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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
The Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed by Correspondents .
OBSERVANCE OF THE BAPTIST'S DA \
( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER ,-In my communication of February 25 th , I referred the reader to "Hone ' s Year Book , " & c ., showing that the Baptist ' s day was observed in olden times , not by masons only but by thy guilds in general . In confirmation of this fact
, I copy the following from Brother C . W . Moore ' s Magazine , 1860 , pages 39 and 40 . It is not impossible that Bro . Moore may have copied it from an English Masonic journal of the above-named or previous year . The few lines I shall give will not only show that , although the London tailors and
drapers never claimed , or pretended , that the Baptist was ever an eminent tailor or draper , yet the guild appears to have deemed it an important privilege to have permission granted to it " to hold a feast on Saint John Baptist day , " but also that the Merchant Tailors regarded their society with the same kind
of pride as the Masons did . Indeed , so far as the antiquity of the tailor craft is concerned , they might justly claim it to have preceded the mason craft . For Adam must have tried first to make himself a coat before he attempted to build a house . But that is not
all—Great kings , dukes , and lords Have laid by their swords , Our mystery to put a good grace ' on , was no more peculiar to the Freemasons than the observance of the Baptist ' s day was . The tailors claim precisel y the same honours , and even the
patronage of bishops and deans ; and now for the extracts from Moore ' s Magazine : — "In a work entitled 'Progress , etc ., of King James the First , ' is a curious dramatic production , published from a copy preserved in the Bodleian Library , called ' The Triumph of Re-united Britania . ' It was performed
at the cost and charges of the Right Worshipful Company of Merchant Tailors , in honour of Sir Leonard liolliday , Knight , to solemnize his entrance as Lord Mavor of the City of London , on Tuesday , the 29 th October , ' 1605 , and devised and written by A . Mundy , Citizen and Draper of London , in the reign of James 1 st :
' When they were first a guild , and bare the stile Of Taylors and armorers beside Of linnen armorie : for no little while Were they so knownc and daily did provide These coals of arms that quailed our foemen ' s pride , When England ' s bent-bow and the grey goos wing
Our many victories abroad did sing , To build this body on a stronger frame Richard lhe Second gave authentic A Mayster and four Keepers they should name , And full elect to sway their niysteiic ; Granting them power to have a Lyverie ,
And hold a feast on Saint John Baptist day , Vearlte for ever , as they do and may . " From the last three lines we must infer that the tailors in the days of Richard II . observed the Baptist ' s-day , but as they had no legal authority to do so , the king granted the tailors the privilege to
do as they did ; and now wc will go on" I find recorded in my register : Scaven kings have honoured this society , Fourteen great dukes did willingly prefer Their love and kindness lo tiiis company , Three-score-eight lordes declared their amitie
, Tearming themselves all brethren of this band , The vcirie worthiest lordes in all the land . Three dukes , three carls , four lords of noble name , All in one year did ioyne in Brotherhood ; 1 find besides great lordes from France there came To hold league and lo do them any good ,
Yet no imhasing lo their bight in blond , For they accounted honour then most hie When it was held up by coinmunitie . Of bishops and deans , to those before , My record could afford as many more . " I only hope and trust that my communications
will induce brethren to study a little more carefull y the manners , customs , and laws of the guilds during the middle ages . This may indeed tend to diminish our pride ; truth should , however , bc regarded as of more importance than pride . Respectfull y and fraternally yours ,
JACOB NORTON . Boston , U . S ., April 21 st , 1 S 71 .
"OUR ANCIENT BRETHREN" ONCE
MORE . ( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , — In your issue of April 15 th , our worthy Brother Hughan endeavoured to defend the imnnrl . nnn * id '' nni- nn _ - . nl' K ,-., il ,,...., »
and triumphantly or sarcastically remarked : "Bro . Norton may be able to find similar MSS . and ancient charges in connection with other guilds , as the old Halliwell M . S . and others , but 1 have not been able to , and know not of any one who has ; " and next cites a letter from Brother Lupus , who says , " Why
Original Correspondence.
should we not have free tailors or cordwainers ? " to which he answers , because , in the 14 th century , De Yeverley was architect to three successive kings . "This , " says he , "and the records of other such names plainly proves the importance of the guild . " "A gain , too , the language of the early
statutes relating to Masons clearly indicates that there was much more importance in their guild and their ' chapters and congregations' than in other trading bodies . . . What , " he continues , " could they ordinarily want with such assemblies ? and if there was nothing of significance in them , why make
the ' chapters and congregations' the subject of legislative interference ? " And he further added : " I am not aware of any records of distinguished tailors or great cordwainers . " These are , I believe , the main points with which Brother Hughan endeavoured to sustain his position .
