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Article THE FREEMASON. ← Page 2 of 2 Article ANSWERS TO QUERIES. Page 1 of 1 Article Original Correspondence. Page 1 of 1 Article Original Correspondence. Page 1 of 1 Article Reviews. Page 1 of 1 Article Reviews. Page 1 of 1 Article Masonic Notes and Queries. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Freemason.
" ' Annabella Clark , ' in rescuing the burning crew " of the ' Melanie , ' a French barque , laden with " petroleum , which took fire while lying in triC " river Adour , off Bayonne . The Frenchmen " were saved , but CAPTAIN SHARP and J
" M'INTOSH were severel y burnt . Thc latter " was carried home to Ardrossan an invalid , and " long continued unfitted to work for his living . " The circumstances connected with this heroic act
" having been related by DR . SMILES in his recent " work entitled ' Duly , ' LORD BRABAZON has for" warded to the author a contribution of £ 20 for " M'INTOSH ' S benefit , in the hope that others may " be disposed to follow his example . "
* * * WE are much struck with the printed account of the " proceedings of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Peebles and Selkirk for 1 SS 0 , " of which a copy has been sent to us . We are quite astonished , we
confess , to find that any opposition was offered al " head-quarters " in Edinburgh to the very reasonable proposal to have Provincial bye-laws . The Masonic " Decentralization " has been the " life " of English Masonry , and wc are somewhat startled
to find that , in 1 SS 0 , any of our worthy brethren in Edinburgh could have proposed to keep up Masonic " Centralization , " and to deny to Prov . G . Lodges the right and power of having Provincial bye-laws . We are glad to note that the proposal was carried
in Grand Lodge , and we trust that by wise reforms and judicious changes , Freemasonry in Scotland may soon make speedy strides . The three main points of amendment , according to us , are ( 1 )
enforced lodge subscriptions ; ( 2 ) amendment of the proxy system ; ( 3 ) increase of Masonic charitable funds . Scottish Freemasonry has been lately progressing , and we warml y hope that it may continue to do so .
Answers To Queries.
ANSWERS TO QUERIES .
Will you state in your next publication , if the first Master of a lodge has the privilege of always sitting next to the Immediate Past Master or not , at thc banquet table—that
is whilst he is a member of that lodge—and if it is so , kindly say where thc rule I refer to is to be found , at Grand Lodge or elsewhere ? [ As the senior P . M . of the lodge he sits next to the I . P . M ., as in thc absence of the ' l . P . M . and VV . M ., he presides over the lodge . —ED . F . M . ]
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
[ We « o not hold ourselves responsible for , or even approving , of the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but wc wish in aspirit of fair play to all to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . ] "
THE D . G . M . ON PAUPERISM . To thc Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — You have given extra publicity to the remarks of the Earl of Lathom , at Ormskirk Workhouse . They had already received great currency from the local press . But , if correctly reported , surely his Lordship must have
misconceptions which ought not to pass without opposition . Englishmen and Freemasons arc alike taught that selfhelp is the true remedy for existing ills ; and not because we arc compelled to pay poor rates to look forward to thc workhouse as the goal or right of old age and poverty . It is rarely the real payers of ' rates are recipients . Paupers are , as a general rule , as much a class from feneration to
generation as are gipsies , thieves , & c . The distaste to parochial aid should not be lessened but increased . If we had a system of National Insurance , such as the Rev . William Lewcry Blackley , M . A ., Rectcr of North Waltham , Micheldever , Hants , advocates , then all might receive as a right what all have equally paid . The poor laws were not made to foment but to prevent pauperism . If persons
will be careful , industrious , thrifty , and religious , they need not depend on any ; and to encourage a low , loafing , tipsy , sponging sort of people is a mistake . Too many seek for popularity by pandering to the weakness of the people , but a wise statesman will speak wholesome truths , and try to induce his countrymen to be self-denying and heroic . I am , yours , & c ,
B . W . . [ VVe insert this letter , but wc think our brother is drift mg into matters outside Masonrv . —ED . F . M . ]
THE PROVINCIAL CHARITIES ASSOCIATION OF N . AND E . YORKS . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Strand Brother , — In thc Freemason of the 22 nd inst ., I notice your report of the Provincial Charities Association for the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire , but regret that it is slightly incorrect . As your record may possiby be referred to in times to
come as an authority on the subject , perhaps you will Kindl y make the following correction . A . working committee of nine members were appointed asi fo lows : Bros . Sir James Meek , Chairman ; J . VV . Woodhall , Vicc-Chairman ; M . C . Pick , Sec . ; J . S . Cumberland , Charity Steward ; W . Tessey . nan , P . \ L S 7 ; i ;* i ' ? , P , ' ; , ? ' - H - Peacock , P . M . 17 G 0 Jackson , P . M . 043 ; Atkinson , P . M . 566 . Yours fraternally , r . , WILLIAM II . COWPER Orovc-hill , Middlesborough , Jan . 24 th . r ' - '
Original Correspondence.
