Masonic Archæology.

sons' marks , and many of the Masons' marks are exact facsimiles of the so-called magical letters . The well-known emblems of Freemasonry , the < Pentalpha , " the " Hexapla , " the " point within a circle , " are well known to all readers of the Hermetic literature and no doubt many of

the famous astrologers and Rosicrucians were creat mathematical and geometrical scholars . But here we stop , we can go no further , and as for any direct connection we do not know how to prove it . Elias Ashmole , of whom so much has been made , as regards Hermeticism , by some German

and English writers , was a " Freemason " before he became an attendant on the " Astrologers ' Feast , " at least we find in his diary previous to his initiation in 164 . 6 no trace of any astrological fraternity . Hence , at the outside , the theory of a Hermetico-Masonico continuation is a verv hazy

one indeed . But another and still more serious question remains behind . Admitted that the Hermetic society existed , has that Hermetic society anything to do historically , positively , really , with what are termed the Theosophic or Hermetic High Grades ? Are not all these

High Grades an adaptation of Hermetic formulas , the appropriation of the terminology and symbolism of a dying or defunct sodality for special purposes , and with another end ? Bro . Yarker seems to hold , if we understand his words aright , that all the grades above the three first

are the product of Hermeticism , or * rather founded upon it . He says this , we repeat , if we understand his argument rightly , though it is not quite clear to us whether he assumes that Hermeticism and High Grade Masonry are synonymous , " convertible terms , " or whether they

are essentially distinct , the latter being an adaptation and imitation of the former . We are ourselves quite clear as to one fact , that the " Hermeticism " of the Dedication to " Long-Livers " has nothing to do with the Royal Arch , whatever else it may refer to , and

we are disposed , notwithstanding some difficulties , to accept frankly the statement that Hermeticism existed in 1721 , and was known to the Craft Masons then . But even admitting this , though it proves something , it does not prove everything . The writer of that Dedication ,

whoever he was , may have been a Rosicrucian , and as such considered it a higher degree , and some of the Masons of sj 17 may have been Rosicrucians too , but then we have yet to learn that Rosicrucians and " Chevaliers Rose Croix " have anything ^ in common . Such namesand grades are

clever manipulations or arrangements of Ramsay , and others , for distinct purposes , of an old society then dying out , for whatever may have been the case in France , certain it is that in England we can find few traces of the Hermetic grades till

about fifty years after 1721 . Even in France all seems to proceed from Ramsay ' s famous oration in 1740 , and we confess that we still await with the deepest interest the evidence of an active Hermeticism in the middle of the last

century , though we admit its actual existence , if " Philalethes" is to be credited , in 1721 . We believe that Bro . Yarker has published a statement of an existence of a list of chapters of H . D . M . ' 743 » as of " time immemorial , " but we shall be glad to know where that list exists , and

whether printed or in MS . If certain Chapters were at work in 1743 , that is a very important fact , per se , and we therefore stop here today , as , before we can speak decidedly on this important question , we shall like to know what is the actual evidence , if any , of an active Hermeticism , after 1721 , and before ,

say 1770 . As regards the evidence of old ntuals , all such have to looked at by " experts , " because it is not necessarily a case of " sequitur , " ' j - ?* . because a document is said to be 200 years 0 ld , it is really- so . But all such questions can now be treated dispassionately , and discussed calml y and archaeologically , and we need not throw any heat into such a simple archaeological discussion . 5

Bro. Muggeridge.

BRO . MUGGERIDGE .

th- !? ° r St of us know Bro - Muggeridge , and £ ere are few of us , we believe , who have not a 52 ™""? friendl y feelin S so good a « son and so worth y a man . Bro . Muggeridge ,

Bro. Muggeridge.

