The American K. T. Tourists.

them from other States and other Commanderies , those fraternal greetings and that disinterested friendship and unbounded hospitality which ever has , and we trust ever will continue to adorn , distinguish and characterize our magnanimous Order , based upon Brotherly Love , Friendship and the

Christian Religion . Throughout their perilous voyage by sea and land , the Officers of the Right Eminent Grand Commandery , its subordinates , and the individual Sir Knights , will feel it to be their duty to pray Immanuel , God with us , to have the illustrious Knights of Allegheny Commandery , No . 35 , and those

associated with them , in His most holy keeping , and in due time return the Sir Kni ghts in peace and health to their families , their friends , their brethren , and their asylums , in which fond and loving hearts will greet them as weary , way-worn pilgrims , who , having performed their pilgrimage , desire to rest and offer their prayers and meditations at the shrine of their Redeemer .

Given at a Special Conclave of the Right Eminent Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of the State of Pennsylvania , convened at Towanda , Bradford County , and State aforesaid , on Tuesday , April 11 , 1871 , A . o . 753 . A . E . 0 . P . 74 . H . B . McKEAN , G . Commander .

C . E . MEYER , D . G . Commander , p . t . ABRAHAM MILLER , c . G . Generalissimo . FITZ J . EVANS , G . C . General . DANIEL WASHBURN , G . Prelate , p . t . GRANT WEIDMAN , G . S . Warden .

J . W . HAYS , G . J . Warden , p . t . JAMES HOUSTON , G . Treasurer , p . t . iALFRED CREIGII , G . Recorder . D . J . MARTIN , G . S .-Bearer , P . I . CHAS . A . SAYLOR , G . S .-Bearer .

TO UN L . YOUNG , G . Warder . " C . F . KNAPP , G . Marshal . JOHN VALLERCHAMP , G . Sentinel .

Olfice of E . G . R ., of Pa . Towanda , April 11 , 1 S 71 , A . o . 753 , A . O . E . P . 74 . I do certify that the foregoing Letter of Credence was read and adopted at a special meeting of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Pennsylvania , held this

day at Towanda , and State aforesaid , and that the officers affixed their names thereunto . In testimony whereof I have placed the seal of said Grand Commandery thereon , with my official signature . ^ 1 \ f ALFRED CREIGH . 33 , taeai . ; G R ^ and R to GQ Q [ £ , aml >

Poetry.

Poetry .

* THE WORLD'S OPINION .

We walk in anxious , thoughtful moods ; Our hearts , we fully set them To gain great share of this world ' s goods , No matter how we get them . But , ah ! what fairy boats go down In dark Oblivion ' s stream ,

While racing for that leafless crown , The outer world ' s esteem . We try with eager feet and hands , Sad hearts , and faces gay ; From youth to age wc head Life ' s page With "What will people say ?"

Most of us live a double life : The one is outward show , The other springs from hopes of things None but ourselves must know . Our time is so entirely claimed By wordly thought alone ,

It almost makes one feel ashamed A softer heart to own . Alas ! they miss earth's purest bliss , Far , far from light they stray , Who always make their watchword this : " But what will people say ? "

Kind acts to bless those in distress , Are oft in secret clone ; But how much oftcner when wc know Mankind is looking on ! Better a kind word , entered in The Great Recorder's book ,

Than careless thousands spent to win The World ' s approving look ; And he who docs a noble deed , And hides it from the day , Be sure will gain a worthier meed Than " What will people say ?"

There is a higher One to please , Who sends no cloud in vain ; He will despise no sacrifice Who bore all human pain ; And so , if we could only act To our own conscience true ,

Keeping God ' s law of Love intact In all wc say and do—Wc should not need so mean a chart To guide us on our way , To lay iis shackles on the heart , As , " What will people say ? " —New York Dispatch .

Masonic Curiosities.—Viii.

MASONIC CURIOSITIES . —VIII .