THE HERVEY MEMORIAL FUND . To the Editor of thc "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Allow me to correct you in one respect only . It is not proposed to add to the benefits enjoyed by the successful candidates for the " Old People ' s" annuities , but to salve over disappointment by giving moderate donations ( I hope of X ' 10 each ) to the highest unsuccessful candidates at each election .
Faithfully and fraternally yours , JOHN B . MONCKTON January 25 th , 1 SS 1 .
FREEMASONRY IN TUNIS . To ihe Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — In re the communication of Bro . Holmes in your last issue 1 may perhaps be allowed to say that no clue is given in Bro . Broadley ' s book as to the identity of Bro .
1 ristram , no very uncommon name in the north . I have the esteemed pleasure of thc acquaintance of Bro . Tristram , and am a great admirer of his writings , but had not the least idea he was thc hero of the adventure recorded . I am , yours fraternally , YOUR REVIEWER .
JEWS AND THE HIGHER DEGREES . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Can a mc . nbcr of the Hebrew persuasion take the Degrees of the "Rose Croix , " " Rosicfucian , " "Knight Template" or any Degree beyond the Royal Arch , to the 33 rd ? _ . _ ' . Trusting to receive a reply in your next issue , Yours faithfully and fraternally ,
JU . VENS . [ The Higher Grades being more or less " Christian , " we cannot sec how a Hebrew can join them . —ED . F . M . ]
A QUERY . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — In the " Revelations of a Square , " by Dr . Oliver , I found the following question : What docs this stone smell of ? Can you oblige me with the proper Masonic answer ? I am , dear Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , A YOUNG MASON .
Reviews.
Reviews .
BULLETIN DU GRAND ORIENT DE FRANCE . October and November . By some curious mischance , which we cannot explain , this number of the "French Masonic Official Journal has only quite recently reached us . We have not seen either the December or January numbers . It contains a good deal , interesting only to French Freemasons , and one or
two statements which concern" in some sense Freemasonry generally . It seems that the G . Orient has recognized the so-called " Grande Loge Symbolique , " which is an illegal Craft Grand Lodge , formed by some dissidents from the Rite Ecossais . In France the " Rite Ecossais" grants charters to symbolic lodges as well as High Grade chapters —a system not good in itself , which leads necessarily to
many complications , and which is not happily the custom in Great Britain or in America , or where Anglo-Saxon Masonry prevails . This " swarm , " or " schism , " is composed of a body of Masons in the Rite Ecossais , who wish to place themselves on the same level as the G . Orient of France , ( low enough in all conscience ) , and to destroy the Cosmopolitan landmarks of Freemasonry , to deny the name of
God , and sweep out all allusion \ to T . G . A . O . T . U ., alike from ritual and declaration . The G . Orient of France , in its official publication , at p . 400 , gives the following reason for its unprecedented proceedings : " Le desir avoud de I'Asscmblee de hater la fusion des rites et l ' untfication des loges bleues ; " " The avowed desire of the assembly to hasten the fusion of the rites and the unification cf the
blue lodges . And then , in the same breath , it talks of the " Rite of Misraim" as joining the movement , a purely High Grade bod } -. We do not profess to understand such a proposal . Of the illegality of such a step , Masonically speaking , there can be no doubt , as it is only an incentive to unmasonic illegality and surreptitious bodies everywhere . It is , indeed , a mournful outlook .
