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NOTICE , The Subscription to THE FREEMASON is now 10 s . per annum , post-free , payable m advance . Vol . I ., bound in cloth 4 s . 6 d . Vol . II ., ditto 7 s . 6 d . Vol . III ., ditto ISs- ° d . Reading Cases to hold . 52 numbers ... 2 s . 6 d . United States of America . THE FREEMASON is delivered free in any part of the United States for 12 s . per annum , payable in advance .

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NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS . The Office of'THE FREEMASON is now transferred to 19 8 , FLEET STREET , E . C . All communications for the Editor or Publisher should therefore be forwarded to that address .

Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

—«—BIRTHS MARTYN . —On the 13 th inst ., at Long Melford Rectory , Suffolk , the wife of the Rev . Charles J . Martyn , Past Grand Chaplain of England , of a daughter . WALTERS . — -On the 20 th inst ., at 372 , New-cross-road , Deptford , Kent , tlie wife of Bro . Frederick Walters , P . M . 73 , & c , of a daughter . AH communications for THE F REEMASON should be written legihly on one side of the paper only , and , if intended for insertion in the current number , must be received not later than 10 o'clock a . m . on Thursdays , unless in very special cases . The name and address of every writer must be sent to us in confidence .

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The Freemason , SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 25 , 1871 . THE FREEMASON is published on Saturday Mornings iu time for the early trains . The price THE FREEMASON is Twopence per week ; annual subscription , xos . ( payable in advance ) . AH communications , letters , & c , to be addressed to the EDITOR igt , Fleet-street , E . C . The Editor will pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to him ut cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by postage tamps .

The Third Degree.

THE THIRD DEGREE .

IT has been well said , that " the natural work of Masonry is practical life , " and every degree in the Order illustrates this profound , though not

sufficiently-appreciated , truth . The ceremonies of the Craft are not merely ceremonies ; they are types of higher and grander mysteries , and teach with eloquence , unsurpassed by any human

code , the duties that man owes to his Crca . tor , and to his fellow-creatures . Our great moralist , Johnson , has left us an allegory , conceived in the true Masonic spirit , in his

recital of the journey of Obidah , thc son of Abensina—a comparison of human life to the journey of a day . He tells us , that the traveller started " early in thc

morning , and pursued his journey through the plains of Hindostan , with fresh hope , " "incited by desire , " Obidah . " walked swiftly forward . " " Thus he weM on till

the sun approached its meridian , and the increasing heat preyed upon his strength , " till , tempted by the coolness of a shady

grove , he left the beaten track , and wasted in objectless wanderings the precious time at his disposal . But darkness soon

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approached , and the foolish traveller was fain to retrace his steps , while the " winds roared , and the torrents tumbled from the

hills . " Finally , however , he finds a place of shelter and refuge in the cottage of a hermit , by whom he is entertained , and to whom he relates the occurrences of his

journey . Thc hermit bids him remember , that life itself is but the journey of a day . " We rise in the morning of youth , full of vigour and full of expectation ; we set

forward with spirit and hope , with gaiety ancl with diligence , and travel on awhile in the straight road of piety , towards the mansions of rest . " The moralist then dwells upon

the deviations of man from the paths of virtue , but extracts the pleasing consolation that " reformation is never hopeless , nor sincere endeavours ever unassisted :

that the wanderer may at length return , after all his errors ; and that he who implores strength and courage from above , shall find danger and difficulty give way before him . "

In like manner , thc three degrees of Craft Masonry are typical of human life ; beginning as neophytes , we gradually unfold the greater mysteries , and the grade of a