Now , with all due respect to the ability and sincerity of the above-named brethren , it looks to me , after all , as if they were begging the question . The same kind of religious fervour observable in the Masonic documents can no doubt be found in all other documents of the then time . For in addition
to dates , each document of the time informs us also that the day was "before" or "after" such-and-such saint's day . In the charters of the Tailors' Company " The Virgin Mary , " " the blessed Mother of God , " " the Trinity , " & c , are alluded to over and over again , and a similar strain of Roman Catholic
phraseology runs through most of the public documents of that time . The doggrels called Masonic poems were written most likely by priests . It was the fashion then , as it is now , to celebrate a festivity with some rhyming composition . It is probable that for such an occasion , a priest composed the
Halliwell M . S ., and introduced therein allusions to "Noa ' s flod , " to "Kyng Nabogodonozor , " " the clerk Euclyde , " & c . A second priest manufactured the legends of Adam , Nimroth , & c , & c , which legends Anderson , Oliver , and the high-degree' gentry of Europe and America successively amplified ,
illustrated and extended . Nor can I see how the mere fact of Dc Yeverley having been an architect can prove—first , that the said De Yeverley was a more moral and religious man than a tailor or cordwainer of his day was ; and , second , Halliwell made known that Sir C . Wren did not join the Freemasons until
after his reputation as an architect was placed on the highest pinnacle of fame . How , then , does Bro . Lupus know that Yeverley was ever initiated at all ? or that the fraternity ' s relationship to Yeverley was in any way different to the relationship of the hodcarriers and bricklayers to an architect of to-day ?
Nor can I sec how the language of the statutes relating to Masons goes to prove their importance as a guild , or that the words " chapters" or " congregations" had necessarily any peculiar significance ; Hallam says that the Freemasons were never legally chartered at all : if so , " free " could
be more properly applied to tailors than to masons . The term "free , " when coupled with the guilds , meant not only freedom of the guild , but also freedom of the town or city , with certain privileges attached . In that sense , the tailor was better entitled to the prefix free than the mason . That
the masons of olden time were simply builders , is confirmed by one whom Bro . Hughan regards as a very high authority . The Rev . Bro . Woodford , in Part 2 of the " Unpublished Records of the Craft , " ( presented to mc by our worthy Bro . Hughan himself , for which he will be pleased to accept my thanks ) , Bro . W . says : " We must bear in mind ,
however much wc may not feel disposed not to give up our preconceived fancies on the subject , that the true history of Freemasonry in this country is the history of an operative body . " And as far as the very documents themselves show , I can see no difference between the religious ideas of the then masons and the then tailors ; the one was just as narrow-minded as the other .
In Fronde ' s history of England , I found the best account of the classification of society in " merry England " during the middle ages , with the causes of its decay . Mr . Froudc compares the then organization of society to that of a military camp . Sumptuary laws restricted each class to a particular
kind of clothing , and to the number of dishes for dinner . Butchers , bakers , & c , had to sell their commodities at stipulated prices , and the daily wages of working people were equally prescribed b y law . A time , however , came when England ceased to bc merry under those legal restrictions . Laws of
commerce , laws of supply and demand , now pretty well understood by our political economists , were in those days unknown , and those laws proved stronger than the mere enactments of legislative bodies . A time arrived when a derangement took place between the relative value of the precious
metals and other commodities . Law or no law , the butcher and baker found that they could no longer supply themselves with cattle or grain at the old prices . Sociey here became ajar , it began to grate . The rich burgess could indeed buy immunity from the sumptuary restrictions by making a present to the king , the queen , or the mistress , but the poor
Original Correspondence.