French Blue Masonry without any recognition of God , is thus illegal , and revolutionary ,-and unfaithful las regards Cosmopolitan Freemasonry . We fancy that in America , as in England , there will be but one feeling and one voice of repudiation and condemnation as regards such proceedings by the G . Orient of France . And , yet , we are very sorry for it . VVe are among those , we confess , who had expected better things of Bro . St . Jean and Bro . Thevenot .
SMITHFIELD . A Paper read before the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society by Bro . GEO . LAMBERT , F . S . A . This " paper , " of our well-known and valued Bro . Geo . Lambert , deserves to be read , and it will then be appreciated as it merits . It has information of a varied and interesting kind , both for the student and lovers of antiquarian
memories and ancient days ; and we have ourselves perused it with great pleasure . We trust that it is not the last archaeological essay we may have tohailfrom thesamc pen . It is a pity that the little pamphlet is not for general sale , as all such treatises arc of much value to us in our common busy life today , who are too apt to forget the " locale , " the traditions , the souvenirs of a past which has faded away , out of sight and out of mind .
OCCULT LITERATURE . Mr . John Wilson , of 12 , King William-street , Charing Cross , London , W . C , has issued a catalogue of nearly 1100 works , ( part 55 ) , many of great rarity , on alchemy , astrology , Freemasonry , the Cabala , Rosicrucianism , magic , witchcraft , and we commend it to the notice of students and book collectors . Among the books on
Freemasonry was a copy of Cole ' s Constitutions of 1731 , on copper plate , and marked as with a frontispiece , second edition , for the "incredibly small sum of 6 s . Cd . " It was , of course , immediately picked up . There is also among many noteworthy notes a copy of the " Habbala Denudata , " two thick quarto volumes , £ 6 Cs . There arc some exceedingly rare works and curious books in the collection .
Reviews.
COSMOPOLITAN MASONIC POCKET BOOK FOR 1 SS 1 . George Kenning , 19 S , Fleet-street , London . Price 2 s . The second edition of this useful vade mccum has again been published . We have gone carefully through its pages ,
and note that the many alterations which have occurred . since the first edition went to press have been made , and the several errors rectified . It is now , we think , as near perfect as a book containing so vast an amount of information can ever be . As the first edition sold so well and quickly , we have no doubt the second will be equally successful .
Masonic Notes And Queries.
Masonic Notes and Queries .
