The Dumfries Kilwinning Mss.

The Dumfries Kilwinning MSS .

. ^ fjMk . EADERS of the excellent History of the " Dumfries KilfPP | g vinning Lodge , No . 53 , " by Bro . James Smith , Avill be | jff |? £ aware that through our Brother ' s researches , assisted by * - ^|| i |» oth er local Craftsmen , five moro copies of the " Old £ MU $ &> Charges " have been traced , all of Avhich are domiciled ll ^ fyvf * ** in Dumfries . The oldest four belong to Lodge No . 53 , iT < *• ' anl the junior is the property of the " Thistle Lodge , No . 62 . " '

Prior to thar discovery , but five of these important documents were known in Scotland , one of Avhich is simply a late transcript . These are familiar to Alasonic students by their ordinary titles , viz ., 1 , The "Kilwinning MS" of A . D . 1665 circa ; ( Alother Lodge Kilwinning , No , 0 . ); 2 , The " Atcheson Haven AIS , " dated 19 th Ala ) ' , 1666 ( an extinct lodge , but the scroll is in the library of the Grand Lodge of Scotland ) ; 3 , The " Aberdeen AIS . " of A . D . 1670 ( " The

Aberdeen Lodge , No . P . " ) ; 4 , " The Melrose AIS . No . 2 , " of December , 1674 ( "The Afelrose Lodge , N ° - P " ); 5 , Thc "Melrose MS . N ° 3 , " a transcript of the fourth , made in 1762 . Practically , AVC ha \ e now ten AISS . of the " Old Charges , " traced iu North Britain , most of which exhibit proofs of their having been in the custody of the lodges named for a vory long period , some probably being so preserved from their ori gin to now .

These five , as numbered , belong the " Grand Lodgo family , according to Dr . W . Begemanivs classification , and are , in no sense , remarkable texts , save the " Melrose" version , which , in the final clauses respecting Apprentices , is certainly Avholly different to any other AIS . known . Being in all probability a copy of a Roll of 1581 , or earlier , these special rules are all the more noteworthy and valuable , and arc as folloAV : *

APPRENTICE REGULATIONS , 1074 . " V > - is no frie mason neither JI nor fellow y t ought to take any more prentises during his lifetymo but thrie , which prentises ho must take for vii years ( y t is to sa )*) The first of them seven yeire after he he frio mason , and then vii yeirs after his ycirs is expired to take another , and so yo next and y t he ought to take no more except he cause ane Lodge to be set and havo the leavo if all his

masters and fellows , of ye set Lodge and y t ye prentisc yt is so taken av lawfully taken and they y t aro otherways taken arc not lawfully takin . They that aro lawfully takin , after thoy come out of y ' prentisschipo ought not to ho name loses but they ought to ho named frio men from their M or fellows if thoy have their JI *™ Discharge and all other y * aro not lawfully takiu aro to bo namifc Loses , y ought neither JI nor fellows , make no frie mason except ono of his

lawfull prentisc nor he ought not to bc made mado frie mason except ho givo in his ( say ) before ane sett Lodge to sec what he can begin from ye ground and furnish to yo tope for staining of a noble scienc . V ' ought no frio mason neither M nor fellow y t taketh his work hy great to tak any Loses , if ho can havc any frie masons , or lawfull taken prentises , & if he can have none of them , ho may take as many as will serve his turne and hc ought not to let y"' know yo

priviledge of yo compass Square , lovell , and ye plum-rule but to sett out their plnniming to them , it let them work between y w ** a lyne , and ought not to let them know any more for putting down ye noble scienc and if there come any frio mason , ho ought to displace one of ye Loses , nnd put in his brother y t taketh worke or if v conic one of ye lawful ! taken prentices likeways , and if hc or neither

have no work for them he ought to give them money , to bring them to yo next l . odge or next frie mason , also if any . M or fellow have any lawfull taken prentices Hoe run away and Doe come there to M ** or fellow he shall sett him in worko till he can send his M word of him , and also if he pay any wages ho shall answer his M and for ye performance of these covenent . Wo Do swear , so ( iod us helpe and holv Dome and bv tho contents of this book to our power—lines . "