working man , whose old wages became insufficient for the maintenance of his family , could not make presents to the king , hence he was obliged to resist the law , when the legislature stepped forward with fresh coercive laws , and " Hallam's Middle Ages , " chap . 9 , part 2 , informs us that the masons " were charged 3 FI . vi ., with fixing the price of labour in
their annual Chapters contrary to the statutes of laborers , and which chapters were consequently closed . " Now , does not this prove that the objec of the annual " chapters and congregations " was wages , or—bread and- butter ? Again , Bro . Lupus "is not aware of any records of distinguished tailors or cordwainers . " My letter
to THE FREEMASON , dated April 21 st , shows that there are records of such nature , and since the said letter was mailed , I consulted the work itself , viz ., " Progresses , Processions , etc ., of James the First ; printed by J . B . Nichols , 25 , Parliament-street , iS 28 . " The dramatic composition cited in my letter I found in Vol . 1 , p . 570 , and it was performed by children .
The notes to said composition further inform us that the tailors were anxious to make King James the eight king tailor and draper , which his majesty declined , because he was already—not a Mason , but - a Cordwainer I The king , however , gratified the Company with his presence in 1607 , when Prince Henry and a crowd of courtiers became
Freetailors . We further learn from the notes , that in 1390 Edward Duke of York , Thomas Duke of Gloucester , Henry Duke of Hereford and Earl of Derby ( afterwards Henry the 4 th ) , Edward Earl of Rutland , Thomas Earl of Warwick , John Holland Earl of Huntingdon , John Lord Ros , Rafe Lord Nevil , Thomas Lord Furnival , Reignard Lord Grey
of Rithim—from France came also Gaylard Lord Danvers , Barard Lord Delamote , Barard Lord Montferrart , & c , & c . These , besides Bishops and Deans , have all been Master Tailors , and after reading that long string of illustrious tailors , who will thenceforth dare to call a tailor " a ninth part
of a man" ? But that is not all . On referring to the festivities of the year 1607 , when James visited their Hall , and when Prince Henry and others became free-tailors , I found more verses , probably composed by the same "Citizen Taylor and Draper , " A . Mundv . author of "Britania Re-united , " and here
are the verses : —
" For seven of England ' s Royal Kings thereof [ tailors ] have all been , And with their loves and favours graced this worthy
company . King Richard once the Second named , unhappy in his fall , Of all his race of Royal Kings was Freeman first of all ; Bullingbrook , fourth Henry , next by order him succeeds , To glorify this Brotherhood by many Princely deeds ;
Fifth Henry , which so valiantly deserved fame in France , Became free of this Company , fair London to advance ; Sixth Henry , the next in raign , though luckless in his days , Of Merchant Tailors freeman was , to their eternal praise ; Fourth Edward , that most worthy King , beloved of great and small , Also performed freeman's love in this renowned Hall ; Third Richard , which by cruelty brought England many
woes , Unto this worthy Company 110 little favour shows ; But richest favour yet at last proceeded from a King Whose kingdom round about the world in Princes' ear doth wring—King Henry , whom we call the Seventh , made them the greatest graced ,
Because in Merchant Taylors' Hall his picture now stands placed—Their charter was his princely gift , maintained to this day , lie added Marchant to the name of Taylor , as some say , So Merchant Taylors they bc called , his Royal love was so . No London Company of the like estate so many Kings can show .
These extracts clearly prove that fraternities , brotherhoods , & c , similar to the Masonic fraternity did exist in England , though they never claimed descent from Dionysiacs or Roman Colleges . Second , as the tailors claim to have been armorers also , they could with more propriety claim affinity and relationship with the Knight Templars , than Masons can . And , thirdly , they not only answer
Bro . Lupus ' s question , whether there ever was an eminent tailor or cordwainer , but I may now turn the table , and ask either Bro . Lupus or Hughan , whether cither of them can furnish evidence from equally authentic records , showing as many distinguished names to have been associated with the Masons in olden times as the tailors do ? Respectfully and fraternally yours ,
JACOB NORTON . Boston , U . S ., May 1 st , 1871 . SUBORDINATION IN THE HIGHER DEGREES .
( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Bro . Yarker has written you what I confess is to mc a very interesting letter , but it is no answer to mine . As a member of the Royal Order of Scotland , I am quite well aware of the antiquity and dignity of that Order , and of its intimate connection with both the Rose Croix and Templar degrees ; but I am at a
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
The Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed by Correspondents .