THE ENGLISH HIGH GRADES AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF LONG LIVERS , 1721 . In replying to " Masonic Student" I am labouring under great disadvantages , because I am prohibited from expressing myself clearly , but will do my best—first taking the . historical questisn . I did not state that the Templar Priest dated from iCSC in Ireland ; I said it was of old date in Ire * land . Archdeacon Mant makes mention of the Degree ,
and Bro . Dr . Graham , 33-95 ° , informed me that it had been suppressed in Ireland for some fancied political reason . But the late Bro . Lawrence Newall , of Littleborough , near Rochdale , a gentleman of recognised shrewdness and great ability , more than once told me that he could trace the Degree of Knight Templar Priest in Ireland tor the year 1735 . I made enquiries from other brethren respecting this , who confirmed his statement , and told me that he derived this
datum from an old Templar Priest ritual , which had come into their possession from an Irish source ( the details of the genealogy from which 1735 was derived being given to me ) , and that this ritual , being very old and faded , had been rendered worthless by the application of chemicals to bring out the faded ink . The late Bro . A . Deuchar , who was Grand Master of Scottish Templars at the close of last century , asserted that he could trace back the Templar
Degree , by means of living members , to the year 1743 . These two things , and I see no reason to doubt the facts , biing back the Degrees to the oldest mention of the Archthat in D'Assigny , where a brother makes claim of having received the Degree at York in 1 743 . I conversed , twenty years ago , with very old Templars upon the knowledge which they had derived from their predecessors ; it is confirmatory of the foregoing , with the assertion that no
minutes were made of those higher Degrees , ^ and sometimes from political fears . Hence I do not pin my faith on documentary records , but there are such about 17 S 0 which assign all these three above-named Degrees a timeimmemorial authority—I allude to the Bath and Bristol documents . I hold , therefore , that the Templar and Templar Priest are of equal antiquity with the Arch Degree , and that it is this last which Doctor
Rawlinson was said to have called the Fifth Order about 1723 . As to the alleged revival of 1 GS 6 , I may point out that Ashmole makes the London revival of Freemasonry and the occult Rosicrucian system , with which he was connected , as both taking place in iGSG ; this is the true "crux" for all Masonic students , and whoever finds documentary history of this period will , I believe , prove the position which I have assumed from
carefully-examined tradidional data as compared with the outside Masonic facts , as I have printed them in "Speculative Freemasonry . " My attention was first called to this " year of revival " in the papers of that good genealogist , Bro . Jesse Lee , the Registrar of the Jerusalem Conclave j he had put together a substraction sum and added" Query , find out what important Masonic event occurred in ~ 6 SG . " Iain so convinced of the general likelihood of
this that I have never hesitated to express ^ my belief of its reliability as a thing which will be proved if documents are ever discovered . The fact is this , the Guild theory has of late years been so exclusively dominant that the present generation of Masons are likely to lose the truth of Masonic history . In this enquiry , also , we must not lose sight of the fact that the Continental High Grades claimed a derivation from this country , a circumstance which
necessarily implies their establishment about the time I have named . This will bring me to the language of Long Livers , which I have this day re-read in the version of the " Masonic Magazine " ( pp . 161-174 ) . What is the whole language but a resume of the symbolism and history given in these three Degrees , even containing what I hold to be quotations from these same old rituals ? I do not know how " Masonic Student" can for a moment
doubt this , if he has read these old rituals , as I understand him to say that he has . Now let the reader make a careful perusal of the pre-Reformation works in the veiled language of Alchemy , separating carefully what is reall y Alchemical from what is only professedly so . Then let him take the later works when freedom of conscience was entirely established , and compare the assumed Alchemical works with those which are truly Alchemical , as Glauber . He
will witness how far the Theosophical Alchemist had dispensed with thc thick veil of darkness , and he may easily discover the Philosopher ' s Stone which lies hid therein , and will find the last page of the language of 1721 to be identical in allegory with that of the previous century . Is there one word about real alchemy from pages 161 to 173 ? Is it not a history of a sort of Theosophical Masonry ' drawn from the Bible , and this in 1721 ? Then
the writer says , " And now , my brethren , you of thc higher class , permit me a few words , since you are but few , and these few words I shall speak to you in riddles , because to you is given to know those mysteries which are hidden from the unworthy . " In the single page which follows , why does the writer continually point out to this higher class that he " speaks as a fool ? " Because this was the way in which these symbolical writers pointed out to the reader that he
was to exercise his wits in order to discover the hidden allegorical meaning—it was a custom spreading through several centuries amongst these Gnostics , for " Sacred things must not be given to dogs" ( cowans ) . As common gold is refined in thc crucible so must these High Grad « Masons pass through the fiery crucible ( as the Arch Mason
passed through that of Nebuchadnezzar ) before he can arrive at that " Diaphanous Palace , " which is elsewhere termed "the Heavenly Jerusalem . " Pyropus—carbuncle , opal metal—is a term that was used by the actual alchemist , to indicate fused gold at a certain period of the philosophical process . But is the chemical carbuncle _ and _ opal hue meant when the writer goes on to term this his Pyropus ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Freemason.
