The Footsteps Of Masonry, Or Freemasonry In Relation To Authentic History.

j , ; ch must emphatically be called idle tales . Such constitute a portion of the latter part of the third degree , evidently compilations of the last •eiitury . and which never came further east than -feiiip le Bar . 1 believe these idle tales introduced into

\ Jasonry have much retarded its progress , attractjn rr largely the simple and credulous , but causing 1 disinclination on the part of men of taste and erudition for the brotherhood . The Arch Mason does not pretend to any oiecial tradition , but acts merely in memory of

j-iicli and such an event , and we accept with respect its forms . The Grand Lodge of England ilso exercises a wise and sound discretion in refusing to admit those orders which pretend to absurd and nonsensical traditions . Even our own so called " traditional history " might just as

well have been taken from the Arabian Nig hts , as those narrations we give of that monarch , to whose royal patronage we pretend , for erring man and unhappy fratricide as he was , he does not deserve the absurdities that Arabs , Abyssiniiins , and Freemasons tell of him . We hope , indeed , that they will soon be banished from our

midst . The Mohammedans and Jews had great influence even on the Christian religion of those days , for we are told that the chief of the Iconoclastic , or image breaking Emperors of Constantinop le was incited thereto by the taunts of the

Jews and Mohammedans . This , then , is the probable origin of the traditional history , or Hebraistic element , in relation to King Solomon ' s Temple , and clearly points out a phase through which Freemasonry has Kissed , and of which it retains the vestiges . It

is , moreover , evident that our institution must have passed , in common with other Roman institutions and professions , from Constantinople to these Saracenic kingdoms , where at that period all that was brig ht and fair was nourished and cultivated , for Mohammedanism was not at that

time the miserable system it has now become , since the temporal and ecclesiastical power became irrevocably united under the same head . Of course there are peculiar difficulties in endeavouring to trace the probable course of a secret society such as ours , but the same may be

said of other systems once universally prevalent . Who shall fully explain to us , for instance , the Feudal system ? which , like Freemasonry , had various stages of development , and it must never be forgotten that social facts form ihcniselves but slowly .

We are now looking at Freemasonry when the causes which led to its formation have ceased . It now appears to the ordinary observer as an entirely , and lie is easil y led to suppose that it had always been so , forgetting that those facts which lie contemplates as a fully developed system ,

commenced and increased , and whilst growing iimlerwent many changes . Numerous and various errors have thus arisen , •Mil this is why so many contradictions and uncertainties concerning the- character and moral destinies of Illustrious men have occurcd . If it " L' thus in the history of individuals whose

Juration is so short , how much more so must be "ie danger of overlooking the variety of origin to Much great associations owe their rise , and the '"•my complications which attend their slow and progressive development . hi our next we hope to consider the diffusion "' -Masonic societies in Western Europe , and its connection with modern ideas .

•' ersia has recently been described by the Secretary 0 f tbe British Legation at Vienna , who 'ravelled through the East in J 872 . l'ersia , he a ) s , is about as large as Great Britain and France " oi'tlier , but it has no more inhabitants than 'eland alone ( betwun five and six millions )

, ¦ e \ erul thousands of wiiom have died ol hunger , lHr ;» g the last few years . ^ , " ii special meeting of the Alexandra Palace "" 'I'any , lhe resolution passed on lhe 14 th tilt .,

^ ' '" using tlie . issue of new capital to the extent " e- '';> l v : oo , was coniiinied . ( , l 's slated that Sir Bartle Frere is to be r t ' '" ' a member of her Majesty ' s Privy ,. ^ , m recognition of his services in connect , Ull *» th the Zanzibar mission .

Masonic Tidings.

Masonic Tidings .

Bro . the Right Hon . Lord Skelmersdale , R . W . P . G . M . for West Lancashire , and Lady Skelmersdale , have arrived for the season at Lathom House , Ormskirk , Lancashire , from Portland-place , London . The Belgrave Lodge of Instruction , ( No .

749 ) , is now held at Bro . Cleghorn ' s , the "Coach and Horses , " 323 and 324 , Strand , W . C ., every Friday evening , throughout the year , at eight o ' clock , p . m . Bro . T . H . Pulsford , P . M . 1158 , is the Hon . Preceptor , and Bro . Scott , No . 749 , Hon . Sec .

Sheriff Bro . Sir Frederick Perkins has received a vote of congratulation on his knighthood from the Town Council of Southampton . The Marquess of Ripon , and the Right Hon . Benjamin Disraeli , M . P ., have each placed their

names for £$ at the head of a testimonial subscription to Mr . George Linnaeus Banks , who is about to proceed on a lecturing tour to America , in consideration of his long service in lyric literature . Mr . Alderman Lusk , M . P ., and the Rev . Dr . Allon are also amongst the first contributors .

A MAX OV BUSINESS . —You don ' t quite knowhow I am worked , for I don ' t talk of these things , because people bore me by saying bow hard I work , and they exaggerate , of course . However , at present , and for once , I assure you they are not far wrong . In order to keep down the

arrears in Chancery , and also to prevent appeals to the House of Lords ( where I have no kind of help ) , I am forced to write all my judgments at great length . I never go out , except to a cabinet dinner , having since Christmas only dined out once—namely , " yesterday , " because Miss

Spalding would not go without me to Helton ' s . I am never in bed till two , and sometimes three , and I am up again early , with a man copying , while I am correcting what I wrote over night . I dine at half-past five or a quarter before six , and am at work sometimes in half an hour , and

never am a whole hour at table , during which time I have letters to write . If I relax , there is an arreargets up in Chancery , as there did wdien I was unwell two years igo , and also when I was kept last summer in the House of Lords ; and unless 1 take this kind of pains , the appeals get crowded in the Lords . —Lord Brougham ' s Life .

