Brothers John Sheville And James L. Gould.

copies reprinted for the benefit of Masonic students . Bro . Gould observes , " It is well-known that originally the essential , or grand

feature of the present Royal Arch degree was given as a concluding section , or completion of the Master ' s part . " This we think has been proved to the satisfaction of all interested sufficently lo examine the

evidence thereon , but we cannot find anything in proof of the following statement * . " This was undoubtedly the case at the time of the revival A . D . 1717 ; " nor does Bro . Gould afford any light on the matter

beyond simply stating so , and his presumed lectures of Sir Christopher Wren on the subject are , in all probability , known only to himself . Wc approve of Bro . Gould ' s opinion on the origin of Royal Arch

Masonry . " The separation ( he says ) of its concluding portion from the Ancient Master ' s Degree , and its erection into another grade ov degree , was unquestionably the work of the Schismatics . This must

have been done between the years 1740 and 1 744 , and circumstantial evidence would seem to fix the time at or very near the former year . " So very near , Bro . Gould , that it is almost conclusively to be dated

xV . D . 1738 . " In order to render the Schism more complete , and also make amends for their outlawry by the Constitutional Grand Lodge , the 'Ancients' determined to mutilate the third degree , and from its

concluding portion establish a fourth grade , which they called the Holy Royal Arch . They undoubtedly obtained thc idea of this charge , and also of the title which they gave the new degree , from Chevalier Ramsay ,

who visited England in 1 740 , and attempted to induce the Grand Lodge of England toadopthisnew inventions . " We should like to see the vexata quastio , as to Bro . Ramsay cleared up . Did he really visit the Grand

Lodge of England in A . D . 1 740 ? If so , why has no such fact been recorded ? That the origin of the " Hautcs Grades , " or their early form , must be attributed to this learned Mason we think probable , but we must confess that the belief in such an

origin , so far as facts are concerned , is more fanciful than according to the , weight of evidence . He was one probably with several others , who partly from political motives desired to add to the degrees of

Freemasonry to further their designs . The curious will find that Bro . Gould has done his best to afford information on the subject . A reference in the " Guide to tlie Royal Arch Chapter" is then made to the

revised lectures by Bro . Thomas Dunckerley , "which was presented to the Grand Lodge , lie had executed his task so well that the Grand Lodge atonceadoptedhisrevision of thelectures , //^ Royal A rch included

without amendment or alteration , and enjoined its practice in all the lodges under its j urisdiction " ( page 20 ) . This is a decided crrc r . Thc Grand Lodge of England never recognised thc Royal Arch Degree until thc Union

of 1813 . Of this fact we are positively certain , having abundant evidence in hand to prove our statement , and to contradict that of Bro . Gould , who says also , "For although it was adopted by that body by a large

majority , yet it met with vigorous opposition from the minority" ( page 21 ) . That a Grand Chapter was established as earl y as 1769 by thc " Moderns , " we know for a fact , but it had no sanction from thc Grand

Lodge . We arc next told , " That thc first Book of Constitutions of the Royal Arch was issued in 1786 by thc Supreme Grand Chapter ; " 17 S 2 was thc first year of the issue of the Royal Arch Regulations , not 1786 .

Reviews.

Reviews .

T / ie Imperial Constaniinian Order of St . George By his Imperial Highness the Prince RHODOCANAK 1 S . The foil of the Byzantine Empire , in its widespread consequences , has exercised so powerful an influence 011 the politics of Europe that any

addition to our store of knowledge on so interesting a subject cannot fail to be attractive to thc thoughtful reader . That catastrophe might certainly have been averted had it not been for the disunion of Christendom , fomented by thc narrow jealousies of the "Vatican , which

preferred the success of an infidel to the opposition of a schismatist—a jealousy of independence which , even in these enlightened days , is betrayed by the occasional invective against the liberal institution of Freemasonry , than which nothing tends more effectually to consolidate the

union of peoples in a bond of moral equality , and which at the same time is one of the most useful and inoffensive conservators of peace , and , certainly , a substantial bulwark ofthe middle classes , which , raised above manual labour ,

devote then * intelligence to practical purposes , undisturbed by the wants of thc lower orders and the ambition of barren destruction , which , in the higher , leads to wars and the consequent disruption from time to time of society .

The very name Byzantine is comparatively unfamiliar to the public ear , from the circumstance that in diplomacy the Byzantine is familiarly known as " the Eastern Question " ¦ —a question which called forth the heroism of John Sobieski , and in our own times provoked the battle of

Navanno , ancl , later still , the Crimean war . We are indebted to one who holds the highest rank in our Brotherhood for the work now before us , and who is , at the same time , the hereditary representative of that celebrated Prince who laid the foundations of Byzantium or

Constantinople , and established firmly the blessings of Christianity in Europe . From Constantine the Great to the heroic but unfortunate Constantine XIII ., who fell in defence of his empire ( and well deserved the noble eulogium of our historian Hallam ) H . I . H . the Prince

Rhodocanakis traces a lineal descent , through successions of imperial dynasties * and as the representative of the latter Sovereign , His Imperial Highness' father was one of the duly acknowledged competitors for the throne of Greece ,

when that prize was earned off by the alien Otho . As good often springs out of evil , we are indebted for the present lucid account of the premier " Order " of Christendom to an unfortunate misunderstanding occasioned by the publication ofthe statutes of the Masonic " Order ol 1 lie