The " Dumfries Kilwinning MSS , " I have numbered 1 to 4 , for the purpose of identification , and according to their approximate age . Nos . 1 and 3 are given for the lirst time in Bro . Smith's welcome History ; No , 2 is herewith reproduced , and No . 4 , transcribed by Bro . John Lane , will he printed in the first part of tlic " Ars Quatuor Coronatorum " for 1803 .

No . 1 is described as "Anent lite Office of Masanric , " and is apparentl y of the latter part of the seventeenth century . The Avagcs are unusual for St . Albans' period , viz ., ' * four shillings and sixpence per week , " and some of the old worthies are uot described as they ure generall y ; still the version may be classed with the same group as tlic previous live AISS ., as the differences are but slight , which

distinguish it from the other members of that family . I do not think it was over used in the form of a roll , being written on three leaA'es of paper about 15 by 12 inches , Avhich exhibit no signs of any such treatment . No . 2 is a roll of paper ( of three pieces ) , running to nearly 4 feet in length , and 7 ** .- inches in Avidth . Unfortunately , the

commencement is imperfect , owing to portions being removed , Avhich is all the more regretted , as the few words left indicate that a prayer originall y preceded the Invocation ( peculiar lo litis copy ) , and even Avhat remains of tlie latter is not quite of tlie ordinary text . This Roll ( which has been kindly transcribed , rerlalim cl literatim , by Bro . lames Smith for reproduction ) , evidently AVIIS not so correctly copied is

¦ No . 1 ( iflneh it gem-rally resembles ) , and possibly was carelcssly inade and varied from Ihe same original , sometime during the latter part of the seventeenth century . The watermark in the paper is composed of a crown ami flour de lis , as No . 1 , but is not dated , and tlie scroll , not like No . 1 , has numbered clauses . It appears to im * that the 18 th Regulation was overlooked by the scribe in copying ; ° r may have been intentionally omitted , which is unlikely . It

The Dumfries Kilwinning Mss.

is to bo found , though nofc numbered , in tho previous AIS ., and concludes that scroll . This interesting document has not been printed hitherto . No . 3 is a valuable Roll , Avritten on vellum , the seven strips of which , joined together , extend to the extraordinary length of 14 }

feet , the Avidth ranging * from 5 to 6 inches . It is referred to in the records of Lodge No . 53 , on November 22 nd , 1696— "The qlk day , the fraternity ordered William AI'George , ye clerk , to deliver up the institutions in parchment to Robert Anderson ; " and likeAvise later on . The first thieo AISS . are about the same age , as respects transcription .

In 1882 , the " Harris AIS ., No . 1 , " was copied and published b y Bro . John Constable , and at that time was accepted as a std generis . Some six years later , Bro . John Lane and myself discovered the "Harris MS ., No . 2 , " in the British Museum , Avhich for all practical purposes may be accounted a duplicate of No . 1 , Avritten during the latter part of the last century . I now find that these

two AISS . are virtually , ' possibly actually , copies of the " Dumfries Kilwinning AIS ., No . 3 , " their ori gin being probably due to members of Lodge No . 53 , AVIIO left Dumfries for London early last century . The owner of the " Harris AIS ., No . 1 , " is the " Bedford Lodge , No . 157 , " Avhich Avas known as an operative lodge , years before its constitution b y the Grand Lodge of England in 1766 . It

is but fair to state , however , that this document Avas nofc presented to the lodge by Bro . James Harris ( according to the records ) before 1809 , thus leaving its earlier history in doubt , but I think it likely tho Secretary had received it from an older member . As to this , and other points , Bro . Smith ' s history and volume IV . of the

" Alasonic Reprints" of No . 2076 , edited by Bro . G . W . Speth , should be consulted , especially as the latter fine A-olume ( containing several complete facsimiles of AISS . ) includes an exact reproduction of the junior of tho curious trio , all of which possess features so far untraced in any other AISS .

