Lodge St. David, No. 36, Edinburgh.

Lodge St . David , No . 36 , Edinburgh .

r PHE roll of the Grand Lodge of Scotland is exceptionall y J ^ rich in the number of old lodges , some being truly of '' time immemorial" origin , such as " Mother Lodge Kilwinning , " No . o ; the " Lodge of Edinburgh , " No . i ; Lodges "Melrose St . John , " No . i bis ; " Aberdeen" No . i

BRO . A . M . MACKAY . Iris ; " Scoon and Perth , " No . 3 ; " Glasgow St . John , " No . 3 bis , and others . Several of these have had their histories written ; the one with the oldest preserved minutes being the senior lodge of the World ( Mary ' s Chapel ) , dating from the year 1599 , and quite a number have records written during the seventeenth century .

FACSIMILE OF MINUTES ( INITIATION OP SIR WALTER SCOTT ) .

In 173 6 , when the Grand Lodge of Scotland was inaugurated , there were fully one hundred lodges at work , the members of which generally assembled without any charter from a governing body , save such as authorization

from one or other of the senior lodges ; or they started on their own account , apparently without any permission whatever ; the many years they were known to meet as Masonic loclges being sufficient proof of their regularity : also their conformity to the operative rules and regulations then current , obtained for them the support of the veterans of the

Craft . The " Lodge of Edinburgh" for the Metropolis , the " Mother Lodge Kilwinning " as a kind of Provincial Grand Lodge , and others also were active in the 17 th Century , when Freemasonry was but little heard of in England , and what

is more , many of the lodges have existed to this day ; one of the oldest only joining the Grand Lodge of Scotland so late as the year 1890 . Prior to the formation of the Grand Lodge of Scotland , 30 th November , 173 6 , an instance occurred of the manner

in which new loclges were started . So late as 24 th June of that year , three brethren made application to the celebrated " Canongate Kilwinning Lodge , No . 2 " ( chartered in 1677 by " Mother Lodge Kilwinning" to work in the City of Edinburgh ) "for separating from this lodge to be formed

into a new lodge at Leith , " and they were " consecrated and ordained" accordingly . From this new organization branched off the " Canongate Kilwinning from Leith , " which was altered to St . David , Edinburgh , by decision of Grand Lodge .

" ST . DAVID , " CHARTERED 1739 . Bro . Win . Montgomerie , the first R . W . M . of the " Leith Kilwinning Lodge , " was commissioned by the Grand Lodge to constitute Archibald Smart ( the first R . W . M . ) and other brethren into a new lodge , the charter being dated 7 th

February , 1739 . The members , however , assembled from the year 173 8 , and when officially accepted became known as brethren of Lodge No . 37 , changed in 1816 to 32 , and 3 6 from 18 3 6 . In 175 6 the Grand Lodge permitted its distinctive name to be changed to that of St . David .

It is strange that the records throw no light on the reasons which led the members to select the name of St . David , neither do they offer any clue as to which of the Davids the lodge was called after . It is , however , generally

believed that David the First , King of Scotland , was intended , and the choice has practically been ratified since , by the general acceptance of the name of

that monarch to distinguish the lodge . The seal of the lodge is a line one , and the crest is the same as used by the

" Canongate Kilwinning , " No . 2 , and the " Canongate and Leith , " No . 5 , viz ., a hart ' s head with a cross

between the antlers , the motto being sic ilur ad aslra ; thus alluding to the legend of the founding of the Abbey and Palace of the Holy Cross or Holy

Rood . The colour of the lodge clothing at the start was scarlet , altered to blue in 1757 , and then to dark green ( velvet ) and gold in 1800 , at which it remains . The variety of colours ,

tartans , & c , of lodge clothing in Scotland is a remarkable feature , which possibly prevailed before 173 6 , but not , I think , prior to the institution of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717 ; the northern Grand Lodge being also peculiar in the choice of