who took farewell of the Quarterl y Court of the Girls' School on Saturday last , as Collector , after a faithful and meritorious service of 20 years , has retired , owing to ill-health , on a well earned pension . The entire sympathy and " hearty good wishes " not only of a large meeting , but

of all the subscribers to the Girls' School , and we will add , the entire Craft , go with our esteemed and venerable brother . Few more hard-working brethren probably have ever existed in English Masonry than that well-known and untiring individual termed by some " Old Mug . " Not

only as the zealous and indefatigable Collector of the Girls' School is he a " grata persona" whereever he appears , wherever his familiar face presents itself , but as a skilled instructor of the Order he has rendered many and valuable services , alike to lodges and chapters and

individual brethren . Hisname has long been honourably identified with the well known " Stability " Lodge of Instruction , and we all of us are well aware of his zeal and energy , and efficiency as a Masonic instructor , and of the urbanity and readiness with which he is always glad to

impart instruction to his brethren . As he left the roonVon Saturday we could not help saying to ourselves , " May your old age , honest and hardworking brother , be peaceful and serene , andjmay yours be a happy and gentle passage through your declining years , cheered and sweetened b y the

kindly goodwill of friends and brethren , and gladdened and exhilarated by the ever pleasant remembrance of duties well performed , of work truly done , as well for the great Order of which you have been so faithful a member , as for your brethren of whom you have been so

friendl y a companion , and so sincere a well wisher . " We think that all will hope , that our old friend and kindly brother may , in the good Providence of the G . A . O . T . U ., receive for many tranquil years the honorarium of faithful service and the assurances of our fraternal regard .

French Freemasonry.

FRENCH FREEMASONRY .

We have received Bro . Caubet ' s reply in the " Monde Maconnique" to the question we asked , relative to the statement of irregular marriages in French Lodges . We are happy to find that it is as we expected , a pure calumny . We

shall publish Bro . Caubet ' s letter and allude to the matter next week , and we shall also take the opportunity of calling attention to one or two questions of importance , gravely affecting , in our opinion , the present interests and future position of French Freemasonry .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

[ We do not hold ourselves responsible for , or even as approving of the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish , in a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . —ED . ]

THE CANT OF MASONRY . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — The writer of thc article in the " Hampshire Post " under the above heading is scarcely worthy of the powder and shot with which you have annihilated him . I would not have troubled you with anv remarks unon his sillv

and spiteful observations were it not for the description he gives to those who he chooses to say " usurp the name of Masons . " He calls them " the lawyers , tailors , butchers , and tradesmen of all sorts . " First of all , does the writer know the meaning of the -word " usurp ? " If he does he must be aware that he has made a misuse of it . But why this choice of vocations ? Is it intended fnr a sm-er . nr ic

it wntten in ignorance of those who constitute the Masonic body ? If it be a sneer , well , let it go for what it is worth . As Masons we look ' at a man's character , and not his calling , as the criterion of his excellence * , and we do not think it derogatory in itself for a man to be a " lawyer , tailor , butcher , or any other sort of tradesman . " If , however , this be the writer ' s ignorance , well , poor felloyv . that

he may not commit himself again let us inform him that kings , noblemen of all ranks , from dukes to country squires , great statesmen and other professional men besides lawyers are to be found amongst us ; that H . R . H . the Prince of Wales is our present Grand Master , and that the worthy brother who presided at Havant the other day is neither a

" lawyer , a tailor , a butcher , or any other sort of tradesman . " In other words : here is a verse of an old song which our aristocratic (?) reviler probabl y never heard of " Great kings , dukes , and lords , Have laid by their swords , Our mysteries to put a good grace on , And ne'er felt ashamed To hear themselves named As a Free and an Accepted Mason . "

Original Correspondence.

The sneering tone pervades the yvhole article , making palpable the animus of the writer , whilst the ignorance displayed in his notion of the class of individuals who are Masons is also shown in all that he puts forth respecting Freemasonry itself ; in fact he yvrites of what he knows nothing about , and consequently he writes nonsense . There is only one portion of the article yvhich demands

in any yvay to be treated seriously : "Surely if exemplars were yvanted it is not necessary to go further than Christ , and , disciples and apostles : This leads us to the consideration . Are Christianity and Freemasonry consonant in principle ? If this be true , then surely Masonry is supetfluous . If they are not so then Masonry must be mischievous . "

This is one of those plausible and sweeping arguments yvhich if sound yvould be irresistible . But it has too much of the " begging the question" about it . It savours too much of cant ! If yve were indeed followers of Christ , imbued yvith the spirit and the mind of Christ , we should have no need of external aids of any kind , churches , creeds , clergymen , or communions , to help us

to a better life . But yyhen we see Christianity , as exemplified by its professors , split up into rival sections , each fierce and bitter in its denunciation of the other , then surely there is room for a society , call it by yvhat name you will , yvhich professes no dogma , religious or political ,

save that of love to God and love to man , and whose action , being beneficent , is neither " superfluous nor mischievous . " Yours faithfully and fraternally , A MASOK BUT NOT AN " USURPER . " Oct . 10 th , 1 S 76 .

