Original Correspondence.

This letter was suggested by certain remarks made in reference to the initiation of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales into Freemasonry , and the first important result to which it gave rise was the vote in Grand Lodge that a committee should be appointed , and which was passed on the

occasion of His Royal Highness's installation as M . W . P . Grand Master . Now , it is in reference to this committee that I desire to make certain explanations . It is already known that not desiring to make my own selection , which as the mover of the proposition it was fairlv

in my province to do , I solicited the assistance of all brethren who mi ght feel interest in the matter , and , at a numerously attended meeting , left in their hands the nomination of members of the committee to be submitted for election by the Grand Lodge at its next Quarterly Communication . Thirty-two

names were chosen . Amongst them are no recognised Preceptors in Freemasonry , it being intended that these most honourable and useful members of the Craft shall , if they please , be made of far greater usefulness in the perfection of the general design than they could be as members of the committee

for preliminary - enquiry into the abuses sought to be remedied . For a somewhat similar reason , many eminent Provincial Past Masters arc held in reserve , as probable presidents of local sub-committees to act in concert with thc general committee , and together with them to prepare such a report as

will strengthen a future recommendation that the proposed " Lodge of Preceptors " shall be formed . It is not intended that the committee to be elected on Wednesday next shall " revise the ritual , " which I am told is the impression of a considerable number of brethren . Nor is it intended that any

amended ritual shall be reduced to writing , another supposition which , if correct , would naturally meet with strong objection . The whole and sole duty of the committee will be " to enquire into thc various systems of working and ritual , and to report thereon to the Grand Lodge with such

recommendations as they may think necessary . " If the Grand Lodge should subsequently decide to constitute the suggested " Lodge of Preceptors , '' then in that lodge would be practised what would become thc recognised working throughout the Craft , and which each lodge desirous of loyally conforming to

lawfully constituted authority would surely adopt . The final attainment of thc object of this movement is probably far off , and can only be reached step by step . Thc formation of this commiuee is the first step , and it will be time enough to discuss further propositions when progress shrill be reported .

In common with many other brethren , I look anxiously for the perfect agreement of members of Grand Lodge in the election of the commiltcc , and trust that all who really desire to see that uniformity which is so universally acknowledged to be required will give their earnest support to thc

selection which has been made with much care and con sideralion . I have the honour to be , dear Sir , Yours faithfully and fraternally , JAMES STEVENS , P . M . and P . Z ., S . W . 1216 . Clapham-common , Feb . 23 rd , 1 S 70 .

THE BRETT TESTIMONIAL . ( To thc Editor of Thc Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Upon reading your very excellent report ofthe dinner given to Comp . Brett , I notice you have made an error in statin ;; that he was founder ofthe Prudent Brethren Chapter , No . 14 ; . He assisted at the consecration of the

same , and I am sure Comp . Brett would not for one moment wish lo take thc credit from others to add to thc laurels he has so worthily earned . Thc present M . E . Z ., Comp . John Boyd , was thc sole originator of the Chapter . Yours , truly and fraternally , F . II . G .

HIRAM ABIF . ( To the Editor of The Freemason ) . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —In my observations on page 92 , I endeavoured to show that thc word "Hiram Abif" in Luther ' s Bible is the Hebrew word , as thc English version gi \ es the literal

translation of those words , " Hiram my father . ' ' I was not then aware of the remarks from oui eminent Bro . Carpenter on page Ko , of which mine are an endorsement , with the exception of when he says , " who was not , as it appears , a mason , but an artist . " He proves from thc text what kind nf a man Solomon required of King Hiram ; but if wc

turn to the verse , what kind of a man King Hiram sent him , wc find ( 2 Chron . ii . 14 ) that Hi ' ram was an able worker in stone , as well as in other works . Had I been aware that so able a brother was about to take up the subject , I ( a young Mason , not yet so well acquainted with the landmarks of our Order , and perhaps not competent to judge ) would not have attempted to make any comment on it , but as you

Original Correspondence.

