The District Grand Lodge Of Bengal.

from illness contracted while in command of one of the brigades under Sir W . LOCKIIART in the late severe campaign against the Afridis on the north-west frontier of India , and who even during the short period of his tenure of office of Dist . G . Master

had shown himself a most zealous and capable ruler . The ceremony was performed b y Bro . W . D . fRUIKSHANK , Past D . D . G . Master , and when it was concluded and Bro . Sir II . PRINSICP once again found himself the head of the Dist . G . Lodge , the

salutations he received were of the most cordial character . Nothing indeed could have well surpassed thc enthusiasm exhibited b y the large concourse of brethren present at the meeliiur . and the inference we draw from this enthusiasm is that

our Bengal brethren are satisfied that no other appointment was likely to do more towards strengthening the position of Freemasonry in the District . In the brief address which thc newlyinstalled District Grand Master delivered , there was but one

point upon which he conceived it to be his duty to lay any great stress , and that was—that , of necessity , tin : fullest confidence must at all times exist between him and the lodges and brethren under his charge , but more particularl y must this be the case

between him and his District Officers . In the annual report he subsequentl y delivered of the condition of Freemasonry in the District , Bro . PKINSEP having , in the first p lace , expressed the regret which all felt at the death of Bro . YEATMAN-BlGGS ,

proceeded to state his satisfaction at learning that all the lodges had made their returns , and that all the dues had been paid with the exception of a small amount from . one of the' lodges . The returns , however , showed I hat , though there was an increase of

one in the number of lodges , there was a decrease in that of subscribing members , this being due , no doubt , to the frontier campaign against the Afridis . But , on the other hand , ( he finances of the District were in a satisfactory state , the Fund

of General Purposes being in such a position that it was found possible for it to recommend a substantial donation to the Building Fund , while the Committee of the Fund of Benevolence had felt themselves justified in recommending a donation to the

Bengal Masonic . Association . As regards the Building Fund , it is unnecessary to say more than this—that , while in the opinion of the District Grand Master a wrong course had been followed in the past , with the

result that too hi g h a sum would ultimately be paid for thc site which it had been agreed to purchase , the ri g ht thing would be done if District Grand Lodge adopted the resolutions which would be submitted ( or their acceptance at the meeting . When

this report had been concluded , District Grand Lodge had submitted to . it the report of the Board of General Purposes , in which it was recommended that a donation composed of 1500 rupees from the General Fund and 2500 rupees from the Freemasons' Hall Fund should be made to thc

Buildinp-Fund . This report having been adopted , the report of thc General Committee for erection of a Masonic Temple was submitted , and this too was accepted num . con , so that as soon as the site has been full y paid for and a sum of 15 , 000

rupees accumulated , the work of erecting a portion of the premises will be commenced . Other resolutions were submitted and adopted , among them being one recommending a donation of / , 25 to the Boys' Centenary Festival , and lastl y one of sincere

regret at the untimel y death of Bro . Major-General YEATMANBlGGS , C . B ., Dist . G . M ., which was carried in solemn silence . Shortl y afterwards the proceedings were concluded , and ihe

District of Bengal makes a fresh start in its career , but under the guidance of one to whom it is particularl y indebted for much of its present prosperity . May that prosperity be still further advanced b y thefr distinguished and experienced ruler !

The Grand Lodge Of Hungary.

THE GRAND LODGE OF HUNGARY .

( COMMUNICATED ) . The recent article on this Grand Lodge will have been read with much regret b y its man } ' friends amongst our Knglish

brethren , and it is , therefore , with much p leasure that we < nve publicity to the following authoritative particulars gained from . 1 ( riislworth y source . The M . W , Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Hungary has been interviewed on the subject , and

The Grand Lodge Of Hungary.