LONG LIVERS . Dear Bro . Kenning , — Having read Bro . Hughan ' s and Bro . Yarker's letters in the last " Freemason , " I think it well to send you the following few and friendly remarks . Until I saw Bro . Mackey ' s paper in the " Voice of Masonry " I yvas not aware that Bro . Yarker had alluded to

the work . It is clear from his statement that he publicly , July 24 th , 1875 , mentioned " Long Livers , " and gave an extract from the Dedication , and that therefore he is the first who brought the book formally and publicly to the notice of Masonic students . It seems that the existence of the work was known some

time previously to Bro . Matthew Cooke , who first mentioned it to Bro . Yarker , and from Bro . Capt . Irwin , of Bristol , Bro . Yarker received the collated extract which he made use of publicly in his book , though not mentioning the source . The quotation in Bro . Yarker's work he appears to have obtained from Bro . Matthew Cooke .

I am free to confess , though my library is very large , and my collection of MSS . and references very extensive , yet I did not happen to know of the work , ( as might well happen , ) until I saw it first alluded to in the " Voice of Masonry . " My studies , as you are aware , have been mainly devoted to works and MSS . on Craft Masonry , and , not being a High-Grade man myself , I have never

gone out of my way to search for or acquire such High Grade yvorke , though I have many in my possession for archaiological purposes . But the moment I saw it , it appeared to mc to be very important in two respects . First , it shewed that the antiquity of the Hermetic connexion was greater than was often contended ; and

secondly , it seriously affected the current theories of Hermetic history , and for this reason . If this statement was correct , thc generally received vieyv that Hermetic Masonry was a development of Ramsay ' s movement in 1740 must be greatly shaken if not given upat once—and such a fact opened out two other considerations very important for the Masonic historian .

1 . Wbat was the real connection between Freemasonry and Hermeticism ? and secondly , what was the earliest trace of the existence of an Hermetic Masonry ? These points have yet to be elaborated and developed , and the matter itself has to be more closely looked into than has yet been the case . But the Masonic history of Hermeticism will have to be

re-written , as if it existed in 1721 it could not have been created after 1740 , Bro . Yarker , I note , states that in his opinion the allusions on the Dedication refer to the Royal Arch . But such a theory is , I apprehend , utterly inadmissible for many reasons , and , like Bro . Hughan , I think the subject requires a good deal of careful consideration , and

cannot be too hastily or dogmatically decided . I am much more inclined myself to believe that the terms , which are pure Hermetic jargon , like "King Pyropus , " and many more , refer to a Rosicrucian confraternity , perhaps the actual " Fratres Rosa : Crucis , " who did undoubtedly exist , but who are not the same as the Order of " Rose Croix . " I do not lay much store myself by the assertion of even

in 1 743 a list of six lodges of H . R . M ., & c ., existing then in London , " from time immemorial , " and alluded to by Bro . Yarker , as the words , from " time immemorial , " are of easy use and deceptive authority . Would Bro . Yarker kindly tell us where that list is to be found , as just now Bro . Hughan is making a special study of the lists , and we may light upon some interesting facts .

It will be seen from what I have said , that I for one do not and cannot accept Bro . Yarker ' s theory of the Hermeticism alluded to , being that of the Royal Arch , and think that we have got to learn the actual connexion between Hermeticism and the High Grades . We have also , it appears to me , to learn how far wbat may be termed Hermetic Masonry , is actually a product of the old Rosicrucianism , or an adaptation by the mystical Masons of the later part of the last century , of the term-