Bv BRO . WILLIAM J AMES HUGHAN , Prov . Grand Sec . Cornwall , & c . ( Continued from page 66 S , vol . 3 . ) Some of the certificates of membership issued by lodges were almost exact copies of the regular diplomas of Grand Lodge . We have had one sent us lately hy a kind brother , which was

granted by a lodge at Chester . There are several emblems depicted in the engraving—one being a peculiar one , viz ., an owl on the capital of a column . The beehive is also given , but of late that emblem has been ignored in this country , although in the United States it is still generally retained by the Grand Lodges . On the open volume of the Sacred Law is inscribed : " In the

Lord is all our trust . " It reads as follows : — These are to certify That Brother Samuel Brown was made a Free and Accepted Mason and admitted to the Degree of a Master in our Lodge , and accordingly registered a Brother and member

thereof , and you are desired . . . him as a Brother after due examination . Given under our hand and seal this Slh day of Deer , of the Lodge of Independence , ' now held at the old Nag ' s Head in the city

of Chester—4 S 2 . J ABEZ DOWNING , Master . A . L . 5 S 20 , A . D . 1 S 20 JOHN THOMSON , S . Warden . MICHL . PHILAN , J . Warden . J KERSLEY , Secretary . N . B . —The Brother this belongs to has signed his name .

We have several old summonses of the last century , some of which are quaint and curious . AVhilst alluding to lodges in Chester , I cannot do better than copy the ordinary summons issued by No . 171 during 1777 . The part in italics being written , and the remainder printed : —

Brother , —You arc hereby required to meet your Brethren , the Free and Accepted Masons , at the Lodge No . 171 , now held at the Plume and Feathers in Chester , on Friday , the Thirteenth Day of this fust June , precisely at the Hour of Eight in the Evening .

Being a Lodge of Emergency to receive a visit from Sir Robert Salisbury Cotton , Bart ., and others . T . CRANE , Master . Chester , June nth , . L . 5777 .

Ihe following certificate , referring to the Royal Arch , Excellent and Super-Excellent degrees , and dated during the last decade of the eighteenth century , is certainly valuable . It is ornately painted and coloured , and was issued by the Glasgow St . Mungo's Lodge , No . 2 S , and on it are depicted symbols which evidently refer to the ceremony of " passing the veils : "—

" Holiness to the Lord . " We , the High Priest , Captain Genl . and Grand Masters of a Grand Royal Arch c /) Super-Excellent Encampment heldundcr the 8 _ sanction of Glasgow St . Mungo , No . 28 on the Registry of Scotland , Do certify that our

I rusty and well-beloved Brother William -p tV'illiams was regularly entered an Apprenfpr tice , passed Fellow-Craft , and raised Master 3 Mason in said Lodge , and for his good & . character and Behaviour amongst us we

further conferred upon him the honour of ; 2 passing the chair , and consequently a Royal ~ Arch , Excellent and Super-Excellent Mason . r Wherein he gave us the greatest satisfaction > in all the amazing and mysterious Trials

"" attending his admission . Wherefore we i > greet well all our worthy Brethren of the p same illustrious orders round the Globe , and n recommend him to their Brotherly care and

C protection . p . Given under our hands and seal this seventh day of March , A . D . 179 S , of Masomy 579 S , and R . A . M . 3598 . WILLIAM WILSON , IT . P . WM . STUART , C . G .

J DICKER , K . J CA . MPHKI . L , 1 st G . M . WILLIAM BELLA , 2 d G . M . THOMAS IIASTIE , 3 d G . M . MATT . GILMOUR , S . S . S . ( Endorsed diploma of Dr . Williams . )

Inauguration Of William Iv.

INAUGURATION OF WILLIAM IV .

In 1830 , George IV . died . He had been the Grand Patron of Masonry in England from the beginning of his reign as King . The office , therefore , became vacant . The Duke of Sussex , brother of William IV . ( who had ascended the throne as successor to the late king ) , was Grand Master , and was desirous of filling the vacancy in Grand Lodge .

