Some Errors Concerning Masonry.

so bringing out the various parts in the popular relations and harmony . Masonry is many-sided . Its mission is to the reason and the imagination , as well as to the social feelings and sympathies ; and it takes on both an intellectual and moral

character . It does not assume to occupy all the ground either of culture or religion . Yet its purposes and functions are sufficiently broad , its work sufficiently beneficent , to entitle it to the hearty allegiance of those who should honour the institution both for love ' s sake and for truth ' s sake . —Freemasons' Repository .

Antiquity And Adaptation.

ANTIQUITY AND ADAPTATION .

BRO . WM . ROUNSEVILLE . It matters little whether Masonry originated among the priests of Egypt , the Thugs of India , the philosophers of Greece , the Hebrews of Canaan , the merchants of Phoenicia , or at the "Apple Tree Tavern , " in London ; whether it was born

in the Garden of Eden , among the mountains of Abyssinia , in the civilized cities of Greece , in the plains of Hindostan , on the hills of Palestine , or in the streets of the metropolis ot the British realm . It matters little whether it is as old as creation ; whether it was born in Solomon ' s time

or in the reign of Sesotons ; whether it was coeval with the pyramids or with the Bunker Hill monument ; whether its nativity be dated six thousand years ago , or in " 17 1 7- " It may form an interesting question for solution by the antiquarian or historian—when and

where , and by whom was Masonry first established ? It might be a pleasure and a gratification to those interested in the growth and progress of the Fraternity , to be able to trace it in all its ramifications , from its conception to its present position of power and influence .

Those who throw the light of history on its path , give us pleasure and deserve well of their brethren and the world for their labours , and we would not have them , for a moment , intermit their efforts to roll away the dense cloud that overshadows the past of Masonry . But , after all ,

that is not the great question to be answered to-day . Masonry may be ancient as Babylon—as venerable as the pyramids—and yet be of little use to this age and the present population of the globe . How many associations of the olden

time , had they been continued to the present day would have been of practical value ? Not many . More age does not command respect . It must be coupled with worth to ensure consideration . Neither will antiquity prove that Masonry is for this age and people . We may

agree that the fact of its having long existed proves its value : but evil things have been aged , and white locks frequently shadow the brow of the fool or the criminal . The great question as regards our Institution now , is not how old it is ; neither is it whether it has been adapted to the condition of mankind

in the past ; but whether it is needful and beneficial to human progress and human prosperity now . This question being answered in the affirmative , Masonry is worthy of the support of philanthropists everywhere if answered truly in the negative , it is unworthy of countenance—no matter how beneficial it may have proved itself in times past .

How ought this question to be answered ? What does truth require in the premises ? Masonry is , professedly and confessedly , a benevolent institution . It teaches that it is the imperative duty of each person to care for and assist a needy fellow creature , It teaches that mankind are brethren , and , as such , are bound to extend

aid to each other in the day of adversity . By most impressive rites and appropriate symbols , it impresses these duties upon the minds and consciences of the members , and , by regulations proved practical by experience , these duties are ever kept clearly and plainly before them : " When they lie down and they rise up ; when they go out and when they come in . "

Tho intention of the society is to make men more benevolent . We believe the intention is fulfilled ; indeed it can hardly be otherwise . The lessons received in the lodge will naturall y have their designed effect . A score , or a hun-

Antiquity And Adaptation.

dred persons come regularly together , and consult concerning the wants and the needs of their brethren and friends . The needy are helped , the despondent encouraged , and the hungry fed . They meet regularly . These matters are talked over at every meeting . Thus , a habit of

thinking of the needy and of ministering to their wants is formed , and it becomes an important part of the business of those who voluntarily put themselves into this process of training to do the work of benevolence . Having placed themselves under obligation to do these generous

works , and having banded themselves together for that purpose , the result is found in the more humane line of action which they exhibit . That Masons give for benevolent and charitable purposes , outside of their lodge payments , as much as others , not members , is a fact which , so far

as we know , has never been denied . That they give more , according to their means , than non-society men , we have no doubt . Every subscription list for charitable purposes circulated in a place where a lodge is in existence , will bear us out in that belief . We say this , not in

a spirit of boasting , but because it shows that the professions of benevolence ' put forth by Freemasons are not empty ones . My own observation would prove that Masons generally give double the amount which could be exacted of them on an impartial assessment . But we will place the

amount of these gifts at the same figures with others not members of the lodge . Then we shall , of course , have to give the lodge ctedit for all that is contributed to charity within it , for if there had been no lodge these contributions would never have been made . Thus we find

that Masonry adds very materially tothe treasury of charity . It seems like a work of supererogation to say a word as to the need for , and the benefit of , an institution of this kind in the present condition of mankind . But perhaps a word will not be out of p lace , for the good people

are slow to admit the benefits conferred by our Order . We can imagine a state of society which would not require such an institution as Masonry to exist . Were every one disposed to be governed , in act and word , by the Saviour ' s