kindly brought my remarks before your readers , I must console myself with the words of an eminent writer : — - "As empty vessels give the loudest sound , and shallow brooks run with a fiercer current and make a greater noise than deeper rivers do , so they that are least able , to judge are ever thc most forward to pass sentence , and , when they do so , the most

rigid and peremptory . " I shall therefore thank you to submit to your leaders my opinion why Hiram was called Abif . I think that we have a probable reason that he might have been called Abif at the time of building the temple . ' I cannot admit , with Bro . Carpenter that it is a mere story : for on whatever thc story is

based , there must be a reason why he should be called Abif by name , and such addition is suitable . In order to enable me to express my views , I must give a brief account of Hiram the king , ancl Hiram the builder , and beg the attention of your readers to the following : — 1 st . That the books of Chronicles are called by

the Greek interpreters , Paralipomenon , which is , of things left out or omitted , because they arc a kind of supplement of such things as were passed over in thc books of Kings . This will help us to a reason why the books of Chronicles give different to tne books of Kings . 2 nd . That wc often find in the Hebrew scriptures

words exchanged—as in this case , in Kings Hiram with thc j ' od , and in Chronicles Huram with thc van . This is the 2 nd rule out of the thirteen the Cabalists give for discovering the various mysteries which they attribute to the law , called tfbn ( exchange ); which is , one letter found in the place of another in the Bible .

3 rd . The Talmud—a book we Christians don ' t believe in—contains trustworthy relics of Jewish antiquity fitted to illustrate the histories of the Old and New Testaments , and to aid us in understanding the rites , laws , and customs ofthe older Hebrews . Now , we learn from thc Bible that the King of Tyre must have been a great lover of building as

his great delight in art , and he must have possessed things for that purpose which were precious to others , for no sooner did King David commence his reign than King Hiram made presents to him of what he thought would be most acceptable , viz ., a lot of timber , carpenters and masons ( 2 Sam . v . 11 ) , and seems to have kept friendship with David ,

for Hiram was ever a lover to David" ( 1 Kings v . 1 ) . Forty years afterwards Solomon came to the throne . Solomon asked Hiram to be favourable to him , and that he would do for him as he did to his father , and says , " for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill . " Hiram complied with thc request , for "Solomon ' s and Hiram ' s builders did hew and prepare timber and stones . " After

all was prepared , Solomon was in want of a man who could build that " great house " where to offer sacrifices to Cod . This made him exclaim , " Who is able to build him ? " No doubt Solomon asked Hiram for the L . st man that he could send him he says , "send me a man cunning to work , " etc . ( 1 Chron . xi . 7 . ) King Hiram tells him what kind of man he sends him : "A cunning man endued with understanding

( -QN DTin ?) of Huram my father . " That is to say . he is a very clever builder , and is the builder of my father—the best man he could send him . Hiram tells him thc qualities he possesses ; first he gives his genealogy , that his father and forefathers were such great men and all possessed the same qualities . In 1 Kings

he gives his genealogy from the father ' s side , " a widow ' s son of the tribe Nnplitjili ; in Chronicles , from the mother's side , " the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan . " Let me remark here that whenever wc find in the Bible the genealogy of a man , and it says

TVSttS ( ofthe tribe ) , means only from the father's side ( see Numbers i . 2 , 4 , 20 ) . To give an illustration I shall quote the Talmud - . — o-TN rro-- N 1 ?^ p--:, 3 , \ : r \ v •• n-i -TON

. " -. EWtf ? Y-rvGa m : oiMDi -inwiNa DTP ? riM rpn , r \ zbw -f ? £ rr rrWrhnzi J- « in n :- ^ - * - * ntr- w p ,-rjs -o Toisn , n & Y \ 2 imn , * -TJ ^ N TON ¦

., _ ... . _ .. _ .. p nN- ' -rnM in «* i n-roi , p rro-a . m ^ N . p Tvj ^ h -pD-rm •¦ R : ibVi Jucii . iiiiiihath saith , from where do we learn that a man ought to follow his trade and tlie trade of his forjfathei '!) ? For it said , and King Solomon

s .-nt and fetched Hiram out of Tyre , he was a widow ' s son of the tribe of Napthali , and his father was a man of Tyre , a worker in brass ; and Rabbi Mar haih saiih , his mother from the house of Dan , for it is written , Ex . xxxi . 6 , with him Aholiab the son of Aliishamach , of the tribe of Dan . "

Original Correspondence.