THE GREAT TICII BORNE TRIAL . —Messrs . Watkins and Haigh , of 215 , Regent-street , have photographed a series of groups representing the jury in this cause celebre , which still drags its slow and weary length along , leaving its issue , if ever determined , in a somewhate remote

fnUire . The twelve "honest men , " who are sworn to well and truly try betwen our Sovereign Lady the Queen and the defendant at the bar , are here depict with a marvellous fidelity of portraiture , while the grouping of the iigttres is most natural and easy . Viewed simply in

the light of photographs , these examples from the studio of Messrs . Watkins and Haigh represent the beautiful art in its highest state of perfection , and will doubtless be treasured as memorials of one of the most extraordinary public prosecutions in which this , or any oilier country , was ever engaged .

Two pamphlets have lately been issued by the publishers of The Rock . In one of these , lists are g iven of the " priests" who wish for the establishment of the Confessional in the Church of England , and for the intioduction of other lvoinanizing practices , and in the other , a full report is g iven of the Anti-Confessional Meeting at Exeter Hall .

PRUSSIA AXD THE CATHOLICS . —War is still waged between the German authorities and the Catholic party . The former have signified their opinion of the contumacous bishops bv at once withdrawing the State allowance ol 4 000 thalers , hitherto made to the priests' seminaiy at Fulda ,

and by ordering that the episcopal boys seminary be closed 011 the 1 st of October next . Archbishop Ledochowski has been summoned for the 81 I 1 of this mouth before the criminal section ol the district court of l ' osen to oiler a justification of the discip linary proceedings taken by him against the priest Arndt .

Poetry.

Poetry .

THE MASON'S TREASURE . BY BRO . WILLIAM CARPENTER , P . M ., P . Z . Let monarchs boast their jewell'd crowns , The rich their wealth display ; Let youth and beauty still believe Their charms will ne ' er decay .

Let all rejoica in what they have , And prize it as they may ; We , too , will prize what we have got—What ne ' er will pass away .

The monarch must his crown resign , The rich man leave his store ; But Truth and Virtue yield the fruits That live for evermore .

When Masons true and faithful are , And play their proper part , They cultivate those priceless fruits , And have them iu the heart .

The good the } " do lives after them , And more abundant grows , For Heaven blesses all that ' s good , And him who it bestows .

Ar00703

AN ELEGANT AND INTERESTING PRESENTATION .

Liverpool Town Councillors are about to do an act which reflects credit not only on their taste , but their liberality . An album of a most interesting kind has just been prepared by Bros . Vandy ke and Brown , photographic artists , of

Bold-street , which is intended for presentation to Mrs . Pearson , the wife of Bro . John Pearson , whose mayoralty of Liverpool last year was of the most niuiiificeut and satisfactory character . During Bro . Pearson ' s year of office the members ot the Council subscribed for and purchased

a gold chain of office intended to be worn by the mayors of LfVerpool in perpetuity , and Bro . Pearson wore this chain for the first time at the Thanksgiving service held at St . Paul ' s Cathedral , London , for the recovery of the Prince of Wales . After the purchase of the Mayor ' s gold chain of

office , a sum of money still remained , and it was resolved that this should be devoted to providing a souvenir of the circumstance of his worship attending St . Paul ' s , for presentation to Mrs . Peatson . It was detenuinetl that this should be in the form of an album containing the portrait of

the lady s husband and portraits of Ins fellowmembers of the corporation during his period of office , and also of the principal officers of the corporation . The album is neatly bound in morocco , and has the corporation arms on the outside iu solid gold , and gold clasps and lock

The title-page of the album contains this inscrip tion , which is wrought with illuminated lett » rs and has an appropriate bordering , with the Liverpool arms , & c .:. — " This album , containing photographs of the aldermen and councillors of the borough of Liverpool , was a presentation to Mrs .

Pearson , of Golborne Park , Lancashire , during the mayoralty of her husband , John Pearson , Esq ., in commemoration of the Thanksgiving day services in St . Paul ' s Cathedral , on the 27 th day of February , 1872 , for the recovery of his Roval Hig hness the Prince of Wales fiom his

dangerous illness , on which occasion the Mayor attended in state , weiring for the first time a chain of office presented to him by the members of the corporation for the . use of the mayors of Liverpool in perpetuity . " Oi the nest page are photographs of the medallion attached to the

Alayor ' s chain of office , and in the succeeding page is a photograph of Bro . Pearson . Then follow photographs of lhe aldermen and town councillors , and of the principal corporation officials . All tile photographs are exceedingly clear , and remarkably well executed . Each of

the pages contains lour photographs , and has a neat and very appropriate bordering , which has been designed by Bros . Vandy ke and Brown . The binding of the album was the work of liro . H . Greenwood , Castle-street . The cost of the production is about £ 60 .