" ' Annabella Clark , ' in rescuing the burning crew " of the ' Melanie , ' a French barque , laden with " petroleum , which took fire while lying in triC " river Adour , off Bayonne . The Frenchmen " were saved , but CAPTAIN SHARP and J
" M'INTOSH were severel y burnt . Thc latter " was carried home to Ardrossan an invalid , and " long continued unfitted to work for his living . " The circumstances connected with this heroic act
" having been related by DR . SMILES in his recent " work entitled ' Duly , ' LORD BRABAZON has for" warded to the author a contribution of £ 20 for " M'INTOSH ' S benefit , in the hope that others may " be disposed to follow his example . "
* * * WE are much struck with the printed account of the " proceedings of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Peebles and Selkirk for 1 SS 0 , " of which a copy has been sent to us . We are quite astonished , we
confess , to find that any opposition was offered al " head-quarters " in Edinburgh to the very reasonable proposal to have Provincial bye-laws . The Masonic " Decentralization " has been the " life " of English Masonry , and wc are somewhat startled
to find that , in 1 SS 0 , any of our worthy brethren in Edinburgh could have proposed to keep up Masonic " Centralization , " and to deny to Prov . G . Lodges the right and power of having Provincial bye-laws . We are glad to note that the proposal was carried
in Grand Lodge , and we trust that by wise reforms and judicious changes , Freemasonry in Scotland may soon make speedy strides . The three main points of amendment , according to us , are ( 1 )
enforced lodge subscriptions ; ( 2 ) amendment of the proxy system ; ( 3 ) increase of Masonic charitable funds . Scottish Freemasonry has been lately progressing , and we warml y hope that it may continue to do so .
Answers To Queries.
ANSWERS TO QUERIES .
Will you state in your next publication , if the first Master of a lodge has the privilege of always sitting next to the Immediate Past Master or not , at thc banquet table—that
is whilst he is a member of that lodge—and if it is so , kindly say where thc rule I refer to is to be found , at Grand Lodge or elsewhere ? [ As the senior P . M . of the lodge he sits next to the I . P . M ., as in thc absence of the ' l . P . M . and VV . M ., he presides over the lodge . —ED . F . M . ]
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
[ We « o not hold ourselves responsible for , or even approving , of the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but wc wish in aspirit of fair play to all to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . ] "
THE D . G . M . ON PAUPERISM . To thc Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — You have given extra publicity to the remarks of the Earl of Lathom , at Ormskirk Workhouse . They had already received great currency from the local press . But , if correctly reported , surely his Lordship must have
misconceptions which ought not to pass without opposition . Englishmen and Freemasons arc alike taught that selfhelp is the true remedy for existing ills ; and not because we arc compelled to pay poor rates to look forward to thc workhouse as the goal or right of old age and poverty . It is rarely the real payers of ' rates are recipients . Paupers are , as a general rule , as much a class from feneration to
generation as are gipsies , thieves , & c . The distaste to parochial aid should not be lessened but increased . If we had a system of National Insurance , such as the Rev . William Lewcry Blackley , M . A ., Rectcr of North Waltham , Micheldever , Hants , advocates , then all might receive as a right what all have equally paid . The poor laws were not made to foment but to prevent pauperism . If persons
will be careful , industrious , thrifty , and religious , they need not depend on any ; and to encourage a low , loafing , tipsy , sponging sort of people is a mistake . Too many seek for popularity by pandering to the weakness of the people , but a wise statesman will speak wholesome truths , and try to induce his countrymen to be self-denying and heroic . I am , yours , & c ,
B . W . . [ VVe insert this letter , but wc think our brother is drift mg into matters outside Masonrv . —ED . F . M . ]
THE PROVINCIAL CHARITIES ASSOCIATION OF N . AND E . YORKS . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Strand Brother , — In thc Freemason of the 22 nd inst ., I notice your report of the Provincial Charities Association for the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire , but regret that it is slightly incorrect . As your record may possiby be referred to in times to
come as an authority on the subject , perhaps you will Kindl y make the following correction . A . working committee of nine members were appointed asi fo lows : Bros . Sir James Meek , Chairman ; J . VV . Woodhall , Vicc-Chairman ; M . C . Pick , Sec . ; J . S . Cumberland , Charity Steward ; W . Tessey . nan , P . \ L S 7 ; i ;* i ' ? , P , ' ; , ? ' - H - Peacock , P . M . 17 G 0 Jackson , P . M . 043 ; Atkinson , P . M . 566 . Yours fraternally , r . , WILLIAM II . COWPER Orovc-hill , Middlesborough , Jan . 24 th . r ' - '
Original Correspondence.