Red Cross of Rome and Constantine ; " and it is but just to point out that it was an apparent usurpation ofthe claims of His Imperial Highness ' father to be considered ( he Hereditary Grand Master ofthe Constantinian Order of St . George , which , in self-defence , forced the author to

vindicate his father ' s position and rights in the present able manner . We arehappy , however , to beassured that no personal feelings have existed on either side , and the Masonic Red Cross Degree having honourably capitulated and accepted its purely Masonic origin , nothing remains to disturb the

harmony of our institution ; and , indeed , such a result might have been predicted from the outset , as the honourable feeling of the promoters of the Red Cross Degree prompted these gentlemen at once to acknowledge the force of such overwhelming evidence , as the reader will satisfy himself is to be found in these pages .

As regards the literary merits of the present work , we imagine that there can be little divergence of opinion in claiming for it the advantages of an extremely lucid arrangement , combined with a succinct and yet fully persuasive style and if , here ancl there , a sarcasm may

appear to be rather bitterly pointed , we ought not to forget , how strong was the provocation to indulge in a few sallies , at the expense of those , who , imperfectly acquainted with the facts of the case , were believed to have originated unworthy criticisms on the Prince ' s claims—an impression which , we are glad to say , has since proved to be erroneous .

Reviews.

But the question of the pretensions ofthe Red Cross Order having been satisfactorily settled , we turn with pleasure to the remaining portions of the work , in which the intrigues ofthe Farnesian family , and the mendacious assumptions of the Abbe Guistiniani , are handled with tact and

acumen , and evince , in the Princely critic , a knowledge of historic questions , very considerably in advance of many more pretentious writers . Indeed , the unravelling of these intrigues , and the exposure of the Auzoli fabrications , must have been no slight effort of

patience ancl clear-sightedness , glozed over as they were by Papal authority , and concealed by the accumulated repetitions of successive authors , who were content to follow their literary bell wether , the Abbe , of whose character , an admirable anecdote of Frederick the Great , enables

us to form a very just estimate . Indeed , the ' dillitanti' of the present clay might with advantage study the moral of Guistiniani's literary career ; and whether the subject be the "Island ofSeio , " or the locality of Zobah or Tzohah , it is more judicious to preserve a modest silence , than

to rush into print with the confidence of that dangerous half-knowledge , which invariably leads to the ultimate reprobation of the vanity which seeks to display it . But there is nothing more presumptuous than ignorance . Men are often bold through ignorance of their danger , and the noble

confession of Sir Isaac Newton , " The more I know the more I perceive how little I know , " is the very last that such writers would ever condescend to make . In his remarks on the Palieologi , ' through whom more immediately H . I . H . claims the

conservation ofthe Byzantine Order of Honorary Military Knighthood , the author fully explains the circumstances under which the last heir male of that House came to he represented by his daughter , thc Princess Theodora Pateologina ; and notwithstanding the " hearsay " conjectures of " Lyzon , " Oldmixon , " and their copyists , it

is very evident that the male line of Theodore Palreologus entirely failed . The name itself being remarkable to English ears , has given rise to the most absurd nominal pretensions , which could only have been entertained for a moment hy those who were not aware that " Palceolo i ^ us " is as common a patronymic in Greece as Stuart is in Scotland .

Another pretender to imperial descent lately startled the public with the assertion that his name had been enrolled in the " Golden Book " as heir to the Comncni ; but this absurd pretention has also been entirely disproved by His Imperial Highness , who , so to speak , has carefully taken up all the arteries before proceeding

to the final amputation of these diseased historical parasites . In conclusion , the admirers of fine typography and general bibliographical elegance will not fail to be favourably impressed with the superficial aspect of this useful work ; while the object of charity , which it is now made to subserve , must recommend it to the Masonic reader .

Lodge Of Benevolence.

LODGE OF BENEVOLENCE .

1 he monthly meeting was held on Wednesday , the 19 th inst ., at Freemasons' Hall , Bro . Joshua Nunn , P . G . S . B ., in the chair . Present , Bros . Kmpson , J . Smith , J . Savage , W . Ough , J . Coutts , J . Hervey , T . Meggy , R . Wentworth Little , H . G . Buss , W Smith , S . May , F .

Walters , Sutton , Hemsworth , ] . R . Sheen , Applebee , Vorley , Weaver , James Brett , S . W . ; J . R . Crump , J . B . Poole , C . A . Cottcbrune , J . F . Creswick , and several others . The minutes of the previous meeting were unanimously confirmed . The rules were then read , and the amounts voted at the previous meeting

were in [ every case confirmed . Seventeen petitioners' names appeared on the list , sixteen were relieved . One had ^" 50 , one , £ 30 , seven ^ 20 , three ^ 15 , one . £ 10 , three ^ 5 , voted to them . One petitioner ' s application was deferred ( by desire o [ those who are taking an interest it it ) , until the next meeting , and the large sum of ; £ zoo was voted at this meeting .

1 he new [ law of this lodge meeting at six o ' clock instead of seven will come into operation on Wednesday , December 21 st .