Table Of Contents.

TABLE OF CONTENTS .

Freemasonry ami Israelitism 195 Br . Lessinsr on Freemasonry 19 6 Cheshire Masonic Educational Institution 198 Funeral ot Bro Chas . D . Astley , of Dublin 198 City of London Masonic Lifeboat Concert 199

Masonic Orphan Boys' School , Dublin 200 CRAFT MASONRY : — Metropolitan 201 Provincial 201 Instruction 201

ROYAI . ARCH : — Provincial 203 MARK MASONRY : — Provincial Grand Lodge of Surrey and Middlesex ... 203 KMOIITS TiiMiu . Aii : —

Provi ncial 204 Consecration of the St . Mush l . odge , at Lincoln 204 Scotch Mark Masonry in Lancashire 204 Consecration of the Grosvenor Lodge of Mark Mas . ters , No . 144 20 ^

CoHRF . SPOXDF . NCi ; I Masonic Balls 205 Division of the Province of West Lancashire 20 *;

Masonic Ball at lorquay 205 Ri-vn-w : — Dr . Sparks ' s Liber Mu . sicus 205 Advertisements 163 , 194 , 206 , 20 ; , 208

Freemasonry And Israelitism. No. Xxvi.

FREEMASONRY AND ISRAELITISM . No . XXVI .

By BRO . WM . CARPENTER , P . M . ik P . Z . 177 . A First Siipp / ementari / Paper . The 27 th day of February , 1872 , was a

memorable day in the annals of the British Empire . I speak not of the pageantry anil paraphernalia of royalty , and the external show and dazzling manifestations of rejoicing which the great

capital put forth , in connection with the Thanksgiving for the recovery of the heir to the throne from his apparently fatal illness , but of the national acknowledgment which was made of

the moral government of Him by whom kings reign , and princes decree righteousness . Whatever some may think of the uselessness of prayer , for the removal of calamities which

appear to come m the natural course of things , and therefore of returning thanks to the Almighty Ruler upon their removal , that day must be regarded and held in remembrance as one on which

there was a solemn national acknowledgment of the Great Architect of the Universe , as the Supreme Governor of the World , and the arbiter of nations ; and also , as a confession of our

dependence on Him , as the supreme Disposer of events . It was a distinct national proclamation of faith in the reality of a special and personal Providence . As it was said , there might be

varieties of depth in the conviction , and varieties tu the sense of the mystery that encompasses it , but the general impression must have been made on almost every heart . And it is one which

time will hardly efface . It was a clay on which all ranks and degrees of men were represented in one temple of common worship . The Royal Family , Nobles , Commoners , Church , Army ,

Navy , Diplomatists , Muncipahties , Law , and Science , were all formed into one united body , and engaged in solemn acts of devotion and thanksgiving to Him , who doeth according to His will in the

army of heaven , and amongst the inhabitants of the earth acknowledging His providential dealing with men , and His wise and beneficent ordering of nations . I know of no more beauti-

Freemasonry And Israelitism. No. Xxvi.

ful or touching picture , though but slightl y sketched , than that in the Daily News : — " The Queen , having entered her pew , kneels for a moment . On her right the Prince of Wales

has taken Ins place , with his little heir on his left , the child ' s head just showing over the rails as he looks with curious baby face upon the unwonted

sight ; next to the child is the Duke of Edinburgh , in naval uniform , and beyond him , again , in the dark green uniform ofthe Rifle Brigade , is Prince Arthur . The Princess of Wales is on the Queen ' s

left , with her second boy on her left , again ; then Princess Beatrice in light mauve dress , trimmed with swansdown , then Prince Leopold in full

Highland dress , and , on the outside , the Duke of Cambridge in Field Marshal ' s uniform . And so down there—under the vast dome of the noblest

cathedral in her realm , her family by her side , in her front her , faithful Lords and Commons , her judges , her wise men , the great territorial barons of Britain , and the men of Britain who earn their

bread by the sweat of their brow , the sage whose white hairs fall over the eye , whose fire age has not quenched , and the youth on whose lip the down is but budding , the representatives of her

allies , and her subjects of another race and clime ; with behind her her army and navy—a support in peace , as ever in war a shield and buckler before her—the Queen bends her head in

prayer . A deep silence falls upon the vast upstanding assemblage . Thc nation as a whole , Queen and people , were thanking God Almighty

that He had been pleased to save alive him who stood there by his mother ' s side , with his child holding * his hand . "