OBSERVANCE OF THE BAPTIST'S DA \
( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER ,-In my communication of February 25 th , I referred the reader to "Hone ' s Year Book , " & c ., showing that the Baptist ' s day was observed in olden times , not by masons only but by thy guilds in general . In confirmation of this fact
, I copy the following from Brother C . W . Moore ' s Magazine , 1860 , pages 39 and 40 . It is not impossible that Bro . Moore may have copied it from an English Masonic journal of the above-named or previous year . The few lines I shall give will not only show that , although the London tailors and
drapers never claimed , or pretended , that the Baptist was ever an eminent tailor or draper , yet the guild appears to have deemed it an important privilege to have permission granted to it " to hold a feast on Saint John Baptist day , " but also that the Merchant Tailors regarded their society with the same kind
of pride as the Masons did . Indeed , so far as the antiquity of the tailor craft is concerned , they might justly claim it to have preceded the mason craft . For Adam must have tried first to make himself a coat before he attempted to build a house . But that is not
all—Great kings , dukes , and lords Have laid by their swords , Our mystery to put a good grace ' on , was no more peculiar to the Freemasons than the observance of the Baptist ' s day was . The tailors claim precisel y the same honours , and even the
patronage of bishops and deans ; and now for the extracts from Moore ' s Magazine : — "In a work entitled 'Progress , etc ., of King James the First , ' is a curious dramatic production , published from a copy preserved in the Bodleian Library , called ' The Triumph of Re-united Britania . ' It was performed
at the cost and charges of the Right Worshipful Company of Merchant Tailors , in honour of Sir Leonard liolliday , Knight , to solemnize his entrance as Lord Mavor of the City of London , on Tuesday , the 29 th October , ' 1605 , and devised and written by A . Mundy , Citizen and Draper of London , in the reign of James 1 st :
' When they were first a guild , and bare the stile Of Taylors and armorers beside Of linnen armorie : for no little while Were they so knownc and daily did provide These coals of arms that quailed our foemen ' s pride , When England ' s bent-bow and the grey goos wing
Our many victories abroad did sing , To build this body on a stronger frame Richard lhe Second gave authentic A Mayster and four Keepers they should name , And full elect to sway their niysteiic ; Granting them power to have a Lyverie ,
And hold a feast on Saint John Baptist day , Vearlte for ever , as they do and may . " From the last three lines we must infer that the tailors in the days of Richard II . observed the Baptist ' s-day , but as they had no legal authority to do so , the king granted the tailors the privilege to
do as they did ; and now wc will go on" I find recorded in my register : Scaven kings have honoured this society , Fourteen great dukes did willingly prefer Their love and kindness lo tiiis company , Three-score-eight lordes declared their amitie
, Tearming themselves all brethren of this band , The vcirie worthiest lordes in all the land . Three dukes , three carls , four lords of noble name , All in one year did ioyne in Brotherhood ; 1 find besides great lordes from France there came To hold league and lo do them any good ,
Yet no imhasing lo their bight in blond , For they accounted honour then most hie When it was held up by coinmunitie . Of bishops and deans , to those before , My record could afford as many more . " I only hope and trust that my communications
will induce brethren to study a little more carefull y the manners , customs , and laws of the guilds during the middle ages . This may indeed tend to diminish our pride ; truth should , however , bc regarded as of more importance than pride . Respectfull y and fraternally yours ,
JACOB NORTON . Boston , U . S ., April 21 st , 1 S 71 .
"OUR ANCIENT BRETHREN" ONCE
MORE . ( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , — In your issue of April 15 th , our worthy Brother Hughan endeavoured to defend the imnnrl . nnn * id '' nni- nn _ - . nl' K ,-., il ,,...., »
and triumphantly or sarcastically remarked : "Bro . Norton may be able to find similar MSS . and ancient charges in connection with other guilds , as the old Halliwell M . S . and others , but 1 have not been able to , and know not of any one who has ; " and next cites a letter from Brother Lupus , who says , " Why
Original Correspondence.
should we not have free tailors or cordwainers ? " to which he answers , because , in the 14 th century , De Yeverley was architect to three successive kings . "This , " says he , "and the records of other such names plainly proves the importance of the guild . " "A gain , too , the language of the early
statutes relating to Masons clearly indicates that there was much more importance in their guild and their ' chapters and congregations' than in other trading bodies . . . What , " he continues , " could they ordinarily want with such assemblies ? and if there was nothing of significance in them , why make
the ' chapters and congregations' the subject of legislative interference ? " And he further added : " I am not aware of any records of distinguished tailors or great cordwainers . " These are , I believe , the main points with which Brother Hughan endeavoured to sustain his position .