Golden Rule , there would be no need of Masonry . Were all honest and charitable , ready to relieve distress wherever seen , Masonry ' s occupation would be gone . But a blind , unfeeling selfishness pervades the minds of men . Self is ever present with most persons . The voice of the

poor and needy is smothered by the noise of business and of greed , and their cry is not heard by those who have the means to be , and who ought to be , their benefactors . Not a week before preparing this article a woman , in this land of plenty , died of starvation , surrounded by

those , the crumbs from whose tables would have given the needed sustenance to preserve life . She had saved the lives of her children by giving them all she had been able to gather . Can we say that where such things happen—and this is but one of many of the same class—that there is

no need of such a benevolent organization as Masonry has been proved to be ? Shall we demolish Masonry at the beck of the fanatical , qne-idead opponents , while mothers starve , surrounded by their famishing children > Did Masonry do as some of its enemies

falsely charge , and only care for its own members and their families , still it would be a good institution , and worthy of being sustained . If every head of a family provided well for his own , there would be no suffering in poverty ; did every society see that its own members were

supplied , there would be much less suffering than now prevails . Masonry does this ; some other societies do not . Even church sometimes forgets the invalid brother who suffers from sickness , or the weakly sister whose sands of life have nearly run out , though we are glad to

be able to state our conviction that such neglect is far less common than it was in years gone by . Relig ion has become less doctrinal and more practical than formerly . In this particular the church may have learned and practised a

valuable lesson from the lodge—a lesson which they ought to have learned to practice long ages ago —that charit / is greater than either faith or hope , and abides for ever . We think w . have the right to conclude from

Antiquity And Adaptation.

the considerations so briefly expressed that Masonry , whether it be ancient or modern , is adapted to this age ; that the world needs it as a school of benevolence and charity ; that it materially helps forward the car of human progress ; that it , to a great degree , assuages the woes of poverty , and feeds the hungry and

clothes the naked . As long as poverty and want prevail—" as long as penury has a want to relieve or sorrow a tear to dry "—the world will need Masonry to assist in the holy work . And , though the bigot may rage and the fanatic curse , Masonry will survive until that period shall come when distress shall have ended and relief shall not be needed . —Voice of Masonry .

Excavations At Mycenæ.

EXCAVATIONS AT MYCEN ? .

Antiquity , as if to chide our busy present and scheming future , has suddenly made a splendid revelation . A faithful devotee has struck the ground with his divining rod , and brought to light a treasury hitherto supposed to be fabulous , or rifled ages ago . All at once Mycenae is found

to be a reality . People had forgotten that some of the powers which they believed to be eminently destructive are , in truth , the most conservative . War , anarchy , neglect , barbarism , oblivion most of all , often bury to preserve . Mycenae always fared ill . Even before the

Trojan war it had suffered by revolution and sedition . From the unsung ages before Agamemnon , it emerged into a flash of glory , instantly quenched in crimes and catastrophes . Even then its greatness was rather traditional than real , for the twin city of Argos was increasing ,

while Mycenae , instead of living hosts , had its Cyclopean walls , its colossal edifices , and the neighbouring Temple of Juno , which it still held in partnership with its more prosperous neighbour . The terrible legend that the Athenian nlaveoers were never tired of hearing recited

in every stage of the history and every form of the dramatic art seemed to throw a dark spell over the locality . A long decay was only consummated when the Argives , jealous , it is said —though why jealous it is hard to say—laid the city waste , nearly five centuries before

the Christian era . Strabo , in the time of Augustus , spoke of the site itself as doubtful . But gold had been buried there , and of that it may be truly said that its spirit never ceases to hover about the sepulchre . That tradition never dies . The whole Peloponnesus has

shared the decay of its once most famous city , and travellers , merchants , philosophers , artists , and the whole tribe of wanderers have only sig hted or touched the peninsula to fly oft * to Athens , or across the sea to Ionian cities or

Trojan plains . Chandler , a most careful and conscientious traveller , as well as thoroughly informed , with Pausanius and all the authorities at his side , and his eyes open to every promising object , closes his chapter on Mycenae with the confession that he missed the site he had been

looking for : — "On reviewing our journey , I found with regret that Mycenae was at no great distance on our rig ht when we entered between the mountains . " Before and even since his time , Greeks , barbarians , Turks , and Albanians have found the very spot indeed , and thrown

everything about in the wildest confusion , only to desist within a few inches from the great prize of all . Our ancestors might have suspected that some misleading genie , like the instinct ascribed to certain birds , had all these ages been baffling the curiosity of prying visitors , by distracting

their attention and putting them on one false scent or another , till in fulness of time the great King of Men who found a bard in Homer , should have his royal state once more shewn to the world by Dr . Schliemann . History tells of many such obsequies as are

here brought to light , but they are hardly credited . Survivors are heartless , rapacious . Courts are not often thc schools of sentiment . It is easier ,, too , to say that the accumulated wealth of a reign lias been buried with its owner than to do

it . Would Clyteronestra , faithless herself , bury her faithless lord in this gorgeous fashion Would she make Cassandra the sharer of such a pomp ? That is the tradition , and here are the facts , which are at least in keeping . By