Grand Royal Arch Chapter Of Scotland.

dignitaries of the Scottish Craft , accepting the same corresponding positions in Royal Arch Masonry , confers at least virtual , if not actual , recognition , and a most friendly feeling now exists between the two Bodies . Soon after the Grand Chapter was started , the Grand Lodge opposed it for some y _ ars , and would not permit officers of their organisation to take any part

in the conduct of the other Institution . Of late years , however , everything goes on between the two Grand Bodies as smoothly as can be , and under the genial and able management of Bros . D . Murray Lyon and William Edwards , the Grand Secretary and Grand Scribe E , respectively , the relationship is both imtimate and mutually helpful .

In Scotland , no one can take the Royal Arch unless he has previously obtained the Mark and Excellent Master Degrees , these being worked in the chapters by virtue of the R . A . Warrants . Until recently what is known ns the " Past Masters Degree" was also a sine qua non lor exaltation . As , however , the Grand Lodge now recognises the ceremony of installation , esoterically , a . s well as ritualisiically , as worked in England , the P . M . has been omitted from the preliminary series , though it is still required in the Nonh American Grand Chapters .

The Mark and P . M . were wrought in what was called " Chair Master Lodges , " some years since , separate warrants being granted therefor , if needs be . In 1 S 45 there were three , viz ., I , Kinross ( of 1842 ) , 2 , Edinburgh ( of 1842 ) , and "St . John ' s , " Manchester ( of 1845 . ) These were subsequently altered to Mark Lodges only , some twenty being granted in

England and Wales alone , from 1 S 56 to 1871 . These have either become absorbed in the exceedingly pro-perous Mark Grand Lodge of England ( with which the Scottish Grand Chapter is now on the most friendly terms ) or have become extinct , the only active and separate Mark Lodge on the roll apparently being No . O , " Keystone . " Melbourne , of A . D . 1864 .

By an arrangement with the Grand Lodge of Scotland , its subordinate lodges may legally confer the Mark Degree in their lodges , such Mark Masters being recognized by the Grand Chapter of Scotland , and the Mark Grand Lodge of England , so long as the ceremony is trot conferred on -iny brother below the rank of a Master Mason , as all the Regulations of the three Bodies provide .

Companions joining chapters hailing from jurisdictions not recognising the Mark and Excellent Master , have those degrees conferred upon them prior to affiliation , a special obligation being provided for such occasions . Chapters holding charters from the Scottish Grand Chapter are entitled to give the" Royal Ark Mariners' " ceremony , provided the candidate is a R . A . companion ; the minutes and accounts of such being kept distinct

from those of ihe Royal Arch . Chapters are also empowered to work the " Red Cross Degrees , " including Knights of the Sword , Knights of the East , and Knights of the East and Wtst , commonly known as the "Babylonish Pass , " provided companions only are so advanced ; and a similar ceremony is observed at the installation of the Principals of the chapters as in Encl-md .

The new Regulations are most explicit as to the privileges , duties , and obligations of companions , being beyond question by far the best code yet issued by the Grand Chapter . Being also issued in a handy form , as with the Constitutions of the Grand Lodge , the handsome little volumes

will doubtless be more consulted than the large size of years gone by . There are about 180 chapters on the register , lhe numbers varying from I to 213 Thtre has been no change in the numeration from the origin of the Grand Chapter , the chapters being arranged in consecutive order , as the warrants are issued , and do not take the numbers of the lodges as in England .

Financially , the Grand Chapter is strong and healthy , having some £ 4000 in hand , and an income of about £ 600 annually . Its " Reporter , " issued officially , is a most interesting record , and I am pleased to see in its pages , a list of 18 Grand Chapters with whom it exchanges Representatives , and lhat for the Mark Grand Lodge of England , the Earl of Kintore , and Lord Henniker , have been appointed Representatives at and from the Grand Chapter respectively . W . J . HUGHAN .

Celebrities At Home.

CELEBRITIES AT HOME .

No . CCCCLXL—SIR JOHN MONCKTON , F . S . A ., AT THE GUILDHALL . The following effective Bketch of one of the leaders of English Freemasonry , derived from the columns of the World , and emanating , apparently , from the pen that so vividly pourtrayed our Grand Secretary some weeks since , will , no doubt , he read with interest by the brethren generally . Every trace of recent festivities and the last civic contest has already disappeared

from the venerable abode of the Corporation of London . The great Colonial Ball and the well-fought election of Sheriffs \ yhich followed it are alike matters of history ; the pigeons which inhabit the tower of St . Michael's , Bassishaw , and flutter fearlessly over the festooned facade of St . Lawrence , Jewry , are again in undisputed possession of Guildhall-yard ; King-street has recovered its wonted equanimity , and Gog and Magog look down once more complacently on the brass plates which indicate the standard of measurement in the floor beneath them . You have ,