Now , with all due respect to the ability and sincerity of the above-named brethren , it looks to me , after all , as if they were begging the question . The same kind of religious fervour observable in the Masonic documents can no doubt be found in all other documents of the then time . For in addition
to dates , each document of the time informs us also that the day was "before" or "after" such-and-such saint's day . In the charters of the Tailors' Company " The Virgin Mary , " " the blessed Mother of God , " " the Trinity , " & c , are alluded to over and over again , and a similar strain of Roman Catholic
phraseology runs through most of the public documents of that time . The doggrels called Masonic poems were written most likely by priests . It was the fashion then , as it is now , to celebrate a festivity with some rhyming composition . It is probable that for such an occasion , a priest composed the
Halliwell M . S ., and introduced therein allusions to "Noa ' s flod , " to "Kyng Nabogodonozor , " " the clerk Euclyde , " & c . A second priest manufactured the legends of Adam , Nimroth , & c , & c , which legends Anderson , Oliver , and the high-degree' gentry of Europe and America successively amplified ,
illustrated and extended . Nor can I see how the mere fact of Dc Yeverley having been an architect can prove—first , that the said De Yeverley was a more moral and religious man than a tailor or cordwainer of his day was ; and , second , Halliwell made known that Sir C . Wren did not join the Freemasons until
after his reputation as an architect was placed on the highest pinnacle of fame . How , then , does Bro . Lupus know that Yeverley was ever initiated at all ? or that the fraternity ' s relationship to Yeverley was in any way different to the relationship of the hodcarriers and bricklayers to an architect of to-day ?
Nor can I sec how the language of the statutes relating to Masons goes to prove their importance as a guild , or that the words " chapters" or " congregations" had necessarily any peculiar significance ; Hallam says that the Freemasons were never legally chartered at all : if so , " free " could
be more properly applied to tailors than to masons . The term "free , " when coupled with the guilds , meant not only freedom of the guild , but also freedom of the town or city , with certain privileges attached . In that sense , the tailor was better entitled to the prefix free than the mason . That
the masons of olden time were simply builders , is confirmed by one whom Bro . Hughan regards as a very high authority . The Rev . Bro . Woodford , in Part 2 of the " Unpublished Records of the Craft , " ( presented to mc by our worthy Bro . Hughan himself , for which he will be pleased to accept my thanks ) , Bro . W . says : " We must bear in mind ,
however much wc may not feel disposed not to give up our preconceived fancies on the subject , that the true history of Freemasonry in this country is the history of an operative body . " And as far as the very documents themselves show , I can see no difference between the religious ideas of the then masons and the then tailors ; the one was just as narrow-minded as the other .
In Fronde ' s history of England , I found the best account of the classification of society in " merry England " during the middle ages , with the causes of its decay . Mr . Froudc compares the then organization of society to that of a military camp . Sumptuary laws restricted each class to a particular
kind of clothing , and to the number of dishes for dinner . Butchers , bakers , & c , had to sell their commodities at stipulated prices , and the daily wages of working people were equally prescribed b y law . A time , however , came when England ceased to bc merry under those legal restrictions . Laws of
commerce , laws of supply and demand , now pretty well understood by our political economists , were in those days unknown , and those laws proved stronger than the mere enactments of legislative bodies . A time arrived when a derangement took place between the relative value of the precious
metals and other commodities . Law or no law , the butcher and baker found that they could no longer supply themselves with cattle or grain at the old prices . Sociey here became ajar , it began to grate . The rich burgess could indeed buy immunity from the sumptuary restrictions by making a present to the king , the queen , or the mistress , but the poor
Original Correspondence.