Master Mason , as we have previously remarked , brings us face to face with the very shadows and darkness of the grave . In all the ancient mysteries , the candidates

were plunged in profound gloom before their admission to the light , and beyond doubt , the doctrine of the resurrection is plainly symbolised in all those primitive

rites . Thus the aspirant was placed within the Pastes , or bed of darkness , where he remained for three days and nights . This , we are told , was the figurative death of the

mysteries , or the descent into Hades . When delivered from this confinement , the candidates were considered " regenerate , '' or restored to life . Nor could any man fill

the office of priest until he hacl endured the seclusion and silence ofthe darkened Pastes . After this probation , he was led into thc chambers of divine light , and permitted to

participate in the sacred labours of thc initiated . In this way , the doctrine that death leads to a higher life was forcibly inculcated . We can but glance at thc solemn bearings of

this subject upon the third degree . No Master Mason can , however , fail to recognise the sublime and inspiring lessons ofthe ordeal through which he has passed ; nor

hesitate to pronounce the finished scheme of Masonry , as revealed in the third degree , perfect in all its parts , and honourable to

its founders or originators . The legend of Hiram is but the framework of thc picture , which embodies and preserves the central idea of man ' s resurrection from the

tombalthough every incident of the tradition teaches important lessons , and is in keeping with the grandeur of the subject . In the words of the poet , it is " not to the grave "

that we " descend to contemplate , " the spirit is not there , " but , looking beyond the grave , we adore the Lord of Life , who can trample the King of Terrors beneath his feet , and raise us to an immortality of peace

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and glory . By the inculcation of these truths , Freemasonry does not become a religious—or , more correctly speaking , a sectarian—system , although , doubtless , its

elevated doctrines coincide with many of the dogmas of revealed religion . But Freemasonry can reach hearts which might otherwise be closed to the reception of

wisdom , and , by insensible degrees , lead them to respect virtue , love morality , and maintain the highest principles of beneficence and charity . Viewing Freemasonry

in this aspect , nothing human can surpass it , and the badge of a Mason may truly be regarded as the type of a universal brotherhood . We are far from asserting that all

who have entered our sanctum are worthy of the privilege—light is abhorrent to some minds , and concord an abomination to the

sons of strife . But this is no argument against the worth and utility of the Masonic Institution in every system , in every

association of men , traitors have appeared , and we cannot hope to escape the inevitable . The shrine and the altar have alike

been desecrated by the ministration of knaves , and the mosaic pavement is , unhappily , not free from their unhallowed footsteps . Let us all strive , however , to accomplish in our

several stations the true aims of Masonry : the extension of knowledge , and the communication of happiness to every deserving object under heaven .

Rosicrucian Society Of England.

ROSICRUCIAN SOCIETY OF ENGLAND .

THE UNITED COLLEGE OF MANCHESTER LIVERPOOL , & NORTHERN COUNTIES .

A meeting of this united Provincial College was held at the Bush Hotel , Manchester , on Saturday , thc 28 th ult . The M— C— was formed at four o ' clock by the Chief Adept , assisted by the R . W .

Suffragan , first , second , and fourth Ancients , the Sec . General , C . of N ., & c , & c . The grade of Zelator was conferred on Bros . Goepel and Clark , and Br . Goepel was then elevated to the degree of Practices , or 4 .

The following officers were appointed : — Fratres George Turner , Suffragan , 7 ; Jos . Kellet Smith , Treas .-General , 6 ° ; Yarker ,, Scc .-Genl ., 6 ° ; Rev . J . N . Parteo , Celebrant , i ° ; Entwisle , 1 st Ancient , 5 ° ; J . D . Moore ,

2 nd Ancient , 1 ; Lord Skelmersdale , 3 rd Ancient , 1 ° ; Goepel , 4 th Ancient , 4 ; Wayne , Precentor , 2 ° ; Robinson , C . of N ., 1 ° ; Clark , Torch-bearer , i ° ; and Mawson , Herald , i ° .

An exceedingly interesting paper , on the objects of research of the Society , and its sublime teachings , was read by thc Chief Adept , and a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to him by the unanimous voice of the Fratres .

The following aspirants were then nominated : —Thc Right Hon . the Lord Skelmersdale , Harry Bateman , Esq ., and Capt .

Hunter , of Glencarse , Aberdeenshire . Thc M— C— was then dissolved in due form , and the members adjourned to refreshment .

The object of the Society being of a purely literary character , and connected with the mysterious sect of the Rosicrucians of the middle ages , demand support from all who are interested in this branch of occult science .