in all probability , seen many times before the allegorical cenotaphs of the dead and gone warriors and statesmen , so you pass rapidly beneath the Elcho Shield , leave the glided gates of the new Council Chamber behind you , and enter by a glass door at the side of the bust of John , first Earl Russell , a bewildering labyrinth of corridors . The Committee of Markets happens just now to be in solemn session ; a crowd of applicants for its favours throng the passages , and seem to eye you with the suspicion of possible rivalry , while you wend your way to the lobby guarded by four

iron doors of ponderous thickness which divide the territory of Mr . Hallkeeper from the domain of the Town Clerk . Abundance of light comes through the glass roof ; tho spacious room is divided and sub-divided into pews and pens ; the sober paint and Georgian panelling seem to protest against the modern electric bells , and the speaking tube through which your arrival is announced in the realms below . A messenger in uniform promptly appears : Sir lohn Monckton will see you presently , and you plunge

down by the narrowest of lead-covered staircases into an atmosphere of subterranean gloom . Although the July sun shines brightly out of doors , the gas burns perpetually in these hidden precincts of the Corporation , and the mysterious receptacles for records which line the walls give them the appearance of a catacomb . A few paces only divide you from Basinghall-street , when your guide suddenly opens a door which admits you somewhat abruptly to the presence of the Customary Officer of the Corporation . A flight of half a dozen steps , flanked by polished hand-rails , takes you to the floor , which is covered by a well-worn and much-faded

Turkey carpet . The " sanctum sanctorum" of the keeper of the Lord Mayors conscience is long and lofty j tall windows , partly filled with ground . glass , give it a brightness which contrasts strikingly with the darkness you have traversed , and softens the depressing effect of the massive and monumental bookcases which half hide the gray-green walls , and enshrine the Public General Statutes in calf and gold , the Minutes of the Courts of Alderman and Common Council in red morocco , and the Reports of Royal Commissions in sober black . The ledge which divides them into two portions is completely occupied by a framed picture of the new

Celebrities At Home.

Tower Bridge , some newly-arrived boxes of cartridges , cards of invitation to longsince forgotten civic feasts , piles of paper neatly tied up with red tape , and a wigbox of formidable proportions . By the window opposite hangs a chart of the Thames , which serves to remind its owner of his pleasant Sundays " up river , " and close by is an engraving of one of the meetings of the Corporation in the old Council Chamber , in which ( notwithstanding his oflicfal attire ) you readily recognise the stalwart figure of the man who now rises from behind the great table at the end of the room to welcome you to the Guildhall . Magog , the famous black

cat who wages war relentlessly against the feline pets of half a dozen other departments , and checks effectually the increase of rats in the Record Room , evidently resents your intrusion , and rubs his back nervously against the legs of one of the angular chairs , standing on the homeliest of hearthrugs , in the neighbourhood of the solid white marble chimneypiece , which forms a convenient resting-place for an imposing collection of invitation cards , and a series of neatly bound volumes , which , at first sight , may be possibly taken for breviaries , but are in reality the official Pocket-books of the Corporation , destined ( as an inscription informs you ) for the special use of ' * Mr . Town Clerk . "

_ There is something unmistakeably martial in the bearing of Sir John Monckton . His black alpaca worUinp-jacket is eminently suited to his present occupation ; but you cannot help thinking that he should be in uniform , and once more at the head of his mounted battery of Middlesex Artillery Volunteers . He has , however , long since exchanged the sword for the pruning-hook ; but some thirty silver cups in his pleasant house in Cromwell-road still serve to remind him of the joys and triumphs of soldiering . Business happens to bo particularly brisk just now ; and while he

affixes his signature to a pile of papers which a clerk places on the slope before him , you have ample leisure to indulge in further contemplation of his characteristic surroundings . An old Chippendale clock ticks sonorously on a mahogany bracket over the arms of the Moncktons and the singularly appropriate device , " Famam extendere factis ; " the photographs of her Majesty's judges ( how many of them have passed away since they sat for them in 1880 !) look down gravely on a heap of papers in the corner ; the bookcase with the green calico curtains , before which

Sir John now sits and writes , was once sacred to the affairs of the " Watermen , " " Ballastage , " and " the Courts of Hustings ; " but in its old age contains nothing better than miscellaneous rubbish ; the second table near the door still bears the literary dehris of the Colonial Ball ; over the abiding-place of the Public General Statutes are to be seen a couple of rolled spring maps of the City of London in

wards and the borough of Southwark , just by the Town Clerk ' s serviceable writingchair the red and black calendar of the Corporation , in which the eccentric spelling of " Plow Monday " and other kindred terms is consistently preserved , is placed beneath an engraving of the first of the three Woodthorpes , ar . d above the fireplace hang coloured lithographic views of the new Library and the Central and Billingsgate Markets .