expressed 'his great concern at the statements made in thc Freemason , and assures our correspondent that the editor has been misinformed . He entirel y denies that the invocation of T . G . A . O . T . P . is a mere formula , and asserts he and his brethren

all hold it as solemn a prayer as if used in a p lace of worship , and , as he very justly remarks , " If the Grand Lodge did not believe in the Great Architect , where would be the sense of invoking Him ? " He admits that the volume of the Sacred Law is

not now used as it was b y thc former St . John ' s Grand Lodge , but says that thc Hungarian brethren have never sufficiently realised thc importance of symbolism generally . Thc Grand Master himself is strongl y in favour of the replacement of the

volume of the Sacred Law on all altars ; indeed , he says "I hold more of this symbol than any other , and will strongly work that it may be replaced . " Our M . W . Brother is most anxious that the brethren in England should not class the Grand Lodge

of Hungary with the Grand Lodges of France and Italy as being political and atheistic , as this is a great injustice lo his Grand Lodge , and in his own opinion their lodges are really more in sympathy with English Masonry than many of the German

lodges , as the latter arc sectarian and anti-semitic , whilst Hungarian lodges throw open their doors to candidates of all faiths . We shall await with interest the result of our M . W . Brother ' s

promised action , and shall rejoice to find the Grand Lodge of Hungary again holding the honoured p lace in our Masonic esteem , which it has hitherto occupied .

Mithraic Worship.

MITHRAIC WORSHIP .

AN ATTEMPT TO SHOW THE POINTS or RESEMULANCE NETWEEN THE SYM 1101 . ISM or THE ANCIENT PERSIANS AND THE CEREMONIES AND RITUAL or FREE-MASONRY . CHAPTER I .

In its very essence , the worship of nature claims to be the oldest form of human worship , dating- even from the Creation—from the time when the first man and the first woman appeared upon the earth , when their very existence must have been a marvel to themselves . As soon as they began to realise that there was a first cause—an omnipotent power , a supreme being who had created them—they sought to exemplify this in an objective

form by the worship of the reproductive principle pervading all nature . The vivifying heat of the sun , making the fruits of the earth to germinate , caused that luminary to be regarded as a deity . The further expansion of this sentiment resulted in fire worship , and in process of time arose the study of the heavenly bodies ; the moon was regarded as the consort of the sun , and the stars as his attendants ; the zodiacal signs were given to the

sun in his various motions , under the names of the bull , the water carrier , the twins , Ike . Such occult studies were confined to the few , whose chief aim it was , by severe corporeal and spiritual purification combined with dogmatic , ritualistic , and moral teachings , to prepare the minds of their neophytes to understand and receive their esoteric doctrines . In ancient Persia the worship of Mithra as a sun god was intimately connected with the

doctrines taught by Zoroaster ; Mithra was regarded as the mediator , the protector , the powerful , the invincible and victorious one , the genius of love and truth ; Nature ' s regenerator , a Demiurgus , not the supreme god who had created them , but a god of real and tangible power , who could give and withdraw his favours ; therefore , he might be propitiated ; as a natural outcome of this idea , human and other sacrifices were made—man ' s instinctive desire being to offer of his best .

The Vedas , —the sacred writings of the Hindus , enjoin on certain occasions the sacrifice of a horse , of a man , or of a bull , under the names of Paresliameillia , or sacrifice of a man , Aswarmedha , that of a horse , and Gomedlta , cf a bull . To this day , in the East , the bull is the universal emblem of creative power . It is one of the signs of the Zodiac , in this , very probably , their choice being influenced by the circumstance that the sun enters

into the sign of Taunts , or the bull at the Vernal Equinox , when all nature ts reviving , and for a similar reason , the Scorpion , into which the Sun enters at the Autumnal Equinox was the chosen instrument of the death of the bull —or the decline of the Solar power . According to Herodotus , the Persians sacrificed human victims , and Plutarch confirms this fact , but for this they would seem too have substituted the bull .

In the writer ' s possession is a beautiful little intaglio of red cornelian , on which is engraved a bull . At the close of the last war , this little gem was brought from Afghanistan by a young officer . Its Mithraic signification seems very apparent . The subject may beheld to typify the Autumnal Equinox . Attached to the tail of the animal are several wheat-ears—a scorpion is in the act of stinging the hind quarters of the animal , thus shewing its death ,

and the death of Nature . On certain Roman sculptures this idea is even more strongly emphasised . In the Aswartnedlia , or Horse Sacrifice , as performed by the Persians , the animal was required to be of a coal black colour—one great feature in their sacrificial procession was a radiant car , glittering with gold and diamonds , and drawn by white horses . The Hindus considered that this sacrifice was only properly carried out when the animal was white , with a black ear . The Massaget < i _ ' , who , according to