He accordingly ordered a special meeting of that body on the 17 th of July , 1830 , and addressed the brethren on the great loss the Craft had sustained by the decease of his late Majesty , who had so long and anxiously afforded his support and protection to the Order , first as Grand Master , and subsequently as Patron ; and stated that he had ordered

this Special Grand Lodge to be convened for the purpose of considering an address to be presented to his present Majesty , upon the melancholy event ; at the same time to congratulate his Majesty upon his accession to the throne , and to implore his protection as Patron of the Craft .

His Royal Highness then read the draft of an address , which he submitted for the consideration of the Grand Lodge It is beautifully written , and will be new to many , and perhaps interesting to all of our readers , as a short chapter in the history of English Freemasonry . It is as follows : —

" To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty : " Most Gracious Sovereign , —We , your Majesty ' s most dutiful and faithful subjects , the Grand Master , Deputy Grand Master , Officers , and Brethren of the United Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of England , with all humility and respect approach your Royal presence . "We have a twofold duly to perform—as loyal and

obedient subjects of your Majesty , we are bound to express our heartfelt congratulations at the accession of your Majesty to the Throne of this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ; whilst , as Brethren of the Craft , we most humbly request your Majesty 10 accept our sincere condolence on the death of your Majesty ' s illustrious and immediate predecessor .

" By this afflicting event your Majesty has been deprived of a beloved and affectionate brother , and the members of our Fraternity have lo deplore the loss of the Great Patron of their Order , under whose auspices they had attained a height of prosperity hitherto unexampled in our Masonic annals . "Most Gracious Sire , these are not the words of

unmeaning adulation ,, but the genuine tribute of a faithful Brotherhood , from whose hearts the recollection of past favours can never be effaced . " Wc are emboldened , perhaps , and encouraged in the further delivery of our sentiments by the gratifying consciousness that , among the most illustrious members of our Order , the name of your Majesty has , happily for us ,

long been enrolled ; nor has your Majesty disdained to take , at various times , an active part in the more immediate concerns of the Fraternity . " May we , then , in all humility , presume lo solicit from your Majesty llial same patronage of the Craft which our late revered Monarch was graciously pleased to bestow on us ?

" In the steadiness of our loyalty and affection towards your Majesty ' s person , we feel justly confident that we yield lo none of your Majesty ' s subjects . ' ' Wc can appeal , in this respect , lo your Majesty ' s intimate knowledge of our Masonic pursuits . We feel assured that a speculative inquiry into the customs of antiquity—into the origin and progress of every liberal

and useful ait , which constitutes the very essence of Masonry—will never , in your Majesty's opinion , disqualify the true Mason from being considered a good and virtuous member of society . " In the public declaration of your Majesty ' s sentiment we possess the surest pledge of that conduct which , under Providence , will continually lead to and effectually

maintain the peace and happiness of the whole community . Your Maje . ity has therein graciously referred to the circumstances of a life passed in the service of your country , in faithful obedience and entire subjection lo our Sovereign . But if a faithful submission to authority is the wisest preparation for the exercise of authority over others , then indeed we may look with confidence to the excellence of

your Majesty's rule , since , in the person of your Majesty will be realized the saying of antiquity— ' that he is best qualified to govern who has best known how to obey . ' " In conclusion , then , we venture 01 . ee more , in all humility , to solicit your Majesty ' s gracious assent to the

petitioning prayer of our rraternity ; and nothing now remains for us but to implore the Great Architect of the Universe , the Author and Giver of all Good , that Me may be pleased lo bestow I lis choicest blessings on your Majesty ' s head , and to establish in strength and righteousness , ihe Throne of your kingdom . "

To this address the following answer was returned by his Majesty ' s Secretary for the Home Department : — "Whitehall , July 28 , 1 S 30 . " Sir , —I have the honour to inform your Royal Highness that his Majesty has been graciously pleased to signify his consent to be Patron of the United Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of England .

" I am , Sir , Your Royal Ilighncss ' s dutiful and obedient servant , ( Signed ) ROIJKUT PKEL . " His Royal Highnesslhe Duke of Sussex . " —Michigan Freemason ,