Thc commentator explains in the margin the latter's meaning : "The mother was from the children of Dan shows that he ( Hiram ) followed the trade of his forefather as well as his father . From thc above we have some light on the

subject why King Hiram mentions the genealogy of that remarkable man to Solomon : he points out the stem- of his eminence from his father and forefathers . Here is one probable reason why he was called

TOM abif ( his father ) : to indicate that his father and forefathers were also such great men . Yours fraternally , " D . STOLZ .

P . S . —A misprint occurred in my last ; the words "Again , ' H . M . ' says that Luther uses Huram the king ' s name , not Hiram the builder ' s , " should read " Wc see that Luther , " & c . D . S .

( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —The relative correspondence of Bros . Carpenter , D . Stolz , and H . M . are very interesting , but ( except in the former instance ) tend much to create dissension , concerning what is of very little importance to Masonry . We have three personages called Hiram ,

D-r-rr or cnin viz ., the King of Tyre , his son and successor , and Hiram called metaphorically the architect of the Temple . Now it is possible , seeing that the Hebrew word

-DN must mean nothing else than the Latin pater , and therefore could only relate to the king . Thc Hiram who did so much towards the construction and ornamentation of the Temple can be no other than the widow ' s son of thc tribe of

Naphtali ( Kings vii . 14 and subsequent verses ) . "Operare sciebat in auro et argento in a-re et ferro , in lapidis et lignis , in purpura et hyacinthc , in Bysso et Coccino , sciens scalpere sculptures varias . " But there is still another personage , who , there is little doubt , was the first Master Mason , and this was Adoniram ,

DTpN the root of which name undoubtedly sprung from from Adonai , as the Jews always read or pronounce mm

i . e ., Lord , Master , for they regard it an irreverence to repeat thc name Jehovah . This Adoniram the son of Abda was over thc tribute or levy . It is therefore inferred he was superintendent and master of thc 30 . 000 men whom by relieves of 10 , 000 each cut down the cedar trees of Lebanon in order to

build the Temple . This view can be reconciled by thc degrees of Masonry . I therefore agree with Bro . Carpenter that thc assassination of the so-called Hiram Abif is merely an allegory , but " one on which much of the sublime teaching of our Order is based . "

There are several allegories or traditions as to ihe death of Adoniram , not Hiram Abif -, and 1 simply express my conviction that the erudition of Bro . Carpenter will not fail in arriving at a plain and sensible solution of this question . I will not termitt' -. ' . ;* rt /< - ! , since amongst Masons nothing should have the attribute of that cognomen . I am , Sir , yours fraternally ancl obediently , Paris , 21 st Feb ., 1 S 70 . M . GUEDALLA .

HURAM ABIF . ( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) SIR , —Allow me to say a few words by way of explanation , in reply to your correspondent William Carpenter . I fear that my brother has misapprehended the drift of my former letter , and that in

that communication I have not , perhaps , conveyed my meaning so clearly as might be desired . Without any dispute , I understand Hiram of the Kings and Huram of thc Chronicles to mean one and the same person . With regard however to

"Abif , " your correspondent "S . G . F . " says , "One party will not speak of Hiram at all times as Hiram Abif , because thc name does not appear in the Bible . " Now , in reply to this I maintain that thc name is found in some bibles , namely , in the German and thc Swedish . In 2 Chron . ii . 13 , thc Hebrew word

" » 2 M which , in thc English version is rendered by an equivalent term " my fathers , " appears in the German and the Swedish as a proper n . ime , " Abif . " Again , in 2 Chron . iv . 16 , the Hebrew word

pM is rendered into English by "his / alher , " a common term equivalent in meaning , and not as a proper name , while thc German and me Swedish versions translate it as a . proper name , "Abif . " Yours fraternally , Dublin , 18 th Feb . 1870 . H . M .