Alany are the departures in the text of these AISS ., as compared Avith the "famil y " to Avhich they may be said to belong . Tho marginal titles alono single them out as quite a distinct variet y to themselves . Bro . Speth has pointed out the llth Regulation , Avhich in the AIS . No . 3 of Lodge No . 53 reads , " You shall not make any mould , square or rule for any Avho is but a Lewis . A Lewis is such as

served an apprenticeship to a Alason , but not admitted as ye custom of makeing Alasons " ( Freemason , 25 th August , 1888 ) : and rightly , states that " as far as wo know , the word [ Lewis ] Avas first , used Alasonically and applied to George III ., the infant son of Frederick , Prince of Wales . " B y tlie discovery of this Dumfries Roll , the use of that Avord , Alasonically , is dated back at least 50 years , and it is also used in the " Harris AIS ., No . 1 , early in the last century .

The Avords introducing the " Oath , " and also the obligation itself , are not usual in AISS . of the " Old Charges , " and should be read , sido by side ,. Avith the " Harleian , " " Buchanan , " and some other scrolls reproduced by the " Quatuor Coronati Lodge . " The

conclusion to the vellum roll concerning the " Charges yt Prince Edwin gave yo Assembly at York , " ancl instructions respecting "Tutors " are important additions , and record certain customs of the lodge during the seventeenth century , which have , more or less , continued to this clay .

No 4 ; of the "Sloane Family , " is , in some respects , the cevn of this remarkable quartette , but , historically nnd Alasonically , the third of the series is the most valuable , because evidentl y it is the roll that AVIIS in use by the members of "Dumfries Kilwinning" moro than 200 years ago ; whereas the others , though so long in lodge custody , were not , apparently , the favoured versions of the brethren .

It is quite impossible to do justice to this version , Avhich has came down to ns in book form ( 8 by 4 inches , elongated ) , Avithout reproducing nearly all its text . Until its publication early in 1893 ( as already mentioned ) , I should like simply to note some of its

peculiarities . Not a few of the additions appear to me purely fanciful , and unless other documents are found to partake of the same character , it will not do to accept such curious readings as having been in actual use by one or more lodges , for recital to initiates early last century , especially as they seem to be such modern innovations .

Like tlio preceding three , this AIS . states that marhle . Avas one of the two stones selected on which to Avrite the " Seven Sciences , '' but instead of mentioning some variety of " later " ( a brick ) as the other , styles the second " monument . " As Ave cannot say a brick " Avould not drown in water , " it is difficult to understand how a burnt tile Avonld

answer that description . Bro . Oscar Guttmann suggests that h j' -lacus" ( " la terns , " etc . ) , is meant amber , as that word is frequently to be met with in mediu-val histories of Alining , and always meant , and is so translated , as he favours . That would burn but not drown .

Thc Avagcs noted for "St . Albans' Day" were the "third part to yr payment ; " whatever that may mean . The length of the " cable tow " in regard to the annual assembly is stated to be fire miles , but the other three AISS . havo fifty , which is the ordinary distance specified . 'Ihe "William Watson , " " Hope , " * ' Waistell , " and three others agree with MS . No . 4 .

Of Hiram , the MS . says " the world hath not produced his equal to this day , he was a Alaster Mason of exquisite knowledge . " Nimrod taught the Alasons " sigrs and tokens , " so Ave are told , and such words as " duly qualified and orderly created in a true lodge , " certainly indicate a modern usage . The " Special Charges " ' end with the hitherto unknoAvn , but suggestive , injunctions " That no lodge or coram of Alasons shall give the Royal Secret to any suddenly , but upon great deliberation . First ' let him learn hi