THE HERVEY MEMORIAL FUND . To the Editor of thc "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Allow me to correct you in one respect only . It is not proposed to add to the benefits enjoyed by the successful candidates for the " Old People ' s" annuities , but to salve over disappointment by giving moderate donations ( I hope of X ' 10 each ) to the highest unsuccessful candidates at each election .
Faithfully and fraternally yours , JOHN B . MONCKTON January 25 th , 1 SS 1 .
FREEMASONRY IN TUNIS . To ihe Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — In re the communication of Bro . Holmes in your last issue 1 may perhaps be allowed to say that no clue is given in Bro . Broadley ' s book as to the identity of Bro .
1 ristram , no very uncommon name in the north . I have the esteemed pleasure of thc acquaintance of Bro . Tristram , and am a great admirer of his writings , but had not the least idea he was thc hero of the adventure recorded . I am , yours fraternally , YOUR REVIEWER .
JEWS AND THE HIGHER DEGREES . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Can a mc . nbcr of the Hebrew persuasion take the Degrees of the "Rose Croix , " " Rosicfucian , " "Knight Template" or any Degree beyond the Royal Arch , to the 33 rd ? _ . _ ' . Trusting to receive a reply in your next issue , Yours faithfully and fraternally ,
JU . VENS . [ The Higher Grades being more or less " Christian , " we cannot sec how a Hebrew can join them . —ED . F . M . ]
A QUERY . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — In the " Revelations of a Square , " by Dr . Oliver , I found the following question : What docs this stone smell of ? Can you oblige me with the proper Masonic answer ? I am , dear Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , A YOUNG MASON .
Reviews.
Reviews .
BULLETIN DU GRAND ORIENT DE FRANCE . October and November . By some curious mischance , which we cannot explain , this number of the "French Masonic Official Journal has only quite recently reached us . We have not seen either the December or January numbers . It contains a good deal , interesting only to French Freemasons , and one or
two statements which concern" in some sense Freemasonry generally . It seems that the G . Orient has recognized the so-called " Grande Loge Symbolique , " which is an illegal Craft Grand Lodge , formed by some dissidents from the Rite Ecossais . In France the " Rite Ecossais" grants charters to symbolic lodges as well as High Grade chapters —a system not good in itself , which leads necessarily to
many complications , and which is not happily the custom in Great Britain or in America , or where Anglo-Saxon Masonry prevails . This " swarm , " or " schism , " is composed of a body of Masons in the Rite Ecossais , who wish to place themselves on the same level as the G . Orient of France , ( low enough in all conscience ) , and to destroy the Cosmopolitan landmarks of Freemasonry , to deny the name of
God , and sweep out all allusion \ to T . G . A . O . T . U ., alike from ritual and declaration . The G . Orient of France , in its official publication , at p . 400 , gives the following reason for its unprecedented proceedings : " Le desir avoud de I'Asscmblee de hater la fusion des rites et l ' untfication des loges bleues ; " " The avowed desire of the assembly to hasten the fusion of the rites and the unification cf the
blue lodges . And then , in the same breath , it talks of the " Rite of Misraim" as joining the movement , a purely High Grade bod } -. We do not profess to understand such a proposal . Of the illegality of such a step , Masonically speaking , there can be no doubt , as it is only an incentive to unmasonic illegality and surreptitious bodies everywhere . It is , indeed , a mournful outlook .
