetic and zealous Mason , Bro . Payne , I . P . M . Royal Sussex Lodge , 342 , and also J . in Royal Arch Chapter , 342 , and First Assistant Sojourner in the Provincial Grand Chapter of Hants , and Senior Overseer Phcenix Mark Loi ' ge , 2 , who was only ill
three days , and died on Sunday , thc ist inst ., and was buiicd on the 7 U 1 inst , deeply regretted byall his brethren . About forty brethren followed his remains to their last testing place , each being supplied with a small white flower , tied to a piece of acacia , which , after the ceremony was finished , they deposited on the coffin . The arrangements were ably carried out by Bro . J . W , Willmott , W . M . Royal Sussex Lodge , 342 ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Personality In Masonic Writing.
•written , but then , remembering the infirmity of men and Masons , as we do not nrofess to be infallible or impeccable , we are g lad to note how fevv have been our " backsliding ? , " we are proud jn realizing how much that is valuable and worth reading is preserved for us and our posterity iu the
frank and fiee pages of the Freemason . Still we cannot be "insensible if we would , and we ought not if we could , " to a certain hasty aciimouy and petulant personality of tone , which render the weight of Masonic correspondence the most difficult portion of a Masonic Editor ' s duty to
manage and to accomplish The discussion may be on some trivial subject , a question of ritual , arcbfcology , grammar , in fact anything at all , it matters not , and , certainly , far too often , the unfortunate wight who commences a discussion is at once overwhelmed with an accusation of
personal intentions , and personal objurgations , or his intellectual abilities are doubted , even , sometimes , his moral character is hinted at . It is the old bitter style of controversy , though without excuse in a Masonic paper , because the subject is not worth if , and as Freemasons we
profess always to be fair , courteous , considerate lo each other . We do not say that in all such foolish correspondence and puerile logomachies there are not faults on both sides , because there undoubtedly are , but what can be the Masonic character or sympathies of that brother who ,
because he disagrees with another brother , stiaig htway connects a literary question with a purely personal contest , or forgets the " Diversions of Ptirley , " and hints that his adversaryit is lucky if he does not say it tight out—is an ass . It is somewhat difficult , no doubt , to limit
the fair ri g ht of repartee and replication , or to iltclare what is too acrid anel what is too scathing in the "retort courteous , " "more Masonico " above all , and hence many expressions are to be found in Masonic correspondence which a sterner critic vvould have perhaps expunged , a more
decided " censor" would have obliterated . But let ns rejoice to think that we can speak and wiite in this gootl old land of ours as we like , within , as we said before , of course , proper limits , and let us console ourselves with this reflection ,
most suitable to much passing correspondence of the hour , that after all it matters littlo whether it is read or unread , that it pleases some and does not injure others ; above all , that if " fine words buttei no parsnips , " equall y as surel y "hard words break no bones . "
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
[ Wi tlo not hold ourselves responsible for , or even approving ( f , the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish in I spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . J
MASONIC GllAMMA . Il . To Ihe Editor if the " Freemason . " Utar Sir anil Brother , — It is i | tiite refreshing to have to reciprocate Bro . Kenneth "Mackenzie's fraternal tenour anti spirit of correspondence , and Bro . Fenn's clear and courteous note , and to turn away from that ineptitude , and 1 fear I must
atld vulgar personality , which my humble communication has evoked . I am very snrry now that 1 wrote at all , in that the " tone anil temper " which mark two of the replies to my letter are as bad as bad can be-, in my humble "pinion , and quite disheartening , alike Masonic-ally and asiheticall y . Hut kt these few words suffice on a very disagreeable and unworthy subject : I , In reply to my
"io . Kenneth Mackenzi .-, 1 beg to say that , following his good advice-, I have looked into I'eter Roget ' s Thesaurus , ***** •, I gth edition , and find , as Bro . Mackenzie has stated , 'hat he recognizes " exceptional . " I have not , however , "' en sti fortunate as to find the word in the "Diversions ( f I ' urley , " though my examination has been , necessarily , tursory , and I may have misunderstood the "drift" of Bro .