By this time the documents awaiting signature have received due attention ; the heavily-laden clerk takes his departure , and the ever active " Clericus Communis " is ready for a brief talk about his avocations and himself . The contents of the table before him help you amazingly . Beneath the goodly collection of summonses which call him to the meetings of half-a-score committees and sub-committees peeps out furtively Mr . 'James Purdey ' s annual reminder of the approach of September . The sarcophagus-like black inkstand with the nest of little drawers and quaint

taperstand was once probably used by the elder Woodthorpe himself . This paper-weight came from a French battle-field ; this square ot marble was picked up in the quarry of Ba-. eno ; the pebble which helps to keep the next set of letters in . order was found by the falls of Triimlenbach at Lauterbriinen . You have talked of sport , war , and travel before you come to the long row of books which fringes the opposite side of the table . Here we find " Riley's Memorials , " the " Liber Albus , " and " Loftie's London , " to remind you of the history of the Corporation , in which Sir

John , as becomes a zealous Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries , takes the deepest interest ; " Polling ' s Laws and Customs of London , " " Municipal Law and Practice at Elections , " " Norton's Franchises of the City , " and " May ' s Law of Parliament , " lead to a pleasant discussion on the functions appertaining to the Secretary of the City ; "The Rugby Calendar " takes you back to the time when John Monckton was the companion of George Goschen , William Henry Waddington , and Lewis Cave , and affords an excuse for some cheerful talk about the "Close , " the "Big

School , " and the " Quads , " long ago immortalised in " Tom Brown , " while the " Consuetudines Kantije" turns the convers ition to the old county of which Sir John Monckton is so justly proud , and induces him to tell you something of his life . The Town Clerk of London is " a man of Kent . " He was born at Maidstone , educated at Rugby and Kin . ' s College , London , and for many years followed his father ' s profession as a solicitor in Lincoln ' s Inn Fields . In 18 73 hc relinquished his practice to become the trusted adviser of the Corporation . He had already

found more than one congenial sphere for his constitutional energy and remarkable power of organisation . For many years he discharged with conspicuous ability the onerous duties of President of the Board of General Purposes—tho principal executive officer of the Masonic Fraternity . As a Volunteer he was equally successful . The jurisdiction of the Municipality of London is by no means limited to the traditional square mile . It comprehends the vast markets from Islington to Deptford ; the " open spaces " from Burnham Beeches to Epping Forest ; the Port

of London , and the supervision of sanitation from the City down to the Nore . The correspondence of the Town Clerk ' s office is ever increasing ; it involves constant communication with every Government Department , and occasional letters to nearly every municipality in the world . Sir John Monckton ' s native force of character , coolness in argument , and clearness of thought have won for him considerable power in the Civic Parliament . The influence he has gained is never unduly pushed , and is always exercised with scrupulous honesty . The multifarious

duties of his office have come to engross almost the . whole of his time , and his "home" in many senses of the word is literall y at the Guildhall . His autumn shooting is his one surviving recreation . The signal triumph of the great ball , which will for months to come excite the wonderment of our Colonial visitors , is only a specimen of the administrative achievement of thc popular Town Clerk . Sir John Monckton married longago . His accomplished wife has won name

and fame as an actress of undisputed merit . His eldest son—a Charterhouse boyis already doing well at the Bar , and distinguished himself at Oxford as a skilful musician . One of the last official acts of Lord Beaconsfield was to procure for thc most dilligent servant of the Corporation the honour of knighthood , and several foreign ribbons and stars have also fallen to his lot , but Sir John Monckton has never been spoiled by success :

Although another batchofpressingpapershasarrived , yourhostwill not suffer yon to depart without a visit to the fireproof crypt , over which he rules as custodian , of the muniments and charters of the City . Under his care , you are soon deep in "Hustings' Rolls , " the "Repertories" of the Court of Aldermen , and thc " Journals " of the Court of Common Council , nnd you venture to examine with due respect thc enormous volume lettered " Fowler , " bound in white vellum , with bands of red russia leather , which is the latest addition to its treasures . You pause a moment in thc adjacent room , whero Dr . Sharpe is patiently deciphering the will

of some worthy fourteenth-century burgess in the interests of his coming work . By this time , however , you have well-nigh outstayed your welcome . The messenger in uniform informs Sir John that Mr . Horace Jones wishes to see him on urgent business . You accordingly postpone to a more convenient season your proposed visit to the City Museum , under the auspices of so expert a numismatist and so ardent an antiquary as the Town Clerk of London ; apologise hastily for the unwarrantable extent of your intrusion , and pass out once more from the great Hall of the Corporation , with its unrivalled historical associations , into busy and prosaic Cheapside ,