French Blue Masonry without any recognition of God , is thus illegal , and revolutionary ,-and unfaithful las regards Cosmopolitan Freemasonry . We fancy that in America , as in England , there will be but one feeling and one voice of repudiation and condemnation as regards such proceedings by the G . Orient of France . And , yet , we are very sorry for it . VVe are among those , we confess , who had expected better things of Bro . St . Jean and Bro . Thevenot .
SMITHFIELD . A Paper read before the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society by Bro . GEO . LAMBERT , F . S . A . This " paper , " of our well-known and valued Bro . Geo . Lambert , deserves to be read , and it will then be appreciated as it merits . It has information of a varied and interesting kind , both for the student and lovers of antiquarian
memories and ancient days ; and we have ourselves perused it with great pleasure . We trust that it is not the last archaeological essay we may have tohailfrom thesamc pen . It is a pity that the little pamphlet is not for general sale , as all such treatises arc of much value to us in our common busy life today , who are too apt to forget the " locale , " the traditions , the souvenirs of a past which has faded away , out of sight and out of mind .
OCCULT LITERATURE . Mr . John Wilson , of 12 , King William-street , Charing Cross , London , W . C , has issued a catalogue of nearly 1100 works , ( part 55 ) , many of great rarity , on alchemy , astrology , Freemasonry , the Cabala , Rosicrucianism , magic , witchcraft , and we commend it to the notice of students and book collectors . Among the books on
Freemasonry was a copy of Cole ' s Constitutions of 1731 , on copper plate , and marked as with a frontispiece , second edition , for the "incredibly small sum of 6 s . Cd . " It was , of course , immediately picked up . There is also among many noteworthy notes a copy of the " Habbala Denudata , " two thick quarto volumes , £ 6 Cs . There arc some exceedingly rare works and curious books in the collection .
Reviews.
COSMOPOLITAN MASONIC POCKET BOOK FOR 1 SS 1 . George Kenning , 19 S , Fleet-street , London . Price 2 s . The second edition of this useful vade mccum has again been published . We have gone carefully through its pages ,
and note that the many alterations which have occurred . since the first edition went to press have been made , and the several errors rectified . It is now , we think , as near perfect as a book containing so vast an amount of information can ever be . As the first edition sold so well and quickly , we have no doubt the second will be equally successful .
Masonic Notes And Queries.
Masonic Notes and Queries .
THE ENGLISH HIGH GRADES AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF LONG LIVERS , 1721 . In replying to " Masonic Student" I am labouring under great disadvantages , because I am prohibited from expressing myself clearly , but will do my best—first taking the . historical questisn . I did not state that the Templar Priest dated from iCSC in Ireland ; I said it was of old date in Ire * land . Archdeacon Mant makes mention of the Degree ,
and Bro . Dr . Graham , 33-95 ° , informed me that it had been suppressed in Ireland for some fancied political reason . But the late Bro . Lawrence Newall , of Littleborough , near Rochdale , a gentleman of recognised shrewdness and great ability , more than once told me that he could trace the Degree of Knight Templar Priest in Ireland tor the year 1735 . I made enquiries from other brethren respecting this , who confirmed his statement , and told me that he derived this
datum from an old Templar Priest ritual , which had come into their possession from an Irish source ( the details of the genealogy from which 1735 was derived being given to me ) , and that this ritual , being very old and faded , had been rendered worthless by the application of chemicals to bring out the faded ink . The late Bro . A . Deuchar , who was Grand Master of Scottish Templars at the close of last century , asserted that he could trace back the Templar
Degree , by means of living members , to the year 1743 . These two things , and I see no reason to doubt the facts , biing back the Degrees to the oldest mention of the Archthat in D'Assigny , where a brother makes claim of having received the Degree at York in 1 743 . I conversed , twenty years ago , with very old Templars upon the knowledge which they had derived from their predecessors ; it is confirmatory of the foregoing , with the assertion that no