- "' ickinzic's remark . As Bro . Mackenzie sees , my only ^ 'jtct in writing was a wish to uphold the purity of our j ^ 'glish language , according to tbe standard authorities , ijut 1 was quite prepared to admit , as 1 did all through , 'he use of "exceptional" as a translation of " exceptionnc- ! , " [ ' such use could be validated by authority . 1 was i | uite aware , as I said at thc out-. et , that it is usee !—I have , no
[" U eifien used it myself—in " common conversation "" sli pshod writing , " but 1 was dealing with an official -- "' iitiieiit , and not ihe free and easy utterances written as l'atole t , l each passing hour . Bro . Dron has all along , - <¦ ' ]• apparently , incapable eif realizing what it was 1 was " ¦ iiing at , " and as I am not compelled to pive either
pople liains * , as well as lo furnish grammar lor them , " "it- abnormal case evidently of Bro . Dion , 1 respectfully K to decline the herculean labour . Pcihypssomc of my •ade-is may recall Diydei- ' s lines in "Absalom aud •^ hitophel , " ' The midwife laid her hands on his thick skull With this prophetic blessing , ' be thou dull . ' "
Original Correspondence.
2 . Bro . Dron quotes the " Imperial Dictionary " as a " standard authority , " to which I most respectfully demur , and I fancy all "bibliophiles " and booksellers will concur with me . It is a modern dictionary , " voila tout , " but is not to be compared , I speak to experts , with Todd's edition of Johnson , or even Bailey or Webster , as a correct authority . So far , however , he is compelled to aelniit he only
knows of one authority for his use ot the word , though , thanks to Bco . Mackenzie , and now to Bro . Fenn , he . can also claim the aid of Rogct ' s Thesaurus , & c , Latham , and Webster of 1859 , and probaMy more authorities maybe found . I may mention that since I last wrote 1 have looked into the fine dictionary of the "Academic Fiancaise , " and find
'' exceptionnel " is , undoubtedly , both in its use and meaning , the origin of our word " exceptional , " and as such I quite accept it , as a ivord imported into our language . Neither do I deny that by force of habit , or use , words once alien become naturalized , so to say . No one who has studied , who realizes the richness of the Eng ish language , can wish to object to any such
proposition . Ami nothing was further from my intention , but then , as I said before , as the old proverb runs , " you can ' t make a silk purse out of a sow ' s ear , " you cannot induce a person to understand your words or your meaning if he pertinaciously and perversely will not do so . Perhaps the " hardest lines " connected with all humble little controversies , even like this , are to bc found in this fact , that
some gootlfolks rejoice in such "bad form , " or are so " very thick headed , " that , as Bertram puts it in TVie Antiijiiary , " Deuce take the formal eilel dunderhead , and his more sly associate , who speaks always under his breath ; they cannot understand a plain man's story when it is told them . " Willi regard to " stickler , " I have since found thc word in " Crabb ' s Technological Dictionary , " 1802 , where it
bears the meaning as quoted from the Parliamentary Roll of Henry VI ., of an " inferior officer , vho cuts wood in the king ' s paiks at Clarendon . " Blackie puts it in thc " Priory of Eilerosc . " As to the real meaning of the word , Bro . Dron was elislinclly wrong . Mine may be very bail taste , I may be most ignorant , I may be an uneducated " sutor , " as Bro . Dron so elegantly and so Masonically puts it , but