There was one feature of this great day , however , which I have not yet noticed , though the most noticeable , perhaps , of all the striking incidents bv which it was characterized ; the great

temple of Christian worship comprised in its congregation , not only Christians of all the various denominations who worship , each after the way which they deem to be most in accordance with

the primitive form which has apostolic example or sanction , but those who represented nations and peoples who have not yet embraced the Christian faith . There were Brahmin and

Bhuddist , Mahomedan and Parsee , in that vast assemblage . One of the first to arrive , says the daily papers . ' was the representative ofthe Turkish Embassy , then came his imperial Highness ,

Higeshi Fushimi Myn , and his companion , with their dusky features , and large rolling black eyes , under the green and gold turban , or a diamond studded Fez . Again , there was the Maharajah

Duleep Singh , with the Maharanee , and their suite , in a flash of diamonds , and a glitter of cloth of gold ; and some unknown but evidently

Oriental personage of distinction , with his bosom of scarlet embroidered with foliage of gold , and a broad belt of red and gold crossing his manl y chest .

What a sublime spectacle , what an impressive and glorious acknowledgment of a nation ' s dependence upon Him who reigns in righteousness , and makes His sun to shine on the evil , and on

the good , and sendeth rain on the just and on thc unjust ! It will not be forgotten as a day on which men emancipated themselves from the trammels of party , and raised themselves above the alien-

Freemasonry And Israelitism. No. Xxvi.

ation of sectarian differences . Bowing at one common altar , they poured out their united thanksgiving to one common Father and God . As the writer I have already quoted describes it : —

" In quaint court dress and cocked hat there sat , with canons and bishops , the Moderator of the General Assembly of Scotland—the Church of Knox , the Church that burnt the cathedrals and

smashed the organs—the Church that furnished the Covenanting Martyrs , who lived the lives ofthe persecuted and died the death of martyrs , rather than accept the prelatic ordinances of James and

Laud . Unitarians ,. Methodists , Baptists , Roman Catholics—every sect and many creeds met under the noble , sacred roof , to give thanks to the common God . "

The grand metropolitan Cathedral encompassed within its walls , on that memorable day , too , the representatives of many diversified views and convictions , touching politics , religion , and

science . Many who occasionally contest with each other principles and opinions of most varied and almost opposing aspect , here met on common ground , and on bended knee , and with

hearts beating in sympathy , adored Him from whom all good emanates . It was , indeed a temple of peace , harmony , and united devotion . In what was this Thanksgiving Service

extraordinary ? It was extraordinary , in the first place , I think , for the various and diverse persons taking part in it . It was a solemn Thanksgiving to the Father of Mercies for the recovery of the

heir-apparent to the throne from the jaws of death . As the Archbishop reminded the congregation , prayers had been offered for the Prince ' s recovery from his seemingly fatal illness , not

only in all the national established churches , but " in the broad circuit of the British Empire many joined in our prayers , who scarcely knew the God to whom we prayed ; and none were more hearty

in their prayers , than God ' s ancient people . " And now here was gathered up into one great national act of worship , in the form of Thanksg iving for his recovery , the representatives of all

nations , and tribes , and kindreds of people . As a contemporary writer remarked , " the tendency of modern thought , while it infinitely enlarges our conception of the Divine operations , is ,

perhaps , to diminish the vividness and directness with which we feel them . The tendency of modern habit and fashion , without any conscious thought , is to discourage those frequent

references to His working which belonged to the simpler times of our forefathers , and—in a spirit which surel y is the reverse of philosophical—to be content merely with reference to second causes .

This Thanksgiving Service had a striking significance , as a formal rejection of those supposed modern ideas . " There was no evidence , on that memorable

day , that the nation was becoming tired of monarchy , and were impatient for a republic . There are , perhaps , few young men of ardent temperament , who have seriously given their attention to

politics , who are not , more or less , imbued with the notion that republicanism is the perfection of human government , and who do not fancy that ,

with a republic , we should get rid of all the ills that flesh is heir to , under a monarchy . But as they advance in life , and acquire knowledge and