working man , whose old wages became insufficient for the maintenance of his family , could not make presents to the king , hence he was obliged to resist the law , when the legislature stepped forward with fresh coercive laws , and " Hallam's Middle Ages , " chap . 9 , part 2 , informs us that the masons " were charged 3 FI . vi ., with fixing the price of labour in
their annual Chapters contrary to the statutes of laborers , and which chapters were consequently closed . " Now , does not this prove that the objec of the annual " chapters and congregations " was wages , or—bread and- butter ? Again , Bro . Lupus "is not aware of any records of distinguished tailors or cordwainers . " My letter
to THE FREEMASON , dated April 21 st , shows that there are records of such nature , and since the said letter was mailed , I consulted the work itself , viz ., " Progresses , Processions , etc ., of James the First ; printed by J . B . Nichols , 25 , Parliament-street , iS 28 . " The dramatic composition cited in my letter I found in Vol . 1 , p . 570 , and it was performed by children .
The notes to said composition further inform us that the tailors were anxious to make King James the eight king tailor and draper , which his majesty declined , because he was already—not a Mason , but - a Cordwainer I The king , however , gratified the Company with his presence in 1607 , when Prince Henry and a crowd of courtiers became
Freetailors . We further learn from the notes , that in 1390 Edward Duke of York , Thomas Duke of Gloucester , Henry Duke of Hereford and Earl of Derby ( afterwards Henry the 4 th ) , Edward Earl of Rutland , Thomas Earl of Warwick , John Holland Earl of Huntingdon , John Lord Ros , Rafe Lord Nevil , Thomas Lord Furnival , Reignard Lord Grey
of Rithim—from France came also Gaylard Lord Danvers , Barard Lord Delamote , Barard Lord Montferrart , & c , & c . These , besides Bishops and Deans , have all been Master Tailors , and after reading that long string of illustrious tailors , who will thenceforth dare to call a tailor " a ninth part
of a man" ? But that is not all . On referring to the festivities of the year 1607 , when James visited their Hall , and when Prince Henry and others became free-tailors , I found more verses , probably composed by the same "Citizen Taylor and Draper , " A . Mundv . author of "Britania Re-united , " and here
are the verses : —
" For seven of England ' s Royal Kings thereof [ tailors ] have all been , And with their loves and favours graced this worthy
company . King Richard once the Second named , unhappy in his fall , Of all his race of Royal Kings was Freeman first of all ; Bullingbrook , fourth Henry , next by order him succeeds , To glorify this Brotherhood by many Princely deeds ;
Fifth Henry , which so valiantly deserved fame in France , Became free of this Company , fair London to advance ; Sixth Henry , the next in raign , though luckless in his days , Of Merchant Tailors freeman was , to their eternal praise ; Fourth Edward , that most worthy King , beloved of great and small , Also performed freeman's love in this renowned Hall ; Third Richard , which by cruelty brought England many
woes , Unto this worthy Company 110 little favour shows ; But richest favour yet at last proceeded from a King Whose kingdom round about the world in Princes' ear doth wring—King Henry , whom we call the Seventh , made them the greatest graced ,
Because in Merchant Taylors' Hall his picture now stands placed—Their charter was his princely gift , maintained to this day , lie added Marchant to the name of Taylor , as some say , So Merchant Taylors they bc called , his Royal love was so . No London Company of the like estate so many Kings can show .
These extracts clearly prove that fraternities , brotherhoods , & c , similar to the Masonic fraternity did exist in England , though they never claimed descent from Dionysiacs or Roman Colleges . Second , as the tailors claim to have been armorers also , they could with more propriety claim affinity and relationship with the Knight Templars , than Masons can . And , thirdly , they not only answer
Bro . Lupus ' s question , whether there ever was an eminent tailor or cordwainer , but I may now turn the table , and ask either Bro . Lupus or Hughan , whether cither of them can furnish evidence from equally authentic records , showing as many distinguished names to have been associated with the Masons in olden times as the tailors do ? Respectfully and fraternally yours ,
JACOB NORTON . Boston , U . S ., May 1 st , 1871 . SUBORDINATION IN THE HIGHER DEGREES .
( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Bro . Yarker has written you what I confess is to mc a very interesting letter , but it is no answer to mine . As a member of the Royal Order of Scotland , I am quite well aware of the antiquity and dignity of that Order , and of its intimate connection with both the Rose Croix and Templar degrees ; but I am at a