I prefer Todd ' s Johnson to all the "Imperial Dictionaries" in Ihe world , and if Bio . Dron will refer to it he will , I think , be greatly impreived , and , pcthaps , realize that sentence of the old Latin grammar , which I offer him respectfully and fraternally in return fer his " elegant extract , " " cinollit m- 'res , ncc silt : esse ferns . " I see thai Skinner in lis " Etytnologicoti Lingua ; Anglicaua ? , " gives " stickle " and
" slick " a common origin 111 " steck " or " stock . " But I may remark that Bro . Dron upsets bis own magnificent " dictum " on this subject , in tint he utterly ignores the common use of " stickler , " which , if liis theory be correct , t hail also a perfect right to cniplo ) . The only mistake I am conscious of is in saying too dogmatically that Johnson held exceptionable and exceptional
to be ' ** synonymous . " I , perhaps , said more than I ought to have said , or wished to say , for all that was in my minel was that as Johnson only recognized exceptionable he would hold naturally that any other adjective formetl from " exception " must have the same strict meaning . So " cadit qcajstio , " as far as I am concerned , unless indeed , I am induced by the fraternal politeness and
polished style of Bro . Dron to continue so useless a discussion . With regard to W . S . M ., I think that his Masonic acumen and charity might have led him to see that the " reader" had made a "hash " of Ihe whole two paragraphs properly . As I penned them and correcteel them there was no mistake in grammar and no bid English
whatever . If Bro . W . S . M . knows anything abaut " printing " and " chapels , " he must know what vagaries printers will fall into , and in his abundant Masonic charity he might have assumed for the nonce that the writer , who is as educated a man as himself , could not have fallen knowingly into such palpable errors . But , alas , for Masonic charity and still more alas for Masonic courtesy ! I note Bro . Fenn ' s remarks , and can only say that the
edition of Webster I saw had the word not , and Latham I do not possess . I have never denied its use , the only question in my mind was its authority as an English word . Surely that was a very fair question of literary discuss ion , giving offence to none , and by no means justifying Bro . Dron ' s violent and un-Masonic reply lo my first letter . But I hope you will be troubled no more by Yours fraternally , LINDLEY MURRAY .
COUNT CAGLIOSTRO AND SWEDENBORGIAN MASONRY . To thc F . dilor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — The connection of the unfortunate Count C ' agliostro with various forms of Freemasonry has been reported in the most diverse ways , and very rarely with that spirit of
charity which is suppposed to animate the Fraternity- In the " Royal Masonic Cj clopaedia " some years ago sub voce Cagliostro I tried to put a new light on that career which terminated in the Castle of St . Angelo at Rome . It is impossible to deny that the pretensions of Calsanio or Cagliostro were extravagant , but they were in no way ill founded . Through a youth of misery anil squalor , not without stain , he passed into a better peiiod . Is it likely that the Grand
Master of the Knights of Malta and the Cardinal de Rohan coulel both have been such abseilute idiots as not to detect the base metal in his composition ? Even Monsieur de Surville's attendants of the police coulel not Iind him guilty of actual complicity in the aflair of the diamond necklace . The great accuser of Cagliostro was the Romish Church , supplemented , I grieve to say , by Mr . Thomas Carlyle . The other side has never been entertained by any section of thinkers , and I believe
Original Correspondence.
