Famous F.M. Songs.

bodies . In the vear before-mentioned , 17 ^ 8 , the Grand Lodjfe of Minister ordered that each Incite should furnish itself with a copv of Anderson ' s Consliliilions , the only printed book of the kind then in existence . The volume thus procured is extant in the archives of the First Lodge of Ireland , Cork , which is really the successor of the Grand

Lodge of Minister when it gave its allegiance to the Grand Lodge of Ireland , after the reorganization of that Grand Lodge under Lord Kingston in 1731 . On the wide marg'ii of the page that contains the E . A . Song as Bro . Matthew Birkhead left it , some contemporary Brother has inserted the verse , and has done us the good turn of

inscribing it with the name of the author , SI ' KIXGKTT PKNX . This worthy Brother ,, the favourite grandson of William Penn , the founder of Pennsylvania , had been a member of the Lodge at the Ship , behind the Royal Exchange , London , as far back as 1 723 , and served as Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Minister in 1726 and 1727 .

Most of us have forgotten—perhaps some of us ' never knew—that William Penn , the Quaker , was ; m Irish landlord . As a matter of history , he was in residence on his Minister estate when '' the call" to become a Quaker seized him . The tie that bound the founder of Pennsylvania to Ireland is not without its bearing on the history of Freemasonry . The

connection between Minister and Pennsylvania in its early clays was close and constant . To-day , what we technically call the Work of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania stands far nearer to the Work of the Grand Lodge of Ireland , and , therefore , to the Work of the Grand Lodge of the Antients , than to the present Work of the Grand Lodge of England . Neither Pennsylvania nor Ireland was directly affected by the modifications necessitated in England by the Union of 1813 .

Already , before the authorship of the versicle had been set at rest by the discovery of the entry in the Minister copy of the Book of Constitutions , various circumstances had engendered a suspicion of the Irish origin of the versicle . In the opening months of 1735 , N . S ., two concurrent editions of Bro . William Smith ' s Pocket Companion for Freemasons

were published in London and Dublin . There is strong presumption that Bro . William Smith was an Irish Freemason , though it is proverbially impracticable to identify any particular member of the great Smith family . At any rate , lie took care to lit the Pocket Companion , for the Brethren according to the side of the English Channel on which

their lodges might be . The little book found instant and wide acceptance . Immediately after its publication Dr . Anderson thought it expedient to incite the Grand Lodge of England to discourage its circulation among the Brethren lest it should interfere with the sale of his forthcoming venture , the proposed New Edition of the Hook of

Constitutions . Not without reason , for there were frequent editions of the 1 'ockel Companion not only in England , but also in Scotland , where the Grand Lodge of Scotland had given it a sort of sanction by procuring , in 1740 , " seven unbound copies for the use of Grand Lodge . " It was , presumably , from this source that Callendar derived the version of the Entered Apprentice Song to which we have referred above .

In the Dublin edition of the Pocket Companion , issued under the express sanction of the Grand Officers of Ireland , SpringeU Penn ' s verse is given as an integral part of the song , without note or comment . In the edition for use in England , where they knew better , the stanza is given as an addendum , with the deprecatory

heading : — "The following verse is often sung between the Fifth and Sixtli Verses . " Evidently , the verse had been adopted in Ireland , and was on its way to being accepted bv the English Brethren . Then , too , the rhyme of "Sincere" to "Fair" is , to modern earsfaulty and distinctly indicative of an Irish

, pronunciation . This was noticed by Bro . R . Greeven , a most distinguished member of the Bengal Civil Service , in an erudite address on "Tlie Ladies" in Freemasonry , delivered at Benares . The acuteness of Bro . K . Greeven ' s observation is the more worth y of praise , inasmuch as he had bv no means all the facts before him . As a matter of historical

philology , it is well to bear in mind that the Irish brogue is mainly a perpetuation of the Tudor pronunciation . The Irish peasant , especially in the South of Ireland , has not had tlie opportunity of following and adopting the later developments of South Anglian orthoepy , and his pronunciation to-day is much nearer than a Cockney ' s to that of Spenser

and Raleigh . Something similar may be traced in the relations existing between the Walloon French , the Parisian French of tlie huduud , and the veritable I . angne d ' oui .

Famous F.M. Songs.

Nothing has been ascertained of the life that Bro . Matthew Birkhead lived , nor even the date of his death . The waters of oblivion have engulphed him . But his lyric has made an indelible mark on Freemasonry , and as long as the Craft lasts , so long will his name be associated with its history . ( To be Continued . )

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

In view id" the limitation ol" space , we cannot undertake In insert letters I ' fnni correspondents , bill we shall be pleased lo answer to the best ol" our ability any questions submitted to us and that may be fitly committed lo print . We trust our readers will exercise that caution in respect to such enquiries which is expected from every seeker after Masonic light . II " .. 1 / . Dispensations are only granted in cases specifically provided for in the Hook of Constitutions , such as anticipating or postponing day of

meeting of a lodge , etc ., so that your failure lo obtain a dispensation lo raise a candidate at a less interval than one month from his receiving a former degree is easily explained . All the eases in which dispensations may hebe granted will be found in page 151 of the Hook of Constitutions , and beyond these the Grand Master has no power to issue them . MASTER M . ISOX .- Emblematic frames for certificates are obtainable from most picture-frame dealersbut framing such documents is a highly

, inconvenient practice . It is not only an unnecessary advertisement of your connection wilh the Crafl , but often precludes you from visitingother lodges , when tlie production of the Grand Lodge Certificate is necessary to gain admission . ! l is much belter to keep il in a case thai is always accessible . . tO / XI . XC MEM 1 SER . The declaration referred lo will be found in the more recent editions of the Hook of Constitutions . It is an addition to

Law I Si ; , and reads as follows :- " livery brother who has been initiated into Masonry in a regular lodge not under the constitution of the Grand Lodge of England shall , previously lo his becoming a member of miv lodge , declare in open lodge his adhesion lo the Hook of Consliliilions , and promise due obedience to the Grand Master and the Rules and Regulations of Grand Lodge , and the fact shall be recorded on the lodge minutes . " EXOI'IRER . On rellection , we lliitik you will see that your enquire

should not have been made in writing , and still less should a reply have been asked for in prinl . You should make a point of attending a lodge of instruction , or , if that is not practicable , seek the lirst opportunity of consulting -an experienced Past Master or qualified Preceptor .

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