minutes were made of those higher Degrees , ^ and sometimes from political fears . Hence I do not pin my faith on documentary records , but there are such about 17 S 0 which assign all these three above-named Degrees a timeimmemorial authority—I allude to the Bath and Bristol documents . I hold , therefore , that the Templar and Templar Priest are of equal antiquity with the Arch Degree , and that it is this last which Doctor
Rawlinson was said to have called the Fifth Order about 1723 . As to the alleged revival of 1 GS 6 , I may point out that Ashmole makes the London revival of Freemasonry and the occult Rosicrucian system , with which he was connected , as both taking place in iGSG ; this is the true "crux" for all Masonic students , and whoever finds documentary history of this period will , I believe , prove the position which I have assumed from
carefully-examined tradidional data as compared with the outside Masonic facts , as I have printed them in "Speculative Freemasonry . " My attention was first called to this " year of revival " in the papers of that good genealogist , Bro . Jesse Lee , the Registrar of the Jerusalem Conclave j he had put together a substraction sum and added" Query , find out what important Masonic event occurred in ~ 6 SG . " Iain so convinced of the general likelihood of
this that I have never hesitated to express ^ my belief of its reliability as a thing which will be proved if documents are ever discovered . The fact is this , the Guild theory has of late years been so exclusively dominant that the present generation of Masons are likely to lose the truth of Masonic history . In this enquiry , also , we must not lose sight of the fact that the Continental High Grades claimed a derivation from this country , a circumstance which
necessarily implies their establishment about the time I have named . This will bring me to the language of Long Livers , which I have this day re-read in the version of the " Masonic Magazine " ( pp . 161-174 ) . What is the whole language but a resume of the symbolism and history given in these three Degrees , even containing what I hold to be quotations from these same old rituals ? I do not know how " Masonic Student" can for a moment
doubt this , if he has read these old rituals , as I understand him to say that he has . Now let the reader make a careful perusal of the pre-Reformation works in the veiled language of Alchemy , separating carefully what is reall y Alchemical from what is only professedly so . Then let him take the later works when freedom of conscience was entirely established , and compare the assumed Alchemical works with those which are truly Alchemical , as Glauber . He
will witness how far the Theosophical Alchemist had dispensed with thc thick veil of darkness , and he may easily discover the Philosopher ' s Stone which lies hid therein , and will find the last page of the language of 1721 to be identical in allegory with that of the previous century . Is there one word about real alchemy from pages 161 to 173 ? Is it not a history of a sort of Theosophical Masonry ' drawn from the Bible , and this in 1721 ? Then
the writer says , " And now , my brethren , you of thc higher class , permit me a few words , since you are but few , and these few words I shall speak to you in riddles , because to you is given to know those mysteries which are hidden from the unworthy . " In the single page which follows , why does the writer continually point out to this higher class that he " speaks as a fool ? " Because this was the way in which these symbolical writers pointed out to the reader that he
was to exercise his wits in order to discover the hidden allegorical meaning—it was a custom spreading through several centuries amongst these Gnostics , for " Sacred things must not be given to dogs" ( cowans ) . As common gold is refined in thc crucible so must these High Grad « Masons pass through the fiery crucible ( as the Arch Mason
passed through that of Nebuchadnezzar ) before he can arrive at that " Diaphanous Palace , " which is elsewhere termed "the Heavenly Jerusalem . " Pyropus—carbuncle , opal metal—is a term that was used by the actual alchemist , to indicate fused gold at a certain period of the philosophical process . But is the chemical carbuncle _ and _ opal hue meant when the writer goes on to term this his Pyropus ,