that there are very few who regard Cagliostro otherwise than as a swindler . "Those who know" about him , wish his memory done fair justice , and so far as Masonry is concerned that there should be something better than the caricature in which Bro . Mash appears at the Lodge of Antiquity . The connection of Cagliostro with Swedenborgian
Masonry , to which my brother " Masonic Student " refers , was brief , so far as this country was concerned . There suddenly appeared in London a certain Count Grabiancka , or Prince Sutovvski . This person attempted to open negotiations with the existing literary society known in 1786 as the Theosophical Society , established by Mr . Hindmarsh in some chambers in the Temple , Fleet-street , and
he spent several evenings with them and disappeared . It is by no means certain that this was Cagliostro . It mi ght have been the Abbe ; Pernctty in disguise , and as Cagliostro was for a short time associated wilh Pernetty , they may have coins to this countiy together . Whoever Grabiancka was , he did not seek to victimise the members of the Theosophical Society , but only mentioned that he was an
associate of a society with head-quarters at Avignon . He returned to that place and wrote a letter of thanks to the London society in acknowledgment of their kindly attentions to him . Is it likely that Grabiancka , or Sutowski , would at the same time publicly advertise for a meeting at O'Reilly ' s Tavern , when he would be immediately detected ? I
presume very few people now living knew which was O'Reilly ' s Tavern . I can enlighten Masonic antiquaries on the subject , as the place exists , and is a licensed house , right opposite Freemasons' Hall , known as the " Hercules Pillars . " I am aware that Tafel in his most valuable " Documents concerning Swedenborg , " takes great pains to
disavow thc connection of Swedenborg with Freemasonry , anil I am also aware that Bro . Samuel Beswick as strenously affirms it . The truth lies between these extremes . Ptrnelty , Chastannier , Nordcnskgold , and others formed , a Rite of Freemasonry , based on olden documents , as might be proved , which now exists in England as the Primitive anel Oiiginal Rite of three Decrees , and no
more—offering a truly philosophical explanation of the Accepted English Rite . This is accessible to brethren having received the Degree of Master Mason . It has nothing in common with illuminism , supports lather than opposes the established creeds of our time , and bears marks of having been known to those " scrupulous brethren " who in 1720 destroyed " laluable manuscripts . " True that there arc elements introduced of a
Swedenborgian kind , but I woultl recommend brethren to study the works of that great man before they decide upon their opinions regarding him . In conclusion I refer " Masonic Student " to "Thcry's Acta Latomorium " for fuither particulars about the distinctive characteristics of Egyptian Masonry , of which Cagliostro was the chief advocate . I remain , dear Sir and Brother , yours sincerely and fraternally , KENNETH R . H . MACKENZIE , IX , Supreme Grand Secretary Swedenborgian Rite . Hounslow , June 14 th , 1879 .
HOSPITAL LIBRARIES . 7 * o the Editor ofthe " Freemason . " Sir , — I think every one who has ever been in a hospital ward will agree with me that hardly a greater boon could be conferred on the suffeiing inmates than the establishment of a lending library for their use . The gift cf a
little book to some suffering ono has often induced a look of gratitude that has lived in our memory for days afterwards , and it appears to me that the establishment of a scries of permanent libraries in our London hospitals should be an easy and a pleasant duty . I will give , as a first donation , a hundred volumes of my own publications , and I have no doubt the London publishers will respond most
liberally from their wealth of literature ; but my object in writing is to ask those of your readers who have readable books , for which they have no further use , to send them to me , and so form the nucleus of a system that will , I trust , become prodigious in its proportions . Those who cannot send books will , perhaps , help us in pecuniary donations towards the same object , and I shall be happy to
receive and acknowledge all such . I shall be glad if donors will kindly send all parcels to my address , carriage paid , advising me by post-card of their despatch . Cheques anti P . O . O . should be crossed London and County Bank . Your kind insertion of this appeal would be greatly esteemed by Yours very truly , F . E . LONGLEY . 30 , Warwick-lane , London , E . C .
Obituary.
Obituary .
BRO . PAYNE . It is with unfeigned regret we have to announce thc almost sudden death of a very energetic and zealous Mason , Bro . Payne , I . P . M . Royal Sussex Lodge , 342 , and also J . in Royal Arch Chapter , 342 , and First Assistant Sojourner in the Provincial Grand Chapter of Hants , and Senior Overseer Phcenix Mark Loi ' ge , 2 , who was only ill
three days , and died on Sunday , thc ist inst ., and was buiicd on the 7 U 1 inst , deeply regretted byall his brethren . About forty brethren followed his remains to their last testing place , each being supplied with a small white flower , tied to a piece of acacia , which , after the ceremony was finished , they deposited on the coffin . The arrangements were ably carried out by Bro . J . W , Willmott , W . M . Royal Sussex Lodge , 342 ,